I love watching the Tony's. It just makes me very happy.

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This weekend was the big apple barbecue block party. Oh my.

On the rumor that if you showed up late Friday you could get ahold of some 'cue and avoid the 1 1/2 hour lines I went by... but that was just a rumor. I started talking with one of the women on one of the crews setting up and she and I were chatting away having a grand old time and it begins to POUR. (ftr -- these three and four hour torrential downpours are getting old.) So I'm basically trapped for more than an hour with my new friends from the Mississippi Delta and we fast become GOOD friends and they say "come on by tomorrow and we'll set you up."

So I come on by. And I help make a little slaw. And I pull a little pork. And the lines are huge and we keep makin' slaw and pullin' pork and before you know it its 4:30 and we've sold out well before most everyone else. So we start visiting and of course the folks at Ubon's know all the other pit masters so we're eating brisket and sauge and whole hog and we're pretty much in heaven. Oh, and next door to us at the desert tent a tower of blueberry pies blew over and since it was wrapped in cling film the pies are clean but they're squashed all to hell so we're eating this SERIOUSLY good pie like its going out of style. That was a fun day.

So, today I go back. What's more than one seriously fun day? You got it.

Well, today we were even busier. And we served 2,000 lbs of butt -- and I'm not exaggerating. We made half again as much pork as the day before and only made it to 5:00. I brought them bagels and nova (the food of MY people!) and we had such a blast in the sun and wind working our asses off. My right pinky toe IS a blister. I have soaked in one bath and may soak in another before I finally go to bed, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Oh, today some brownies stuck to their pans so we were eating THOSE like they'd gone out of style. And ribs, we had championship ribs from 17th St. Bar and Grill (and they're sorta royalty on the 'cue circuit) and I have a rack of babybacks in my 'fridge right now. Oh my. And there was beer and there was bourbon and by the end of the day I was full of sun and booze and various artfully smoked piggys. And everyone was so happy to meet the pit masters who were signign books and t-shirts and all but hugging us for giving them one of the few foods not really available in NYC.

End of the day, everything is broken down, we drop by the after party at Blue Smoke (who sponsors the event) and then we went to another of the owner's resturants where, even though we look and smell like we've been making barbecue for two days, we are escorted to a lovely table and the chef sends us out treats... and then we decide the gorgous tastings menu is just too much (three hours eating might kill us at this point). So they very graciously set us up a table at the less swanky part of the resturant downstairs with the simpler menu (still pretty freaking amazing, and they STILL kept sending us goodies) and we sat there laughing and talking and getting drunker and being treated like royalty... pretty much heaven. (Oh, and I saw Ms Belle at another table! But I felt like it would be rude to ditch my very gracious hosts to go over and chit chat so I'm waving now t waves)

I am so tired. I am so sore. I have a HELL of a week coming up at work (just busyness, they're still so nice)... But I have had two weeks family fucking drama hell and these two days of working my keister off with sweet smart-asses from Mississippi were apparently just the right medicine. And now, if I want a table in any of a number of rather nice resturants in NYC I just call my girlfriend in Yazoo and she'll hook me up. Hee!

(now to go catch up with what y'all've been doin' today)

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I just want it to be known that I met Trudy in person a couple of years back.

Just because that is a wonderful story and I want to claim some sort of assocation with a rocking thing.

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and by the end of the day I was full of sun and booze and various artfully smoked piggys.

If I have to lie, steal, cheat or smoke meat. As God is my witness, I'll never eat kosher again.

(Oh, and I saw Ms Belle at another table! But I felt like it would be rude to ditch my very gracious hosts to go over and chit chat so I'm waving now [waves])

How fun to have Buffistas that you can just randomly run into each other while out having fun. But still a good call on not being rude to the fabulous hosts. ms belle is nice, I am sure she'll understand. What a lovely evening.

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I mised the Tonys, due to unscheduled toddler faceplant off a chair and associated trauma, including tooth worries (seems okay, though), but let me belatedly say that my old college friend Sarah Jones won a special Tony for her one-woman show and I am so proud! I hope she wore something nice. And I won't see her this summer because I can't go to the wedding we're both invited to because I have to have a damned baby instead. Pout.

Ooh, there she is (apparently in character...): [link]

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They announced Sarah's Tony, but I don't think they showed her acceptance. (eta: or maybe they did because now I remember she talked about Meryl Streep)They did show some scenes from her show that I remember more clearly. Yay! (I was so tired but had to stay away and watch)

unscheduled toddler faceplant

Not fun. Now Trudy's weekend sounded like fun. I worked. We shall not speak of it again.

ION, they just showed another update on Spirit and Opportunity. Still finding those Rovers amazingly rocking cool. Smarty pants teams did real good there.

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It's supposed to be partly cloudy and low 70s here today. I'm really tempted to play hooky but I shall attempt to be Strong.

My cat-bitten finger is a bit ouchy, but doesn't look threatening. The nail is particularly sensitive -- I've probably got some swelling under the nailbed. I can type OK, though....

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Way Back Machine...

Tommy - I feel the same way about the name. Makes me wonder if people were all eyerolly about the "Statue of Liberty" at the time.

It's even more eyeroll-y than that: its Official Name is Liberty Enlightening the World.

I am trying to determine an itinerary to my brother's wedding that doesn't include random 20-hour layovers in Beijing or Canton. It's difficult, especially since Sidestep.com doesn't appear to handle multi-stop trips. WTF?

Consuela: if you use Expedia and select "Mutiple destinations" under Flight Type, you can specify up to five intermediate stops, if that helps.

Okay, so I made little gift bags for first day of shooting for Tim and John.

Awesome. I need an Allyson.

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sara, what on earth is this??

Seriously. Quilted eelgrass (third to last paragraph.)

Mrph.

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Cool beans (or grass), sarameg! (My house has real horsehair plaster in the walls, c. 1900) Ya learn something every day!

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