Lime & the Coconut

Love Pina Coladas, but avoid them because of the calorie count? Relax, it's a Lime & the Coconut (with apologies to Harry Nilsson).

A zero calorie pineapple coconut "Ice" beverage over Malibu Black. Lime. Done.

To go even lighter, use regular Malibu (about 17% alcohol) instead of Malibu Black (35% alcohol).

The great thing about highball type drinks is you can top off with the non-alcoholic mixer and no one will know you are being responsible.

Call me in the morning.

Rhubarb Cranberry Twist

The search for the perfect summer beverage is under way, even though the cottage is not yet open.

Today's offering: Seagram's Lime Twisted Gin (available everywhere and a bargain at $9.99), Dry Rhubarb Soda (available at Cravings Gourmet Popcorn in Old Town, Lansing), a generous splash of Ocean Spray Cranberry juice, and a lemon wedge.

Test results: A dry, lightly fruity yet sophisticated taste. If you like gin & tonic, you'll like this--even if you usually drink vodka and aren't a fan of gin. I'm sure it would be equally delightful with a lime wedge, and/or a splash of Rose's Lime Juice. Had the same drink sans cranberry juice yesterday, and judged it dee-lightful.

OMG what about a basil leaf!!!! That's gonna happen.

Chicks and Pups at Mehaffeys'

As a surprise gift--just because--Shaina arranged for a full-on senior pictures photo-shoot for Jonna, who never had one when she was in high school. Our talented friend Carin Cryderman was the photographer, and I was the location scout. Mehaffey Studio was the location. Good call!

Mark and Rosie were beyond-great hosts. Allowed the girls the run of the studio and yard, and more than that, prepared us a delicious luncheon, served in the studio.

We got to meet Mark & Rosie's new cream-colored standard poodle pup Quin, and their adult dog (also a standard), Keshi. They are truly wonderful dogs. The girls fell in love immediately.

Melissa and I spent much of the time in the living room with Mark and Rosie and the dogs. Such great conversation; just an all-round great vibe.

And speaking of love, here are a couple of my favorite shots of Jonna from the photo shoot.

Visiting Sue and Steve (aka Scooter and Big Nurse)

We had a great visit with Sue (Scooter) and Steve (Big Nurse). Steve has been primary caregiver for Sue while she has been laid up from surgery on her heel. We drove up on a sunny day after two attempted visits were foiled by winter weather.

Sue demonstrates her fine kneeling-scooter form. Her cast is off, and she's been recently promoted from scooter to crutches.

We stopped at Horrock's on the way for the fixings for Dagwood sandwiches (what we call it when you pile up everything you can think of on a sandwich and make it almost too thick to bite).

The lake was frozen quite a ways out. In the picture, notice the open water beyond the large ridge. It is a beautiful winter-scape. Living on a lake presents one with new views moment by moment.

After lunch we lounged around on the new sofas and did some speed-catching-up. (Sue was more interested in what we had to say than this picture might lead you to believe. Looks like Ken was thinking of the next important thing he had to say.) Note the new sofas. Very comfy.



The sun came out and shone on the ice and the lake. Lovely.



And, as I acted quickly and didn't give folks time enough to refuse, I got this really nice shot of Ken with Sue and Steve.


Beautiful tulips on the dining room table, drooping gracefully.

Self-portrait with good buddy.

Our exquisite artisan Valentine's chocolates from Patricia's Chocolate in Grand Haven. Thank you Sue and Steve, see you soon! (p.s. they were delicious and completely gone that same evening)

Happy Anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa

The whole story of Grandma and Grandpa's courtship is on Grandpa's blog, but with today being the  62nd anniversary of their marriage, I wanted to post this picture of them on their wedding day--a young couple poised at the beginning of everything. Happy anniversary to Grandma and Grandpa, whose marriage was the source of all our togetherness today.

New Year's Eve 2012

Every New Year's Eve for the past several years, Ken and I have taken food and drink over to Grandpa's and toasted the new year with egg nog, good beer, and a touch of the bubbly. Our first silly hat photo, the predecessor to this one, was taken in 2009.

I posted a different photo on Facebook, because I have my apron on here. But I really like this one with the Felix photo-bomb.

Grandpa's hat isn't silly, but it is special: it's his Verlen Kruger hat. It came in really handy to protect his noggin from bumps when getting in and out of the car and dining in rooms with low-hanging pendant lamps.

Standing Rib Roast

Here's the four-rib roast (from Meijer's) I made for Christmas this year, ready to go in the oven. I used softened butter with black pepper and herbs (Spice Islands Bouquet Garni) and a liberal coating of kosher salt.

Twenty minutes at 450 degrees, then 325 degrees till it reached temperature (about another hour and a half). Took it out at 118 degrees (temperature probe timer was set for 115) and it rose to 128 while the Yorkshire Pudding was in. Could have taken it right out at 115, or maybe even sooner. The middle was medium rare (very pink and warm). It was delicious through and through. Used beef stock to deglaze the pan, which yielded plenty of fat for the pudding and lots of yummy "au jus."


Kept the sides simple this year; no casseroles. Guests: just Adam and Grandpa. Joe was sick, Jonna recovering from flu, Tomi in Brooklyn, and the Balcoms at home.

Back to Michigan - non-stop!

Boy oh boy, were we lucky to get a direct flight to Detroit from Puerto Vallarte! Now that we're home, I  can say with certainty that this was one of the simplest, trouble-free international flights ever. Time in the air - only 3 1/2 hours. End to end, from the time we left the resort to the time we drove into our driveway, 10 hours, including early arrival to clear security for the flight in PV, picking up luggage in Detroit, clearing customs, shuttling to the parking lot, driving home, and dropping off the Faulds. The Bosses and Switzers left Friday afternoon and only got home this morning at 3 a.m. today!

We had a last beer and a sandwich when we got to the airport, then headed for the gate. The final treat was the plane was about 1/4 full! Lots of empty seats; Ken and I had a whole row to ourselves.

Last minute candy shopping

The duty free gauntlet

Final toast in Mexico

Super attractive photo of me

At the gate - our direct flight

Boarding pass and passport

On the plane - our buddies the Faulds

On our way home!

Last full day before departure

Over the years, we've learned to treat the last day of vacation no differently than the rest. That way we avoid any needless anticipation of packing, getting to the airport, etc. Things will get packed, we will make our flight, all soon enough. Might as well pull out the stops and really savor our last day.


Although I look about six months pregnant here (it's the wind blowing down my bosom unobstructed by boobs), I like the photo. I bought the hat at the little market down the street.

I had my second massage today. Those are my feet on the right. The masseuse, Valeria, is very good and I admire the strength these people have in their hands. It did wonders for my shoulders.

Seems like every time I leave a warm locale I spend a lot of time taking photos of my feet in the water. Today was no different.


Ken snapped some action shots of me in the setting sun and a stranger offered to let us both compromise our dignity for the camera. I love this photo.




At the end of the day, this beautiful sunset; one of the prettiest of the week. As it grew dark, we caught our first glimpse of the moon in the tiniest waxing crescent - just a bright rim on the bottom of a plump silver sphere.

We all walked down to the market and had a double scoop of gelato, then back to the room to watch TV (Ron and Ken) or pack (Karen and Jane).

Great vacation.

Puerto Vallarte

On the return leg of our tour of the country-side, we decided to drive past Nueve Vallarte and continue on into Puerto Vallarte. Our destination: The Cheeky Monkey, where the beers are $1 U.S. a piece. Even the Margaritas were cheap, as long as you could tolerate the cheap tequila (Jane couldn't - it tasted too smoky). We sat in the open air second floor and ordered onion rings (they were huge broad chunks of deep-fried onion - very good) and pizza. The third floor of the restaurant was reserved for smokers, who stumbled up and down the stairs wearing balloon hats.

After the Cheeky Monkey, Ron drove us back toward home. We dropped David off near his apartment with a case of the giggles about our frequent speed bump alerts for Ron - "Boom boom!" "No boom-boom!," and got home after a brief diversion to obtain gasoline and loop around in the correct direction.

Thanks for driving Ron, you did a great job!

The Malecon (waterfront promenade) is lined with statues.

The artists accept tips for their accomplishments in sand sculpting 

This must serve as today's fruity drink (there is a lime in it).  I stuck to beer all day to avoid problems with local water. 

Separated at birth?

Kenny thought this sports bar looked pretty cool.

Sayulita

This map shows all the stops we made on the way to Sayulito

When you drive into towns, especially near more affluent areas, you encounter lots of speed bumps. They have the kind we see in the U.S. - a long bump that goes evenly across the street - and some other more brutal types as well. One kind we don't have in the U.S. is made up of a series of steel semi-spheres imbedded in a line across the road. There's a warning sign before them, and if you ignore it, you are in for a big BOOOMP.

On our way to the beach in Sayulita - with three people in the back seat of the Jetta - we went very slowly over a few speed bumps that made the car go CLUNK. I resolved to walk up the hill past the bumps on the way home.

This little shack is emblematic of the kind of culturally blended architecture we saw in many areas.  It's clear there is gringo-influence, and in this case, even Native-American, but the colors and informality are pure Mexico.

This place was a surfing school - I'm guessing the proprietor may have been one of the old-gringo-surfer-dudes we saw on the beach.

The lane in the photo below runs perpendicular to the beach.  I took the photo while walking up the hill to avoid the speed bumps, so I couldn't take the time to walk down the lane and see what else was there, but it was visually charming and in better shape than some of the main streets.

The next photo is of a couple we saw on the beach who had dug two "recliners" into the damp sand. They had luggage with them; perhaps it was their last day of vacation, or maybe they were just bumming around and this was their own form of bed and breakfast.

We enjoyed watching the surfers and paddle-boarders, in particular one little guy who never fell off his paddle-board the entire time we watched. What a childhood!

The charming architecture of Sayulita

Recliners in the sand

This is what low-tide looks like here. There were a couple of guys sitting on the stones picking up and eating oysters.

The beach in Sayulita. Beyond the pond, there were lots of outdoor bars, similar to Orient Beach in St. Martin's.

Surfers!

This little guy looked to be about ten.

A beach vendor with a wheel-barrow crammed with Tupperware tubs full of candy. 

Cheers!