Friends

When I was in my early 20s, Jay and I found a wine we liked called My Cousin's Claret. I have no idea if it was actually good or if it was good relative to what we knew about wine at that time. It was a small batch and hard to find, AFTER we discovered it. So, I always kept and eye out for it. One day, I was at a Mr. Dunderbak's the Columbia and was checking the wine racks, again, just in case. The sales woman asked if I needed help and I said I was looking for a particular claret. She said that they didn't have any clarays in stock but she would be glad to help me find something else. I thanked her and told her that I was specifically looking for that claret because I knew it and want' interested in experimenting at that time.

I KNEW it was an English labeling for wine. I KNEW that woman was giving a French pronunciation to an English word. But I still looked it up when I got home to be sure I was correct. And I was.

So, whenever I see claret, I chuckle. It is my history and it makes me laugh.

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There is a wine shop across the parking lot from REI on Fayetteville Road in Durham, across from Southpoint Mall. They do a wine tasting every Saturday. The woman who was working when we went in was just as cute as she could be. Apparently, her daughter is the owner. Mama pours generous tastes and tastes along with you.

And on the Saturday we went in, they had a claret.

:-D

You know I had to taste it and when I liked it, we had to buy it.

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Donati Claret, 2006, San Benito County, CA. 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 7% Syrah, 5% Malbec. Full body, medium flavor. Pretty safe bet for pairing when you don't know the tastes of your companions.

http://donatifamilyvineyard.com

I posted Quick and Easy Taco Soup' recipe in January.

Today, Wild Child introduced me to Taste Spotting and one of the links led me to the extended version WITH the recipe for .

I made Root Vegetable Soup last night.

I peeled the vegetables with a potato peeler and chopped them into one inch cubes. One parsnip, one turnip, one sweet potato in a large pot with enough water to cover plus about an inch and a half. One large spoon of chopped garlic (I'm lazy and keep a jar of pre-chopped in the fridge) a handful of dried parsley and a half a handful of dried oregano. Brought to a boil and turned down to medium to cook until everything was tender. I don't salt and pepper, instead allowing each of us to add it to our bowls as we choose. If I'd thought of it, I could have added an onion, but I didn't and it is fine without it.

I had intended to put rosemary in it, but forgot when I was cooking it. I did add it after half the pot was gone and it made a good thing better.

My router crapped out last night. I bought it from dearabbey when she didn't need it and the last one went suddenly. Happily, it's a Belkin and they are replacing it at no charge. Kinda. They'll refund my money when I ship the dead one back to them. The Tech Support guys were Indian but accents weren't too thick to understand and they were able to think in English rather than just read off what was on the book in front of them.

So, we have one working internet line until Tuesday or Wednesday. Probably Wednesday.

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Making pumpkin waffles this morning, using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour. I haven't used the GF flour for waffles before so it's an experiment. Good thing I'd picked up milk on Thursday, too.

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Wild Child is expecting his father to come get him for the Xmas holiday, but isn't sure exactly when Jay will show up. Depends on work, which is variable. Jay did come to get him for Thanksgiving and brought him back, with no participation from me, so I have every hope he'll do it again.

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Our Xmas/Yule/Winter gifts for each other are postponed. Chuck is taking us to NYC over Palm Sunday weekend. We've rented a little apartment in the East Village over an organic bakery and intend to see Ragtime. Everything else is optional. The apartment is about 2 blocks from Moby's vegan restaurant TeaNY. I'd wanted to go there last time I was in NYC but didn't make it. The only reason not to this time is if it hasn't reopened after the electrical fire last June.

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My yard is still frozen. Humans invented glitter trying to replicate snow. It's lovely.

LiveJournal Connect! Enter your username in the left box, someone else's username (or a * for a random one) in the right box, and press the button! -> Quiet Mutual 2 chains No 1-hop Users to ignore: Coded by sachmet

Enter you and me, choose No 1-Hop and see what we get. :-)

I'm recovering from eye surgery, to correct my strabismus.  Further details as events warrant.

I'm thinking that it might be nice to make the natural area in our back yard an orchid refuge. North Carolina has a fairly large number of native orchids. I don't know that my yard is a good place for them, but I may see what I can find and give it a shot.

http://www.ncwildflower.org/index.php/plants/orchids/

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Orchids that may work in this area:

Putty root, Adam & Eve shade

Grass Pink sun

Autumn Coral Root

Pink/Stemless Lady's Slipper

Large Yellow Lady's Slipper (rare)

Showy Orchis

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain shade

Crested Coral Root (significantly rare)

Large Whorled Pogonia (rare)

Large Twayblade (rare)

Appalachian Adder's Mouth (significantly rare)

Green Adder's Mouth

Yellow Fringed Orchid

Small Green Woodland Orchid

Southern Rein Orchid

Yellow Fringeless Orchid (threatened)

Green Fringe Orchid (rare)

Large Round Leaved Orchid (rare)

Purple Fringeless Orchid (candidate)

Rose Pogonia (rare)

Nodding Ladies' Tresses (significantly rare)

Southern Slender Ladies' Tresses

Lesser Ladies' Tresses (rare)

Grassleaf Ladies' Tresses (rare)

Little Ladies' Tresses (rare)

Twisted Ladies' Tresses (rare)

Cranefly Orchid

Three Birds Orchid (rare)

http://mary-mayhem.livejournal.com/257154.html

I haven't changed my opinion.