Fourth of July 2006

Yet another 4th was spent at the lush home of Jamie Drake in East Hampton.
Since Rod's birthday is July 3rd, we all decamp from the castle in Harlem and head out to the sweet smelling countryside for 4-5 days to celebrate.

This year the guest list included:
Jason and Jamie- Our fabulous hosts
Sue Saas- Accordionist flapper
Philip Hewatt Jaboor- Rods boyfriend and town smarty pants
Rod Keenan- Birthday boy
Cator Sparks- one piece wonder
David Casto- Cator's poet-liscious boyfriend
Jonathan Raiola- Grilled Pizza creator bar none
Chris Johnson- Interior Design guru of Savannah

It was a small crowd this year and there were no 'special guests stars' as there have been in the past.
I missed meeting new people but relished being around friends and just tanning, swimming, reading and of course boozing.

One day I actually set a record and started drinking at 9am but by 10 I was passed out by the pool. Enough of that!

Marika, Jamie's chef, made the MOST amazing dishes. Highlights included pea soup with curry topped with lemon cream fraiche, steak by the pound, strawberry cheescake, coconut pastries topped with jam and one hell of a hot dog, hamburger blowout!
Oh, and the baked figs were really top drawer.

This being David's first time out, he was a bit nervous and so was I frankly. Would he have fun? Would he like my crew? Would he roll his eyes at my one piece swimming costume? Well he did indeed roll his eyes, but cracked a gorgeous smile of approval.
Everyone found him simply wonderful and very smart. PHJ was so enamoured that he even invited him to Jersey! Hope David can make it over the pond with me in 3 weeks, but we shall see. David was really surprised too. He thought that the long weekend would be some sort of social function like you see on TV and was much releaved to find it was a relaxing holiday with lots of pool time. We even had nap time and watched Orlando.

I only left the house twice. One day after lunch a group of us piled into the convertible and headed into town for some shopping, only to find all the shops closed for the weekend. We did pop into LoCo my favorite shop full of old Chanel, Hermes bags, Venetian glass and fun books. Edmond, the owner was glad to see us all and David may even work with him selling some Venetian pieces he has from e bay.

Highlights included dinner at Amonditos where we all got rather wiped out on margaritas, sue's unfortunate run in with a mean pair of scissors resulting in 7 stitches, fireworks galore on Rod's birthday (the pagoda thats roof rose was a real hit), Rod opening presents (The latex aliens pictured are actually seeds you plant and the latex dissolves..), Lunch on Shelter Island (Just like St.Tropez there were so many French).

Alas, we got back Tuesday evening and tonight we head to Atlanta to visit the family and friends. Lets see how David does on horseback! Did he have any idea what he was getting himself into by dating me?