MONSTER MOM

July 20, 2004

Dear Monster Mom.....I agree with you about the beach....but I have had skin

cancer and have very freckled skin so I CAN " T go to the beach. I do get a

spiritual feeling when I sit and watch the water, but I prefer to be alone. We

have a condo in Florida, but I'm so afraid to fly after 9/11 that I don't go

anymore. I feel like a real jerk about that!!!! My husband isn't thrilled

either. I would love my life to consist of things I am happy about rather than

things I feel ashamed about. Oh well. Love, Cam

good morning

Very early, I might add! I am having those irritating muscle spasms that

don't let us sleep and I feel like I want to crawl outta my skin. Then, I'm

sitting here and this loud hissing starts outside then I really DO jump outta my

skin. Of course, i grab the pistol and snoop outside only to find I'm sneaking

up on my cousins sprinkler system. Don't tell anyone I was going to kill a

sprinkler, alright?!!!

I put a quilt top together yesterday. It's pretty. All floral squares. I

made one last week and have to put the back, batting and top together and baste

it so I can take it on vacation Saturday (for a week! yeah!) so I can sit and

hand quilt it while I watch my family play on the beach, which I detest!! i

dont' see the point in the beach. You go there, you have to slather (is that a

word??) yourself with this 50 SPF crap so you don't fry like a lobster. Then,

after you do that, you sit there as this sticky beach sand blows on you and the

lotion only serves to make it stick. As we know, it doesn't prevent sunburn on

little pale redheaded children! nothing does. Then we sit there and get bit by

no-seeum flies and those irritating black flies. Then it's so hot out there

usually that you sweat and this stuff drips off of you onto whatever you are

doing. THEN you feel as if you go into the salty crap they call ocean water ,

it will help everything. Only serves to make you smell. So then you gather all

the food, toys, clam shells, hermit crabs, bugs that your kids insist on taking

home because there isn't anything like this at their house, lawn chairs, etc and

walk back to your beach house only to fight over the shower (I made it a law

that since I hate the beach the most, I get to wash it off first!!). Then you

have to clean up all the crap that gets tracked into the house and wash the

bathing suits. Anyone else want to share their wonderful thoughts on the beach!

Now to me, a wonderful time would be in October, get a nice cabin by a lake in

the Pocono mountains, or better yet, in the rockies where we used to live, where

I can wear my nice big sweatshirt and still feel a little chill. No beach sand

or sunburn. Just sit on the porch with my coffee and quilt all day.

Boy, what the heck got into me. I guess you can tell my husband is the beach

person in the family. I will go now. Thanks for listening to me jibber. At

least my spasms are gone! yeah!!

Margaret,

Mom to the monsters

July 20, 2004

Camilla, my wonderful idea of the beach is sitting on it, in an adirondak chair,

in October with a big hooded sweatshirt on, working on quilt blocks. No lotion,

no hot sand, no needing to get in the water, no hot sun. So, I do enjoy the

beach but not the summer part of it. Do you know what we do do that I enjoy (did

I just say do-do!). We go on the beach for a walk about 8pm and pick up all the

stuff that people leave behind. Last year we went home with about 4 boogie

boards, 3 new beach chairs, towels, etc. Even found a new bottle of sun lotion.

We do this because alot of times we find that the " shoobies " as we call the one

day wonders that come to the beach, they buy a new chair, a new boogie board or

whatever they need to for that day then they will leave them there or just put

them by the trash can. these are people with money who don't feel like packing

when the come and go so they just buy and throw away. It's fun. One year we

did find a wallet. A pretty full one. We took it right to the police station.

He wanted to give us $100 but we wouldn't take it. He wasn't looking like a

rich guy; just a guy and his family on vacation and I know how we are on

vacation. Not really having $100 to spare. We still keep in touch with them

too. funny how things like that work out, huh?

Well, babbled enough. Thanks for writing. As you can see, I didn't unsub. I

think that if I un sub, I may not get ANY mail! ugh.