Summer and True Blood BBQ

OMG it's finally summer in Portland! Time to celebrate! I celebrated with a sorry attempt at a cartwheel. I should get an A for effort, because I'm a whole lot more bottom-heavy than the last time I did one of these. Bobby was insisting it was a roundoff and not a cartwheel, and I told him he did not know what he was talking about. Roundoffs go front to back. Cartwheels go side to side. So there. Also I think I should be commended for not breaking my neck.



That was Saturday. By Sunday we were all set for our True Blood barbecue extravaganza. In lieu of last year's vampire cupcakes, I decided to make a variation on this. For those not in the know, the goo in that jar used to be Vampire King of Mississippi Russell Edgington's boyfriend Talbot. So, Bobby and I, sick weirdos that we are, scoured the city for a similar jar. Into that jar I put one bowl of raspberry jell-o (light red) and one bowl of dark cherry jell-o (dark red), and bingo-bango, dead vampire goo. For some reason our party guests had a hard time eating it after watching the Season Three recap. Alas, I did not snap any photos of my brilliant (if slightly macabre) dessert concoction. Suffice it to say, it was gross and delicious in equal measure. Shout-out to Michelle and Brian for letting me steal their idea! You can at least see the top of the punch bowl in this one, but most of the "goo" had been eaten by the time this was taken.



Prior to the show, we had a barbecue featuring various grilled meats and veggies, as well as a build-your-own-sangria bar. The smell of the meats lured the neighbors' cat into our yard, and she quickly took a seat. Sedge fed her chicken, so I suspect she will be meowing at our back door for the rest of eternity. Oh well, she's cute. To the right of the interloper, you'll see me in my Sookie Stackhouse costume, complete with the cup that says "Sookeh," lest anyone drink out of my sangria.



As 9:00 approached, people gathered in the living room. Team Bill sat up front.



The setup was mighty good, despite a minor cable-related setback. The wire kind, not the Kabletown kind (surprisingly).



With moments to go, folks took their places in our makeshift movie theater, and Season 4 of True Blood began.



Personally, I loved the episode and am convinced that it has already redeemed itself after a dismal third season. Though we tried to run the second episode via HBO Go connected to my laptop, we were in the same boat with three million other people and the quality was too poor to continue. Alas, alas, alas. Conor, not ready to go home, suggested we watch an episode of a cartoon or some other fun thing, as it was only 10. Bobby and I have been on a Fraggle Rock kick, so that's what we watched. Not to be outdone, I ran upstairs to get props:



Yup, those are my four original fraggles from circa 1985. Red (my favorite, whom I fed coffee when I was four, permanently staining her mouth), Mokey, Gobo, and Wembley. Not pictured: my two Doozers. Yeah, I am festive whenever possible.

So went my first official summer weekend of 2011. Hope yours was just as good, if not better.