The winter of 2009 has been wonderfully unremarkable so far, and now here we are in February which means that there are only about 86 days left until March. It will seem that way, anyhow. But it has been a very good party season, and this past weekend was no exception.

We had some 50 people show up for the Mardi Gras party at 6 pm on Saturday evening, whereas only 17 came to the business meeting at 3 pm. That should tell us a lot about the club, hmm? Like, we didn’t already know.

The business meeting went well, and a lot of good decisions were reached and your money was well spent. The minutes should be published within a couple days. I have finished the first draft and the officers are reviewing it to see if my memory and theirs mesh at all.

Along with the minutes of the meeting, I will have a new roster ready before the first of March. Be sure to let me know if your personal information changes. I am maintaining over 110 e-mail addresses in my River Rat distribution list, and I have learned that I can not depend upon the mail service to advise me in every case where an address is wrong. Still, unless I get some sort of “undeliverable” message, I have to assume that I am getting through. Except for Old Rat Rodney, whose mailbox is always overflowing, I should say. But Jane tells him about everything he needs to know, I think.

Dave and Trina did their gumbo, and it was almost all eaten. That is a really good recipe. Here is a picture of Dave at the stove, adding some secret ingredients to the pot, while Debbie shows her appreciation for his efforts.

This next picture is of Trina expressing… Well, I guess it is self-explanatory.

Actually, the two pictures were taken at different times and were unrelated, but I am not going to let that get in the way of a good story.

Here, Ryan is trying unsuccessfully to distract me from cooking a dish called Savannah Red Rice. It did really well except that I forgot to cover it for the first half hour it was baking so the top came out a little crisp. And I substituted a handful of my homegrown dried cayenne peppers for 4 drops of Tabasco, so it came out a little hot. Spicy does not suit everyone, so I enjoyed some of it at home Monday night. And yes, that is my own personal apron that Jan made for me.

Before we began dinner, Greg and Tim (as in Anna and Shirley) brought oysters and steamed them outside by the picnic shed. These were local Pamlico River oysters from Buddy’s down the road, and they were good again, nice sized and salty. I don’t have any pictures of that event because it takes two hands to open oysters, and I could not stop shucking. Some folks apparently did not find out that there were oysters outside, but I swear that I called out that they were ready just before I went out. That’s my story. If the season does not close, which is a distinct possibility, maybe we can do it again in March. If we had known there were going to be 50 people there, we could have got a second bushel.

Ken did some sausages on the grill that his company had made up special for Mardi Gras, with extra spices. Very yum, they were, too.

So we had a great meal, and great desserts, and everyone got to sit somewhere. Thanks again to the wonderful folks who cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes. I was useless but I was not the only one. Funny how the kitchen is crowded when it is appetizers and cooking, but you don’t have any trouble moving around when it is all dirty dishes.

Then the partying got rowdy. Paul and Leiza did the music at Rat Richard Overby’s wedding (to whom the club extends hearty congratulations) then drove down to the creek just in time to get a bite and then set up for some strumming and sing-a-longing. Here are Dennis and Denise showing us how it is done.

In this one, Jan and Emily and Jut and Nancy really are dancing to the same music, despite the appearances. But you could argue that they are definitely hearing a different drummer.

Jut and Nancy brought their grand daughter, who was a really good sport and tolerated our silliness very well.

Shirley may be the happiest girl at the party. Note the plate. And don’t miss John’s crown and lagniappe, there.

Or maybe these are the happiest girls. Difficult to say.

This picture exemplifies the good time that was had by everyone, I think. Is this a happy bunch, or what?

Things broke up about midnight, and there were 5 of us (Ken and Amy, Ryan, and Jan and I) who stayed aboard at Duncan’s, and Rick and Angela and Paul and Leiza were overnighters at Henry’s. I made the mistake of thinking that I could finish my book, so I was still awake at 2:30 when the wind got up, and it got up pretty good.

If you are like me, it is not the rocking and rolling that keeps you awake, as much as it is the water slapping against the sides of the boat. It was cold, but it was not a two-heater night.

The next party is a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and it occurs on March 14, the Second Saturday, 3 days before the real holiday. Beer would seem to be called for, in keeping with tradition, and it should be dark, I think.

Maybe some shepherd’s pie, corned beef and cabbage, might be good? Colcannon is an Irish dish, but it is most often eaten at Halloween, so that presents a dilemma. Whatever dish you prepare, just be sure to come to the celebration.

In case you are not reading your e-mail, Tim Boyd has offered to help set up a LAN if somebody or some bodies wants to get wireless Internet at the clubhouse. There are a lot of complications involved, but nothing that can’t be overcome by money and imagination. Let him know if you are interested in a cooperative effort.

Cinqo de Mayo and the Ocracoke cruise. Volunteer early and often. See you at the Creek.

Ron Brown, Sec/Treas