Imagine my surprise when I discovered him lurking in the shadows after returning from a little birthday revelry at the Cat and Fiddle last night. We all gave a startled jump, I think. . . except for Gregg, who I suspect was mysteriously complicit in his arrival.

He's been going through a rough patch these days, and Casa Bar is a good place to unwind and unload your troubles. But judging by the amount of Tanqueray and Maker's that disapppeared, I think someone may have "missed a meeting."





-jw

Amazingly the summer has come and gone, and while there have been some recent entries to the blog, my contribution is long past due. Th Fourth of July was great. We had a small BBQ at the Casa followed by some soccer and swimming in the back yard. Gravy even got through the fireworks ok.



Just after the Fourth of July, I planned a trip home to see my family in Connecticut; and coming off the excitement of the Gaelic Storm concert at the festival a week earlier, I found that they were going to be playing another show in Connecticut just a few days after I was going to arrive. I spoke with my sister and asked if she would be interested in going. She was game, and also had a friend, Abbey, who was apparently a big fan of Irish music that was also interested. Hearing this, I figured that it was my duty to introduce them both the world of Gaelic Storm. Little did I know how changing my plans to include the concert would end up changing so much more…

I landed in New York on July 5, and headed off to my sister’s new apartment where I was going to help with the construction or rather re-construction of some defective closet space. On Thursday I met Abbey when she joined us for lunch and a trip to Home Depot for supplies. We hit it off immediately, and I should have caught on when my sister kept asking how I liked her, but I am apparently not very good at reading situations. Anway, on Friday, we all left on the drive from Hoboken, NJ across to the south eastern Connecticut town of New London, where Gaelic Storm was to play at Sail Fest, an annual festival there.

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The festival was fun, and Gaelic Storm did not fail to steal the evening.

Abbey, Kristen and I with Pat Murphey, the lead singer of Gaelic Storm. (A photo that survived unlike a similar one with James, Liz and I at the show in Orange County that unfortunately slipped through the digital cracks of my iphoto library)

That night, we returned to my sister’s old apartment in New Britain, and after several hours of talking and lots of anxiety, I worked up the nerve to kiss Abbey. So there we were, we met two days earlier, went to Home Depot for our first “date”, had gone to a concert, and a day later Abbey would meet my entire family at my sister’s engagement party at my parents house. Saturday Abbey, Kristen, Todd and I spent relaxing, swimming and playing cards, and Josh came for dinner that evening. It was around then, that I learned that my sister had been “selling” me to Abbey for quite a while, and was pleased to see her plan falling into place, so yes, I was the one that was completely left out of the loop and in the dark. Then again, who am I to complain, my sister has great taste and knows me very well.

Sunday was fantastic. The whole family was there, and I got to meet Todd’s family as well. Here are a few pics from the day.


The next change in my plans came when Abbey invited my sister and I to come up to her parent’s house at Lake George in upstate New York. Fortunately I had decided to stay home for two weeks this summer and had some flexibility in my schedule, because the trip to the lake was amazing! I shared a cabin with my sister right next to the water, and there is noting like waking to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and rolling out of bed into your bathing suit and jumping into the lake!


And I should not forget to mention the stars at night. Now, yes, I live in LA now and no we don’t have the best light pollution levels for star gazing, but up there it was more incredible than I have seen anywhere in quite some time.

Now the interesting thing is that Abbey at this point was in a transition period between jobs, and had some more free time as did I; having completed Déjà Vu in New Orleans and returning to the painfully slow commercial work hunt. It was decided somewhere along the line that Josh and his girlfriend Jessica (see bellow photos of our skeet shooting day in Goshen) were going to come visit Jamie, Liz and I in LA the following week, and Abbey was able to make it too. And so there I was, heading back to LA after an amazing two weeks home with my family, and bringing Abbey, Josh, and Jess in tow.



Well, you may remember that heat wave that swept across the country in late July this year? Yep, it started on the west coast right here in LA right as I got back and lasted for the duration of Abbey, Josh, and Jess’ visit. What better weather for a trip to the beach though?


One day we also tried to go to the Getty Center Museum, and though it is a fantastic place, I think we almost died in the 108 degree heat. I don’t remember much from that afternoon (I don’t know if I blacked out or have just blocked it out) but I do remember that I have never felt so hot in LA ever before. That week, we had Craig’s Birthday party at The Casa, and did a gut busting culinary tour of LA. Josh also provided us with lessons in pizza making, and a supply of bolognaise sauce that will feed an army for the next few months (ya know…to get us through the harsh winter months here.)


In the next few weeks, Abbey returned to NY but had decided to pursue an expanded job hunt that included the west coast. She returned to LA and we spent our time split between interviews, internet searches, and the dog beach in Huntington Beach (Gravy’s favorite)


I made another whirlwind trip to the east coast right at the end of the summer with Abbey to attend the wedding of her friends from college in Maine. I flew into Albany, and got to spend another night up at Lake George. The next day, Friday, we drove out of New York, through Vermont and New Hampshire and up into Maine. Stopping at Holderness, Abbey’s high school, and the airport in New Hampshire, where we picked up her friend Abigail. The drive through Maine was beautiful, but so long that it seemed we were never going to get there. We made it though, and ended up in Castaic, where we attended the rehearsal dinner BBQ and then headed back to the magnificient Manor Inn where we were staying. The next day we went to the ceremony by the water and returned to the Inn for the reception where we drank and danced until the early hours of the morning.


The next day, we left early to go to the morning after brunch and then set off for Connecticut. Along the way we picked up lobsters and had the most incredible lobster rolls for lunch. That night we spent at my parents’ house, and the next day we visited my grandparents before heading back up to Lake George. Our route back north took us through Goshen for a quick ride on the ATVs and up through the Berkshires and Lenox, MA which are my favorite parts of New England. At the lake, we dined with Abbey’s parents on the fresh lobster from Maine. Once again that night, I ventured out onto the dock, though it was notably colder than the last time I had done so, and peered up at the night sky. It had been a busy and tiring weekend, but also one of the best that I have had in a long time.

The next morning I went to the airport to fly to Newark, NJ to make my connecting flight, but as fortune had it, I ended up volunteering to stay till the next morning and in return got a free flight voucher, and ever better, the chance to get dinner and spend some time with my sister.

Abbey returned to California a week later for a follow up interview. Our friend Jess (not of the ‘Josh and Jess’), who is about to get out of the navy and start a job in Chicago, came for a visit. And Liz and Abbey took the lead in the Spades tournament 8-5 against Frank and I.

Now as we enter the Merry Thanksgivoween season, Josh, Jess, and my sister have returned to the enhancement of young minds, Jamie has been editing up a storm, Abbey has taken a job with Southern California Edison, and returned to NY to pack and drive across country; and Frank and I are still on the commercial work hunt.

Last weekend we celebrated the Birthdays of both Frank and our friend Christian at the Casa with the return of Frank’s Aunt’s infamous Birthday Cake.


All in all, I would have to say that it was a pretty busy summer. Here's to more fun to come this fall! Plans are in the works for the First Annual Casa Multi-Birthday / Halloween Costume Party on October the 28th.

Hope the length of this has not bored you, but rather filled the gap in the Casa Blog world,

-GGG