Morphing a Picnic

So how did a picnic in the park turn into sangria on the deck? It was indeed a variation on the picnic theme.

In August Lemmonex had invited me to join her in hosting a DC Bloggers picnic for foodies and those who sometimes write about food. I jumped at the chance to have a meet-up of Bloggers in a space that would allow us to hear one another!

We paid $7 to rent a picnic site in Rock Creek Park that was near a Metro stop and had a bathroom. We advertized our intentions on DC Blogs and expected as many as 50 people to jump at the chance to spend a mosquito-free afternoon on a beautiful day eating gourmet picnic food with other Bloggers.

But hardly anyone expressed interest. Maybe it was because it was a holiday weekend. Maybe people were still away after spending the High Holidays with family. For whatever reason, they just weren’t interested.

But Lemmonex and I share a determination despite the fact that I am over twice as old as she is. Instead of cancelling the picnic, we simply moved the small band of interested people onto my deck.

I picked up Lemmonex and Bozoette at the Metro. Kristin and Aileen came under their own steam. We enjoyed Stilton and pears while we drank sangria and waited for the chicken to cook on the grill.

We had a smorgasbord of salads and sides to accompany the BBQed chicken, including couscous with ratatouille, potato salad, beet salad, humous, and garbanzo bean salad. For dessert we had homemade zucchini and banana bread, brownies, and pumpkin pie with real whipped cream.

And did I mention that my husband was thrilled to have the company of so many attractive, intelligent women while he cooked the chicken?

I’m always amazed that Bloggers fall right into a steady stream of conversation with never a silent moment. The topics covered the economy, movies, the election, Blogging ethics, with a lot of “Do you know ____?” thrown in.

It was nice to have dinner out of the way early so one person could go on to a hockey game, the two youngest could go on to parties, and the rest of us could just enjoy the evening without needing to eat another bite.

I’m so glad we were able to salvage the picnic idea and turn it into something that accomplished the same thing (minus the Frisbee and croquet) in a different venue. I’m so grateful for my Blogger friends!