Every Thursday this summer, Broadway shop Sloppy Kisses is hosting Yappy Hour at The Inn at Saratoga, a bit further south down Broadway. The event started June 21, but last night was our first time going, and Happy Dingo McGee made his debut, along with his friend Isaac (who also brought his dad, Justin).
There were dogs everywhere — lining the aisles alongside last night’s doggie beauty pageant and throughout the courtyard of the hotel. Some were dressed in dresses and hats and boas for the pageant, and some (like Happy) were just there to chase the tail. It was quite the scene and Happy had stimulation overload — he didn’t understand why he couldn’t just run in circles, herd all the dogs, and play his little heart out. He barked and jumped and tried to play with every dog he passed. I think he was pretty good overall.
We ran into a handful of my fellow Steeplechasers and their dogs. We even met another girl from Kinderhook! (And her dog Lilly.) As I told the girl, Katie, I think it was the first time in the 8 years Jen and I have been together that we’ve met someone else actually from Kinderhook (while not in Kinderhook, that is).
Following Yappy Hour, we walked back to Justin’s house for some pizza and hanging out with Joe. On the way, we walked past UPH, where a performance by the Lake George Opera summer camp was letting out. We ran into and chatted a bit with Jen H.D. and Dana.
I love our small and vibrant city.
Here are some photos of Happy and Isaac on their way to Yappy Hour (unfortunately, the camera battery died, and I didn’t have the backup with me, so no photos from the actual Yappy Hour).
Inspired last night by Alex & Cati’s infamous pizza-ettes (see here and here), Jen and I decided to take a stab at making them ourselves (OK, well mostly Jen, but I did more than my fair share in eating them!). We made 4 of the wheat pita-based wonders — 2 with feta and artichoke hearts and 2 with feta and olives. All 4 had a garlicwonderfully delicious homemade sauce Jen had made the night before.
Before, during, and after the pizza-ette making and eating, the power was fluctuating — it’s been really hot this week. So Justin and Patricia both came over to join us for some candlelight Pictionary and red wine.
Saturday brought us back to our old college town of Poughkeepsie for our third and final wedding of the summer: That of Sam and Amelia in the Vassar Chapel, the very same place where Jen and I got married nearly 4 years ago. All 3 weddings we attended this summer were all friends from Vassar, which was cool.
As always, it was surreal being back on campus — it seemed like a lifetime ago that we were students there. We were last on campus three years ago for our 5-year reunion. We got to see the fancy new round-abouts on Raymond Ave. for the first time. Campus was beautiful, as always, and both wedding service and reception (at the Alumnae House) were wonderful.
It was great to see Sam — looking really happy — and to meet his new bride, Amelia. It was fun meeting lots of new people, and running into some old acquaintances. We sat at the Vassar table — where two other couples had also been married at the Chapel.
On the way to Poughkeepsie, we met up with Shay and his family for a great lunch in New Paltz (unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos; hard to believe, I know!). It was fun seeing Shay and Deb and their girls; we hadn’t seen them since the year of our wedding.
And last but not least was this truck we saw, advertising what has got to be the least refreshing beverage of all time: Intense Milk:
Yet again, Michael Moore delivers. Friday night Jen and I joined Tom and Anne for Sicko, Moore’s latest film about the shoddy state of the health care industry in the U.S.
The San Francisco Chronicle review of the film (my usual source for trusted reviews) gave it the standing, clapping man, its best review. The brief review summary best sums up Sicko: It “attempts to do two things: to convince Americans that our current system is corrupt and scandalous and immoral; and to make the case for a European style single-payer system.”
Quite simply, I think it achieved both objectives. The film did leave me teary-eyed more than once. I thought the focusing on the human stories — the people who have insurance in the U.S. who think they’re covered — was a powerful approach. Though some may argue that it didn’t dig deep enough in terms of hard facts, I think it met its goal to raise awareness and to get people talking about the issues.
And if you haven’t already seen Moore’s appearance on CNN this week with Wolf Blitzer, it’s worth a watch. It’s great to see Moore go head to head with mainstream media — and leave Blitzer nearly speechless. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:
Love him or hate him, Michael Moore gets people talking, and that’s what’s important — and what will hopefully lead to change.
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 · Comments Off on July 4th BBQ
Tonight when there was a lull in the pouring rain I grilled up some broccoli marinated in vinaigrette and some fake jalapeño-cheddar hot dogs. Along with Jen’s homemade pasta-coleslaw salad and fried potatoes, it was a most delicious hot summer evening meal.
I ate two of the not-dogs, and I’m pretty stuffed.
On the 4th of July we joined some fellow Steeplechasers at Matt and Dana’s new pad for some delicious eats and a back-to-back viewing of the 2006 and 2007 Nathan’s hot dog eating championships. If you’ve never seen it, it’s an amazing feat to be witnessed: Average-size people (for the most part) pounding two and three hot dogs at a time — and buns — as fast as they can for 12 minutes straight. They do this rocking motion to make them go down faster. It’s pretty disgusting, actually, but hey, everyone’s gotta have a hobby, right?
You can see the video of this year’s showdown on YouTube, of course, where my fellow Californian Joey Chestnut beats 6-time reigning champion Takeru Kobayashi in the final seconds by eating 66 hot dogs to Kobayashi’s 63 — in 12 minutes.
We all enjoyed lots of good laughs. Only in America.
I think I’ll stick to my not-dogs. And maybe I’ll even eat 3 in a row one of these days.
Living the American dream, we spent (the first part of) our 4th of July on our porch (before heading to Matt & Dana’s for a BBQ), reviewing and learning how to tie various sailing knots, such as the bowline, the figure 8, and a number of other knots kindly provided by Grog.
Back in the day I was certified by the American Red Cross to sail small boats like lasers and hobie cats (I don’t think my certification ever expired, either!), and I used to love sailing them at the CSUS Aquatic Center‘s aquatic summer camp and beyond. I think the chicks dug my skills.
Now Patricia’s the sailor in training (on a racing sail boat, no less), and was recently featured on Lake-George.com:
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 · Comments Off on Frances & Drew BBQ
Last Sunday, on the morning after the 2nd Annual Sangria Social, a houseful of happy and hungover friends somehow awoke before 10am. The house was only slightly a disaster zone, but we didn’t care. We weren’t fazed by the fact that a 7-month-old and his parents would soon be arriving.
On their way to Montreal for a vacation from New Jersey, we were happy to greet (our fellow Vassar alum) Frances, Drew, and their new son Elysian for a little visit and afternoon BBQ (Jane fired up her mad grillin’ skills once again). It was the first we’d seen Frances & Drew since their rockin’ July 4th wedding almost exactly 2 years prior.
Monday, July 9th, 2007 · Comments Off on A Lesson in Frugality
This morning I awoke to a house without coffee (the horror!). So before I did just about anything else — aside from gathering up my collection of 12 “1 free small cup of coffee” cards (good in exchange for a free pound) and a handful of change ($2 worth for half a dozen day-old bagels) — I hopped on my bike and cruised downtown to my local coffee shop, Uncommon Grounds, where we’ve been buying our coffee by the pound since pretty much the day we moved here.
Total cost of the trip? Two bucks in quarters, dimes, and nickels. I rode my bike, so I didn’t use any gas or contribute to greenhouse emissions. Of course, it’s always easy for us to find an excuse to drive vs. walking or pedaling — time, weather, feeling lazy — but I resisted all urges to drive, including that of the wet, puddle-filled ground excuse. There were early morning storms today that caused the dogs to wake me up at 5:30am since they’re so afraid of thunder. But I digress.
So for only a couple dollars I got a pound of coffee and delicious bagels (which we freeze so they last longer) while supporting my local coffee shop. We buy a lot of coffee from them — this certainly wasn’t the first time I’d cashed in a set of 12 “free coffee” cards (you get one for every pound you buy) in exchange for another pound.
Whether you’re a retired millionaire or a student, living frugally is a great feeling. And odds are it also coincides with doing good for the environment and supporting your local businesses.
I feel fortunate to live in a great little city where I can do both.
Sunday, July 8th, 2007 · Comments Off on July Blog Blitz
OK, so after yet another long, fun-filled weekend, I spent most of today blogging. It’s probably the longest continuous blogging I’ve done in the history of my blogging — and now that my archives total 1,595 posts (this will be 1,596), that’s saying a lot! — and surely the highest number of consecutive posts in a single day. Here’s the list of today’s post for your reading and viewing pleasure:
Wow, that’s 11 blog posts in a single day! Man, with all we do, no wonder I can never stay on top of blogging about it all. According to the time stamp of the first blog entry in the series (published 3:25pm), I’ve been at it for nearly 4 hours now since it’s after 7pm (luckily, I had previously uploaded all photos to Flickr, which I’m loving more and more each day that I use it, by the way; see Kodak vs. Flickr, and keep in mind that Flickr Pro now gives you unlimited uploading, which was my big beef with it last year).
I think I’ve run out of blogging steam for the day.
With Jane here in Saratoga and Teresa & Eva in Albany visiting Alex & Cati from Spain, ’twas the season for sangria. Last Saturday evening the stars and the moon were in alignment and Sangria Social Dos came to life. It had been almost exactly a year since the original Sangria Social 2006 was born, so it seems the event is officially an annual one.
With incredible food that just kept on coming and 5 giant pitchers of Cati’s deadly sangria — we captured the moment when each pitcher was ready for drinking: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 — the ingredients were right for yet another unforgettable evening. As always, pictures speak louder than words.
