Deb and Hank's Space (It's Really Just About Me - Deb)

The senior living community where I work has a garden club made up of 6 or 7 residents of our community who are in their 80's and 90's but who are passionate about gardening. They design, plant and maintain all of our gardens including a huge courtyard area. Because they are proud of their work and we want to help them show off, we host a Garden Club Luncheon and invite all the garden clubs in the county. Usually about 60 people RSVP and attend. This year we had a few issues.

 

We were having the roof re-shingled and they chose to strip off all the shingles the day before we had a huge rainstorm. With no tarp. Needless to say we had extensive damage to the dining room and lounge area with parts of the ceiling falling down. So we adapted and decided to have the luncheon on the garden level and eat in the screen porch; however, the weather did not cooperate and it was cold, windy and poured all day. So we moved everything to the Activity Room. We scrambled to set up tables and gather chairs, set the tables, place the centerpieces, etc. Then we started greeting our guests. About 52 people RSVP'd that they would attend...67 showed up. Keep in mind that we are also serving our 64 residents lunch too. And staff. It was overwhelming. We were aafraid we would run out of food but just like with the parable of the fishes and loaves, there was plenty to go around. We had gazpacho, crispy chinese chicken salad, warm rolls, and plates of brownies and cheesecake slices. The speaker was a young woman who runs a 30 acre organic garden and vineyard and is passionate about her work. Everyone loved her presentation. So even with all the issues, everyone still had a great time. It's just too bad they did not get to see our gardens!  

I just read a great blog about a newlywed's annoying husband. Click here. What a riot. Check out his bathrobe picture. No, I did not Google "annoying husband," the blog was on the AOL home page. :-)

The photographer, the amazing Eddie Quinones, sent me a couple pictures from Jana's wedding to keep me satisfied while he is working on the rest of them.

 

This is our son Kevin dancing with Jana and some of her girlfriends. Because Kevin is 9 years older than the girls, Jana's friends have had a crush on him since they were 10 years old. Now they are finally old enough that he might show interest in them.

 

Hank and Jana having their dance. It was a Jessica Simpson song but I don't remember the title. The lyrics said something to the effect of, you don't have to be afraid to let me go because you raised me right. I cried.

 

 

Jana tossing the bouquet. The white-haired lady in the blue dress right behind her is Alex's grandma...seconds before she slid across the dance floor to catch the bouquet.

 

More pics coming soon.

Hank and I went to dinner last night with our friend Patrick and Hank's friend Steve. We went to Kief's Reef in Burton's Bridge, IL. It is a great place...casual, lively, and fun. It is right on the Fox River and they have dock space so many diners arrive on their boats or PWC. Outside there is a tiki bar and live entertainment but that is not why we chose Kief's. On Saturday nights they have all you can eat barbecue ribs for $26.95 or all you can eat crab legs for $28.95 or the combo for $28.95. They aslo have a salad bar which you don't see much any more. I love, love, love their homemade bluecheese dressing. It is really the best I have ever had. Patrick and I get the combo, Hank gets the ribs and Steve (first time out with us) got the prime rib dinner.

 

The folks at Kief's are great; the food just keeps coming until you beg them to stop. I hate to admit it but I easily kept up with the boys! We have a strategy...we have one tiny slice of the homemade bread with a small salad (mine covered in bluecheese) then don't touch the potato and vegetable sides that come with the dinner. We start with 1/2 slab of the most delicious ribs ever. The sauce is tangy and not too sweet and there is just the right amount of char on the meat which is cooked to perfection...slightly chewy and nearly falling off the bones. Then Patrick and I dive into the crab legs. They are huge and piping hot! Some folks like to remove the meat from all their legs before taking a bite but we are the eat-as-you-go types. We squeeze some lemon into the cup of hot melted butter then dip the sweet crab into it and enjoy! After two rounds of crab, we are ready for another 1/2 slab of ribs. Then more crab. I am not sure how much we ate but it was alot - too much. It is a good thing we only do this once or twice a year. Oh another great thing about Kief's is the huge roll of very strong paper towels on each table - good to have when eating messy foods! Hank enjoys their PBR on tap but Patrick and I stick to Coke because we don't like beer!  

 

If you are ever in the neighborhood, be sure to stop in at Kief's. They make a great Bloody Mary (nice and spicy with lots of olives) and fantastic burgers and pizza too. If you go on Saturday night, get there at 5pm to avoid the crowd!

 

I better start a diet today. 

Hank and I try to get away from home on the weekends when he is not scheduled to work to enjoy a little togetherness and have some fun. Remember, his 90 year old mother lives with us so we have very  little  time alone at home (none, actually). This past weekend we went to one of our favorite day-trip spots, Port Washington, WI. This is a charming little town on the shores of Lake Michigan about 30 miles north of Milwaukee. It is less than a 2 hour drive from our home.

 

We packed a cooler with some bottled water, soda and even a few "adult" beverages and some snacks and headed North. It is a pleasant drive and it is good just to be alone and have nice conversations after missing each other for most of the prior week. (H works nights and I work days and we usually do not see each other between his days off). On Saturdays Port Washington has a Farmer's Market and that is where we went first. I bought some sweet and juicy peaches and a loaf of homemade zucchini/pineapple/coconut bread. Thee were beautiful bouquets of flowers and many fruits and vegetables for sale but I was afraid they would not survive in the hot car all day so that was all I bought.

 

Next we wandered over to the marina to check out the Maritime Heritage Festival. There were tall ships to tour, a craft fair, food tents, carnival rides and games, and live music! Forgetting about the food we packed, we had the combination plate at a stall selling Afican food. Hank is not usually adventurous when it comes to food so I was a bit surprised when he agreed (enthuiastically!) to try it. There was safron rice, roasted pork, a variety of vegetables in a tomato sauce, and fried plantains. We loved it! After walking around for a while we headed to the beach.

 

The beach in Port Washington is a somewhat hidden treasure. To get there, you have to walk around the water treatment plant and, yes, sometimes there is an unpleasant odor. But once past the plant, there is a lovely sandy beach buffeted by high cliffs that is friendly to families, teens and dog lovers! We spent some time just relaxing, reading and people watching. After a time, we decided to go for a walk along the shore. The water in Lake Michigan is very cold! We walked a long way enjoying watching the dogs frolicking in the surf, kids spashing, people playing Frisbee and folks just enjoying the beautiful weather and setting.

 

Later we packed up our thngs (we did eat some snacks and drink the adult beverages) and headed back to the festival. We wandered around some more and stopped to listen to the music for a while. By now it was dinner time so we ate at a barbecue style restaurant where I had a spicy chicken sandwich with tons of grilled veggies and Hank had the steak sandwich with grilled veggies. They were messy but delicious!  We had a full day and got home around 8:30pm.

 

I will be sad to see summer come to an end soon.