Opening Day (of grill season)

Today the temperature hit the high 70s. Not only did this mean an extremely pleasant walk to work (yes, I am back on that kick again) but also meant that Noe was just itching to get the grill going. While I was at work, he went out and bought some country-style pork ribs. By the time I got home, the grill was going and the ribs were sizzling.

Noe gets the grill going

Meaty goodness

We could have been stuck for side dishes, however, the night before I had attempted to make bean soup in the crock pot (trying to find a use for the ham bone from Easter, despite the fact that bean soup is horrendously unseasonal at this point). Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately - I either didn't add enough water or let the soup simmer too long (or both). By the time I got home, the soup had thickened into the most glorious baked beans imaginable. I stirred in about two tablespoons of barbecue sauce for some sweetness and it was all mmm, mmm, good.

 Ribs

We hung out outside while Noe cooked the ribs, he minding the grill and me sitting on my ass in a lawn chair, dragging it around trying to maximize the last of the sun's rays, drinking rose and reading Vanity Fair. It was AMAZING.

  Being lazy while Noe does the work

 Country-style ribs, baked beans, 

and some leftover Zinfandel from work

 How do you enjoy the warm weather?

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a great cookout with friends - and even some family - and I got to wear a pretty vintage dress. I would say it was a pretty good day. Thank you to everyone who came over and sent birthday wishes!

My cake with canned (Betty Crocker) frosting -
the only kind I like.

27 candles is kind of a lot.

Perhaps the jewel of my fledgling vintage dress collection.

Rugby + Cookout = LOTS of Fun

What a weekend! Actually, now that I think about it, it's been a pretty crazy past three weeks or so. Even if had not been slightly hung over I think I may have needed to spend all day in the armchair watching movies on TV (The Princess Bride was on!) because I didn't realize exactly how tired I was. Family in town, going home for a weekend, and of course, rugby games and cook outs will wear a person down!

Friday night was pretty low-key - we checked out a movie. I talked Noe into humoring my George Clooney infatuation and seeing Leatherheads. It was actually pretty decent - we both enjoyed it well enough and Renee Zellweger wasn't so completely annoying that she ruined the movie, so we consider it to be a winner. Clooney really does remind me of Carey Grant or Clark Gable or one of those old-time movie stars - and he looks great in 1920's period clothing!

Saturday is what really did me in, however. The forecast called for heavy rain, yet by 10:00 Saturday morning the sun was out and the temperature was rapidly approaching the mid-50's. Not being able to bear the thought of staying inside on such a lovely day, Noe and I decided to join Kevin Doyle and Amanda and check out Kevin Lester's rugby game.

The closes I have come to a rugby game before now is seeing bits and pieces of them on TVs in various Irish pubs. I certainly didn't expect to find a rugby league in Connecticut, but sure enough, there is.

Although rugby is played by big manly men, it is a little weird for several reasons: 1) They lift each other up; 2) They link arms and occasionally touch each other's butts; and 3) They were short shorts. However, once you get past these rather questionable elements, there is a lot of tackling, falling, swearing, pushing, shoving, and otherwise manly activities.



Truth be told, it's pretty easy to enjoy anything - even a sport you know nothing about - on the first warm sunny day of the spring. In fact, we enjoyed being outside at the rugby game so much that we parlayed it into an impromptu cookout, which soon turned in to impromptu drink a lot of beers and margaritas, and then progressed in to a New London bar crawl.



Highlights of the evening: meeting The Dude and his brother; Jell-O Shots at Hot Rod's; finishing the night by showing off our mad skills on the dance floor at Kream. Truth be told, it's probably a good thing the pictures stop after bar number one.

It was a great weekend - but I am ready for a break!