weekend 6.12

We made what is really becoming the usual retreat out to Rhode Island again over the weekend. The Lawyer from Southie is really fortunate to have parents who a) are very cool, b) live in a very cool house, and c) live in a cool town that is within a reasonable distance from Boston. And I think it might make sense that I'd be stressed out, spending the weekend with someone else's family and all, but strangely enough it's the most relaxing place I can imagine. We seem to get out of Boston, off I-93 and my stress levels seem to drop instantly. Maybe it's looking at the water, maybe it's the nice people we're visiting, maybe it's the fact that my dog is off the leash and not threatening to maim a small child....I'm just much more chill.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that they were all looking at buying a new boat, and the new boat has been found and bought. It's a used motor boat, but I think The Lawyer and his father are the kind of people whose interest would be lost on something new. Because if you get something that's a little older, you have the option of taking the entire thing apart and putting it back together again. You can say things like "I have no idea what the previous owners were doing - they were clearly idiots." If you buy a boat new, you don't have this option. You can't really claim that a boat dealer is incompetent. Well, honestly, give them a few hours. They'll

find a way, I'm sure.

So The Lawyer and his father disassembled their new boat and laid everything out neatly on the dock. They put it back together over the weekend, in between trips out to the cove and harbor booze cruises. When it comes to sailing, I never, EVER drive. Never. The one time I did, I ran us aground and almost lost my brother to the sea. The lawyer knows this, but attributes my lack of helm time to a serious low self-esteem issue rather than karmic disposition. So on Saturday, as we were cruising around the harbor, he nudged me and offered the wheel to me. I protested a little at first, but then thought to myself "Hell, this is going to be awesome. I so want to drive."


The steering wheel was in my hands for less than 45 seconds - enough time for me to feel a surge of power, of exhilaration and satisfaction at the wind in my hair, the pulse of the boat under my control - before Dixie barfed all over the Lawyer from Southie's mother's rain jacket. All. Over.

See? This is what happens when I'm at the wheel. Not even a minute before everyone's puking.


I spent the weekend relaxing. I sailed, I reclined on a motorboat while The Lawyer ferried me around, I read The Divine Comedy on the back deck and drank wine from a box. I baked cookies and photographed snails. I prepped dinner for The Lawyer to grill, and I ate seedless watermelon. It was a great, great weekend.

One thing we did do was make a great blue cheese dressing to go with some Buffalo chicken breasts we grilled. It was simple and delicious, and I highly recommend it. You can eat that blue cheese stuff that comes in a jar, or even worse a bottle, but it's not real. Whatever it is, it's fake and you know it. But this is an easy enough recipe to make on your own, you can tweak it to be more or less blue cheesy. It's great as a dip on potato chips, or as a spread on your sandwich.

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2c buttermilk
1/2 low fat sour cream
1c blue cheese, crumbled or grated (note: do not use gorgonzola)
zest of half a lemon
crushed black pepper

Make sure you let everything meld in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. If the dressing is too "runny" for you, add more sour cream, but be sure to balance it out with black pepper.