So...that didn't take long. Looking around wondering where-the-hell April went???
Bright and sunny but still cool outside. North Patio Beach is STILL not open to bask. Hopefully soon.
Ran off to Rockville yesterday with Chris. Ostensibly to lunch at The White Horse...check out our favorite Art Gallery on the Square and peruse G.C. Murphy's because...well...it is there...and the BEST five and dime...ever!
Imagine our surprise when we got to the location of The White Horse and it no longer existed.
A Blue Dolphin Moment.
Those who know me...know the story...I am a person of consistency. I do not (overall) do well with change. I frequent the same restaurants, Inns, et al deliberately. It makes me feel comfortable. Safe. Jack Nicholson in"As Good As It Gets" without the horrible attitude or plastic silverware....although I have frequently been known to bring my own tea to brew.
Anyway...during a road-trip after Hurricane Ivan hit the Alabama/Upper Florida coast one year, I drove to my favorite Panama City (Destin) Beach only to arrive and find my usual hotel (The Blue Dolphin) in large chunks out in the Gulf of Mexico. I literally sat in the parking lot for maybe twenty minutes processing the fact it was indeed GONE.
"And who is going to make my BREAKFAST???"
Chris tends to be a lot like me...so there we were in the defunct parking lot of The White Horse...quiet...incredulous...WTF?
Another bit of our life past...gone forever.
We re-grouped, did the Town Square...then went back to our local Jackson Street Family Restaurant (...another place we have literally frequented for over 20 years). Thank goodness THEY were open.
We both might have melted down.
So...it looks like the morel season is going to enjoy an extension this year...and enjoyed modest results from my sporing...and spored some additional greys this year.
James headed north with his boss and crew to Michigan this weekend for their Annual Fishing Expedition. The Weather has been brutal...cold (40's) and rain...part of the trip. At the end of Day 1 they had literally caught 3 fish. And spent the day wrapped in long johns, coveralls and a hoodie. And STILL froze out there on Lake Erie.
 | |
| Seriously??? |
You had to hand it to their boss, though...who (at the end of the day) sat him down to this meal
 |
| Prime Rib au jus and Lobster |
And the kid still enjoys his steaks cooked like I do...in that "Call a VET and you MIGHT save it" state. Ultra rare. If it isn't bleeding on the plate it is over-cooked.
It had to make it all a little better. They are headed back today...hopefully planning to wait until May for the trip next year!
I've been to Michigan in June (coolish...still need a coat) July (almost perfect) August (back to cold) and October (so fucking cold) so I believe the only summer (real warmth) they ever have is in July.
Lennon...well and work slowing down a bit. Making plans to fly in for his brother's wedding next year...already! And they are already picking their colors, thinking about guest lists and sites, asking Kimberly's Emma to be their "Flower Girl" and James' Brenden to be The Ring Bearer.
Chris and Tina off Friday to Comic Con.
And Nicole and I planning next week's garden (and chocolate, cheese, fresh fruit and Moscato adventure) Also collaborating on Aiden's 2nd Birthday Party together. Another musical theme...because...
Yeah...
He LOVES music. Refers to it as "Bop-Bops" now. Dances and head-bangs through the house.
So, Nicole found this idea on Pintrest...and some old badly scratched albums at a local thrift shop...
and totally NAILED it!
Album chip bowls for the party.
Off this week to get his presents!
Frances Mayes went directly to Taromina (Sicily) from Naples. Not so here...because Sicily should be virtually explored when it is over 90 degreees and the sun is beating down, and you can bask and enjoy a cold shot of Limoncello. It has been damp, moderately coolish here...and in the midst of preparing the gardens for Summer. The logical choice was to advance in the book a bit to The British Isles. Not only is the weather right...but the English are all about their Gardens.
So here is my rough itinerary.
Sicily will wait for the Summer heat.
Beginning in Bath.
The Pubs.
The Gardens.
Exploring Cotswold and Stow-on-the-Wold and so many of the charming little hamlets she writes about here.
Learn some of the English Equivalents for words...and the odd pronunciations. A "Brumie" friend of mine (real time) helped expand my vocabulary with his Birmingham England Cockney a while back. It is fascinating, really.
 | |
| Dave and Loran in Pennsylvania |
Bake Scones and make Cucumber Sandwiches
(...a good friend of mine is currently reading "Year in The World" along with me...recently he made me laugh out loud by accusing her (Mayes) of Eating Her Way Through Europe...this is so true...)
See Wales.
See the Isle of Angsley, Yns Mons.
Observe Daily Tea and prepare High Tea this month.
Plant flowers...herbs...and pick up my own Gertrude Jekyll Rose for the Patio from David Austin's Roses (online) to be delivered.
Re-Read Thomas Grey's "Elegy Written in A Country Churchyard"
Experience Fox Hunting.
See Stamford and Oxford.
Try a Tray-Bake.
See a Ha-Ha.
Re-Read The Secret Garden
Try the assortment of English Puddings and Duffs with "lashings of custard" and share recipes.
Have a bit of REAL Cadbury Chocolate...which I have been told, tastes NOTHING like we have here in the States.
See Buckinghamshire.
Make Peach Creme Brulee.
Try Bangers and Mash. Bubble and Squeak.
Maybe he is right...she IS eating her way across Europe.
"Foodie" that I am...I heartily approve.
Tomorrow we head (Virtually) to The British Isles!
More Anon...
