Beach Girls, 2010

Since I was in high school, a group of girlfriends and I have gone to the beach every summer for a few days, even through all the changes in our lives.  I'm sharing a few tidbits here, including a few things For the Record.

This year we blessed K as she bought a little cabin in New England.

With a little luck, a crockpot and a microwave, we ate well (the actual move, with all the furnishings, is coming later).  We made Asian beef using A's own farm-raised beef and C microwaved individual ears of corn in their husks for four minutes (I had no idea you could do that!  next time I don't have an hour to do my corn on the grill, I'm going to nuke 'em; do you all know this corn cooking trick??).   C microwaved the green beans too, but alas, there was no stove to make brown butter.  I used to eat steamed green beans plain, but this year I have been browning a smidge of butter to put over them:  perfect love every time!

K picked some end-of-season blackberries around the cabin; we ate those for breakfast with C's granola and yogurt with great satisfaction.

To help furnish the kitchen, I had made two pot holders.  Here are my children holding the potholders just after I made them, and then in their proper kitchen, at K's cabin.  Isn't that window over the kitchen sink lovely?

While we drove to the cabin and while we snoused around the area, I knitted a scarf for Ben.  As she was reading a novel about knitting, C itched to knit again, and in my capacious knitting bag, I found her some little balls of cotton yarn and sz. 7 needles.  She took home a pretty dishcloth (directions here).

This is the first time in seven years there were no nursing babies along - I'm sure this simplified and rarefied our pleasures.  We need to think of a better name for our little group because we do not need the beach to have this treasured time. 

And now I'm home, happy for my home and my family and my bed.  When I got home, I was much amused to find my husband in the kitchen, blanching and freezing his precious okra.  He loves it and had in mind to pickle it, but as I flatly refused to consider preserving another thing until applesauce, he did the easier thing and froze it.  He wants to try using it in stir fries and curries this winter; I'm planning on a few pods for soup.