You've already heard about the world famous roasted chicken in the barbecue from the previous post. Thought a visual aid was called for. Here are one and a half birds in all their glory.

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The wake last night at Thereminman's place was a wonderful do - at least where wakes go. SSM and I breezed into the hamlet of Kingsburg armed with a "growler" from a local micro-brewery.

Kingsburg has a great middle America small town charm about it. The Swedish motif is even more spectacular during the "holiday month" when it's lit up with twinkle lights and Thereminman's house looks like the house out of The Waltons. We were unsure quite what to expect when we first got there. Soon we were clued in to Thereminman's request to celebrate his late father's life with "food, fire, music & beer."



We entered this joyful catharsis with a spread of food, chilled beer and Hank Williams (his Dad's favorite) playing on the stereo on the wonderful back patio. Musician friends turned up and serenaded us with some live and lively Western Swing... complete with slide guitar.



As the crisp Fall California evening progressed there were great stories and photographs shared. At one point even a little old time country and western sing-along broke out. This was truly a celebration of a man's life honored by a son with grace and affection.




As the fire began to die out in the firepit we took our leave warmed by the knowledge we were honored to share this special time with our friend. We got insights into his father's life... and more importantly through this celebration of his father - we got to know him better.
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Then there was Livingstone's...

On the evening of Black Friday every year the place to be is Livingstone's. This neighborhood pub & and restaurant is the usual haunt for those who have returned for the holidays - and need to get away from the family. This "homecoming" of sorts affords one the opportunity to run into old friends and college buddies. After the wake last night we decided to pop in. Since this was SSM's last weekend in town... he used the occasion to say good-bye before he sets off to a new life in Washington. I'll let the rest of the pics do the talking.







As you can already tell SSM is a non-discriminating hugger.