Wine Tasting Comic Strip

L'art de Boire le Vin

Years ago, Leigh Ann picked up this sweet print in Paris and gave it to Connor as a Christmas gift. We have enjoyed reading it many times... and adds a lovely decor to our home (a nice little contrast for all the ship paintings). Tonight, we will recreate it - in person - for you with our very own 2011 Syrah.

Uncork.

Smell the cork. (or the literal translation from the comic is "feel the cap"...not sure what that means)

Slowly pour.

The civilized drinker mentally prepares.

Pleasure the eyes...

Pleasure the nose...

Pleasure the mouth...

...or not. Our wine taster was not fully pleased with his drink.

But, we managed to enjoy it anyway. As they say in Paris, "When the wine is drawn, you have to drink!"

I actually made Pasta Fagioli at the recommendation of Maggie.  It was SO YUMMY! And I loved her suggestion to keep the pasta separate so that it wouldn't get soggy. Of course we indulged in our guilty pleasure of watching music videos and singing while we dined. The romance never ends. :)
P.S. We love you Leigh Ann - and we think about you all the time!

A month later...

... but who's counting?  We are all too busy counting down the days to the arrival of our new baby girl Gauch. That's exciting! 
Our life continues. Fall has been cold and rainy for the most part. It looks like we will have Thanksgiving at home and then spend our Christmas holiday in Texas. So, it will be January before we know it.
Back in October, Marie did a silent retreat at St. Placid's Priory in Lacey with Aunt Pat. The theme was "Living your best life"... My revelation was that I am already living my best life! I couldn't think of one thing that I needed (other than more time in the day...and health for my loved ones). But, it was a great retreat.

We celebrated Daryl's 52nd birthday in October.

Marie made a trip to NC for mom's second cataract surgery and got to see Dad/Brad/Mags as well. It was another busy trip...full of work but also some fun. Mom and I went exploring (lead by fearless Winnie of course) on the mountain. It was gorgeous.

So glad she opted for the fashionable sunglasses!

Maggie looks like she ate a big sammich...

Uncle Brad cracked the whip and wanted me to help him in the garden. It was fun. Luckily he let me borrow some knee pads. He is a slave driver.

A favorite picture. Dad and Mom are soooo excited about their grandbaby.

The view from Dad's hospital room... Western NC is seriously the most beautiful place on earth.

 

Connor continues to make a killing in BKG... currently working on a mini-bike and the "brat" CB550.

Looks so good. This bike is gorgeous.

He did brew a beer - called MTB - that the twins and Amber originally brewed with him during Christmas 2010.
Lefty kept the vet bills rolling in - having his last saber tooth surgically removed a few weeks ago. Poor baby is now toothless...just a few little teeth left.

He took his catnip fish for comfort.

Some delicious food recommendations: Herb biscuit chicken pot pie and Blintzes with Blueberry Sauce.

Bakes up beautifully and feeds a crowd!

A great brunch item. I made this in NC for mom...and repeated it for brunch this past weekend. We were hosting a church intern for a few days... She was kindof a strange eater, so it was good to have a brunch that she enjoyed.

 We are so blessed. We will spend the next several weeks feeling THANKFUL for our wonderful families...and wishing that we had the luxury of spending unlimited time with each and every one of you!

A Fall Garden and Hike

Connor and I were lucky enough to spend today together. We have been wanting to plant a fall garden and check out a new state park. Mission accomplished.

In front of Deep Lake. Sunny and beautiful...but cold!

The trees are so old looking. It was lovely how the sun lit up the mossy bark.

Some of these trees are HUGE.

Up close and personal.

Our cold weather garden: Celery. Broccoli. Kale. Brussels sprouts. We'll see how it does.

Hope all of you had a perfect day... we sure did!

Recap...

Due to travel, Marie has been out of the blog-scene for a couple of weeks......so lets catch up!  Marie was able to be in NC for Martha's successful right eye cataract surgery.  While there she had a blast seeing Papa Chuck, B-Rad Love, Maggie, Carolyn and family. 

Martha's pretty green eyes - Pre-surgery.

PC is excited!

We had a great time walking with Miss Winnie at the Y trail. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Brad even joined us one day.

The soon-to-be grandparents enjoy a few minutes on the poop deck.

Brad couldn't wait to sit by his beautiful niece.

Love my Carolina girls.

Brad on his big green tractor.

Gotta love a Marion sunset.

Last weekend we cleaned up the summer garden to get ready for a small winter garden.  We hope to plant lettuces, kale, onions, etc....we will keep you posted on what we finalize.  I had a low hop production this year and I belive it was due to the hop rhizome beeing rootboud in my planter box.  Marie helped me remove the roots and thin down.

The sunflower heads are a hit with the local bird crew.

Pulled the last of our carrots and weeds.

I think this would qualify as root-bound.

Our usual Sunday morning wake-up scene.

We had a yummy meal this week that we wanted to share with yous....Marie highly recommends that you boyz learn how to cook like this for your women...Coq au Vin. (Marie here: I asked if Connor would make dinner Thursday night so she could work out... I sit down to this gourmet dinner and say "how did you find time to make this?" and CT says "I knew I had to make something that I could throw in the oven and forget."  Ha. I laughed. I wish it was that easy.)

One of the best meals I have ever had.

Bikes and Brew:
I plan on kegging the Kolsch today....I tried to recreate a brew my brewthers/brewister and I brewed in December of 2010.  We called it MTB (Mills-Tuck-Bos) it was an Indian Brown Ale.  Everything went well on Saturday and it is happily fermenting away.

Kolsch with active fermentation...

The mini bike is almost ready for firing up.  I have cleaned the carburetor and installed an new set of points.  I have been reading up on rust removal.  The little fuel tank is lined in rust....I am experimenting with molasses.  I purchased 4 gallons at our local feed store.  I am soaking the inside of the tank with it.  I hope it works!!! The CB550 is being built as we speak.  I got the parts back from powdercoating and they look fabulous!  It is a sweet looking brat-style bike.

the experiment begins.

rust infested!

glossy black...

you get the picture...

getting there...

So, there is a long recap of the last few weeks. Hope you are enjoying fall!