Movin' On - leaving the beach

We leave this beach environment tomorrow.
This morning I'm determined to get some video of it's early morning magic. Robins rule around here, smaller birds lower in the pecking order. Two rabbits search the fence line for breakfast. The air is so soft and fresh. Joggers start to appear. A little boy is crouched low intently looking at the sand life as it burrows up and down in mysterious patterns. SO quiet. Just as I press the button, the loud family from # 22 decides to pack their van for a day's outing. Those three little blond headed boys can make more noise than a football team. Which they became for a few minutes - the older one the quarterback for the Stealers scoring three touchdowns in 20 seconds. I finally got a glimpse of the Mom. Long blond hair and slim legs, she looks like their sister, for heaven's sake! The Dad seems older somehow, but very fit and very patient with his extremely boisterous crew.
The tide is way way out this morning. Yesterday when walking we stood in one spot and watched closely as the water moved towards shore. It's a strange sight for a prairie girl. Great fun to spot our little balcony where we live - what a mixed up hodge podge of cottages, and little condos, and shacks, and beach houses!
Last night there was a crab feast next door. A huge pot of water heating by the picnic table. And then the crab bubbling at the top of the water with all gathered around to watch. When we looked again, they were chowing down with 4 bottles of wine and plenty of talk and laughter.
The family right beneath us piles all their beach toys, towels, and clothes on their little round table and chairs outside their room. It's a big big pile of stuff. One day we got a glimpse of their room through the open door - and it would seem that the inside looks pretty much like the outside. Lots of kids, and here again, the Mom seems like one of them. There's lots of little things for the kids - a ball on a string that they bat round and round a pole to accompanying squeals of delight. A small tennis court and a little forest for games of Robin Hood.
Ah yes, you can't beat life on the beach on a long hot summer.

Movin' On -room with a view

Another house viewing - another hot day.
This house was SO high in the sky - the views were awesome. The sea, the city, the golf course spread out before us.
Inside the house was also spectacular. Huge windows everywhere - something vaguely "oriental" about the color scheme.
I like to see a place unfurnished. Realtors say this is unusual - "Oh no, they can't imagine the place with no furniture".
I have trouble getting past the "stuff" - beautiful choices in art, or bedspreads, or carpets. I even scan the library to see what they like to read. And that's not what we're there for. If the place is empty, you know exactly what the product is, exactly how it's going to look when the furniture arrives. Speaking of which, the grand piano gets a "lot of press".
"She's got a beautiful grand piano", he says. From then on, everyone is picking out the perfect spot for the grand piano. I'm vaguely uncomfortable with this, convinced that they are imagining me whirling up and down the keys with extreme precision and talent. I find myself trying to change the subject.
Today the realtor says "It's easy to show you a place - you're so enthusiastic. Lots of folks never make any positive or negative comments". Hmmmm. Could this be that I lived for too long in one house? Could it be that I don't get out much? Could it be that I don't want to hurt his feelings?
Yesterday I said to him. "You keep asking us what we're looking for. Don't you have people who give you all those answers, and then end up choosing something completely off the chart?"
"Oh yes, there's always some of those".

Movin' On -HEAT WAVE!!!

The golf course at 4 in the afternoon strikes me as a dangerous place to be. "I won't walk today. It's too hot"
But the seat on the golf cart is too hot, and I go back to walking. There are shadows along the tree line, and that's where I try to shoot my ball. I do surprisingly well on the first nine, considering my state of mind. Which is "What am I doing here?"
Yes, there's a major heat wave here. Records are being set, and people are starting to tell their "I was so hot that . . . . ." stories.
I bought a tube of sun block - my first one in a long time. Where I come from, it's been so cool that by the time you found a day to use your sun block, it was way out of date.
I bought hot weather clothes - my first such attire in a long time. No need.
Our vehicle lost it's air-conditioning a while back and we wondered whether to spend the money to fix it, as we're getting rid of it soon. Thank goodness we went through with the repair. Our car is one of the coolest places to be right now.
I feel sorry for the people who have to tidy up their homes so that a possible buyer can look at it. That's what we're doing right now a lot of the time, and what a hassle it must be for them.
My sandals have left marks on my feet, so if I wear other shoes, it looks funny, and I have the feeling it will take a year to get rid of this dark tan.
People are sitting outside of an evening visiting with friends - such happy voices. Others just enjoying a book, perhaps, or doing a bit of gardening, saw a lady knitting yesterday. It occurred to me that we never did this in our other life. Either too hot, too cold, too windy, too many bugs.
The beach is busy right now. At 5:30 this morning a woman sat in the wooden chair on the lawn taking pictures of the sun rising. I never saw her before.

Movin' On - morning

The crows wake me up. 7:00.
The tide is way out - the beach and sand spread far. One lone walker way off in the distance.
I stand on the deck and before long a young man comes running with his dog. The dog is in "sheer delight" mode. He runs fast, then stops looking back at his master, tail wagging mightily. Then bounds off again and becomes so joyful he lays down and wiggles on his back in the sand, gets up again and bounds off. This is a happy dog.
On the other side, another dog walker. This is a small dog - on a leash. I kid you not. Acres and acres of virtually empty beach, and this gal has her little dog on a leash. Do you suppose she lives her whole life on a leash? Views her actions narrowly, carefully, and seriously? Maybe she doesn't laugh a lot? Act silly? Take a chance? Who knows? Perhaps the dog is completely content to be on the leash.
I wanted the happy dog and the careful dog to meet, but they went their different ways.
Little kids out on the beach - So early! - each with their little styrofoam pink, blue, and yellow "rafts" - pulling the string and the raft coming along so obediently behind them. They start out slowly, and then one of them does a little hop. The other one skips a bit, and suddenly the three of them are bounding with abandon across the sand. This beach works magic at every moment. The kids seem to quickly fill up their "joy juice" tank, and they are smitten for the rest of the day. Wow! They must sleep so well at night.

Movin' On - the beach

We just signed on to a miracle. A cottage in the forest looking out on a huge ocean beach!
We couldn't quite figure it out last night. We arrived late to sign into this place we'd booked a few days back.
We looked out on the beach at 9 in the evening, and there was a group of children having a ball swimming in the ocean. They seemed so far away and vulnerable somehow, but not a parent was to be seen, and they were laughing a splashing about. The water seemed so shallow, and their footing completely comfortable.
This morning I looked out again at 7:30. Long, long beach. Where the children were swimming last night was all sand. People were out for early walks. A boy was trying to get his little surfer going in the shallow water.
Then I noticed that the sand were disappearing and the tide was coming in fast.
In an hour, the families were appearing with the sand pails, and floppy hats, and rubber dingies, and all the paraphernalia of a day at the beach.
What a thrill to have it so quiet. Little cottages all in a row. A perfect washer and dryer just down the road. Golf clubs being loaded next door - a big smile on his face. Friendly faces asking how they can help. "towels? Oh, laundry! Yes, right over there". Is this heaven or not. And we're here for a week.
Realty things today, but tomorrow I'm promised myself a walk on that beach - We even have the different tide times for high and low on a chart in the room. It's amazing how different they are each day. As he says "Yes, this is something we're going to learn about now - the tides. That's what it's all about here - the tides".
Way off in the distance. Children laughing. A breeze in the trees. That's it. The laughter and the breeze.
That's the agenda - to keep those miracles comin' on!

Movin' On - summer wedding

The summer wedding - out in the country - the wonderful easy feeling of a Saturday afternoon with friends and family bound together in this ritual of love.
The flower girl empties her basket of rose petals with a squeal of delight just as the bride and groom start their vows. Their baby boy in a miniature tuxedo is upside down trying to reach the daisy decoration on the wheel of his wagon. We're sure he will fall out and start wailing just as his Mom and Dad start the "I do"'s.
Cameras everywhere, but nothing bothers this man and woman as they proudly proclaim their promise to "honor each other" forever. We smile, and squeeze the hand of the loved one next to us.
The giggles and hugs, handshakes and toasts continue till sundown.
The next day we meet again with stories of the day before. We've left the stillness of the country and join in the din of city life.
Off in the distance the dragon boats slice the water, the bicycles spin their wheels, and the dogs seem attached to invisible leashes - who would believe there are so many different kinds of dogs!
We meet for lunch outdoors the next day on the wharf. The warm sunshine has made everyone a bit giddy, and the lunch crowd is noisy and talkative.
We are lucky. We are a lucky country to be able to live this way in security, and freedom against this stunning background of the mountains and the sea.
We're sorry to see it end with all the goodbyes "until the next time". Such great family. Such great friends.
Next day we leave the city again and head back to quieter roads and highways, back to our search for "home".

Movin' On - the neighbors

He has lots of white hair. Good looking guy - he's up early every morning standing on the deck in front of his room - smoking.
The guy downstairs is also standing in front of his room in his stocking feet - he's standing right where his car should be parked - smoking. He's a happy cat - loves watching the world - the planes taking off, the dogs heading out for their walk - the gardener with his hose.
The woman is big - a big good looking woman. Blond hair, white shorts, blue shirt. She's standing behind a parked car - smoking.
The tough guy is standing beside his truck with a cup of coffee. Big work boots, heavy pants, bit of a belly. He's smoking in a hasty sort of way and gulping his coffee as if he were late.

The woman's guy appears. Long white hair - surprisingly beautiful white hair. He holds out his hand to her and then lights his cigarette. Next time I look she's gone, and he's taken her place. Just standing quietly - smoking.

Now this is a nice place we're in. Perhaps a bit blue collar. But immaculate, well managed, beautiful gardens, happy staff, often full to the brim of a summer evening. So where does all this smoking come from?

And they all seem to know that under the stairwells leading to the second deck, there is a secret place for the cigarette butts. I wonder how come they know this?

The beleaguered smoker. "This room has been serviced for our non-smoking guests. A $200 cleaning fee will be assessed if anyone smokes in this non-smoking room".

It must get cold standing outside in the winter time. They must feel as if the teacher had told them to go stand in the corner for mis-behaviour. And they all hold their cigarettes in a furtive sort of manner, as if they were trying to hide it, as if they weren't really smoking -