#13 Boston - Ever Heard of Euchre? - September 1, 2006

Neither did we until the lovely Miss Denise Schubert decided to introduce us to this card game she learned in Indiana (http://athletics.uchicago.edu/campus/euchre/rules.htm), and that some of the players at the JJ House on Saturday night still did not understand after having played several rounds of it. I myself had been sidelined at that point by a margarita and a beer, and lay on the sofa drooling and snoring away. Later on that evening, our friend Ruth arrived with her two dogs, Annie (Phoebe's mom) and Addie (Phoebe's half sister) and to not appear a complete dud, I scraped myself off the couch and participated in a game of Hearts. This was a first for me and I really did enjoy the game, even came in second, having scored 0 in every game I played. Denise, the card shark, beat me by three lousy points - I think a rematch needs to be scheduled as soon as possible.

As the photos indicated, it was a lovely partial weekend we spent at the Cape. Saturday it was early rise and shine, pack Renee and Denise in the caah and hoof it down to the Cape, Mario Andretti style. Just in time for breakfast, which took place at the JJ House, one of the cottages next to Rick's family home. The house and cottages are located most scenic at JJ Pond (John Joseph, or in my confused mind, John Jacob (as in Jingleheimer Schmidt)) in Harwich. Rick's family had congregated there and aside from the adults a cheerful gaggle of grandchildren welcomed us with a body-paint demonstration. In an attempt not to have tiger paint on our faces, Rick, Stephanie, Renee and I took a spin over to Nauset Beach for a long walk along the Atlantic Ocean which left at least Renee and me soaked. The tide was coming in and guess who was wearing jeans?? Oh well, a little sand has not hurt anyone, quite amazing though that you will find sand grains weeks after you have been to the beach in places where they really shouldn't be. Not that that's a bad thing....

Lunch quickly followed, after which everyone headed down to JJ Pond for some general frolicking, floating, pyramiding, sharks and fishies, and a seriously long coaxing effort so as to get the dog to jump off the dock. Lots of fun it was, since I stayed away from anything that resembled a canoe or kayak, instead I had Phoebe drag me to shore where I landed like a beached whale. Not only were we served a fabulous dinner of pork loin (marinated in several kinds of brandy I believe), fresh corn, rice and a killer salad, we also got handed margaritas the minute we sat down on the porch - life definitely was good. So good actually, that when we headed for the liquor store to buy some "serious beer" I started to laugh at the sight of my own arms, which left the rest of the gang quite worried. Post-dinner activities were held around the fire pit, with Rick's dad hamming it up by playing the guitar and singing some pretty wicked songs about cheatin' husbands in Kentucky.

I also can report that for the first time ever I had "smores" by the fire. Now I can become a US citizen! A girl scout tradition that started in the 1920s, the recipe was first published in 1927 in the handbook "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts". S'mores stands for "some-mores" (as in "gimmesome-more"). For my friends overseas or those who have lived under a rock, here is the recipe: You put a marshmallow on a wood stick and roast it over the fire, until it is nice and light brown. It then gets sandwiched on a graham cracker with Hershey's chocolate on it. The heat from the marshmallow will melt the chocolate. Yummmm!!

Of course I had to look up the story on marshmallows - apparently they have been around since ancient Egypt. There is the mallow plant (Athaea officinalis) which grows wild in marshes, and some smart soul back then discovered that if you squeeze it, a sweet, sticky substance surfaces. Honey was flavored with the extract, and the delicacy was so special, it was reserved for gods and royalty only. Over the centuries it grew in popularity, manufacturers experimented with different production methods and these days they are "jet-puffed" - cooked, air-infused and packaged in less than 60 minutes - and apparently Americans purchase more than 95 million pounds annually.

Meanwhile back in Boston - Sunday was marathon training day - 15 miles this time, of course in the bloody pouring rain., along the Charles River Esplanade, almost all the way out to Watertown, and back. Despite the downpour, it was fun, the temperature was perfect, and thanks to all the stretching and strengthening, I felt pretty good and strong. Of course when I arrived at home, soaked as can be, I felt wiped. Despite my best efforts to maybe call some friends, I just sat there under a blanket, with the heater blaring, and a hot chocolate. Bedtime was early that day, and well deserved.

Not to forget Friday, when Ellen, Patrick and I, instead of going to Ryles Jazz Bar, hoofed it over to the Bukowski Tavern - 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall!!! Their selection of beers is unbelievable, and my choices for the night were "Two Brothers "Ebels" Weissbier" - a dark wheat beer and the Harpoon Munich Dark. Tasty!

Nothing too exciting yet this week - no wait, I bought an I-Pod on Wednesday, and am now ready to load music for my long runs and work on a play list for marathon day. There is nothing like having a few good tunes in your ear if you have to run for 5 hours. A new era has begun!!!

Finally, last but not least, last week I forgot to mention yet another episode of "white trash life" when I took the train back from Salem to Boston, and found myself surrounded by the World Wrestling Federation fan club. There was a wrestling show at the Fleet Center that night and boy, were these people ready for it. Featuring the WWF uniform, jeans and black t-shirts with "Two Words - Suck It" and "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect" written on it, it was a rowdy bunch and even the women seemed to emit testosterone. I for one was scared of quite a few of them.

That's it - Everyone have a very happy Labor Day weekend!

pet:)