Good to Be Home
This week wrapped up my third straight week traveling down and back to Charlotte. Now I'll finally be here at the lounge for awhile. With the July 4th holiday coming up, I won't be making a trip next week so I have myself a nice four-day weekend to be six-foot kickin' it! I'll work a few days from home before my next trip, which may be to New York City for a meeting instead of Charlotte. I'll find out next week.
Last night was my first home-cooked meal since I don't know when. Lago fired up some steaks on the grill along with some big gulf-coast shrimp ("skimps"), corn on the cob and a grilled veggie medley of green beans, asparagus and summer squash done in olive oil and garlic – booyah! Lago picked up some fine wines as well and we opened the Blenheim Vineyards Chardonnay, an excellent traditional "oaky" chardonnay from the vineyard partially owned by Dave Matthews in Charlottesville. Lago also picked up some mussels that are promised for this evening's meal and we have two more bottles of fine wine left on the rack – two of my favorite reds, the Saintsbury Pinot Noir (California) and the Barboursville Cabernet Franc Reserve (Virginia). Thanks Lago!
The humidity finally subsided yesterday and allowed us to open the windows at the lounge and enjoy our meal on the deck by candlelight along with musical selections from the Summer Shuffle Mix. Ahh, it was good to be home.
One of the things we'll miss is the view from the deck of the lounge. During the summer months, the sun sets directly behind the lounge and presents a grand view. Each evening the sun dips behind the mountains spreading a rippling wake of orange, purple, yellow and red across the sky.
Today is back to the regular weekend task of cutting the grass. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to just putzin' around the lounge compound today and taking care of some chores.
Last night after dinner, we watched "Almost Famous" one of our favorite DVDs. We have the special edition that has both the extended version of the film and the theatrical release. I like seeing the extra scenes in the extended version, but the original theatrical release has such a nice flow to it. Also, important scenes that linger for awhile on the characters, like the scene where Kate Hudson's character "Penny Lane" meets Billy Crudup's character "Russell Hammond" for what we think is the first time, really stands out and is more poignant in the original theatrical release. This scene along with some others -- like the scene where Penny Lane slides around a concert venue's floor alone after the show and the scene where Penny Lane shows up in a New York club and is asked to leave by the band manager because Russell's wife is with him -- get lost in the mix in the extended version and don't resonant as they should. The film is still excellent no matter which version you watch and is an excellent example of a coming-of-age story even if you don't like early 1970s rock ‘n' roll. Of course the music is a big part of the film and probably one of many reasons why I like it, not to mention that Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the best character actors today, has a small role. Cameron Crowe, who wrote and directed the film, based it on his own experiences when he started writing for Rolling Stone magazine and was assigned to report on bands like Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers. The film is an ode to that time and the people he met. I don't have a single favorite movie, there are far too many, but "Almost Famous" would be in my top 10.
Last night was my first home-cooked meal since I don't know when. Lago fired up some steaks on the grill along with some big gulf-coast shrimp ("skimps"), corn on the cob and a grilled veggie medley of green beans, asparagus and summer squash done in olive oil and garlic – booyah! Lago picked up some fine wines as well and we opened the Blenheim Vineyards Chardonnay, an excellent traditional "oaky" chardonnay from the vineyard partially owned by Dave Matthews in Charlottesville. Lago also picked up some mussels that are promised for this evening's meal and we have two more bottles of fine wine left on the rack – two of my favorite reds, the Saintsbury Pinot Noir (California) and the Barboursville Cabernet Franc Reserve (Virginia). Thanks Lago!
The humidity finally subsided yesterday and allowed us to open the windows at the lounge and enjoy our meal on the deck by candlelight along with musical selections from the Summer Shuffle Mix. Ahh, it was good to be home.
One of the things we'll miss is the view from the deck of the lounge. During the summer months, the sun sets directly behind the lounge and presents a grand view. Each evening the sun dips behind the mountains spreading a rippling wake of orange, purple, yellow and red across the sky.
Today is back to the regular weekend task of cutting the grass. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to just putzin' around the lounge compound today and taking care of some chores.
Last night after dinner, we watched "Almost Famous" one of our favorite DVDs. We have the special edition that has both the extended version of the film and the theatrical release. I like seeing the extra scenes in the extended version, but the original theatrical release has such a nice flow to it. Also, important scenes that linger for awhile on the characters, like the scene where Kate Hudson's character "Penny Lane" meets Billy Crudup's character "Russell Hammond" for what we think is the first time, really stands out and is more poignant in the original theatrical release. This scene along with some others -- like the scene where Penny Lane slides around a concert venue's floor alone after the show and the scene where Penny Lane shows up in a New York club and is asked to leave by the band manager because Russell's wife is with him -- get lost in the mix in the extended version and don't resonant as they should. The film is still excellent no matter which version you watch and is an excellent example of a coming-of-age story even if you don't like early 1970s rock ‘n' roll. Of course the music is a big part of the film and probably one of many reasons why I like it, not to mention that Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the best character actors today, has a small role. Cameron Crowe, who wrote and directed the film, based it on his own experiences when he started writing for Rolling Stone magazine and was assigned to report on bands like Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers. The film is an ode to that time and the people he met. I don't have a single favorite movie, there are far too many, but "Almost Famous" would be in my top 10.
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