So far, Summer's been wonderful at Kavarna. The fruit Batidos which we introduced at the beginning of June have really caught on. We just can't believe that we have a daughter who is growing up with her own soft serve machine (we'll have to be careful), it's just to be good to be true. Yesterday we picked many pounds of rhubarb, so we should be serving Strawberry Rhubarb Batidos just as soon as we have strawberries.

Personally, we've been spending every available family moment outdoors. Johanna's enjoying it so much that we're concerned about how she'll react when she can't have her breakfast on the deck anymore. It'll feel cruel to put away the blow-up pool, slide, and teeter totter. Fortunately, that won't be for a couple of months yet. We still have the tomato harvest to think about.

This past weekend we were very happy to attend the wedding reception of Mark Riggenbach and Galynne Goodwill. Mark, in addition to drumming for the Delta Jets and just about everyone else, used to bake the very fine Bogie's Biscotti that we serve at Kavarna and wholesale throughout Eastern Wisconsin. However, his recent move to Madison made baking our biscotti impractical, so Bogie's Biscotti is now in Courtney's capable hands.

The wedding reception was at the Green Lake Convention Center, which is an enormous and sprawling conference center on Green Lake with an interesting history. It began as the 1100 acre Summer retreat of the publisher of the Chicago Daily News, became a super posh hotel and golf course in the 1920s, was then transformed into a prisoner of war camp for captured Nazi soldiers, and finally was purchased by the American Baptist Assembly to serve as their conference center. The grounds, which include a small beach, are open to the public and are well worth checking out if you happen to be en route along highway 23 between Ripon and the Dells. It was a beautiful setting for an outdoor reception. Congratulations Mark and Galynne! Appropriately, Galynne released an album of love songs to coincide with the wedding.

This Friday we'll be presenting Victoria Vox at 7 pm. Victoria's been a presence at Kavarna practically since it opened, and it's always nice to welcome her back. Dane Stewart-Disch will open with a brief set.

- Linda and Alex Galt

Tea in Ashwaubenon: About a month ago we were out and about in Ashwaubenon and came across Teaosity, a specialty teahouse that Reva and Quasan Shaw opened along Oneida Street last May. By specializing in tea, they are able to offer a breadth of tea that we can't at Kavarna. Their shop is at 2621 S. Oneida, Suite 108, in the strip just behind Krispy Kremes. Last time that I was in, Reva suggested a glass of Moroccan Mint iced tea and it was exceptional. The (only) downside of owning Kavarna is that it's our workplace, so Linda and I are always excited when new places open up.

Recycled and Donated Building Materials in Appleton: Though we haven't had cause to go there yet, Appleton's ReStore sounds like a win win win situation. Stores, contractors, homeowners, and others with extra or recycled building materials donate what they don't need and get a tax deduction, then the ReStore sells it very affordably, and the profits are used by the Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity. Among the items that they have for sale: bricks, desks, drywall, lumber, paint, shelving, sinks, wallpaper, and windows. The Appleton ReStore is at 3000 East College Avenue.

July 13th, Victoria Vox, 7 pm: You may have noticed by now that we like to have Victoria Vox at Kavarna every time she comes back home from touring the United States and her current residence in Baltimore, Maryland. She enjoys playing at Kavarna too and catching up with old friends, it's a happy relationship. Victoria's been out all over the United States, playing her songs to every audience that she can find, from surprised and delighted airplane passengers (great video here) to the New York Ukulele Festival last weekend. We're really looking forward to it. The evening will begin at 7pm with Dane Stewart-Disch, a mandolinist and folk singer whom we recently ran across on the Fox River Trail.

July 13th and 14th, 19th Annual Garden Walk, 8 am - 3 pm: Wish we could attend! Our garden has become central to our enjoyment of the warm months. We'd like to instill in Johanna a strong, personal sense of where things come from and gardening seems to be best way to do it. I'd love to see what far more experienced gardeners are doing. Tickets are $12, and naturally it's a fundraiser for the Green Bay Botanical Garden.

July 19th, Green Bay Green Drinks, 6-10 pm: Green Bay Green Drinks is an informal gathering of Northeastern Wisconsin's environmental community. If you've ever thought that you'd like to get involved in environmental activism, Green Drinks is an opportunity to meet and hang out with some of the folks who make things happen. Peak attendance is around 7 or 8 pm.

July 20th, the Delta Jets, 7 pm: If you live in Northeastern Wisconsin and you have not yet seen the Delta Jets, then this will be a great opportunity. Dale Anderson (recently retired from the US Postal Service) and the happy groom, Mark Riggenbach, are one of the very best traditional blues duos in the United States. If you find that a dubious claim, then you really need to come down to Kavarna on the 20th of July to test it for yourself.

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