A Day at the Beach

Here's a scene I didn't create.
I recently had a traumatic birthday where both digits changed. A big party with seven birthday cakes and lots of friends and gifts helped!
My in-laws gave me the basic elements of this beach scene as a present. I grew up on Revere Beach, Massachusetts, where my first mystery series is set, making this choice of miniature very special.
The red hat: my sister-in-law has kept this hat, which belonged to one of her dolls, since childhood. It was in her collection of cherished things, and she was generous enough to share it with me. She added the ribbon to make it more of a sun hat.
The sunglasses (barely visible on the book): my brother-in-law made the little glasses in the blink of an eye (so to speak) by twisting thin wire into shape. The dark lenses are tiny pieces of film (from the old days of non-digital cameras).
The sand: my brother-in-law is a model train builder with a thirty-foot-by-thirty-foot building on his property all to house his reproduction of the Allegheny subdivision of the C&O railroad. His model, which was the cover story of Model Railroader magazine a couple of years ago, has rolling hills and creeks, as well as a sixteen-stall roundhouse and smoothly running trains. He makes sand that looks like sand, water that looks like water — a master craftsman. More on this marvel another time!
The book: my little addition, made as I usually do with little blocks onto which I glue any cover I want. I've gotten pretty good at sizing and can take a cover of any size from the Internet and shrink it to fit. This one is the most recent in my periodic table series, The Oxygen Murder.
I also added some Fritos, flip-flops, and a thermos of coffee. The nice thing about a day at the beach is that you can keep thinking of things to add.
An umbrella is next, I think. Guess I'll have to find somewhere to get a drink that comes with one just the right size.