Not Your Typical Memorial Day Weekend

The forecasters had predicted a less than stellar weekend from a weather perspective.  That was OK by us- it had been a hectic week and we were just looking forward to some time off. While out to dinner on Friday night we ran into the local celebrity- Luis Tiant. He lives on a nearby golf course- according to the commercials on TV- and we've debated whether or not he ever spends time here. Apparently he does!  

My husband was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday and got to work on the bureau. He reassembled it and put on the first of what would be three coats of stain. 

Late in the afternoon, my husband was looking out the window and spotted a hummingbird feeding on the bleeding heart plant near the garage.  Last summer in Indiana, we stayed at a resort that had several feeders and plants near a huge window. There were dozens of hummingbirds buzzing around all day- my first ever sighting of a hummingbird. It almost doesn't count though. They designed the area to attract them. The one we saw this weekend, was "in the wild." I'm counting that as another first. 

We woke on Sunday to news of snow in NH and ME!!! Are you kidding me? SNOW? On Memorial Day Weekend? I know this is New England but never in my life had I heard of that happening here.  One ski area in Maine got 10 inches and opened for free skiing. The Lakes Region in NH got flurries and some areas had accumulation of varying amounts. Forget cookouts and BBQ's, I made a pot of soup and baked some bread. Yup, I made bread. It was a super simple recipe I found on Pinterest and perfect for a rookie bread baker.  The recipe is on pinlavie.com. And she wasn't kidding, this really is the easiest bread to make. I got two small loaves and I was as proud as a peacock. Web address is below- try it. You won't believe how easy and good it is.

http://pinlavie.com/the-best-and-easiest-bread-you-will-ever-make/

We had a quick visit with friends in the afternoon. How long has it been since you built a pillow fort? Or had genuine fun using a vacuum?? 

Monday morning was clear but cool. We missed the parade but made it to the beach in the afternoon. I was wearing a true New England ensemble: flip flops, jeans, sweater and a down vest. It was comfortable but windy.  Based on the burn on my face, it was both sunny and windy. Note to self- you burn easily and should NEVER go to the beach without sunscreen. Sigh...this is a lesson that I can't seem to learn.

Next weekend is supposed to be in the 90's!! Hopefully the bureau will have dried by then so we can move it out of the garage. It looks awesome. Here is a before and after:

It was stained, scratched and broken.  The top was cracked and split, held together by one nail. The drawers didn't work either. It was a bigger project than we realized.  Now it's solid piece of furniture. We can't believe it came out so well. It just needs to dry...

Now we jam five days of work into four and look forward to our first real trip to the beach next weekend! My burn should be better by then.