Is it time for that "pie" workshop I always thought about?

Got to find some ripe nectarines...nectarine-blueberry pie...that's the next recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie. And, yes, I am considering a pie workshop just so I may perfect a pie crust. Yesterday, our baker neighbor brought us blackberry muffins and two blackberry crostadas - mmm, mmm! Boy, can that girl bake!?!

This next week will see our house completely back together (well, there are those who would tell you it already looks pretty good!). By next weekend, the pictures will be hung on the walls and the books in the bookshelves. A major project completed!

Grown-ups live here!

Remember the ransacking thieves of last week? And my D-day of July 23? How about a new D-day of July 18? And the Hinkelgruber home looks fantastic - just like I said it would! All that is left is a quick painting of the hallway and some touchups of a few spot, and people will believe that grownups live here.

I haven't had anything to complain about with the weather. Even this morning's drizzle doesn't upset me - I've soaked enough sun to make it through the next couple of days. I'll be baking bread Monday for my "Tuesdays with Dorie," group and then I've begun a new knitting project that's a "Mystery" shawl. The idea is that you have no idea what the final project looks like, but by following the posted pattern, it reveals itself to you.

Have I told you lately what a good cook Mr. Hinkelgruber is? We've been dining as though a professionally trained chef visits us nightly, and I'm the beneficiary. Yes, we're going out Friday, but what that really means is the Mr. Hinkelgruber and I haven't visited a favorite haunt in a while, so it's time.

OK, so it looks like a bomb went off....

Well, maybe not a bomb, but how about like a pack of thieves broke in and ransacked the place? Having two rooms and a hallway painted simultaneously seemed like a good idea at the time...right now, not so much! There's furniture in the dining room, in the music room, in the living room - oh, yeah, there's more paint ready for application than a small paint store would require. Ahh...and the wafting smell of oil-based paint. OK, ok, ok - enough bitching...it's gonna look fantastic, when it's done (d-day: July 23).

Do you remember how much work it is to buy a car? Mr. Hinkelgruber and I were reminded and the youngest Hinkelgruber lad got to experience it for the first time, as we bought his college graduation gift: a brand-new pickup truck. It's been a long time since we've seen him light up like the proverbial Christmas tree - but he certainly did. So, need to move? I know a guy with a pickup!

We had a terrific time in "Lost Wages" - plenty of food, booze and gambling - there's a reason that city is nick-named "Sin City" - sinning is the rule of the day. Oh, and yes, my feet did get warm; 108 degrees will do that to them!

This week's dessert is very simple and common: Rice Krispie Treats - too hot to turn on the oven!

Are you a crunchy or a chewy?

Summer begins July 5. Ok, ok, ok - I know the calendar says the first day of summer is June 20, but the elder Hinkelgruber son reminded me that honestly, summer begins here on July 5. And since that's the case, Mr. Hinkelgruber and I are going to Vegas July 2. We'll come home July 6, which means we'll be back for the full onset of summer.

I tried two different versions of biscotti for dessert today. Most of you know my theory about people: they're either chewy or crunchy. And, biscotti is definitely for the "crunchy" set - of which I am one. I have learned, however, that when you put dried fruit in biscotti, it becomes an odd amalgam of chewy and crunchy - chewchy, if you will. I don't think I'm a fan of the "chewchy".

S'mores, s'mores, and more s'mores....

The closest I ever get to camping is s'mores. And, today we'll be trying to make s'mores in the oven. Yep...the oven. If they work, oh, it'll be a whole new way to enjoy a delectable treat.

This week, painting of the dining room, living room and hallway begins. Turns out that the dining room has been the hardest one to decide the color of. I still don't know if I've gotten it right, but we'll see.

Have you ever seen the HBO series, True Blood? I'm hooked! In addition to deciding colors for those rooms, I've spent the last week watching the past four seasons so I might be caught up to the most recent one. Wow! Gorgeous men, beautiful women, sex and, well, oh, yeah, violence. And, funny!?! Who knew the supernatural had such humor.

A new coffee maker, a new way to make coffee!

So the eldest Hinkelgruber son brought his new "Aero-press" coffee maker over this morning and I had two cappuccinos and a cafe Americano. Wow, were they good! I can only hope the caffein wears off some before I go to my movie today! And, that means, I'll be buying my own maker.

I spent yesterday creating a most beautiful French Strawberry Cake for today's dessert. I must say, it is delicious (we taste-tested it after watching the Belmont Stakes horse race). But, there is enough to feed everyone today and send some home with people.

As the sun shines through the dining room window, I am reminded why I live in this town. No better place to live in the summer - when the weather is really summertime weather!

I think summer may be here...

Ok, so the weather doesn't seem to indicate that it's summer, but as I told the strawberry vendor today, "It doesn't matter what the calendar says, or what the weather shows, when your stand opens up with strawberries, summer has arrived!" And, I got the first flat of the season and that's what dessert will be this week - strawberries with whipped cream! Mmmm....

The dining room finally got finished (well, the walls and ceiling textures) and this week will be spent putting the house back together so that people will stop asking if we're moving. The nice thing is, when folks see how fruit-basket-upset it all seems to be, they tend not to stay and chat.

Mr. Hinkelgruber is in a class all week long, and so the menu shows lots of old favorites - with hopefully, very few leftovers. (They're buying his lunch all week.)

We made our first sojourn of the year up the gorge to wine country yesterday and have our summer supply. Now, all that's really needed is some hot weather...