Baby got back

My sister told me recently that I have the nicest back garden in the family. I have to say, I think that this is true (in my family, anyway; not necessarily the Semensi family).

There's a bee on the butterfly bush at top. We've seen 3 hummingbirds so far in the sun garden, which you can see on the other side of the bridge, at top. Victor hung the tubular red hummingbird feeder next to the same-color monarda.

Igloo

I have to confess, I was aware of Igloo for a year or more before I set foot inside. Really, the only reason I finally set food inside was that a friend had a craving for soft-serve ice cream.

I will say now that, if you are in Gloucester, you really need to stop in at Igloo. Yes, it has only soft-serve ice cream. Yes, children are its primary audience. But it also has pretty spectacular, fab-'60s decor; a high number of adults sitting on stools at the counter; and a dense, creamy, winning product as its ice cream. Really good stuff.

Lobsta Land's appeal

Lobsta Land has, first of all, incredibly fresh fish. Having been, just this past weekend, to a restaurant situated *at* the fish pier in the seaport district of Boston, and having retched at the "quality" of the fish I was served, I truly appreciate a restaurant with fresh fish. Its sashimi tuna is to die for.

Secondly, it offers a lobster salad that tempts even me, a person indifferent to lobster. It's a cucumber and tomato salad, topped with lobster, avocado, and hearts of palm. Indulgent!

Thirdly, it offers this spectacular view of the marsh, where seabirds (including the majestic snowy egret, below) poke around, as the tide ebbs and flows. I could have lunch there alone every day during the restaurant's season as long as I was seated at the windows on the marsh.

Tarragon pizza blanca

My sister Gillian requested public broadcast of the recipe for my go-to dish, squash pizza. I think I got this delish recipe from the Boston Globe Magazine.

2 flat breads (I use Joseph's, with flax)
6 T olive oil
4 t chopped fresh tarragon
1.5 c packed grated mozzarella
1 fennel bulb
1 zucchini
1 summer (crookneck) squash
2 T minced shallot
4 oz brie (or one wedge)
salt
pepper

Thinly slice fennel bulb, zucchini, and yellow squash (use a mandoline if you have one). Cut brie into 1/2" cubes. Mince shallot and chop tarragon.

Put a rack at the halfway point or a bit lower in the oven. Preheat oven to 425.

Cover 2 baking sheets in a Release-type foil. Lightly oil the top of the foil covering.

Place flatbreads on baking sheets. Brush 1 T oil over tops and sprinkle each with 1 t tarragon. Cover with mozzarella and then vegetables (you will probably have some left over, at least 1 pizza's worth).

Drizzle pizzas with remaining oil and sprinkle with shallot, salt, and pepper. Top with brie cubes.

Bake until cheese is bubbling, 11-14 minutes.

Trips for glass

We've made a few trips out to Ten Pound Island by kayak, looking for sea glass. Vic went once alone, and we went together twice.

The pic above includes a glass button, a tiny fragment of the pottery that was used at a long-torn-down hotel on Rocky Neck, and a piece of YELLOW, which is a rare find.

Above is, first, the high-impact/high-interest pieces that Victor found alone. Second is some of the rest of the collection that he gathered. The large piece of green (it may look to you like a rock) is so very cool: thick -- the thicker, the older -- and a great, jade color.

Above are the pieces that I collected the second time I was on Ten Pound. I can't believe that I found both a red and a cornflower blue! (When Victor went alone, he also found a piece of red.) There are two segments of glass insulator -- from a lightbulb, probably -- which appear to be black unless held up to a light. I *love* it that I find at least two insulator pieces every year -- this year, both in one trip.

Hospitals and rehabs

Our daughter Liz is in the hospital again. She was in the hospital for more than a week after July 4, and she re-entered the hospital on July 20. These hospitalizations are psychiatric, of course, and -- to us -- predictable.

Vic and I hoped to protest the DMH-Elliott Community Services plan to transition Liz to independent living. Suddenly, nearly a month early, she was moving the very next day. Probably a decision had been made to place a staff person in the house for the first month, and that decision hastened her move.

Liz is not self-regulating, so she needs a calm and knowledgeable presence around her to reflect appropriate responses. She is diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder because she is even more unstable at home, so I'm not a good candidate as that calm and knowledgeable presence -- if I could even remain calm when my daughter becomes self-harming or violent.

My mother is in rehab, near the end of her life; and my husband's uncle just entered rehab (discussed a few posts below). The level of institutional contribution to family life is not welcome. I have to leave in 15 minutes for a meeting at Essex Park about my mother's care. I have been invited to a hospital meeting regarding Liz. This is not going to be a good week.

The trellis reasserts itself

It's so cool that the wisteria appears to re-bloom every year. These pictures are current, taken weeks after the initial blooms died off. When the wisteria sends out tendrils, it seems, it also sends out new blooms.