Hills, Cheese, Cupcakes and Rain

It's a good thing that Boo and I were rather well behaved at the BBQ last night. Part of the "excuse" I gave for leaving at a reasonable time was that I hoped to go for a run in the morning. Mentioning that fact out loud simply added some pressure to actually put the running shoes on and take in a bit of a tour of the island. During the party, one of Tyrant's neighbours gave me the low down on local roads. He said to follow the road out front to the end and turn _______. I remembered him saying that turning one way was be relatively flat while the other direction would be continuous hills. Could I remember which way to turn? Not a chance. After a kilometre of local "mountain," I reached the conclusion that I'd either taken the wrong turn or that this was going to be one short outing.

True enough, the opposite direction was far more amenable to a morning after jog. Who knew that Salt Spring was so hilly? Never seemed that way in the car.

A trip to the Farmer's Market was far more important than the run though. We may not make it to Salt Spring very often but, with any luck, we strive to hit a couple local producers every chance we get. Having worked up a bit of an appetite during my run, I was completely agreeable to patronizing the ever-so-tasty bakers that had set up at the market. But, the primary goal was to load up with some Moonstruck Cheese! The Moonstruck gals used to frequent our local Trout Lake Market in Vancouver but, ultimately, the commute got to be too much for them. We were having a rough time choosing which of their organic, free range milk cheeses to take with us. So, Boo simply said, "We'll take one of everything." The woman behind the counter told us that, in all her years, she'd only had one other person ever do that before.

Pleased to help. But, there's no doubt that this is some damned tasty cheese.

While grazing at the Farmer's Market, we ran into Jeaux and Matinder. They'd caught the morning ferry and were going to share the cabin with us tonight. Not sure that they'd be able to access the cabin yet, we told them that all systems were go and that we'd be heading back as soon as we'd grabbed a coffee.

1428.  2012 Cupcake Pinot Grigio (IGT delle Venezie - Italy)

Upon arriving back at the resort, Jeaux proved that she was indeed the perfect roommate. She opened a little wine so that we wouldn't have to primp for the wedding empty handed. Regular visitors to the blog may recall that Jeaux is the master (or mistress) of theming. This time around, she figured Cupcake had to be a good take on the wedding cake to come. Little did she realize that she'd picked a producer that travels the world to create wines that are representative of the regions they visit. Although based in California, Cupcake's Pinot Grigio is produced in Northern Italy.

Without trying to wax on too ambitiously, the bringing together of distinct facets of the world is quite apropos to this wedding as well. Tyrant is a born and bred BC boy but he has spent extended periods of time in the Caribbean, Hong Kong and the US. If you couldn't guess from his nom-de-blog, Panda Guy originally hailed from China. The guests hailed from all over and from all aspects of life too. The wedding, like Cupcake, was going to be joining of cultures and regions.

During our prep time, however, we could only imagine how much Tyrant must be NEEDING a drink - a strong one. It was to be an outdoor wedding - taking full advantage of the setting - but it was pouring rain. It had been quite sunny for most of the morning, but it was sure coming down now. And I do mean pouring. It was just pounding away on the cabin skylight.

Normally, for me, a rustic setting and the sound of rain on the roof is an entirely appealing thought. Not so much when you're you're expecting a hundred or more guests for an al fresco party though. We sipped away on our Cupcake - checking for blue sky every so often - just hoping for a break. Luckily, the skies started clearing about 20 minutes before we were set to go.

Tyrant must have hired Jeaux and her party planning prowess to time things perfectly.