Be with the one you love

The work week was pretty full, as is often the case in August. So I was ready for Friday when it rolled around. I was not on call, either, for the weekend. So I met the boys at Gander Mt. for hunting licenses and gun ogling. It is the same feeling a hardware store gives me but a good bit more intense. We kind of got into the sausage making stuff, also. This is going to be a banner year for game food. We all got doe permits for Syracuse, except John, of all of us, but I don't think that will slow us up. Then Mike went home with Lisa, still slightly suffering from Thursday night. Louis, John & I went to Cole's for a bite on the patio. Mary said hello on her way to enjoy the evening with some of her friends, an unexpected pleasure. To my surprise, most of her friends seemed to know Louis.

On Saturday, Mike & Lisa had a wedding to attend, so Nana Julia took care of the babies. I dropped her off and went back to the yard work I had started. I got the lawns almost finished, and got under the driveway pines with the big mower, which goes face first to cut the brush before the rider gets impaled on a branch. The old John Deere ain't what it used to be, but it owes us nothing after years of abusive service. I cleaned up and stopped at Wasabi for dinner for us, and then went to join my love. I found her with Maeve in bed but not sleeping yet, Addie in the swing, sleeping but expected up for a bottle soon. We were happy to be together again after a long day apart, and began to eat the excellent sushi & rolls, a Wasabi lobster and a soft shell crab roll. No sake, though, because of our grandparently responsibilities. Shortly, we were joined by little Maeve, who returned to the sack in a very accommodating manner and soon was asleep. Addie waked up as we were enjoying Toro, almost as good as in Hawaii, which is saying a lot. Addie took a little more attention than her sister did, but it was so good to hold her. When Julia put her in the crib, she nodded right off. Lisa & Mike came home fairly early, and Julia & I left for the country. We had Mass at eight, so went to bed right away.

After Mass, we had a small taste of DP, and enjoyed the most excellent hours of the week. We had been unable to go to farmer's market on Saturday because of some running race that totally gridlocked the village. Some similar activity was underway as we left church to come home, turned out to be a car show, so we had no intention of returning to the village on Sunday, either. The only thing left was to drink champagne. Matt & Theresa were coming for dinner, and Mary, also. Julia made a peach pie, incredible crust, just perfect. We had Kobe flanks seasoned with Butt Rub, corn, tomatoes, beets, and chiabatta Neil got warm from Wegs. The best summer eating. We opened a couple of Barnett Spring Hill cabs after the steamers Neil also brought. And the Bills actually looked pretty good. My kind of Sunday.

Next Sunday could be my kind, also. As well as the rest of the weekend. We are going to Toronto Friday & Saturday nights, at the Sutton, where we stayed on our honeymoon. We have reservations at Canoe, a skyscraper restaurant proudly serving superb Canadian cuisine with a pretty fair wine cellar, tickets for Jersey Boys and no schedule otherwise. And Monday is a holiday. Yippee!

A little Lillet goes a long, long way

Our weekend was excellent. On Friday, after the memorial for Sue Brown, we stopped at the reception at Field of Dreams to say hello to friends we never see anymore. It was a sad event, but good to visit with so many people we are close to. They all loved Sue. We had a bite at Tantalus with Neil later, that was delightful.

Saturday was beautiful weather, and Julia & I spent the day outdoors. Julia did such a good job on the gardens, which needed her touch desperately. We finally got the lawns mowed. We could have baled the grass, but it is so much better. I saw several snakes, the first ones this summer, slithering in the tall grass. They are welcome to come by and eat mice, as long as I don't see them. On Sunday, Neil gave us some trees, specially selected for the poorly drained part of the front. I had planned on thinning the trees in the lawn, to make it easier to mow, but these are really nice and we are grateful to Neil for them, and Dennis, Tyler & James for planting them with the old ford tractor.

We celebrated Julia's birthday Sunday with the entire nuclear fam. We ate on the patio; corn, tomatoes, beets, steak & garlic bread. The children were running and playing, until cake time. Mike made the cake, a Tetris themed delight that we all enjoyed. Deja Vu all over again. Esther has some photos that mostly came from Lisa on her blog, they make me smile every time I look at them.

Julia was horrified to find some mildew on one of the flooded walls in the basement, and we had some trouble with an electric breaker. I spoke with Tim, our treasured construction consultant, on Monday. He was by with the electrician that afternoon, who fixed the breaker and repaired some other wires and stuff. I like electricity even less than I care for snakes. The mildew is apparently less serious than we thought, and can be bleached away. We would be lost without Tim.

Last night we had dinner with Frank & Mary Pat, at Amarylis. Julia was immediately won over by the discovery of Lillet at their bar. It was a great evening and a fine meal. Thanks so much to Frank & Mary Pat for hosting that delectable event. Any visit with them is terrific.

Tonight, we have two political events. There is a casual fundraiser for Brian Higgins, then a gathering for Alice Krysak. It is interesting that I find most of the people at these things pleasant and interesting. I also appreciate having elected officials with brains and hearts. Nonetheless, I look forward to getting home for a last glass with the lovely Julia, mavbe a little Ireland planning. There has been some progress on that topic, which I will share shortly. Until then, I hope you are all enjoying these late summer days and I hope we can spend more of them together.

America's Fair, to partly cloudy

It rained most of the afternoon, and even on the way home. I did not expect to get to the fair tonight, but we did, after all. Mike & Lisa, with Maeve & Addie, came with Frank & Mary Pat, Janet and Pat. John & Esther came; little Julia was so excited to see them as they drove past us to park. Miles just dug everything. Mary drove the kids, and we met Gina, then Ceil & Amy joined us for a fair food dinner. You know, pizza, sausage, fried dough, cotton candy. I don't know how people ride the rides even before the feedbag, but after?

Julia was cheesing to ride the ferris wheel, but she eventually had a great ride on a carousel, along with Maeve. Then we went to the animals. Little Julia held her nose frequently, occasionally with good reason. Maeve loved everything but the turkeys. My head was spinning with ideas (my mind is a raging torrent...) concerning coniglio, veal, cochon de lait. Meat on a stick. Then we got to the sheep. There were a few Corriedales, the breed we used to raise. Julia and I met a woman whose son had some, and it turns out she and her brothers used to show them back when I did. I remember her brothers, the Fitzgeralds, who had a cool shamrock on their logo. We had some times, I'll tell ya.

Maeve touched all the animals she could. She almost poked a pig inappropriately, prompting a Mary Pat remark about a genetic connection to uncle Joe, the colo-rectal surgeon. Fortunately, Petunia was pretty quick and a messy tragedy was averted. Little Julia was somewhat more reserved, and also watched where she stepped.

It was so good to be with the gang who showed up. Definitely my kind of people. Julia & I had a few relaxing moments alone, with a nice little red wine, when we got home. We did not see any meteors, but we did remember the night Mike woke us to see the August meteors and the borealis, just after we moved into the big house. A spectacular celestial event made even better by the fact that no bail money was requested, even though it was about 3 am.

Speaking of 3 am, I shall trundle off to bed to join my love, who is probably sleeping with the TV on. I will turn the TV off, and enjoy the sleep of the just, until the morning when the new day begins. I love you all, and I cannot wait to see you.

There is going to be a memorial for Sue Brown Friday. She was also my kind of people.

Hot fun in the summertime

Friday was date night dinner. Julia & I had a perfect evening, excellent veal chops, some Louisiana red rice, awesome wine in the good glasses. We wait until the next morning to wash those. It is always a treat for me to enjoy dinner together, even in a restaurant, but there is nothing like a romantic night at home with Julia. The next morning was relaxed, anticipating John & Esther bringing the children and the haul from the farmers market. They had been to Lombardo's the night before, always delightful.

Little Julia & I made pasta together on Saturday, to help celebrate her mom's birthday. She did a terrific job turning the crank, which can be quite a lot of work. We hung the spaghetti on a drying rack, kept way safe from Rae, who likes drying noodles very much. John put the tent up in the yard, only to see the sunshine lose to the rain immediately. With the lightning, camping plans were abandoned until later. We had a great birthday dinner, learning again that homemade pasta expands after it is eaten.

This upcoming week looks pretty cool. Among other things, we will go to the fair. Many great memories of the days of 4-H with my brothers, staying at the fair for days with our lambs. The fair has not changed too much, but one visit is enough these days. Going with grandchildren is a new wrinkle that Julia & I like very much. I hope you all can come along. Check with Julia for reliable information concerning the big night.

A restful weekend, can't wait till next year

The trip to see the Yankees was exceptional. Everybody had a great time. The drive down, which began early, was totally rainy. Each of the cars had somewhat homogeneous riders. I was with Leonard & Neil, and it was great. Louis ranged ahead, then got delayed at the bridge. Some of us went through Lincoln tunnel, and we met the others at the hotel, which had one room of our block available for early check in. So all the backpaks, coolers, etc. went there and we took the subway to the Stadium, in the rain. The Stadium is the principal reason for the New York selection, this being the last of it's 85 seasons and I had dreaded that we would be rained out. However, the sun was out and the games were played, Old Timers first then the Bombers vs the Halos. We won, for the first time in the series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Our seat were quite high up, but covered and in the shade. You could see the field well, except for extreme Right field. We took the subway back, had a few blocks walk, the went to Sarge's for deli food in abundant quantities. I understand that some of the big eaters were satisfied but could have eaten more. Not me. In fact, I did not have the wherewithall to do more than have a nightcap with the other geezers and go to bed. Sad, but true. The next morning, we all arose and packed our stuff into the cars for the ride home. Phillipe and his family, our French cousins, came by to say bon jour & au revior, as they were flying back home themselves. I came home to pickled pot roast, brown rice & salad, prepared by the lovely Julia, who had taken time from the red tent weekend at our house to cook for me. My cup runneth over, but I will try to drink faster.

Yesterday, Julia made a Bluefoot chicken with Tony Cachere seasoning, and some celery and onion. She had to remove the head & feet before she roasted this beautiful chicken, a women of the colony move if ever there was one. It was spectacular. Julia was not having wine, because she had an early, busy day. I took care of things, however, so no wine was wasted.

In fact, as is often the case in Summer, I did have an early, busy day. After a jammed up morning in EA, I went to the General to help Mohamed with an osteotomy. He did great, as I knew he would. I was there until later than I planned, so Julia & I had a later bite at Tantalus. Instead of the Strykersville rodeo & tractor pull with my friend Dave. It is also raining hard.

We opened a wine called Ball Buster, an Aussie screw cap meritage, mostly syrah. Nice, actually; big, fruited, somewhat complex and long in aftertaste. Easy to drink. Just the thing for a red tent gathering.

Enjoy yourselves, stay dry and stay in touch.