Wine, wine, wine. . .

and more wine.

I seem to be talking to myself these days, could be because everyone else has better things to do (be pregnant, play in SF, bake 900 doz. cookies), but I am on vacation until January 5th and I have some (8) wines to tell you about. So sit back and let me babble on.

Tortoise Creek Pinot Noir (France though they also have a winery in CA, $10). Got this one on sale from my wonderful PeaPod (groceries delivered, godloveit). It was a nice spicy/fruity wine (cherries?) and went very well with the Chef's lamb stew you see in that cute little bowl. It was a very snowy night so this was a wonderful meal to have while we watched it come down out there.

"Learning to Fly" (Chile, $9) is a 100% Carmenere wine. I was reading about this grape on a favorite blog and was surprised to find a bottle at my local wine shop later that night. It's not a flavor I have had before, but this has become a favorite in the house. Notes of pepper, cumin, and (Wingal, I shit you not) bacon. It's not overly dry nor is it the least bit sweet. It's a very suprisingly good wine for very little $$.

While a lot of you, my gentle readers, live in a more tropic climate, I do not envy you. Except when it is -35. That sucked. Holy crap was that cold.I don't know if I have ever been that cold. The Chef laughed and told stories of driving in -70 degrees (Ferienheit, not Kelvin),I scowled and snuggled under a blanket with two of the boys.

What we needed was a hot wine to drink while we were shivering and decorating the tree. We chose to mambo! "Hey Mambo!" (CA, $13) is a blend of a crap load of grapes (barbera, zinfandel, syrah, petite sirah, carigname, & alicante bouchet). It's spicy, just like something called "Hey Mambo" should be. Plenty of pepper and a smooth finish, we need to add this to the next PSSWR wine list. We also should invite the people who wrote the label over. There was some crazy Mickey Spillane like story on the bottle. The website describes one of the flavors in the wine as "sweet leather." Seriously sexy wine.

The next day was more of the same frigid hell. I think I see why the Vikings 1) drank so much, 2) left Sweden. Seriously, if this is what you looked outside (yes that is a ice floe you see) and saw you would either go back inside and drink til it was sunny, or leave.

I chose to drink more.

"Efe", a 2005 cabernet savignon (20%) monastrell (80%) blend from the Bodegas Los Frailes (Spain, $12) was good and, really let's face it, like most of the other wines I tend to buy. Fruity and dry, incredibly drinkable with that nice spicy after taste. The monastrell grape in this wine makes for a more cherry flavor than in most of the wines I bring home, but it wasn't over powering. Very good, but not excellent.

For an excellent, and I do mean excellent, Pinot Noir head to Oregon (or your wine shop) and get some of this:

"Cloudline" I paid $15 for the 2007, but I see that the 2006 & 2005 will run you $20+ if you can even find them as they appear to be "collectables". This Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley is amazing. Raspberries add to the soft somewhat sweet flavor. I see on a few websites that people said it had "faded by the next day" making me wonder why they didn't finish it the night before?

Christmas Eve, Chef prepared well seasoned duck, caesar salad, and homemade rosemary bread. I stopped on the way home and picked up another Pinot Noir, hoping for another bottle of the Cloudline. Instead, my local wine merchant suggested this one from the Yamhill Valley Vineyards (OR, $18).

A bit more than I chose to spend per bottle, but well worth it. The Estate Pinot Noir tastes cool and the slight tartness complemented the savoriness of the duck.

For Christmas dinner of beast roast in a scotch and mushroom sauce, we had a ridiculously dark red cabernet franc from France ($15). I'm sorry I don't have a picture of it, but it was the Frederic Mabileau Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil Les Rouilleres. That's a mouthful, but so was the wine. Musky, woody, black cherries, tobacco. Wonderful.

Then, just as quickly as the cold came it was gone. And lo, it was 65 and we switched to gin.

I will end this obscenely long post with last night's wine, "Alaia" (Spain, $13).

I had been waffling between a few other bottles and this one was recommended to me by the loverly Irishman who works/owns the wine shop. I know that the Irish are not known for having the best palate (really between that and the rest of my Anglo Saxon roots, ketchup is sometimes too intense a flavor) but he was right about this one. Not amazing, but certainly different. 5% Merlot, 45% tempranillo, and 50% prieto picudo, it's a sweet wine. Not like Boones Farm, not at all. It's still dry but it's more of fig taste than any other fruit I can pin. Apparently the prieto picudo grape was thought to be lost, but some guys in Spain found it in an old lady's backyard and revived it.

So that's what I have been drinking this last month. I also finally had time to finish a book that I bought as the beginning of this past semester started, "State by State." It's a fantastic look at each state by fifty different authors not always associated with the state they were assigned. Some of the essays were horrid (California, Delaware), some were painfully beautiful (Idaho, Rhode Island), two were done as cartoons (Oregon, Vermont), and some were hilarious (Illinois, Massachusetts, New York). When you have a chance, I recommend picking it up. I had brought it with me to the lake house in October with the intentions of reading a goodly portion of it. I didn't get a chance to as I was helping Dad out and had suggested to my younger brother that he take a look at it. He read almost all of it by the time I left 3 days later.

Enough from me for now, though I suspect I will have more to say by tomorrow. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that this next year will be merry & bright!

Happy Boxing Day!

Doin' it Elf style.

My ride home.

For the first time since we have lived here, I had the privilege of riding on the CTA Holiday Train. The most fun was watching people's faces as we pulled up to the various stops on the route home. We were met with either pure bouncing smiling joy from grown men & women, or horror and disgust.

To my neighbor scraping ice off his car at 5 am on Saturday

Good morning! I don’t know if you noticed or not, but it was 5am and on a Saturday when you spent that hour or so vigorously scraping, ney beating, ice off your car. I will ignore the fact that you are doing this simply because you probably have a job you have to get to and in this economy, well, hey I don’t want you to lose your job because you were late. But really kind sir, I must say your ice scraping was taking you forever and seems to have turned in to quite the laborious task. Being a native of the colder climates myself and a bit of student in the art of winter weather, might I offer this handy guide to getting that pesky ice off your car?

1) De-icing the car door: So you get to the car and find that you can’t open it. Take your key and warm it up in you hand, breathe on it if you have to. Slide your key around the seam of your door; this should move enough ice that you can open it up with a firm tug. Not too firm! We don’t want you falling backwards and breaking anything like your coccyx or your head! Coccyx is a fun word to say isn’t it? COCCYX! It’s like word a superhero would use to make his powers work. COCCYX! then BAM! the bad guys blow up.

2) Get in the car: I know, seems like an odd step, but here me out. Once you get in the car, turn it on, unless you are one of those bastards with keyless entry and start up, in which case you may have damaged your coccyx for no reason as you could have started the car up before trying to de-ice the door thereby saving you some time, troubles, and the injury to your coccyx.

Anyway, get in the car and turn it on. Turn the heat, the front window defroster, and the rear window defroster all on hot & high. While that is starting up and heating the car, you can look for your ice scraper, which is undoubtedly not where you think it is. Look in the backseat…not there? check in the glove compartment….I’ll wait while you riffle through that mess….not there either? Did you put in the trunk for some inexplicable reason? No? Are you sure? No, don’t bother to get out and look that would be silly. Well, I’m sure you are starting to sweat a little, but trust me all the heat blowing around in there is a good thing. Did you look under the driver seat? I know I had one that always ended up…oh good you found it! Actually while we’re talking about your ice scraper…

2a) Get a real ice scraper. No doubt, you are using one of those namby-pamby small plastic ice scrapers you get free from gas stations and insurance salesmen.

That thing is a waste of time and energy (not to mention a waste of valuable polypropylene, which is made from oil…so maybe you should hold on to it in case you need to melt it down for fuel later when the coming economic apocalypse hits).

What you want to get is one of these:

As you can see the expandable handle has a nice grip in the center allowing for more force and therefore allows for a more thorough ice removal. The handy brush on the other end is also far superior to those crappy plastic and wood things that will splinter when you hit them against the neighbor kids when they ice up the sidewalk. I hate those bastards too you know. See, something we have in common! Anyway, really spend the $ and get one of these nice scrapers, you won’t be sorry and you won’t lose it under the car seat. Or in that shame of a glove box; seriously was that a cheeseburger wrapper in there?

3) Crank up the tunes! Everyone needs good ice scraping music, so crank up the radio loud enough to be heard out side of the car with the windows closed and the engine running. I know, I know, I was complaining about the sound of your ice scraping and now I am telling you to turn up the music. Trust me, no one will hear it and if they do, they won’t mind that for the short period that it will be that loud.

4) Get scraping! Jump out of the car (slowly, be careful of that coccyx) and let’s get to work on that windshield! Assuming you still have that crappy one (and of course you do, I mean where would you go on foot because your car is still covered in ice at 5 am to buy a new better one?), using both hands grasp the ice scraper at the middle and the very end of the handle. This should give you the force necessary to remove the stubborn stuff. Starting at the top of the windshield, start pushing/scraping the ice in a diagonal direction toward the wipers. This should be relatively easy now that your heater and engine have melted much of the ice that was directly on the glass. Again, since you have that shitty scraper, use your arm to brush away any large chunks.

5) Don’t forget the mirrors and door windows! You may have to readjust the side mirrors, but really you will thank me for reminding you when you try to flip off the yahoo riding your ass only to find out it’s a cop. LOL, what am I saying! You’re a guy! You don’t use mirrors! Those are for pussies and girls!

But really do the door windows and not just a damned circle large enough for you to peer out off. It’s a car, not a sub, and those should not be used like a porthole.

6) The back window: By the time you get around to here, the ice should be just sliding down the window to the trunk. Again, just use your arm to brush the snow/ice off the car.

7) DONE! See how much easier that was than the torture you went through Saturday morning!?!

Now on your way home, go buy a real ice scraper. You’ll thank me later.

xoxo,

boobarella

BOCK BOCK BOCK!

WHAT A GREAT DAY FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WINGAL!

Happy Thanksgiving!

While everyone was excited about the delicious dinner Larry had prepared, not everyone was as excited about Larry's choice in pants.

I Guess This Means Samantha Has to Be Pestilence

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Your Result: War   When the second seal is opened, you will ride forth on a red horse carrying a sword, unleashing war and destruction. Your mission is to take peace from the earth, so that man will kill one another. The color of your horse represents the blood spilled on the battlefield.
Famine
Pestilence
Death
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

does this mean I'm in charge?

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Your Result: Death   When the fourth seal is opened, you ride forth on a sickly pale green horse. You are the final horseman to be unleashed. You've been sent to bring forth fear, sickness and death. Your presence on earth will cause war and hunger. Hell itself follows close behind you.
Famine
Pestilence
War
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Which Horseman are you?

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Your Result: Famine When the third seal is opened, you ride forth on a black horse carrying scales to represent the injustice you will unleash. You bring starvation to the world, rendering essential foods unavailable while protecting luxury foods for the wealthy. Many will die, and wars will erupt over shortages of food.
War
Pestilence
Death
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Proposal: Virtual PSSWR

So ladies...

Who has a a web cam? I know I do. Wingal does (read: virtual lap dance).

The Wine that I am Drinking

umm... it took me about 10 minutes to figure out what this wine was called: Vinos de Terrunos Siete 7 ($16). I can't find it online, I can't find it in the big wine super store. I got it at my tine wine shop and I LOVE IT.

My mouth is full of berries, sparkles, leather, cloves, and a deep earthy flavor. It's truly pornirific!

An Ode to Jennys boobies

Oh Jenny
Your boobies
While they may be smaller than mine
Or Wingals
Or recently impregnated members of our circle
Yours,
Yours are lush
Boobs for a hand
A boob in the hand is worth two in the ...
Well
In the hand.
Jenny
Your boobs,
They sparkle like stars in the sky
But closer
We envy your ta-tas
You can go braless on a hot day
You can buy a shirt w/o wondering "omg, will I burst a button if this shrinks?!"
Jenny
Your boobs
They flatter me
How they wink from your top
I'm not gay
I'm just saying,
Your boobs
Are better
Than most…
Just not mine.

The Dangers of Living on the Third Coast

Dennis, Jerry. The Living Great Lakes. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books, 2003. p. 101

For Love Or German Engineering?

Actually I'm quite certain it's love considering I'm not actually car shopping. I am furniture shopping though, which is fun and immensly less expensive than a brand new car and quite frankly I'm tired of picking that bleeping comforter off the floor every morning! Besides we have to get all the clothes into one room now and I might, horror of horrors, have to finally share a closet! [Shock! Gasp! Arg!] Or we could just purchase a wardrobe and in my free time I could check out Narnia...

Honestly, I wish I had some really solid news to report upon my pregnant-ness, but it's too early to say whether it's a boy or a girl yet. What I can tell you is that I will not be going to Medieval Congress as Baby M (because it's going to be an M name either way) is going to be born around April 30th. Honestly, it just hasn't been the same going to a bar or coffee shop and getting a Shirley Temple or a Decaf Latte. I also am missing actual brie cheese (not pasturized), sushi, lunch meat, diet coke, and gin. Pretty much in that order too. For some reason the smell of wine is not exactly enticing right now. I have yet to gain weight, but have gone up one pant size already and for the last few days I thought I was in serious trouble until I realized that I'm not loosing anything, that's just the baby kicking (which incidently is really weird feeling and unfortunately frequent).

All in all, I and Baby M are fine and everyone from family to work seems to be super excited, especally from work which is much more than I expected considering the last time anyone at my place of employment was pregnant was twenty some years ago. Everyone has been very supportive, even Baby Puppy who's taken to snuggling like it's an olympic sport. After all, he was the first one to figure out I was pregnant. He knew before I knew and began snuggling then. I tell you, I'm the object of a snuggling marathon! Baby Puppy accepted my husband, I'm sure he'll accept Baby M with a little coaching and equal lap space time.

Calling All Pregnant Contributors to This Blog!!!

You know who you are.

The rest of the Margarita Girls would like an update on your belly... and particularly on the newest addition to the Margarita family residing there. We're excited for you!!! So spill it!!! I foresee a slew of terribly inappropriate baby onesies in your future... boobarella's good at those.

I will try my damnedest to ensure that these find a way to your child's feet:

For Wingal

Two Things...

First, though very early, Happy Halloween!!!!



I'd like to pretend that the four of us are hanging out together this Friday, like so:



Second, I'm just two posts away from my 100th post over there on my blog, and I'm trying to figure out what should be the topic of that momentous occasion. Suggestions welcome.

The Wine I am Drinking

On Saturday, we had the lovely Amanda over for an amazing dinner of brie soup, fresh bread, and salad. First off, I am sorry I did not take a picture of the soup when it was served to us. The Chef out did himself on this soup, truly. And Wingal missed it. For what? Family that she has not seen in 15 years, Obama and Bill Clinton? jeeze....

Anyway, what did we drink with it?

Dâo's 2007 Cabriz - Colheita Seleccionada Branco ($11) was a nice recommendation by the wine guy that is my mom's cousin Peter's doppelganger. It wasn't too fruity that it would compete with the brie soup, but not too flowery that it would be over powered. With a nice mellow flavor, this one is a blend of a bunch of grapes I have never heard of. Seriously, I think people make up the grapes they say are in some wines. Granted I know what a Niagara grape tastes like and also know that wines made form said grape taste like a north bound red line on a early Sunday morning smells, but that is neither here nor there. This is a blend of Malvasia Fina, Cerceal, and the local Bical and Encruzado grapes. Or so I am told. I thought Encruzado was a revolutionary....crazy Portuguese.

Award Shows

I am an award show junkie. I love watching the Oscars, the Grammys, Cable Ace awards, all of them really. That being said, I have seen some pretty cool stuff on live TV. I saw Jethro Tull win the first "Best Heavy Metal" Grammy. I watched Barbara Streisand have to read Eminem's name off for "Best Original Song" and not choke on her own spittal. I saw the fights on the Source awards.

But somehow, somewhere I missed this all together. Live from the Grammys in 1994:

CFL
(a call for labels)
PSSWR 2009

Gendered Drinking at the End of the Decade

Location: TBA
Dates: TBA

My Turn!!

This song is by Muse. It's called "Hysteria" and can be found on their "Absolution" CD. In addition to me just absolutely loving the band, I'm practically addicted to this song...

...because it makes me want to get nastynaughtyraunchy with a boy and drive super fast in my car.

And yes, possibly both at the same time...

also, loving her....

The Wine that I am Drinking

Someday, Wingal and I will get the stuff up that we had at mini-psswr.

But tonight, oh ladies, I found a new house wine:


Niel Joubert's 2005 Pinotage ($11.25) is just...just...yummy. Pinotage is a viticultural cross of the Pinot Noir grape and the Cinsault grape. It's a deep red color, not too dry, and meaty. But with a nose of bananas of all things. The label told me this I thought it was lying. Then I smelled it. Yeah, bananas. But serioulsy good. We had it with pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon/chocolate frosting.

love her

JENNY!!!! It's Your Birthday, It's Your Birthday...

A little early, perhaps, but I've got a busy couple of days ahead of me, so I just wanted to post my tribute to Jennifer June DeJongh... another year older as of 9 October.

Happy Birthday, Jenny. If I could, I'd give you



The best of both worlds, really... cake AND shoes.

Or, if dreams really could come true, I'd wish you:



Particularly the raining shoes, but I'm sure you wouldn't mind the new car.

I can't say that the gift is in the mail yet; however, it's in the works and will likely hit the USPS at some time in the next week. Finishing touches, you know, and more auditory material to drive Raphael crazy for awhile.

If I were there, we would share



...at LEAST that many of them...

And we'd likely share many more



But until we meet again, know that I'm wishing you a big fat HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

And I love you.

The Wine I Am Drinking. And Drinking. And Drinking.

I am currently drinking (and am very nearly drunk on as well because the chili is taking a godawful amount of time to be ready) the delightful 2006 Folie a Deux Menage a Trois, a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet. We initially bought this wine for the funny name (while visiting my grandmother - of course) and return to it regularly. For the funny name. And also for the very decent price (regularly about twelve dollars and usually on sale at Safeway for about nine). But mainly for its absolutely yummy deliciousness. Pardon my ignorance of wine-speak.

"Carmelized peaches!" Raphael declared tonight. "Tastes like autumn! I'm a Menage a Trois kind of guy!" Not being much of a wine describer myself and also being a little tipsy, I can personally say that this seems fairly accurate - as I am sitting here enjoying my Menage a Trois, I am experiencing a taste sensation that includes a bright, fruity sort of flavor and something sort of burned and caramelly at the end. All of this could be based on a psychological reaction to Raphael's intital comments, of course, so take from this what you will. In any case, this is a gorgeously lush and yummy wine that is best served with a dinner of grocery-store-roasted chicken, salad, and homemade cookies with small-town Massachusetts-grocery-store-brand-ice cream in your grandmother's poorly-lit kitchen. And also everywhere else.

Anyway, I'm a fan.

Shelve this for a later post...

I'm busy with work and school and heading to NY to help Dad for a few days, so remind me later to write a full post about this later:

On the train and on the platforms lately I have seen a new and disturbing ad. It's Triple H, from the WWE. That in itself is not disturbing. He's not too bad to look at. If you squint. What is disturbing are the size of his nipples. Holy Mary-Mother-of-Pearl! Like large reddish nubby dinner plates.

Anyway, I'll extrapolate on that later when I have more time. Also, I'll try to get you all a picture.

Planting earworms.

with that being said...I give you WHITESNAKE:

And here I go again on my own
Goin down the only road Ive ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
'cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

And here I go again on my own
Goin down the only road I've ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An I've made up my mind
I ain't wasting no more time...

Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Hey guys? Good news! I'm officially getting the opportunity to be Indian! Or, technically, Persian.

My father received a very unexpected phone call yesterday. MyFriendFarah's mother, very bashful, asked my dad if I was home. He explained to her that no, I was still working in St. Louis, but that I would be home in November and December for the holidays.

"Oh..." she said, obviously embarrassed. "Well... I was calling because.... well..."

Long story short, she couldn't work on arranged marriages for her own daughters, so now she's working on one for me!

He's the son of some of their very dearest friends, he's working on his Masters (Dad, God love him, can't remember in what), and he's 6 foot 4. They just adore him, apparently, and I know how much they adore me. I suppose this was a natural next step in the process. Anyway, I'm supposed to call her in the next couple of days.

Why it never occurred to me to become Indian, I'll never know... but how rockin' would it be to have a white-people arranged marriage?! Now, THAT's one for the grandkids!

"I want to have its babies..."

said Wingal of the braised lamb shank and the Commander Riker wine.

PSSWR for Two

Not to rub it in (well, actually, maybe to rub it in a little), but Boobarella is taking a runaway train--possibly one that's never coming back--to visit Wingal for an extended weekend. And she's having Bully Hill ship libations to Wingal's new and improved door. There will be drinking on the futon, drinking on the new KSoFF, drinking on the balcony, and drinking out at the Missouri wineries. And when there isn't any drinking going on, there's a real possibility that there will be sleeping, eating (bacon!), and non-furniture shopping (i.e. shopping for the sake of flirting with the salesman). If there's a God there may also be socializing with Adonis if it can possibly be arranged (Wingal's working on that project tomorrow).

It's just going to be a kick-ass weekend. And oh how I wish the other Margarita Girls could be here too!

Boobarella's going to take and post pictures of the new Wingal abode on the blog. We will write a couple entertaining entries. And we've discussed the possibility of t-shirts. It's going to be a very unproductive weekend.

YAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

The Funniest Thing Larry has Ever Said.

One of the headlines on CNN.com today was: "Queen: World watching McCain, Obama"

I said to Larry, "Please let that be Elizabeth II and not Brian May & Co."

and Larry replied, "Well, if Kiss can save Santa, maybe Queen can save the Election."

God-bless him. that is the funniest thing he has ever said.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2625785963793054974

I've Been Meaning to Share

I was shown this a couple months ago at a party and, well... it just sort of speaks for itself.

The Wine I am Drinking

Today was gross. It was 80 bizillion degrees and 9 million percent humidity. But it all passed over and tonight was absolutely gorgeous.

And what goes better with a nice cool moon lit evening than a great wine.

Chateau Haut Sarthes' Bergerac Rosé 2007 ($10) was the perfect wine (yes that is my travel mug; we had to get around the open container laws some how). It's a rosé, but it's not too light or too sweet. 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 30% Cabernet Franc, this wine has notes of strawberries with hints of citrus and grass. I wish I has some cheese and bread to eat with it! The Northwest breeze that picked up while we were outside added the smell of autumn and hinted that this would be good with a nice Butternut Squash or Brie soup.

The Wine I am Drinking

Last night we went to our local wine shop for their end of summer wine tasting. They had some excellent Crémant de Bordeaux (French sparkling wines not made in the Champagne region). But we couldn't afford any of those. So we bought this instead:

2005 Nolasdos from Veleta ($12). A mix of Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Cabernet Franc (40%), and Tempranillo (20%), this Spanish wine was super dry with a great oaky aftertaste. It went really well with the chef's lightly seasoned lamb and broccoli salad.

But what it went really well with was that cupcake you see in the shot. One of the owners of the wine shop also owns/is the chef at a restaurant in Evanston that we love. She makes amazing cupcakes and sells them at the shop. Last night we had the chocolate/caramel cupcakes with Bailey's frosting. So tasty, and a great way to end the meal.

Craigslist is awesome.

Sam, just in case you decided to leave the world of archives: a possible new job!

Bring Your Own Meat

So this is how the conversation this morning went about my in-laws:

Jim: So I was at Karl and Stephanie's yesterday, they got a new wine fridge.

Me: Hum. Really poor, aren't they? Must have bought it for that wine they "forgot" to give you for your birthday.

Jim: Uh huh.

Me: Any news on that new dog they are talking about?

Jim: As soon as they are done dog sitting for Karl's mom. I think they have another Weimeraner lined up.

Me: Uh huh.

Jim: They invited us to a BBQ on the 30th to welcome their new roommate.

Me: New roommate?

Jim: Yeah, they are renting out the back room. But I don't really want to go.

Me: Why not? You usually want to go to their parties.

Jim: Because...it's bring your own meat.

Me: Excuse me? If they're hosting a BBQ, shouldn't they be providing the meat and we
bring the dish to pass?

Jim: I know.

Me: We'll I guess I know what they will be providing.

Jim: What's that?

Me: A bag of chip and some cheap beer.

Jim: Let's not go.

Me: I don't think I can anyway, that might be the Archivist's conference that weekend anyway.

Jim: Thank God for Archivists! Can I meet you for lunch?

If Looks Could Kill, You Would Be an Uzi...

Would someone please tell me WHY I have the song "Shoop" running on a continuous loop in my brain? It's better than "Keep on the Sunny Side of Life," which was this morning's shower anthem, but honestly, "Shoop"?

Wait... now that I think of it, I know EXACTLY why that song is in my head, but it's something best not discussed on the blog, just in case... prying eyes and all that. There's a Greek god involved... I'll explain later...

So, what songs have the rest of your brains been playing for you, despite your best attempts to turn the volume down (or off)? I'm just curious what people get stuck with... or if I'm just abnormal.

Oh, incidentally, IT'S FRIDAY!!!! HOLLA!!!!!

Another Reminder

Just another obnoxious reminder that my blog is up and running again. Two new posts, people. I'm going to try to write on it at least five days a week. There was an interesting development in my life today, so I suggest y'all remember that I'm back.

[Wingal, desperate for attention, love, acceptance, and comments, made a sad and pathetic plea for somebody--ANYBODY--to pay attention to her. It was a low point in her ongoing attempt at maturity, personal growth, and development, and it would take her years to recover the ground she had lost. She also REALLY needed to get some syllabi written, but she had an addiction that no schedule of literary assignments could assuage. And she was talking about herself in the third person again. A very bad sign.]

The Wine I am (and have been for the last month) Drinking.

I have been drinking quite a bit of wine lately. I don't know if it is because I have been noticing it more because I want to post it and tell you all about it, or if it's because I'm a lush. . .

Ch. d'Oupia Heretiques Vin de Pays 2006 ($9) also known as the Swain House Wine, is wonderful. We try to always have at least one (or two as the picture shows) in the house. It's a nice full bodied red that tastes of blackberries and anise.

I was in NY for a few days at the end of July and was able to get some of that tasty NY wine (Thanks Dad!!).

Dirty Parrot! In a tumbler no less! So good, and delicious with these beauties:


And wonderful Dad of mine bought me a bottle of Heron Hill's Eclipse ($16).

Did we taste this while we were at the winery? Whatever, it was great. So dark and lush, but not to dry and tart to ward off people who don't like red wines for those reasons.

One last thing before I sign off for the night. We have recently discovered that Mooch loves wine. He had a little of TheLarry's finger one night and now knows what a wine glass is and what is in one. He will actually crawl across someones lap to get to a raised glass. His favorite so far?

Bully Hill's Pinot Noir. Mooch says, "it's a delightful red, very light on it's feet with a slight peppery aftertaste. It goes very well with with floor fuzz and carrots."

Wingal's Blog, Back on Track

Just to let y'all know, I've restarted my blog. And screw that whole "this is an academic blog" crapola I was on about back when I thought the blog would be helpful with my dissertation. Nope, didn't work that way. So, when I say "insolent and drunk with wine" in the title of the blog, I'm going to mean it. After my first post, which just sort of restarts the puppy, I have very little intention of remaining serious with the ol' blog. I'm too fun for that. Wingal out.

What I love

Especially when the box looks like this:



And I love the prizes in the bottom!

Emerging from the Mists of Time...

Hi guys. I have returned. As Boobarella can attest, I actually forgot we had a blog... it's been a crazy month or two months or year or whatever. But I'm back, obsessed with Teen Vampire Romance novels (the saccharinely addictive "Twilight" series, thank you SO MUCH, Ressler) and preparing to move at the end of the month. I'm headed for a bigger, nicer apartment to complement my bigger, nicer income and my bigger, nicer title of... yes, that's right... Doctor. Plus, my apartment building is starting to go to shit, owing to some incredibly bad choices on the part of my landlord. When you can't open your front door because there is a STROLLER blocking it, it's time to move. I'll try to be fancy and post the pictures like Boobarella did, but don't hold your collective breath. But I'll be on the second floor of another nice brick building and I will share a balcony with two of my very good friends. I will have more space, more privacy, and more light (you have to admit, my current apartment has a Hobbit Hole-ishness about it... I feel like a mole). And off-street parking and laundry facilities. Yes, much better all around.

Incidentally, I watched Drunk History. No, that is NOT how my defense went. But it IS:

-how the review for the defense went
-how I describe my dissertation to people
-how I describe medieval narratives to people
-an idea for a future project (Who wants to play Judith in that one?)

So, in short, I have returned. Missed me?

Happy day, Oh, happy day!

Today, I received the happiest email ever:

"Dear Illinois Residents

Bully Hill is happy to be able to ship our wines back into the great state of Illinois. From the time you receive this email until August fifth we will be offering a fifteen percent discount on any orders which equals 12 bottles or more. This offer is extended to IL shipments only. The 15% discount will be taken in our shipping dept. and may nor reflect in the online total.

Your friends at Bully Hill Vineyards"

OH HAPPY DAY!

The Wine I am Drinking

Okay, so this isn't a wine:

. . . but I have always wanted to try it.

yeah. It's not so great. I'm totally bummed. If you want a nice Summer beer, just get a Corona. I am so sorry Jimmy; this is poopy.

Puppy confusion, the Art of Reimbursement, or How the Week is Going So Far

I'm not sure exactly where to start this. It might be best to start with Tuesday when I attended the SLA (Special Libraries Assoiciation) membership drive party. It was bad. Yes, they had dessert, yes there was a tray of Greek food and a bottle of water, but they never actually said what their organization was all about and why I should join. Not to mention, no one spoke to me who wasn't planning on running for president next year. (Hint to Erika: Don't bother with it unless you have to). That dismal failure of an event followed by a glass of wine at a swanky hotel bar and shopping for my parents belated birthdays which I forgot all about and plagued by the impending doomishness of my mother's phone call earlier in the day telling me my father is going to have a stint put in his heart today because he's really not well has kind of flavored the week.

Yesterday, I made the Costco run for the museum's huge party tonight that I'm not really getting any credit for thinking up, because someone else actually went to the people who mattered and informed them it would be a good idea. I probably wouldn't have wanted the responsibility of taking control anyway. This mad dash to Costco and Smart and Final was followed by a politically charged book club over a the graphic novel "Persepolis." Of the novel, very little was discussed, of the situation discussed in the book, much was. However, the salsa was good and so were the strawberries.

Then this moring I confused Clifford by getting up early. It was so out of the usual that when Jim tried to take him outside to do his business he wouldn't go. In fact, he came back in. Jim had to pick him up and carry him outside to try it again. And it's cold in my neighborhood, but not downtown, so I'm dressed for downtown, but not my neighborhood which meant that with the copious amount of lemon juice I had to carry with me this morning I couldn't manage extra clothes to change into so I'm wearing my party wear. Despite Muni being on time I just had a hellish ride in on, Muni is apparently having switching problems and tunnel traffic is slow this morning. Doesn't really matter anyway because the 10 bottles of lemon juice I was carrying was not going to get up and magically transport me anywhere I wanted to be anyway. So I'm here, I'm dressed to party and I'm headed for coffeeville up the street. Any questions? I didn't think so. I'm just not sure I can face a third night of eatting hors d'ouevres for dinner again.

The Wine I am Drinking

It was my anniversary on Monday. So a special night called for a special wine.


Another Argentine wine, Luigi Bosca Reserva ($18) is excellent. Malbec, apparently one of the more celebrated grapes to grow in Argentina, is a varietal originally found in France that has flourished in the Southern Hemisphere. Not as dry as I normally prefer, but nowhere near sweet, the Luigi Bosca has a nice spicy aftertaste. It was delicious with the traditional anniversary dinner of brie & paté.

drunk history

New Feature: The Wine I am Drinking.

I think we need a new feature on here. So I'm starting one:

"The Wine I'm Drinking"

This weekend we bought a bottle of something that I called "Psychedelic Cow."

It's called, as I'm sure you can see, Terra Buena ($11). It's an Argentinian red wine and it is delicious. We had it with steaks with an onion, garlic, and blue cheese sauce, mashed potatoes and a brie & tomato salad. It really brought out the garlic flavor in the sauce the chef (read: the Larry) made. As most of reds I like are, it was dry and had a bit of spice to it.

So I say a nice A-.