Rudy the Magnificent!!
 

Some Musings

First allow me to address the American Idol issue. Last night proved my point entirely. America is filled with ignorant yahoos. Anwar gets the boot and Fat pedophile-wife-beater Scott stays??? Hmmm… and OJ didn't kill Nicole, Michael Jackson only wants to help little boys, and W is a humanitarian.

I am just going to stay in my own delusional happy place hence forth.

Now, moving on to more interesting topics, Me. I have recently undertaken a skincare regime. I am not sure why I am doing this, I can only surmise it is because of Jennifer’s bad influence. I truly do try not to be susceptible to outside influences, yet here I am worrying about the state of my skin.

I have recently taken to putting Glycolic Acid on my face followed by some weird fruit acids, and then some crazy ass moisturizer. This all now becomes a REGIMENT!! Which is another way of saying, I am pissing away about fifteen minutes a day on putting toxic chemicals on my face. Not to mention the multitude of money I am throwing away on this crap.

FIFTEEN MINUTES!!

Do you realize that in just one year I will have spent over two & 1/2 days just rubbing my face. Just seems a bit ridiculous. Yet do I stop?

NO!!

I actually consult Jennifer on more ways to rub my face? Which chemical is better? In what order should I put these creams on? How often do I use them?

I MUST HAVE MORE INFORMATION!!!

WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING??

Oh, and any suggestions for a really good moisturizer?

I QUIT!!!

Yes you heard me!!

I quit American Idol. I don't care about these people. The more I watch the more convinced I am that America is sinking into a deep dark abyss. The fact that pedophile-wife beater Scott is still on, shows me America's mentality is less than an ameba's.

And believe me I am giving America the credit here.

So last night, instead of watching A.I., I spent the evening with my husband drinking too much wine, staying up way too late, discussing the state of the nation and enjoying NOT watching A.I.

So there FOX!! Take that!!! You have lost of viewer to whom you can no longer manipulate & pimp your products on!!

By the way, to all my loyal readers, all three of you... UPDATE YOUR DAMN BLOGS!!

Thus ends the Wine Weekend Getaway. We had a lovely time. Recharged our batteries, ate some incredible food, drank amazing wines and met some very good people. I highly recommend to anyone needing a quick getaway to head out to McMinnville. It is close yet feels like you have entered another world. Thank you to all the wonderful people who made this such a great getaway.
 

We finished up our weekend by taking a back road through God only knows where. I was sure we would break down, run out of gas, or just fall off the side of some cliff. We would be one of those stupid people you read about that went for a Sunday drive and got lost. They would send Search & rescue out for us and find us eating each other. But we made it through saving me the embarrassment of having to explain why I was gnawing on Kurt's shin bone.

Here was some of the beauty we encountered. Not a bad place to get lost.
 

On Saturday we visited a tasting room where a gentleman by the name of Michael was pouring. He also worked at Tina's, a local restaurant that serves the most amazing cuisine. Michael invited us to come by and have dinner. We did. What a wonderful experience that was. He recommended the house Pinot Noir for our wine and for our entree he suggested the scallops and lamb chops. WOW!! The sauces alone were to die for. My lamb chops were tender and cooked to perfection. The scallops literally melted in your mouth. For dessert we had the bread pudding. OOOHHHH So light and scrumptious. The fare was a gift from the gods.

The painting is one of Michaels. Not only is he a wine pourer, a waiter, but also an artist. Oh and he has two little girls.
 

Have I told you lately, I love wine??????? 

Is this not just beautiful?? This is a view from one of the wineries we visited. I think I am ready to pack my bags and move to wine country.  

AAAHHHHH!! 

Here are the lovely ladies who poured tastes for us. When I asked how they got into doing this, they all professed that this was just a hobby for them. Their "real" jobs were teachers and a lawyer. See what a passion for wine can do?? Makes you work weekends.

Here is just one of our wine stops. It was the prettiest and had the absolutely best Port I have EVER tasted. We also fell in love with their Pinot gris. It was not too sweet and had lovely notes of melon with a hint of pineapple. Quite yummy. We enjoyed their wines so much we joined their wine club.

The TUB!! What more can I say?????? 

This was the view I had from my big claw foot tub. as I stated before, I spent a lot of time soaking in this tub. Ducky was my companion when Kurt was doing something else.  

Here we are the dork twins. We spent Saturday tasting a variety of fine wines throughout tthe area. We mosly focused on Pinot Noir. But threw som Pinot Gris in for good measure. The vineyard we are standing in front of is from the Mattey house. It typically produces 7 tones of grapes. It is approx. 1.8 acres. They sell there grapes to the local wineries making a nice profit. Not a bad gig. 

This is Denise & Jack. Two of the nicest people one will ever have the fortune to meet. They were entertainig, gracious, and damn fine cooks.  

This is the Mattey house. It was built in 1889. Not 1989. The house is seeped in nostalgia. When you walk through the doors you are transported back in time. We had no TV, no ringing phones, just us. It was a perfect way to spend time with the man I love. (That would be Kurt)  

A Weekend Away

We left Vancouver around 11:30 am Friday morning, a wet rainy Northwest day. But I didn't care, I was getting away with my best friend, my co-conspirator, my husband. We took the quick non scenic route, I-5 to 99W towards McMinnville. To ensure we arrived on time for our private wine tour in McMinnville, I gave Kurt a fake itinerary. He usually runs late and I did not want to be late. We were ahead of schedule. So far everything was going along smoothly.

Could it be for once I would have a glitch free getaway????

We arrived in Dundee and decide to stop for lunch before the wine tour. We chose a spot recommended by Bev, my co-worker. Bev knows food, wines, and movies. She has NEVER steered me wrong. We made our way into the Dundee Bistro. We were seated next to the fireplace. An excellent start to the weekend. We ordered an exceptional chardonnay to accompany our meal of Caesar salad, grilled asparagus w/ parmesan cheese, spring onion soup, and an amazing salad w/ duck egg for Kurt.

Lunch was scrumptious.

We ate leisurely, enjoying each other and letting the weeks stress flow away with each sip of wine. Did I mention it was wonderful wine?

After lunch, we once again headed West. We arrived in McMinnville about fifteen minutes later with time to spare before the tour. We strolled over to a little feed store and bought the boys a few toys. Can't forget the children.

At 2:00 PM we presented ourselves to the wine dude at Panther Creek Wine Cellars. His name was David. He married into the wine business. But he is no slacker. He was very informative. He showed everything form the casks to the wine press. I knew wine making was intricate, but WOW!! There is soooooo much more to it. So many variables go into making a good, great, and phenomenal wine: the time you pick the grapes, which vineyard you get the grapes from, how long you press the grapes, how hard you press the grapes... and on and on. People spend their lives learning this process and still find they can learn more. Thankfully the wine maker at Panther Creek has learned his trade and learned it well. Their Pinot Noir is the bomb!!
Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!!

( Did I mention that David was kinda hot???)

After spending about two hours with David and picking up a couple of bottles of Panther Creek Pinot Noir, we decide to check into our B&B, The Mattey House.

The Mattey House is located a few miles outside of McMinnville on 10 acres of one of the most beautiful pieces of property in the state of Oregon. They host 1.8 acres of vineyard, a Victorian House built in 1989, and fields as far as one can see. It was everything I expected and more. Kurt was quite taken with the place. For the record if we win the lottery we are buying the Mattey House.

We were greeted at the door by Jack, our host. A interesting chatty gentleman originally from England. Denise, Jacks wife, was out doing errands. (At least that was my guess. Since she wasn't there when we arrived) We were shown to our room at the top of the stairs and made to feel like old friends come for a visit. Our room was warm & quite cozy with a BEAUTIFUL claw foot tub. AAAHHHH!! the tub!! I will tell you, that tub got A LOT of use while we there.

We unpacked, chatted some more with Jack and then headed out for some dinner. Who knew McMinnville was home to some of the best food in the Northwest????

Who knew McMinnville was home to some of the best food in the Northwest????

We ate at La Rambla, a Spanish style resturant specializing in tapas. OMG!!!! Incredible!!!!! Wonderful!!! F$$%ing Fantastic!!!

We ate some delicious tapas. Quite original and had a Cuvee from Panther Creek.

Yummmmmm!!!!!!

For dessert we had this chocolate creation that was beyond sinful. It was cake like with a molten chocolate middle that oozed out of the cake onto a plate surrounded by raspberry and custard sauce. This was served with vanilla ice cream mixed with hazelnuts. I think I gained 10lbs at dinner.

After dinner we headed back to The Mattey House and spent a few hours chatting with Jack & Denise. (By the way, they don't like Bush. But are very PC about it)

We retired to our room around 11:30 PM and took a nice soak in the TUB.

Have I mentioned I loved the tub???

Thus ended day one of Weekend Getaway.

More to come...