The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects:

Edmund, David's Knight in Shining Armour Buca: Heather's old pup
And then there's this character!

Ms. Margo

Hannele (Kati's sister)

Mike and Jes, with their son Jacob

Lauren and DaveHarry and Marian (David's parents from England)

Trace and Kati with their daughter, Kirsiella (she's getting big! 5 months now)

And finally the 4th of July birthday boy, David, and his due-any-day-now wife, Heather.

So that's the gang, the Usual Suspects, as we suddenly decided to be dubbed. Next up, a triple birthday party!

Getting ready for the 4th

So here's a sneak peak at my 4th of July planning,... Outfit? Check! Noms? Check! This is what I "cooked" for the celebration.

Red, white, and blue! (or green as the case may be.) Tomatoes from Margo's garden with some fresh basil and mozerella, Caprisi is probably my favorite

And my patriotic self made some No bake cheesecake!

More pics of the day to follow, but at least I hope I got your mouth watering a bit!

Oh, but these boys could rock out! At one point they all roused around the drummer and "gave him all they got!" It seemed that they all took a turn with the different instruments, which made even more delightful

But this guy, with his Australian whateveritscalled, well, it definately added a certain something.

I also loved how they got out and meandered through the crowd, oftentimes giving the little kids one of the drumsticks to beat with.

But, yeah, these guys rocked it.

I am quite certain I will never tire of hearing good bagpiping skills.

As long as I don't have to listen to them learn to play the bagpipes, as I did growing up.

As a Helix Highlander, I got to hear the "new to piping" guys learn to make the pipes "sing." It resulted in sounding like cats were being skinned alive. Not a pleasant sound at 7 in the morning.

But if they grow up to be as good as these guys, well, it was well worth it!

And now, for your futher hearing enjoyment, a few more videos.

Music of the Games

Highland games were the order of the last weekend. There's something about bagpipes that just totally do it for me. There were actually 2 different groups. This set of guys were more intense/ rock'n'roll, if you can call it that when you are discussing bagpipes.

It was like Scottish soul food. Or music as the case may be. The place was packed to watch these guys, and we had pretty darned good seats.
I totally got into it. I put a video at the bottom of this post if you were interested in vicariously being there.

And, yeah, there was eye-candy.

The second band was certainly more "traditional" and fanciful. Perfectly delightful!

Fiddles, kilts, and bagpipes!!! Bliss!!!!

Of course, we simply had to nosh. What else are you going to nosh on but fish'n'chip and haggis?

Yes, HAGGIS!!!

When I had been in Scottland, I had been so sick I was not even able to get a bite in, but this time, well, it didn't last long! We loved it!

More pics to come, but as you can see, Margo and I had a splendid weekend!

Evening walk

I went for a walk this evening in a very familiar scene. Anyone else recognise it?

Another favorite

In between papers, I have been playing a little. I did a photo shoot with my friend, Heather, who will probably kill me for posting this picture "as is" with no touch ups. She is due on July 21st, and so I am hoping and praying she either goes on her due date, or 2 days later, but NOT ON MY BIRTHDAY!!! (I don't like to share my birthday. Call me selfish if you like, but it is true.)

I was pretty pleased with how the shot turned out. Just thought I would share, cause it's good to be me!

1st Day of Summer

This is where I am in my mind.

It's the thought that counts, right?

On a beach, palm trees, a gentle breeze dancing along the shore. Hammocks make for excellent dream inspirations. I actually went surfing and turned into this again:
Ah, the temporary break was refreshing.

Today is a very, very happy day! Let the summer begin! Muah!