Change of plans

So we didn’t get to the beach on Wednesday. We had planned to go to a nude one out in RI only to do a little research right before leaving and finding out that it’s been closed for years. Upon revisiting the idea of the beach we decided not to go since a) Chris doesn’t go in the water at all, b) we tend to go to the same shitty beach every year and it sucks every year, c) lying on the beach under the sun gets extremely boring after less than one hour. Instead we opted to drive to NH in search of fireworks.
We left the house late morning and headed north up 91. Along the way we decided to detour into Deerfield and visit Magic Wings butterfly conservatory to which neither of us had ever been. It was worth the while. Beautiful butterflies in quantities much like those in Harry Potter when he’s trying to retrieve the key. They also had little quail running around, a pet parrot, some bearded dragons, a large chameleon, some pigmy chameleons, poisonous tree frogs in different varieties, a tortoise, various bugs (including Hissing Madagascar Cockroaches– ew), and a few things that I’ve inevitably forgotten. When we left there we hit El Jardin bakery and grabbed a loaf of their rosemary & olive oil bread- so good! Then we were back on the highway.
We took the big road all the way to Brattleboro, VT, went through town and entered NH. We damn near drove by the fireworks shop, not quite though. They had signs all over the building “No smoking within 50 feet” and police posted at the doors to make sure that nobody entered with lighters or matches on their person (state law). The displays were pretty overwhelming for us. Lots of folks were in there with lists of what to buy and shopping carts piled way over the top. Lots of cars in the lot with MA & CT plates. We picked out one little, safe-looking kit that included nothing that shoots way up in the air. When we got to the register the woman informed us that everything was buy one get one free so Chris went back and grabbed another. We figure that we’ll bring one to a party that we’re going to on Saturday, and then use the other on the 4th of July.
We drove home exactly at the speed limit and with the air conditioning on. We deposited the fireworks in the basement against the most naked wall that we have, near nothing electronic or fuel storing. I really don’t like the idea of having them in the house at all.
Once home it was time to go back out again. We headed over to Holyoke Millwork to figure out which floor we want and get a price for it. We ended up finding that we’ll very likely go with a commercial grade floor so that it will stand up to my abuse, and we’ll have to wax it regularly. We learned a bit about flooring too. The sales guy had just stepped out when we got in so we conversed with the owner for a while.
After the Millwork we decided to head over to the Dove for a pint. On the way there we happened to be passing the building that is for sale that I would love to put a bakery in. What the hell, it’s vacation, so we stopped and I called the number listed. The owner was out for the day but I left a message for him to call me this morning. We’ll see. Never hurts to get all the info, right? On to the Dove where we each had an Allagash white and a ton of salted peanuts.
When we left the Dove we moseyed on over to Marshall‘s where I had two returns to make. Next we popped in to Whole Foods to grab some fresh berries, yogurt, and a four-pack of Allagash white. Because they rock at that store we had our perishable packed in ice and trucked ourselves over to Amherst Brewing Company for dinner. Chris had stuffed pork with french fries (omfg, pork loin stuffed with broccoli, roasted red peppers, cheese, turnip (?)) and corn on the cob. I got the jambalaya which was good too. Spicy enough to make me sweat and my nose run, but not burn my esophagus.
It was then time to go home. We putsed in the yard a little, played a few hands of cards, and then a huge storm rolled in. It lasted all of about 3 minutes and brought us no relief from the heat and humidity. We ended up staying out talking to the neighbors for about 2 hours, then they went in and we lit a fire in the pit. Bed came soon after that.
Today I’ve got laundry already started, I need to switch over our bed set to the summer version, there are dishes in the tub too. I also want to finish edging out the path up the hill in the back so that I can get another set of solar lights installed. I’m not usually a big fan of those lights at all, but Chris picked out a good set and I like them a lot. I have a salon appointment at 1:00 (I was supposed to wait until next weekend to cut my hair, but it’s too long and out of control and I’m going to a wedding tomorrow so I might as well look presentable), and I want to hit the Farmer’s market after that. Chris will be out golfing with his buddy Bill in a bit. He’s all excited because he got new golf balls for his birthday so he doesn’t have to go out and buy some just to play today (thanks Mom and Yoda). I guess it’s time to get off my ass now and get some stuff done.
J