It’s the final countdown: our summer sojourn is but a week away, so we’re cramming in whatever fun we can between cleaning, organizing, and packing 
Tonight I’m gathering 12 of my chile heads for a Sichuan meal. It’s been an unfathomable long time since the last one (2 MONTHS!), and peeps are excited for a final hang before our departure.
Tomorrow we’re hosting our recluse friend to have that massive halibut filet that’s been waiting in the freezer. I plan on baking it, but hadn’t settled on any pacific recipes until I saw @GretchenS’s link here. Sounds super-simple and delicious, and mustard sauce is a great combo with garlicky spinach. Not sure yet what our friend is bringing, but she’s a very good cook & it’s bound to be delicious 
Friday is our first meal at the fabulous farm-to-table place out in the boonz — even boonier than our town 
. They just opened for the 2026 season, and the May menu looks fabulous 
. As ever, I invited a couple of peeps who’ve not managed to snag a rez so far, plus a couple of good friends who love it as much as we do 
Saturday is my last gig at the beer garden with the full band. The manager finally ‘allowed’ our drummer to join, so we can play more of our upbeat tunes vs. the wrist-slitting ballads we usually do . The food truck set up that night isn’t very good, so dindin is TBD.
Sunday is The Big Final Cleaning Day to get casa lingua ready for our house / cat sitter. Laundry & packing are also on the agenda, and dinner is very much a question mark RN.
Monday happens to be Memorial Day (I kept thinking it was the following weekend), so if any of our friends are hosting anything we’ll gladly partake. Weather is supposed to be absolutely abysmal — cold & rainy, so bbqs are likely out 
Tuesday we take off for Germany. We tend to grab a bite at EWR bc the plane food on our carrier — even in Premium Economy — usually sucks. A shared sammich does the trick for us and won’t break the bank.
Wednesday we’re in BERLIN!!! We’re staying in the same pad as last year, but the previous tenant isn’t clearing out until Thursday, so we got a hotel room for our first night as well as the following night bc they are moving out late, and the cleaning lady can’t come in until after her day job. It’s kinda puzzling (not to mention adorabz) how thrilled she is about our return — either other tenants are total pigs… or she liked how many food products we left with her last summer . My lucky PIC is leaving for a conference in Porto with his UFO nuts until Sunday, so I get to move our shit all by my lonesome. Yay.
Wishing everyone a lovely week ahead. Keep your loved ones close & eat all the good tings 
