The Weather is here, wish you were Beautiful

I know I promised you a trip to Provincetown today.  Would you settle for some time around the house instead?

In order to get a decent price on the rentals for my Cape Cod house I thought it time to retire the 27″ old tube TV and finally get a flat screen since they cost one-third what they did just five years ago.  I ordered one on Monday for delivery to the Cape house while we were here, and it was scheduled to arrive today. In fact, an early morning voice mail from UPS said they were on their way!  They couldn’t provide an estimated time of delivery but they did say the TV would arrive sometime between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm.  A thirteen hour window!  How helpful!

They can scan the shoulder of a dog and find the owner and address.  They can’t use GPS to track a delivery truck?  Because a signature was required for the TV we were under house arrest waiting for the familiar brown and gold so it’s a good thing I like the house.  I did escape for an hour to buy my flowers while Christian and Matt kept watch, but the day trip to P’ Town was off.

One of my two favorite nurseries, Hart Farm in Dennis

When a good family friend joined us on our Cape vacations he used to call “Hart Farm” Nursery, “Fart Harm” which my four little children thought was about the funniest thing coming from a grownup.  The name stuck. Now I go to Fart Harm all the time.

Check out all the hydrangeas!  You see them everywhere on the Cape for their love of the sandy soil, gentle temperatures and fog.  They’ll sprout giant blue flowers the size of a person’s head by late June.

Once again I’ve chosen a green and white theme for my patio urns this year which allows the royal blue outdoor furniture to pop.  The tender ivy left in the pots from last year survived the winter so they’ve got a head start on this year’s growth but at the rate plants grow around here, the ivy will be snaking into the neighbor’s window by October.  What do you think of my selection?

At last the new TV arrived at 4:00.  I told Christian that if he and Matt set it up with cables I don’t understand I would treat them to their favorite pizza in Chatham.  Deal. While I chomped on a lobster roll featuring my time-tested authentic New England lobster salad recipe, the boys performed their electronic magic and we were off to Chatham.

A 4 pounder, called a "cull" because of a missing claw. Cheaper that way

Poor guy is unrecognizable.

Before you accuse me of being selfish for eating lobster while the children get pizza, you should know both boys coincidentally have a shellfish allergy.   Good.  More for me.

Christian chomps into a "white" pizza from Carmine's

The village of Chatham was quiet and beautiful tonight, wiped clean and warm with the golden hour of sunset that professional photographers use to give every subject a suntan.  Chatham sits at the “elbow” of the Cape.  Surrounded by sea and sandbars; there’s nothing but ocean between us and Portugal.

Only Puerto Rico may be further east in the U.S. than we are.  It’s enough to notice the sun coming up earlier here than in Syracuse, 400 miles to the west.

With our tummies filled with dinner and sweets from the penny candy store, we were drenched in the last rays of the day.  I hope you like the photos.

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Main Street, Chatham

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Matt and Christian in front of the Chatham Lighthouse

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Everyone thinks the lobsters must be cheap so close to the source, but they’re not.  Lobster on the Cape costs more than in Syracuse, although it’s my experience that the lobsters here are much less “sleepy”, one sign of freshness.  I save money by asking for “culls”, freaks of nature where one of the two large claws is undersized or missing.  These are usually reserved for wholesalers like restaurants, but my fish store, George’s of Harwich sells them to the public for a few dollars less per pound.  I got my 4 pound cull for $25.00 and it made three lobster rolls.  No bargain, but delicious.

I’ll post my lobster roll recipe next.

Tagged as: Cape Cod, Hart Farm, Memorial Day holiday, UPS