We had an exceptional Father’s Day celebration yesterday at our house underneath the pergola covered with wisteria vine, which keeps the patio cool.

My parents Eliska and Vaclav Konecny, came over with my brother Vas all the way from Big Rapids and Paris. a hometown Up North.

At 90, my father professor Vaclav still loves to drive. Although he doesn’t take the freeway anymore, like me, he prefers to drive on the old 131.

I love the way the old 131 aka Northland Drive winds through charming Michigan hometowns like Cedar Springs and Howard City with its dam fed by the Muskegon River.

Even Maranda made it over and our neighbors Catherine and Katie on a scooter. The vibe was good and everyone behaved including myself, which is not always the case. Sometimes we end up fighting over little things that a minute later mean nothing.

I made our famous jello-shots with our signature @Moravian Sons Spirits https://moraviansonsdistillery.com apple brandy. We had two flavors: strawberry for adults and orange for kids without alcohol. I make the jell-o shots with sugar-free strawberry Jell-O using one cup of boiling water and one cup of apple brandy.

The spirit tastings around the holidays are tricky as we found out Friday. People had already stocked up on adult beverages during the week. We sold only four bottles of slivovitz but hopefully to returning customers, one of them a pediatric dentist.

We grilled our favorite bbq baby back ribs with potato salad.

I charged my solar gnome lamps in full sunshine. Hopefully, they will work tonight.