Wedding, nice day for a white

So my parents left for Europe today. They're going to be gone for about 10 days or so. One of my mother's relatives is getting married in Scotland, and this is one of those deals where you rent a castle and everything. Very exciting. A lot of people from my mom's side of the family are going. My mom is half Scottish and half Hungarian (it's a great combo to score excellent booze from both sides), and a lot of people from the Scottish side of the family will be there. Apparently it's going to be a big wedding, with the kilts and bagpipes and all. Well, if you get married in a castle, you might as well go all out.

El Geeko, also known now as Ferengie Steve ("Ferengie" apparently means "foreigner" in Punjabi, according to my pal Mark. And given that El Geeko loves Star Trek, it seems appropriate to give him this name. Thank you, Mark!) will remain behind with yours truly. I'm not going on the European trip because my friend Maria Eugenia will be arriving from Spain this week and will stay with us. That's going to be a lot of fun indeed, plus I get to practice my Spanish with a real Spanish person.

A downside of my parents being gone is that on Sunday we won't have the awesome buffet of insanely delicious Hungo food my mom makes every Sunday. If any of you think I'm going to step up to the plate (no pun intended), [1] you're sorely mistaken and [2]wot, have you got a death wish, mon?? (say this last part with a Jamaican accent). Oh, and my dad says he's counted the wine bottles, so we're screwed on that front too. But not to worry: Attila got me several bottles of some foreign wine that has screw caps instead of corks. Gag gift, and yes, it did make me gag. He made the cooler last night using some of that wine, and I have to be very honest with you here: Tokaj wine is so much better for the job. My compliments to the winemakers.

After the Scottish wedding my parents are going to go visit people in Hungary. Random people. They'll just knock on some doors and see what happens. Nah, they're going to go visit some relatives and friends and whatnot. I'm sure my dad will be calling me every hour to see if the wine's ok. It's more than ok, Dad. It's a symphony of violet-scented chestnuts and assorted fruits.

Speaking of fruits, the yearly boatload of peaches has arrived from Georgia and my uncle Géza has drafted me and others to help with the prepping. He makes pálinka every year and we've been helping since we were kids. Maria Eugenia's very excited about this whole thing and wants to help. No problem, the more the merrier. And she can make sangria!