So much has been going on lately that I really am beginning to feel the guilty pangs of a blogger who just can't get herself to the computer, write and be screamingly witty with punchy lines and photos that would make Ansel Adams jealous.

Of course, if you're with me now, you in no way expect any of these things and for this I am grateful.

I always feel I have to dig and dig for posts but really, it kind of is all around me and I'm just too lazy to pull it together.

In honor of Sherwin, who had to head back to Singapore this week for a bit, I am going to post a biggie. Tons of photos to make Sherwin swoon and enough info to make me feel better for neglecting what one day could be lucrative. (and I'm cocky about it too).

So here goes:

First up, we did a dry run of Pig Mountain a few weeks back. We got to do this at Mildred's Lane. Truly one of the most beautful places in the area.  It's an artist's retreat owned by the artist J. Morgan Puett.

She thought it would be great to have the pig roast be a great dinner for the opening of her season.Other than the land being absolutely beautiful, she and her team keep the place truly gorgeous.  A type of styling she calls "hooshing".

It includes not only everything being styled within an inch of it's life, which we all loved, but also it holds a ground rule that everything must be left perfectly for the next person to use.  A lot like working in a kitchen.

So here's a quick synopsis of that weekend.

Please note, I did not take these photos. That's why they're fabulous.

See: www.stephsmithphotography.com

Here's the main house. There are many other smaller structures on the land as well where people stay. I'm not going to go into all the rooms on this blog since we're waiting for Bon Appetite to post them (Ahem, Bon App) but I will throw in a pic of the kitchen since, well, here we are and that's what it's all about.

This is me soaking the burlap that we'll wrap the pig in.  Yes, I'm happy but not the sort of joyous in the name of burlap this picture seems to represent.

This photo was taken from the second floor of the main house.  See work table and pit.

No, we're not bored and stoned and thinking this would make a good story. You gotta get those pesky little hairs off the pig before cooking. Lady Bics were all we had.  Stop laughing.

This is me and Ryan (Ryan Tate of last year's Pig Mountain) stuffing the pig with pineapples and red onions. After the pig was roasted, we made salsa from the pineapples and onions.  God, it was good. 

I love this photo.  You can't see him but my partner in Pig Mountain crime, Matt Solomon, is behind the greenery.  We had just finished wrapping the pig in salt, banana leaves and wet burlap and were waiting for the flames to go down to embers so we could put the pig in the pit.  It was a warm beautiful day of physical labor and we were passing around a beer.  I don't drink beer but it was perfect.

Matt and I covering the pig in dirt.  Note the aforementioned physical labor.

Here is one shot of the truly great kitchen.  I know. Savor it.  It is very impractical but I loved working in it for it's beauty and it's calm.

Every place to sleep came with a packet like this.  Everyone in Mildred's Lane has a title. The Ministry of Comfort is in charge of all the hooshing. I stayed in the Horse Shed house.  Best sleep I've had in ages.

And here it is in all it's glory.

When the pig came out of the pit, we wrapped up sandwiches made from whole loaves of bread with pork shoulder and cheese and put them on the embers.

Ryan threw a grill on them and started roasting more veggies.

And while all this was going on, the fabulous people of Mildred's Lane were working the hooshing table.

Please remember:  Pig Mountain 2012 is on August 11th, 2012 in Narrowsburg.  Buy tickets now. It's going to be an amazing and an important event for the area.

This is going to be a 2 part blog post.  Really, because I'm pooped.

Coming up:  Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, crazy Canadians invading my house and a great cocktail recipe.