Ilaine

Well, I am torn. I made a commitment and I honor commitments. At the same time, I honestly do not believe that this confrontation will be resolved by this weekend. My crystal ball, cracked though it is, says not. It's not just the lack of venue, it's the money thing, too. We don't actually have a lack of venue, Catharine has generously offered her abode, but there is still the money thing, and I would expect that most people would rather not bring up their personal finances. Not that anybody asked, but my family is OK for now. Husband works for the Patent Office which is funded for several more weeks. So, I will give this until the end of tomorrow, and allow for negative notice (speak now or forever hold your peace) If we don't have a loud outpouring of passionate howling that the picnic must go on, it won't.

I just had a client, who works as a croupier in a casino in West Virginia, tell me that very few people are in the casino since the shut-down. Money worries. So it's not just government workers who are feeling the pinch.

And, if we are forced to reschedule, I bet it won't be hard to get one of the later October dates.

No alcohol in the Fairfax parks makes it a no-go. The right of the American people to consume fine wines and beer ought to be in the Constitution. We can give peace a chance for a while longer.

OK, Pohick Bay has a shelter that will accommodate 100, and for me, as a Fairfax resident, the price is only $140 for a weekend, non-peak reservation. Peak times are Memorial Day to Labor Day, so we're good to go and could change the venue for the 13th if we act now. It looks perfect for our needs. http://rs.nvrpa.org/shelter_details.php?shelter_id=19 On the other hand, as Bettyjoan points out, a lot of people are furloughed and don't know when they will get paid, if ever. So that's something to think about, as well.

I am not familiar with Pohick Bay park, so don't have an opinion either way, so am open to all suggestions. There a couple of good things about Fort Hunt - the site we use has a shelter in case of inclement weather, and it's on the GW Parkway so convenient for people who don't live in Virginia.

The uncertainty is starting to stress me. I am definitely not going to plan on roast suckling pig, the lead time for ordering is such that I am afraid I'd have a raw dead piglet in my refrigerator all dressed out and nowhere to go. A non-Rockwell friend of mine suggested we just plan on not going forward on the 13th and go for a rain date TBA. He pointed out that even if Congress comes to a consensus the park probably needs to be mowed, etc. Anybody up for that?

The website says they will refund my money, eventually. I am not worried about it. Either they do or they don't, and if they don't, $200 won't kill me.

Phooey, indeed! I called the National Park Service yesterday, got an answering machine confirming they are shut down. The website does say that if our reservation is cancelled, I will eventually get a refund. Obviously we have no idea when the gridlock in Congress will end, but my crystal ball says that they are going to roll the debate over the spending bill into the upcoming debt ceiling crisis and it won't end soon. Whether it will end by October 13 is anybody's guess. If not, we could try for a later date in October once the reservation site comes back online.

Going to New York for the weekend. How does one accomplish the act of tipping and asking for juicy, from a counterperson?

laine +1, roast suckling pig and Weber grill if requested; Thistle +tableware, serveware, drinkware; bethjoan +Jason +bethjoan's mom; weezy +4 or 5; 22209 +1; ol_ironstomach, science experiment; cucas87 +Scott; agm + NQD, pork or goat with flames and smoke; Barbara +Dame Edna, pumpkin <strike>cheesesteak</strike> cheesecake; monavano, maybe golabki; John William G +1, jalapeno cheesesquares, wine; zora margolies. Dang, pumpkin cheesesteak, while a typo, sounds interesting. And everybody is welcome to bring a bottle of wine, or two, or beer, or non-adult beverage. In the meantime, I just realized that Fort Hunt Park is managed by the National Park Service, which means *dun *dun* *dun* cue scary music, in the event of a government shut down, well, you know . . . . Treasury says the government will turn into a pumpkin on October 17, just in time for Halloween, so maybe 10/13/13 will work out OK.

Ilaine +1, roast suckling pig and Weber grill if requested; Thistle +tableware, serveware, drinkware; bethjoan +Jason +bethjoan's mom; weezy +4 or 5; 22209 +1; ol_ironstomach, science experiment; cucas87 +Scott; agm + NQD, pork or goat with flames and smoke; Barbara +Dame Edna, pumpkin cheesesteak; monavano, maybe golabki. [Thank you again for doing this. I also want to stress to every member here, even if they've never posted before, that they are welcome with open arms, and won't be strangers for longer than 15 seconds. Many, many members here (literally, dozens if not hundreds) who are close friends know each other because they met at an event. If we have enough new members, we can do name tags if people want. DR]

Donna, in what area do you live? I am asking because I live in Fairfax and wondering whether I can grow what you grow. How much of an area do you devote to raising your bounty? What is Lebanese squash?

OK, preliminary headcount: Ilaine +1, roast suckling pig and Weber grill if requested; Thistle; bethjoan +Jason; weezy; 22209 +1; ol_ironstomach, science experiment; cucas87 +Scott; agm + NQD, pork or goat with flames and smoke; Barbara +Dame Edna, pumpkin cheesesteak; monavano, maybe golabki. We are the few, the proud, the Rockweilers!

I will do a head count after work. I was at Monticello Harvest Festival Saturday, buried my boss Sunday (well, I did not actually bury him, just went to the funeral), and just did not get around to it. Pamrhess, just post that you are coming, how many people are coming with you, and what you are bringing. It is a potluck, bring enough for several others, and if you can kick some cash money in to the kitty, that would be nice. I fronted $200 for the spot, Don Rockwell will pay me back for what's left after the cash is counted. As it gets closer to P-day, and we have a head count, we will see if we already have enough tableware and eatware and serveware, or whether someone can bring some of that. Wine, beer, ice, icechests, always needed. There is no grill at the site so portable grills can be a good idea. We can bring one, a charcoal Weber that starts with propane.

Oh! Good question! When is it usually? Something like noon to five?

The annual dr.com fall picnic will be held, as usual, at Fort Hunt State Park, at picnic area C-2. I just made the reservation for October 13, which is the earliest available Sunday date. I am organizing it, and also bringing a roast suckling pig.

OK, well, if only 20-30 people come, so be it. We can't let tradition die. Can you post the link so I can make the reservation?

Since I am going to do it, I arbitrarily pick the 13th. More likely to be warm than later in the month.

I can do it. What do I need to do?

Oh, please, tell me we are going to have a fall picnic! I can try to make a reservation myself if nobody else is doing it.

The good reviews say it works well. The bad reviews say it breaks.

lperry, are your fig trees in a protected place? How about your mother's? Does she live around here?

Hi Pat, I don't think there is a potential cause of action for racial discrimination against Lisa Jackson, the manager, because she did not participate in the discrimination. From what I've seen, Lisa Jackson may have a hard time convincing a jury that she was sexually harassed, as well. Obviously she is not claiming quid quo pro sexual harrassment, but hostile work environment. In order to prevail, she has to prove, not only that offensive acts were happening, which they clearly were, but that she, personally, found them offensive. It appears that she did not complain about it until after she left -- not sure whether she was quit or was fired.

We have eaten twice at the F-burg place. First time, I asked if the fried fish and fried eggplant could be prepared gluten-free. The person taking the order informed me that the usual flour has a small amount of wheat but mostly rice flour. I asked for rice flour only, and this was done. Still delicious. The second time I asked a different server for "wheat free" but did not specify "gluten free" and, while the eggplant preparation was obviously all rice flour, the fish preparation was obviously not. So you can get it gluten free but be specific. The menu is not as adventurous as the original China Star but better than most places in the DC metro area. I was disappointed that you can't get a big variety of seasonal vegetables as other Chinese restaurants that cater to Chinese clientele. They have green beans and Shanghai bok choy. I like to order vegetables for the table to balance out the heat of the peppers. I like to rendezvous in F-burg with younger son, who drives up from Richmond. If the traffic is good (which is rare) we can meet at the Barnes & Noble at about the same time. If not, Barnes & Noble is a good place to hang out. Then we drive the short distance to Peter Chang's for a good, but not overwhelming, meal. Note to people who are not familiar with the drive, Route 1 is a good alternative but avoid the bridge at Falmouth at all costs. Bail out of Rt 1 at Business Route 17.