The Fest of the Sail

There is only one thing to do to kick off a Sailfest Saturday Morn properly . . .

. . . grill zucchini for breakfast.

And no, my darling friends, not just any zucchini. Our zucchini. Our big awesome homegrown zucchini.

How big, you ask?

. . . oh, it's big.

And there is only one thing to have for lunch on Sailfest Saturday . . .

. . . a homegrown New London grinder, at Ocean Beach Park.

Ocean Beach was fabulously awesome that day . . .

. . . full of beachgoers . . .

. . . happy, lovely, colorful beachgoers, enjoying our happy, lovely, colorful park.

And after a day soaking up the sand and sun? Rum and pineapples on the Gam, baby . . .

. . . whilst watching the ferries go by . . .

. . . our friends are beginning to feel annoyed by us, because we're annoyed by them, because they don't know which ferries are which by now.

I'm not annoyed, my people. I'm calm. I'm smooth; I'm mellow. That up there is the lovely Cape Henlopen . . .

. . . and that down there is the fabulous MV John H . . . 

. . . Smooth and Mellow, people . . .

Aaaanndddddd . . . back to the Gam!

We are so lucky to know these people.

We have a grandiose time together.

Photo Bomb Alert!

(And back downtown, later that afternoon . . . )

Ice Cream Men Alert!

Oscar Alert!

The bands were fantastic downtown . . .

. . . seriously fantastic . . .

. . . fabulously awesome.

. . . as were the firecrackers:

But nothing -- nothing! -- says Sailfest like planking during the Americana medley.

And then the next day?

Bruncheon!

 There was more planking . . .

 There were bloodies . . .

 . . . Bloodies!

. . . There were lovely friends . . .

. . . and there was, most importantly of all, the obligatory Christmas Tree Conflagration.

Happy 'Fest, my peeps.

uncle merv went to a wedding

Friends, your Uncle Merv went to Seattle for the wedding of two completely delightful people, so sit back an have a gander at the slideshow, because... well, obviously.

These two. It's these two! They got married. Our little Meggles and Sunshine.

We like Meg and Sanjay very much, but we *looooove* Seattle.

The adorable quotient was blown clear out of the water by various and spectacular denizens of the next generation.

And on July 4 weekend? We got all up in yo' 'merica.

So maybe our plan to view fireworks from the 35th floor of our downtown hotel was misguided. Whocares?

We had bigger fish to fry. Wedding primping fish! Wait... what?

We cleaned up okay

We took lots of taxis! Dad always had to sit up front, because that's scary.

And then... look! groomsmen. Handsome, handsome groomsmen. OMG is that guy on his phone? I will slap him.

nevermind. Groomsman photos are weirdly awesome. And aww, look at Sanjay! What's he smiling at?

Meg was resplendent Look at her pretty, airy veil

Also, her front half was stunning.

These two know about love.

I did *not* neglect the bridesmaids photo!

There was a photo booth at the reception, I was well represented.

We had the pleasure of spending the day-after with most of teh wedding party, whose goal was to find an activity that was fun and also sitting.

Ride the duuuuck!

Then back to the $4 beer place that we'd discovered on our first market outing

Then another day still! We were lucky to have those extra days with the newly minted Mr. and Mrs.

We got to visit a pretty downtown ballpark on a long summer night

We went up high and looked down at the beauty of Seattle,

 all 360 degrees of it, before we made one last sojourn 

to the market

and the $4 beer place

and the gum wall

and the Hobit

before a final, fabulous, foot waving send off by the last remaining family members

and a quick flight home

Happy life to you and you, our lovely Meg and Sanjay. You two are aces, and a harbinger of good things to come in the future.

Petite aubergine

Remember our newish backyard garden? The one my mom and my older girls planted because I just couldn't seem to get my ass in gear to get er done? Because, let's face it, I'm much more of a margarita tree orchardist than a vegetable gardener?

Well, unsurprisingly, it's not looking especially fantastic. It's wild and unruly, bare in spots and fiercely overgrown in others; a very organic organic garden, if you will. Not something a gardener of straight rows and weedless beds would find appealing.

BUT.....

But you'll never believe how perfect and purple and pint-sized the eggplants are.

I was stunned when I spied them growing on the vine.

They are truly magnificent in their weeness and vivid color, so resplendent they've attracted a garden fairy of sorts.

The Vinyin

Holy Moses do Mistah and I have an awesome book club. We had our second meeting on Wednesday night. Two for two, baby.

And no, we are not accepting new members.

We read The Vineyard by Idwal Jones, written in 1942, about wine growers -- the Regolas of Montino -- in California's Napa Valley in the 20's. It's one of the University of California Press' "California Fiction" titles.

And oh that title.

Mistah's Dad, Bill Sr. as we called him (although Mistah is not a Junior, but that's a story for a different day), when he dropped something behind the couch, or over the railing, or between the cracks, or behind the dresser, would say it went "down the vineyard." 'Course, in his Bed-Stuy Irish-American-Brooklyn accent, he pronounced it "down the vinyin."

I've never called it anything but The Vinyin, ever since.

And neither, I'm proud to report, have Jacquie's kids.

So! The Vinyin. Napa Valley in the 1920s. Growing grapes on vines for the rest of us to drink, years later, as gorgeous wine. "Drinking summer" as one character described it.

Mistah declared it his duty to go out and buy us Napa Valley Chardonnay, to drink whilst discussing The Vinyin. And buy them he did.

Me, I bought us a trio of California cheeses: Point Reyes Toma, Vella Dry Jack from Sonoma, and Cypress Grove Humbolt Fog.

Our book club is single-handedly keeping the economies of New London and Waterford afloat.

We were all set . . .

We poured . . .

. . . we toasted . . .

. . . we discussed . . .

. . . and we kept pouring that delicious Napa Valley Chardonnay.

The book, the evening, the company, the wine. It was fabulous.

I love book club.