Scenes from the Sea (This Time, for Real)

We’re back in Durham after two weeks at the beach, one at Kiawah with my family and another at Oak Island with friends.

In Kiawah, I made kitty sand castles with my niece, Grace.

These projects involved a lot of sandy goo, most of which ended up on Grace herself.

Fred created a nest in the corner of our room, his little haven of detritus surrounding him within 24 hours–empty vegetable boxes (used to transport books), sketchbooks, scissors, sunscreen, empty gum packs, and his razor. He managed to whisk away a dozen or so random bits of paper before I could get the shot.

At Oak Island, I stuck to my crossword puzzles.

Especially after Fred made me take this picture of a pun.

And even more so after he showed me how he had repaired his glasses.

“What is that, honey?” I asked, cringing.

“Isn’t it great?” he beamed. “My glasses were completely falling apart, so I took one of those blister packs from my Claritin pack and stuck it on there! They’re really holding together now!”

“You did what?” I squealed in happy delight. There would be years of material from this one.

It was dawning on Fred that his ingenuity was not making the kind of impression he’d hoped it would. “I was afraid they might look a little odd,” he confessed. “They really stuck out when I first put them on, with the squares and all, so I trimmed them down.”

I went into the bathroom, where thin slivers of Claritin pack covered the vanity. I collapsed in laughter. I laughed some more when I saw Fred wearing the glasses the next day. I still laugh in the morning sometimes just thinking about those blister packs sticking out of the side of his glasses.

I’m glad to be married to someone who makes me laugh.