My brother's party

My brother threw a party this weekend, at his “ranch” as he calls it (which is actually about 70 acres of forest by a lake, a segmented-off piece of my parents' old farm.) It was nominally a fishing tournament, which sometimes I think would be better known as a drinking tournament.

My cousin was booked into the B&B, too. My parents brought her, actually, with my daughter, as they had picked her up from the train in Kingston. When they passed by in the car, and I saw her, I knew she had some of the family resemblance in her. But when she got out of the back seat with my daughter, my jaw dropped – she looks like my daughter's doppleganger. I no longer have to wonder, really, what my daughter will look like when she's an adult.

She's also a fascinating person – recently finished articling, about to be admitted to the bar. My wife and I agreed that she was so sweet, you'd get diabetes if you spent too much time around her – she is just so interested in what others have to say, so polite, so courteous and considerate. My wife sat on the dock with her, while I went swimming with my daughter. She told me that Nan (my mother) had taken her horseback riding again that morning – the princess had been spoiled rotten. (My parents had called this the 'royal visit.')

My brother has built a large stone wood burning grill, which will eventually become the center of the house he is planning to build. The wood burns in a section that looks like an old wood-oven used in 19^th century bakeries. You then drag hot ashes and coals over from the oven to underneath the grill, and cook the food over the wood coals. He cooked a couple of salmon over this, and it was the tastiest and most tender salmon I've ever had. He's an olive oil fanatic, too – he was broiling sweet peppers on the grill, and kept pouring olive oil onto them, until a distressed woman finally came over with the barbecue brush, and marinaded them that way – she just couldn't stand watching all that expensive oil pour into the fire. :-)

At dusk, I dragged out my guitar and started singing all the songs I know by heart. It had gotten dark, so I couldn't read anything out of the songbook. My cousin joked that she now expects to retire comfortably off of my rock star earnings. :-) The mosquitoes had also decided to spend some time by the campfire, and I furiously contorted myself in such a way as to make it difficult for them to get me. My wife laminated me in bug spray and they more or less went away.

When we finally got back to the B&B, I suggested to my daughter she check the bed and see if there was a pea underneath the mattresses. Bonus points if you get the reference.