Monday Musing - April 26, 2010

1. A rainy weekend did not prevent us from removing yet another tree from the yard and making my obligatory weekend trip to the landfill. Good-bye apple tree which bore no fruit.

2. Our family has matured to the point where there are multiple events every weekend which keep us busy and together. That can be exciting.

3. I do note that the Orioles provided their baseball faithful with their third win of the young season yesterday in a thrilling comeback, extra inning victory over the Redsox. They are now 3-16 and have only four fewer wins than the next two worst teams in major league baseball. But--they won!

4. And writing of sports--the Penguins advanced into the NHL Conference Semifinals after spotting Ottawa a 3-0 lead Saturday night, they came back to win 4-3 in overtime. Let's try not to do the cardiac arrest approach for the next round.

5. The grass sure is green right now. The rain and temperatures are really helping everything to grow.

6. It is hard to believe that in a just shy of two months--we will be having another wedding in the family as Patrick and Tina make the commitment to each other. The closer it gets the more real it seems.

7. I guess I have been cutting a lot of things with my chainsaw--both blades now need to be sharpened. I could always buy a third blade and that was not sharpen the other two--but that doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

8. Well the league racquetball playoffs are underway this week. Keeps me busy and interested.

9. Memorial Day is coming. Can you believe I'm already thinking about it. And we have conflicts already! Ugh!

Baseball Saturday Morning Season Opener

Well--there we were. The first. When you have young grand kids there are a lot of firsts and Saturday was no exception.The first tee-ball game for the first grandson.

I was excited--he was wearing the number of my favorite player Brian Roberts, which is number 1. And he started the game a second base.

It was fun to watch these five-year olds try to grapple with the complexities of baseball.

Watch, catch, think throw--to where again?

And I run to where? Why?

One player couldn't get the concept of coming home down and kept going to the bench after he left third base.

But Ethan--tried hard to stay in the game and keep involved.

But of course then there is grandson number two--Jax. What did he do while big brother was playing. Well he kept himself entertained with the storm drain--until if course the excitement became overwhelming and his established nap time slipped past. He received a pass to head home with gramma and take a nap.

It was a cool and overcast day with occasional sprinkles--but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the ardent fan base nor the players.

As for the score--who knows.

This is Tee-ball--everyone hits and runs.

Three innings of batting around.

All told--I think only one out was recorded. So that would make the final score 39-39 because the out was noted but the runner stayed on base and subsequently scored.

Hey--it is tee-ball.

Oh what was the play of the day? Start of the bottom of the third (and last inning). Ethan's team being the home team is coming to bat with E scheduled to bat 12th. He walks up to his Mom and announces he needs to go to the bathroom. No he can't wait.

Nicole turns to me and says--"This sounds like a job for Poppop!" The situation becomes clearer as there are no "port a potties."

And so Poppop saves the day and we took care of the problem and had the young player back in time to take his swing at the ball!

Shoulda been on ESPN's "Play of the Day."

The Azalea in the Garden

I forget each year how dynamic azaleas can be when they bloom.

And this year is no exception. We have a white azalea in the front garden which puts on a show that rivals the Fourth of July at the Mall in Washington, DC.

OK--maybe not with the booms, but the sheer splendor of the blooms and the size and volume of blooms.

Wow! It makes me smile to notice it and it is there just asking to be noticed.

A splash of color and brightness surging the springtime forward and farther away from the memory of the days of cold and winter.

I love the green I see now all around with the trees in leaf and the grass growing. Soon--the pool will be open and I'll be lying on my floatie with a cold one in my hand feeling the heat of the sun on my face!

But I am rushing things--let's just enjoy the journey to get there.

Dead Trees

They stand almost together at the back of the yard among other tulip poplars. They are tall and there are now three of them.

For some reason as springtime arrived in each of the succeeding past years, they didn't wake up from the slumber. And now they stand, mostly devoid of branches which have fallen into the yard and been removed, rapidly becoming a potential danger to the trees around them and to the yard should they falter and fall.

And they will fall--like one of their brothers who fell last year and served as firewood during the past winter, keeping us warm on those all too cold nights in February during the deepest part of the Snowpocalypse.

So I need to call a professional and have them felled, so their falling does not cause undue damage. And then I can begin preparing them for the next phase of their existence--firewood.

I guess that's the green thing to do--in honor of Earth Day which was yesterday, make sure everything is used and not wasted.

So these formerly majestic trees which provided a cooling summer canopy will soon be providing warmth during the cold winter months. Is that a cycle of life?

Sipping Wine at Robert Mondavi

Another of the great and well known wineries we visited during our Wine Week in Napa and Sonoma was the Robert Mondavi Winery in Rutherford, CA.

This is another of those larger than life wineries and is another winery which, because of its size, wasn't on our original daily plan, but because we were there at the end of the day and felt like doing one more winery, we stopped to visit.

The winery is expansive with a large parking lot and big open areas. As always, we went to the reserve tasting to taste some of their wines. The reserve tasting was actually recommended to us by another winery we had visited when the person doing the pouring chatted with us and discovered the kinds of wines we really enjoyed.

I admit--the reserve tasting included four wines with retail prices of $135, but we were able to do a vertical tasting of the reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2006. I love vertical tastings and thins one helped confirm in my mind that right now, my favorite vintage of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon is 2005 due to its complexity and deep tannins. The 2005's we samples around Napa are definitely not for the fruit lovers in us--but for the hard core, rocking deep, complex wine lovers.

As the tastings in Napa go--this one was one of the few that was simple a pour and go. Meaning that they poured our flight of wines and sent us away to enjoy and sample them without the narrative to describe the wines. I have come to like the narrative. I want to understand the wines and the weather conditions that helped to create them.

The other thing I was looking for from this winery was--so what is so special about a wine which retails for $135? And is it special enough to make me want to buy it?

The answer, sadly, is that I found many wines for less than half the price which stand up to these highly priced and special wines--so no, I cannot yet be convinced to buy them. Actually the B.V 2005 Maestro Cabernet which retails for $65 (and was on a half price sale by the case at the winery) matched up real well. OK--better. If I didn't live in Maryland, I would have a case. Thanks Maryland!

But, I did thoroughly enjoy tasting wines that are so far outside my current budget--just to see what makes them special. They were complex, and they were very good wines, but in my opinion--priced about double their true value given the range of wines we sampled during the week.

Don't misunderstand--the visit to the winery was fantastic and I am glad we visited--the perspective was extremely useful. But, I'm not likely to being home a reserve Mondavi in the too near future.

Recommendation: Put this winery on your B list. Visit if you have time, because it is a beautiful stop and a delightful way to end the day. We were in Rutherford anyway. But, depending upon the length of your visit to Napa, there are better places to focus attention on. I admit, we did not take a tour--this was one of those point and shoot stops based upon a recommendation from another winery. If you are really in to Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and the $135 price tag doesn't scare you--this winery should be raised to the bottom of your A list.

Relaxing at Chateau St Jean

One of the things we discovered about the wineries of Napa and Sonoma was that many of them tried to create a unique environment to enjoy and taste the wines. We found the emphasis on mixing teaching with history and a unique experience to be very enjoyable.

One place where we didn't do a tour, but went straight to the tasting was at Chateau St Jean in Sonoma.

It is a beautiful winery and when the day began, it was not on our list. But through the course of the day we happened to decide to stop in and enjoy the wines. It is a beautiful winery--as many of the wineries in Napa and Sonoma are. It is almost as if they are not only selling wines--but encouraging an experience.

We have been to a few wineries in our time, and what we encountered in most wineries in Napa and Sonoma was the need to slow down and enjoy the wines and the atmosphere. While a wine tasting in some places may take 15 minutes to taste 5 wines, here at Chateau St Jean we spent almost an hour and a half tasting six or seven wines--and savoring every mouthful. Learning about the wines and the wine makers. We did the reserve tasting.

And of course enjoying the beautiful scenery.

We received personal service. And we enjoyed wine. Chris is very fond of merlot--and frankly, there isn't a lot of merlot in Napa, so this was a good stop for her. She discovered a very nice merlot.

Sadly, we actually had to truncate our visit here a bit because we had an appointment at another winery about 45 minutes away--but we could have spent a lot of time at this very nice and enjoyable winery.

Recommendation: Chateau St Jean should be on your visit list when visiting Sonoma. A good place to stop mid-day and relax and recover while enjoying well made Sonoma wines.

The Joy of Being Outside in the Evening

Until almost 8:30 pm last evening, Makayla and I enjoyed being outside working around the house and then ending the day with a walk in the deepening twilight.

In a tee-shirt. Doing fun stuff like mowing the lawn, and getting the pool pump put back together and operational in advance of my favorite Saturday of the year--pool opening. And then getting the back deck area cleaned off of all of the tree flower debris.

And I did all of this in daylight.

Yesterday, I noticed that I was once again driving to work being treated to skies that are bright and full of the colors of the dawn. Yay.

It was a short two months ago we were still reeling from the incredible snows and cold--and now, the trees are in leaf, the flowers are up, I have mowed the lawn now three times, and I am seriously thinking of opening the pool in advance of the onset of the summer swimming season.

And look at what is ahead of me--Memorial day, a wedding, Independence Day, vacation, the dog days of summer. I want to be able to enjoy each one in its time and not worry about rushing from one to the next.

All of this because I enjoyed a solitary evening around the house with my dog.

Monday Musings - April 19, 2010

1. I am amazed how many people spent the better part of last week trying to get their taxes done. I mean, I hate paying taxes too--but waiting until the last minute? Well, given I am a huge procrastinator, I could be in the same situation some day.

2. I wrote yesterday about going into church and the first song being one of my real favorites. There is something refreshing about singing songs with energy and full of meaning rather than tired old tunes written in a minor key.

3. I was marveling the other day at how quickly the leaves on the trees have filled in the bare spaces. It is good to see them back.

4. My first adventure to Medieval Times with Ethan and the family did not disappoint. It was a well choreographed show. And Ethan was enthralled. And made out like a bandit--two swords and a shield. I wonder if the celebrations for Ethan turning five are not complete?

5. Springtime helps identify the around the house projects needing to be accomplished during the summer. I think I'll put most of them on the list. Although the last of the storm damaged trees was removed and trucked off to the recycling landfill on Saturday.

6. Someone the other day asked me what the TEA Party stood for--was it a in reference to the Boston Tea Party? And I said it was but TEA is also an acronym standing for Taxed Enough Already. Scary--we ain't seen nothing yet given the mountain of bills coming due in the future.

7. I am happy to report this morning that yesterday was a good day in sports for teams that I cheer for--the Orioles won their second game of the young season and the Penguins took a 2-1 playoff series lead over the Senators by winning in Ottawa. Some days I sing "O Canada" for fun, but not this morning. I guess I like teams with birds as mascots: Orioles, Penguins, and Ravens!

Rejoice in the day

Church this morning started out with one of my favorite Lincoln Brewster song -- "Today is the Day."


Sometimes it is really important for me to be reminded that today is the day that God made and I should rejoice and be glad in it. Sometimes I just need to be reminded that the day will be as good or bad as I make it.

And if I rejoice that God has provided me the capability to enjoy the day and what He has planned for me--then it really improves the day.

It totally changes my mood from looking at the day as a bunch of tasks that I have to do into a day filled with opportunities.

Today is the day--and I will rejoice and be glad.

And I also was able to see my entire family for dinner and another birthday party for the big E who is now 5 years old. Talk about wedding plans and watch a baseball game. And top it off with a stop to Medieval Times for dinner.

Best Pictures of our Week in California

I went back through all of the pictures we took in on our California wine adventure looking for the one best picture that best represented the week and what we enjoyed doing the most.


Funny, I could not decide on just one--but it took two. And neither has anything directly to do with wine, or drinking, or vineyards.

I guess I'm still a country kid at heart because they were both from our trip to the Armstrong Redwoods State Park. Funny--I still enjoy a nice walk in the woods--even on a very crisp morning.


Chris took both of these pictures--and she was being creative, but they also capture something really special.


The first is of the cool haze that was hanging in the morning forest as we were enjoying the natural beauty and marveling at the works of God. The sunlight reflecting off the trunks and stumps and moss covered rocks. Being refracted by the atmosphere. I still remember the cool, clean smell of the forest that morning. And the sounds of the birds high above us in the canopy.


And the second--a sight so easily missed as it was off the trail and the web could only be seen from one specific angle as the sun reflected off it. The silk shimmers in the morning light as the spider, in the center, rests from the work of the night. It was beautiful shimmering there. A work of beauty.


I remember a saying from a long, long time ago--it was about taking time to stop and smell the roses along the way.


And I am glad that we took time out of our California wine adventure to see the natural beauty of the land and marvel at magnificence not created by the hand of man!