Friday, July 22, 2005

Our Fab Beach Party Spread


Our Fab Beach Party Spread
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
So we have these beach parties every summer, and we just eat and eat and eat until the sun goes down. Then we make s'mores. Then the annoying police dude on the ATV interrupts us and tells us that open fires on the beach are illegal now. What ever happened to the good old days? Well, we never listen and we never really get in trouble. We just keep building our fires and apologizing and telling them that we haven't been to Nantucket in a long time. HA! They drive off, scratching their chins thinking... weren't those folks here 5 nights ago ?

Wave Jumper


Wave Jumper
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
The words "Nursemaid's elbow" roll over and over in my head when we do this move. Doesn't it look like Myles could just pop off those cute little arms?

Delightful


Delightful
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Need I say more?

Moon


Moon
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
"Mr. Moon Mr Moon you're out too soon the sun is still in the sky. Go back to bed and cover up your head and wait 'til the day's gone by..."

The Virgin Ruby


The Virgin Ruby
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Is this Mary, full of grace? Or is it just Ruby posing as an Afghani woman?

Best Bath Face Ever


Best Bath Face Ever
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.

sunny days

We are settling in to true family time. We get up between 6 and 7, we hang out, have breakfast and get geared up to watch Lance in France. I happily down about 2 giant cups of coffee while Ru and El skibble around the house and porch with their various toys and mini strollers. They just chatter and yell and repeat everything we say. If you ask Ruby to say "fart" she says "fuck" instead. I love it. Nothing like telling your 16 month old to say a gross word and she delivers a grosser one back at you. I totally get what I deserve from her. Ruby is a TOTAL nut and proud of it. I can see Eloise checking her sister out, sitting back and soaking it all in. When she's alone without the distraction of sis, she totally shines... but for the moment she's happy letting Ruby get all of the attention.

So we put them in their cribs for a nap around 10, and happily watch the end of various stages of Le Tour - uninterrupted. Today I witnessed 2 riders taking pisses during the race. Mystery solved! They don't just pee on their bike seats... they take a moment to coast, skooch their shorts down, penis goes out and they wizz off to the side. Mastery! Such finesse to wield a stream of urine while you cruise along at 20 mph in the French countryside... and the best part of all is that the stupid Brit commentator doesn't mention a thing about it, even if the camera is catching that very moment of tinkle. Ugh. We just talk in an overdone British accent all morning, especially repeating all of the fantastic names. Floyd Landis. Levi Leipheimer. Oscar Pierero. Juan Antonio Fletcha. Ivan Basso. Axel Merkx. Xavier Zandia. Can't get enough. It's better than the Chinese divers in the summer olympics. (Anybody remember Fu Ming Xia?) And the team names!!! Fassa Bartolo. T Mobile (remember, in brit speak it's Tee-Mo-Bile).

One part of me really can't wait to get back to summer in VT... the farmer's market in particular. My friends and their kids too... but finally I've come to recognize a nice little rhythm here on the Isle of White (oh wait, that's in England) and I don't know what to think about home. Where IS home for me? Myles hasn't even fully decided if he wants to take the Orthopaedics rotation in Worcester MA during September... because now he wants to pursue a rotation in Emergency Medicine in Providence RI. (Please please let's all collectively meditate on Rhode Island for us so I can go to RISD for my masters degree some time in the next 3 years.)

Well, my next task is to post some photos of our most glorious July. I hope whoever reads this recognizes how fucking amazing it is for us to "summer" in Nantucket. I have no doubt about how lucky we are to be here... even after all of my WASP bashing in previous posts. You just can't believe how gorgeous the beaches are - so many years coming here and I still can't get over the beauty.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

White-ass MO'-fO's

There's just not enough time in the day to write what I really need to explain about Nantucket. It's truly SO ridiculous to see what the wealthiest people in the world do on their "vacation" time (my guess is that most of the people I am about to describe find themselves on a permanent vacation anyway because for them, the money just flows and flows...). What do they do you ask?

They wear white pants.

Now, ever since I can remember, white pants were problematic. Back in about 1984 my mom never let me wear my white Esprit clamdiggers on a day that we had art scheduled at school. When I did get a good chance to wear them, we had either tacos or spaghetti for lunch, meaning stain removal by mom was inevitable - either that or the neighbor's dog jumped up on me with muddy paws while I waited for carpool. Next came that famous enlargement of my hips in about 7th grade, which meant most pale colored pants (slate, cream, ecru, khaki or butter) were avoided because mom said it really wasn't flattering to one's backside. And for the most part, she's still right. Just stay away from those white pants or the bacon you ate for breakfast all week will be that much more obvious in the rump. Back when Myles and I were first dating, he bought me this gorgeous pair of high waisted, pleated cream silk pants with a wide, cuffed leg. They dragged a little on the ground and slouched just right when I put my hands in the pockets - wasn't I so Katherine Hepburn? Well, not really. I think I wore them all of 4 times. (God I hope they are still in my closet back in Milton.) It just never made sense to wear them and take the risk of getting them dirty, even if my ass looked kinda Hollywood Glamour.

So, if you are full of money and want to wear just the right thing to look both casual and chic simultaneously, put on those white pantalones. Be impractical! Hell, you're not doing your own laundry. And as for your ass? It looks great in ANYTHING - even white bikinis - because you have someone working it out for you every day and making sure you ingest nothing other than wheatgrass smoothies and lean grilled meat. White pants look great on you when you're filthy rich. The yacht you hang out on is white, your porch furniture is probably white, and guess what else, you're probably white too! Nothing you interact with is dirty, dusty or gritty because you have paid someone else to polish it for you. (Your garden is pristine because you never weeded it, watered it, or even planted it. And your lawn always looks perfect. Etc., etc.)

Honestly, I could take a walk here at any time of day and count numerous Whitepants strolling around. And I SO don't get it. Wouldn't you just be worried about them? Well, these people just don't have to worry about stuff like that. Duh!

This is what Nantucket has become in the summer- a place for people who can afford hire others to deal with their filth. Wait, have I mentioned that most of the monstrous homes here are only lived in from late June to Labor Day? That means there are a few loyals who stick around through the fall and come here on and off throughout the course of the year - but I bet those folks have come here forever and they still drive the same beat up Grand Wagoneer. (Should have titled my blog "MIss Nelson is Guessing? HA!)

My dad says he loves the white pants. He says if you can wear them, let him see them! He thinks I make false assumptions about people I don't even know. He's right. But just because I'm writing this doesn't mean I automatically hate a Whitepant - it just means I don't really get that mindset, that aesthetic, that sterility..., and I don't know if those qualities are best thing for this tiny island. If you can afford to have ANYTHING you want, don't you lose focus on the world around you? Isn't it easier for you to forget how important the landscape is?

Monday, July 11, 2005

Woo Hoo! Corn!


Woo Hoo! Corn!
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
On our weekend in Brattleboro we went to the greatest farm where we played in a silo with corn. I quite enjoyed walking barefoot through the stuff... because it was a sweltering 89 degrees (I'm spoiled here in Nantucket with the sea air and all) and cool corn starch on your feet is dreamy. Ru and El were a lot less sticky afterwards. (Can I market this experience somehow? Like, "Dried Corn Cooling Masque for the body"?) We got to hold baby chicks and pet all sorts of animals. The best was a piglet that rolled on its back and let you rub its tummy. Sadly, no photo to prove it.

Hot Hot Sand


Hot Hot Sand
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Myles and I went to the playground with the girls and they loved the little boats covered with sand. They kept saying "clean clean clean" as they dusted away - but it sounds more like "keen keen keen" I guess. Totally entertaining.

Striped on the 4th


Striped on the 4th
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
We like to entertain Ru and El with raisins when we really need them to sit still in their strollers. It makes for a decent photo opportunity too.

1st Place!


1st Place!
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Daisy's bicycle won the prize in the "bicycle decorating contest". She had handmade paper hats for all of her stuffed animals and put them all over the bike. Sooo cute! She is the most creative 9 year old I know.

Miss Daisy


Miss Daisy
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Cousin Daisy participated in the watermelon eating contest on the 4th. I never actually saw the event, considering that I was chasing babies down a cobblestone street filled with people. Regardless, isn't this just a cute shot?

beachy keen, no?


beachy keen, no?
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
This was our best beach day so far. Babies in swim suits are like sweet little sausages.