Memorial Day Retreat

I flew the Colors from the brick column on our front porch in honor of those who served us and in memory of those who sacrificed for our common ideals and welfare.  I like days when I can fly my American flag.  For Memorial Day 2016 I put the flag on display on Friday morning heading into the 3 day weekend.

We Sunesons have a standing invitation on each and every 3-day weekend of the Summer (Memorial, 4th of July and Labor) plus New Years to join our dear friends the McCords at "The Blue House", their East Texas country estate 106 miles SE of Garland.  After putting out this Country's Colors on Friday, we packed and headed for an extended relaxation time at the Blue House.

Someone in the kitchen with Donna, Someone in the kitchen I know-ooow
A strawbery pie in the making

Fellow guest Brenda had arrived ahead of us, and was set up mixing flavored martinis for broad distribution.  Brenda also had a few light meals ready to prepare for us all.  Our hostess, Donna, was recovering from hip-replacement surgery a few weeks before; so she was especially glad for the company and the help in the kitchen.

We waltzed in with the now traditional Merck's Coffee Cake and a box of ingredients for lunches and dinners in the coming days.

Brenda & Sue in the Blue House Kitchen
Mac & Cheese for Dinner

It is mostly a time of sitting around and enjoying company of long-time friends, with snacks and drinks a part of the social scene.  Our main meal contribution was a couple of bowls of mac & cheese; the cheeses were a soft creamy truffle cheese and a blue Gorgonzola -  your choice (or you could take a little of each), along with a fruit salad and some salami and prosciutto olive and spring onions for added pizzazz.  We alway eat well at the Blue house.

Just a bit of the typical exhuberamnce (after an apple'tini or two?)

Nothing sweet will go to waste 

Sue eagerly volunteered to use her flexible spine and god-given hip joints to insert some of Donna's colorful bedding plants into her garden and empty flower pots around poolside.  Meanwhile, Donna directed Kirby and me to use our chainsaws to do manly things like cut down a oak snag that looked ready to fall where we all park our cars.  I brought my chainsaw, and filled it up with some of Kirby's 2-cycle fuel.  We each tugged half the morning on our respective started cords, but got no sound of a working engine.  I believe it was a bad batch of gasoline that put the kibosh on manly chainsaw activity.  So Kirby and Donna went into town and bought an electric chainsaw.  The new one started right up right out of the box.  We sawed down that old snag.

The last day of the old oak snag
downed before it crushed our cars

Then it was time for another martini.