Wino Extrodinaire

I freely admit to being a wino, wine geek, hell, even a bit of a wine snob. (Maybe more than a bit). I do tours, I do tastes, I am a member of a wine club. Hell, I even have a part-time job in the industry. I love wine. It challanges me, it soothes & comforts me, it invigorates me. It makes a good meal even better, a celebration even more special and helps me to unwind after a stressful day. It's Good Stuff! It's ever changing. Which leads me to one of my favorite fun things. Wine tasting! I like to do a flight of same wine, same vineyard, same winemaker, different vintages. It's amazing how the climate in the very same place from year to year can affect the taste of the finished product. Also, same varietal from different places can be fun as well. J & I decided to do this last night. We were at the LCBO in the vintages section trying to find something to enjoy with dinner and the hockey game. I saw him looking at a bottle of Cline Syrah. This suprised me because he's not much of a New World fan when it comes to that varietal. I said "I hear that's one of the best Syrah's out there." So we decided to give it a whirl.

On his suggestion, we looked around for a comparable French Syrah to do a taste test. We found a good one...Massane 2002 Syrah from the Montpellier region. The Cline bottle was also a 2002 vintage so we thought this would be a fair comparison. The Cline was $17.95 while the Massane was a steal at $11.95.

Once we arrived home, I chilled them slightly so they would be at the optimal tasting temperature. I got out 4 identical tasting glasses and didn't let J know which one was which. Then we tasted. YUMMY! Both were very similar in style, body and texture. Silently, I picked the Cline as standing out. It had a bit more complexity and was a bit smoother on the palate. J also picked the Cline as his preferred one. I asked him to guess which one he thought it was. He assumed French, and was mildly surprised that it wasn't. We enjoyed both bottles immensely. The Massane is such a good deal that I would highly recommend it as well. I would be fun to compare the 2002 Cline with the 2003 Massane because of the very, very hot summer they had in France.
Hmmmm, maybe that could be for another night.

Stress!!

I have been a stress bag for about a month now. There is just too much shit going on and I'm at the end of my rope. Work, home, the move, bills, Simon's allergies, etc. etc. etc. Work has been especially bad the past couple of weeks. Lots of crap and we had to let someone go yesterday. Even though it was warranted, it's not a nice thing. And they didn't take it well. They were very angry in fact. Security was supposed to be around to escort, but he failed to show. But that's done....I think. She called and was reeming off on T. and then she called again this morning to talk to someone else. Whew. I hope everything calms down there. I hate that kinda stuff.
No wonder I drink.

Another Day

The guy downstairs, Rick, is a decent sort. Hard working - he's a painter. Not portraits, but houses. He's single and is quiet. He's neighbourly, but not nosey. Just the kind I like.

J's downstairs grabbing the laundry and Rick pokes his head into the laundry room and says, "Oh, it's you. Did you see the big Indian guy?"

J says "Who?"

Rick says "This big Indian guy. I'm in my apt. and this guy, big guy, bigger than you, walks in and asks, "Do you have any rolling papers?"

J says "What? You're kidding me. He walked right into your place?"

Rick says "Yeah, I'm serious. I think he was a friend of Paul's. He leaves, but about 10 minutes later he comes back. He walks into my apt. and asks "You got a joint?" Rick tells him "Get the fuck out of here."

J tells him "That's just messed up."

Rick says "Yeah. Just another day in my fucked up life."

That one sentences sums up everything perfectly.

Pillows, Blankets and Stones

OK. Anyone who knows me knows that I like to be organized. I'm a control freak and completely anal about some things. Make that most things. So, with that in mind let me tell you that we're moving next month. It's a nightmare for J. I'm sure. I've been packing for a month. Slowly. Things that don't get used very often went first. I carefully wrapped breakables, made sure I utilized all available space in the boxes, taped and labelled with great gusto. Then would instruct J. on which boxes to take to the shop for safe storage until move day. Once everything has arrived in the new place, it will be easy to know which boxes go where because they've been properly labelled. Great. Makes it easier to find what you're looking for when you're entire life is encased in cardboard. Organization is key!

Now, work has been a cauldron of stress for the past two weeks. I'm eating too much, drinking too much, sleeping too much and bitching too much. I really don't like myself lately. When I finally dragged my fat ass out of bed yesterday, I was in panic mode. We're moving in less than a month!! Holy shit - I've got to get packing. Where the hell did all this crap come from? I'm not a pack rat. I didn't realize we had so much "stuff". As the day wore on, it didn't seem like I was acomplishing much. The one thing I did was waste time. I could feel panic setting in again. I needed to relax. A nice glass of wine would help. So I proceeded to waste more time, which wasn't limited to, but did involve drinking too much Reisling followed by a Cabernet Franc chaser. Trying to motivate myself, I just starting hauling things out of closets and drawers and putting them into boxes. I now have a boxes labelled with things like "Blankets, Pillows, Baking Stones". Where the hell am I going to put this box when we move? In the bedroom? In the kitchen? Now I'm obsessing about organization again!! My mind won't stop. I need to lighten up. The best way to do that is with a thick slice of bread, a chunk of cheese and a glass of wine, then a little power nap and I'll wake up refreshed and ready to pack some more.

I suck.

ZZZZZZZZ

Sitting here at Head Office for a training course. ZZZZZZZ. Back to work after a holiday is always a bummer. On the upside, the instructor is saying we should be out of here by 3 or 3:30.

Simon is not feeling so hot today. Has a bit of d. He was very sad when we left.

Happy Thanksgiving

OK, this is my first attempt at this. I'm not sure how successful I'll be. Hmmm, what to write. I always have a head full of ramblings and crap, but when I sit here, nothing comes to mind. Also, will I have the time to devote to keeping this up?

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to you. No one is really around this weekend, so J. and I are having dinner for two. Simon will of course get a special treat. He particularly likes Venison Stew, so that's on the menu for him.
J's gone to pick up MR from Aunt Peggy's in Leaside. Pat & Anita were in TO for the weekend, so MR stayed at Peggy's to spend time with them. We sort of had Thanksgiving last weekend. We gave MR the newest Looney Spoons cookbook, Eat, Shrink & Be Merry for her birthday and she wanted to make us dinner. She did a 3 cheese lasagna which was really, really good.

You may find lots of food talk here. I really like to eat! HA!