Adventures in Wine #1 - July 2009

The first gathering of the newly planned semi-annual event - a new experience in taste and companions. Set-up: multiple stem ware, appetizers, dump jugs - dump jugs?? Jugs in which we can pour the remains of an unwanted glass of wine. We converted two vases to ‘dump jugs’, set the table with plates, napkins, water, stem ware, and appetizers, and we were ready.

Spanish wines were the agreed-upon theme. The eight of us were gathered and the sommelier began his stories...we learned the origination of each wine, the climate, the vineyard. His assistant held the book showing the location of each vineyard. Whether you liked the wine or not, the background added depth to the tasting. The body of knowledge shared by wine lovers is so gargantuan, however, that most of what we heard was more than we could ever hope to remember.

We started with Mont Marcal Cava Reserva, moved through Vina Alarba, Bodegas Breton Criadores Lorinon Reserva, Pasanauy, and more, and finished with Casta Diva, the dessert wine. The wine was interesting, the lessons instructive (swirl before tasting and try to identify an element of the bouquet; what? earth??), but the geniality of the group made the evening. Postscript question: why does a wine that tastes wonderful at the tasting, taste not as good several days later? Is it the buildup from the previous wines, the appetizers, the history? (Maybe it's simply that the wine is too old.)

The road to becoming a wine connoisseur is a long one and we took a very delightful first step on the journey.

Asian Dinner Extravaganza - July 2009

Winning bid at auction: authentic Chinese dinner prepared at the home of the chef. I knew it was serious when we arrived to find the kitchen fully prepped, and off-limits. Timing and concentration were things that would brook no interference.

Wine was ever-present and always appropriately paired. Starting with fire-cracker shrimp, the evening moved through dim sum, green onion pizza, bok choy, lop chong, fried rice cones, mapo dofu, and yes, chicken feet, sampled only by the brave. Every dish was exquisitely prepared and presented, and the dinner was a tastebud cornucopia. We closed the night with Dreamy Clouds saki; ok, maybe not Chinese, but deliciously oriental all the same.

Visiting the Mall on December 8

I needed to pick up one non-Christmas item from the mall so I stopped by mid-day to avoid the bulk of Christmas shoppers. That was a little naive for December 8 and the parking lots were pretty full but I found a reasonable spot at a lesser-used entrance. There were a lot of people shopping but not uncomfortably so. I slowly made my way to the store I wanted, looking at people and merchandise as I strolled along.

Suddenly I felt happy and content to be there, not my usual reaction to being at a mall. We don’t do the traditional Christmas shopping extravaganza so I had no pressure to finish any shopping list, and people seemed to reflect my mood. Shoppers and sales clerks appeared to be equally relaxed. While I was waiting in line to check out, customers were chatting to each other. A woman who set off the exit alarm cheerfully came back to have her bag searched. When the offending clip was found, the customer volunteered to go back to that department to have it removed. This checkout desk did not have the removal equipment and she was concerned about the 5 or 6 people waiting to be checked out. Really?? So it wasn’t just me. Everyone seemed to have a touch of the Christmas spirit.

I continued to walk around the mall looking at the displays and the people. There were a few stressed parents with crying babies, but why, after all, would a baby want to be at the mall? There was a short, calm line of infants and young children waiting with their parents for a picture with Santa - very cute. After I picked up a few additional items for myself and for stocking stuffers, I headed out. I’m sure the atmosphere at the mall will change as it gets closer to Christmas, but today it was a little piece from A Christmas Carol: "so let it be said of us, we knew how to keep Christmas well if any people alive possessed the knowledge."

AN INTERESTING AFTERNOON AT THE Y - 11/30/09

I was almost finished making my rounds on the weight machines when an thin, old man in short-shorts came in and started working his circuit. He was new to the machines as evidenced by him studiously working from his trainer’s chart. The paper provides the correct seat adjustments and weight level for each person’s height, weight, and strength.

But back to the man. At one point he took the machine next to mine and as he was working on his settings, a really bad body odor wafted my way. I left that machine and after cleaning it off, and the machine two down that he had just used and not cleaned, I was ready to work on the only machine I hadn’t yet been on - the one he had previously left. Unfortunately, the stench had permeated the machine. I was thinking bad thoughts about inconsiderate old people showing too much skin as I left the room.

After I finished with the treadmill, I was walking out through the lobby and ran into some middle-school students attending the after-school programs at the Y. One girl accidentally tripped me as I was walking by (I almost fell). She instantly apologized and as the group continued on their way, the girls were giggling and one of them said, and I quote, "You almost tripped that old lady!"

Sigh...

We spent 20 minutes trying to help the hummingbird find her way out of the garage and finally succeeded by blowing her out with the leaf blower.

A few minutes later I saw the cat with the hummingbird in her mouth.

Hmmmmmm........ You're welcome, kitty?

On a Visit to the Vietnam War Memorial

The wall extends beyond my sight

and casts a shadow dark and cold.

The names stretch to infinity . . .

I hear each whisper as I pass by,

"Will you always remember me?"

I touch the names and feel the pain

of the families who will always grieve

the lives cut short, what might have been.

A parent’s voice from every name

pleads, "Please do not forget my child."

The names are etched in all our hearts,

Their memories light up the sky

as each one cries out to the stars,

"I was here, I played my part.

Do you still remember me?"

                         H. Van Essendelft 
    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The famous photo of  the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 is frequently cited as being the embassy was actually the Pittman apartment building, a safe house, in Saigon.

RIP fallen soldiers and civilians 💔

On the 4th Anniversary of the Iraq War ~ posted in 2009

Soldiers featured on the local news,
Their eyes stare deeply into mine
reflecting hopes, the plans they made,
lives now reduced to memories.
Just piercing eyes in determined faces,
names and ranks on the evening news,
their last appearance on my TV screen.