This is a picture of an annual get together at my friend's (John the guy on the extreme right of the picture - best friend, shooting partner, and Navy retired Captain) house in Atherton. We started calling this the annual "clam bake" fifteen years ago and it is still going strong. This is our 2009 calm bake. The guy on the left is another best friend who I worked with for fifteen years at MacArthur Park in Palo Alto. We were the senior bartenders and are like brothers. The lady in the picture is my wife Catherine. This is an event we look forward to all year round. You cannot see them but Charlie and Pablo are under our feet at the moment. They love coming over to John's place because it is quite large and they go crazy running around the yard. It is friends and times like this that make life worth the effort. We have had many themes for the party but now it is more just easy food, good wine and good conversation. We were doing a blind tasting for Sauvignon Blancs this year. It started off the warm summer night on the right note!