A Van Down by the RiverBoard

Yes. I did say that. She even facetime's with the cat. He seems to enjoy doing this because he purrs and nudges his head against the pad. Meow!

Leave the hammocks out. We may need them in the Winter for our evening bonfires. :)

Eva, what's shaken? Did Casa de Grapes fair ok?

Percy - thanks for thinkin' about the rock 'n' roll! It was a bit too far from us for anything to be felt much less damaged. (especially at 3:00 in the morning.) Of course, in Napa, it's a different story - although I will say that there seemed to be quite a bit of magnification by the press. When it's time for '14 Napa Valley Cabs to be released, buy carefully!

An early fall is in the air - gloriously. Figs are ripening quickly, there's a little snap in the air every evening and clouds - like ponytails in the wind - are across the sky today. I've been picking blackberries all weekend - my nails might be permanently stained. Good jam soon - when it's done, I'll host a nice little tea and you can give me the lowdown on MB. I've heard she's into plaid, again. ;-)

I don't know what you guys did this morning but I've been checking-out Justin Theroux's 'sizeable manhood.'

It's never too early to say Boo!

So sad to hear THE GREAT MAN HAS PASSED ON and you're right Percy. So.... what about the remarkably erudite spat he had with Dr. Digby? For some reason I saved it ;)

Thist degenerate apparition that standeth afore I ist nay learning the lesson trying to teacheth him his presence ist nay longer requireth oft our patience herein. He tries to act *Hamlet* but hast all the attributes oft a woman scorned, thou art indeedst correct sirrah, whenst thist Disease thou spake oft andst udoubtedly thee suffereth the same, travels to thy brain from thy tongue, [which ist nowhere near thy loins] it twist's andst contorts thy will to reason with thy thoughts, hence thou dost crieth with an animals bray about all and sundry, especially events that thee hast only thy egotistic self to blame. Thou art hidden behind an air oft supposed respectability but thy true self wallows forth in the words thy spake, Thou callest thy spouse *my beloved Phyllis* but then thee accuses her oft giving thee an excrescent child [mine bastard child I might add] who deserveth all our pity for the present and uncontainable plague she now suffers through thy neglect and pusillanimous character. 

Tell I, thou pursy serpent oft thine Kings will, what doth thee expect thine grey matter to discover herein this pleasant andst stable community that we all share andst thee hast stumbled upon whilst thy Captain O'Din taketh on fresh fruit andst water. Now that name O'din doth ring a bell or two, ODIN was a Mighty Norse God, andst is a god of war and death, but also the god of poetry and wisdom, art thee disguising a fantasy here, dost thee think thee art a messenger from the heavens for thist tale ist now slowly unravelling as to thy insane debacle oft a mind. Therein thy mind ist nay poetry nor wisdom or ethos, but there ist a certain estrangement oft bigotry thought that exudes toward thy fellow man which I suspect ist the reason for thy appearance onst our shore. So begone sirrah, the bell tolleth for thee, take thist as a sign from thy fantasy world oft thee sitting on high andst looking down upon us like we are all peasants bowing to thy supposeth superiority. 

Thou sayeth that thee has concocted the most brilliant oft plans to get thy sticky hands in my yellow breeches, thist one remark again suggesteth to me that thee art indeedst a woman in the guise oft man, unless thee are an effeminate male with designs on my personal property, but as thee are desirous oft the female kind I canst assure thee that the Lady thou describeth as *with the knowing smile* ist only smiling at her perception oft thy penurious life style, there art nay traitors in the vanry for we art all solid herein andst do not take lightly to intrusion oft our little happy world 

I too hast a cunning stunt or two inst mine rapport andst one of them involves a black powder similar to thine own, only this Magic Powder oft mine when ignited discharges a lead ball down a barrel oft iron. If thist barrel was aimed at thy loins andst discharged thou wouldst be gone as a man for ever, for there ist nay sympathy forthcoming from thist writer oft thy condemnation, begone thee finder oft extravaganza for personal gain, afore I carry out what thy King proposeth to thee should thou ever come across a species to dangerous to tackle, he sayeth that this object whenst found should be departed from our world in a quiet unreported manner, I shalt have nay conviction in carrying out such an order on thee andst Odin wouldst probably endorse a similar conclusion in his role oft a god for death.

Oh the hole this leaves.
I'm going to have a swing in the hammock with some Maker's (and he knows I hate Maker's!).
Xo, Judgie.

BOOK EXCERPT
OF THE DAY

from the biography 'de Kooning : An American Master',
by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan. Here, the authors
are talking about de Kooning, later in his life, when
he settled, and set up a studio, on the watery Eastern
side of Long Island:

"...he would bicycle across the sandy flats to the
shoreline. He liked to stare at the water; "it
reflects," he said, "while you are reflecting." The
aging painter would sometimes ask his daughter, "You
see that?" and point to the miraculous and constantlly
shifting effects of light and color. And then, still
staring at the water, he would raise his painting hand
and, with his thumb and one finger, draw the line
across the hoizon, releasing his breath in a gentle
'Sssssss...'"

To which THE HANGING JUDGE replied:

As the 'SSssssssssing' slowly died away the
transformation was completed and the slimy Cobra
reptile slid of the saddle and slithered into the
clumpy patchy grass bank of the sandy shoreline, he
was amazed at how quickly he could travel on his
belly..swishing and sliding from side to side in a
semi forward gait. He was hungry and desperate to
quench his craving for a tasty meal for he had not
eaten in this form for two days. The breeze gently
parted the tall blades of grass which were local to
this area and although the odd large beach pebble
hindered his movement occasionally, his hunger
propelled him forward, forked tongue darting in and
out between the embedded upright fangs of his lower
jaw smelling and tasting the air for a scent of
animal..his dinner if he could find it. As the
flattened head rose slightly above the level of the
grassy slope he stopped and the forked tongue quivered
with excitement...to his left a nesting sandpiper
resting on her newly laid eggs, three in total, was
casually taking in the evening air, he slithered
quietly on to within striking distance, careful not to
startle the bird for fear that she would call for her
mate, at last he was within reach and he hissssed, the
startled sandpiper lifted herself of the nest and flew
in circles calling her mate but it was too late, first
one egg was cracked and the contents swallowed with
the other two eggs suffering the same fate. Then as
the Sandpipers came at him, both flapping their wings
he slowly turned and headed back in the direction of
the bicycle hoping that he would keep stable till he
arrived there.....he had just transformed back into
the human shape when his daughter turned round and
said "See what daddy, all that has kept my attention
are those two sandpipers down there, screeching and
flying round in circles" de kooning burped, excused
his making of the loud noise and replied, "come child,
home we go for mother will have our supper on the
table when we arrive"

Born November 20, 1944 (Scorpio sun, Capricorn moon). 69 years :)

*Raises glass*
To all those friends who have travelled on, we salute you.

Death's a bitch. Eat, drink, have fun at every opportunity, and spend as much time with friends as possible. Love 'em but don't leave 'em, and let them know you love 'em.

Sorry to hear about your Great Uncle, Spin.

Good to see you Madame B! Someone should do an ecological survey on that baboon of yours ;)

The hanging judge wrote:

It is with great sadness that The Hanging Judge aka Ormrod aka Blackpool Lights passed away in the early hours of 12th September. He has asked me to put this message to all his friends on PC Nation. Love Joan.

Thank you Mrs. Judge. We are all so very sorry to hear of Judge's passing. He will be truly missed here in the vanry and in real life. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time.

Oh dear. Been fighting a virus the past few days. As much as I will have fond memories and smiles of our beloved Judge, I do have a heavy heart reading the news today.

I enjoyed comparing and contrasting American and British culture with him. His stern, yet fair judgement was appropriate. But for now, the flag is at half staff.