Say CHEESE!

We both spent the week in Merrimac, WI at Devil's Head resort at the Land O' Lakes conference held by the U of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Pharmacy.  We also spent a brief time in Madison and caught up with Julie Martyn (former resident of the Brown house with Sheri), Mike and Sue Capp (long time friends of both of us) and George Zografi (advisor/mentor to both of us).  It was good to see old friends and colleagues, hike around Devil's Lake and learn a few things too.   Of course we sampled some fine cheese and good down home cooking while staying at Devil's Head.

Bruno and Sheri on the Merrimac Ferry

This weekend was dreary, but the first of the raspberries came in!  With any luck, we might have strawberries (the last few), raspberries and blueberries ripe at the same time.  The cool weather has provided an extended arugula and asparagus crop that we hope will hold us until the peas start coming (we had 3 so far!).  Jillian, our Face of Produce for June, brings peas (2 of 3), arugula, the last of the strawberries and first raspberries.

Jillian

June's Face of Produce

Happy Birthday

On Sunday we celebrated Sheri's birthday staring with tea and yoga in the bright sunshine in preparation for a full day in the garden (weeding, havesting strawberries, keeping plants around the house in check). In the evening we made our first pilgrimage of the season to Watch Hill for dinner at the Olympia Team Room with Jo and Eric. The food was fantastic, especially the desserts and we were reminded why it is a favorite. The skies cleared following a shower during dinner,  inviting us to walk to the beach and up to see the newly opened Ocean House. The photos speak for themselves. It was a wonderful night! Thanks to Mr. Royce for rebuilding that beautiful hotel, to Jack Felber for a wonderful seaside dining spot and to Joe and Eric for being such great friends with whom we can celebrate life's milestones.

Goodbye Percy, hello Pippin....

A few weeks ago we said goodbye to our trusty seven year old PC ("Percy the 'puter"), and welcomed a new Apple iMac ("Pippin") into our home.  We are glad to report that Pippin is now a fully functional member of the family and helping us with our blog, photos, music, emails and numerous other tasks.  She's even house-trained too!  Lets hope that she is as reliable and long lived as Percy  :-)

Memorial Day Weekend Quiz

It was a warm and sunny Memorial Day weekend on Hangman Hill.  We played in the garden, both planting flowers and veggies and harvesting our first crops of the season.  Strawberries are here about a week earlier than normal, and the gooseberries are also ahead of the curve.  Who knows what we'll be entering on the North Stonington Fair this year?

The Poppies and The Proclaimers

On Friday night Bruno treated us to a trip to Northampton, MA to see The Proclaimers at the Iron House Cafe! The Iron House is a great venue, we saw Junior Brown at the same venue about time last year.  We were thrilled to get seats just off the stage.  We enjoyed dinner, desert, coffee and the opening act...and then they cancelled.  One of the two singers didn't have a voice, or so it seems.  So, with great disappointment we wandered around Northampton and enjoyed a warm spring evening along with all the parents in town for graduation.

On a brighter note, we finally have poppies in bloom (Sheri has been working at this for 10 years)!

We also had our first strawberries.  Only 4, so far, but so sweet!

Waiting for produce

Carrots, peas, lettuce, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, onions, leeks, potatoes and strawberries, oh my,  are in training as future candidates for Face of Produce.  In the meantime a few updates from inside.

Bruno has been nurturing Amaryllis bulbs we sent to Mimi as a gift (she sent them back).  To our delight one has bloomed again, rewarding us with 4 bright red flowers.

The "Copper Leaves" that we received from DiAnn during out trip to Philly, that were made by a good friend of DiAnn's father has been hung by the wood stove with care.  They seemed to be made for this spot.  Hopefully we will have a strawberry report soon.

Weekend in Philly with DiAnn and Mike

We met DiAnn and Mike in Philadelphia to celebrate DiAnn's birthday, Mother's Day, to make the transfer several family heirlooms in to our home in CT.  We made the most of unexpected sunshine and warm temperatures with a Duck Tour, wandered around Independence Hall, and enjoyed many nice meals together. We topped it off with Mimosas at the Devil's Alley for breakfast.