I started the day prepping for the barbecue dinner I offered to prepare at ranch of my friends, Bob and Judy. I wanted to get as much done as possible, in terms of using the stove and oven, because this heatwave that's hit us on the west coast had been reported to be leaving on Tuesday - NOT! Yesterday turned out to be the hottest of the whole spell; I'll get to that later.
After spending most of the early morning in my kitchen I met the other 'girls' at Becky and Ken's house. We had drinks, chips and snacks by the pool - the pool was a godsend even though the water was 90 degrees because of the heat. We four ladies set ourselves up IN the pool with an umbrella for a little shade and talked nonstop for about 4 hours! I know men often wonder what women can talk about for 4 hours - just about anything!
Then we drove from Becky and Ken's house in Carmichael (suburb of Sacramento) to Judy (Becky's sister) and Bob's ranch in Loomis for a real American Fourth of July barbecue. Loomis, because of its rural Sierra foothills setting, doesn't allow fireworks of any kind due to the fire hazard. That suits me just fine, as Lacy is petrified at the sound of fireworks; she actually becomes almost catatonic!
Dinner for 6:
*Barbecued chateaubriand with wine- sauteed mushrooms and Béarnaise sauce
*Giant green salad with all kinds of fresh vegetables, avocados, almonds and tortilla chips with balsamic vinagrette
*'Smashed' red potatoes with lots of butter and seasonings
*San Francisco sour dough French bread
and
*Strawberry shortcake - freshly picked strawberries over home made pound cake with whipped cream
This group: Judy and Bob, Becky and Ken, Jackie and I are great friends and get together fairly regularly for dinners, game nights, etc. I've been the odd man out due to all the traveling I've been doing; I'm so glad we had this opportunity to get together before I haul out of here in a few weeks.
Here are my dear friends, Bob and Judy, who have a beautiful ranch in Loomis with 2 magnificent horses, 5 llamas, 2 bunnies and 4 Chihuahuas. Unfortunately none of us took the best photos - we've all been suffering with the heat! Bob and Judy were married during the time I was in Guatemala. Now they're old married folks after having celebrated their first anniversary in May.
This is lovely Becky, Judy's younger sister, who I've become very friendly with since being introduced by Judy a few years ago. Becky and Ken have been wonderful assets to my life. Unfortunately, as the youngest one in the group, Becky is still slaving away in her career - Ken retired earlier this year.
Here're Becky and Ken together - Ken in his patriotic shirt. He's been tearing up all the golf courses in the Sacramento area - his new favorite thing!
These are Judy's 4 Chihuahuas - Marty, Max, Lily and Dusty - not necessarily in that order!
And, here is where Lacy spent the entire visit. Bob and Judy have been having to bring their two pet bunnies, Sable and Oreo, into the house each day between about 9AM and 9PM, in order that they, too, might live through the heatwave. Lacy is enthralled; she doesn't try to get to them, bark or hurt them in any way; she's just totally fascinated.
So, a final note .... we're pretty tough people when it comes to heat. We are quite accustomed >90-95 degrees almost every day from May well into October. When I say heat, we're talking days and days of over 105 - and not much cooling down at night. Yesterday, the mercury soared to 115! When I left Bob and Judy's at about 9:30 to drive the 14 miles to my house it was 108 on my dashboard thermometer - in the dark! When I arrived home, my thermometer outside on the patio table read 110.
This morning I awakened at 6:30 and checked outside - the thermometer read 74!!!!! Now it's about 83 and that's cool for us! Hopefully I won't need a sweater to run to the store!
0815
ReplyDeletebarcelona football shirts
mbt shoes outlet
prada shoes
ugg boots, http://www.uggsoutlet.us.org
hogan
true religion outlet,true religion jeans,true religion kids,true religion jeans sale,true religion jeans for men,true religion jacket,true religion sale
cheap oakley sunglasses, http://www.oakleysunglassescanada.com
chris paul jersey
nike huarache
coach outlet online
jordan 13
ray ban sunglasses outlet,ray ban sunglasses,ray ban,rayban,ray bans,ray ban outlet,ray-ban,raybans,ray ban wayfarer,ray-ban sunglasses,raybans.com,rayban sunglasses,cheap ray ban
ysl handbags
real madrid soccer jersey
michael kors factory store,michael kors outlet online sale,michael kors,kors outlet,michael kors outlet,michael kors handbags,michael kors outlet online,michael kors handbags clearance,michael kors purses,michaelkors.com,michael kors bags,michael kors shoes,michaelkors,cheap michael kors
ugg boots, http://www.uggboot.com.co
christian louboutin uk
chicago bears jerseys
air jordan 13
ugg boots clearance,ugg australia,uggs on sale,ugg slippers,uggs boots,uggs outlet,ugg boots,ugg,uggs
michael kors outlet
seattle seahawks jerseys
soccer shoes
mbt sneakers
oakley sunglasses
knicks jersey
falcons jersey
spurs jersey
north face jackets,north face,the north face,northface,north face outlet,north face jackets clearance,the north face
rolex watches
dan marino jersey,louis delmas jersey,brent grimes jersey,cameron wake jersey,mike wallace jersey,dan marino jersey,cameron wake jersey
ray ban outlet
ReplyDeletecheap jordan shoes
nike air max uk
cheap football shirts
lululemon pants
ugg boots uk
herve leger dresses
mont blanc pens
coach outlet store
snow boots
beats by dre
chanel handbags outlet
philadelphia eagles
the north face outlet
abercrombie and fitch
cheap nba jerseys
ghd uk
replica handbags,replica handbags outlet,cheap handbags,purses and handbags,wholesale replica handbags,replica bags,bags outlet,replica handbags wholesale,cheap purses,discount handbags,handbags sale,wholesale purses,handbags and purses,replica purses
louis vuitton bags
roshe run men
1024minko