So What Did You Do On Your Day Off?

It is a rare thing when I have a day off and Chris has to work.

It only happens about three times a year--Columbus Day, Veteran's Day and President's Day.

So I do look forward to those days on my own--where I can get special projects accomplished and I can work at a leisurely pace around the house.

Sadly, the days never work out like I imagine them.

I had dreams of an afternoon nap--a leisurely day. But then reality set in.

The day started great--did I sleep in? No. I didn't plan on sleeping in and I chose instead to play racquetball at 0530--as I do on most Thursdays. I am continuing to play even though my game is becoming "spotty" at best. The best position for my opponent to be in is for me to have a lead--like 11-5. Yeah, I'm losing a lot now 15-11 after leading big. Ugh! I can't close the game out--kinda like the Ravens last night losing 26-21.

But still, I love racquetball.

And then the real day began. Back home for breakfast with Chris and watching the Today Show. I'm a hopeless Today Show junkie and I usually only get to see it on weekends.

Coffee, breakfast, the paper, computer in my lap and my dog at my feet--what could be better?

Really? Not much.

But I had a physical to go off to. Chris loves to schedule doctor appointments on my days off--that way I don't have an excuse.

And the doctor's appointment went amazingly well. I was home for lunch and then onto the big project: putting up the outdoor Christmas lights. We do this on warm days in the period between Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving. We don't turn them on until the Friday after Thanksgiving, but they are ready and I do not have to suffer through numb fingers and chilling temperatures to get the lights up if I do them on a warmer day--which yesterday was.

A normally two hour project took almost four hours!

I was besieged by nagging little problems--which sucked up the entire afternoon and of course my desired nap time too.

So by the time I finished, Chris was getting home from her day and we had dinner plans with friends.

At least I was able to enjoy a free Blooming Onion at Outback in honor of Veterans! Which I am. And we had a great dinner with stimulating conversation.

So what did I do on my day off? All of the important stuff but little of the enjoyable stuff.

And who knew that a day off was so much shorter than a regular work day?

Veteran's Day 2010

It saddens me that some holidays are just not widely observed anymore. Schools are in session and many businesses are open today. We as Americans are not taking time to remember an important segment of our population--our Veterans.


We are losing a part of our past, our heritage and our history.





A day like today reminds us of the sacrifice and patriotism that so many of our brothers and sisters have made to secure us the freedoms that we have today.





Instead of fighting for our survival as a nation and a people, we are fighting among ourselves over health care and taxes and other more domestic needs. That is far better that than fighting for our very survival--thanks to our veterans.

I'm not sure our schools are doing a good job of instilling the core values of our country into our youth. Taking time to teach about sacrifice and heroism. Touching on those potentially politically incorrect subjects because they are fact--and need to be discussed.

Service before self. (USAF core value)

Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country! (President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address 1961)

I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country. (Nathan Hale, 1776)

I have not yet begun to fight. (John Paul Jones, 1779)

Nuts! (General Anthony Clement "Nuts" McAuliffe, December 1944, Bastogne)

Better to fight for something than live for nothing. (General George S. Patton)

It is good that war is so horrible, or we might grow to like it. (General Robert E. Lee)

Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster. (General William Tecumseh Sherman)

Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship. (General Omar N. Bradley)

Hahn Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 - Review

It has been a while since I reviewed a wine, mostly because I have been using Cellar Tracker and writing reviews there as I sample different wines.

But, this wine was recently recommended to me and I really need to let everyone know how good this wine is--and it is a best value, even according to Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Chris and I sampled Hahn Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 the other evening. We were both very impressed. This wine is really special.

The wine is described this way on the website:

Luscious scents of sweet berry fruits, opening to wisps of cola, licorice, and spice. Ripe blackberry and boysenberry fruit flavors are accompanied by notes of cassis and vanilla, balanced by firm tannins and food-friendly acidity.

Deep ruby in the glass, this Cabernet Sauvignon commands attention from the moment it is poured. Rich, luscious scents of sweet berry fruits entice the nose, opening to wisps of cola, licorice, and spice. An intense core of ripe blackberry and boysenberry greets the palate, giving way to notes of cassis, vanilla and earth. Firm tannins and food-friendly acidity balance the plush fruit, leading to a long, pleasant finish.

The intense character and complex nature of this Cabernet Sauvignon make it a strong partner for meat dishes such as beef stew and roasted venison. Try it also with a flavorful starter, such as gorgonzola and walnuts, or a simple dessert like espresso gelato.

I found this to be very true. I wrote the wine us as follows: This is a great wine especially considering the price. Great nose followed by a taste which includes dark cherry and black currant flavors. Some structure underneath the berry flavors with tannins. Nice feel in the mouth and it finishes strong and lingers.

RECOMMENDATION: If you like Cabernet Sauvignon, buy this wine. For about $10 per bottle, the price is great and the wine drinks very nicely and it should continue to drink nicely for a few more years.

Eric Scott House Concert Review

Cellar Music Concert- ilyAIMY 2009

I attended a house concert Saturday, November 6th night featuring Eric Scott. The concert was sponsored by Cellar Music and in short it was fabulous.

The venue, in a wine cellar in a private home, is intimate and has excellent acoustics. The performer sits with the patrons and it makes for a highly interactive concert and great access to the performer. Cellar Music has an informative website describing the concerts--which are for singer song writers and not cover bands. If you have never been to a house concert, I highly recommend you check one out. And there is probably none better than Cellar Music.

But let me tell you about the performer--Eric Scott. Eric sang all of his own songs with the exception of one encore song which he covered an old Cat Stevens song. Check out his website for additional information.

Eric Scott

I found Eric to be extremely personable and interactive with the audience. He sings his music and plays the bass guitar and brings Mike Stacey along to play lead guitar. It works. The two work really well together and have a comfort level which showcases the music and the talent of both performers.

Eric has a strong and sweet mid-tenor voice. His lyrics are deep and meaningful but the melodies are easy to sing along with. The concert attendees actually began singing some of the songs while Eric was performing--the tunes are just that compelling. And they are singable. Eric was on pitch for every note of every song--and even when he agreed to play song that he had not played in a long time--after a short pause to checkout the words--it was flawless. There are Christian overtones to much of his music--which add to the authentic nature of the performer and the performance. The music is from life and the heart. Some of the lyrics are really hard--hard in that they touch the raw nerve of hurt and pain, but it is also therapeutic.

The performance showcased the familiarity between Eric and Mike. There were long guitar riffs and solos that not only added to the intimacy of the music, but also showed the mutual respect between Eric and Mike as music professionals.

Listening to songwriters sing their own music is really satisfying. You hear the stories behind the songs and what led the writer to write the song. Eric provided a lot of background on his songs--which makes the entire evening just that much more enjoyable.You feel like you are getting to really know someone and even making a new friend.

Well, it was a great evening. Great music, good friends and concert goers and you know what? No post concert traffic jam! That is another great advantage of the whole house concert idea--access to the performer and no post concert traffic. The best it can be. When was the last time you went to a concert and got the performer to sign the CDs? Or even talked to the performer about their music.

Thanks Pam and Gary of Cellar Music for hosting the concert and especially thanks to Eric and Mike for their music. It was a great concert and was the best house concert that I have attended.

Monday Musings - November 8, 2010

1. From the editorial page of the Baltimore Sun on November 4, 2010 about the election: "Change wins again . . . . . .but not in Maryland."

2. Even after 56 years--it is good to see a team win the World Series. I guess San Francisco has finally shaken off the demons from moving out of New York in 1958. I thought they were the best team and I was happy to see them win.

3. Wow--I got my water bill the other day for the summer months. There is something fundamentally wrong when the government (Howard County) can raise water rates without notice AND THEN provide the bill with a new due date almost three weeks earlier than expected designed to coincide with the start of the Holiday Shopping season. I'm just frustrated, I wonder how many homeowners out there this is really going to cause a problem for. It certainly was short-sighted on their part.

4. I ran across some really interesting statements from Regina Brett's book God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours. They are in a newsletter titled Chocolate, Purple And Making Peace With The Past – 50 Lessons To Live By. I found them interesting and here are a couple.

- Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

- Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

- Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

- Forgive everyone everything.

- Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

5. Looking for something to do on a cold Saturday evening? Attend a house concert, I did. Full review tomorrow.

E-day

Wednesday is becoming known as home and at work as E-day.

I am following up on a blog from a couple of weeks ago--Gap Filler Pop-pop.

For a couple of weeks now, I have continued to be the after school care giver gap filler for Nicole and Mike. I have to admit--I am beginning to look forward to Wednesdays. And although originally Chris and I were going to switch off--I think I'm going to do this as an every week event.

Wednesday, for instance, I arrived a bit early and was able to sit on the door step and watch for the van carrying the precious cargo to arrive. It was really neat the way E bounded out of the van to greet me as we began to walk to his house.

We have learned to spend our time together wisely--Phineas and Ferb, playing Angry Birds, walking dogs, getting drinks and snacks, and even doing homework (for the second time this past week).

The hour and a half or so that we are together rockets by each week--and I have been impressed with how smoothly it all goes. Of course I just jinxed that, didn't I?

Oh well--you know about other duties as assigned, but sometimes it really is nice when those duties are enjoyable.