This past weekend Miriam came out of the city to visit and play a round or two of Martini Croquet at McKuster Ranch. Let me tell you something about Miriam; she lives on the west side (of Oregon) and leads a most hectic lifestyle. She seems to have at all times about 6-10 pots on the fire (family and her businesses), so coming out to McKuster Ranch, she says gives her a break and a dose of fresh air. We are glad she enjoys it here.We always try to make her stay here a get-away-from-it-all trip. Damn the telephone and internet connections. Part of the get-away ritual is the playing of Martini Croquet on the front lawn, and horseback riding in the arena... during most of her trips.
This season with the afternoon temperatures in the upper 90's we played games of wet not dry
Martini Croquet. Wet Martini Croquet is accomplished with the pasture and lawn irrigation system running to keep everyone cool. On the right you see Miriam after completing a beautiful mallet stroke of her ball shooting for the mid-course pin. It was at that point she then got hit by a sprinkler shot of cooling Walla Walla River shower. OHoooo, that feels so good!~~~~~~~~~~
Let me digress --- the McKuster Ranch definition of Martini Croquet is
1: a sport that Kittee and Dale started playing a few years ago, on a universal croquet laid out course (on our front lawn) with the use of extra dry Bombay Sapphire Martinis. We feel that a good Martini should be made with only fine gin -Bombay Sapphire London Dry- (frozen) and the best of extra dry vermouth, French or Italian -Martini&Rossi- (frozen), poured over ice, then shaken not stirred and strained into a 6-8oz. Martini glass. To properly play Martini Croquet, we would each have a Martini while sitting up the course, and then another Martini while playing the first game or two.
NOTE: Once we had a third Martini apiece somewhere during the second, third, or fourth, or fifth or whatever game it was. Well, after that third Martini we could not find our croquet balls. We called the game off and just went to sit on the back porch for awhile. We won't do that again. Thereafter definition #2 came into effect for "Martini Croquet".
2: to play Croquet by the rules of the course and drink what you want.
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After the lost balls experience we no longer restrict our game of "Martini Croquet" to the beverage of frozen Martinis. It is now players choice --- diet Cola, water, Fuzzy Navel (Miriam's favorite), WWWW & BV, McKuster Ranch Bloody Mary (like no other), whiskey sour, or any of an assortment of fine Oregon/ Washington vintaged vinos, etc. The game now is not as wacky as when drinking straight Martinis, but still challenging and fun. Ones' eye/mallet stroke skill level has to be maintained to the max to complete the course of the game, even though one does not have to be able to pass the universal FST if you are playing the game and spending the night at McKuster Ranch.
We followed our evening game with guest of "Martini Croquet" as usual with a hickory smoked BBQ - being Miriam was here, this cookout was chicken from the backyard smoker of McKuster Ranch.
With Miriam here most of the weekend we spent it in relaxed mode, enjoying each others company, eating, napping, playing croquet and horseback riding. This weekend was Miriam's third or forth time to make a horseback ride at McKuster Ranch and she is getting better all the time. While riding Misty, she came to realize how responsive a horse can be to proper cues for riding directions.
Saturday, we polished the morning with Miriam on Misty, and then did lunch in Pendleton at our favorite Ms. Patti's restaurant, and a visit to Tamastslikt Cultural Institute of the CTUIR. Kittee and I bought the neatest coffee table book- Celilo Falls: Remembering Thunder - a pictorial collection from Wilma Roberts of the oldest established and currently occupied community in the Western Hemisphere (12.000 years of community living at Celilo Village). After our visit to Tamastslikt, Miriam headed back to the west side and the city life there.
Sunday Kittee saddled up Nugget, I helped her with Justice and they made a few turns around our riverside arena, just to stay in tune. I am still taking life easy trying to mend the rib cracking of three weeks ago during the Derby bucking fit. Thereafter we made a trip to Walla Walla to catch the new Harry Potter movie on the big screen. All in all this gave us a full weekend of fun, grins, relaxation with friend and horses, as well as making two trips to the cities (PDT & ALW), of which we made it home before dark so we were able pet and brush our herd of horses. Life is good.
We hope you too will consider taking a break from the hectic, come relax, have some down-home cooking, play croquet, maybe take a horseback ride with us.Dale - a weekend in the life at McKuster Ranch
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