Father's Day

I hope you all had a nice Father's Day. Here's my Dad when he was in the Navy.



We had a nice day, my dad, my sister and I. My sister bought us breakfast. We went to our usual spot Frannie's. Then my dad watched the US Open on television, my sister visited my mom, and I did a little grocery shopping and prepared for dinner. I was hosting Father's Day at my condo.



We had greek salad, baked haddock, roasted potatoes, and broccolini with garlic.




And for dessert, we had strawberry shortcake with whipped cream. There were a few presents too. And both my sister and I tried to find what we call mushy Father's Day cards but there were none to be had. My dad usually gives us mushy cards so we wanted to reciprocate. I like mushy cards don't you? They let you say the things you want to say but sometimes you just can't. Especially if you're not the mushy type. I am not the mushy type and either is my sister.

It was great spending time together today.

My Place by the Sea in Rockport

If you read my last post, you know that I went to Rockport on Tuesday to celebrate my birthday. I had dinner with my friend Debbi and we dined at Brackett's Oceanview. Then on Thursday night, I went back to Rockport with my sister and our friends Mary and Don.



Mary and Don have been married for 30 years so Sheila and I took them out to celebrate. Mary wanted to go to Rockport. We decided to go to My Place by the Sea which is a restaurant located at the tip of Bearskin Neck. It is as close to the ocean as you can get.

This is my dinner, Lobster Quesadillas. It's actually an appetizer but I ate it as a dinner. Well, I split it with my sister and she split her dinner with me.



She had the panko crusted cod. So did Don. Both dishes were delicious.



Mary went with the Roasted Salmon. We had the best bread, you really didn't need butter, it was that good. But the butter was an herb butter so we ate it.



Here's a shot of my sister with a cool iron grate in the background.



The inside of the restaurant as seen from our table. The decor was clean and simple and really lovely. The curtains were made of linen and tied up with raffia. Neutral colors were used throughout. What color do you really need when you gave the big blue ocean right outside your window? The striped awning you see is outside on the patio.




Mary and Don clinked their dessert spoons to celebrate 30 years of marriage. We split a dessert of warm apple crunch with cinnamon ice cream and a caramel drizzle. Yum!



The deck was not used because it was windy and a bit cool out. It had rained earlier in the day. We thought the night might be a washout but we were wrong.




Before we headed out, I just had to take a photo of this fun hat display.



Sometime, I would love to return and dine on this patio. It is so pretty when it is illuminated at night.



As you can see, the sun was trying to come out. Would I get the pinky sky I was hoping for?



This is Jodi, out for her evening walk. We met her outside the restaurant.




Look the sky is getting pink!




We looked in the window at Helmut's Streudel shop. Closed again! Are they ever open? We wanted to take home a box of streudel.




The Motif No 1 was looking good as always.




So was the harbor.




The sunset was beautiful, the cloudiness had cleared and we took a few shots of the gorgeous scene and then we headed home. We had a wonderful evening that felt more like a mini vacation.

A Birthday in Rockport

A quick post today. It's my birthday and tonight I went to one of my favorite places, Rockport. I wanted to take the day off from work but I couldn't. So my friend Debbi and I went for dinner. This is the view from our table.



My favorite streudel shop was closed again. With no hours posted, it's hard to figure out when they're open. This shop was open and it was very cute. It had a nice mix of old and new items.



There wasn't much light so it was difficult to take crisp photos. I don't care. The night was beautiful. A tad cool by the water but that was fine with me.



The sky had just a hint of pink in it.



The sunsets are always gorgeous in Rockport.



Waterfront dining. This restaurant is in the best spot.



You can see the famous Motif No. 1 in the distance.





Ships in the harbor.



Same ship but I moved half an inch.



And again. I do like the view from this wharf.



Illuminated ice cream shop.



Harbor scene.



Another Harbor scene. Again moving a half inch. Do you ever do that with your shots?





Looking for pink sky.



Hardly any here.



I found more pink here.




And it looks like I found a new friend too! Isn't he cute?

Tea at Pauline's

Today the tea group met at Pauline's house. The newly married Pauline had recently moved and she wanted us all to see her new space.



She served chicken salad with curry sandwiches.



Also on the menu, mushroom, shrimp, and fruit something sandwiches. I sampled all four sandwiches and they were all delicious!

We also had scones wiht creme fraiche, apricot jam, and lemon curd.



The tea was of course delicious. Pauline used her Susam Branch teapot. It was so cute with quotes printed all over it.



Her home has crystal doorknobs. Love it!



Lots of charm all over the apartment.



Just look at that built in china cabinet! Gorgeous!



Pauline's cat Whisper has adjusted to the move and took up residence on the guest room bed.




We had a spoon swap. Everyone who wanted to participate brought a gift wrapped spoon. This was my contribution.



And I went home with this lovely 1890's spoon from Lori Lee.



For dessert, we had brownies, cupcakes, and lemon squares. The cupcakes were from a bakery called Cake.



We also had pound cake with strawberry sauce. Yum!



As always, we had a group shot taken. We like to have a record of each tea.


As we were leaving, Pauline presented each guest with a candle as a favor. We had a lovely afternoon with good food and conversation in an intimate setting. It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.