Ever since I was little, I have had a fascination with colored stones and seashells. I dunno - I have always found great joy in the FREE treasures of nature.  I used to spend hours sorting through tons and tons of colored stones in the driveway of my grandpa’s farm in Michigan. I glued them, one by one, to a huge piece of silver particle board that my uncle gave to me - a leftover from a kitchen wall.

So, it is no surprise that the love of stone collecting has transcended time with me. We finally made it to the beach this past Monday. Cape May, NJ is infamous for its stones, most especially what are referred to as “Cape may Diamonds,” clear, tumbled stones that cover Sunset Beach. You gotta scoop, sort and dig for them. LOVE IT! Tons of colored stones in demin, red, maroon, golds, pinks. I am in my element! I took home a huge bucket that took me all day to sort - one by one- hand picked. Got to thinking how wonderful it is that I can just sit all day on a beach doing nothing but sorting stones.

It was a beautiful day. Andy played the role of beach bum sun god whilst I stooped at water’s edge and treasure hunted in between wave crashes. Busloads of old ladies filed in and off beach and Andy bestowed a lot of his diamond finds on them. He makes friends everywhere he goes! We ate lunch at the beach grill and walked quite a bit. Made friends with an overstuffed brown gull that was more liked a trained pet than a wild bird. He adopted us early in the afternoon, sitting right next to us, eating peanut butter pretzels from our hands and shooing off all other birds.

And on the topic of stones, the test results are in and the stones are small enough to stay in my kidneys and my bloodwork is perfect.

Let’s hope the colonoscopy goes as well on Monday. No seeds, corn or grain next three days. I cannot wait!

Kitchen looks fabulous. Countertops went in yesterday and - wow! We are psyched. Andy’s old farmhouse is getting the MLK touch. So far, the beach bathroom, beach living room and country kitchen in maple with gold, red, green and orange touches.

Happy weekend.