magick musings…

…a game called ‘What If’.

Couple of weekends ago, we were fortunate enough to travel to the Texas Hill Country again. We were surprised when the same friends we traveled to Napa and to the Texas Hill Country asked us to go with them and help celbrate their anniversary. We always have such a good time around them and have decided we make aweome traveling companions.

This time we visited different farms, restaurants, and such that we didn’t visit the last time. We even toured a Distillery that made whiskey and got to taste the mash and the White Dog (warning: Do. Not. Smell. It. In fact, don’t taste it either, but definitely don’t smell it. Can you say goodby to any and all nose hairs?) Ouch!!

One winery we visited had a small graveyard on the premises with an old cyclone fence protecting the graves from outside intruders. The graves dated back to the 1800’s, some of the engraving faded to where you had to trace the letters with your fingers to make out the writing. Watching guard over the tombstones was a large stately tree, it’s branches tall and strong, and surprisingly in good condition considering the Texas draught.

Having permission from the owner, Tracie and I respectfully and quietly tiptoed into the sacred grounds and went from grave to grave reading what was written about the deceased.

The first one was for a baby. Nothing more was stated except the little girl’s name and that she was only two years old. So sad. Our imagination was peaked and we wonder what happened to her.

What if it was due to an accident? Or what if she caught a disease like cholera or influenza that struck through the area killing babies and adults alike? Or a disease like the measles that is so easily prevented nowadays with vaccinations?

Next to her lay who evidently was her father. The name was listed along with the date of death and then strangely and weirdly enough under that was ‘killed by’ and the killer’s name listed.

Wow!

What if they listed the killer’s name so all could remember who did the awful deed of killing another human being? Or what if the deceased was totally the scourge of all who’s bad and the person who killed him was listed for bragging rights?

Next to him was his wife and evidently the mother of the little girl in the grave. According to the date listed of her death, she lived another thirty years after the death of her daughter and husband.

Tracie and I continued to the remaining few graves and although the names were different from the first three, we couldn’t help but wonder if they were all related in some way.

What if the mother/wife remarried and the rest were her new family? Or what if she never got over their deaths and never remarried and the graves belonged to other members of her family. Again, so sad.

The most interesting grave of all was the one right in the middle of the graveyard. All the graves had headstones and small footstones exactly the same as this one did but with one exception: The top of the grave – the entire length of it – had a large cement slab over it.

This dude was definitely not rising from the earth any time in the next eternity or so!

What if he was buried with something that was so priceless they hoped to deter grave robbers?

What if he had a terrible disease (I think of diseases a lot, but only because of my medical backgound – just sayin’) and if dug up would cause a world disaster like in the movie Contagion.

What if it was a monster buried under that cement slab?

We finally left through the rusted gate, our imaginations running wild.

But so did GW’s and Paul’s. LOL! They thought they way we were rooting around the graveyard for so long we’d dug someone up!

See how easy and fun it can be to play ‘what if’?

Asking ‘what if’ has caused many a story to be weaved. I bet even Harry Potter started out by JK Rowling thinking ‘What if there was a little boy with glasses who lived under the stairs and was a wizard but nobody knew…’

Now you try it. ‘What if’….and you fill in the blanks. And let your imagination soar. You’ll be surprised where it can take you.

~Sandy

To celebrate the July 4th weekend, GW and I took a long weekend to head south and visit some old friends I haven’t seen in quite awhile.

Saturday night started out by going to a honest to goodness real cowboy saloon. I wasn’t aware of exactly where we were going so had on my white jeans, black top and sandals. Kinda looked a little out of place on the dance floor among all the blue jeans and cowboy boots. Surprised to see the new (or new to me) trend of the girls now wearing short-shorts with their cowboy boots. Some looked pretty good and, of course, some couldn’t pull it off. But I believe that if it makes you happy and feel good about yourself, wear what you want.

We shared appetizers (the brisket nachos were my favorite. Thinking of trying those at home) with a few drinks and I stuck with my White Zin. I wish I could drink beer, but just don’t like the taste. A longneck brew just seems the appropriate drink for a place like that. You know, when in Rome and all that.

The dance floor started out being a little lonely, but it wasn’t long before the regulars were out there in full swing. Literally, almost. GW and I danced to one of my favorite slow songs and, let me tell you the man can dance. Of course, he proved he could hold his own on the dance floor at his daughter’s wedding. The photographer even included a short video of it in the video collage he put together.

Who knew?

Anyhoo, we discovered the darts area and all of us separated into teams and played a few games. This was the first time I’d played a real live game (although we’d put up a ‘real’ dart board in the garage over a year ago) and we all had a blast. I ‘doubled-in’ (don’t ask) once on a 17 and was feeling pretty happy about that although my team still lost.

After another white zin, it wasn’t long before the girls and I were on the dance floor line dancing and laughing ourselves silly. The guys just watched and laughed themselves silly at us. I promised GW I’d teach him how to line dance, but need to brush up on the old ones and learn some of the new ones.

Sunday night was spent at a barbeque eating ribs and chicken and grilled corn on the cob and an awesome salad. It was awesome just visiting and catching up.

Monday night was spent at another barbecue (different kind of ribs, different seasoned chickens, different type of grilled corn on the cob so everything was wonderful and, well, different). They had a pretty impressive firewords display at the end of the night.

It appears everyone had a great time getting to know GW. But I expected that.

Next day came the long ride home. Poor GW. He puts up with me either talking my head off or not saying a word, my head deep in a book or doing some tweeting or some such. But he never complains, he just smiles a lot and says he finds a lot of ‘humor’ in what I do.

Thank the good Lord he likes to laugh because I seem to do a lot for him to laugh about.

All in all, we had a great time and looking forward to our next trip. In the meantime, will be working on my dart game and my line dancing.

~Sandy

Last summer, my stepdaughter became engaged. She is such a fabulous person and I love her dearly. When we got the invitation back in March for her shower, there was no way we were going to miss it so we booked our tickets and off to Chicago we went. The weather was cold and rainy, but it didn’t keep us from having a fantastic time. The shower was held at a wonderful restaurant with an upper floor that was made just for this kind of celebration.

I met GW’s mom and my stepdaughter’s mom and her side of the family. Everyone was super friendly and we had a great time visiting and eating and getting to know everyone. GW actually saw people he hadn’t seen in 20 years.

Soon, May rolled around and it was time for the wedding. My husband surprised me and flew us first class and from the moment we took off the to the second we landed, it was a blast. We arrived Thursday evening and spent the night with the kids and then Friday we drove the couple of hours to the Lodge where the wedding was to take place.

The Lodge and the Canyon was absolutely beautiful and a perfect setting for the nature loving bride and groom. We stayed in log cabins that were delightful and, since the place was quite a drive from the nearest town, we ate our meals at the Lodge restaurant where the employees were super friendly and the food was to die for!

Friday night after the rehearsal, we had a cookout and I got to visit with GW’s mom again and meet his two brothers. They were all funny to watch because they share the same sense of humor. Very funny men!

Saturday was wedding day! They were married in the canyon not far from a beautiful waterfall, and even with it being a little cold (okay a LOT cold to this Texas), you couldn’t ask for a more perfect setting for them. The bride was truly beautiful and radiant and I say that not because I am prejudiced or biased. She truly was. Elegant, relaxed, and I honestly believe she had as much fun as all the guests were having.

We partied with her mom’s family, my husband’s family, and the groom’s family with dozens of friends thrown in for good measure until the wee hours of the morning and all too soon it was Sunday morning and time to go. But first we had to have one more meal at the Lodge dining room.

Can you say best breakfast buffet ever? Yum! Everything from pastries to meats to all kinds of eggs to fruits to pancakes, waffles, and french toast to desserts. Yes, I said dessert. And that IS a whole different group from the pastries.

Trust me.

So, after stuffing ourselves silly, we headed back to the kids home. They soon caught up with us and we took them to the airport to head out for the honeymoon and then we went back to their house to rest and catch up on much needed sleep.

Monday, GW played tour guide (he lived there for over 20 yrs) and showed me his old stomping grounds. Places he worked, places he lived, played softball, played darts, and everything in between. I loved being able to see the places and things he has talked and told me stories about. My favorite was going to Woodstock, ILL where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed. I’ve always thought it cool and fascinating that while Bill Murray and Andie McDowell were filming a scene in front of the bowling alley, GW and his friends were actually inside the bowling alley playing darts and having a few beers. So, I guess you could say they were ‘extras’ in the movie. Silent, unseen extras, LOL! Once we got back to Texas, I made him sit through the movie again so I could compare the pictures I took with the places in the movie.

I am so easily entertained.

One of my mission while in the Chicago area was to try some of the foods that friends from the Chicago area say are much better up there and sucks in Texas. Mission accomplished. I ate an Italian Beef sandwich, a Gyro (pronounced ‘Euro’ up there), and an original Chicago Hot Dog. All were excellent! I totally forgot about the Chicago pizza! Oh, well, next trip!

Back at ya later…

~Sandy

For the third day, Old Man Winter has blown its icy breath on North Texas.

Slick roads, power outages, school closings (much to kids delight and parents dismay), bone numbing take your breath away cold, and record temperatures.

Yesterday I slipped and slid all the way to the mailbox, today almost got my car totaled. But, thank the good Lord, the green minivan that lost control on a patch of ice, missed me and hit a parked car. I was okay except for the falling on my butt in the ice when I got out to check on them. Once I saw they were all okay in the vehicle and I jump started my heart again, I came back home and called and cried like a girl to GW.

But the pity party for one soon passed and I got busy with writing (finished my chapter I was *this* close to completing), did some spreadsheets for record keeping, did a little face book time, made a few calls, and then started a new chapter.

Now the weatherman is predicting snow tonight!

Stay warm and BE CAREFUL out there!

~Sandy

Sadly, the last day of our journey arrived. With our luggage packed and the rental car filled with gas, we headed back to San Francisco. Crossing over the Golden Gate Bridge, I marveled at the splendor of everything we experienced in the past five days. From a bridge that was considered one of the modern Wonders of the World to the many varieties of delicate grapes that grew on the vines, to the friendships developed and deepened, it was a time that will forever live in our hearts.

We decided to spend the morning before our flight left at Fisherman’s Wharf. We strolled up and down the docks and ate the famous clam chowder at a small restaurant on the water. We stood at the end of the dock, hoping to see some of the porpoises that frequent the bay, but was told that due to the fishermen complaining about them, measures had been taken to keep them away. While sitting and eating our clam chowder, GW, Paul, and Tracie all spotted some, but I never did. Could see the ripples in the water where they had surfaced and then dived into the depths, but never saw any of them.

After lunch, we walked the streets of Fisherman’s Wharf and visited several shops. Soon, it was time to leave for the airport.

We didn’t exactly leave our hearts in San Francisco, but we did leave a part of it in the Wine Country. GW and I agreed it was the best vacation we’ve ever taken. It is indeed a fact that we will be visiting again soon.

Thanks for letting us share our memories with you!

~Sandy

Before leaving, we were able to tour the BR Cohn Winery whose owner, Bruce Cohn, used to be the manager of the Doobie Brothers. Needless to say, in the winery were lots of memorabilia regarding that time in his life.

We shot over to Domaine Chandon where we tasted several kinds of Sparkling Wine (not allowed to call it Champagne unless it comes from Champagne, Franceso be forewarned). They gave us the two champagne glasses (can I say that or are they sparkling wine glasses?) to take home with us.

Also, we covered the Provenance vineyards where we laughed until we cried at the taste testing. The woman behind the bar kept pouring GW more than the allotted amount for the tasting and shorting the other guys. She kept saying he reminded her of E.F. Hutton because when he spoke, everyone stopped to listen. P thought she was just flirting with him, but GW was not as impressed because he thought E.F. Hutton was no longer alive and wondered EXACTLY what she meant by that. We thought it was hilarious and are still laughing about that. Personally, I wouldn’t blame her as I think he is cute also, LOL! And it’s not just because he is my husband.

We also visited the Arrowood Vineyards in the Sonoma Valley and Nicholson Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Each place was beautiful and interesting and produced great wine. At the Nicholson Winery, they were setting up for a wedding so we didn’t travel far outside the testing room, but we got a great picture of the little church on the mountainside (see below).

Just so you know, we didn’t just travel from winery to winery.

We visited a wonderful little Irish pub in downtain Santa Rosa (name escapes me).

Ate at the famous and unique Willi’s Bar which was so different from anything I had ever had before. They served unique food on these ‘small international’ plates. Each one of us picked out about 3 or 4 ‘international plates’ and shared them – family style – with the whole group. I tried some dishes I have never had before and they were awesome!!!

The last night there, we had made reservations at the Culinary Institute of American (CIA) where the renowned school had their students cook for us. The menus are printed on paper as they change on a daily basis depending upon the availability and what the students are cooking that day.

Again, the food was top-notch and to die for! By all the special restaurants we visited, I was pretty spoiled by the time we got back home.

to be continued for wrap up….

~Sandy

I have always wanted to visit a castle. So when a tour at the winery Castello di Amorosa presented itself, suprisingly enough, all of us jumped on the opportunity. Well, not all of us. D & A was headed back to Texas and since it was our last day in California, we, along with P & T decided to see what a real castle was like. (See pictures below)

First a little history:

In 1993, after decades of researching and studying medieval castles throughout Europe, Dario Sattui began a humungous building project. The 121,000 square foot Castello includes 107 unique rooms, 8,000 tons of hand-squared stones, 8 levels (4 below ground which we had the pleasure of touring), 900 feet of caves, a completely hand-painted Great Hall (which was so totally awesome), a drawbridge, moat, dungeon and torture chamber (which included a ‘hot seat’, torture rack, a chopping block, and an authentic, antique, actually used back in the Medieval times Iron Maiden which we got to actually see it, ewwww!) a consecrated chapel, and one of the most impressive wine barrel rooms in the U.S. constructed with ancient brick Roman cross-vaulted ceilings (Dario bought and had shipped back to the states and paid the labor of professional brick layers of this type to come over and lay the bricks).

The castle has 30 acres of vineyards surrounding its great, hand-chiseled walls, gates, and guard towers planted with Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes which produce low yields and intensely flavored wines. While touring the level which housed all the barrels of aging red wine, our tour hostess, Kerry, (who was quite funny and totally awesome) opened a barrel and let us all taste some of the red wine that was not quite ready for bottling. It was a unique experience to be able to do that and I thought it rocked.

Then she took us to a separate tasting room from the public and behind this awesome brick and wood bar, served us wines that we tasted and, of course, bought some to take home. See picture below.

For GW and I, that tour of the castle, along with the Nashville in Napa experience, were the highlights of the trip. Not to mention our ‘meet the deer on the mountain top experience’, but we won’t go into that, LOL!

This tour is a must if you have a penchant for castles and history. I have so many more pictures of so many interesting things, but it is hard to include them all.

to be continued…

~Sandy

One of our favorite wineries we visited was Sterling Vineyards Winery.

A little background:

Back in 1964, British international paper broker, Peter Newton, visited California and, so impressed with the quality of California wines and inspired by the beauty of the Napa Valley, decided to broaden the interest of his company, Sterling International, and purchased a 50 acre piece of an already established vineyard that bordered Calistoga, California.

Between 1965-1967, he continued to acquire more property in the surrounding area. At that time, Napa Valley’s most popular grape grown was the Cabernet Sauvignon, but he made a bold and innovative leap and decided to cultivate Chardonnay, Cabernet Blanc, and Merlot. In 1969, Sterling Vineyards bottled the first Californian Merlot.

In 1977, Prince Charles of England, curious to see something of ‘interest’ built by an Englishman in the States, visited Sterling Vineyards. (If it is good enough for royality…LOL)

The winery continued acquiring land and in 1995 began a multi million dollar six phase renovation plan that has made it what it is today which increased production efficiency, improved quality, and met the exploding demand for ultra premium wine.

Pretty cool, huh? I am not sure why I get so involved in the history of each vineyard but I find it fascinating. When you are actually there, you tend to get caught up in each winery with their stories, their history, their uniqueness, and, of course, their wines. Each taste testing we did, each winery we visited was set up just a tad different and, like any customer related business, the people working there could make it fun or not. And we had fun at almost every one we visited.

I want to run a taste testing room in my next life, LOL!

To get to the winery, which was built on top of a mountain (they called it a knoll, but looked like a mountain to me), you have to take a tram ride to the top. Loved it! The countryside is beyond beautiful and loved that we could see Napa and Sonoma Valley from high up.

Once we got to the top, we were able to take a self guided tour through the winery and stop at certain points along the way to taste the wines. But the most favorite for all of us, was, once the tour was finished, we sat on the rooftop of the winery and tasted more wines.

It is really hard to describe the experience. The sun was shining brightly, the air cool and crisp, but not cold enough for jackets, the view absolutely breathtaking, the wines were wonderful and the company we were with were so much fun! No one had any issues about anything, everyone got along and was willing to try what the others wanted to do, and we never laughed so much!

We loved the Sterling Zinfandel and the Sterling Malvasia Blanca that we bought two bottles of each and actually joined the wine club with Sterling!

Definitely looking forward to visiting this one again!

To be continued…

~Sandy

As I mentioned in my first post about the journey, each winery had a unique history and story to tell. And Imagery Estate Winery is no different.

‘It all started with a guy named Joe.’ So says the history of this unique winery. In the 1980’s, Joe Benziger moved with his family from New York to start a winery on Sonoma Mountain. After a few years, Joe decided that there were some vineyard lots that would be perfect to produce a series of small artisan wines.

Joe met up with a renowned local artist named Bob Nugent and Bob volunteered to design a label that could match the expressiveness and originality of the wine inside. Bob became curator of the Imagery Art Collection commissioning hundreds of international artists to design one of a kind artwork for Imagery Labels. You can read more of the interesting history of the winery here

Needless to say, it is fascinating. Each wine has a one of a kind label designed, never to be duplicated or repeated. Each artist is not limited by size, medium, or content but must include a likeness of the Parthenon replica that is on the Benziger Estate. It was so much fun looking through the art gallery of past labels and picking out the Parthenon. Some are very visible and some you have to search for. You can also buy prints in various forms of the ones you like.

Reason for the Parthenon? According to Winemaker Joe Benziner, it is the connection of the Imagery Winery to his family’s Benziger Winery.

Cool, huh?

The entire wine tasting bar is lined with these small ceramic pieces, both big and small, and you can actually pick out the ones you like and buy them. We bought two bottles of wine from Imagery. One, a Muscato de Canelli (love muscato wine!) and a bottle of 2009 Wow Oui which is a single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. We had fun searching the bar for the stone magnets that matched both labels and bought them to bring home. Somehow I am going to figure out how to showcase them with the matching wine bottles. Hmmm… will let you know.

Could only find a picture of the Muscato label.

To be continued…

~Sandy

Chateau Montelena Winery

Front of the Chateau entrance

Two miles north of Calistoga, Chateau Montelena Winery sits on 254 acres of rugged terrain at the base of Mount Saint Helena. Built in 1882 it became the seventh largest winery in the Napa Valley. Winemaking halted during the Prohibition and the winery was sold to Yort and Jeanie Frank, who was looking for a place to retire. The Franks, inspired by the Chateau, found a perfect area to excavate a lake and landscaped it to reflect the Chinese gardens of his homeland. It was called Jade Lake and consists of two islands, not open to the general public but available to their wine club members. You can, however, stand next to the entrances to the footbridges that connects to the islands and feed the fish and waterfowl. Marveling at the way the footbridges were built crooked, I found out that, according to Chinese legend, evil spirits can only travel over water in straight lines.

I found it very interesting that the Chateau was like a mini-castle and the gardens and lake was of Chinese architecture complete with weeping willows and native fauna. But somehow it works. According to their brochures, it is considered to be one of the most peaceful and beautiful sanctuaries in Napa Valley. It was indeed very enchanting.

A little more interesting history here…

Back in 1976, the Chateau Montelena Winery entered their 1973 Chardonnay in a ‘blind taste testing’ International Wine Tasting competition in Paris, France and their 1973 Chardonnay won, beating out the French and Italian wines. This, supposedly, is what put California on the map for winemaking. Here at the Chateau, the movie, Bottleshock, was filmed about the historic event and you can even take a special ‘Bottleshock’ tour. We didn’t take the tour, but when we got home, we rented the movie and really enjoyed it. It was fun watching the movie and saying, “Hey, we were there…and there…”

Jade Lake

Small waterfall in front of the Chateau

Different sizes of wine bottles

To be continued…

~Sandy