Do any of you drink wine? Maybe you enjoy a glass with dinner or like to share a special bottle (or several) with friends. If you do, then maybe you'd enjoy being part of the American Wine Society by way of a local group of like-minded, friendly, wine loving folks known as the Wine Lover's Club. We started out as the Lewisville Wine Society with meetings held at the former Carolina Winesellers shop in Lewisville. We were soon the largest chapter in NC with 40+ members, although our numbers have diminished somewhat in part due to economic times and personal circumstances. We would love to have you join us for a meeting to see what we're all about, and how much fun we have (you are allowed 3 visits before becoming members).
Here is a little about what went on tonight. Since it is the week before Thanksgiving, we had the traditional turkey, stuffing and several versions of cranberry salad (made with cranberries, apples and other goodies), which I thought of as dessert since it was sweet. The official dessert was raspberry brownies. We were served 4 pinot noirs from California, Oregon and New York. The objective was to taste each wine with each type of food and determine which we thought paired well. That is not my strong suit, so I pretty much just enjoyed the food, wine and camaraderie. I don't know, maybe my palate is just not as fine-tuned as a lot of folks. I will say that I enjoyed 3 out of 4 wines and thought they went well enough with the food with the exception of the brownie. I just don't care for a dry red wine with chocolate in most cases.
In light of the fact that we had hot, tasty food to enjoy, we held the meeting in reverse in that we had our food and wine before attending to business.
Meeting information:
We meet on the third Tuesday of each month at Sociale located at 380 Knollwood Street, Winston-Salem, NC at 7:00 p.m. [update: this location information no longer valid]
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Quote of the Week
I decided I wanted to blog because I thought I had something worth sharing. However, you are only sharing if people are reading.
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
- Cyril ConnollyI suppose this sums up my writing up to this point. An audience must be earned, so I'll continue to post whatever moves me at the moment and see where it leads me.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday in the Park
Yesterday friends and family gathered at Tanglewood Park to celebrate a birthday. The birthday boy was a whopping 6 years old. It was a beautiful day considering it is the middle of November, and we were just out of a mini-monsoon season courtesy of Ida. Birthday-boy's Dad made a wonderful devil's food cake with homemade praline & chocolate icings. It was rich and wonderful and oh so filling. It hit the spot and was sure to cure any sweet tooth for miles around. He claims not to be a cook, but you know when he's in the kitchen there will be something delicious on the table. BDB's Mom made him a round brownie color wheel cake. BDB doesn't eat just anything...
We were the only ones not directly related to BDB. Others there were his grandparents (Dad's side), his other grandfather, his aunt, uncle and two cousins, Mom, Dad and older brother. We watched him open his presents, and play with a radio-controlled car that belonged to his grandfather. After everyone had had their fill of cake, soda and playtime, we packed up the stuff, and toddled off for a walk to look at the Christmas lights. I'd never seen the lights at Tanglewood before. After breaking off and going in separate directions, we all eventually met back up at the cars. By that time it had gotten dark, and the lights were really pretty. We made a slow drive out enjoying the scenery. We decided to forego the pizza we had planned for dinner in favor of a quick dinner out at a Mexican restaurant in Clemmons. We hadn't eaten at Cozumel in years, but we used to like it a lot. We split a 3-enchilada plate with extra rice and beans.
Not to worry that we were deprived, however we had the pizza tonight. Yum!
We were the only ones not directly related to BDB. Others there were his grandparents (Dad's side), his other grandfather, his aunt, uncle and two cousins, Mom, Dad and older brother. We watched him open his presents, and play with a radio-controlled car that belonged to his grandfather. After everyone had had their fill of cake, soda and playtime, we packed up the stuff, and toddled off for a walk to look at the Christmas lights. I'd never seen the lights at Tanglewood before. After breaking off and going in separate directions, we all eventually met back up at the cars. By that time it had gotten dark, and the lights were really pretty. We made a slow drive out enjoying the scenery. We decided to forego the pizza we had planned for dinner in favor of a quick dinner out at a Mexican restaurant in Clemmons. We hadn't eaten at Cozumel in years, but we used to like it a lot. We split a 3-enchilada plate with extra rice and beans.
Not to worry that we were deprived, however we had the pizza tonight. Yum!
A Lunar Vacation?
I just heard that there is water on the moon. Now why it has taken NASA and a whole host of scientists 40 years to discover this, I'm not sure. But what a breakthrough. This could be the resort of the future, the Lunar Riveria.
Let's think about this. We need transportation, shuttle pilots, flight attendants, gourmet food service and in-flight movies, which means more shuttles, larger accommodations, more pilots (read astronauts) and flight attendants. To build the resort, we need engineers, architects and plumbers trained in minimal gravity design...think toilets. We don't want that stuff flowing upstream now do we?
As for electricity, how would we produce that in space. Burn coal? Can't. Fire won't burn without oxygen. Besides we've already polluted one planet. Let's hope we've learned something. As far as I can tell, there is no wind on the moon, so wind-generated power is not an option. I know, how about giant solar panels so we can capture solar energy and store it. If you can store heated water, and power lights and radios, there should be a way to power other things. This is not new technology. The concept of solar energy has been around for many years. As a child I had a solar powered radio - actually I still have it, and it still works. However, the methods of collecting it, storing it and using it have surely improved over the years.
All of these measures have no consequence, if we cannot breathe. This brings us to greatest obstacle - how do we get oxygen in adequate supply for survival? Possibly large tanks of oxygen and a distribution system? Too bad we can't pipe it in like natural gas. Picture that pipeline! To go outside one would need to don a space suit in order to survive the lack of air pressure. Otherwise all the liquid in your body would boil, and what happens next would not be pretty. There is an up side to this. The fashion designers would all be competing to come up with the hottest new line of space apparel. Good-bye itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini. I guess space age swim suits would kinda take the fun out of things - at least for the guys! That's a argument for indoor swimming pools - heated with the solar panels, especially given that there is an approximate 500 degree swing in temperatures on the moon's surface. Bottom line is step foot outside without protective gear and you're dead!
At this point I am thinking we need a much larger shuttle system involving cargo transports for the building materials, oxygen tanks, solar panels and storage units, contractors, etc. and that is just to provide life-sustaining structures.
Speaking of life-sustaining measures, what about food? In such extreme conditions, crops can't be grown or or livestock raised, so all food would have to be transported from earth. This would definitely require more transports and create more jobs.
This is just the beginning... Financially speaking, your Lunar Riveria getaway will make a Hawaiian vacation seem like a trip to Walmart, and cause your credit cards to expire on the spot. So, who's paying for this adventure? There are many questions unanswered...after all we just discovered that there is water on the moon.
Let's think about this. We need transportation, shuttle pilots, flight attendants, gourmet food service and in-flight movies, which means more shuttles, larger accommodations, more pilots (read astronauts) and flight attendants. To build the resort, we need engineers, architects and plumbers trained in minimal gravity design...think toilets. We don't want that stuff flowing upstream now do we?
As for electricity, how would we produce that in space. Burn coal? Can't. Fire won't burn without oxygen. Besides we've already polluted one planet. Let's hope we've learned something. As far as I can tell, there is no wind on the moon, so wind-generated power is not an option. I know, how about giant solar panels so we can capture solar energy and store it. If you can store heated water, and power lights and radios, there should be a way to power other things. This is not new technology. The concept of solar energy has been around for many years. As a child I had a solar powered radio - actually I still have it, and it still works. However, the methods of collecting it, storing it and using it have surely improved over the years.
All of these measures have no consequence, if we cannot breathe. This brings us to greatest obstacle - how do we get oxygen in adequate supply for survival? Possibly large tanks of oxygen and a distribution system? Too bad we can't pipe it in like natural gas. Picture that pipeline! To go outside one would need to don a space suit in order to survive the lack of air pressure. Otherwise all the liquid in your body would boil, and what happens next would not be pretty. There is an up side to this. The fashion designers would all be competing to come up with the hottest new line of space apparel. Good-bye itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini. I guess space age swim suits would kinda take the fun out of things - at least for the guys! That's a argument for indoor swimming pools - heated with the solar panels, especially given that there is an approximate 500 degree swing in temperatures on the moon's surface. Bottom line is step foot outside without protective gear and you're dead!
At this point I am thinking we need a much larger shuttle system involving cargo transports for the building materials, oxygen tanks, solar panels and storage units, contractors, etc. and that is just to provide life-sustaining structures.
Speaking of life-sustaining measures, what about food? In such extreme conditions, crops can't be grown or or livestock raised, so all food would have to be transported from earth. This would definitely require more transports and create more jobs.
This is just the beginning... Financially speaking, your Lunar Riveria getaway will make a Hawaiian vacation seem like a trip to Walmart, and cause your credit cards to expire on the spot. So, who's paying for this adventure? There are many questions unanswered...after all we just discovered that there is water on the moon.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Rainy Day Ramblings
It's a rainy afternoon, and my gas tank is on Empty. Is that a sign? So where did all this rain come from anyway? Only Ida knows, as she blew into Alabama early this morning. We've had such good weather here lately that I hadn't been keeping up with the national weather scene. I've spent much time in the yard cleaning up after Mother Nature as the trees eject their dying leaves. Yes, that's right. The trees kick the leaves out to dry up and wither away, sucked up and hauled off to become mulch in someone else's yard across the street or across town.
Yes, I am rambling today, but I don't have any big sales to talk about, no community events to invite you to, and no coupons or rebates to tempt the bargain hunters. It's just me musing on the day. I went to the Y for my Zumba class, and for lunch I had a tasty chicken salad sandwich prepared fresh from my kitchen. OK, I'll admit it, I used canned chicken, but it is good. I used Valley Fresh all natural white and dark meat. I get it at Wal-Mart for about $2 for a 10-oz can. It has less salt per serving than the other brands and is made with both white and dark meat which gives it more flavor. In my book that means more bang for your buck. Add that to whole grain bread and you've got a healthy lunch, or at least reasonably so - I did use mayonnaise, and garlic pepper for seasoning.
The big question that remains is am I going to brave the rain and get gas, and possibly go to Wal-Mart, or just tell myself there's nothing I need that badly, and hang inside until the rain stops. From the looks of the radar that's going to be a while.
Pause while I check out the noise in the kitchen. Well, that was exciting, at least for one of the cats. Sophie was eating, and a sharp crashing sound nearly scared the fur off of her. Food went flying and water sloshed into the food bowl. So much for that - soggy food goes into the trash can. What happened was I have a decorative item on the ceramic tile in my kitchen held on by a small suction cup. Every now and then it turns loose and hits the counter. Not really a big deal unless you're a skittish feline twit. What can I say, she's our twit!
Yes, I am rambling today, but I don't have any big sales to talk about, no community events to invite you to, and no coupons or rebates to tempt the bargain hunters. It's just me musing on the day. I went to the Y for my Zumba class, and for lunch I had a tasty chicken salad sandwich prepared fresh from my kitchen. OK, I'll admit it, I used canned chicken, but it is good. I used Valley Fresh all natural white and dark meat. I get it at Wal-Mart for about $2 for a 10-oz can. It has less salt per serving than the other brands and is made with both white and dark meat which gives it more flavor. In my book that means more bang for your buck. Add that to whole grain bread and you've got a healthy lunch, or at least reasonably so - I did use mayonnaise, and garlic pepper for seasoning.
The big question that remains is am I going to brave the rain and get gas, and possibly go to Wal-Mart, or just tell myself there's nothing I need that badly, and hang inside until the rain stops. From the looks of the radar that's going to be a while.
Pause while I check out the noise in the kitchen. Well, that was exciting, at least for one of the cats. Sophie was eating, and a sharp crashing sound nearly scared the fur off of her. Food went flying and water sloshed into the food bowl. So much for that - soggy food goes into the trash can. What happened was I have a decorative item on the ceramic tile in my kitchen held on by a small suction cup. Every now and then it turns loose and hits the counter. Not really a big deal unless you're a skittish feline twit. What can I say, she's our twit!
click to enlarge
Here she is with one of her favorite toys. It was Rosie's toy, a fishing pole we brought back from a shop in San Diego. But Sophie took it over, and promptly ate about 8 inches off the end. I picked it up one day and noticed it was considerably shorter. When I couldn't find the missing length, we were pretty sure we knew what had happened to it. Sure enough, after several days it showed up - I won't say where but I know you know. Needless to say, she doesn't get to play with that anymore. Oh, and that's not all she's eaten...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)