I adore the picture of baby Lily!! SO CUTE!!! I especially like the "peekaboo" one. Awwww. Precious.

Fay, beer and banana juice??? That's...wow. Two things I'm not terribly fond of, combined into one scary sounding thing I never would've thought possible. Goodness.

downstairs there is fresh, locally-made ginger icecream, crammed with big, glistening chunks of crystalized ginger

Mmmm. I would be jealous, but I just had brunch with Erinaceous, and I had this amazing french toast thing..."tower of chocolate french toast" or something, it was callled--bread with chocolate chunks in it, french toasted, with creme brulee sauce, and bananas, and more chocolate, and I think like, mascarpone, or something...it was SO GOOD.

And the thought of JZ and Jen going to a wedding together makes me want to look at linoleum. No, wait, that's not right...

Meanwhile, I am having a very nice weekend. Albeit in Elgin, IL. But really, big king sized bed? Is nice.

That french toast thing sounds fucking great. YUM.

Man, I'm hungry. French toast sounds delicious. I really need to do a Trader Joe's run, though.

I was thinking pizza. TJ run would be good, though. And a nice outing for the evening.

Mmmm. I would be jealous, but I just had brunch with Erinaceous, and I had this amazing french toast thing..."tower of chocolate french toast" or something, it was callled--bread with chocolate chunks in it, french toasted, with creme brulee sauce, and bananas, and more chocolate, and I think like, mascarpone, or something...it was SO GOOD.

In Chicago? I think that's the place I went to breakfast with Rio.

Note to self: Putting one's complete music library on shuffle can lead to brain-ouchy things like having a Nine Inch Nails followed immediately by the Andrews Sisters' "Strip Polka."

Playlists are there for a reason.

t waves to Anne

t waves to everyone

Had a super dooper cool ass party. Burgers, hotdogs and beer. (don't worry Hec, I fed your wife veggie burgers and grilled asparagus and hummus with farmers market fresh veggies). JZ's brother and his partner in crime are AWESOME. (I'm always amazed when "outsiders" are anything less than completely overwhelmed by the Buffista-ness of 15 or so Buffistas -or as my mom calls us, Buffistinas!)

And there was Nutty (a doting auntie) and flea and Mr. flea (both very tall and very warm and wonderful) and baby Casper, who is not a baby anymore and is quite beautiful and smart and good natured and quite a lot of fun. She also flirted with my husband, the little blond hussy!

sj and Mr. Guy (short for Teacup Guy) are really sweet and quite smitten with each other. I also have sj's pasta bowl, and her little freezer thingies so I will have to see her soon Mwahahahaha!

The weather was wonderful. DX, Theodosia, Emily, and vw saved the day by bringing chairs for the yard, and vw made the most AMAZING desserts. Frankenbuddha was my hero because he brought Salem Beerworks' Watermelon Ale. Victor and Thessaly made it from Worcester. Jen brough incredible marinated mushrooms and also left a Tupperware container, Mwahahaha! She also may have bewitched and bedazzled my cutie pie (but married) neighbor.

I hope Ellen made it back on the train.

And JZ, the guest of honor, was gracious and beautiful and told very funny stories and was a joy to hang out with and I hope to see her again real soon.

So, yeah. Good party.

Thanks WindSparrow. She seems to have forgiven me today, as evidenced by her climbing over my shoulders and back and forth across my lap, before settling down with her head on my leg for a snooze.

And JZ, the guest of honor, was gracious and beautiful and told very funny stories and was a joy to hang out with and I hope to see her again real soon.

I guess you and Tom are going to have to come to San Francisco then.

Today's Wally Report involves a date recap from yesterday: it was an excellent date, by which I mean that the echidna came out to greet us! (No, it's not a euphemism. I saw an echidna.) Yet it was shy, and hid its head when I came up for a better look (I might have been overeager). After a half minute or so, it was reassured enough to take a stroll. My date agreed it was extremely cute, and I explained to her the importance of echidna snot.

Also! Saw both the snow leopard and the clouded leopard, and four male lions lounging around together. And orangutans using thick sheets of paper as either rain shelters or fashion accessories. And the reptile house, of course. Lots we didn't see too, though; and it rained! That hadn't been in the forecast. Boo.

Anyway, no particular sparkage on the date, but we got on well enough. (Oh, and for the Interesting Thing Lottery, she pretty much hit the jackpot, and got to hear the Testicle Story.) She'll probably be coming along to our next games night.

The next target of the billytea charm will be a woman who is an actuarial student, and particularly interested in meeting other actuaries. And notes on her profile that anyone contacting her has to give a good reason (thinking she's good-looking, apparently, is insufficient justification). She has standards, I like that. Oh, and I've heard back from someone else whose profile name is 'Grooveytoosh', and someone else has been trying to call me. Further updates as warranted.