Lupercalia and Pie Extremists

For Lupercalia (the ancient Roman celebration and lesser known origin of Valentine's Day), I indulged in some fantastic pie and connecting with new community of cool people- most notably the Queen of Pie. It was the Sweet Valentine's Sweetie Pie and Art Fest, held by the Pie Extremist Group, a collective that believes that Pie is the ultimate expression of the divine. Here is a collage of some of the treats. Most wonderful and personally nostalgic for me was the Sweet Adeline's pie (a chocolate pudding base topped with inches and inches of fresh, whipped cream- shown here to the left of the lattice work cherry pie).

While, I'm less of a pie devotee specifically and more of a general dessert aficionado, I have to note that these folks are serious pie enthusiasts. I chose to contribute Torta Della Nona (Grandmother's Pie), a recipe submitted by the author of Cook Almost Anything to Sugar High Friday #40 which I hosted back in 2008 (it was the Pies that Evoke Your Dreams fundraiser for Pie Ranch). I made it without the top crust and thus should have chilled it before I arrived- it was a bit runny. But I adorned it with a few strawberries and some hardenbergia (a kind of Australian wisteria) from the garden.

The event featured lovely jewelry, soaps, objects d'art and other handmade things, as well as a table where you could decorate your own fork. I chose purple for my fork in honor of Roman royalty. I wasn't much into the idea of having the decor preserve the utensil's functionality, as you see. The ripped doily speared by the tines of the fork just about says it all: fashion but NOT order (or design).

The Queen of Pie was giving readings using...I'm not sure what kind of cards. Silly irresistible fun. For my friend, she interpreted the Faery Godmother.

For me, Geeeeeooow The Slooow. I need to slow down, not expect so much and learn to see things as they really are.

Some more images from today- a journey to Stinson Beach finds ALL the heather on the hillsides in full bloom.

And there was a lovely Valentine's Day sunset over the Pacific.

Earlier in the day, Pippi's (the mule) mane was all decked out in pink Valentinish ornaments making her festive.