When you decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, you want the rest of your life to start right away. For Susan and me, that meant rebuilding our house in Westhampton. We started working with a builder and an architect and got an initial estimate. Then Covid hit, and costs skyrocketed. The final quote came back at nearly double the original estimate. The businessperson in me kept thinking buy low—sell high, so I told the builder we’d wait a few years. Then I remembered: When you decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, you want the rest of your life to start right away.
Moving forward at that time probably wasn’t the best business decision, but from a personal perspective, things really worked out. So many related decisions just seemed to fall into place. For example, we locked in a lower interest rate on the mortgage. Then interest rates rose, and we were able to take advantage of the higher rates and markets to pay off the mortgage faster. And yes, you can rationalize anything.
The real reason we went ahead with the rebuild is that Dylan (a.k.a. “Dilly Bear”) loves his Gramp’s BISTRO CLAMS. Said another way, rebuilding the house in Westhampton has given us more time with our kids and grandkids. This video pretty much says it all.
Check out the video
One of our favorite pastimes in Westhampton is clamming on the deserted islands in Moriches Bay. There’s something about getting something for nothing that the women in my life love. Last summer we had the whole crew digging clams. In about an hour, we dug up over a hundred.
Digging clams is fun. Eating them is wonderful. My recipe for “Bistro Clams” has its origins in my first trip to France years ago, when I experienced escargot. I soon figured out that it wasn’t the rubbery snail I loved, but the wonderful garlic herb butter. You could put this butter on shoe leather (or a lowly snail) and it would taste good. Pair it with a freshly harvested clam and a piece of bacon, and you have culinary heaven. The look on Dylan’s face says it all.
Check out the recipe
https://impromptufridaynights.com/bistro-clams/
When it comes to the important things in life, economics are usually way down on the list. A tasty clam dish can be important but the look on Dilly Bear’s face is priceless. Just Don’t Blink.
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