Tom & Brett’s epic cookout

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Tom & Brett had what they said was an “epic” cookout yesterday. It was very nice. I’m not sure what qualifies as epic. In World of Warcraft that means a purple item. That’s Tom’s favorite color, so maybe that’s why.
Or, maybe it is the new grill they just got.


Or the big fire pit they dug in their yard.


Or, the people they invited.


Or the croquet came that broke out on the back lawn.


It was an interesting game. Not just because there was someone there who really knew the rules. But, because the ground was uneven, the grass was deep enough to hide the balls, and different types of plant life grew in different areas.
Plus, course hazards wandered across at random intervals.


One moment was pretty epic. Tom, the bald guy in the red shirt, sat down in the blue chair. It promptly tilted back and he did a backwards summersault over the wall and down into the garden. He was fine. Sadly no action shots of it as it all happened before I could get the camera out and he was not willing to do a dramatic recreation.


It did rain for a short time. So, we went inside and played games.


Some people just stayed on the porch.


The the (very light) rain stopped and it was time to uncover the fire pit and add accelerant.


These are people trained to perform with fire. So don’t try this “stand in the pit full of wood and charcoal that is covered in oil while you light it” at home.


It did get going without any problem.


They also have a patch of black raspberries that were just reaching ripe.


Several of us studied them while Tom cooked more food.


As the sun went down, the fire pit really got going.


morgan_lafaye was cooking a marshmallow on a stick. I tried to show how German sword techniques could be used to get marshmallows to people’s faces. She used the counter technique to wind her marshmallow onto my arm to stop me.
So warm melted marshmallow was spread across my arm.
It sticks to little arm hairs. I tried to wipe it off, but the paper towel just became stuck to my arm. When I pulled that off, a bunch of the little hairs went with it. When I threw it on the fire, it lit up, the lifted up on the current and floated quite high while still smoldering. It remained up there for a very long time.
I think it confused the bats.
But, it did prove that German counter techniques work, even with marshmallows.
(And, since I did all of this after dark, the photos of it, and me flapping my arms with the towel stuck to it, did not come out. Sad.)

Anyhow, it was a very good time.