The random bloom explosion. Orderly rows? Nope.
So fancy -- Formosa Lilies
Spotted Bee Balm
Remember the "green zinnia" sprout? A few months ago I misidentified it amidst the "volunteer" Cosmos that are now taking over the plot (plus the one next to ours and the pathway, oops.) There is no sign of green zinnia blooms. sniff. Don't care for hot pink cosmos, but the bees are having a good time, but why are they not on the spotted bee balm?
Tunnock's wafer biscuits! Turns out along with a police station, traditional main street shops, pubs and rail station, there is one big biscuit factory in Uddingston, Scotland.
Even better, each wafer biscuit was individually wrapped and the shiny wrapper boasted "4,000,000 of these biscuits made and sold every week? How was this possible? Who is buying all these Carmel Wafer Biscuits? 
Interesting Facts:
Happy Birthday today to Nick Cave, who is still a spry blur at fifty-one. The Chef & I (plus geek girls PVC and Usher Supreme on the floor) were lucky to see NC & the Bad Seeds a few days ago where he leaped about the stage, knocking things over in his furious path with well-timed high kicks to prove that he is still the same ol' punk -- even more so off the smack! We were exhausted just watching him in the sauna seats up in the rafters. Along with the sonic rants from "Dig, Lazerus, Dig!" we were thrilled to hear a few oldies, "Tupelo", "Deanna" even "Stagger Lee". All the classic Murder Ballads rolled out to cheers from the crowd.
p.s. there is no better mountain man on the violin than recent Bad Seed (and Dirty Three leader) Warren Ellis.
"I Live in San Francisco"
We look forward to receiving one of these happy Chinese New Year postcard delights in the mail each year. That DJ Big Cookie sure is something, like a super croissant, but better.
So much happy laughter. Plus, Mz Tancho scored some nice burlap bags.
We had to sneak away when the pressure to dance became overwhelming (despite our obvious love for brass). Cheers to the Brass Liberation Orchestra and Blue Bone Express!
Before the masses hit the "Spirits Pavilion"...
...the Chef readied his samples -- a slow booze "Corpse Reviver" w/ lemon juice, cointreau, Death's Door Gin, Underhill Lounge Swedish Punsch and a touch of Absinthe, and the Vodka Cobbler crowd pleaser also known as "that pink thing".
My favorite spot was the Pickle Pavilion (featuring brined objects from Picklopolis.) Not only do I love pickled anythings, but since I was ticketless volunteer, the nice Pickle people were not checking tickets when giving out samples and I "relished" going through the line a few times. ha! get it? relished!
The fancy food crowds didn't know that the lines were shorter at the farmer's market. I felt spoiled, as we shop local each week just a short stroll away (with plenty of slow booze demos right in our kitchen). No tickets or "slow dough" required.
When you go to a summer music festival in California, there is foo foo-fancy pants concert food available. Fresh fruit? yes! organic ice cream? yes! Cowgirl Creamery cheese? Oh yes. We didn't eat any of it however, as we rushed to claim our close-to-the-front territory with towels and wide leg stance. It's all about the land grab. OK, it was in the VIP section. Don't hate me.
It was a great show, but ranking at #3 personal best Radiohead experience. Lower on the list because of the uber fans standing next to me singing every single song with hand gestures. I don't like that. I want to hear Thom Yorke sing the songs. Is that so crazy? Sing along to the CDs alone in your room why don't you!? When did live music concerts become participatory and not just about LISTENING? Those people sang their hearts out for two hours, but they were not Radiohead. I would not pay to come over to their house and listen to them sing "Karma Police". Would you? Still, it was Radiohead, the sound went out twice, but who cares.
In NYC we had a "team dinner" in the kitchen -- but no one was cooking there, it was just the secret location setting behind a big door to make us feel special. I thought that was funny. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but hoo boy, it was TRENDY. All I know that it was half a block from the Indian restaurant, Spice Market, and that I wished I was eating there (@ Spice Market), alone. At work dinners there is so much small talk that who can actually taste the food? It was Italian, or something. I like food too much to not taste it.
Also in the line-up -- afro-jazz from NYC's Either/Orchestra with vocalists Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté. The talents of these African legends are collected on a CD series called "Ethiopiques" (I have a few of them, but now I have it on my list to pick up the whole lot (because there are always more CDs to purchase, right?)
Did I mention that these fellows are superstars in Africa? Thus, when Alèmayèhu Eshèté hit the stage, the audience, including lots of Ethiopians living in NYC, screamed like watching Tom Jones in Vegas. In fact, Alèmayèhu performed a little like Tom Jones in Vegas, which made it even better. You can see what a suave entertainer he is from the photo above. In the New York Times review they compare him to James Brown, but I insist -- Tom Jones! 
Because I only had a free bag of apple chips for dinner, Blaine & Ingrid took me right around the corner to Rosa Mexicana because in NYC, there is also a good restaurant on every block. I was exhausted and missed the Chef, but still I thought...I could live in this town.
My father always keeps a collection of interesting treasures on his dresser. At Camp Laf-A-Lot it's a nest with a special acorn, a seashell, a cocktail umbrella, an abandoned egg from the Eastern Phoebe who lived outside the door and a perfectly preserved dragon fly. That's my dad.
Among many highlights: The nightly 5pm Cocktail Cruise around the lake! Comes with cold drink in hand, cheese and crackers, plus a boat-by check in on the local loons and baby eagles. This is #1 on the list of "best cocktail hours" in the world. drink! food! wildlife nature tour!
Canoe ride through the lily pads and past beaver dams. I come from a family of experienced paddlers. Lots of time at summer camp spent standing knee deep in the lake and practicing the J-stroke technique.
Artsy camp photo series -- minnow cluster #23 and grill fire magic #6.
My dad says that Usinger's make the best sausages and hot dogs in all the land, but "I'm sure others are okay too." We did not disagree and stuffed ourselves with bratwurst. Check out "Milwaukee's Favorites" from their gift offerings.
This champagne cork came from a bottle that had been saved for 50 years. A romantic notion, but only the brave dared to drink the bubbly. Note to self -- drink leftover wedding champagne soon. Tomorrow?
All weekend -- full moon view over the lake at the end of the dock.
