My Spinsterlicious Vacation

Aaaah.  It's been a fantastic week here in Martha's Vineyard, away from "real life", enjoying beach, sun, good people, and "the art of doing nothing" as my friend, Angie calls it.  I could become really good at this...if it wasn't for that pesky thing called Work that I need to get back to. GoldenDoorConsulting isn't quite ready to retire me yet, so I'll be packing up tomorrow and heading back to  my favorite New York City and the somewhat less carefree side of my life.


We did this just right.  We are two houses of good friends.  House #1 (where I am) is seriously Spinsterlicious: 4 Spinsters, 2 dogs, good food, great cocktails, and a really good vibe.  House # 2 is a bit more active, with 3 married couples, 2 divorcees, and all their kids.  Except for the logistics of the house composition, that's where the importance of the demographics ends.  We're all great friends and the married/not married/kids/no kids thing disappears when we're just hangin'.

The pace is slow-and-easy, and the beaches are scenic.

In New York City, which is so full of life and bright lights, the sun and the moon are kinda taken for granted. We don't give them a lot of thought because our skies are always lit up.  Here, we were treated to a show of beauty every night.

 Lots of wildlife.  The cutest, of course, are Danny and Monty...followed by the seagull from the beach, and the bunny who visited us every day.  We were a little more wary of the fellow in the bottom right frame.  If you look closely, you can see that's a skunk.  (I probably could have gotten closer for a better picture...but then I thought "maybe not a good idea").

And what's a vacation without lots of good food and drink?  (Well, to me, it wouldn't be a vacation).  The big pot on the stove?  The guys went fishing one morning and so a big ole fish fry was had that night!

And people in funny hats.  Me, on the left, and Larry David on the right.  Blurred photo, but it really is him.  I wanted to get a better shot, but he kind of glared at me and I chickened out.  I did not want to be the fodder for an episode of   Curb Your Enthusiasm




And what about you, Dear Reader?  How's your summer going?  I'd love to hear about one fun thing you've done this summer. Something that made you smile.  (And I'd really love it if you included a picture.)



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My Summer To-Do List

I’m pretty sure I have some form of Adult ADD.  I’ve worked hard to control/hide it because, well, who wants to have ADD?  I’m also pretty sure that if Ritalin or Adderal existed when I was a kid, I would have been a user.  Fortunately, I don’t think ADD existed as a diagnosis when I was kid, they weren't an option.  At any rate, one of the ways I manage it is by writing everything down.  On any given day, I have a list or two of things I need to do, people I should call, stuff I should think about.  I don’t always do everything on the list, but there is always a list.

   So, it was very fitting and normal that I made a “10 Things I Need To Do, Summer 2011" list back in, oh, about April.  Here’s my opportunity to revisit the list, see how much little I’ve accomplished, and in this age of over-sharing, make it public.

1.  Visit Idaho.  I kicked off my summer by visiting my friend, Linden, at his ranch in Idaho over Memorial Day Weekend.  He sold his Upper East Side pad and bought a 108-acre ranch in what seems to me to be the middle of nowhere.  I thought he might be a little nuts to do this (it’s a long way from everywhere and 108 acres is a lot of land) but I’m so glad he is.  It was a glorious trip to a part of the country I don’t know a lot about.  It was so good that I’m trying to make it a yearly trip. (He doesn’t know this, yet).  Status: Completed

2.  Develop an exercise regimen.  It’s funny; I haven’t actually gained much weight, but it seems the weight I already have has shifted.  For the first time, I have a gut and I’m not happy about that.  So, I’ve started running again … something my doctor and knees told me in 2001 I probably shouldn’t do anymore.  So, I’m not actually running.  I’m doing a pathetic run-walk routine to ease the pounding on my knees, and it’s a little annoying because I want to run, but much better than not doing much at all. Technically, I could mark this Completed because I did develop an exercise regimen. Part Two of this task should include “sticking to it” … which I’m kinda working on.

3.  Find a publisher for my smart, funny, delightful book, The Spinsterlicious Life.  This is really a wish more than anything else because I’m finding it more difficult than I expected. I’m going to leave it at that because I get cranky when I think about it too much.  Status: Not Completed

4.  Spend a week in Martha’s Vineyard.  Not yet, but soon.  House is rented, ferry is booked, excitement is brewing.  Hurry up, August.  Status:  Almost Completed

5.  Launch a T-shirt line, in support of my as-yet-unpublished book, and blog of the same name.  This is a new venture for me and a whole new area that I know nothing about.  I’m working with a T-shirt designer who’s got some great ideas and I’m really excited. I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll actually launch this summer, but at least I’ve gotten started.

6.  Set up The Highline as my office annex. I love The Highline.  It’s a beautiful park high in the sky (for a park), made from miles and miles of old and unused railroad tracks.  It’s so New York.  I want to be there all the time.  I guess I can’t actually make it my official office, but since I work from home I can pretty much work from anywhere so I’m spending more and more time there.  I need to figure out a way to shut out the background noise when I’m on the phone; clients don’t believe I’m actually working.  Status: Still Thinking About It

7.  Decide whether to let the New Guy go — or — put a little more effort into making him want to stay.  I’m pretty close to a decision here.  I'm not that into it and my gut’s telling me it’s not right. I’ve learned it’s usually smart to go with my gut.  Status:  Close to Completed

8.  Finalize my Western Road Trip plans.  Yay!  I’m super-excited about this.  In October, three of us (and our dogs) are taking a road trip out West. We’re flying to Mount Rushmore, ending at the Grand Canyon, and stopping at lots of great places along the way, like Yellowstone Park, Devils Tower, Crazy Horse Monument … and wherever else strikes our fancy.  We need to put a few more details in place, and I should be working on that.  Status:  Not Yet...But Soon

9.  Add at least one new client to my roster.  I'm happy about this one.  Status: Completed.

10.  See how many different summer cocktails I can discover.  I’m having a lot of fun with this one. You get it, right?  Status:  Ongoing.

What about you?  What fun outings do you have planned for this summer?



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