Wow. Our weather is awesome. Other than needing some rain, I can’t complain one whit. Sun. Warm without humidity (that won’t last long). Pool gorgeous.

What better setting could we ask for since our very first pool party/BBQ is happening later today!

Our pulled pork is cooking on the grill outside.

The sky is blue.

The recliner chaise lounges await sunbathers.

The pool toys are standing by ready for use.

Maybe a game of boules (or bocci) later on.

So I ask you, does it get any better than this?

We had a good weekend, did you? Both busy and relaxing: a combo of the two.

On Friday night we drove to Hoboken to have dinner with friends. I am sorry I didn’t take my camera because there were several missed photo opportunities:
1. The skyline of Manhattan
2. Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop (home of the Cake Boss show on TV) where people were lined up 20-30 deep just to get in the door!
3. Great old brownstone buildings.

We ate wonderful authentic Mexican food at Charritos and had a great night out. I want to go back! (with camera)

On Saturday morning friends called to see if we wanted to join them hiking with their dog in Jungle Habitat. Rick was out doing yard work, so I declined, plus it was already getting too hot for out black-coated kids. It’s just as well that we didn’t go with them, because look what they found when they got there:

Aggressive bear!! Yikes, we’ve never seen a bear while hiking here. A hiker and his dog were “attacked” by the bear while walking the trails. The dog was seriously wounded and had to spend the night in the animal hospital, but the man had only minor injuries as a result of having just been knocked down by the bear. The bear did not maul him or lay a paw on him. Who knows what really happened here.

The wild raspberries and black caps are all ripening now, plus I understand that it is also mating season for the bears. This incident is unfortunate (not only for the poor dog and its human) since it comes within one week of the local fireworks display which takes place in Jungle Habitat. Unless the bear can be trapped by July 2nd, the fireworks will be cancelled. We don’t usually go but this year we were thinking of hiking to the top of the neighbor’s hill behind their house to watch from there.

The rest of Saturday was spent running a few errands in Mia and then relaxing by the pool. It’s so pretty right now with the day lilies in full bloom.

I felt a bit like Cleopatra as Rick pulled me slowly around the pool on my “barge.”

Then we just floated around. It was a perfect afternoon for the pool. Not too hot and the pool temperature is now up to 82 degrees!

Sunday morning we drove Mia to the market in Warwick to pick up items for our dinner. We came home with a freshly butchered rabbit, fresh peas, bread, the best pesto in the world, cipollini onions, and fresh strawberries and blueberries. We took a different route home hoping to find a road Rick wanted to take but we turned too early and missed it.

After lunch I told Rick I thought we should take another drive and try to find the road we had missed. It’s hard not to take advantage of such great top-down weather. So, that’s exactly what we did. Note to self for next time: remember to put sunscreen on and Rick needs to remember to take a cap with him on these sunny days.

Not only are the day lilies blooming in my back yard but all along the roadsides around us. Everywhere you look they are growing wild. This photo taken from Mia doesn’t begin to give you the scope of how numerous and beautiful they are. Last year they barely bloomed due to all our rain and cool temperatures. But this year they are out in full force, drinking in the sun.

We found the road we were looking for and them some. Take a look at this sign about halfway through our drive.

The views over the Warwick valley, although seen through the haze of humidity, were pretty.

See? More roadside lilies!

We passed an old abandoned farm on the historic register. It looked sad and forlorn. Probably because it remembers the road during horse and carriage days.

After we got home we pooled it for awhile, then on to cooking dinner.

While our proscuitto-wrapped-rabbit-italian sausage & sage skewers cooked ...

... we drank a glass of wine on the deck and chatted. I heard a great flapping of wings and some squawking, and turned around to see this momma turkey with her three turkettes in our back yard! She must have flown over the fence while the little ones squeezed under. They pecked around for a while then she took them off into the woods. Very cute.

As I sat on the deck I saw that the light was hitting a tree in the woods within our yard and lighting it up in a very nice way. I grabbed my camera and headed down to see if it was a good photo prospect. Just as I got to the tree I caught movement out of the corner of my eye—a black bear rump running away from me! Yikes! Here we are up on the deck and we had no idea a bear was over the fence in the wooded part of the yard. He obviously was not bothered by us talking and the smell of our rabbit grilling. Or maybe he thought it smelled too good? He was in the area where we have berry bushes and I guess I spooked him from his snack.

We could hear the sounds of our neighbors that we don’t know on the side of us having a family get-together. The sounds of children playing and laughing carried through the woods. Just after I had spooked the bear and was back up on the deck we heard the kids start screaming next door. Next came silence. No more laughing squealing kids. Then the sound of an air horn went off. Once. Twice. Three times. We knew the bear had just crashed their party! (Many people keep air horns to scare bears away. We don’t have one.)

The rest of the evening passed without any other excitements. Our dinner was delicious!

So, that was our weekend. How was yours?

****************
UPDATE: Taken from the Thunder in the Highlands website:
The West Milford PAL Board of Directors has postponed the Fireworks display until July 9, 2010 due to unforeseen issues with a “special resident and her cubs” at the Jungle Habitat Property.

Grab a cool one and sit down with me for a few minutes. Yes, I’m still here in case you were wondering. A few people have commented to me on my lack of blogging lately, so somebody out there missed me! Nothing wrong, just going through a phase where I have nothing to say. I’ve started several blog posts that never materialized. Poof! They were gone before they really ever began.

Summer has finally kicked in here I think. We’ve had lovely warm weather, some with humidity and some without. A few rain storms—not a lot—but enough to keep everything watered without dragging out the hose.

Every spare moment we had this weekend was spent in or around the pool. It’s back up to 78 degrees now, so pretty comfortable. I had my first skinny-dip of the year on Sunday night. It felt good.

When it’s hot our favorite drink around the pool are Beergaritas. You have to be careful because they can sneak up on you. They taste so good going down it’s scary. And I don’t even like beer all that much. These are the exception.

They might make you do silly things like photograph your out of proportion shadow on the bottom of the pool.

Did you know you could float your drink in the water to keep it cool?

There really is nothing quite so relaxing as floating around in the pool listening to Bossa ‘n Stones.

The day lilies around the pool are in bloom right now. Just beautiful. The ferns make a great backdrop for them.

The bee balm makes a pretty sea of red firework-like blooms.

We’ve had a few visitors to the yard. Some welcome ...

... some not so welcome.

He’s just a harmless baby garter snake but I really didn’t want him in my pool so I graciously fished him (or is that snaked? him) out.

So those are just a few of the things I have to share today. Hopefully this will jump start me back to blogging again!

After a morning of climbing the steps, visiting the Basilique and eating a typical Lyonnaise lunch we did even more walking. This time across the Sôane and the Rhône. Our goal was a famous chocolatier, Bernachon, where we used to buy chocolates when we lived there. We found them easily, and in the same location.

Here is a peek in their front window. Which cake do you prefer?

We did not go after pastries or cakes, mind you, but the delectable palet d’ors, a combination of dark chocolate and sweet cream adorned with real gold leaf—the house specialty.

We wanted to buy some as a gift for our friends Danièle and Greg whose house we were going to for dinner the following night, and who just so happened to introduce us to palet d’ors in the first place. And of course a box for ourselves.

Walking back we took a different route and just happened to see the sign to Les Halles. Les Halles! We had forgotten all about this incredible indoor gourmet market! We knew we had to make the side trip. How fortuitous! The building did not look like we remembered, having undergone an extreme makeover a few years ago. It now bore Paul Bocuse’s name as well.

Are you ready to enter? Do you have anything available close by to wipe the drool from your mouth with? Maybe you won’t need it if you don’t like cheese, foie gras, or other delectable goodies.

Sausages.

And the counter that had me salivating with one of my favorite things: foie gras—and so many different ways.

Anyone for foie gras kabobs? Foie gras paired with duck wing meat. Oh. my. god. It’s a good thing I had no way to cook these or one of these would have come home with me. Seriously.

These were just little appetizers. We were now wishing we hadn’t already eaten lunch.

Bresse chickens, sold with the head and feet on so you know that’s what they are. (They have blue feet.) Very pricey and very delicious! (I know these two photos may be too graphic for some of you, but this is the way these birds are sold in markets.)

Pintade (guinea fowl). Very tasty. I miss being able to buy guinea fowl. Their meat is not white, but not dark.

Bread anyone?

And last, but certainly not least because man (or woman) cannot live by bread alone: cheese! They say that France has 365 different varieties of cheese, one cheese for each day of the year but I am convinced there are a lot more than that. Just take a look at a small sampling ...

I’ve either made you hungry or you were completely grossed out by this post (especially if you’re vegetarian)! I know I made myself hungry! I’m ready to go back!

P.S. I really don’t like normal liver all that much. I can eat chicken liver pâté, but not any other kind of cooked liver. Other than foie gras of course. I know it’s not P.C. but I can’t help myself! That’s what living in France did to me!

We’re not in New Jersey anymore! In case you couldn’t tell from the photo, it’s back to Lyon we go (at least blog-wise if not in reality).  Our goal on this day was to visit the Basilique Notre-Dame on top of Fourvière hill (above). There is a funicular that runs to the top but we decided to walk instead, taking two connecting montées. I addressed montées lightly in a previous post, but to refresh:

Montées, or rises, consist of winding flights of steps or steeply sloping streets that climb the Fourvière hill, providing superb views down over the old town. Each of them has their own particular charm.

Montèe des Carmes-Déchaussés has 238 steps.

Montèe Nicholas-de-Lange has 560 steps, making a grand total of 798 steps. That’s a lot of steps!

Looking back down over the city.

Along the way I noticed that once in a while there were paintings done on rocks that were imbedded in the wall of the stairs. Tiny, miniature paintings.

Our view once we arrived at the top. The sky may look threatening, but it never did rain on us, just a little drizzle.

I tried to stitch together a panoramic view.

The Basilique from the front.

And inside.

A beautiful mosaic in the crypt.

A gorgeous tree on our way down a different montée. I think maybe it’s a chestnut??

And finally, we make our way down the Montée des Chazeaux.

And on to lunch at a typical Lyonnaise bouchon !

I hope you enjoyed your little tour of the Fourvière Hill and the Basilique!