Summer Fun

It has finally stopped raining in northern New Jersey, and not a minute too soon. I felt as if we had been living in Seattle, Washington instead of the Garden State. But after a pleasant Friday evening spent on the deck and having our first grilled pizza of the season, we decided we would leave early Saturday morning for our first day at the beach--or go down the shore as we say in New Jersey.

Grilled pizza with mozzarella, campari tomatoes and arugula

And what a glorious day it was.  Not a rain cloud to be seen.  Nothing but pure blue sky dotted with an occasional para-sailor or white streaks of condensation from unseen jets or those ubiquitous prop planes pulling their advertisements behind them. The early morning chilly breeze soon gave way to a pleasant heat and a lovely day at the beach.  

I pray every day that I live fully and joyfully, and this weekend I accomplished just that.

Packing for our first picnic of the season which is always better on the beach

My summer reading nook

We were lucky enough to spend Saturday evening in J & L's garden

As our son lives in California, I treated John to his favorite hot dog dive for Father's Day

Down The Shore

After a weekend at S and A's beach house, I thought that John and I would have to scale back on our eating last week. Put the four of us together with a beach, and all of our common sense eating habits evaporate. But truth be told it proved quite effortless to eat healthfully. That is if you don't count the tequila and that bag of cheetos. 

At the shore we are able to get fish fresh from the boat.

S briefly bathed these still quivering scallops in shoyu sauce--a Japanese soy with wheat added for a bit of sweetness--and a squirt of lime juice.  Then he barely seared them on a hot grill.

A perfect first course.

While we ate the scallops the swordfish was marinating.

Perfection!

A has not eaten red meat in years, but decided that weekend she might try it.  So before the opportunity escaped, we seized the moment and bought some prime porterhouse steaks to present to her that evening.

We added baked potatoes and sauteed spinach to complete our steakhouse meal.

Ice cream for dessert. 

Great weekend with friends.

On second thought we had better scale back our eating.

Decompression

My friends S and A are at the gym, and John is already at the beach. Good for them, but I have declared a no exercise zone for myself.  I'm on vacation, you see, and at home I work out at least five days a week.

At home I eat yogurt and fruit for breakfast. Here in St. Thomas I eat goat cheese and smoked salmon.  At home I race from task to task. Here I sit in a lounge chair overlooking the turquoise sea. At home I drink my morning coffee while I check my e-mails. Here John pours our coffee, and brings it back to bed as we part the curtains to allow the sun to stream in.  At home I grab a solitary lunch usually standing up. Here I prepare lunch with friends, set the table on the balcony overlooking the beach, pour some wine and enjoy.

At home some days it is difficult to finish reading the newspaper.  Here I have brought with me my favorite literary friends.  There is Nic Costa, the dark and emotionally damaged Roman detective with a penchant for Caravaggio. Alex Delaware, a psychologist who consults with the LAPD on interesting crimes.  Alexandra Cooper, NYC assistant DA who is smart, tough, and majored in English Lit. Jack Reacher, lone wolf, ex-military cop whom trouble seems to follow. Yep. Murder and mayhem.

We have been coming to this lush tropical island with S and A for over twenty-five years. It allows us to pause the rush and chaos of everyday life.  For that I am grateful.