Mom's visit and June Lake

Mom, a.k.a. Granny, came west last week for a short visit to the Barry compound in Berkeley, California. We scheduled a little backyard barbecue on Saturday afternoon, and then when Billy Prendergast said he couldn't make it, we hosted another small gathering on Sunday morning. Here are some photos -- this first one is mom with Tim Rooney.



And here she is with Nanette, Billy, and Diane (Billy's wife).



There are more here on Flickr of mom's visit:
http://flickr.com/photos/johnbyrnebarry/sets/72157606320344929/show/

And then after I dropped mom off at the airport, I left for Yosemite and June Lake with Nanette and her kids. Here's a couple of photos from that trip -- first the Tuolomne River in Yosemite...



And here's Lee with the brown trout he caught in June Lake. (This was the first time I'd ever experienced the catching, scaling, filleting, cooking, and eating of a fish. Very tasty.)



And Elena on horseback. (Lee and I went mountain bike riding --sans camera -- while Nanette and Elena rode horses.)



There are a lot more on Flickr.

Four Days Unplugged on Mt. Tam -- With Cake

For the 4th of July weekend, while some Barry family members were enjoying a Peruvian wedding in Chicago, Nanette and her kids and I went up to Mt. Tam for four nights at the West Point Inn, with no electricity or internet access. July 5 was Lee's birthday and on Sunday, we had about twenty people hike up the mountain (about a 45 minute hike) for a birthday brunch. Since this is primarily a food blog, I'll start with the chocolate angel food cake Elena baked from scratch for her brother, with chocolate chips spelling out "15 Lee."

We took a hike every day, and played a lot of hearts. This might not be a bad idea for a family reunion site, though we probably would want to do it for three or four nights, as opposed to a whole week.

I'm also attaching some photos of the view of the bay from the mountain -- mostly we're above the fog.









Here are some more photos from Mt. Tam:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbyrnebarry/sets/72157606062183882/

and my garden:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbyrnebarry/sets/72157606065566447/

Wedding bells at a Peruvian restaurant

Ray and Edith got married on July 4th. Pat and I have been helping by printing signs, locating and purchasing Peruvian wine and beer and other small tasks. Janet, Kevin and Carolyn joined us along with Ray, Edith and Edith's family with the pre-wedding set-up. We arranged the patio, decorated the restaurant, stripped roses for the petals and hung a piñata.

We were all taking notes, thinking about Janet and Freddy’s wedding in November. I’ve been considering taking the week before their wedding off, now I’m contemplating taking the entire month of November off! Just kidding, but there are so many details to be taken care.

Ray and Edith got married at Ay Ay Picante, a Peruvian Restaurant on Elston. The restaurant had never hosted a wedding before. The owner Jamie and his staff went all out to create a welcoming venue and wonderful food.

The best parts of the wedding for me were getting a new sister in-law, having kids home, spending time with Margo and Gabriel, talking with my cousin Dean and his wife Jane, and seeing Selso, an old friend and Gabriel’s brother. Below are some photos.

Janet, Mary Anne, Carolyn and Kevin.

Margo, Pat and Sandra with Jane and Dean in the second roll.

Edith and Ray cut the cake. Yes that's wheat grass surrounding the cake.

What's a wedding without Peruvian dancers?