Summertime, and the livin' is easy

We have thornless blackberry vines in our backyard, and I harvested this bowl Saturday morning. They are pretty good. I prefer raspberries.

We have been making pizza at home with crust dough made in our bread maker. Our latest creation is based on one from Hell Pizza, with salsa, refried beans, red bell pepper, green onion, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, spicy chilis, and avocado, after it comes out of the oven. Here's a photo of it. it was YUM.

The following photo is my brother-in-law at the Kumeu Wine and Food Festival. The stall was selling "American-style" hot dogs. We had a really nice time visiting the different wineries and breweries and food stalls.

Darin found a Bavarian import beer/liquor that was really interesting. Check out the beautiful food decoration at the Thai restaurant's booth.We were supposed to bring home a Rottweiler puppy this weekend, but we decided against taking the one the breeder selected for us. My sister and I did a puppy aptitude test (Volhard) on the 3 pups, and the little girl showed some less desirable responses. Her temperament appeared to be more of a challenge than the others, and the breeder thought this would be fine for us, because we're experienced owners (this will be our 4th Rottie). If I ever breed a litter of pups, I'm not going to sell a pup to a family with a 16 month old child and it's their first Rottweiler (I'm slightly bitter). I was really sad about it but now realize it's the right decision. I've done well by following my gut instinct before. The right puppy will be there for me, when the time is right.

I went to a concert on Valentine's Day with a friend I used to work with, Interpol. We had such a great time, the band was awesome. You can watch music videos on their website (link is in name above). I hadn't realized how elf-like the lead singer is, hah! This friend also told me about the elf-worship of FIGWIT, which stands for "Frodo is great...Who is that?!" because of a scene from Lord of the Rings in which Brett McKenzie (of Flight of the Conchords) plays a non-speaking elf role. I find it highly amusing that he has this fan base that was so profound that a documentary film was made about it. Flight of the Conchords, by the way, is so funny!!! They just won a Grammy- way to go guys! The other half of Flight of the Conchords, Jermaine, is in the movie Eagle vs. Shark. Why haven't you seen this yet? It is funny and sweet and made by a Kiwi.

Darin and I had dinner out at the Bluestone Room. They have a Saturday $10 dinner deal, and it's a very atmospheric place. Good service, beer, and food too. It's in a restored historic (1850's) building in downtown Auckland. Here's a picture of the bar. I'll definitely go back there.