Where There's a Will There's a Way

As most or all of you know, I have been in the States for the last two months primarily readying our home in Cape Cod for another summer rental season. Now that I've returned to Singapore, I thought I might share some highlights with you!

A clear but cool day at Nauset Beach

When I arrived the first week of May, it was quite cool and gray with (as it turned out) record rain for the month. This was not at all as anticipated since my good friends of the East (you know who you are!) had all exclaimed over how warm both March and April had been. Indeed everything was in early bloom but a trip to my ever-favorite Nauset Beach at that time required long pants and a moderately heavy sweater (as you can see).

Jazmin Graduates!

The wet weather also played havoc with my hired painter's progress on replacing and repainting rotten trim on the house. Of course, I held no sorrow for his woes since we had originally hired him last fall and could not understand why he had made no progress in those previous warmer months! My main concern, however, was that the job be completed before our first renter was due to arrive on June 2nd. Given the weather delays and a job bigger than originally calculated, it required a three-man team to complete everything working through more than one weekend including my beautiful niece's graduation from Bryant University in Rhode Island and Memorial Day weekend. I provided cold water and merrily went on about my own business without a tear while they toiled. Nice guys, job well done in the end but barely finished in time!

Mother's Day was a very special treat for me all due to Sarah's fun and generosity. We first met up in downtown Boston for a yummy brunch at this quaint bookstore and cafe. Then she took me to a Red Sox game where I was further treated to a memorial T-Shirt for the 100th Anniversary of Fenway Park as well as a new Green Monster hat! What more could a mother and Red Sox fan ask for? The team may not be doing well this year but the day was too good to be true! Catch a few more pics here and thank you again Sarah!

Mom at Lavender Fest!

While our first tenant's arrived, Sarah and I headed off to Texas for a visit with my mother and a side-trip to Austin. In contrast to Massachusetts, Texas was extremely hot and dry. The three of us managed to attend a Lavender Festival held annually in Blanco, Texas where we all managed to buy one or two trinkets from vendors and enjoyed some lavender lemonade to cool our parched throats (see more pics of our day). One lovely evening Mom treated Sarah and I to a steak dinner at the Pinnacle Restaurant, part of a golfing resort in town.

Me at the Ladybird Johnson
Wildflower Center

In Austin, Sarah and I explored the University of Texas including their huge stadium and after a bit of not-too-friendly negotiating, a tour of their athletic training facilities that Sarah wanted to compare with hers at the high school in Westboro. Of course it was massive and she was duly impressed though not so much with the rude staff. She speculated that it might be due to concerns about spies over the possible new athletes scoping out the university! Oh dear! Later we made our way to Ladybird Johnson's famous Wildflower Center (lots of pics here!) and enjoyed some good ole Texas BBQ - a delicious feast to be sure!

By the time we returned to Massachusetts, it too had warmed and it seemed summer had at last arrived! On top of that, John also arrived just in time to join in the fun! After that it was hitting all our favorite places, beaching it (pics including some interesting sand sculpture) and stopping over at other friends as well as Sarah's home to see firsthand all she'd been up to in her gardens and fix-up projects. Alas, John had only a week of free time before I dropped him off in Boston for a week-long customer event at Veson's headquarters. Then it was back to Singapore for both of us.

John is pleased!
The bike arrived in Singapore
safe and sound...

However, John had determined he was somehow going to take his bike (sitting idle in Cape Cod) to Singapore where he could enjoy the many bike trails there. This "little" venture resulted in a fair amount of sweat (packing it appropriately), logistics to get it to Logan Airport and money ($150 shipping fee). The packing alone took one-hour of show and tell from the guy at the bike shop who assembles all the bikes along with a fresh box and a generous amount of packing materials. Our good, dear friend Andy jumped in at the end to save the day! He transported John with his luggage and bike to Logan and then waited to make sure all went well. And then American Airlines got the bike as far as JFK but forgot to load it onto John's onward flights to Tokyo and Singapore. So it took a baggage claim and special delivery at the other end but here you see it came through with nary a scratch (except in the bike helmet) and is almost ready to ride once he figures out how to get the tires re-inflated! You can bet each ride will be savored but also tracked and counted since several of us (yes, including me) weren't keen on the brilliance of this idea in the first place! But you know the old adage, where there's a will, there's a way and John made sure of it!

Lastly, during my final week on the Cape while John was in Boston I was treated daily to a parade of this family of wild turkeys through our back yard - three hens and seven "jakes" (babes)! Made my day...