Beach Reality

Long Island summers mean fun in the sun. We are total beach bums around here and the water is where its at. So like last weekends evening fun on the beach, this weekends big event was going out on our friend Ned's boat for an hour or so around dusk. We live on the north shore of LI on a peninsula with water on 3 sides of our town. Hempstead Harbor which encompases 1/3 of our shoreline here is a super sad example of urban decay, over development and total neglect. Its so beautiful yet so depressing. Here's a blurb about our water from the coalition to save Hempstead Harbor

There were many instances of beach closures due to high bacteria levels, some due to direct discharge of sewage into the harbor from the former aging Roslyn treatment plant. Several superfund sites were discovered along its shores. Rotting wooden barges lined the lower harbor and sat there for decades before funding and responsibility for their removal could be ironed out. The Village of Sea Cliff even resorted to installing “Gunderboom” around its beach in an effort to keep contaminants from interfering with swimmers. Once the most productive oystering harbor in New York, it is now entirely closed to shellfishing. Low oxygen levels led to periodic fish kills.

-HempsteadHarbor.org/about_us

Now I live in and grew up in Glen Cove which is on Matinecock Point which is more exposed to the vast Long Island Sound. But a portion of my town is on the other side of the point which is Hempstead Harbor. And our neighbor town of Sea Cliff and the super rich neighborhoods of Sands Point and Port Washington all share the Hempstead Harbor shoreline. I probably did more of my growing up swimming on the sound side of the point, but the beach front community that I grew up in is on the Harbor side of the point, so myself, my parents and my past and present Labrador Retrievers have spent countless lazy summer hours in that water, and well we're ok. At least we think we are. And all my crazy Sea Cliff friends have survived haha.You can get a better location idea here: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=hempstead%20harbor&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACAW_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

Anyway what I'm gettin at is with the industrial boom that took place back during the turn of the century and with the lax environmental regulations way back then too, its no wonder a dead end like Hempstead Harbor was doomed from the get go. Urban Spraw Man! People needed more and they hastily went about getting it. And at our environment's expense. But don't get me wrong, even as bad as the water is, like I've said, I have swam in it for the past 26 years and pretty much everybody I know has. And up to this point we've survived! I don't know maybe I'm being stupid. Maybe one day I'll realize what a mistake that was? I guess I can't help but feel like the chemicals dumped in a pool couldn't really be much better for one's body? At least in the sound its salt water and its amazing what salt water can do. Clears up skin, heals up scrapes, dries out itches, kills poison ivy. At least those are my experiences, so my thoughts are that the bacteria in the open water at least has a chance of dissipating where as pools just collect germs and I can't help but usually feel kinds gross and skeevy when I get out of a pool. And not too mention you reek like chlorine and your eyes burn. Yeah maybe your eyes burn from the salt, but I've been able to go out for the night straight from a full day at the beach and have decent hair and feel semi comfy. Going out straight after being in a pool just makes me feel gross and slimy. I've had some bad pool and hot tub experiences so needless to say I'm not a huge fan. But I do have a membership at our town's YMCA and they do have a nice outdoor pool that I plan on checking out. So maybe I'm being a hypocrite. I just never had the luxury of having a pool as a kid and all me and my sis ever knew where the beaches. I just really hope that my kids can swim in the sound just like how me and my sis did growing up swimming in the sound.

Tonight being out there reminded me of how lucky we are to live with this amazing gift. I wish it could be cleaner, but that blurb I posted earlier was from about 20 years ago and in that time the Harbor has made huge improvements. Ok maybe you still can't shellfish in there, but you can go around the other side of Matinecock Point and then your set. Its a sensitive subject around here. Especially with our area being such a fishing culture spot. Everybody points fingers and so on. All I know is that its beautiful here and I fully enjoyed myself tonight.

Beach Fun

It has been a serious scorcher the past few days. I hope everybody is staying cool and keeping hydrated. Tomorrow is supposed to be a whopping 99 degrees out! Welcome summer. So much for a spring, but that's usually the way it goes in these parts. Its spring for like a week, then it rains for like 3 weeks straight and then its in the 90's. Anyway the weather this past weekend was a perfect 10. It was warm, breezy and sunny. Perfect weekend for stocking the cooler and meeting the crew for an evening of free live music on one of our beaches. The was no other place I would have rather been. I ran into so many people I haven't seen in a while too! There was a decent breeze so the bugs stayed away and my friend Harry's band played some rockin' covers. Everybody was having such a great time.And to top off a great night, Mother Nature blessed us with a great sunset. We are so lucky to live on the water like we do. Its so beautiful. Sometimes I take it for granted. Especially when I'm feening for the mountains. But its a trade off. I can easily drive a few hours north and be in the mountains yet I can drive down the street or take a 5 minute walk and be on the water. I am very happy where I am. Well I hope you have a beautiful rest of the week and stay cool.

Hand made in the USA

Today I went to work wearing a skirt, shirt and scarf that were all made and purchased right here in the good ole USofA. Try and beat that one! I was super proud and although nobody else knew any better, I sure as hell did. Lately I have been trying to make a more concerted effort to support small businesses and independent entrepeneuers much like ourselves. Not only do we own a small business but my husband has begun hand building bicycles from scratch. Theres something to be said for homemade things. The thought and care that goes into the production and the hours spent laboring over whatever it is just to me makes it way more special and meaningful. So I'm not ashamed to spend a few extra bucks here or there on something that I know is supporting a person's livelihood. Here are a few items from some of the individuals who I have supported over the past year or so. This isn't all of them, but these few are from what I wore the past few days.

The skirt and scarf come from Gaia Conceptions out of Greensboro NC. The product of Andrea Crouse all pieces are handmade and hand dyed right in her studio in NC. Very eco conscious which I totally dig. Plus each piece is totally unique thanks to the variations of each dye bath. Great vibrant colors made from wonderful materials like organic cottons and organic hemps. The skirt is an organic hemp and is light and airy, great for summer. And the scarf is made from an organic cotton that is super soft and stretchy. Great for wrapping myself in while sitting at my desk freezing in the air conditioning now that its summer. Thanks to the wonderful world of etsy.com I was introduced to Gaia Conceptions and I scope out her shop often to check out the latest designs. To discover more about this wonderful eco friendly line of clothing, visit Andrea's website: http://gaiaconceptions.com/

Next I want to talk about my new favorite outdoor technical brand of clothing that I discovered back in December. Melanzana.Italian for the word Grapefruit, I have no idea how that relates to outdoor clothing, but it jives and works for them and for their custy's. Their motto is Original Functional Soulful. I have to say that I agree. I had my dad order me a long sleeve hoody fleece for Christmas and I pretty much lived in the thing for the entire winter. It kept me damn warm while skiing, was totally original, and most awesomely was long enough for my long torso! I was hooked so I had the hubby order me the t-shirt version for my birthday now that its summa time. The long sleever is a size large, so I thought I'd go for a little more of a slim fit with a medium and found that its a tad shorter than the large, but I didn't feel like waiting for an exchange so I kept it and have been pretty much living in this shirt now for the warm season. They are based in Leadville Colorado and employ a small staff that cuts, sews and sells all their goods right there out of their store. They don't sell to any retailers and rely pretty much on word of mouth. I don't know how I stumbled upon them but I'm glad I did. See more here: http://melanzana.com/catalog/index.php

Ok so we got my USA made fashion clothes and technical clothes covered. Now for my work pants. I always wanted to have a pair of Carhartt pants, but for some reason they never fit me right. I have lucked out with a pair of Carhartt overalls that I love, but as far as pants go, it just wasn't happening. I then attempted another work brand of pants called Mountain Khaki's and found myself having the same problem. The fits were just terrible. Too tight around my waist and then huge in the thighs. I guess when a girl wears a size 12, its too be assumed that she's got a huge ass and thunder thighs. Well not in my case. While I am a bit thick in the hips, I'm also 5'10" and have never been small or petitte by any means. Well lucky for me there is a gal out in Montana who had the same problem. Only she went ahead and did something about that. Meet my awesome pair of Red Ants Pants.

Not only do I wear them while working in the yard, but I've been wearing them pretty much all around. Whether down at the bike shop, running errands or even out for some drinks. They are comfortable and durable. Not too mention they fit me awesomely. The brainchild of Sarah Calhoun, Red Ants Pants are based out of White Sulfur Springs Montana and much like Melanzana, they are not sold thru retailers and rely on word of mouth. Each pair of pants is made in Seattle Washington and come with the choice of straight cut or curvy cut. Originally I got the curvy cut thinking that after my experiences with Carhartt and Mountain Khaki's I'd need a little extra room, but to my surprise I was wrong. And boy was I stoked on that! So I got the straight and I also got a boost to my self esteem while I was at it! And they are not just for ladies, guys have been known to rock out RAP too. See for yourself here: http://www.redantspants.com/. I'm hooked.

And finally for head ware (which I'm known for) I discovered thru a ski website this great little company called Recap Hats based outta Silverton Colorado. The one man operation of Anneka Herndon, Recap Hats takes an old pair of pants and turns them into a stylish yet functional hat. Anneka's hats were all over Telluride when I was there in January, but with me having a rather large head, I contacted her about making me one custom since the ones in Telluride weren't fitting me properly. She happily obliged. And this is what she whipped up for me.

The hat fits me perfectly and I wear it all the time, especially with my hair being at this in between length right now. To learn more about her hats and her story visit her website http://recaphats.com/.

Its amazing what the Internet has been able to provide for these small entrepreneurs ain't it? Each of them live thousands of miles away from me, but yet I was able to discover them and support them. Cheers to made in the USA!! Goodnight.

Weekend Wrap up

I hope everybody had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! We here on LI sure did. With temps soaring into the upper 80's all weekend, summer seems to be here in full swing. Perfect time to finally get out into the garden and tend to some things out there. First off I had to do some serious weeding. Like several hours worth of weeding thanks all that rain we previously had. And then I was finally able to transplant the seedlings. Thank goodness because I really don't think they were going to last much longer in the pots. They were pretty shocked at first, but now that its Wednesday they seem to be doing much better. Everything else is beginning to come to each's own.

But my next issue is a pest one. So my ma inlaw picked up lady bugs for me as a means to try and rid these bugs the el natural way. Unfortunately and not to my surprise most of the lady's were already dead. But we followed the directions and waited until later on in the evening and released them out there. The next morning all seemed well, the survivors were happily hanging out on all the plants. But as the week has progressed, the lady bugs have either skipped town on me or were lunch for the ravenous birds we've got around here. So today I had to resort to a pest spray which I really was hoping I wouldn't have to do. I really wanted to use Neem after reading about its great benefits, but when I found it at the hardware store near my job it was insanely expensive. And with the pending house purchase looming there was no way I could bring myself to shell out the money for it. So I found another organic pest killer called Safer Tomato & Vegetable Insect Killer. It meets the standards of the Organic Materials Review Institute so it sounded good to me. Plus at half the price of Neem I was sold. So I did what is says and sprayed my poor little plants this evening and hopefully the pests will skip town just like the lady bugs did. Otherwise its starting to look a little bit like a garden back there.

My inlaws were also super gracious enough to pick up a couple of flats of impatiens and some other flowers for me to plant in the containers around our patio this weekend. I'm so glad they did because they hit up a great little garden center in the next town over that is a bit pricey but always has great specimens. And I have to say that these impatiens are the prettiest ones I've yet to see.

I seriously spent the entire Saturday and Sunday of the weekend out in the yard and I loved every second of it. Then Monday we celebrated with our town's annual Memorial Day parade which my dad always marches in since he's a Vietnam Veteran. Thanks again Dad and all those who serve or have served!! We ended out the day with a small gathering on the patio with the hubby's family and called it a night. All in all it was a great weekend that yielded much accomplishing and satisfaction for me.

Whats been going on

Whats up slacker? That's what I've been saying to myself about blogging lately. This is what tends to happen with these blogging adventures of mine. I start off great and then as time progresses my blog digresses. Well a lot has happened in the past week or so since I last checked in. It finally stopped raining for one. I mean it seriously rained for about 2 weeks straight and it was downright miserable. The world didn't end like some were predicting. The Giro d'Italia is still going on, yes its still going on. The seedlings are finally outside hardening off and are going in the ground Saturday. Our favorite outdoor bar opened for the season! Yay for beers overlooking our local golf course which in turn overlooks the LI Sound. Its pretty sweet. And I survived the trip into NYC for Maifest with Caroline and Erica. Great day hanging out on the Hudson River drinking German beer and having fun. Yikes I probably should have kept my sunglasses on for this pic. Geez open ya eyes girl! Some pretty intense looking clouds rolled in so we dipped outta Pier 81 and headed across town to Times Square to check out some of the loonies. It was Judgement Day after all so we were bound to find some kinda scene.
OK well that wasn't hard! But then again its NYC and its Times Square so anything goes! Man I love NYC for all its kookiness and craziness. Theres no other place like it in the world and I wouldn't trade growing up in its shadow for anything! As much as I love the mountains and the slower life people live up north and out west, I have to say that this is where I belong. Which brings me to my last piece of news. We signed a contract on a house today. Yep right here in the town we both were born in, grew up in, and guess what? Its 4 houses away from our current location. Needless to say the inlaws are thrilled. Hubby couldn't even make it off his childhood street for Pete's sake. That's what this town tends to do. I'm not going to get into too much detail about the house just yet because we are still waiting for the sellers to sign the contract and then we have to work out financing. So there are still a lot of "ifs" but we cut a rather large check today and met with the lawyer so we're moving along here. Keep your fingers crossed that this whole thing works out. I'll explain more later on like in mid August.

Rain Rain your Making me Insane

The weather has been absolutely awful these last 3 days. It has pretty much been raining non stop and at times its been literally puring buckets. Its nice that I don't have to water the garden but I'm also a bit worried that this rain is just a bit too much for my infant garden to handle. Everything is just sopping wet. At least all this rain is forcing all the remaining pollen and green crap out of the trees. My patio is completely blanketed in it. I haven't even been able to get outside to check on things since the weekend so I have no idea whats emerged. I really hope this weather turns around soon because I really need to plant the seedlings soon and I haven't been able to harden them off outside either. Oh well, unfortunately I'm going into NYC Saturday so I won't be able to do any work out there. What the heck am I saying unfortunately for? I'm actually going to a Maifest which a German festival that celebrates the onset of spring. And we all know what those German's are good for. Beer, schnitzels and pretzels. Not too mention Liederhosen and om pah music. I'm going with the girls Erica and Caroline so we're looking forward to our day out sans guys. And with the exception of a few concerts I haven't been out in the City for a day time adventure since the NY Yankees ticker tape parade back in 2009. At least that's the last time I can think of off the top of my head. Anyway its time to check out so I'll sign off with a few photos of my soaked patio.

Here's hoping for sunny skies.

On a better note

Eeek sorry for the rather depressing post a few days ago. As you can tell I like the rest of the cycling community have been pretty upset over the loss of Wouter Weylandt. But life goes on and so did the Giro. Its Friday night at 11pm and I'm watching a replay of stage 7 right now. Other than that I'm pretty beat and I don't have much to report this evening. I did a good deal of weeding out in the garden this afternoon. My onions look awesome and the lettuce is starting to emerge as well as my peas. Last weekend I planted some pumpkins and gourds and I put in my green beans. That pretty much leaves my seedlings left to go in. They still seem kinda small so I'm not sure they will survive out there yet. I'm going to start hardening them off outside this week and then I'm going to put them in next weekend. I've also been working on a golf club cover for one of my friends. He's a huge Grateful Dead fan and asked for a Steal Your Face cover. Love it! He always challenges me with my crocheting. Last summer he asked me to make him NY Yankees club cover. He's got good taste, and the NYY cover is a huge hit down at our golf course.

Anyway if you get the Universal Sports channel I suggest you put it on sometime over the next two weeks and catch some of the Giro. They head up into the mountains next week and those stages are the best. The scenery is amazing and it brings back so many fond memories of my various trips to Europe. Each time I was over the pond I was high up in the mountains. Here's an old photo I just found from my first time over there. I'm at Monte Rosa in Italy, just like where the Giro is going on. Man look at those mountains. So majestic! Well as they say in Italy. Ciao!