This weekend we co-hosted a croquet & casseroles party with our friends C. & K.

In the end, over 20 different dishes showed up! We had to get very creative in finding spots for all of them. Funny enough, the one guest from Minnesota actually brought a salad (which was very yummy). D.’s favorite casserole was a Martha Stewart chicken and artichoke pot pie.

C. and K. brought a fantastic croquet set and the badminton set was up — both, great games for warm summer days.

As day turned to night we settled around the fire. Good times and the casseroles made life easier on the hosts than a traditional BBQ. Throw your own!

I’m a big fan of slides and a bigger fan of big slides.

But I’m not such a fan of precarious heights… like those of a carnival ferris wheel. I was near tears on this one. Notice the pigeon toes vs. the confident placement of my toes in the former picture.

Yet there was plenty to see outside of rides, like the Chainsaw Massacre…

and a very large cow.

We missed the “Buffo — The Worlds Strongest Clown Show”. But really, does the world need a “strongest clown”?

I found the little piglets very amazing. I had no idea they played like puppies… and have a newfound respect for people who keep pigs as pets.

I talked myself into another scary (for me!) ride. D. had a lot of fun on this one.

It was a good time. This mild summer is getting high scores in my book.

Lucas County Fair | 1406 Key Street | Maumee

A good friend (and great Toledo artist) and his fantastic wife are moving to Hotlanta this month so we went to their going-away party, held at the Jerk Hut on LaGrange Street. We enjoyed music and food on the front patio… with great weather. It’s sad to see our friends go but wish them the best.

D. fell in love with the food immediately (the pic above was his plate). I’m looking forward to going back and trying their meat pies or “meat patties” and some sweet plantains — a throwback from when I went to school in Miami.

Bye W. and H. We’ll miss you.

Jerk Hut | 3117 Lagrange St | (419) 720-5375

Amidst errands on Sunday, we popped over to the St. George Festival. There were pony rides, great middle eastern food, and a petting zoo with small white lions (I don’t believe the caretaker’s claims that they were pyrenees dogs. Lies!). Also, we caught a fantastic performance by the Toledo bellydancing phenomenon that is Leyla and the Lapis Lazuli Troupe. I have only two words: flaming sword.

Leyla Bellydance | www.leylabellydance.com

St. George Orthodox Cathedral | 3754 Woodley Rd.

Dinner at Manos’ kicked off our weekend. One of my favorite dishes is the baked feta… typing this is making me hungry.

The opening of Ottawa Tavern has been pushed back a week (thanks to Manos for letting us know), so after a short moment at Space 237 for their opening we drove straight to Frankie’s to see Sinker (above).

We chatted with friends over Dr. Reed’s. What’s a Dr. Reed? you ask… PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) + Ice + Lime + Straw.

Not Miller High Life.

Not lemon.

PBR, Ice, Lime, Straw. Period. It’s the drink of the summer, courtesy of D’s co-worker Harper.

Friday ended with the first ever show by the Secret Swords [2 parts Stylex + 1 part Shuttlecock = Secret Swords]. Keep your ears peeled.

Manos | 1701 Adams Street | (419) 244-4479

Sinker | myspace.com/sinkersinker

Secret Swords | myspace.com/secretswordsmusic

We are having some carpentry work done on the exterior of the house… trim, wood shingles, porch spindles. We visited Architectural Artifacts, housing remnants of homes past, to check out their collection of spindles.

The second floor (where we found a new “old” door a few weeks ago) reminds me of a scene in Logan’s Run. Remember when they found the old man? Yes, that one.

There are some severely expensive objects for sale in the huge expanse of a warehouse, but there are some very fine cats to pet while you are browsing. Not that the two cancel each other out…

Architectural Artifacts | 20 S Ontario St | Downtown | (419) 243-6916

The Tandoor… delish Indian food, “spicy, please”. Traditional parasols, hanging upside-down like bats, pepper the ceiling.

Tandoor Cuisine of India | 2247 S Reynolds Rd | (419) 385-7467

Weather.com warned of scattered showers but we tossed caution in the wind and drove to Maumee Bay State Park for the Lighthouse Festival. Greeting us was a ghastly sight…

Sharks or no sharks, we weren’t about to give up our quest to see the lighthouse. We bought tickets for the boat ride and walked over to the docks.

It was a bit overcast, which was fine with me. I wasn’t wearing sunscreen. The lighthouse was about 6 miles out.

How great is this lighthouse? I want to move in.

I mean, really. How can we make this happen?

After circling the lighthouse a few times it was over. Bye bye, lighthouse!

Toledo Harbor Lighthouse Preservation Society

We figured Friday would be as good a day as any to visit the Polish Festival on Lagrange Street.

If I understand this correctly, when we arrived there was a Polka band that played Pink Floyd covers entertaining the crowd. The scene was a little confusing. I am also pretty certain I saw a grown man riding a cooler… a beer cooler… that had wheels and an engine… grown man riding it…

There was also a gentleman on stilts making balloon sculptures for kids, who later juggled knives, and later on was tossing a large yo-yo about between two sticks, and later still was playing with sticks on fire. He had amassed a pretty large crowd by the end of the day.

The people watching was epic. So was the kielbasa on a rye roll (!!!) that D. picked up from The Stanley’s Market tent.

The Polish Festival of Toledo | LaGrange Street | Fri. 5-11pm; Sat. 12-11pm; Sun. 1-7pm

Remember that cherry tree in the yard? Well we picked a bunch of cherries this weekend, enough for two pies, and there are still more to be picked. I think I need to use a ladder.

Now I did ask for recipes, but for all my millions of readers I got none. No worries, Food Network to the rescue with a recipe for crust and another for the pie itself. You would think that with the best, fresh ingredients, good recipes and all the tools necessary, it would have been a success. And it was! It just didn’t look like one:

Such is life. The life of a first-time pie.

It’s been a while since our last visit to Saigon Bistro. They’ve removed some tables, added some booths, rearranged the menu, yet everything still feels the same.

We shared an order of refreshing summer rolls. D. wavered on getting a spicy seafood soup but in the end declined.

We both ordered the house special (I think it was #24?) which is a big bowl of rice noodles in broth, some freshness in the form of lettuce, carrot and cucumber, BBQ pork & shrimp, and a spring roll. Topped off with some sriracha… yum.

Saigon Bistro | 4102 Airport Highway | (419) 382-1212

A favorite facet of the gem that is Toledo: the river cutting through the middle of Downtown. It’s really fantastic and a feature not many cities can claim. Now take the river and add fireworks, 4th of July fireworks even…

We rode our bicycles down, which was a blessing considering the crowded streets and mass exodus at the end of the night. There was a nice spot under a tree towards the south end of the park so we tossed down a blanket and setttled in.

The fireworks show did not dissapoint. I really loved the glittery sparkle ones that fall down like a big glowing shower.

The finale was bonkers… when’s the last time you saw a lense flare in the middle of the night?

4th of July Fireworks | Promenade Park | Downtown

D. took me to Grumpy’s for lunch yesterday. We showed up a little on the late side — lunch ends around 2 — yet still in time to catch Chef Jennifer as she was on her way to the stables (she has a cute pony horse). He had one of their *new* wraps which was yummy (I stole a bite) and I had my favorite… the grilled veggie sandwich on vegetable bread. Grumpy’s was busy, as usual…

Proudly displayed behind the front counter was a totally funny letter from an upset and obviously quite “fragile” someone. Hello! You are eating in an establishment called “Grumpy’s”… the O in the Open sign is a frowny face! What do you not get? The next menu should use choice lines from letters like this as pull quotes.

See, Mitch isn’t grumpy. Thanks for my yummy sammy, Mitch!

The Marc Folk cow, on the other hand, looks a bit sad or rather despondent. Poor cow.

Last notes: Grumpy’s has several great gluten-free lunch options, for those of you who are grain resistant. And for those of you who aren’t gluten-challenged, don’t forget to grab a cookie on your way out.

Grumpy’s | 34 S Huron St. | (419) 241-6728