Ingredients for a perfect Sunday

Today, I stumbled on the ingredients for a nearly perfect Sunday:

• A Brewster by the Sea breakfast of pancakes and sausage
• A joyful church service featuring the youth of Chatham
• A glimpse of the ocean on a sparkling day
• A ride out past Pleasant Bay
• Talking to friends on the phone
• Lunch in the garden
• Finishing a good book sitting under the shade of a Spring-blooming tree
• A walk on the beach
• A shopping spree in a bookstore
• An afternoon repast of Nanna’s oatmeal cookies
• A fine Italian dinner
• A walk on the beach at sunset
• An evening free to read and relax

Hope your day was that good!

Sunday in Brewster dawned sparkling and sunny and warm.  I seriously debated going to the church service as I had planned, but I figured I had a lot to be thankful for, and a lot to pray for.  On my way out, I stopped to take a picture of the sidewalk to the back garden which was strewn with pink tree petals.  Be sure to click it open – I gasped at how it turned out!  Maybe God was blessing my going to church.

I couldn’t take a picture like this again if I tried.  What a gorgeous shot of the side yard and gate to the back garden at Brewster by the Sea. 

And I’m so glad I went to church!  St. Christopher’s in Chatham celebrated Trinity Sunday with an “uncommon” service featuring the youth of the parish.  The bell-ringers opened the service, and the teenagers sang their hearts out to the accompaniment of guitars, flute, and bongos.  Seven of the littlest parishioners got to do two songs as well, and the youth minister had a beautiful slide show put together to showcase the kids and their ministry projects.  One of the teenagers gave the sermon,  reminding us that Jesus asked us to do things for others.  The opening hymn says it all:

“When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as it should be
Blessed be your name…
Every blessing you pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say:
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name!”

After that rousing start, I drove around Chatham for a bit, checking out some more water views and ritzy neighborhoods.  Dressed for church, I couldn’t really go trekking through the sand, unfortunately.  I took a wrong turn coming back to Brewster and wound up once again on the scenic route past Pleasant Bay – too bad my camera battery had given out by then.  (oops) 

   A great day for fishing off Chatham.

A bird house with a view.     

I stopped to pick up lunch and brought it back to eat in the garden at Brewster by the Sea.  Daniel called and it was so nice to chat briefly with him and with Ethan and Tim. (No, Ethan, I still haven’t figured out what a Nargal is.)  It was sunny and breezy, perfect sunburn weather (for me), so I sat under the tree and finished the book I was reading.  (Summer of Light by W. Dale Cramer about a steelworker who finds fulfillment as a stay-at-home-dad.)  I took a walk on Paine’s beach about 3 pm.  It was really windy right at the parking lot, but it was beautiful as soon as you got around the bend.  I don’t understand the wind dynamics, but I appreciated them! I picked up a rough stone the color of Paine’s Beach sand.

    Wind rippling the low tide waters of Paine’s Creek.

Next on the agenda, I stopped in at Brewster Bookstore – a cute little place with some unusual items.  Of course, I picked up a few books, several of them picture books of the Cape.  A quick trip back to my room allowed a wardrobe change for dinner, then it was back out again to go to Bucca’s.  My hosts, Donna and Byron, rave about this place, but I’ve never been.  It really is quite nice, and I had a lovely veal dinner. 

Of course, there’s nothing better after a nice dinner than – you got it – another walk on the beach.  First I changed clothes (again!) to dress warmly because the temperature was dropping and the clouds were moving in.  The sunset was so peaceful, all gray and light pink.  At one moment, though, a really bright pink outlined the breaks in the clouds – too cool.  The beach was so quiet that the sound of my footfalls crunching across the stones and slogging through the wet sand sounded unnaturally loud.  The waves were just lapping the beach, and the gulls were too far away to hear except as background noise once I got around the first bend.  I picked up a stone the color of which is a bit indescribable – sort-of a cross between taupe, pale gold, and light purple-maroon.  I wonder that there aren’t more people taking advantage of the opportunity to walk Paine’s Beach.  No more soul-enriching way to end a day, even in a light rain!

  
Guess this guy didn’t like all the gull-screaming at the other end of the beach.

Sunday sunset.  Understated.  Unpretentious.