It has been this month 5 years since we moved to the States. That being the case I have had quite a lot of reflection on that, this month. It sometimes seems like yesterday that we moved here and then I think of all the people I have met, the experiences I have had and the knowledge I have garnered and I realise that yes, it is that long!
One of the first impressions I got of here (moving in July!) was how amazingly hot it was. The jersey dress and legging combo nearly killed me the first day! It was so hot and humid. Just something that i was completely unprepared for. It felt to me like the tropics and I am not kidding.
The other aspect was the noise. I am talking cicadas. They make a noise that crescendos and falls, so at first you aren't quite sure you heard it and then there it is again and it seems deafening. At first this was a noise that I thought would simply turn me mad. It was just so annoying and repetitive and present morning noon and night ( the nighttime became less of a problem as you have the air conditioning on, should you wish to be able to sleep and therefore the windows are closed, so you can't hear the myriad of night noises, including frogs etc). The other funny thing about this was that those noises were scary, I was totally unfamiliar with them.
Picture the scene, the first house we lived in had an exceptionally long drive and being on a modern estate in the middle of no where, there are few street lights, lets say none. So taking the bins to the kerb for collection next morning and walking the sloping drive at night was always a challenge. That wasn't just me terrified to do that walk. Damian and I would do that together and run back up the drive. Those nighttime noises were really quite something.
But on my walk this morning as I heard the cicadas, and remembered that first summer here, I actually felt comforted by them. They tell me firstly that summer is here (Lucy said our first summer, that when you hear cicadas that is 6 weeks until the first frost) and will end! because my goodness it is hot (in the 90's) and very humid. Knowing that this season will pass, means that you can actually cope with it. The same happens in winter when you are freezing and believe me, as yet I still haven't forgotten our brutal past winter. But knowing that this is time limited helps.
There are good things about summer and of all the them the best is fireflies. Such wonderful silent insects. Their night displays are really outer worldly and just magical. I made the boys come down before bed and try and catch them on their hands (we only catch them for a second) and watch them ascend flashing their lights. Louie was in his dressing gown.......it was such a sweet moment. Even Isaac joined in. Now that is Summer, simple pleasures!
Here are some pictures that Damian took in Cape May, I thought that these would make a nice blog on their own!
West End Garage is a collection of small booths and each one is unique. We stumbled on the hat booth and made Isaac try on hats! He wouldn't buy this one..........
Something about it being too cool, well not in this photo!
The boys talking on a bench outside the coffee shop, from this angle Isaac looks like he is Amish! Although his hair is too long.
This was my all time favorite hat and Isaac wouldn't let me buy it! As by now he already had his hat that made him look like the 'Man from Martinique' but good show that he let us take the photo.
Louie at the crepe place. and us on the beach below at Sunset.
Think this is from a Wanted Poster....not sure who wants him or is it an Enforcer
From my last blog I mentioned that Isaac kindly took the pictures for me whilst we were up the lighthouse as it was so windy...well they took a picture of him while he took a picture of them! he couldn't see as his hair was blowing around so much...very much a 'cousin it' moment. Apart from he doesn't know who 'cousin it' is.
Finally the other thing that I wanted to share was an experience that I had in Cape May. As many of you know I work at the Woman's Exchange and we deal in antiques and vintage paraphernalia. It has become something of a passion for me to seek out other places like this and to ferret about and just look at stuff. Cape May has a number of these types of shops, so I had fun looking through Estate Jewelry and Antiques and collectibles. There is one such shop, a tiny box of a building called Out of the Past. I decided that I needed to go in and have a look round. The lady at the counter and as often happens, noticed my accent. She asked me if I was Irish and I said no, I am from the Isle of Man, near Ireland and England and she surprised me by knowing where it was. What's more she said that her surname is Crellin. Now that did take me by surprise, such a Manx name and we struck up conversation. Her husbands family came from the Island some time ago, the first Crellin and he worked as a miner (so she asked about mining on the island and I filled in what I knew of that, for those of you who don't know there is a long history of mining) she said that it made sense that he must have been a miner on the Island as well, as he set up a town around workings in Maryland and it is called Crellin, small and now run down as the mining has finished. He went on to mine in other areas of the states but settled in Pennsylvania. That seemed an interesting turn of events that we had this point of connection. Then I said something about loving the type of things in her shop, and that I work in a shop that sells old things too and blah blah mention the Woman's Exchange and that she knew about the Woman's Exchange in West Chester, as her Grandmother Yost worked there for years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about connected. She only works in the shop once a week and I certainly came in on the right day, I literally was speechless... of all the people to meet. It was so nice to have that double connection. It really did give me goose bumps. I often have those moments working at the Woman's Exchange, meeting people or an item that comes in but this by far stands out! Manx and the connection to the Exchange, just wow double wow.!
