Not a Chicken..

But a Weekend Wrap...

Friday night… River Concert, Then, Saturday, we took the opportunity to go up to Waldorf to obtain food for ourselves and also the birds which have been starved lately. I use seed from a bird store in Waldorf (what the wild bird store has morphed into) so it requires a trip north to replenish. Another benefit was to visit Nick’s of Clinton to get some beef protein. Despite the questionable rating of beef from Nick’s, we enjoy it and find it fairly tasty (and very affordable). It might be “no roll” which means it can’t be USDA graded for some reason. For those of you who have not been able to enjoy Nick’s it’s worth a trip to Waldorf (Nick’s of Clinton) or now Prince Frederick (Nick’s of Calvert). Generally the employees are friendly and helpful. At the meat counter, you have to take a number to get service. So, on this visit, I was standing in line behind a couple of gentlemen who eventually got their ticket, and I was next. Suddenly, a lady darted in ahead of me and grabbed the next ticket. “Excuse me” I said, to be greeted with a fixed stare communicating a “what’s the matter with you, idiot?” message. Thank you ma’am. But Saturday night’s dinner was a nicely (charcoal grilled) T-Bone Steak with local tomatoes and lime basted grilled local corn. On the way up we stopped at the Amish Market at Charlotte Hall library to get the home grown tomatoes, potatoes, and corn. That’s a trip in itself. Thank you cut in line lady..

Sunday was the day that the black lagoon got power washed after we decided to move the filter equipment from the view to the side. Picture to follow. Since the pool remained “closed” until the moving operation, it was pretty much a slime pit. So I decided to drain it and start over. Sunday morning was spent watching and monitoring the power washing of the interior… Hey, how about this spot? “thank you sir -- shut the F…k up”. By the end of the day, it was pristine and ready for water. Which happened today. Hey, it’s only money.

Last night (Sunday) we prepared a dinner for the family of our friend who was in the auto accident. We did a cold herbed poached salmon (a preparation I highly recommend) with some cumin roasted potatoes and a local vegetable salad with feta cheese. There is neither encouraging nor discouraging news. Her condition has not deteriorated, that is hopeful.

Back to the River Concert series, Friday's program included some Spanish music. Namely, Summer night in Madrid by a Russian composer, Mikhail Glinka. But then they played Nights in the Garden of Spain, by Manual DeFalla. In a little diversion here, I spent three months in the eighties in Spain, helping the Spanish Air Force learning about flutter testing. During the time there, we toured the country on the weekends, from the mountains of Segovia in the north to the plains in the south. In the course of those tours, I was able to experience various provinces in Spain and came to love the cuisine of the country, from the legendary lamb in Segovia, Paella in Barcelona, and the wonderful tapas around Madrid. Jamon, gambas, Chorizo, garlic, all served in little Cazuelas as you were ready. What a lovely concept. We also dined in Paradors, the government run pinnacle of indigenous cuisine. Beautiful meals, wonderful wines at reasonable prices. Local restaurants serve dinner from ten o’clock on. We saw the windmills but not Don Quixote. And, I experienced the art of the Prado, and other places.

So, back to the recent River Concert. When I heard the music of DeFalla, it transported me back to Spain. Haunting, tension filled pieces recalled all those memories. Aside from those, Miles Davis cut of Concerto de Aranjuez on Sketches of Spain is one of my all time favorites. You must listen.

And today, I got a response from “anonymous” that allowed how lately I have been “grouchy, lots of complaints about eats, music, traffic and all those things that aren't really important and occur almost everywhere”. Fair enough. I might argue that those things are somewhat important and even if they occur everywhere, that doesn’t make incivility acceptable. And, I’m not sure what is important if we can’t behave toward each other appropriately, or serve food correctly. But in that vein..

I will close with this incident for “anonymous” that illustrates that there are people out there who do care and perhaps an instance of what is really important. When we were camped out at the River Concert on Friday, a man walked up who, on the surface, appeared to be “challenged”. He had food for several people in his arms, but looked very lost. Gazing around in an attempt to see a familiar face and seeing none, he just sort of stared off into space. In a minute a man arose from his seat, and approached the gentleman asking if he could help. Relieved, his offer was accepted. Soon a cell phone appeared, a number was called, and a friend recognized the location of the man and food, and he was soon helped to the appropriate place. I thanked the man, and he said it was all he could do. There are people out there that care. Thank you.

And with the heat closing in, there will be issues with

DFD
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