HOGSWINE

I have been in Australia and New Zealand (and transit) for like three weeks now.  I’ll update soon.

Chateau Montelena

California chardonnay

Bottle Shock

Karen, I await your question.  I have so many answers for you.

And now, for a quote taken ridiculously out of context.

30 or 40 kids in the water every day, and you want to think you’re in a nice safe place in Seattle, not a place where they can get nailed,” said Eric Hughes, Seattle Canoe and Kayak Club.

This quote is from a story by Northwest News and Weather.  I certainly did a double take after reading this.

Here is some interesting reading material I saw today.Tony Wright describes what he did right and what he would do differently after the succesful launch of 2 different start-ups in this article over at gigaom.

AND…

This article shows you how to create a font using your own handwriting.

Hahahaha, dancing bear.

It is hot.

It is SO hot, I just stood up and sweat ran down my ankle.

It is the perfect weather for a brutally cold white wine to sip on in the shade, all while devouring the perfect summer story.

I opened up a bottle of the 2005 Waterbrook Reserve Chardonnay; if it were possible to bathe in this golden liquid, I certainly would.  I love this wine for the toasty oak, butter, tropical fruits, pineapple, grapefruit and yeast that makes me sip it non-stop.  I also grabbed a great book over the weekend, The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.  It’s a new translation and so far I cannot put it down.

Like many things in life that require some semblance of moderation-the summer novel and refreshing chardonnay are two things I would never give up.  Especially when it’s 111 degrees on the patio.

On Saturday my brother and I went back up into the foreboding mountains near Walla Walla to hunt for morels.  It was vastly unlucky in the finding culinary treasures department but I did find many beautiful pinecones and spring wild flowers.

Having seen the Happening, I made sure to give off good energy and ask the plants permission to pick its flower.

We also found many, many, many of those mushrooms that grow on cow pies.

Having lived in Walla Walla for four years now its like leaving this town of 30,000 is leaving civilization behind.

*closed door*

…muffled noises…voices approaching closer…

Unidentified male voice, possibly doctor: “..and then let’s bring bring him in here and give him a rectal exam.”

Unidentified female voice, possibly nurse (so stereotypical and sexist, I know): “Well, wait…isn’t that the ear doctor?”

…voices fading away…muffled talking resumes.

We got a bunch of Francis Ford Coppola wine to try at work today. Some were disappointing but the one I loved I feel a little guilty about. It’s the 2006 Francis Ford Coppola “Director’s Cut” Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Holy crap that is like a sentence in of itself. It tasted mighty fine and was exactly what you would expect a big humongous California zinfandel to taste like. The finish seemed to last forever and had this great, toasty earthy flavor. Yum.

I picked up a book today called ‘God is dead.’ It’s a novel and it’s funny yet definitely a critique of the current state of our culture, both locally and globally. I’ll let you read the inlet, here.

Ron Currie, Jr., holds a fun house mirror to our present-day world. God has inhabited the mortal body of a young Dinka woman in the Sudan. When she is killed in the Darfur desert, he dies along with her, and word of his death soon begins to spread. Faced with the hard proof that there is no supreme being in charge, the world is transformed, yet remains oddly recognizable.

Colin Powell seethes with rage and curses like a street pimp; high school buddies forge a suicide pact; dogs speak Aramaic and walk on water; and parents, for the “lack of anything to do on Sundays,” worship their own children. And all this is before the war starts.

So listen, I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s a hilarious and insightful book and you should pick it up. If anything because it reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut and how I am sad he is dead.

Where did this totally awesome weather come from?

The other day I was grilling with a friend and it felt like late November, then all of a sudden mother nature is like, SUN FOR YOU MOFO!  It’s great. Tonight looks to be a great night.  I’m starting out at a podunk bar with some friends and then heading off to a dance party where, whether or not its a huge turnout, I know I will have fun as well. Right now I’m desperately trying to sober up and get some food eaten so I don’t fall asleep at 10.

I opened up a bottle of Ronan Cabernet Sauvignon the other night and it was very delicious.  I paid about $15 for it and I would say the price was worth every drop. Next time I have a bottle I will make sure it gets finished the same night between everyone because I tried finishing it the next day with some grilled steak and it just didn’t have that same kick.  Is it possible for a wine to get sweeter after being open for a day?