The Dog Lived (and so will I)

Three Years

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today I was told I had a duck. Okay, well actually I was told I had breast cancer. Well, no, I was told both things.

I'll explain.

In the days leading up to the actual diagnosis, one goes through many tests (and sleepless nights). And then one waits a few days (and sleepless nights) for the test results. So I took plenty of opportunities to ask my doctor "so you think this is cancer?" You know, pushing for an early diagnosis because I'm an over-achiever. And Dr. Good Karma kindly and patiently said each and every time, "it walks like a duck and talks like a duck so for now we're going to treat it like a duck." (Keep in mind he has a bit of an accent.)

When he had the test results in hand he called and said "I'm sorry. It is what we thought it was." And I said,
"So it's a duck?" He said, "Close. It's invasive ductal carcinoma."

Get it? Duct-al? Duck? Yeah, we can laugh now. (And I actually did laugh then.) That however was three long years ago. The cancer is long, long gone (hold on for that anniversary...January 28th...which is when my right breast had the "divot extraction" ). And I'm doing....just ducky. (Oh come on, you knew that was coming!)

Happy Anniversary to me!

Manuscript to Editor, Me to Beach

2012-01-09T21:52:00.000-08:00

I did it!

The manuscript for The Dog Lived (and So Will I) was turned in to my editor at Sourcebooks with 11 entire minutes to spare! I sort of thought when I turned in the manuscript angels would sing, champagne corks would pop and marching bands would storm through my living room. That didn't actually happen. Huh. Imagine that.

What did happen is that I collapsed in a pile of anxiety and exhaustion. But, I rallied. I rallied enough to go celebrate at Hotel Del Coronado with two girlfriends and a few glasses o' that champagne. I'll tell you more later. For now, I'd just like to share with you that I stayed an extra day and made sure I got to walk the beach at sunset.

A few other folks had the same idea.

And some surfers too--those black dots on the waves are surfers (and check out that sun! It's melting into the ocean!)

Surfers were still hanging in there.

Have I mentioned how much I love La Jolla?
And, dare I say it? 2012 isn't looking too bad either.

Bring it On

2011-12-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

I made it past the dreaded Christmas holiday. Chris and I celebrated in our usual fashion--we call it "Mas Chris" (Spanish for "more Chris" --you got that right?) and just let it be all about him. Although, he, as is our tradition, was the one in the kitchen whipping up a pan of mouth-wateringly good paella and pouring the Tempranillo. We also have a custom of sipping on some Madera wine from 1904. Yes, 1904. The wine keeps that long (and after the bottle is opened as well...it's like magic wine!). Throw in a fews books, a nice fire going, a snuggly beagle on his cashmere throw on the couch...and yeah, we survived nicely.

And now, on New Year's Eve, I'm very much in my happy place. My happy place looks ~~a lot~~ exactly like this:

This is Wind 'N' Sea beach in La Jolla, California. Truly one of my favorite places on earth. I took these photos (with my cell phone no less) on my walk this morning. I'm here in a friends condo, finishing up the manuscript for "The Dog Lived (and So Will I)" memoir. (4 days to deadline!)

Walking the beach is good for the creative (and all other types of) energy. And today on my walk I encountered at least six puppies (Christmas gifts?) and a whole bunch of adult dogs. Dogs on a beach? Pretty much my favorite thing.

2 Cavalier King Charles spaniel puppies with their moms (dog and human!) on the beach

And in a few short hours my favorite person on earth will be joining me. Not a bad way to end 2011.

As for 2012? Bring it on.

Happy New Year to all!

P.S. The savvy readers among you at this point are thinking, "Wasn't she just in Maui?" And the answer is yes. I have very kind, very generous clients who share their beautiful vacation homes with me from time to time and all seem to want to help me get this memoir finished. I am rich in friends. But, um, I better get back to work on that memoir lest they all think I'm a fraud!

My Anniversary Gift

2011-12-23T14:57:00.001-08:00

If you've met me or been reading this blog in holidays past this will not come as a surprise to you: I hate Christmas.

Actually, it's much deeper than that. I loathe the entire month of December, right up to Christmas (oddly, I'm okay with the 26th through the 31st). I'd give you the whole long, sad saga of why but there's no need to bring you down too. (Let's just say it includes deaths, a coma and cancers--please note the plurals. And please return to your happy holiday celebrations as though you never read that.)

December 23rd is a particularly bad day historically, so I hesitate to write this before the day is completely over. But, I feel I must acknowledge...it was 3 years ago today I got the "highly suspicious of malignancy" phone call from my doctor. That statement was followed by "you need to see a surgeon and have the mass removed; not even a biopsy, just have the surgery." Oh, and that call came at 3:45pm. Merry, merry...uh, quite the contrary.

That was, however, 3 years ago. I'm fine now. Scar is faded, mammograms are clear, hair is grown back and chemo weight gain is finally gone (yeah, it took 3 years; whatever. ). And dare I say it--I've had a very nice quiet day at home. I've been rewriting, and rewriting and rewriting the memoir (due to my editor in a mere 12 days!) while sitting by the fire with Seamus for most of the day. (Chris is busy at his new wine shop.) It's been, actually, unbelievably, a pretty nice day...but it makes me nervous to say that (lightening will strike soon). And while I'm still not up for celebrating Christmas or any other winter holiday, I have gifts for you. Let's just call them anniversary gifts, shall we?

As my gift to you, I'd like to share some blogs that make me happy. Blogs that cheer me. Blogs that are just so freakin' cute. (Although I follow many cancer blogs, none are listed here...I have a certain mood to maintain!). And as you know, the things that make me happy involve my alphabet life (alcohol, books, coffee and dogs). So please enjoy:

From Sophie's View (please don't tell Seamus I said this, but this is one gorgeous dog who has one fantabulous life)

Mutterings (watch this video in particular; it's so good it almost made me like Christmas!)

Going Gently (in my next life, I want to come back as one of his animals/ pets/ housemates. And only now that I had to grab that URL for you did I see that his URL is disasterfilm.blogspot.com, which gives you an idea of the humor)

Luna, A Dog's Life (she's a beagle puppy...and if that's not cute enough, she lives in Australia with her two doting daddies who teach her all sorts of tricks.)

Coffee With a Canine (Coffee. With a Canine. Are you kidding me? How does it get better? --well, I'm holding out for Wine with a Canine....but in the meantime, I'm good with this.)

Sara in Le Petit Village (Sara is married to a French guy, has a great dog named Fifty, lives in a postcard French Village and has a terrific sense of humor; I'd hate her if I didn't enjoy her blog so much. And the fact that I won a book called "Dog Trots Globe" on her blog this week? That's just icing on the cake...or the croissant. Whatever.)

Greetings From Texas (Megan is, as her blog says, a "professional blogger, amateur Texan," she also just happens to be a young ovarian cancer survivor with a great sense of humor...and fashion!; This does not mean I lied about no cancer blogs being listed here...this is not a cancer blog. If it was, I might never have found out about UV Cake Vodka.)

And finally...

I Shoulda Been a Stripper (I guess with that title I don't need to tell you she's funny. But it's worth noting she has two beagles. Which also means she's hip and smart. No, it does. It totally means that.)

And just as a side note, because it's worth sharing should this ever apply to you: American Dog magazine recently posted an article on where to get help paying vet bills if you need it. Now that's something that could really be a gift.

I'm dangerously close to being all perky and holiday happyish here and we do not want to tempt fate. So, let me hasten to add...

Bah, Humbug!!
And to all a goodnight.

A Holiday Tradition

2011-12-15T20:27:00.000-08:00

The Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center here in Riverside has a "Pet Pictures" with Santa fundraiser event every year. We take Seamus every year. And every year he does this:

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2008


Christmas 2010

That's right...every year he hates it! (2009 was my cancer year... I thus call "chemo brain" on the fact that I can't find that photo).

So...aren't you dying to know how 2011 went? Here he is:


Christmas 2011

Hey, at least Santa didn't have to put him in a headlock this time.
But then look what happened...

I guess Seamus didn't want to wait for Christmas morning to get his treats. He hit up Santa when Santa was trying to take a break. Santa obliged and just happened to have some dog treats in his pocket.

And now we all believe.

The Pup-arazzi Following begins

2011-12-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

http://youtu.be/oQJDXSYEqWE

Seamus is getting even more famous. It happens. This interview of me (and Seamus) was done in connection with the "Boobie Bash" fundraiser for The Pink Ribbon Place and Tongka Dog Foundation (raising funds to support canine cancer research).

Let us know what you think of the video! (And please don't point out all the faces I make...I know, I know....)

Aloha!

2011-12-04T18:47:00.001-08:00

I had this crazy idea that I'd have MORE time to blog on vacation. Especially since my vacation was in Maui...you know land of beautiful beaches, sunsets and a "hang loose" attitude.

But, no. First, I was sick the first two days I was there (crazy stomach bug--so much for Thanksgiving dinner) and then I was hyper-productive on The Dog Lived memoir manuscript. The point of the week in paradise really was to write. I'm pleased to report, I finished another draft! Probably only one more to go before I hand my baby over to the editor at Sourcebooks. Super exciting times.

So that's my excuse for being absent from the blogoshpere. Well...that, and these:

Aloha.

So Much Wine...So Little Time

2011-11-20T10:20:00.001-08:00

The last day of Wineapalooza...
I love Paso Robles, so I really didn't want to leave, but alas, we have jobs (no, I promise!) and we missed Seamus, so we packed up and made our leisurely way home. In downtown Paso we had lunch and hit the Paso Wine Centre tasting room. We were a little early (12 is too early for wine?? What??) so only JK Wines and Roxo Port were pouring....but they were worth the trip! We then decided to drive around enjoying the beautiful day and randomly picking a winery to visit. My random pick was Red Soles winery. Much like picking Irish Vineyards a few days back, this one had my name all over it...they've got a shoe theme going!

See? Paso is just gorgeous!!

Our 40th winery visited and 330th wine tasted (in my glass--2010 Stiletto: a Late Harvest Viognier).

And look, we're still standing!! Now, we could have just stopped at 40 wineries and 330 wines tasted, which would have been a nice well-rounded ending. But, no. We're not wimps. But we should have been...
We rolled on into Los Olivos and...well, a tasting room that shall go unmentioned because the crabby, miserable man behind the counter was such a disappointment. We sort of felt trapped into a tasting...and he charged us more than anyone else on the entire trip! Our last stop was better though. It involved wine AND dogs! How much better can it be?

Carinvintas Winery's motto is "Blending Wine with Philanthropy" and their philanthropy of choice is animal rescue organizations. Look at these beautiful labels, each has a rescue dog on it:

They're the winery that has the Vicktory wines (in honor of the dogs rescued from the awful Michael Vick dog-fighting ring) on labels to raise funds for the dogs' care and rehabilitation. So, this was a great way to end our trip.

We bought the "Lassy" blend-- 50% Barbera and 50% Tempranillo....and then we drove home.

Our Stash...A job well done, no?

Final totals: 42 wineries/ tasting rooms visited.
346 Wines tasted
106 bottles purchased.
(It's 3 1/2 months since we ended this trip....I'm not going to report on how many of those bottles are left.)

And now, we will return to our regular programming of all things A,B,C and D (Alcohol, books, coffee and dogs. And sometimes cancer...)

Fun fact for this post: Yesterday I received my first official advance check from the publisher for The Dog Lived memoir!!! I was disproportionately excited about that. And when I can, I'll post a picture of the painting I bought to celebrate the sale of my book and the opening of Chris's wine shop...which will happen on December 1st!!

Wine-ing Up and Puppying Up

2011-11-13T21:22:00.001-08:00

Yeah, so it's taken me nearly four months to finish telling you of the epic wine tour through Oregon and California. I'm going to finish this up just as I leave on my next trip (Shhh....I'm going to Maui!). Perhaps I should have stuck to cancer and dogs (I have more stories there too!!). But the trip was fabulous and I feel obliged to share. So here's the second to the last Wineapalooza post, with, as promised, a little something else at the end....

We have a very boring but quite enjoyable (we like each other's company... a lot) drive from Sanger

alllllllll the way down through central California to Paso Robles. I heart Paso Robles. Really. Truly. Madly. Deeply. And it did not disappoint. Dinner was at Artisan and then we crashed at the Marriott.
The next day we decided to check out the tasting rooms in town and started at Clayhouse (loved their Adobe White blend as well as the Adobe Pink rose'!)

Next up we hit Bear Cave, which I was fond of because it's a) a wine tasting room, b) a law office and c) their dog was there--and boy was he playful!

Next up was Bodegas/ Asuncion Ridge (they share a tasting room) and....our 300th wine tasted!

Lucky 300 was a tasty Bodegas 2007 Vaca Negra (50% Mouvedre/ 50% Tempranillo)...note Chris's serious wine teeth. Good, good stuff.

We ran into the same woman at several of the tasting rooms and it was here we found out she worked for one of the wineries with a brand new tasting room in town. Naturally, we took her suggestions and headed over to Parrish Vineyards tasting room. And we ended up there for the rest of the evening!

Chris with winery owner David Parrish...discussing grapes of course

The beautiful bottles of gorgeous Parrish wines!

(Love their Silken red. Mmmmm..... )In fact, we went to dinner with David and the young woman who enticed us over, Chalan Lind (pronounced, she helpfully told us, like "Shhhhh....Alan.") Great people with some great wines! This turned out to be one of our favorite tasting experiences (see? I love Paso!). And we're pleased to say Chris will be carrying some of those great wines in his Forgotten Grapes store! (Opening soon and yes, you'll be hearing more about that too!).

In real time...sort of, the little something extra of this blog post is what Seamus and I did last weekend:

That's the Puppy Up Canine Cancer Walk in Costa Mesa CA. And they say it never rains in California! It poured! So only a few of us die hards showed up and they had us do a "symbolic" walk (not a mile...more like 100 yards). Seamus probably would not have forgiven me except that the nice lady at Take5forFido massage gave Seamus a massage! Also, we won a raffle prize full of some healthy snacks and relaxing music for stressed out dogs. Yeah, Seamus thinks he's stressed. It's hard not getting steak every time you howl for it.

The short walk meant we had time to visit with my sister, her husband and my two adorable nieces though...so that all worked out!

(I promise you, that's hot chocolate...not the lattes they look like.)
Next up...the final day of Wineapalooza and an update on the progress of The Dog Lived memoir (as my manuscript deadline approaches...)

Pink on Parade...With Dogs

2011-11-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Chris, Seamus and I participated in Pink on Parade--our city's first breast cancer awareness walk benefiting The Pink Ribbon Place (yes, yes, it you're a pink ribbon hater you can stop reading). Our team was called "Legal Beagle and Friends." We were a small team (us, my secretary Michelle and her husky-wolf hybrid Rocco), but we raised $850 and Chris was the M.C. I was also on the committee, so we did our part. Much to our surprise over 800 people showed up!

Over $37,000 was raised--all of which will help support under- and uninsured people needing mammograms and other services as they battle breast cancer. It was a great day.

And tomorrow, Seamus and I will be walking in the "Puppy UP" walk in Costa Mesa--a walk to raise funds for the 2 Million Dogs Foundation fighting canine cancer.

P.S. When we're not walking, I'm writing. Book is coming along (man is it a lot of work!!), thanks for asking!

Bleeding Fingers

2011-10-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Halloween, so I needed a blog title like that. It's also (almost) appropriate.

I need to return to Wineapalooza because we met so many wonderful people and tasted some extraordinary wines and those deserve to be shared, so I'm pushing on with it, even though I'm months behind. In fairness to me, I didn't anticipate signing a book deal in the midst of Wineapalooza. I have been a writing maniac of late (hence, the bleeding fingers --or, um, figures of speech), working on The Dog Lived manuscript and it seems like as soon as I look up from the keyboard, another week has flown by. And there is so much going on! So much more to share! So, here's my new ~~scheme~~ ~~wishful thinking~~ ~~hope and prayer~~ plan. I'm going to give you a little of the remainder of Wineapalooza, and then a little something else. Then wineapalooza, then something else. All of which requires me to actually blog.... Hmmmm.. Well, let's get started.

Wineapalooza left off at the cabin randomly named for Mark Twain. The next day we were in Madera, where we had no winery reservations and thus slept in. Which turned out to be a good thing, because there weren't many wineries (um, none) open on Monday and making wines of the Forgotten Grapes varietals. So we drove on out to Sanger where we visited the Cedar View winery. And what a gorgeous stop that was! I mean, look at this:

Right? How could I not share this with you? Favorite wine at Cedar View was the Alicante Bouschet (see ForgottenGrapes.com if you don't know that that is!). And in the "it's a small world" category, the owner/ winemaker, Jim Van Haun, and I had a friend in common, so I brought back a bottle of his rose' wine for her (Hi Stacey, if you're still reading this even though you know I lived.) Here's Chris with Jim and his wife Debbie in their tasting room--with a copy of Touring & Tasting magazine open to the page that features them. It's like we're tourists. Only with taste.

For the record, at this point in the Wineapalooza Mother of all Wine trips, we have visited 31 wineries and sampled 269 wines. It was time to head to Paso Robles, which, not coincidentally, is where I dream of living some day.

And for the current "little something else" of this blog post, on this, the last day of "Breast Cancer Awareness Month" I want to share a little news with you. I'm coming up on my 3 year "no-cancer-versary." Well, that will actually be January 28th (the 3 year anniversary of my surgery and thus the last time there was any visible signs of cancer in my body), but that seems right around the corner doesn't it? I mention that only for context....see, last week I packaged up my wigs and scarves and even the styrofoam head to hold the wigs and donated them to The Pink Ribbon Place. And, I'll admit, it was a strange feeling. Uncomfortable. What if the cancer returns? What if I need these again? And, I can also tell you that I kept the wigs, t-shirts, scarves, etc. all together in a laundry basket in a corner of my closet. I had not looked at those items in a long, long time. So I had a rush of emotions pulling everything back out. It was difficult looking at them again. In the end, that's what made me decide to go ahead and donate the items. That was a different time in my life and it's over. These wigs and scarves can help somebody else now.
Goodbye red...somebody else needs you now.

Blog Obssession

2011-10-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...perhaps we should just agree that I'm going to post a Wineapalooza blog post, then something else, then Wineapalooza, then something else...because Wineapalooza and all the fascinating and delicious wineries we visited deserves continued blog posting. But also, there's so much else going on now and I can't seem to catch up! Wineapalooza only has 3 more days, but as you've probably learned by now...many of the wineries we visited deserve and require their own posts. What's a wine lover to do?

And did I mention...I have a book deal now? And a deadline for turning in a manuscript? Right! So I'm busy with that writing. I'm really enjoying it. Polishing some chapters, throwing out others, re-writing, writing entirely new scenes...it's all good. But time consuming. Because, right, I have a "real" job. And Seamus. I have Seamus and therefore must meet Seamus's demands for attention, cuddles, food and walks (and not at all in that order). And ever since the book deal, Seamus's demands have increased. It's like he knows.

For this post though, I'd like to share a blog and website that I've recently discovered. I'd like to share the Dog Cancer Blog with you. Not to depress you, but because it's filled with valuable and promising information. Dr. Dressler has a book out now too, called The Dog Cancer Survival Guide. Man, oh man, do I wish this book existed when Seamus was diagnosed and going through treatment. When Seamus was first diagnosed with cancer, I really couldn't find a lot of information and that only added to the stress. And Seamus's original oncologist was not a particularly communicative (or, um, nice) person. Eventually, Seamus's doctor was switched (at my request) and we were assigned to a wonderful young woman by the name of Dr. Autumn Dutelle. She was fabulous and answered all my questions patiently and genuinely and in a way I could understand. Dr. Dressler (the author) seems that way too. And I bought his book even though Seamus's cancer is far behind him. I find the book fascinating and the blog is too. So I'm sharing. Because, sadly, 1 in 3 dogs gets cancer. That means one day, one of you might need this book and this Doctor's advice for your beloved pet--so your doggie can kick cancer's ass just like Seamus did.

Wineapalooza Returns...with Mark Twain

2011-10-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Where did we leave off??? The world's longest wine tasting tour has now turned into the world's longest blogging journey. But, I believe when we were lasting tasting (virtual) wines together, Chris and I had just left Irish Vineyards and were headed into Calaveras for dinner. You've heard of Calaveras County right? Made famous by Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" short story? We were there for wines, not frogs, but still...I'm a fan of Mark Twain. Which explains (barely) why when I saw a small road sign that said "Mark Twain Cabin" I asked Chris to turn off the road and head to the cabin. Chris and I both love those road trips where you just see strange/interesting/ weird things and drive to them, so he turned off the highway and away we went. We winded up this road with no traffic whatsoever and seemingly heading nowhere or at best into someone's ranch or private home. Our first sign of civilization was actually this peacock:

Because we sort of figured it wasn't a "wild" peacock. And sure enough we came upon Mark Twain Cabin...and it had some visitors besides us:

But still, no people.
We parked and approached the cabin...wow, Mark Twain was here...:

and so was I!! Okay, kind of a book geek that I was excited about that, but I was. Until I read the plaque, which said this:

WTH??? Ah, the importance of an apostrophe. It was not "Mark Twain's Cabin" it was "Mark Twain Cabin"...as in a cabin merely named after Mark Twain!! I could do this at home. I can name a tree "Mark Twain Tree" or my hot tub "Mark Twain Jacuzzi" or hell, I'm going with "William Shakespeare Garage." If I just get a plaque and a road sign, I will lure people in. But why? WHY???

We did get a big laugh out of this, and yeah, we blamed all the wine we had for our being so gullible. Then we searched for the hidden cameras (oh, those Rotarian jokesters!). But, on the other hand, it was a beautiful drive and we had a beautiful sunset on our way back down the winding road.

Our trusty wine-mobile.

Don't you just love road trips??

Best Advice for BC patients...Including Burping

2011-10-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

Spry (inspiring healthy lives) posted an article on "The Best Breast Cancer Advice" from breast cancer survivors. I'm quoted. You'll recognize my usual classiness since I mention burping. No, really. It's a good thing. Check it out.

Laughing at the Big C

2011-10-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

(I will finish wineapalooza, I swear...but I had to share this).

Because I was criticized for not taking cancer seriously (um, seriously???), because I hate all the pink-bashing negativity, because people feel the need to remind me that my breast cancer might recur and kill me (gee, thanks, because, you know, I never think of that on my own) and because the thought of judging someone for how they handle cancer or how they deal with it after is ludicrously funny to me..

I love this article: Laughing at the Big C.

And my favorite quote is this:
“I hope people take away the idea that there’s no right or wrong way to respond to the disease. We all screw up.”

Yep.

Also, on a more serious note, I found this article on the advances in breast cancer treatment to be very informative, so I'm sharing it too:

Breast Cancer Treatments: No Longer One Size Fits All.

And this was the most reasonable discussion of the "Pinktober" Breast Cancer Awareness Month controversy that I've seen (and, yeah, there's controversy....surprises me too): The Huffington Post

I can't be all wine all the time. It is October after all.

(Oh, and if you feel like supporting a breast cancer cause in October...by all means, feel free to click the link in the upper right hand corner and support my Team Legal Beagle in the Pink on Parade breast cancer walk supporting The Pink Ribbon Place breast cancer resource center. We don't do research. We help women get the mammograms and support they need. I think that's worthwhile.)

Dog Blog Hop

2011-10-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

I never quite know how these blog hops work, but I do know that I really want to go read allllllll of these doggie blogs. (Which would also give me a brilliant excuse not to be writing the memoir, you know, the one I'm on a deadline for...not a good excuse, just a brilliant excuse.) Must...keep....writing....but these dogs are so cute....keep...writing...now!...Look, cute doggies!!... No! Must. Write. Now.

Best News Ever

2011-10-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

We interrupt this Wineapalooza trip to bring you some very exciting (well, to me anyway) news...news that is far more relevant to this blog. News that I've been bubbling over with excitement about for some time now but have had to (very, very impatiently) wait to mention. News that had been a long time in the works and....oh the heck with it:

THE DOG LIVED (AND SO WILL I) memoir will be published in October, 2012 by Sourcebooks!!!

You careful readers will remember that I signed on with the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency last November. And Sarah Jane has been ever so patiently working with me to perfect the proposal and several sample chapters. She then diligently set about selling it to a publisher and I am ever so pleased that we have found the perfect home for The Dog Lived (and So will I) memoir (and so far, that's still the title of the book too!) with Shana Drehs at Sourcebooks. I've still got work to do, but I'm super, super excited. October 2012 sounds like a long way off, but there's much to be done to launch a book and now it even seems a little overwhelming, but all so very exciting. I sold my memoir! Somebody wants to publish my book! And Shana, who will be my editor, is a dog lover too so that works out very well.

Seamus has already started making his demands for additional steak, chicken, and also toast. We know who the book's real star is.

(I expect I'll have much more to say about this, assuming I have time to blog...what with all the memoir writing I have to do!! But for now...I just wanted to share the news.)

Kiss Me, I'm at Irish Vineyards

2011-10-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of Day 9 of Wineapalooza

Once again we were running short on time. It's not as easy to taste thirty wines a day as you might think. We did not have time to get to the winery we had originally picked out to visit next. We knew we'd maybe get one more winery in on this day if we picked one quick (I still don't get why tasting rooms close at 5...isn't that when drinking is supposed to start??). Chris let me pick and I picked a very obvious choice...Irish Family Vineyards.

I'm Irish. Chris is part Irish (and part German; so as he likes to say, he wants to take over the world, he's just too drunk to do it). It's like it was meant to be that Irish Vineyards tasting room was just right there. When we walked in we were greeted immediately by a very enthusiastic and smiling man named James, who instantly handed us glasses and began to pour the wine. I like that in a man. Turned out James was the owner/winemakers dad. We got to chatting. And to drinkin.' And then to shopping (more on that in a bit...because I bought more than wine.) We've now had several wine tasting experiences, on this trip alone, where we enjoyed the wine and the folks making it in equal measure. Irish was one of those places. James' introduced us to his wife and his son Russell (the winemaker)

The Irish Family

and of course we got to talking all things wine and Irish. This was a great way to end the wine tasting on Day 9. Russell loves Touriga wine, so obviously he has good taste. Other favorites included the 2010 Malvasia Bianca and the 2008 Alicante Bouchet. And the "Pog Mo Thoin" wine which is a blend of 7 grapes and means "Kiss My Ass" in Irish. Which brings me back to the shopping...

I bought shirts for my brother and my niece, because they're both Irish too and they were coming for a visit for their birthdays, shortly after we returned from Wineapalooza. I didn't know until I gave them the shirts and they unfolded them that the back of the shirts said "Pog Mo Thoin." So, yeah, I gave my 15-year old niece a shirt that says "Kiss My Ass." Yeah, I'm that aunt.

We had a nice meal in Murphy's at an Italian steakhouse and then set out for Madera...and that drive resulted in another of the "god I love road trips" experiences. Which, of course, gets its own blog post....

Is it the wine that makes wine guys so handsome? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Back soon!

Twisted...Very Twisted

2011-09-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Day 9 of Wineapalooza... Sunday, July 31st

You think we'd be slowing down by now, but we weren't. Well, I was, but Chris wasn't so "we" weren't slowing down. (See how that worked?). Luckily though we had another fun day ahead. And guess what? There was more wine!

Our first stop was at a fantastic winery called Twisted Oak in Murphy's (yes, that's the wine region/ town). I loved even the drive up to the winery, it's a twisty, dirt road with fun little signs posted along the way that say ridiculously funny things...none of which I was awake/smart enough to write down.

Then there is the tasting room...filled with crazy rubber chickens and other sundry gift and crazy items. (I did buy a hoodie t-shirt that asks "Are you Twisted?")

The tasting room staff was however, not just fun but knowledgeable. Which was important because we started our day with a whopping 11 wines tasted there! The favorite (I know this because it has 3 stars by it in Chris's wine notebook) was the Calaveras River of Skulls Mourvedre (their website lists the recommended food pairing as "dead people"...they are kidding; they're like that.) This was some good stuff. Also among our favorites, the 2009 Ruben's Blend (Roussanne/ Marsanne/ Grenache blend) and the 2009 Carignane. The tasting room is definitely worth the visit and luckily, the wines live up to that!

Alas, we had to be on our way...after all, by this point we'd only tasted 227 wines!

Next stop...Chathom Vineyards.

We picked this one because they produce a wine with a "She Wine" label that donates to women's health causes (including breast cancer) but also because they had some interesting wines. And...they had a very good Touriga! Remember, that's my new favorite? What? You don't remember that? Have you been drinking while reading these blog posts??? 2007 Chatom Touriga...remember it. And drink it! We also found these most delectable "wine crackers" there...we're researching where to get more. They were super, super tasty.

We managed to squeeze in one more winery in Murphy's...Irish Family Vineyard. But Russell Irish and his family...well, they deserve their own posting. And they will have it! Later this week. Or tomorrow. You just never know with me.

Like HIgh School...with More Wine

2011-09-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

Day 8 continued....

To no one's surprise, we did not make up for any of our lost time at Cline (seriously, look how long it's taken me to blog about it...you can then imagine how long it takes me to actually do these things). We were running even further behind and then managed to get lost on our way to pick up another of my high school friends, Terri Hamilton, in Sacramento. Do you think it was the wine? Nah. That's just crazy talk.

We made it to Terri's, raced in, disturbed her dog Cuervo (you don't even need to ask, do you?), used her "facilities" and headed to the next winery....Bray Winery in Amador Creek. Remember, our point was to hit some of the lesser know wine regions. And that's Amador Creek.

We encountered another she-pack (minus the tiaras), but we understood why. They have a wine called "Brayzen Hussie." Cute, no? Also good.

Robin Bray himself was our guide through 13 of their wines! 13! Which brought our total wines tasted to....199. You know what's next, right? But first, let me tell you our Brayzen favorites. ... the 2008 Barbera was tasty ("spicier noes, creamy berries--dark strawberry to raspberry, bright with some heat" per Chris's unedited notes). the 2007 Vinho Tinto was a fun "violet-y" wine with some blueberriness (blame me for this description...not Chris), and of course the 2010 Brayzen Hussie Blonde was full of lime and grapefruit, with a hint of grass (which, I'm sure you know by now, makes perfect sense since it's a Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier blend). Also, the 2006 Barbera Port was delicious...particularly served with the dark chocolate brownies (with a little port mixed in). Tastiness abounds.

Then we were off. We had no appointments after Bray on this day and were just going to explore. We wound up choosing Shenandoah Vineyards as the scene for our 200th wine tasted. And here we are, 200 wines in...

I know. We're looking like we tasted all 200 wines that morning. It's possible we're tired at this point.

And here we are with Terri:

See how much fresher she looks than we do? Right, she's 187 wines behind us.
Oh, and what was our 200th wine? It was Shenandoah Vineyards 2010 Sauvignon Blanc. I liked the 2010 Chenin Blanc/ Viognier blend better, but that's not the order they poured.

After Shenondoah we hit Jeff Runquist's tasting room. Chris has been a fan of his wines and has met him at wine events, so we stopped by unannounced. Um, yeah, busy tasting room! Lots o' people love Jeff Runquist wines and there's a reason for that. It's not just because of the buxom blondes hanging out there.

It was also for the wines. Some very, very good wines. (See all those ribbons? Ribbons= good wines. Or horse shows.)

In this case though, it was definitely the wine. We tasted 8. And the hands down favorite was the 2009 Touriga Naccanal (Alta Mesa-Lodi). Chris's notes say, among other things, "highly drinkable." Not just drinkable, people. Highly drinkable. At this point, I need to call it---my favorite newly discovered grape from this trip is Touriga. Any time we found a winemaker who made a Touriga wine, we tasted it and they were fabulous! The 2009 Carignane was also delicious, rose on the nose with a tart cherry mouth and a really long finish. We finished out our day with tapas and Sangria.

Important totals on this trip...4 friends visited, 26 wineries visited, 216 wines tasted, 580 miles traveled (on the way down from Portland...why count the flying?). 4 days left.

In-Cline-d To Stay Awhile

2011-09-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

Day 8 of Wineapalooza: Saturday July 30, 2011

[Note in "real" time...I've failed miserably at blogging every day about this trip. I've failed miserably at blogging every other day about this trip. In fact, I'm close to being two months behind in telling about this fabulous trip. And actually, there's been a lot going on in "real life" currently, (mostly having to do with the memoir!) but I can't tell anything publicly just yet, so it's probably a good thing that I've got a few days of the trip left to blog about. Don't get me wrong, it was a fabulous trip--I hope you can tell that--I'm just bursting at my proverbial seams to tell you some other stuff!!]

Meanwhile, back at the wine tasting wineapalooza... we woke up on day 8 with a busy schedule ahead of us. Not surprisingly, I got us off to a late start. By the time we arrived at our first stop, Cline Cellars, the crowds had descended. Bus loads of 'em. To be honest, we almost didn't go in. Not that we're wine snobs....we're more wine tasting snobs. I don't like to taste wine while climbing over giggling she-packs in tiaras shouting things like "I only drink red!" or "I want champagne!" (particularly since, if one is not at a winery in France, in, say, the Champagne region, the proprietor is not going to be pouring you champagne. Sparkling wine, yes. Champagne...no. So don't be thinking you're all fancy shouting things like that, blondie at the bar. Also....wear underwear.) So yes, we were hesitant. There were literally (used properly!) buses of people there...most of whom did not look old enough to drink. But we had an appointment, so we went in.

And Dog bless them, they were ready for us. Our guide quickly whisked us away from the bussies and off on a private tour of the gorgeous grounds of Cline Vineyards. Turns out there is a California Missions museum there and if you grew up in California and were Catholic or went to a public school before Prop 13 destroyed school budgets for things like this, you likely toured several of the missions and definitely you made a model of one of the missions (Chris recalls that he made a model of San Miguel; I can recall what mine looked like, but not which mission it was...I'm older; I blame that. Chris was only making his paper mache' mission a few years ago!), so you understand how nostalgic this would make us. The mission museum may have accounted for one of the buses of underage folks.

This is the Santa Barbara mission; not my model or Chris's, but I did go to U.C. Santa Barbara, so that's the one that got the photo taken.

The grounds (where weddings take place on a regular basis for obvious reasons) may have accounted for another bus or two (the water lilies up top are also from the Cline grounds).

Nonetheless, we were very pleased to see they had set us up for a private tasting at a table out on the porch, removed from the bussies at the bar.

The wines were very enjoyable. We bought their 2010 Marsanne Roussanne blend and the 2010 Cashmere (a Mouvedre,Grenache & Syrah blend). The Cashmere I'm particularly happy with because it's a great wine, but also, they donate a percentage of the profits to a local breast cancer charity. Gotta love that!

So, the moral of the story is...don't judge by the buses out front. Cline is worth the stop. Just look how happy Chris was to be there and see how well he makes friends?

Next up... we head to Sacramento and the Amador County wineries (Sierra Foothills).

Going to The Dogs

2011-09-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

Day 7 (Part 2) of Wineapalooza.

You may have noticed I have a thing about dogs. And also about wine. So imagine how giddy I was to be going to Mutt Lynch winery! Because they have a thing about dogs and wine too. They're dog friendly (oh how I wished Seamus could have been on this trip!), they have dogs in the tasting room, dogs on the labels, and dogs on the brain. They also contribute to many dog organizations (pet rescue, adoption, etc.) and donate their wines for non-profit fundraisers for animal organizations. Basically, they're a wonderful bunch. And I'm pleased to tell you the wine is pretty darn good too!

Our tasting room guide was Ann Joly who is also a breast cancer survivor... and dog lover... and wine lover! Clearly we're BFFs. And yet, we took her photo with Chris...

And then she was nice enough to take our photo (Chris and I, like most vacationing couples, rarely are in the same photo):

(And come on...we look pretty god for having, at this point, tasted 168 wines in 7 days don't we? Don't we? Yeah, hold that thought...).

So what did we like at Mutt Lynch? Trying to be a little more particular than "Everything!", I'd have to say it was the 2009 Fou Fou Le Blanc (Sauvignon Blanc), the 2007 Portrait of a Mutt (Zinfandel and Carignane blend), and I'm gonna also say the 2009 Unleashed Chardonnay. Oooh, and the 2007 Chateau D'og Cabernet. Bottles found there way into our trusty wine-mobile.

Yep, Day 7 was a great day. And it kept on getting better when we stopped in at Hawkes Winery and it's gorgeous tasting room.

We met briefly (it was getting late) with the winemaker Jake Hawkes (isn't that a cool name, btw?) and he handed Chris a "six pack" of wines to take to try later. These were his hand-selected, specialty wines made from the Forgotten Grapes that Chris specializes in. We haven't tried all of them yet (did I mention we came home with 106 bottles? Right...we haven't drank them all yet!), but I'm pretty certain they're fabulous.

Dinner at Zazu with a good friend of mine from law school wrapped up our perfect day!

(7 days down, 5 more to go. 173 wines tasted...153 more to go...)

Still Wine-ing!

2011-09-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize it's taking me longer to blog about the epic mother of all wineapalooza trips than it actually took Chris and I to do the trip. All I can say is....there's been a lot going on. Including many interesting book related things that must all remain top secret and mysterious for the moment. I might start to skip around a bit and just hit some of the many highlights of the trip. And one major highlight was day 7 starting with our visit Frick Winery.

This was hands down one of our favorite wineries of the trip. There were several reasons for that: 1) Bill Frick is a passionate, brilliant winemaker; 2) his beloved dogs (although now passed on) are featured prominently in the artwork in the winery; 3) Frick wines are freakin' fabulous. We love alllllll of them. If you ever see a Frick Vineyard wine on a wine list or in a shop, do yourself a favor and pick it up. He has several Forgotten Grapes varietals including Granache Blanc, and his Cinsault/Carignane blend (C2) is fabulous, as is the 2006 Carignane. Chris particularly loved the 2007 Dry Creek Valley Cinsault. Tasty, tasty stuff. And if you ever find yourself in Healdsburg for a weekend, stop by Frick. You won't be sorry! And yes, that's Bill behind the tasting bar.

We were on a roll on Day 7 because our next stop was Papapietro Perry Winery in Healdsburg. They're known for their Pinot Noir and actually helped me seduce Chris many years ago (not that he was playing hard to get). I knew Pinot Noir was one of his favorite wines and I picked up a bottle of Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir to serve the first time Chris came to my house. I don't think he's ever left. ;-) This time my favorite was the Russian River Valley Peter's Vineyard Pinot Noir (we tasted the 2008, but I suspect they've got a few good vintages of this!).

Hmmm...even this "I'll just hit the highlights" approach isn't working too well. This trip was full of highlights! I didn't even get to tell you about the malfunctioning smoke alarm in the hallway of the hotel we were in, or the fact that I slept in and let Chris head off to one winery by himself on the morning of Day 7 (I blame the malfunctioning smoke alarm, by the way). But, I definitely can't leave out our visit to Mutt Lynch. So once again....this day gets divided into 2 posts. No promises on when the next one will be (did I mention there's a lot going on currently?? Oh. So. Much.) Should be this week though.

Cheers!

Big Ass Blondes..with Butterflies

2011-09-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Day 6, Part 2: July 28, 2011

Anytime I use "Butterflies" in a posting, I get all sorts of hits. And I find that odd. Who needs to research butterflies so voraciously? (Oh, and that's my shameless confession that this post has nothing to do with butterflies--but there is a big ass blonde. It's back to the wine! Now there's a word that should be Googled constantly...)

Alrighty then, before I was so handsomely distracted by Vernon Wells and the Angels, I was reminiscing about Day 6 of wineapalooza. We had just left Steele Vineyards...

and headed to Hopland. Not one of your better known wine regions, but it sure was pretty. And we once again were able to meet with some very nice people and sample some very nice wines. (And yes, after the 15 Steel wines we were still able to stand upright. Mostly.)

At Graziano Winery we tasted another 12 wines. (Counting? That makes 34 on this day alone...124 total...). Favorites were:

2010 St. Gregory Pinot Blanc and the 2007 Monte Volpe Barbera

It's like we drank every one of these...


See? he's still standing upright!

Then we moved on to McNab Rigdge and their large and pretty tasting room in town. They have dog labels on their wine....so, you know I'm gonna love it. Fav was Tine's White--a Gewurztraminer.

Our last stop was at Milano Family Winery where owner Deanna Starr (not to be confused with Judy Starr of Starr Vineyards...no relation; just two women winemakers and great wine from both of them!). They went one better than dogs on their labels...they had 'em in the tasting room. (That's her dogs in the top photo, looking fierce.) We enjoyed the Carignane, the Petit Verdot and, since it was our last stop and evening time...a tawny port. But, um, they did have a wine that I took a special liking to, for no apparent reason, none at all....


We served this at a party recently and it was very popular!

In the interest of fairness, I should tell you there is also a "Big Ass Red." Clever marketing, but the wine is good too.

After all that...we headed down to Healdsburg for the night. Rumor has it there's some wine around that region.

(Total wines tasted at this point: 136)

My Angels

2011-09-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

A brief interruption of wineapalooza (I may have adult onset ADD). But I simply must share my new discoveries.

Last night we went to the Angels game and were lucky enough to have tickets for one of the Dugout Suites (courtesy of Bank of America). And here's the highlights of my fan-tabulous-evening.

First, when one has super special dugout suites tickets, one takes a super-secret, special, security-covered elevator down to the dugout level. Once there, one can go to their dugout suite or roam about to see things like this:

That's Vernon Wells at batting practice (yes, I'm taking the photo through glass--we can see them, they can't see us). Let's just say I'm a fan. A big fan. (Thinking I now know what name will be on my next Angels jersey; but Chris says I better hurry....wonder what that means??)

Our seats were here:

Chris, enjoying the game

Would it surprise you to know the suites have catering and a mini-bar stocked with wine, beer and sodas?

Or, for a different view, you can look here. See the camera guy back at home base? Look to his right (your left) see the dugout level where there are two bottles of water seemingly sitting on the ground? That's our water. We're not there of course, because I'm out on the field taking this very picture. More on that in a bit....

During the game, every player we watched at batting practice (Wells, Trumbo and Bourjos) hit a home run. Am I a lucky charm or what?? Trumbo actually hit a grand slam--his first in major league. I'm pretty sure my thank you card is in the mail.

Vernon Wells. Did I mention I'm a fan?

I did manage a photo of someone other than Mr. Wells


the grand slam in action

There is also a dessert cart. I'm not that big on desserts, but man oh man, look at that thing!

So I picked out a red velvet cupcake...and a shot of Bailey's served in a dark chocolate cup. Not a bad way to enjoy a game.

Angels won 10 to 6 (against the Minnesota Twins). But our evening wasn't over. Turned out it was also the last night of the Angels Summer Concert series. And with our dugout suite tickets we also got wristbands to head on out on the field to watch the final concert....which turned out to be Ne-Yo.

All I knew about Ne-Yo I had learned a few nights ago when I saw him perform on the MTV music awards with a guy named Pit Bull. But I liked the song. And we'd had wine. And a great evening. So what the heck, we went down onto the field.

Let me just say right now, I became a fan. Loved every song AND he was an awesome, charming, entertaining performer. I was pleasantly surprised (generally, I don't do crowds or concerts and I'm not that into music...what with being tone deaf and having, usually, no taste whatsoever). Me love some Ne-Yo...almost as much as Me love some Vernon Wells.

His dancers are known as the "Mrs. Smiths" which we found darn funny

Did he steal that from Taylor Swift? And is there a naked guy standing in the seats in the back???

I had a great evening.
But, still...I think we all know who my favorite Angels are....

The morning after.

Lucky Lady

2011-09-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

Day 6: Wherein we reach California!

Yeah, we stayed at the Rancheria Resort Casino. And you can too.

Consider it my public service to you.

Here's the thing though... we had breakfast in the casino. Because, well, it's where we stayed. Is anybody not familiar with these Indian (non-Vegas) type casinos? You know, the kind where people reincarnate from 70's truck stops and discos just long enough to play the slots (the women) and $5 black jack (the men) while smoking and drinking cheap alcohol in plastic cups at ten in the morning, with their hair piled high (the women) or hanging low (the men) or hidden under trucker hats with awful sayings on them (the men and the women) once there's an audience (of, say, two people on a wine tasting tour) and then evaporate back into time never to be seen again because they can't possibly still exist in 2011? Those casinos? Yes, that's where we had breakfast. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't any Keno to be played while I nursed my coffee but I was able to adjust (oooh, look! shiny object!) when I saw corned beef hash and eggs on the menu. Also, I did have to put a quarter into a lobster-themed slot machine. I won. I mean, just by being able to play a crustacean casino game, I won.

There was more wine to taste though, so we couldn't linger. We took our money and ran. We ran all the way to Lake County, California and Gregory Graham wines. Gregory was getting ready for a big wine festival weekend but kindly agree to meet with us and pour some of his wines. So while his team cleaned and spiffed and shined and generally prepared the barrel room and tasting room for the onslaught of semi-inebriated tourists soon to arrive, Greg dealt with two not-yet-inebriated, not spiffed, not shined tourists like, um, well, us. So glad he did! We tried 7 of his wines and pretty much loved every one. Favorites were the 2009 Red Hills AVA Rose' ((60% Grenache and 40% Syrah) and the 2008 Cinder Cone blend (Syrah, Cab, Grenache, Malbec).

Our next stop was Steele Winery & Vineyard...where we tasted fifteen wines. Yes, 15. 1 and 5. 15 wines. For those of you keeping score...we are now at 112 wines tasted and we're half way through day 6. You see why this is epic wineapalooza mother of all wine tasting trips? But back to those 15 wines.

Chris with Steve Tylicki...and those 15 wines!

Steele Winery Tasting room

We loved Steele. Steven Tylicki, general manager, grape grower, olive oil producer extraordinaire and jovial wine guy was our tasting guide, joined by Quincy Steele, the owner/ winemakers (not tough on the eyes) son who also has a label of his own (Writer's Block wines...love the name, love the wines; I bought a baseball cap, a fridge magnet, and several bottles of wine, including a few as gifts.). They too were getting ready for the big wine weekend (the one we were racing ahead of....we like our tastings a little more private; how else would we get to taste 15 wines??) but they gave us their full attention. And what did we love at Steele? Well....Steve and Quincy of course (and Steve's Olio Demendo Olive Oil is very, very good!) but also:

2008 Writer's Block Tempranillo
2008 Writer's Block Malbec
2009 Shooting Star Blue Franc (Blaufrankisch wine)
OKay, Okay, I also loved the Writer's Block Viognier.

We did finally tear ourselves away (Steve had to help us load up the car; and I know you'll ask so I'll just admit my failure...I did not get a photo of Quincy Steele. My bad.)

I think we all realize now, don't we, that it's going to take me longer to blog about this trip than the trip itself took. So you won't be surprised to know....this day is also being split into 2 blogs. Because there were 2 more wineries and then our drive to Geyserville Inn. Busy, busy day. But for now...go pour yourself a glass. We'll see you back later.

Such a Loser

2011-09-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

So, no. It turns out I can't blog every day. Or every other day. I'd like to tell you I had a really good reason, like a fire in my backyard, but...oh, wait...I did have that.

A fire started in the field/ hillside behind my home and quickly swept across all the dry brush to endanger our homes (I live in a gated community of townhomes). You can read about it (yeah, my house is one of those in the photo) here. and also, here. Sadly, one of my neighbors homes, 4 doors down, was burned pretty significantly. Chris fled with Seamus and our computers. I was at work and stayed there until things were brought under control. Then I came home and snaked my car through all the fire trucks and police vehicles to reach my home, my man and my beagle. Fire is out and we're all safely piled on our bed with the smell of smoke circulating about. You'll forgive me if I don't blog about wine tonight right? 'Cuz, ya know....I need to just drink some.

Update: No, seriously, this was outside my home!

Extra Cheese, please

2011-08-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Day 5: July 27, 2011 Rogue Valley, OR

Remember how I mentioned Chris was smart enough not to make me wake up early and run about two days in a row? Right, so day 5 was another sleep in leisurely day. Plus, we were in Rogue Valley and it turned out there weren't really a lot of wineries in Rogue Valley that had wines from the Forgotten Grapes. BUT...there was a Rogue Valley cheese shop!! With all the wine we'd been tasting and still would be tasting, clearly we needed cheese. We bought some blue, some goat, some tasty local stuff and some really wonderful rosemary crackers and headed off to see what wineries we could see.

Our only stop turned out to be at Longsword Vineyard and Fly High Vineyard (they share a tasting room) where we had a pleasant tasting of their wines and our cheeses out on the patio.

And then we hit the road--a 4 1/2 hour drive down to Lake County, California. And that drive turned out to be spectacular fun for us.

We were a little too focused on the wine in planning our trip and thus, manged to be very surprised by this:

That's Mt. Shasta, and I'm guessing it's been there awhile. Still managed to be news to us. But it wasn't nearly as surprising as this:

We thought it would be more crowded. Sort of a popular destination, if you know what I mean.

We also were unable to resist pulling off the highway to see the "world famous sun dial bridge" at Turtle Bay in Redding, California. You can see why it's world famous, right?

These were the only turtles we saw at Turtle Bay though:

I was a little disappointed that the museum was already closed. But...we had an exciting night ahead. Oh yes sirree. Because this is where we stayed:

Rancheria Resort Casino. Emphasis on Resort....no.... emphasis on "Casino"...well, no, emphasis on "Rancheria." But yeah, we stayed here. God I love road trips like this.

Dogs and Donuts

2011-08-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

[Note from "real time"--as opposed to going back to tell you about our wineapalooza trip which took place a month ago--this blogging every day thing is a lot of work! How did I do it when I was working and going through chemo?? I'm thinking it will now be every other day. Besides, we had 18 friends over last night to try out some of these wines--18 bottles to be exact. I've got a lot of cleaning up to do today!]

Day 4, Part 2, July 26, 2011 in the evening....

After Steve Reustle made a call over to John Olson at Tesoaria, we hustled over to meet John. So, so glad we did. TeSoAria is in Roseberg, OR and is a small but beautiful winery. Here's what their website says about them: "Our name, TeSóAria, encompasses the true spirit of what our vineyard and winery are all about, and defines the artisanal estate wines produced: Terra (soil), Sol (sun), Aria (air and music). These three words perfectly describe the terroir where the estate grown varietals and wines are produced." That's a good description. John's passion is readily apparent. He was hard at work in the barrel room when we arrived but happily set up a tasting for us. His dog Bella (the ball -obssessed) was by his side, which made me happy as I was definitely missing Seamus by then. Once Chris explained Forgotten Grapes and his quest for the lesser known grape varietals, John lit up and out came the wines. 14 total. It may have been more. I couldn't keep up. But here's some highlights of what he poured, and I'd encourage you to check out his website to read more about these really interesting and tasty wines. He's doing some great stuff.

2009 Dolcetto
2009 Bull's Blood (a blend of Pinot Noir, Baco Noir, Marachal Foch, Tempranillo and Hugarian Kadarka...nope, I'm not making that up)
2009 Tempranillo
2010 Bulls Blood
2010 Sangiovese
2010 Kadarka
2010 Barbera
2010 Primotivo

It went on and on! So much so that I had to bust out the appetizers...2 day old Voodoo Donuts! But let me tell you, the maple bacon bar was perfectly paired with the 2009 Baco Noir!

And notice all the 2010 vintages? That's because John started climbing up the barrels to have us taste barrel samples (this is the point at which I lost count of the wines. Crazy good stuff).

And I'll have to admit defeat here too. I had to stop tasting. Chris kept on, but I turned my attention to Bella and her ball. Bella has her own game of catch and I'm not sure I ever learned all the rules, but I'm pretty sure you can't be looking at her when she puts the ball down, and the ball must always be in her sight (or in her mouth), and she'll let you know when it's okay to throw the ball by putting it down in front of you and staring at it intently. But it takes her awhile to determine whether or not you are a worthy player. Funny, funny dog. But so cute.

Day 4 of Wineapalooza the Mother of all Epic Wine Tours was a doozy. So many good wines and interesting people. He had to push on though. We drove to the Rogue Valley that night, stopping on the way for dinner. We both had a craving for Mexican food. And margaritas.

Wine Guys

2011-08-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

Wineapalooza Day 4: July 26, 2011

The easiest way to tell we were tourists in Oregon would have been to count the number of times I said "Look at all these trees!" It's really a beautiful state. And the drive from Florence to the Umpqua Valley (conveniently located on the Umpqua River) is gorgeous and serene. To wit:

And yes, I made Chris stop so I could get out and take a picture. He's an excellent traveler like that--doing all the driving and perfectly agreeable to stop whenever and wherever.

Of course we stopped for wine too. First was Brandborg Winery in Elkton. We had a great time tasting wines with Terry Brandborg himself. In fact, it was such a nice time we ending up tasting 12 wines. 12! Our favorites were the 2010 Fleur de Lys White Pinot Noir, the 2008 Reisling and 2007 Love Puppets Pinot Noir. (I also happen to love the name of the Pinot Noir--it's got a romantic story behind it having to do with a painting and Terry and his wife Sue's courtship; very sweet--the story, not the wine.)


Chris with Terry Brandborg

We couldn't resist heading over to the winery across the way from Brandborg. River's Edge winery sits....well, on the edge of the Umpqua River.

Eight wines were tasted with the 2007 Barrel Select Umpqua Pinot Noir as our favorite. It is hard to beat an Oregon Pinot Noir.

Our next stop was a doozy. We'd been visiting mostly smaller wineries--beautiful, rustic places with small productions. So we were not prepared for what Reustle Prayer Rock winery and vineyards looked like. The drive in was, in keeping with Oregon's custom, gorgeous. And then the winery appeared. And, well...wow. See for yourself:

Gloria Reustle gave us a tour of the winery and some of the most elegant private tasting rooms I've ever seen.

But as beautiful as the winery was...the wines were even better. Steve Reustle joined us for what turned out to be a 3 hour tasting. Steve is passionate about his grapes, his wines and winemaking. Chris is, as we know, also very passionate about those things. There was wine. There was talking. There was more wine. More talking. Repeat. A fabulous afternoon! The 2010 Gruner Veltliner was the favorite (and the 2009 reserve was also excellent). I also must give a tip o' the glass to the kitchen at Reustle Prayer Rock. They serve small bites with each wine (okay, not each wine we tried...that would be two meals worth; but each wine in the "normal" tasting) and everything was delicious. Loved, loved, loved the rice cracker with goat cheese, avocado slices, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper.

We spent so long there (that's Chris still chatting with Steve) we thought we'd probably not get in another winery that day. But, Steve picked up the phone and called John Olson over at Tesoaria and asked him to stay open for us. Boy were we glad he did that. I'll tell you all about that tomorrow. Let's just say it involves not just wine, but dogs and donuts.

Reunions

2011-08-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Day 3: In which Wineapalooza heads to Florence...and gets a tasting break.

Chris knows me well. Which means he knows better than to try to get me to be up early and out the door doing "things" (anything, anything at all) three mornings in a row. So Day 3 started with a sleep-in. Breakfast in bed at the hotel. Much coffee. Check out was at noon, or I'd probably still be in bed at the Marriott in downtown Portland. We had a leisurely day ahead of us though. We were going to meander our way down to Florence, OR where we'd meet up with my high school buddy and best friend Corby and her new husband...who just happens to also be her high school love. They dated the summer after we graduated from high school--he was three entire years older than us (really significant back then!) and the "cool guy in the band." She was giddy. But it didn't last (who could get over that age difference?? ;-) ) and they broke up. They each went on to marry other people, they each had a son, then a daughter, then a divorce. Then he looked her up and ....boom! They were back in love and before you knew it, almost 30 years after their first date, they were married and she moved up to Oregon with him. That was two years ago and this would be the first time I'd see her in her new happy life. So, I was excited to get there....but there was driving to do and wines to be tasted.

Our one and only wine stop that day was a good one--Ankeny Vineyard, in Salem, OR. (Notice the dog on the mural on the building? Yeah...you know I had to stop in.) Since we were only stopping at one winery, we knew we'd need some serious numbers. How about 7? We tasted 7 wines. We greatly enjoyed the Ankeny Sunset (bottle on the right above) which is a rose blend of 84% Pinot Noir and 16% Marechal Foch...which, you guessed it, is one of Chris's Forgotten Grapes. We also really liked the pure Marechal Foch (which Chris's notes call "zippy" and also brambly and "syrah like with a little zin kick."). Tasty stuff, but we had to get back on the road to get to this:

Kevin, Corby, Teresa & Chris

It was so great to see them! And, it's possible, there was wine with dinner. There was also quite a menagerie of animals at her home, so I got a kick out of that and got my animal fix (they even have two beagle mixes--but they're huge! twice Seamus's size!).

The giant (and old, but happy) beagle

The less happy (but pretty adorable) cat

Pet ducks! They're hilarious

The wild deer come right into their backyard! These two fawns weren't too far from mama

Mama deer getting a snack from Corby

A nice, relaxing vacation day. But tomorrow...it's wine time again. Tough, tough work...but somebody has got to do it!

Shine On Adelsheim!

2011-08-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Before continuing with wineapalooza, allow me one "real time" break-- I had my UCLA check-up (mammogram this time) yesterday. All was fine. And I graduated. I have been returned to "normal" and will only have mammograms once a year now. Just like folks who never had cancer! Woo-Hoo! Now, on with our regular programming....

July 24, 2011: Day 2, Part Two

Okay, I was wrong. But I can clear it up now. We didn't have that fabulous lunch (see post below) after Barrel Fence. Oh no. We went on to Adelsheim Winery and ~~guzzled~~ tasted another 7 wines before lunch. If you're counting, that means we had tasted 21 wines before breaking for lunch. I don't know if I'm impressed or mortified. No, wait, I do. I'm impressed.

Adelsheim was a winery that I put on our itinerary. A few years back they had a stainless steel Chardonnay (2007) that was my "buy cases of this I'm drinking it forever" wine. And we bought cases. Until we couldn't buy it anymore. Then I put Michael on it (he who lives in the region) and he couldn't find it. It was over. And I mourned the loss of that wine. That's the thing about wine---when a vintage is gone, it's gone. It won't and can't be repeated. Even with the same land, same vines, same winemaker... the weather over the year is going to be different, so the wine will be different. The barrels (or steel vats) are going to be different. The wine will be different. It's the fun, the glory, the agony and the great mystery of winemaking (and, uh, buying). Which is why I wanted to go visit the winery and taste every single one of their white wines in search of my new favorite.

Marketing Manager Catherine Douglas was our cheerful and informative tour guide,

out in the vineyard

and in the cave. And then in their "library" (the storage room for each of their vintages from way back to current):

and you know what I was looking for, right? Yeah, it was there. But, damnit (Willamette) I couldn't reach it. Or, well, steal it. I just can't.

But we did love the 2010 Ribbon Springs Vineyard Auxerois (yes, that's a grape and yes, that's a white wine, second from left in the above photo). Quite a tasty wine ("full bodied up front segueing into lemon; good minerality; finishes as a tarter lime mid-mouth" per Chris). Also, it was the 2009 Willamette Valley Chardonnay that came closest to my fond memories of the 2007 (as opposed to the 2009 Stoller Vineyard Chardonnay...but that was good too!).

So, right at this point we are 21 wines tasted. You'd think that'd be good for a day, but no.
We headed over to Cana's Feast, in Carlton where Wes gave us quite a tasting. I have to admit...I could not keep up. Plus, we were tasting in the barrel room, which is a nice private way to taste but, uh, they keep the temperatures where the wine likes it...call it 56 degrees. Yeah, I can't do that.

I cannot tell a lie...I ducked out and took a nap in the car. Michael and Chris though, they powered through another ten wines. 10!!! Their favorites were the 2008 Barbera and the 2007 Nebbiolo. I have to take their word for it for now...but bottles did come home with us.

Day 2 total wines tasted (well, by Chris at least): 31. Total for Wineapalooza: 36.

Willamette, Damnit

2011-08-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

July 24, 2011: Day Two of Wineapalooza

We were not up at the crack of dawn. We were however up and out the door at an hour that was too early for Michael's boyfriend Brian or friend Carmel to join us. And really, they live there, so I can see their point. Why is it that wine tasting rooms open at 10 (freakin'!!) a.m. and close, mostly, at 5pm? Them don't seem like normal drinking hours to me. And I'm a seasoned pro.

Nonetheless, after a lovely room service breakfast, we met Michael in the lobby and we were off in our trusty white wine-mobile. Headed to the Willamette valley, which, yes, is pronounced to sound like Damnit, not William's diminutive (much as Chris tried, he continued to say William-ette all day....causing several cheerful folks to respond with the helpful "It's Will-a-mette. Damnit." For the record, Chris also can't say "query"--he says "quarry" instead. Other then that though, he's perfect. Which is why I share those two things.)


Chris on left, Michael on right; box of heaven above

Our first stop was the beautiful in name and in reality, Four Graces Winery. And I'm just going to stop right here and say: Pinot Blanc. Buy their Pinot Blanc (and send it to me!!!). We all loved it and we all bought it. Chris's notes say "good citrus with candied orange. Long finish. 500 to 700 cases made." My notes say "Oh my god! Oh my god! Ohmygawd!!" (You can tell which one of us is the professional.) I was also a fan of the Pinot Gris. And you can (almost) never go wrong with an Oregon Pinot Noir. Purchases were made.

We moved on to Winderlea Vineyards and a truly spectacular tasting room (also, the beginning of our "let's find the best tasting room bathroom" game! It was also the end...it was awesome and unbeatable. Think fancy hotel bathroom. Sorry, I did not photograph it. I don't actually take my camera to the bathroom with me, which I now see as a character defect.) But look at this place!You just know they have a fabulous bathroom. (And this is coming from a woman who spends a lot of Sunday in the kitchen and bath showrooms of Standards of Excellence where Chris does his Sunday Night Chef Fights.)

They are known for their Pinot Noir (which is not a Forgotten Grape, Chris's specialty, but tasty nonetheless). We tasted five wines and preferred the '07 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir. And this view:

We couldn't help but venture across the street from Winderlea to this clever looking winery called Barrel Fence Cellars. You can see where the name came from, no?

Does this help? See? The fence has barrels in it? Oh and a giant corkscrew sticking out of ~~my head~~ the end barrel. The winemaker also owns a vineyard in New Zealand which just happens to be located at the 45th parallel south and his vineyard in Oregon is at the 45th parallel north, which is a fascinating coincidence and also allows for a very unique vertical...no, wait...horizontal...no, parallely-elle, no...well, a unique tasting of these two wines. Same grape varietal (Pinot Noir), different vineyards on these two parallels. Way cool. And for the record, I'm a south-y.

You'll be happy to know we had lunch next.
I was happy to know there was such a thing as a hot dog, wrapped in bacon, snuggled in a fresh bun with a slab of blue cheese, served with potato salad and baked beans on the menu at the Horse Radish Wine & Cheese bar and cafe in Carlton.

Hey, one needs to keep nourished with all that wine tasting going on! And note...there was iced tea to drink. A little break in the wine tasting to let those taste buds relax.. And speaking of relaxing, we're only at lunch on this day. I think we'll take a little bloggy break and split this day up into two posts. I'm sure you're feeling a little tipsy after all those virtual wines anyway.

The Epic Mother of All Wineapalooza Trips--Day One

2011-08-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 23, 2011. (AKA Day One)
We flew into Portland, Oregon and rented our wine-mobile. A white Jeep Liberty. This seemed big enough to hold our wine purchases and our suitcases. (We are not small people. We are not light packers. We love our wine.) And we were off...to a very inauspicious start.

I love Marriott and all their various low- to high- end hotels, but really...when you make a reservation they should have to tell you there is construction going on. We got stuck in some triangular shaped room with one tiny window out of which we were supposed to see a "city view." I'm sure we would have if only that forest of trees was removed (and honestly, if she was going to lie about the view, "water view" would have been more credible and I could see the river through the trees...if I craned.) No matter, we were here for the wine. And the food. Portland is a foodie paradise.

Luckily for us, my step-brother Michael (complicated family, I'm not going to stop to explain) lives there and was available to show us around. We had a light (ish!) lunch and beer at Deschutes Brewery and then headed to ~~heaven~~ Powell's bookstore. If you love books and you have never been to Powell's...well, you need to remedy that soon. I don't care where you live. Go To Powell's (Portland, OR or Chicago...either one works.) I made a valiant effort to support several authors (including the earlier mentioned Lionel Shriver) and made it out under $200. Two hours in and the Jeep Liberty was getting loaded.

And speaking of loaded...we headed to dinner at Clyde Common-- a trendy, gastro-pubby place that lured me in with this astounding looking fried oyster po' boy in an ad I saw. Alas, no fried oyster po'boys for dinner. I got over that though with a nice Triennes Rose Nans-les-Pins (French rose' )wine and the delicious spiced popcorn appetizer followed by a pasta dish that I recall as very good...but can't remember! Good food and atmosphere there though, so if you're ever in Portland stop on by. Oh, and please be wearing a colorful yet sun-faded short-sleeved t-shirt. It's what all the boys do. (I just don't understand how a city that gets, oh, 2 1/2 days of sun per year can have a uniform of sun-faded t-shirts. But they do.)

Finally, it was time for an urban winery and a little (or, um, a lot of) wine tasting. We headed to Enso Urban Winery on Stark Street. This was a winery truly started in a garage and now moved to...well, a more commercial garage!

We tasted six wines, including....

The West Coast blended Resonate rose' (yes, please! a blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache )

A Pinot Gris

RESONATE Red #2 (50% WA Counoise and 50% WA Sangiovese)

A bottle of that last one was liberated into our Liberty.

I mentioned our inauspicious start? Chris had a very upset stomach in the midst of our tasting (not due to the wines.) So his notes were sparse...as is my memory, especially since this is when I learned my camera batteries had exhausted themselves. I am quite clear though that thiis was a cool place, with funky artwork and lovingly handcrafted wines. I look forward to opening a bottle again soon. You could say it resonated with me.

My Alphabet Life

2011-08-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging as much lately. I'm sure you've noticed. (Um, why no, no you haven't?) And there's a reason for that. I think.

Next Wednesday I head into UCLA for a check-up. July 19th marked my two year anniversary of completing breast cancer treatment. (Yes, yes, I should have gone for an appointment then...did I not mention the epic wine tour we were on?? Also, I wanted to get my left and right breast on the same mammogram schedule, which required the right one to wait until insurance deemed the left one worthy. Crazy, but true.) I'm not stressing about this check-up. In fact in the last few months, more than ever, I feel like I've moved on. I'm back to "normal" and I don't even feel like it's a "new normal." It's just me. Yes, I know, the cancer could recur (why people feel the need to remind me of this is beyond me--who could forget that???) but I choose not to focus on that. I'm still involved in The Pink Ribbon Place and getting more involved with the American Cancer Society and I'll talk to and support just about anybody else on that cancer odyssey. But....I kinda don't wanna blog about it anymore. My world is bigger than my right breast and I'd like to focus on the "bigger than" part.

So here's the deal. I'll probably give my personal BC updates from time to time. I'll mention the goings on at the pink ribbon place and maybe even interesting articles or books or some such dealing with breast cancer. But it won't be the focus. Instead, I'm going to focus on what I thought I'd be focusing on after my divorce. See, back then (almost eight years ago) I'd decided I wasn't any good at relationships and I was really tired of ~~other people's crap~~ relationships so my world was going to consist of B,C and D. Books, Coffee and Dogs. Then a friend reminded me that I wasn't likely to make it without ~~Alcohol~~ "Adult Beverages." My Alphabet Life was born. A(dult Beverages), B(ooks), C(offee) and D(ogs)! Perfect!

Well, Chris had other ideas on the whole relationship thing (he's so smart), but I had a pretty good basis for my new life. I think it will work for my new blogging life now too. If you continue to check in, you'll find musings on wine, books (and writing), coffee (and Chris) and dogs. Occasionally the "B" might be for Breast and the "C" might be for cancer, but...maybe not. I find my own self reading less of the breast cancer blogs and more of the dog, food, wine, writing, book blogs...and that's a pretty good sign of the direction I'm going. Away from cancer. I love to travel and I'm traveling on.

I'm keeping the blog name though. After all, Seamus is the great inspiration for living life. I'm going to refrain, however, from ~~re-designing~~ messing with the look and layout of the blog though...at least until I've made some progress with this alphabet life blogging (I mentioned my past issues with relationships, no?).
My blogging goal this week is to be well launched into the "A" portion of the alphabet with a day-by-day review of our epic mother of all wineapallooza trips. One post a day for 12 days. Can I do it? Probably not! But we'll give it a shot. Also, as wineries and dogs seem to go together like hot summer days and rose' wines, you'll meet a few of the dogs we met along the way too. And just to throw in a little "B"--I'm completely obsessed with author Lionel Shriver right now. I've read three of her books right in a row and I can't get over how brilliant she is (I finished "The Female of the Species" in the middle of the night last night). So you can expect more of that too.

Do you know your ABC's?? (That's rhetorical...although apparently the cool thing to do when blogging is ask a question at the end...presumably to elicit comments. So, sure, go ahead and give me your ABC list.)