Summer Gatherings

June 23 was our Summer Solstice Party & Potluck. It was a large project that was my first attempt at taking advantage of the large back yard we have at Rancho de WereMonster by entertaining outdoors. The idea to have live music played at the party came from The Soogs, who wanted to play in front of people for the first time in years. I invited anyone who wanted to participate to play as well. We started out with six bands or individuals who wanted to play and by the party, that list was whittled down to four who could actually make the party. Four was a much more manageable list to be finished by 10 pm, which is generally the legal limit for outdoor music/noise in residential areas - not that there were anyone immediate to the house that would be disturbed. What makes our back yard perfect for music is we are surrounded by a very good sound buffer. Neighbors to the right of us crank their stereo up to sound like a rave is going on whenever they are not in the house. Th neighbors across the street are always asking if they are too noisy because of the large commercial quality sound system they have. Behind us is the roar of Pleasantdale Road. To our right is a park. No problem, except for the Republicans up the street who did not appreciate the cars - none of which were blocking anyone. That is a house too far up the street even be bothered by sound and who always have a large number of cars parked in their driveway, yard and up the street so it was a bit of a surprise when they called the police on our party at 7pm. The police hung out, told us not to stop the party, just watch the volume levels, and were has nice as they could be. The music went on until 10pm wiith no problem. MonsterMustDie was upset at the site of police but I think by now he's mostly gotten over it. I am hoping he lets me have another party like the Summer Solstice Potluck next year. Preferably if The Soogs and others are willing, I would do this again in the Spring, when the weather is a bit cooler. We were lucky enough to have the party on the last weekend of tolerable temperatures before the real heat wave hit last week. I am extremely grateful to Brian, Paul, and Joe for volunteering to build the stage and to Allen for bringing his lighting and sound equipment. The extra trash bins that Brian brought were also a big help and kept me from scrabbling as much all day to empty trash and clean up. They made the party a huge success. There was a lot of good eats and enough left overs to skip buying groceries the week afterward and that kinda helped out with the overall cost of things. I really should have provided an donation jar of some sort just in case anyone wanted to contribute to paying off this event or paying for the next gathering. 

Last weekend, the one thing I did was go to a Grateful Gluttons potluck gathering at the Ryttershire. The heat was so oppressive I had a headache the next morning from dehydration despite bringing a large bottle of water that I emptied while I was there. It is always great to see everyone there in Grant Park. The food was good. Note: IMHO deviled eggs should never made with sweet pickles, even if they are home made. The pickles were very good on their own or on crackers but not in other foods. The pickled watermelon rinds were good and tart and crunchy - quite refreshing. I brought a small batch of home made blueberry hand pies. Didn't make as many as I'd planned because I did not have quite enough dough. I should stock lots of frozen pasty next time or start earlier and double crust recipes. I should also remember to bring an extra bag of ice to any summer gathering, whether it is asked for or not - that seems like something there is never enough of. 

The final act at the Summer Solstice Potluck was Jerome Newton - a bit of classic glam including old Bowie and Eno.