"Look at that sea, girls- all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds." -L.M. Montgomery
There would be no sight-seeing on Tuesday. This was a day set aside for enjoying the sea. Whether watching it out the large windows or walking along its shores, this would be a day of peace, quiet, and ocean revelries.
We planned on sleeping in, but Angie had gone out for a morning run and had taken advantage of the unusually low tide, walking through the door with handfuls of sand dollars. We quickly roused the children. You can sleep in any day, but it's not everyday that sand dollars sprinkle the beach, free for the taking. Jessica decided to play the teenager card. It would require more than a seashell to drag her out of her much anticipated slumber. Everyone else was out the door in as much time it took to throw on some flip-flops.
The hunt was an enormous success. No one came home empty-handed. In fact, there were so many sand dollars that the kids had the luxury of being picky in their search. They began to pass by the broken sand dollars and to seek out only those that had been unharmed.
The kids brought home their treasures and set them out on the deck to dry.
After breakfast, the kids decided they were chilly and wanted to warm up in the hot tub. This is the first year that we've actually allowed the children to enjoy the hot tub. In previous years, the adult to child ratio led us to restrict the hot tub to adults only. Our party was small enough this year and the children old enough to allow them to have at the hot tub whenever they felt the inclination, which was a couple of times a day. It was hard to believe that it was 104 degrees at home in Utah, and we were trying to warm up in the hot tub. Oregon has perfect hot-tubbing weather. The cold air coming off the ocean feels so good as you relax in the warm water, and the sound of the waves roaring onto the shore beneath you is absolutely therapeutic.
We had all sorts of new literature to devour while in our beach house. This young lady, who has only completed maybe four books in her lifetime, read an entire book on this vacation. It's a miracle really. The sea holds all sorts of magic in its tumbling waters.
There were just so many comfortable and picturesque places to sit down and read a book. I had purchased a book at Powell's all about a Norwegian woman at the turn of the century who decided to accept the challenge to walk across the country with her 18 year old daughter to win a cash prize that would save their farm. Their journey started not far from where we sat, in Spokane Washington. It was an enjoyable light read. I love to read about experiences of those in the area I'm visiting. To read of this 40 year old Norwegian crossing the Blue Mountains in her Victorian dress with nothing more than some pepper spray, a hatchet, and a curling iron, was quite fascinating. I reminisced going up that mountain just five days earlier in our minivan, and marveled at this courageous woman.
Mor Mor and the kids spent plenty of time working on puzzles. Another therapeutic activity. This puzzle of Portland proved fairly challenging, but when you have all the time in the world, accepting such a challenge is no problem. It was completed by the end of the day.
Boredom was a luxury that we all could afford, and in fact welcomed with open arms. We weren't bored really. We were in "Nootta" mode and quite content to remain there. I'm sure I've spelled it incorrectly. I spelled it the way we pronounce it. Nootta is what my Swedish grandmother called it when she would go outside with a blanket, a Swedish magazine, and an orange. She was doing nothing, but really everything. There was a whole lot of Nootta going on in this house this day.
Every so often, the kids would run out and enjoy the beach, while the rest of us enjoyed some good music and a good book, or just stared out onto the vast shoreline before us.
Eventually, we all got hungry. It's funny how I never feel like cooking, except for when I'm in a gorgeous kitchen that isn't my own, cooking with delicious ingredients straight from the farmer's market. Suddenly I felt an inner Julia Child surfacing.
It helps when you're cooking with your sister and mother. I really think that extended families should just live together in large houses on the beach always. It seems like that is just how we were meant to exist.
Now doesn't that look like a delicious pasta sauce we were mixing up there?
It was delicious. And so was the bruschetta and fresh sliced bread, and garden salad that accompanied the pasta and sauce.
It was a great way to end a nootta day. The evening hours were spent playing games and enjoying the sound of the ocean and the moonlight from the hot tub. Nootta.
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