In 1969, the Cuyahoga River was so poluted, that it actually caught on fire. Yes, the water caught on fire. Cleveland has been fighting its dirty reputation and spreading the cause of environmental awareness ever since. On Sunday the Great Lakes Brewery and The Burning River foundation teamed up for a great music and beer festival to raise funds for the ecological and historic preservation of Ohio waterways. Music? Beer? We were game.

The day was hot, humid, and exactly what you expect from the Summer. We lounged about on blankets and quilts, playing roudy games of Bull Shit, singing and dancing to the acoustic performances, and even got to hear some friends perform on the meadow stage.

The festival took place west of downtown on Whiskey Island, with views of the city and beautiful boats floating around us on the great Lake Erie. I managed to keep my fair skin from becoming too rosey (thank you SPF 30!) and my bangs from sticking to my face all day (thank you bobby pins!).

After the festival we went for an evening swim on the beach, complete with a rising game of baseball. For a bat, we used a piece of driftwood, and for a ball we used a little bouncy thing that someone brought along. I was more than happy to chase any home runs into the warm lake water.

What a fun day! I can’t wait to get back to the beach.

This weekend was full of so much love. Many of our friends gathered to celebrate a dear comrade, Catherine’s golden birthday, and while it rained all about Canton, the wet stayed away until late, when none of us really minded getting a little wet.

The party was a surprise, so we all met at the house about an hour before the birthday girl, decorating the street with chalk, donning silly moustaches, and preparing decorations and confetti poppers. Her reaction? “I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry!” Our reaction? “Do a cartwheel!” So, she did.

Everybody brought cheese for grilling sandwiches, and I brought a cake I lovingly made for the special lady. We ate lots of food, drank lots of beer/wine, played a lot of games, and just generally had too much fun.

After Catherine made a wish, it was pinata time. Yes, it was like a child’s birthday party, which partially added to the evening’s success. That, and the bubbles. And no, I don’t mean champagne. We’re not fancy enough for that. Just good ol’ fashion bubbles for blowing.

A month is far too long to wait patiently for another friendly ice cream outting. We staged one at a favorite ice cream parlor on Wednesday, with an after party at our place, inviting other friends to partake in wine, cider, and games. Lots of fun was had, although apparently we were being too noisy for the neighbors. I guess that’s when you know you’re really living it up, eh? (We’ve never had neighbors complain about our parties before, and we were all surprised because we didn’t think we were being that noisy.)

P.S. If you ever make it out to Canton, Ohio, you simply must visit Taggarts or Milk and Honey for ice cream. You will not regret it, calories and all!