Cool Weather
Isn't it great to have cooler weather? If you're an office person, I suppose it doesn't matter quite so much, but if you work outdoors most of the day, it's just a lot more comfortable to do your chores when it's cool than when it's 100 degrees in the shade. Even in the middle of winter, out here we can layer on enough clothing to be comfortable doing farm and ranch chores. Heck, it even makes it more comfortable to continue talking about stupidity.

Excusez-moi?
When all the gang arrived, we gathered on the back porch for cocktails. Barry had tried this one in Israel, where he and Kim are originally from. He called it a Fioupe. None of us had ever tried it, but we liked it. Barry made the drinks with Italian vermouth and Benedictine.

You'll remember that back in August a mother who lost a child in this senseless invasion of an Iraq that was not hell-bent on attacking us, camped outside Dubya's Crawford/Waco ranch for a chance to meet with the George and ask him some questions. Well, as you all know, Fraidy Cat was just way too scared of her to meet. Funny, but that was just a bit too girlie, don't you think? Anyway, when he was asked why he wouldn't meet with her, he, typically, obfuscated and said that the country didn't expect him to meet with a harmless, grieving mother. Rather, he said: "I think the people (probably meaning the rabble, like you and our gang) want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy, and part of my being is to be outside exercising." Also, of course, he said he needed to get on with his life. O.K., we think there's a little problem here with this girlie-man logic.

Good, crisp decisions? Like invading a country on a whim, or because as Cheney and Perle's poodle you just stomped your feet, pouted, and said to hell with world opinion, I'm ordering the invasion of the country that posed no threat to the United States? That kind of crisp decision? Or maybe the one cutting taxes for the über rich and trying mightily to dismantle Social Security? Like saying that as concerns Iran, "All options are on the table?" Crisp decisions; soggy cow patties. Should have met with Mrs. Sheehan, George. And the part about getting on with his life, I mean, that's the whole point of Mrs. Sheehan's camping out at the ranch. Her son lost his life. Almost 1900 Americans have lost their lives and over 10,000 have been seriously wounded, and all he can say is "I need to get on with my life?" Wow, talk about a caring guy. I guess that's the proverbial mean streak in him. Not bad for a "born-again christian."

Dinner Gong Gongs
Never know what to say. Does the dinner gong gong, or does it "go off" or does it bang, ring, what?" Whatever, it always is music to our ears, since it announces dinner. The kids sat down at their table in the great room and we went in to the big dining room. A couple of the kids brought school chums for dinner, so there were 24 of us adults and I think 20 kids, so full house and just a slight challenge for the "kitchen crew." Max and Charlotte are never fazed by a crowd. They're so well organized that they usually have most dishes made well in advance and just have to finish cooking, grilling, baking or barbecuing at the last minute. Talk about equanimity!

Charlotte first brought out Bruschetta with a Medley of Wild Mushrooms and Chèvre. The ingredients all came from Art and Terry's goat farm and organic vegetable and herb greenhouses. They poured a perfect California sparkling wine with this course. With ingredients again from Art and Terry, Charlotte had made an Eggplant, Herb and Garlic soup. From their wine cellar, Charlotte and Max brought a flawless Pouilly-Fumé to pair with this magnificent soup. Max next served us very small sautéed red mullet fillets with perfectly-diced zucchini, red bell peppers and different mushrooms. He added a pinch of saffron to the dish, giving it a wonderful color. They paired this with a wine none of us had tried before, a Clos Ste.-Magdeleine from the Mediterranean region of Cassis. This was a full-bodied aromatic white wine with very earthy tones.

Charlotte gave each of us a small dollop of papaya sorbet, and then Max brought out a wonderful Grilled Pork Tenderloin he had marinated in Pinot Noir, and of course paired it with a Pinot Noir. Alongside this beautiful dish he served some very simply prepared julienned zucchini, and to the surprise of all, fresh, cold, unadulterated prickly pears Terry had been able to have flown in from Mexico. This was such a good dinner, we thought we weren't entitled to expect more from Charlotte and Max (who, by the way, had grilled some of his famous bread outdoors while he grilled the Pork Tenderloins,) but to our surprise, Charlotte announced dessert: her homemade Pistachio Madeleines. These are always labor-intensive, but that's how Charlotte likes to cook. The kids liked them so much, we had to limit them to only two each, otherwise they would have eaten their own and then ours!

Winding Down
We took our after-dinner coffee back in the great room to visit briefly with the kids. There, Liz, our "Quote Queen" ended our evening with a comment we thought was appropriate, and she didn't have to tell us who she was thinking about when she told us what Bertrand Russell had once said: "Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do so."
We said goodnight to the kids who needed to go home to do homework, and some, to earn extra spending money, stayed to help us clean up, which really never takes us very long.