June 21 is a very special day for me. It is summer solstice, the longest day of daylight, Midsummer, midsommeran. Especially the farther north you go. In the post-Viking cultures it ranks as a major holiday, of equal importance with Christmas. When I lived in Copenhagen in 1968, they students at the Paul Bergsoe dorms grilled a reindeer and there was an extended evening of dancing and drinking until dark at around 10:00.
When I lived in Sweden in 1970 working with as an accountant we were invited to a traditional crayfish dinner with lots of wine, beer, and aquavit at the home of one of the married young professionals. A dinner party of ten or so people in Stockholm.
I planned to ride my bike after a breakfast of Gravad Lax (salt and sugar cured salmon) on toasted bagel spread with cream cheese and topped with slices of onion and the fish. Here is a picture.
But that all changed when I received a conference call from my new start-up client. I was joined into a zoom conference call until after noon.
When I got off the phone Willy called and came by to do his laundry and we talked a bit. When he left I made a salad with red lettuce, tomato, olives, steak, cucumber, and the PPI Caprese salad from last Sunday’s dinner party.
I watched the Market close as I ate my lunch and then checked my portfolio and found that I had a very small loss for the day. Interestingly, gold has risen lately to over $1400 per ounce. Last fall I considered buy some when it sank to $1188, but did not. I guess those in the oil kingdom are in a flight to safety, reconfirming Gresham’s law and gold’s unique historic status as the ultimate safe haven currency and store of value.
I was still in my riding gear, so rode to my client’s office at 3:30, which is in downtown Albuquerque about ten blocks from the house. Not ten miles, but a ride nonetheless.
We finished sending meeting notices a bit after 5:00 and I stopped to talk to Bill until almost 6:00 when I rode home, showered and dressed.
At 7:00 we grabbed a chilled bottle of Emma Reichart 100% Pinot Noir rose from Nahe, Germany. This the best bottle of rose for under $5.00. It is sold by Trader Joe’s. It gets consistently high 87 and 88 point ratings for its dry fruity flavor.
We were the first to arrive and stayed until 9:30. There was a good crowd of about thirty and lots of good food. Deviled eggs by Diane, salami wrapped gerbils by Macon was my favorite although Kylene put out a lovely sliced log of salami. We took the Clafoutis I made last week with cherries I brandied in cognac, Grand Marnier, Orange juice and orange zest.
I enjoyed the evening and talked to Susan Feil a lot among others as the sun set and the searing sunlight and heat changed to a soft glow and then that deepening grey cool afterglow.
Bon Appetit
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