An Artists' Life

ZZ had me laughing and laughing last week because she told me she had a big treat. Mama let her and Baya stick their heads in the air conditioner! I couldn't help it, I kept laughing every now and then throughout our conversation. Later I learned from Rebecca that it was so hot it their cottage at Little Compton Beach that she let them stand in front of the refrigerator and stick their little heads right in there. Well Esme found that absolutely the most amazing thing possible... almost made up for the ghastly heat they suffered that week. R told me she was glad I had decided the trip might be a bit much for me, because of that heat. She said it was terrible, and the cottage didn't have enough wiring to support a microwave. Things tend to be primitive at the shore, and besides, they don't spend much time there during the day. But I need my rest time, and how would I do that cooking on the beach, or frying in the cottage?

Lucky indeed I felt I needed to stay home and just enjoy the ordinary comforts of our simple life. Cool most all the day in air conditioned comfort. Thank heavens. A heated pool. I feel so decadent, but it came with the house, so I can't claim I even thought it up. But so many people enjoy splashing around in it, that it's almost a public pool, which is how i like it. The only thing I miss are ZZ and Baya in the pool too... todays' kids were Maggie the baby, who was very happy until she had a mouthful of pool, poor dear; she is a real happy little fish.

And also today brough Maggies' new friend Christopher, who is a 1 1/2 year old boy; a rarity in this group of little girls and baby girls... he is a darling little energetic fellow. Big and playful, much more blustery in his play. I could see where he would be a bit much for the twins at this point. But perhaps it was pool excitement... he was thrilled to be allowed to throw my flip-flops into the pool endlessly, and then laugh as we dumb adults swam around fishing them out. A fun game for him, as well as throwing every single thing along side the pool he could find into the pool. I thought it very funny, really. It reminded me of the David Lettermen skit 'Will It Float'. He reminded Stevie of the same thing. So it was for sure funny.

I am avoiding any further irritation to my annoying skin rash by slathering myself in SPF 1000. Seriously, I don't think it works any better above 15, we just read that, someone in the family. But we're using up our bottle of SPF 30, that stuff was expensive, and organic, so we're not getting wasteful and throw it away. It was fun watching it fly into the pool about 50 times today. Christopher has a real thing with repetition, I noticed a lot of the little ones seem to love doing the same things over and over... my pediatrician - can you believe I remember this? - told me attention span is the only measure of intelligence in young babies, toddlers, and if that is the case, both Maggie and Christopher join in the long attention span babies to pass through here in the last two years... fun to watch, hard on their mamas and dadas.

Well tomorrow Beth arrives at last; we already spent tonight with Shirley, and maybe tomorrow night we'll sit down together all four of us. That will be cause for celebration, for it's been 11 years since we've been together. Too long for such good friends. Shirley and Beth conspired to create 'Stevie and Faye', so you can see, they are core people in our lives. I am not sure we'll ever forgive them! No, that is just my kind of humor. Awful.

Off to bed, tomorrow is an early one, and I have no intention of dragging around. I can't wait to see my old buddy, and I mean can't wait. I probably will be counting sheep tonight, thinking about it...