Last week kind of sucked.
Monday, I got a call from the nurse at Pepper's school. "Nothing to worry about, she fell backward and bonked her head, we're putting ice on it, we'll send her back to class in a little while." 15 minutes later: "Hi, actually, I think you need to come get her." Upon arrival at school: "Well, she's dizzy and nauseous and I really think you should take her to the doctor." Off to the hospital we went. Long story short, she's fine and we even had the same triage nurse who treated Peanut when he smushed his finger last fall. She saw us walk in and said, "Oh, you're Dr. (his first name)'s little girl!" Ah, life in a small town.
Tuesday was uneventful until Dr. V. arrived home and called me out to the garage to show me the back end of his car. Recipe for Disaster: take one 17 year old boy, give him his license and a pickup truck and wait 5 months. Now, mind your own business while stopped for a vehicle in front of you to make a turn and voila! You now have a nicely crumpled sedan!
Wednesday, the new fridge showed up and I discovered more evidence that the workmen who built our house weren't really "detail guys." Let's just say a hacksaw and a chisel were involved in making the 35 3/4" wide fridge fit into the existing cabinetry. I had measured quite carefully the 36" width at the top, but it turns out that the casement molding had been attached at a slight angle, leaving only a 35 1/4" opening at the very bottom. And while the workmen may not have been detail guys? Hoo boy, they sure knew how to attach that molding securely! It's not pretty, but the fridge eventually fit.
BUT! It all floated away in a haze of awesomeness when I was informed by my wonderful (and popular with the E.R. staff) husband that he was taking me away for the weekend to a mystery destination for our anniversary. His sister and her husband came down and stayed at the house with the kids and spoiled them rotten, and we took the fast ferry over to Nantucket and had a dreamy mini-vacation that felt like far longer than 30 hours.
We walked from the ferry to the fabulous Veranda House admiring all the historic houses and cobblestone streets and were able to check in early, which was nice since I desperately needed a nap. We walked around town in the afternoon, had lunch on the soda fountain stools at the pharmacy/general store on Main Street, and wandered in and out of stores without buying anything because it all looked exactly like everything for sale back home on the Cape. We headed back to the inn and read for a while, and then we got all dolled up and went to this restaurant and splurged on the tasting menu with wine pairing, one of our favorite "big event" things to do.
Unlike other wine pairing-type meals we've had, this one (thanks to the friendly and heavy pouring bartender) included a full glass of wine with each course. All SEVEN of them. At one point, I had 4 nearly-full glasses of various types of wine arrayed around my plate, but seeing as how I would have to walk back to the hotel in heels in the rain, I exercised restraint. Ah, practical middle age! It was delicious, though, and very relaxing - there is something wonderfully decadent about a 3 hour meal, even when you don't drink all the wine.
The next morning we enjoyed the inn's twee little continental breakfast and then took a bus tour of the island, because we are Huge Dorks. Honestly, though - I always enjoy the place I'm visiting more after getting a little historical info about it, and Nantucket has lots of quirky and interesting tidbits to keep you entertained. Did you know there are only 9 approved house colors on the entire island? Plus, Maureen the tour guide was terrific. She's a special needs teacher from the Cape who gives tours on the weekends and summers, and she's funny and friendly without being corny or smarmy - a rarity on the tour bus circuit. (Island Bus Tours, get your tickets at the Hy-Line office on Straight Wharf. And no, this is not a sponsored plug.)
Then we settled in at one of the restaurants on the wharf leading to the ferry and enjoyed watching the people as we ate lunch... all of the blonde, tan, preppy people. Let's just say that there is not a lot of diversity in the visiting population. But, man - if your fashion sense runs to the prep school/New England WASP/sailing mode, Nantucket is your kind of place.
The people watching was great, though - the sun-weathered guy at the table next to us who could have been a Kennedy drinking his pint and pushing his over-long gray fringe off his forehead while he read an anthology of "Best Sailing Stories;" the towheaded kid who walked the handrail of the wheelchair ramp like a balance beam while his dad alternately yakked on his cell phone and yelled, "Grayson! DOWN!" like the kid was a bad, bad dog. My favorite was the group of wedding attendees headed for the ferry, herded by the hyper, wired guy talking a mile a minute to his massively hungover lurching zombie friends while obliviously trailing his groomsman's tuxedo, boutonnière and all, from the overstuffed hockey duffel bag he was using as luggage.
And with all that? This week is even busier.


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