Another weekend slips by...

We'll miss you, June Cleaver!


I awoke to the bad new this morning, Beaver's mom has passed away. Like all mom's, she was the strength in that household, the glue that held it all together. Oh, yeah, she always "deferred" to Ward's authority but she cunningly steered his opinion around to her views. She never cleaned in old raggy jeans (not that she owned any jeans!). Her hair was always salon fresh, her makeup perfect and, yes, she wore pearls while cooking, cleaning and simply relaxing around the house. She brought "style" to the roles of mother and housewife. Later, we learned she could also speak "jive" ! I mean talk about cool moms!!!

Barbara Billingsley (her real name) would have turned 95 in December. What a wonderful legacy she has left us.

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In other news, did any of you catch that talented 5th grader that played God Bless America on the trumpet at the 7th inning stretch in the NLCS game between the Phillies and the Giants last night? He was fantastic!! So sorry I didn't catch his name. I was watching it on a TV in a casino bar located in Phillies country. This little guy's fine rendition led to a rousing cheer there. At least they were able to cheer for him, the Phillies lost in the 9th. (I may come from Oriole-land but where are they now in October? I had to find somebody to cheer for. What can I say? I do enjoy baseball.) Oh well, that was only Game 1. Maybe they can make a come-back tonight.

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Yesterday turned out to be a fantastic Fall day, though a bit on the windy side. The temps were in the low 60s and the sun was extremely bright. We found ourselves drawn to a festival on the banks of the Susquehanna River and it was absolutely beautiful! We stopped in at Smokin' On The River in Port Deposit, Maryland just to hear a little music and maybe grab a bite to eat on our way to our evening destination.

This was not an official KCBS BBQ competition so we weren't involved in the judging of this Tail Gate Cook-Off. As it turned out, we were recognized and drafted into judging anyway. (The cooks had been promised KCBS judges and KCBS judging standards.) There were 17 talented cook teams that had fought the cool wind all day to produce some high quality ribs and there was an extreme shortage of judges. Turns out we only had 5 certifeid KCBS judges and one "celebrity judge", the St. Pauli Beer Girl ! (The guys voted her in, Big surprise!)

It wasn't in our plans but took only about an hour to sample and score these eats and we were glad to do it. Oh, and The Big Guy was thrilled to pose with the St. Pauli Girl, too!