Monday Musings - March 23, 2009

OK-- I remembered this week and I'm not traveling, so here goes:

1. Sundays when the temperature is over 60 degrees means that the outdoors is alive again and a great place to be.

2. Who knew that you could get a tick on the first day after a freeze? I'm thinking about the Brad Paisley song Ticks when he sings: "And I'd like to check you for ticks?"

3. A chain saw in your hands while cleaning up the mess of fallen trees is therapeutic.

4. I feel much better when the sun is bright and the temperature is warm. I can see leaves beginning to grow on the trees. The crocus and daffodils are beginning to bloom. The grass really greened up this weekend. And, the garage is a mess! Must be Spring!

5. March Madness is. And sharing it with your sons is, too.

6. Losing the league racquetball championship Friday night still stings, but knowing that I was just outplayed makes me want to work that much harder and the new season begins next week.

7. Mortgage refinancing in the current climate makes my head spin.

8. Puppies can be a bit too enthusiastic at the wrong times, like thinking Jax was a new playmate when he was crawling towards her on the floor. The ensuing collision was not a pretty sight.

9. Opening Day is two weeks away, and hope springs eternal as the O's take the field. I finally received my free t-shirts from the O's for being a season ticket plan holder--so now I fee like a true fan!

10. When you turn the heat off because the doors and windows are open during the day, remember to turn it back on before going to bed or else it will be 59 degrees in the house when you get up. Frost on the coffee pot is a bad thing.

11. My list of "to-do's" exceeds my time available.

Weddings Can Be Fun

What a great weekend I had last weekend.

To begin with it turned into a four-day weekend and travel to Houston. Who is going to complain about a four-day weekend? The air travel--well it's air travel. I learned that Continental really likes to fly full airplanes!

But the most fun was getting together with my family--my brother, sisters, Mom and Dad and spouses and children (except for mine!) and celebrating the beginning of a new life together--a wedding.

What a great event.

It was good to get away and reconnect and hopefully stay in touch, thin time, with the family. It is so easy to become disconnected from.

We sometime become so entrenched on our own lives and our own "must-do's" that staying connected becomes difficult.

So from weddings we learn about connectedness and the value of family. That's why we all gather to celebrate together--because we are each important.

Monday Musings on Tuesday: Air Travel

OK--so in week 2, I missed Monday.



But, I was traveling and have an excuse.



So here are the Monday Musings, on Tuesday:



1. Air travel has become a real pain. I feel like the next thing they are going to want us to do is load the bags into the airplane ourselves.



2. What extra service do you get for the $15 per bag charge on airplanes? They take longer to collect when you get there. It took an hour after we landed in Houston to get our one piece of checked baggage. And why did we check it? Because of the liquids necessary to make women look pretty in the morning.



3. Direct flights are THE way to fly!



4. Continental Airlines still serves snacks on board. Who knew?



5. The weather in Houston was just like the weather in Baltimore--awful.



6. Houston Intercontinental Airport is TOO BIG!



7. The TSA likes to change things up just to keep everyone uneasy about air travel.



8. Leave on the noon-time flights, there will be fewer people in line ahead of you. This was borne out by the fact that we departed form Baltimore on a Friday at noon--and had a real short wait at the security check point, and even leaving Houston on a Monday about noon-time, there were almost "no lines, no waiting!"



9. Everything is bigger in Texas. Check it out for yourself.



10. I learned that Stephen F. Austin college is making their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance as a 14 seed.. Everyone in Houston is excited. Too bad they face Syracuse (A 3 seed)!



11. Low-level supersonic describes the trip to the airport in Houston after my sister realized we were leaving too late.



12. Fulshear, Texas IS the middle of no where! But they don't have many distractions around either.

Airports

So here I am, sitting in the airport waiting to depart on a flight. Flying has become way too much like taking a bus trip.

We arrived early, so as not to miss our flight and now we get to wait. Had we waited to arrive, we would likely have gotten caught in a long line and missed our flight causing stress and more waiting. The paradox of flying. The more I do to be efficient I always get to wait.

And here's the really cool part. We pay for this experience.

They've just announced the flight is full. Great. That means no room. All seats taken and I get to become real familiar with a seat mate.

Love it a lot.

But at the other end we'll see family and friends so it is worth it.
Bob Doan
Elkridge, MD
Sent from My Blackberry

Possums Vinyard Shiraz 2004

Possums Vineyard McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004 is one of those awesome wines that is just a joy to enjoy. I found this wine at a tasting and fell in love with it immediately. Be sure to get the McLaren Vale Shiraz as Possums does have another Shiraz offering that I have not tasted.

It has a silky rich texture, a superior color and a nose that tingles the palette even before the first drop of wine enters the mouth. I spent a great deal of time just swirling and enjoying the wine even before I tasted it.

The winery describes it in the following manner: A full bodied wine with purple and violet hues with flavours of ripe berry fruits and smoky oak characters from ageing in a mixture of French and American oak barrels.

I believe they are being too modest. This wine is special--being one of those $20 per bottle wines that will garner respect and praise for having a well developed palette all evening. The berry flavors with chocolate and a hint of licorice bring it all together. Of course I have a special weakness for Shiraz anyway.

I am a wine drinker--but one glass of this wine was a complete experience. I guess I cannot recommend this wine highly enough. It was awesome served with steak. It held its own and complimented the meat very nicely.

RECOMMENDATION: Add this wine to your cellar and serve it to your best friends and those you are trying to impress. You and they will not be disappointed.

Travel and Clothing

I came to realize yesterday, and it actually confirmed something I guess I've known for a while, men and women are REALLY different.

So Chris and I are conversing for a few precious minutes and planning for the evening over a late glass of wine. And the topic of discussion is: laying out clothing for the upcoming jaunt to Houston this weekend!

Ugh!

It is Tuesday night, we haven't seen each other for most of the week due to divergent schedules Monday night and the most scintillating thing we can talk about is the need to lay out outfits for the weekend?

Of course right up there in second place was making sure the house was clean for the cleaning lady! Something which never ceases to amaze me--if we start with a clean house, what are we paying for?

Wow--I would much rather have discussed the O's or hockey. Actually i was trying to watch a recorded O's spring training game against the Redsox at the time. Plans for tonight would be good, too. But clothing options for the weekend? I'll figure mine out as I throw them into the suitcase Friday before I leave for the airport.

So clothing vs sports!

The weekend is days away. Where are we going? I have all Friday morning to worry about it.