SUNDAY FAVORITES - WINERY

If this is Sunday it must
be time for Sunday Favorites
with Chari at Happy to Design. 
Make sure you stop in to visit and
her and all the other participants. 




I first posted this last March. It is such a nice little place to visit I look forward to going there again soon.


On a beautiful sunny Sunday morning my BB and I found ourselves at a winery about 30 miles from our house. Domaine De Chaberton Winery, wine shop and bistro.

The red wine grapes are grown in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. This is about 220 miles away from here in the only official pocket desert in Canada. The white wine grapes are grown here on a south slope in a micro climate that is perfect for "cool climate" grapes.

The wine shop has the most beautiful gift baskets and wine accessories. We found a wedding gift here for someone but we can't say what it is for obvious reasons.

I suggested my BB should buy this for me but alas it is not in the budget. It had 8 bottles of wine and various other items in it.

The winery has won many medals throughout the years and had gold medals in Michigan in 2008 and California in 2007.

We tried several wines and bought the 2004 VQA Canoe Cove Shiraz and a 2007 VQA Pinot Gris to try at home.

The red was served with a steak dinner. It held up well to the grilled meat. It was a mix of spice and deep red fruits. Cherry, smokey, beautiful long legs. The white will be served on a sunny day with a light spread of cheeses, breads and maybe some olives. Buttery tastes. Many thanks to the lovely staff who declined to be photographed. The tasting was very enjoyable.

COMPANY'S COMING

We had guests over for dinner on Sunday. Hooray, I was so happy. We used to entertain often but since I have started working full time we have not had anyone over. A whole month with no guests. Withdrawal symptoms galore.

When we have company at our house it has always been a pretty relaxed affair. I work well under pressure and know what needs to be done to pull off a delicious meal with relaxed guests. I can do it with an hours notice and I have.

Nothing is worse than your guests feeling like you are stressed out and tired from creating a meal for them. It makes them feel like a burden when they should be feeling like part of the family.

So how do I prepare for guests? First we decide who to invite. Only people we enjoy spending time with. We figure this out first because sometimes there are dietary restrictions. Once I cooked for guests who's special needs were: no salt, no nuts, no spicy food and no dairy. I don't remember what I cooked.

I work out the menu and often try new recipes. I can tell by looking at a recipe if it is a good one or if it is going to be watery, or bland or too much trouble. So far I have not had any new recipes that have failed. I don't like to make a lot of appetizers because it ruins guest's appetites for the main course and dessert. If there is an appetizer then often I don't serve a salad.

I do plan on extra food because leftovers are a good thing. The surprise guests I have been presented with are not a good thing. Has anyone ever done that to you? Just brought someone along without asking? It has happened to me a few times. That is so rude. I don't care if you are friend or family you don't do that. I have never been too short on food because as I said I cook extra. 

We share good wine (I am fussy about that) and we laugh lots and eat even more. Sometimes we stay at the dining table and yap and pick or play a game or else we move to the living room where I can put my feet up. I never clear the table after dinner, my BB Guy does it. We also don't clean up the kitchen while we have guests here. It can wait until they are gone or even until the next day if we are tired. Life is too short and the dishes will wait.

We have fun at our house and our guests often put their feet up on the couch or coffee table, relaxed and at home. That is a successful evening for us. The best compliment of all? They always come back.

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LUNCHTIME

I have been back working full time for a month now. I am pleased with myself that I have brought my lunch every day except one and they have all been extremely healthy and low cal.
There are places to buy lunch close by but I have avoided that trap because even if they didn't take so long they are really not healthy.
The only thing I have bought pre-made was a healthy bean  soup from my coffee shop.
Most days my lunch consists of a small container of yogurt, a salad with balsamic vinegar and a piece of fruit. I am not doing it as a diet but just as a way of eating healthy. I come home and have a regular dinner.
The best thing about the whole back to work scenario is my BB Guy cleaned a bathroom this weekend and has done laundry. We had guests over for dinner and things got done between the two of us. I really enjoyed and appreciated that.
How about you? What do you have for lunch at work? Working at home? C'mon...tell the truth.

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MOURNING JEWELRY

I was contacted by the wife of a distant cousin (Hi Chris) about a piece of  jewelry she received that had been in her mother's possession. It was called a mourning ring. There was a name inscribed inside of it with the deceased's death date and age. 

She looked all over her family tree and can find no connection to the name and we have both done research to try and find out who this woman was but we have found nothing. Zero. 

The custom was to bequeath these rings to your friends and loved ones after your death. They were often made with black stones and had the deceased's woven hair under a piece of crystal. Sometimes pearls were added to symbolize tears. 

They also put hair into brooches and necklaces and some created pieces that were all woven hair. Women sometimes had little containers on their dressing tables to hold the hair that they removed from their hair brushes. I think Cass at This Old House has one or told me about them?? I can't remember for sure.

All of these photos are from the Colonial Williamsburg site. They have an amazing site filled with history and genealogy info. I envy those of you who may have visited there.

 

This ring with the two colors of hair are engraved "George and Martha Washington" and are believed to hold their hair.

 

Sometimes engraved in these rings were the Latin intials  AET that refers age at death or OBT which refers to the date of death.

 

Do you have any of these heirlooms in your home? Can you share any information or history about them?


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FOODIE FRIDAY - VINTAGE ADS

 

I am joining in with the Foodie Friday crowd over at Designs by Gollum . Of course I haven't been cooking much of anything lately. At least not anything worth photographing. Lets go back in time to when men were men and women were....house slaves. Just kidding. Just poking fun. C'mon where's that sense of humor. 

 

 

 Make sure you visit the others and check out that gorgeous cake on Micheal's site. Don't forget to leave a comment too.

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