Every Summer seems to get a touch better than the last! Maybe its because the girls get older and little more self-sufficient each year!
Maybe it was because this year we rented a beautiful old house in Bay Head and although Mac was working very hard and I commuted to the studio every few days mid-week, we managed to pack in some great summer memories. The house had a huge garden ideal for quiet family mornings and long lazy lunches under the trees with friends, enjoying a bottle of wine and great company.
By the end of the summer we’d christened our favourite backyard tipple ‘The BayHeader’, a refreshingly moreish concoction of old-fashioned lemonade, vodka muddled with chopped mint then garnished with fresh summer berries and a sprig of mint.
My favorite beach house dinner is a simple salad, sliced tomatoes from our friend Mr Apple’s garden and clams bar-b– qued and tossed in garlic butter as they pop open. We christened Mr Apple the tomato fairy because ruby red tomatoes would magically appear in the passenger seat of our bug!
Our house backs onto neighbor Ted’s place who has wonderful veggie garden. One day he handed me a box full of potatoes, eggplant, peppers, onions and tomatoes with a smile! (What a neighborhood!)
Our daughter Cameron’s birthday is always celebrated at the beach. This year Harry Potter was the inspiration and the girls spent an afternoon creating a map of the house and garden, naming the trees whomping willow etc. in Harry Potter style. This came in very handy for the treasure hunt where we hid written clues around the garden and the ‘treasure’ was finally found! After a potato sack race and hide and seek we left them to run wild while the parents relaxed with cocktails and a game of croquet on the lawn.
Shell collecting became our major pastime at the beach culminating with the creation of shell vases. The girls love visiting their friends at the local marina and spend many hours fishing and crabbing there.
We bade farewell to the summer on Labor Day weekend with the annual end of summer ‘pizza and drinks’ on the beach with our ‘summer friends’ then reluctantly packed our bags and headed back to “the big city” for School and the hectic schedule that ensued!