August 2013

…has just about gone. It's been a good one, mostly.

On the 3rd, we went to a wedding, a friend of M's from law school, in a lovely home near Glen Ellen. It was a Jewish ceremony, which I quite like. I didn't know anyone really, but made pretty good conversation until the transformer blew and I drank one glass of wine too many. Then it was time to go home. M assures me I did nothing embarrassing but I'm skeptical.

I went to the county fair twice this year, making up for M's lack of attending. So we didn't get our usual romantic ride on the Ferris wheel or photo booth portrait, though the wedding photo booth made up for that. I do love the fried food, up to a point, and seeing all of the livestock looking their best.

I've been in the kitchen a lot. Made some strawberry jam that tasted very good before I canned it, so have high hope. The peach version tastes just OK and will be a sauce. I missed the apricots entirely, unfortunately. I just made a small batch of grape jelly from the purple-y Concord pearls we plucked from a neighbors yard (don't worry, they've put up a board fence that sandwiches the vines between it and a Cyclone fence, so we assume they don't want them). I plan to pick blackberries at the office this Friday and will put them up this Labor Day weekend.

On the 18th, we made our first visit to Weill Hall in the new-ish Green Music Center at Sonoma State. Just five bucks to hear students in a piano program! We got third row seats and had a nice time. It's a gorgeous space and beautiful acoustics, though the seats are hard and the boxes are not well thought-out, in my opinion. They're just railings, so you have to really work to avoid an unwelcome perspective of ladies in shorter skirts.

On the 26th, we rode the motorcycle, my first ride since M's knee replacement, to Samuel P. Taylor Park. Nick's dad Colin was visiting from England and we celebrated his birthday with a picnic potluck. It was a lovely day for a ride and catching up with friends.