Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati!

Yet another week from hell! Sighhh...
Anyway....

The Red Green Show is the funniest thing ever to come out of Canada! I rented "Stuffed and Mounted". I've been rolling on the floor for the week! The main character, Steve Smith (aka Red Green), ressembles my father physically and otherwise! Hilarious! I've never knew that there were sooo many uses for duct tape.

In other news...Sangria Experimentation...

I can't stop making it!! I think I have a problem!! Somebody help me!!!

I made two kinds this week, blonde and rose. They both are exquisite. I'll be taking all three recipes with me to "Vic's Hideaway Party"...Watch out folks...these delectable drinks are pretty potent. I will not be held responsible for what may happen, especially in regards to myself.


And so, on behalf of Mistress Christine here at Walnut Creek Lodge, "Keep your stick on the ice."

Lots of Love !
MC

Dogs and wine

Dogs and wine were a winning combination today!

A co-worker told me that her favorite winery was having a "Dog Days of Summer" event today. She had been raving about this winery, so I finally decided to try it out. There is nothing over $20 a bottle and most are around $5 a bottle. Some of you are asking, " Hmmm...$5 a bottle, but what does it taste like?" Well, that was my first question. And then I tasted everything that they made today. In a few words: Interesting and Awesome!
Let me give you a bit of background about this place. First of all, it's called Greenfield Winery and it's located in American Canyon. American Canyon is on the Sonoma Highway just before you get to Napa. The winery does not have vineyards of their own. They go around and purchase grapes from other grape growers. This seems to be a growing thing among the wine industry from what I can see. They have made some blends that are really interesting and I mean that in a very good way. Under their own label, they have a Merlot, a Cabneret Sauvignon, a Syrah and a Summer Cuvee. All of which are $4.17 a bottle. Yes, you are reading this correctly! These are all very palatable wines. Believe me, I was a skeptic and was very pleasantly surprised! The best one that they have put together is a red table wine they call Rabid Red ($15) after man's best friend! Of course it was on sale today ($12.50)! It's a very bold and juicy wine. They also have an exquisite 2000 Syrah under their Stratford label ($7.92) that is smooth and fruity. Sighh...By the time I mixed and matched, I had purchased a case. However, it was way under $100, which is the average I pay for what I like. Their Greenfield Winery labeled wines are from $35 to $54 a case. I'm in love! Cheap great wine! There's nothing like it! The people running the tasting were very knowledgeable, interesting and friendly also.

Now...about the dogs! There were all shapes, sizes and personalities today. American Eskimo, Golden Retriever, Black lab, Bassett hound, several mixes,etc, etc...
My favorite was Murray, an American Eskimo. She kept coming up and barking at to me until I bent down to pet her. Then, she was very happy! Silly dog!

I highly recommend this little known winery. It is a gem!

Lots of love and peace!
MC

Another Wino Adventure

Welll...I was going to take landscape pictures from Mt Diablo yesterday, but the road up to the mountain seemed to be closed. Oh well! On the way down the hill, I saw a family of quails that took me by surprise. Oh the babies were sooo cute scurrying across the road! And then, there was a yound deer wandering around the streets of Walnut Creek...Woohoo Wildlife Central!..Soooo, after my first plan backfired ,I did the next best thing...yes! You've all guessed it and this means I'm WAY too predictable... Sighhhh...I found my into the Napa Valley. I'm such a homing pidgeon! Anyway...I decided to take the Silverado Trail all the way around to Calistoga. This trip was a bit more boring than my usual adventures, but that's just fine! I only went to one place yesterday. I found my way to Mumm's Winery. I figured, hey it's Sunday and what goes better with Sunday than sparkling wine! Soo..I get a table and peruse the sampler menu. I chose the Red, White and Blue flight. Yum! Delicious! A bit sweeter than what I usually drink, but it's summer and hot. Mumm's has the first sparkling red wine that I've seen and it's very interesting. It goes well with chocolate and grilled meats. Perfect! The signature sparkling wine (Blue) is very nice and fruity ( the good news about this one...you can get it at Safeway) The "white" was a sweeter sparkling wine that goes well with cheese and desserts. I, of course, bought a bottle of the Red Cuvee. This will be one of the exotic drinks at Vic's party in September.
So, after the little respite at the winery, I decide I need to know what the town of Winters actually looks like. I jumped on the 128 East and head 40 miles into "nowhereland". Oh, there are ranches, a few little stores and a couple of reservoirs on the way to nowhere. I went out aht way more for the winding road than anything! It was lots of fun! I was fascinated by the Spanish moss that was hanging from the trees. Yes, you've read this right. I'm sure it's a variety of Spanish moss. I even stopped for a sample to examine.

I reached Winters after an hour...It's akin to Ripon. It's fairly close to Sacramento.
I turned around at the end of town and headed back to the other side of civilization.
It was a good day!

Time to wander to bed.

Lots of Love!
MC

Ooohh..Dark Water

In a word...CREEPY!

I love Japanese ghost stories! This one was just as scary as "The Ring". All I can say is stay away from water towers on apartment buildings!

In other news...

A MAJOR party foul happened.....A bag slipped out of my hand and I broke a bottle of wine...Sighhh...I'm not sure if this is like breaking a mirror, but we'll see.

And in the Sangria experimentation section...I've hit an exquisite mix! It's very lovely!

In wino news...I seem to be making major wine business connections by just talking to people. This time, it seems that someone has taken an interest in my bit o' knowledge of the grape and of the French language. We will be getting together soon for "behind the scenes" tours of some of the major Napa Valley wineries.

A bit of background on the interested party... The person is a mortgage broker and also works in many of the Napa Valley wineries when the real estate business is slow. This person also is interested in opening a winery in the Franklin Canyon area. There will be more details as things unfold. This is a lead that I'm going to definitely pursue.

This may be a pretty cool opportunity. Hang to your hats, Kids! We may be seeing yet ANOTHER career change. IF this happens...It will be the last one...This changing thing is making me soo tired. But it's soooo much fun!


Alrighty...It's Sangria time!

Peace and soo much love to you all!

MC

Ahhhh...it's finally Friday!

I almost didn't make it! Wow! What a long weeeeekkkkk!!

Hi Kids! I just thought I'd stop in and say howdy.

It's a thick pizza, cheap wine and sappy movie night.

Just what the Doc has ordered.

Lots of Love and Peace!
MC

About War of the Worlds

Yeah...Let's talk of "War of the Worlds", shall we?

In a few words, pretty weak!

I REALLY tried to suspend my disbelief...sighhh...for the first time in my adult life, it sooo wouldn't happen!

First, there was Tom Cruise. He's apparently nice and has the looks. As a major character in this movie, not so much. That's where it became really hard to get into it. Tooo wooden!

The suspensful parts of the movie were drawn out and overdone. I kept hearing "oooohhhhhh scarryy!!" in my head.

The good parts...The Tripods were awesome!

Enough said! Please don't pay full price to see this one.

Lots of Love to you all!
MC

BBQ and Man Bat Guy

Howdy kids!

I love the 3 day weekends!

I was invited to a block party in Brentwood Saturday for the an early July 4th celebration. I took the long way there to get to know some the roads.

It was really relaxing just to sit and watch all the kids play in the water from the fire plug. We opened it up to cool the street off for the kids and they had a ball! It reminded me of the July 4th picnics that we used to have back home.
We lived out in the country, so there weren't any fire plugs to open, but there were plenty of ponds and creeks to explore. Dad would go back to the woods near the creek with the brush mower and clear off of a spot for us to have our picnic. I'd help Mom with getting the food ready and we'd hop in the car and drive over to creek. We'd hang out, eat and play in the water. We'd try and catch the little crayfish that lived in the creek. We would spent a good share of the time peeling the leaches off of us. My poor little sister was the one that seemed to have the most on her. Those were the days!
Going back to the party....

We gorged ourselves on tons of appetizers, watermelon and meat. My friend's grandmother told me about her motorcycle ride to Hollister. It was the big Hollister run this weekend. She's a pretty wild gal! Lots of fun!

I saw "Batman Begins" today...

Awesome movie! Christian Bale is the best Batman by far. The story was very well written.
I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen.

Well...I know this sounds like something from the Prairie Home Companion....I must be channeling Garrison Keillor. Oh Well!

That's all for now! I've been feeling a bit rough around the edges for the last few days and trying to get rid of a nagging headache. This one is unfortunately work induced and not booze related.

Time for some rest.

Lots of Love and Peace!
MC