Fabulouso, just like the dish soap.
Note, since someone asked on this blog- the Big Blake Lake Boat parade is Wednesday, July 4, line up at the North end at 4:00 pm.
First weekend in 21 years where Mrs S and spent a weekend with kids sans kiddos. If I’d have known how much fun it could be to be kid free.. well lets just leave it at this, Mother Nature knows how stuff works in this world and what order it works in ‘cause if we all realized how much fun you could have without kids, we might not have bothered to have any.
But I love them. Lots. Kinda.
We didn’t have the dog with us either. No dog, no kids, actually I kinda like how we 50ish folks roll. Despite the CPAP machines, (2) dietary supplements, medicine boxes with the day of the week on them and other assorted trappings soon-to-be old crowd, there’s also a whole lot of food, booze and good conversation. So much good conversation in fact that it was impossible for us to sit and watch one of the movies I had with me. Youngsters can’t converse. I’ve tried.
Lake time is relax time, as evidenced by the loon sleeping of our dock…
Friday afternoon we pretty much arrived by gender, women in one car, men in three others. The men-folk had a 3 hour head start on the women folk, but still lost the race there due to a stop at the Thirsty Otter where we privately kicked of the weekend with a classic selection from the beer fridge: Pabst Blue Ribbon. 
Which at the Otter, you can get one the outside bar over looking lovely Balsam Lake. And which you can get it in you own cozy because only the best places give you beer cozies.
Two hours later we were at the house. Girls had arrived and picked up new best buddy Dean along the way, he endeared himself to the crowd by make a pitcher of his famous Litchky Lemonade, same stuff that got me in some trouble last weekend. After a welcoming cocktail the gang was hot for a pontoon ride, so in we went, along with a pitcher of Dean’s Skip and go Nakeds. Which us got as far as Shearrards Resort at the north of the lake where parked the boat and went into the bar there for another round. Total time elapsed between our arrival and our pulling up on the dock at Sherrards, 27 minutes. And so the tone was set.
Two hours later, back the house, back to the Thirsty Otter for Fish Fry night. We piled 7 adults into my Durango which hadn’t been done in years. The backety-back seat hasn’t been up in years, which was apparent by the residue from Gawd knows what between the seats. Some things, better left ambiguous.
Because beers are $1.25 at the Otter, I had one and because eating fried fish and fried potatoes meant we hadn’t had anything from the dairy group, we ordered fried cheese curds. I reason that since I’m paying for those stupid cholesterol pills,I might was well give them something to do.
After dinner we rolled back to the Blake Lake Center for the Healing Arts and did some more healing, and talking and healing and pretty soon we were looking at midnight. There’s not much better than a campfire in the Northern Latitudes, the summer when it stays light until 10:00.
Next day the fellows headed off in the SS War Eagle, the new-old pontoon for some meat fishing. Trying to rustle up a meal. We were successful. What we were not quite as successful with was restarting the boat. No one panicked, Fourth of July was next week and for sure we could find a tow by then. BTW, the reason the thing didn’t pop, that uh.. well some wheel thingie with a gear on it didn’t pop up and engage the flywheel thingie and we had to did wind up having to flag down another boat and get towed home.
The Cruse of Shame- being towed back to the dock.
Luckily we have several boats in the fleet and quickly we were out in the fishing boat going back at it.
I did make a beer can chicken deal that was outstanding, if I don’t say so myself. Had the secret ingredient, which everyone asked about. No problem pulled out the bottle of גריל עוף תיבול
Israeli cousin left it here a few years ago and I’ve been using for years, I like to pass it around when people ask what’s my secret. Usually they laugh but this crowd actually did spend sometime trying to read it. When you’re in that 50ish demographic and you can’t see letters, you no longer automatically assume aren’t in English, typical first assumption is that your glasses prescription is weak.
Or that the 11 beers and two mixed drinks you’ve had in the last 5 hours have left you reading impaired.
BTW in Hebrew, from right to left G R I L L which is Hebrew for “grill”, Oof which is “chicken” and Tyvol which is loosely means “seasoning”.
Top-Flipp’n Secret seasoning. Yeah.
The problem with my meal, I made three chickens, and these were real chickens, roasting chickens, not the tiny game-hens they call chicken at my usual store, these more like mini-turkeys. I did up the salt potatoes, which came out creamy and delish and a spinach/tomato/cucumber salad with lemon that anyone who’s ever been around me more than a day has had… BUT, since we’d also been eating baba ganoush, bean dip, Texas Caviar, fried sunfish and crappie, artichoke dip, peanuts and three mangos.. and 11 beers and now 3 mixed drinks, by the time dinner came most folks were kinda full. Way full. 7 adults killed one chicken. ONE. Uno. And from my 3 lbs of taters, 2lbs left.
Nice work Sank, overcooked again.
After dinner another delightful cruse on the boat. Caught a loon napping, sunsets, and more relaxing cruising, just didn’t kill it until we’re safely back at the dock, we hit the fire and spent the evening in deep discussion.
Even turned off the phone to avoid being hailed by the daughter at home who, after she called me to ask if she could use my computer, which I agreed to and then told her to have fun and “look out for the escaped mental patient”, was calling about 15 minutes to see how we were doing.
All in all, a great, much needed weekend.
