Friday, June 22, 2007

Summer Solstice

Unlike most people in the U.S., I'm heading away from the shore. Approximately 475 miles away if the odometer serves. My nephew's birthday is on Sunday. He will be one. We are all gathering for cupcakes. The next day, Donn and Nancy will be there and we'll celebrate once more with a baseball cake and gifties.

Armed for the journey: Eggs, Beans and Crumpets by P.G. Wodehouse read by Jonathan Cecil. (I was so taken with Young Men in Spats that I'm giving this one a go.) Sesame crackers, seedless red grapes, celery, m&ms, a fig bar, and water.

Most looked forward to stop on the way: Williams-Sonoma outlet in Primm, NV.

Deck chair leisure: Middlemarch (all 747 pages of it) by George Eliot and The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig (a wildcard). I have a respectable paperback issue from the library and the font and layout are intensely magnetic to me. I want to read it no matter what it says.

Recipes we may sample: ranch dressing (this region is known to use only ranch; I want to see what they think of a housemade version), sweet corn salsa, watermelon sorbet, a variety of chocolate cakes (in view of my mother's birthday on 7-7-07), alice waters's coleslaw (yummers), coconut milk pudding rolls (on a special occasion morning).

Baggage: gently used clothes (laundry), cameras, a hanging pocket I am going to paint and turn into a spice rack, the makings of memory books for Bodie and Maysen (both birthdays), a summer wrap for an evening venture, an ice cream maker (they have one but I am used to mine), lemons, red pepper flakes, honey, balsamic vinegar, pineapple shampoo and conditioner, a choice of swimsuits (I finally let go the old rags of yesteryear and paid several successful visits to Marshalls and Ross).

Entertainment: Ratatouille, The Matchmaker (at the Shakespearean Festival . . . yes, I know it's not Shakespearean), Joseph . . . Dreamcoat, water fun, watching Bodie, holding Bodie, smiling at Bodie.

What is your favorite route to travel?

4 comments:

Amanda said...

Have such a fun trip. We too are leaving our home for the valleys of Zion next month. I haven't given a thought to packing because I'm still UNpacking from our trip to the Cape.

apple slice said...

amanda, i bet your trip was sublime. i'm sure you'll publish pics on your blog. i cannot wait! how fun you are coming west. i bet your family (in the west) is too excited to see you. my pores are thirsty and the water is hard. other than that, the hot weather is a fave of mine.

Karen said...

I LOVE Wodehouse. Well chosen! May I suggest the Wodehouse Bestiary? Despite the unfortunate title, it is a collection of highly amusing short stories.

apple slice said...

KTG, you got me started on Wodehouse. I have read only a few which I have much enjoyed. The audio is a stunning tour de force. I normally cannot follow a story on tape (or in any verbal form). This is entertainment. Brain candy.