Where's em-i-lis?

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Heavenly. This is heavenly. We arrived at 4:30 this afternoon, Jack (having arrived yesterday) served as elder-statesman and showed us around and to the beach, it was fabulous to see my darling nieces, and we immediately headed to the shore for Ol's inaugural toes-in-the-waves experience. The boys are officially smitten with all the word 'beach' encapsulates, and we were only allowed to return home when a strong wave somersaulted Jack backwards, feet over head. He emerged looking rather like a breaded cutlet and was ready to call it a day. All the kids are asleep -I think- and I'm reclining happily on the porch, glass of wine in hand, watching the seagulls soar and the clouds skate, listening to the men inside, voices raised, beers in hand, arguing just for the sake of it but with no real anger.If you listen closely, you hear, beyond the glorious silence, an amazing array of birdly conversation. Hooting, cooing, singing, suggesting. Sounds of competition and hope, coercion and simple song. Maybe I do like the beach...

Great surprise lunch in Richmond

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T suggested we pull off 95 for a quick lunch stop at a fast-food joint. No thank you. An extremely brief Yelp search yielded a fantastic-sounding spot in a neighborhood right near the off-ramp. Perfect, and it was definitely a treat. The Black Sheep, located at 901 W. Marshall St, had an extensive and inspired menu. I opted for the No Mas Huevos Nuevos from the eggs and breakfast section; it was comprised of scrambled eggs, a chunk of jalapeño grit cake,wheat berry and black bean chili and some chopped avocados and tomatoes. YUM!

T chose the Cuban Reuben, a delicious sandwich with pickled purple cabbage, roasted pork, pastrami, pickles, some divine sauce, cheese and grilled bread. I forced him to choose the Brussels sprouts with pecans and Parm for his side; yum again. Ol got toasted baguette and bacon.

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