Now this is ridiculous. Climate change is going to be way worse than anyone understands.
Josie in from Berlin.
River Run with Joan and John
August 27, 2023
nature, photography, river float, joan and john, river, romey, shenandoah, shenandoah river Leave a comment
Ah, the Shenandoah. Though the river is desperately low this summer, floating down it is relaxing and wonderful.
The JoanJohn monster glom.
The romey.
All together now.
And then we had cocktails and played a little music. Yes please!
Hot Summer Doldrums at the Stick
August 27, 2023
ocean beach, beach house, ocean isle beach, the stick, uhaul Leave a comment
Sometimes the doldrums strike even at the Stick. Intensely hot. No wind. The Stick is usually a place of respite with crosswinds blowing through the house, but we up and left when it was just too hot. This is likely to be more common as climate change unfolds. That is, until the Stick is eaten by the Atlantic ocean.
We flew the usual flags.
In any case, we dragged a bunch of stuff down from the cabin. So that was accomplished.
Which also means we got to get rid of some stuff. UHaul at the dump!
All gone.
The dogs had fun when they were not completely overheated. Maybe loves the beach.
Check out the baby puppy Maybeline in the water!
Life is but a bowl of dog food.
Oh yeah, there were cocktails too! Served up on the new bar.
Dark and Stormy
Gin and Tonic
Colt’s Neck
Of course, more dogs in the ocean. Which sometimes means the baby has to be dried off.
One of my very favorite views. We will, of course, be back. Two visits slated for the Fall.
Stairway to the Shenandoah
August 27, 2023
river shenadoah river, shenandoah, stairs Leave a comment
During the solstice party prep, I was surprised to find out that our trusty stairs had disintegrated all at once catastrophically.
New stairs solves the problem. Looks like this will last a decade.
What goes down.
Also leads back up.
The Shenandoah is drying out after a month of no rain. Climate change is going to really suck even on the east coast.
Fashion in the Big Pickle: Karl Lagerfeld- A Line of Beauty at the MOMA
August 27, 2023
art, fashion, museum art, art museum, fashion, karl lagerfeld, MoMA, new york, NY, nyc, romey 1 Comment
A quick hit to NY was just the right opportunity to spend a few hours steeped in high fashion. The MOMA’s Karl Lagerfeld show is excellent. Well curated, interesting, and aware of its own ridiculous nature. Go see for yourself.
First, your hosts all snazzed up. (One eagle eyed NY fashion geek recognized Romey’s vintage skirt.)
Without further commentary, some bits for the bit pile, led off by sparkle. We proceed backwards in time.
We pause now for station identification.
This interlude brought to you by Romey’s eye for high fashion.
Summer Solstice 2023
July 14, 2023
dogs, fire, party, photography solstice, solstice fire, solstice party, solstice party 2023, summer solstice, video 1 Comment
What you gonna do? It rained. It was July 4th weekend. People are bone tired.
Have a party! It was a good one.
Thank goodness for Alec and Eli and Markus and Aubrey. Many hands makes slightly less work. Romey and I can use all the help we can get.
Don’t let his easy smile fool you, this man is serious about his parties!
The list.
Aubrey brought the Messerhead Memorial Salmon Dinner.
And then the time arrived.
Where’s Maybe?
Last minute instrument shells added to the bonfire. Makes art. This has become a really fun tradition.
Even Maybeline got into the act, chewing up her own personal frog.
The culprit.
We knew what to expect from the weather this year so we set up the tables near the barn. That was very helpful when the deluge came.
We retired to the barn for about an hour before the second and third waves of people showed up.
Old men make muscles.
Richie gets wild.
After the rain delay it was back to the tables.
And then the lighting (around 8:15).
It was just a smidge humid.
There was music in the barn.
This year we wound things up around 2am. Getting old I guess. LOL.
We will do it again. Thanks to all who came to the 2023 summer solstice.
Iulie Turns Five
July 14, 2023
party, who knows birthday, five, iulianna, iulie, romey Leave a comment
Sometimes you turn five.
Three generations.
Of course there was cake, decorated by O.
The present pile was impressive.
Badly Kept Secrets in Lichtervelde
June 17, 2023
who knows lichtervelde Leave a comment
We say nothing. Just this.
Yo Turns 65
June 17, 2023
food, party, photography, travel belgium, bookstore, caroline, garden, gem, grappa, leuven, mixology, party, photography, travel, video, violin, yo 2 Comments
Nothing quite like staying with dear friends in Leuven. Yo and Caroline are excellent hosts. This visit was made even more fun by including a 65th birthday party for Yo.
Here are some pictures from my visit.
I even managed to sneak into the circus on Friday evening. An incredible show focused on lighting matches, making pizzas, and spinning plates.
The cast of two and the poor “volunteers” who were pulled from the audience.
Leuven.
There was dancing in the kitchen.
And there were homemade cakes.
We even got to try out some mixology for the party.
Rosemary grappa lemonade…let’s call it the “yo-yo 65.”
The birthday king presides.
The actual power behind the throne is slightly capricious.
The site of the party is the back garden with lots of veggie plants. Delicious food was about as “locally sourced” as you can get. There were fresh snap peas and strawberries. So healthy and so delicious.
This gorgeous cake was my favorite. Banana cheesecake. Yum.
There was some dancing in wooden clogs yo some truly bad fiddle sawing.
We walked several miles together all using the house as a base of operations.
And we visited the English books at FNAC to compare notes.
All in all about as much fun as you can have in Leuven!
