Posted tagged ‘fried clams’

“The human soul can always use a new tradition. Sometimes we require them.”

April 4, 2017

The rain is heavy at times. I heard it pounding the roof just as I was involuntarily woken up by the ringing of the doorbell. It was a Comcast technician. It seems that somebody dug without calling Safe Dig, and they snipped my neighbor’s phone line. They were checking with me as I once had an invisible fence and that got snipped as well. The Comcast guy was glad to hear he didn’t have to worry about it. A couple of guys have been outside for close to 3 hours. They look miserable.

I’m supposed to take some comfort in April showers, but I figure May flowers would pop up anyway, and some sun would be a good thing. If it weren’t the crocus and the dafs in my front garden, I’d be wondering where spring is hiding.

The wind is fierce and is blowing all the pine tree limbs. They are stark and winter bare. I could lose more branches or small trees; of course, the yard was just cleared a couple of weeks ago. Isn’t that the way?

Gracie needs a vet appointment. Her back legs slide, and she has trouble keeping control on the tile floor in the kitchen and going down the inside stairs. The treads I ordered for the outside stairs are here, but I may use them inside as that’s where the problems are. I haven’t had a Boxer get this old before so I’m learning how to make life easier for her.

The Red Sox opened the season yesterday with a win over the Pirates. I am so excited that baseball is back for so many reasons, but the best reason is that opening day is the first indicator of summer for me. The countdown to summer has begun.

The second summer indicator is dinner at Captain Frosty’s with my friends. This year Captain Frosty’s opens on April 13th, and we’ll be there on opening day the same as we are every year. I can already see my plate filled with fish and fried clams (with the bellies of course), French fries, and a clam cake. I’ll have onion rings on the side to share. The last and final tradition heralding spring is Easter dinner at the Ocean House. We get dressy, and last year I added a hat. Well, it was not so much a hat as a spring fascinator, and it got lots of smiles. I’ve a new one for this year. Our small pink rabbit comes with us every year. She has a prominent place on the table.

The last and final tradition heralding spring is Easter dinner at the Ocean House. We get dressy, and last year I added a hat. Well, it was not so much a hat as a spring fascinator, and it got lots of smiles. I’ve a new one for this year. Our small pink rabbit comes with us every year and has a prominent place on the table. Dinner is always superb.

I feel happier. It may be cold and rainy, but spring is coming. One down, two more to go!

“Food is an important part of a balanced diet.”

July 14, 2016

I woke up to sun and now it is cloudy. The official report says a partly cloudy day with 78˚ as the high. Weather reports never seem optimistic. This is a half full, half empty sort of prediction. The optimist would say partly sunny.

It hasn’t rained much in a while. We had spitting rain one morning, but that’s about it. The cape, though, is not under a drought warning. Neither is the western part of the state, but the rest of the state is. I miss the summer rain.

I love onion rings, not the thick ones but the skinny ones with the light batter. Two seafood restaurants I really like serve them, and I always order a plate with onion rings. Lately I’ve ordered clams. Neither restaurant serves clams without the bellies. Those are for the tourists. The plates come heaped with clams, onion rings and French fries. I always eat the French fries last because sometimes I run out of room and would never want to leave a clam or an onion ring.

At a pub or a similar eatery, I usually order cheeseburgers covered with cheddar cheese. They usually come topped with lettuce and tomatoes with French fries on the side. I use mayonnaise on my French fries and my cheeseburger. I am not a big ketchup fan. I don’t know why but I consider ketchup on hot dogs and scrambled eggs as trevesties.

I have the TV on, unusual for me during the day. I’m finding most of the commercials are aimed at old people by age, not disposition. I have seen several about buying life insurance not dependent on physical condition or how old you are. A couple of commercials are touting the I’ve fallen and can’t get up alert button. The companies must figure only older people are home during the day.

I got all my errands finished yesterday. This morning I made my bed, and now I’m done.

“The snow doesn’t give a soft white damn whom it touches.”

February 15, 2013

Sometimes, if you’re really lucky, you have one of those moments that just makes every part of you smile. Last night was trivia night. I arrived early to get a table for all of us, ordered a drink and just sat and looked around. It was Cape Cod I was seeing, the old Cape when in winter most places shut their doors and the summer people are long gone. At the Chatham Squire the walls are wood paneling like the old small summer cabins were, but there were even more remnants of the Cape I knew when I was young. Lots of guys had beards with lots of grey and the guys wore sweatshirts with hoods, not hoodies, but sweatshirts with hoods, and dark wool watch caps and you knew many were fishermen. Women wore heavy sweaters or sweatshirts and little make-up. Conversations were loud. It was like everyone knew everyone else. Music was playing, and I was about as content as I’ve been in a while. My team was running late, but I knew they’d make it in time. I was in the mood for seafood and had the fried clams. At the end of the evening, we didn’t win; in fact, we were awful, but we didn’t care. We went for the fun of it, for the companionship and for the laughs. It was a perfect evening.

Today is a beautiful day. It is supposed to hit 45˚. I know the ice is already melted, but it will freeze again tonight, and I’ll slip on it again tomorrow. Snow is a possibility for the weekend with snow showers Saturday and heavier snow on Sunday. I’m pretty sick of it. Snow is a kid’s thing. Adults look and first think about how beautiful it is. The falling snow quiets the world and leaves a pristine landscape like the front of a Christmas card then the snow stops then comes the shoveling, the cold hands, wet feet and misery. Meanwhile, kids throw snowballs and sled down hills. School is out for the day. Snow is wonderful.

I, however, have both feet in the adult camp right now. I’m still living with the misery of that last storm, and I’ll be hard-pressed to think how beautiful when it starts to snow again on Sunday. It’s going to take a while before I leave the outside light on so I can watch the snow fall the way I used to a few short weeks ago.