day 215 of 365

My daughter and I spotted this at the hairdressers, and send it out to all our fellow gingers out there. Lest we forget.

day 214 of 365

Today I invite you to experience The Spoken Wood, a new blog by friend Dan Santos (who has appeared in these posts several times before). Dan is an amazing fine woodworker (I took the photo above in his fantastic shop) and has now joined us in blog-land with thoughts about and photos of the art of woodworking. So, stop by his blog and say hello... and tell him Lucy sent you.

day 213 of 365

One stop shopping -- salvation and a dining room set. A heavenly combination.

day 212 of 365

You are invited to join me and a group of like-minded ladies in our new collaborative venture: mortal muses. Come and get creative...get inspired... and share your vision of the world around you. Hope to see you there!

day 211 of 365

day 210 of 365

Biker boys at the beach.

day 209 of 365

Those of you who've been following this blog for awhile have seen bits of pieces of me, but not really the whole enchilada. So, by way of introduction, here I am (that's me standing in the middle), with my favorite gals -- family friend Fallon, my daughter Hannah, and my mom, after a lovely swim. Ah, summer.

For more photos of our day, click here.

day 208 of 365

My grandmother used Parson's Sudsy Ammonia to clean just about everything. Armed with a bottle of this stuff, a can of Comet, some Old English furniture polish, and (in a nod to the 1970s), some Mop N Glo, she believed you had almost everything you'd need to keep your house sparkling. Throw in some silver polish and you were all set. Her mantra was: "If your windows are clean and your silver is polished, no one will notice the dust."

I need a mantra like that. Something for the 21st century. How about: "If your life is hectic but your intentions are good, your friends will forgive your slovenly housekeeping?"

day 207 of 365

Thyme thyme tickin'.
Tickin'.
Tickin' away.

I think my 15 minutes of fame are up now. Back to real life.

day 206 of 365

Photographer of the Week. That has a really nice ring to it. Click the photo to experience my 15 minutes of fame.

day 205 of 365

When you come to Cape Cod, you really must try the ice. It is made with genuine water and packaged in lovely see-through plastic bags. And it's available at quality convenience stores and gas stations Cape-wide.

day 204 of 365

I was rummaging around in old boxes over the weekend and found my old diary. If you ever had the urge to snoop in someone's diary, here's your chance. Mine was a 5-year version, with a little lock on the front and a sticker that said "PLEASE! Keep out!"

These were some extra-special things I recorded in the back of the diary that happened over the 5 years. In the first entry, around 1966 or 7, I enjoyed hiking. In the second entry, our cat died. In the third entry, around 1968, a family friend who had lived with us for several months finally moved out. In the 4th entry, 1969, we moved from California to Rhode Island. And in the final entry at Thanksgiving in 1969 or 1970, at age 11 or 12, well..!

I guess that's why I don't drink anymore! :)

day 203 of 365

The place to be on a hot summer night.

day 202 of 365

Light northwesterly winds, according to the mermaidvane.

special bonus post

In yesterday's post I mentioned that I wore some pretty interesting color combinations back in 5th grade. That's me, the tallest one, third from the left, gazing lovingly at my lemon popsicle. If you can imagine the pink stockings, an orange dress, and the turquoise poncho then you've got the idea. This was at Carmel Middle School in Carmel California, circa 1968, and these were my popsicle-eating pals.

day 201 of 365

In my ongoing exploration of color, I give you: pink. Back in 1968 I had a pair of fishnet stockings this color, that I wore with my orange culotte dress. When I wore that outfit I felt like the hippest 5th grader EVER.

day 200 of 365

To celebrate day 200, I send you a postcard from Cape Cod. I'd love to hear from everyone who stops by today. Write your own postcard message and tell me where you're visiting from.

Happy day 200!

day 199 of 365

Think back to age 17. Where were you and what were you doing on a summer day in July?

day 198 of 365

My daughter went through a phase at about age 11 or so when she wrote upbeat messages on nearly everything in the house. Now that she's 16, a few of the messages still linger, like nostalgic little glimpses of her former self.

day 197 of 365

I just love the colors in these photos in the new book The Printed Picture by Richard Benson. And there are over 300 others -- and Benson's readable history of the printing of images.

I command you: Get thee to thy library or bookstore and check out this book posthaste.

day 196 of 365

You'll find her here.

day 195 of 365

The ghost of cookouts past....

To learn more about this old abandoned grill, click here.

day 194 of 365

What do this face and Welcome to the Monkey House have in common? They were both created by Vonneguts. The face above is part of a painting on the walls of the underpass on Route 6A in Barnstable, and was created by artist Edie Vonnegut. The underpass paintings were even turned into a radio play. And of course Welcome to the Monkey House is author Kurt Vonnegut's collection of essays, including one on Barnstable Village and the Sturgis Library, where I work. You can read that highly amusing essay here.

day 193 of 365

Do you believe in luck? Magic? Wishful thinking? This tenacious little clover plant is growing from a tiny crack in a brick walkway under an outdoor bench. And yet it still manages to manifest a 4-leaf cluster. Luck, wishes, and magic all rolled into one.

day 192 of 365

I'm trying to come up with a clever slogan for this one. Something about "going the distance" or taking it "to the max." The exact wording eludes me.

But what I can say with enthusiasm: what could be better on a hot summer day than a brand new sprinkler?

day 191 of 365

I was a biter as a child. I bit my parents and my sisters and my little friends. I even bit the neighbor's dog. My parents tried all the remedies popular in the early 1960s, including biting me back. I don't think they ever tried putting a fence around me and nailing up a sign. That might have done the trick.

day 190 of 365

Oh dear. I think someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.

day 189 of 365

This dog was in the 4th of July parade in Barnstable Village, and his face just epitomizes the whole 4th holiday for me -- a feeling of goofy bright-eyed happiness where we let go of our political persuasions and ideology for just an hour or two, and strut around, glad to be alive on a blue-skied day in July.

You can see all the parade shots here.

day 188 of 365

We put these stickers on copies of popular new books here at the library.

If you had a roll of these stickers, what would you put them on? What are the most wanted things in your life?

day 187 of 365

LibrarY = great.
LibrarIES = heaven.

day 186 of 365

'Tis better to give than receive...

I liked the lines and light shining through this "wall of donors" at the Goldfarb Library at Brandeis University.

day 185 of 365

A little restroom wisdom on this first day of July. Click here for a little musical accompaniment.