last hurrah for summer

Back to work today. We decided to take the day off yesterday, Monday. David was kind of feeling under the weather, and a day off from a hectic workweek was undoubtedly the antidote. We did the usual lazy day stuff- woke up at 11.30 am, cheese omelette for brunch, an HBO movie, marathon reruns of Sex and the City (for me!) and just lying around, consumed by the gloomy weather outside.

David got stung by a jellyfish at the beach last Saturday. He had an ugly welt on his right arm, and he said it was a little sore. And when he called in sick yesterday, the whole office was under the impression that he was “attacked by a huge sea serpent”. I couldn’t stop laughing when a friend told us about it last night. Apparently, some kook, for whatever reasons, wrote on the bulletin board that David got bitten by that sea serpent something. Hilarious!

The sand at the Sandy Point beach last Saturday somehow reminded me of cheap polvoron we loved as elementary-school kids. The kind that was golden-colored and very grainy. We finally made it to beach after a whole summer of postponing the trip. Everyone couldn’t get a free, sunny weekend for the beach. Either the other couple is busy, or the weather is not okay, or we had other things to do, etc. Last Saturday was perfect- bright sunshine and cool breeze. I got toasted, but not baked. Darko (our friend) wanted to go to Ocean City, but Janet, his wife was not too keen in driving 3 hours just to get there. So the nearest beach we could find was Sandy Point. Only 45 minutes away from home. The beach had a great view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Darko’s nephew Stefan, frolicked on the beach like a pro. Just two years ago, he was hysterical when his mom or uncle tried to dip his feet on the water or plop his feet on the sand. Last year, he would play on the water’s edge, but would scamper away when a wave comes to the shore. But this summer, he’s a beach dude. Isn’t it amazing to witness that kind of growth? Now he’s almost four, and he’s trying to master the art of interrupting adult conversations. So funny.

Another trip that has been postponed for the nth time was the Lake of the Woods day trip. The lady from work, Katuko, who never gets tired of treating us to lunches, dinner, etc., planned to take us to Lake of the Woods for brunch and house hunting. Same thing happened- busy schedules, gloomy day, rainy day, etc. Last week, the weather forecast for Sunday was perfect- sunny in high 90s. So despite delay, the trip was on. But Mother Nature can change her mind anytime she wants. Sunday came and it was low 60s, gloomy and drizzly.

Rain or shine, we went there anyway. We had brunch at the Clubhouse- waffles, mealoaves, potatoes, pastries, bacon, fruits, omelettes cooked for you by a bored-looking chef, and a whole lot of other things. I just thought that chicken marsala was kind of out of place. All in all, it was a nice brunch. And we had a great time.

House hunting was fun. Katuko’s agent got confused whether all of us were her children. And nobody bothered to explain. We just let her assume we were there to help “mom” choose a retirement house. Our unanimous favorite was a two-bedroom house with a large front yard, a cute little porch, a spacious kitchen, a beautiful deck at the back that looked out to the golf course, and a larger backyard. The whole house had turtle trinkets everywhere! Turtles on deck, on plant pots, on table accents, front yard trimmings. The house must be owned by a crazy turtle lady, hehe.

It’s gonna be September in ten days, and very soon, it will be Fall. Where have all our summer days gone? Summer felt like it’s only ten sunny days. Oh well, there will be more summers to come. And whatever happens, I’m always looking forward to warm, sunny, long summer days.