"No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"

I didn't totally understand until our Dinner In The Boys Fort & a board member mentioned the policy, the organization- Our House is 100% operated & staffed by volunteers. This mean that the entire $800 raised that evening will go to services for people with HIV that make Our House their refuge. All our expenses, hard work, creativity did not go to paying a CEO's $200,000  yearly salary. I am pleased about that information.

The setting in the Boys' Fort

Even with our choosing the date & the hour, & with the info published in the catalogue, The Husband & I had it in our heads that the event started at 6pm. We were mistaken. When the first guests arrived a few minutes after 5pm, the Husband was naked & dripping wet from a shower & I was sneaking a slug from the vodka as I worked on the ingredients for the opening cocktail.

Our hero checking out final details...

The entire evening felt a bit harried & off rhythm, but I believe the guests didn't take note or pick up on the vibe. I was honest with them & the guests offered to drive around for an hour. I insisted not.

It was a pitch perfect evening, high 70s with a breeze, interesting mix of personalities, The Husband's dazzling dinner, my urbane & witty wine choices & a through line of strangers who are friends for an evening, lives colliding to help others.

The scrolls tied with twine are the menus & I made a custom mixed CD for each guest, also placed on the table, because & I am generous & talented & giving. Sometimes I give until hurts.

Giving a gift is so superior in the reward than receiving a gift. I will count the evening as a special 4 hours in my considerable lifetime.

This is the pass-through that serves as the bridge from the house to the Boys' Fort.

The event in full swing...

First course, watermelon & shinned cherry tomato in olive oil

 & basil vinaigrette

Chilled Cucumber Soup & Ratatouille

I suspect that there is not photograph of the main course, a lemon & asparagus risotto, because of the vodka nipping on the photographers part. Sorry!

 This is dessert, coconut ice with black & blue berries.

A guest had emailed The Husband, 24 hours before the event, indicating that she did not partake of flour or sugar. We always prepare a meal for the lowest common denominator, so The Husband scrapped the black pepper biscuits with cashew cream at the last moment & then guest refused the dessert anyway. I was grateful to her, her request cut out a difficult final last course that involved baking.

The Husband informs me that I passed out before the final guests said their good-nights. Note to readers: consider my disposition before inviting me to an event, no matter how well intentioned.

Our House For Our House

Portland has been enjoying a week of near perfect summer weather of the sort that made me fall in love with this place that I chose to live out my last days. Each day begins cool, in the mid-50s, after some marine air burns off we get into the 80s & sunny. Clear nights with views from the hot tub & the garden of the constellations & our friend Mr. Moon. Don't hate be because I'm beautiful.

I have been watching the weather & the very useless forecasts with apprehension, damn this Climate Change, because we are hosting a charity dinner in the Boys' Fort next Sunday. 4 couples paid $100 a person to feast on The Husband's surprisingly savory, scrumptious vegan offerings & my custom designed libations with a tour of Post Apocalyptic Bohemia & the garden. 4 courses, paired with drinks, on a summer evening in the garden.

We chose Sunday, August 7th, by the almanac, as the sure bet for no rain, but we have had cool rainy days for much of July & I was getting nervous.

The benefit is for Our House, housing & inspiration for people living with HIV. Our House is a model of innovation & compassion. During a July to July year, there is a catalogue of the Dinner At Our House For Our House series & this year Post Apocalyptic Bohemia opens our re-purposed door for the opportunity to do our part for this organization.

Our little cottage in Seattle was on the Seattle Art Museum's Tour Of Artists' Gardens in 1998 & we toiled to the very last moment before opening the gate to make sure that the tour participants would get an eye full & their money's worth. I was plugging Lobelia in the planting blanks as the first group arrived.

The Husband is putting extra energy, élan,& esprit on the Boys' Fort of Summer 2011 being the best possible Boys' Fort for our guests.

Please forgive me for posting so many photos of our back garden at Post Apocalyptic Bohemia, but I found these overhead shots, taken while the husband scampered up the dogwood like a monkey to fiddle with the lighting, gave a viewpoint not yet explored. I hope you don't mind. & when you are in Portland, please let me know, so we can have a cocktail in this unique space & toast to the boyhood that we still hang on to.

The Boys' Fort Summer 2011

The Boys' Fort Summer 2010

Post Apocalyptic Bohemia is like the Winchester Mystery House. As long as he keeps re-working it, changing & building on, the Husband will not die. So I encourage his avocation. Our home is also the Husband's studio & lab.

He has made changes to The Boy's Fort that I find to be pleasing & promising.

This Year's Model

The light fixture is recent, formally from a ship & found at The ReBuilding Center, re-wired & well hung by The Husband.

Vicodin & Vodka