Went to exercise, had breakfast, then drove to Wells Mills Park to drop off registration and checks for the van tour we're taking in October. The Ocean County Parks system doesn't go out of their way to make it easy to participate, that's a cinch. For openers, you have to register as soon as you get their quarterly brochure, which is always months beforehand. The van holds only 14, so otherwise, you might very well be shut out. (Only if they get ten more will they add another van, and sometimes, not then either.) You can no longer register in Little Egg; the woman who was in the office has retired and the job is not going to be filled. I had to go to Waretown about twenty miles away and their copier there was broken. The woman there--pleasant, but very harried as she was new in the office--said she'd have to send us our confirmations. "E-mail?" I asked hopefully. Oh, no, that would take even longer, she assured me, so they'll come by regular pony express. Sent Barb, Pat, and Susan an e-mail letting them know we were duly registered.
After having the yummy roasted veggies at Mary Ann's, I was determined to make my own. Stopped at B & B to get sweet potatoes, sweet peppers, and onions. Added the broccoli and carrots I already had and cut everything up into big chucks. Mary Ann had used a commercial marinade, but I wanted to make my own. It wasn't actually a marinade, I guess: I mixed olive oil and garlic, plus some lemon slices I had in the frig and coated the veggies with that. Roasted for more than an hour--probably an hour and a half--in a hot (425) oven,let them cool for a time and--oh, they were so darn good. I immediately decided to include this in any dinner party I have in the cold weather. If I say it myself (oh, Mimi, you're naughty), they were much better than Mary Ann's.
Was pleased to get a web cam call from P. and N. They're planning a trip to a place in the mountains shortly. It was a favored spot for hari-kari, I understand. That, of course, is the ritual disemboweling of oneself, considered only a right and proper thing to do if your army was defeated or you got up on the wrong side of the bed or whatever. Aagh!