Pop's 95th Birthday Bash!

Brian's father recently turned 95.  We decided that to celebrate we would take him for a week to his favorite place, our cottage on Cape Cod.

Brian's parents built the house many years ago as a summer home.  Pop, a professor at Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey), usually had free time in the summer.  Mom's family has deep roots on the Cape.  Brian spent many a happy summer there as a child, swimming, sailing, and clamming.  And Brian and I spent our honeymoon there nearly 40 years ago.

It's a special place.

To make Pop's day even more special, two of Brian's cousins asked if they could come up for his birthday.  We were so glad to have them with us!  Brian has great cousins, and I always enjoy their company.  We took Pop to dinner:

And we shared his birthday cake:

We gave Pop a quilt for his birthday.  It's one I made several years ago after a trip to Cayman Brac.  I loved the bright colors of the flowers, sea, and houses and tried to capture it in fabric.   It's the perfect size for a lap quilt:

I had not been to the Cape in May.  It was surprisingly chilly, and the spring flowers were in full bloom.  The cherry tree in the front yard was blooming.  Neither Brian nor I had seen it in bloom, so we were really excited.  Big clusters of fat pink flowers:

 Our crabapple was in full bloom.  And very fragrant:

The lily of the valley was just starting to bloom.  I haven't seen lily of the valley blossoms in years.  We can't grow it in Texas:

We planted flowers in our window box:

 And this budding wildflower was in our woods.  I don't know what it is.  Any ideas?

All over the Cape, tiny purple violets were blooming.  Lilacs perfumed the air.  It was so beautiful!

We also visited many of our favorite spots.  Nauset Light Beach on the ocean side:

Chatham Light and Lighthouse Beach, also on the ocean side:

First Encounter Beach at low tide:

And the marsh near First Encounter Beach.  Those of you who know me know I love the marshes of Cape Cod.  This one in particular.  At low tide:

And at high tide:

And in between:

On the bay side, we visited Wellfleet Harbor:

 And Rock Harbor:

We worked on the house a bit.  I cleaned out and reorganized things in the kitchen and bathroom cupboards.  And we spent some time in the basement, which was jammed with boxes.  We both plan to have our "special interest" areas down there.  Brian's dad set up this train layout many years ago, and Brian would like to expand it:

And we started clearing out a section of the basement to finish as a studio for me.  I can't wait to get set up down there!

But best of all, we spent lots of time with Pop.  He's a special man: