Ah,
The pictures reminded me of this time last year when we had the full reign of the house! Jim still looks like the same old Jim. Corinne looks great, even given the misery she is going thru. Pardon me, perhaps not misery at all. With the manservant on duty, I bet it's worth another little nips and tucks. You better watch out ... (When can I send Randy over for the training?)
Your schedule sounds dizzyingly busy! I don't know if I can do 1/10 of it. Randy and I have taken a couple of house hunting trips to Dallas and have narrowed down our choice to a short list. We are looking at possibly moving mid-May time frame. Come and visit!
Please send our love to Clara and Dusty, (Did you get the pictures of them from last year?) and Serge/Flaming. Wish we were there to help celebrate Clara's birthday! Ruth
Training courses for Manservants, Kitchen Scullions and Laundroids run on a weekly basis as I have found that the rest of The Sisterhood all want their own personal attendants, whether they happen to be convalescing or not! Online registration available upon request.
Yes, the pictures from last year did arrive. I think they come with the lovely ones you sent after our visit? Clara and Dusty send you their best wishes and thanks as well. of course.
I hadn't realized that the move to Dallas was not that far off. What does this mean for your properties in San Antonio? Will Randy commute? What sort of a drive is involved? I gather it is about a 4.5 hour drive on I35E.
Been quite busy again, over last week or so. Helped my friend Imre with buying a TV, a week ago Tuesday. He has had some phone trouble so had to stay in his apartment until technician arrived. We chatted on Monday night and he said he would call me as soon as line trouble was resolved. I had looked at prices for a 19" screen, size he said he wanted, (Required that size to fit on a particular shelf.), online at Costco, Best Buy and London Drugs. Turned out that London Drugs had the best deal. At any rate, I phone him every half hour from 10:00am until 1:30pm, the line busy each time. At first I assumed that the problem had not been addressed but finally decided to drive over to his place.
En route I thought that I might as well simply pick up the Toshiba which was on sale for $149.99 as he had mentioned during our conversation that he didn't particularly care about a given make. Stopped at the new store on Vine and Broadway and within 15 minutes I was in and out with set.
When I arrived at Imre's apartment, he was slightly embarrassed as he had been talking on the phone all the time! Longest call had been to his sister, Julia, in Hungary. We've met her a number of times and she is a lovely person. I wasn't at all upset. In fact I was pleased. (Not sure if I have mentioned this or not, in earlier emails, but Imre is suffering from terminal multiple myeloma so it is a very difficult situation for his sisters and brothers, all of them in Hungary.) Nevertheless, I explained that perhaps he might wish to consider a slightly larger screen and he said that both Julia and the Shaw technician had suggested he opt for a 31" screen so he asked if I'd mind returning the 19".
Of course I was more than glad to do that so returned to London Drugs and picked up a 32" Samsung. Back to Imre's and within a few minutes had it set up, (but 8 small screws to attach screen to stand), not on his shelving unit but on another piece of furniture which worked very well. Unfortunately, could not manage to obtain any signal in spite of following instructions for various input plugs. We called Shaw but hat was nothing but an exercise in frustration. Had to wait for ages to finally be connected to a human and then once we were patched through to Technical Support line went dead shorty after I described problem to technician! I had to leave by then so left Imre to call back.
Lugging his old set out to my car was no easy matter as it was both awkward and heavy to carry. In comparison, the 19" flat screen was a as light as a feather and the 32" unit wasn't much more difficult to handle. Anyway, I managed to haul the ungainly television to where my car was parked without any real problems/diffiuclties with fire/elevator doors and more slippery outside steps than I would have wished for . By this time it was raining heavily and there were puddles everywhere so I had to zig-zag to avoid the pools of water flooding the large patio entranceway to the building and my vehicle.
Once the set was safely loaded in the back seat, I stopped at the BC Liquor Store close by to pick up a case of Canta Perdices, 2008 Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain, 14%, $15.99. Had not had it before last Saturday when I took a bottle to Ragin's Birthday party. I bought it on speculation, before Christmas, as I'd not seen it before. Was simply overwhelmed by it and was hoping I'd be able to find
more of it as I couldn't remember where I bought it. As it turned out, once I looked on the BC Liquor site that it was fairly readily available.
Back home I had a bite to eat. Cora Lee was at a church meeting. The new minister, Beth Hayword, a lovely individual, had picked her up to take her to Presbytery, so I was all alone. After my "overlefts" I vacuumed, (Manservant Duties 101!), and just after I'd put hose away, Sarge came by to tell me that we'd need to take my car to curling rink as Flamin' was out with their vehicle. We made our way to VCC and parked on the street and as we walked to the club we bumped into the team that we were to play that evening, Team Jung. They were the first team we played at the start of the season and they beat us! Sarge was not very happy as we had never lost to them before. While they are not overly accomplished curlers, everyone played extremely well and they certainly deserved to beat us.
Nevertheless, Sarge was determined to seek revenge this time out and, in fact, we dominated the entire match. We scored 4 in the first end, then stole 2, 1, and finally 3 in the fourth. Down 10/0 they threw in the towel and shook hands, dispirited but good losers. Since the beginning of the season our team has really coalesced and everyone is curling well. Given each individual's level of skill, Sarge is very adept at asking each player to make shots which he knows, more or less, that they are capable of executing. This has enabled us to exert quite a bit of pressure on our opposition with consistent winning results. Anyway, it was fun, not simply to win but to feel pleased about out team work.
My swimming continues to go well. On Wednesday I was able to do 3.25 miles and did shave off a few minutes for each mile so was pleased to see that my form seems to be improving, even if slowly. Still, this exercise seems to be helping my shoulder so am grateful for that. Doesn't seem to ache quite as much on longer rides, per esempio. Hit the pool again, this afternoon, and was able to log 3.25 miles so am delighted with my progress. Only thing I really need to do is to start my swim earlier in the day. When I was still working at UBC and weather permitted, I'd cycle in to pool for 7:30am, before starting at Library. Need to become more disciplined now so that I can do somewhat the same at the Aquatic Centre. If I arrive there around 7:00am I would be able to log my three miles, (my benchmark for now), before noon and then have more of the day to devote to other activities. I might even be able to entertain stopping for lunch with Ragin' in Steveston!
That evening we were invited to celebrate Robbie Burns' Day with former colleague, Jo-Anne Naslund, and her husband Colin. Since they had actually had a Robbie Burns dinner on Saturday, we were only ones that evening. Rather nice as we could chat over the course of the entire evening, something we wouldn't have been able to do quite as easily if others were present. Traditional dinner consists of leek soup followed by Haggis with Bashed Neeps and Champit Tatties mashed turnip and mashed potatoes. Everything was delicious but I would have enjoyed some hot sauce for haggis as it is quite bland. Cora Lee would have loved some of Clara's ripe tomatoe pickle, for same reason, but we didn't want to offend our hosts!
I had brought along a bottle of the Canta Perdices, 2008 Tempranillo, mentioned above, and this powerful, earthy wine went perfectly with heavy haggis. The flavours are big and meaty, dark berry fruit with a lasting, modulated acidic bite on the finish to balance the fat of the haggis. Everyone seemed to like the wine. Dessert was a scrumptious trifle and we toasted the Bard with a few drams of Lark Distillery's Single Malt, from Tasmania. Friends Tina and Trevor, from Adlaide, brought me a bottle a number of years ago so thought I'd share it with Colin as he is a fan of malt whiskey as well. Was even more pleased with it this time as I hadn't remembered its notes of cedar and oak, with a twist of orange peel and then butterscotch and vanilla on the finish. Jo-Anne and Cora Lee were quite impressed and the tipple helped Her Majesty to effect a "controlled slide" down the back porch steps, on her Royal Bottom, when we left later that evening!
With respect to the Island Inn Rehab Ward, as Manservant to her Liege Ladyship, I still have a heavy number of unpaid chauffeuring commitments to discharge, even though Her Ladyship was able to start weight bearing this past Friday! Unfortunately, for me, she now has use of the Royal Cane with which to beat me soundly about my hunched shoulders/withers! Nevertheless, my imposed obligations are still fairly onerous and she keeps finding ways to order me about with but the flick of a royal finger, the practiced ease of a haughty aristocrat! (Parenthetically, on my sorely begrudged half-day off saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, US version, last Thursday afternoon, with Glasgow, and enjoyed it immensely. Still like the Swedish films but feel that this remake is very, very good. Not something that I had expected, to tell you the truth.)
On the cycling front, Robo Ray and I did our usual Stanley Park jaunt, last Friday, meeting friend, Kjell, on the West Van side of Lions Gate. (He is probably about 6'4" and is quite uncomfortable about riding over LG, fearing, so he says, of being blown over railing!) At any rate, we made our to Travers and Marine Drive and then back to his place, near Tatlow and Marine. Kjell has not been riding much of late so he didn't want to attempt Seymour, as I had first suggested when we rendezvoused. At any rate, after we waved goodbye, Raymundo and I made our back towards LG and discovered a very pleasant, freshly surfaced bike trail which we followed back to the bridge. At some point it skirts the Capilano Reserve of the Squamish First Nation. Not sure how far it goes to the east but will investigate on our next ride in this vicinity. From looking a some cycling maps, think that it might go as far along the north side of Welch Street and West 1st Street from Pemberton Avenue to MacKay Avenue. Eventually, I gather, "The Spirit Trail will be a unique, waterfront-oriented, multi-use and fully accessible greenway that will provide pedestrians, cyclists, inline skaters and people with wheeled mobility aids access across the North Shore, from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove."
For the present, however, it makes a wonderful addition to our North Shore ride and we had logged almost 40km by the time we were headed back over LG. Weather was superb and sun even graced us by peeking out from behind the clouds as we made our way downhill from Prospect Point. At bottom, I asked Robo Ray if he fancied another loop of the Seawall but he declined. he has not been riding much since snow and nasty weather have prevented much sustained cycling and felt his legs were tired. This being the case, I accompanied him to Macdonald and Point Grey and then, waving goodbye, made my way back towards Science World. I wanted to stop at Tru-Value Optical on Ash and Broadway to collect another receipt for new glasses I had purchased last August. (Couldn't seem to find original and needed it to submit a claim to our Pacific Blue Cross plan, along with physio charges I'd amassed last fall before seeing shoulder specialist. Had waited to submit former as our vision allowance didn't kick in until 2012.) Was pleased to pull up to storefront with 75.33km on my trusty odometre!!!
Home by just before 4:00pm so it was a pretty lengthy ride, chronologically speaking, as we left Harbour Terrace at 11:00am. Slow but sure!! Still, I was delighted to have been able to enjoy the wonderful day. The temperature was truly pleasant and I didn't realize until I took off my cycling togs that I hadn't been wearing the vest that I usually put on for extra warmth/wind protection, over my two long-sleeved undershirts. Had fully intended to wear it as forecast indicated that it was to be cool and windy. Not so at all. (As an aside, I had a brief telephone chat with my brother-in-law, George, in Manitoba, yesterday afternoon, and he harangued me, as he is wont to do, about how inexpensive it is to live at Falcon Lake, property values/taxes, etc., compared to Vancouver. I just laughed at him and asked if he could cycle in January, dressed as I had been, without even socks!)
On Saturday we celebrated Clarisse's 87th birthday. I had picked up tenderloin steaks at Costco on Thursday evening and Sarge cut them up on Friday evening so that we could marinate them. Dusty did his famous twice-baked potatoes and Clara her delicious turnip puff. Cora Lee and I prepared twice baked cauliflower and Chloë whipped up a tangy dressing for the Ceasar salad I threw together just before we sat down to eat. Flamin' and sarge brought a host of wonderful cheeses along with melt-in-your-mouth bite-sized quiche. We started with a Clava, Casablanca, 2009 Sauvignon Balnc, 12.5%, and I was delighted as I'd not tasated it before. Once again, had purchased it on spec before Christmas. Lovely colour, pale gold with a bit of green, grapefruit with a bit of grass and spice, reminding me of Rancho Sisquoc's of years gone by. Sutherlands had brought a Black Hills, Oliver, 2008 Chardonnay, 14.1%. A sumptuous, complex wine indeed. Apple, pear and lemon citrus on the palate with great acidity and subtle notes of butterscotch on the finish. Only bad thing I can say about the wine is that Dusty liked it so much there was not enough for anyone else!!!
Clara started on a bottle of Layer Cake, 2010, Malbec, Mendoza, 14.6%, (I'd bought it earlier that day at Liberty on GI as it is one of her favourites.), and I know why. Spicy nose, with black pepper, powerful cherry and blackberry flavors on the palate, downright jammy with a pleasing, long, long finish. Not sure if you know it or not but "in addition to Malbec, Layer Cake also produce Cabernet, Primitivo, Cotes du Rhone, and Shiraz, all from different regions of the world. Jayson Woodbridge is the force behind Layer Cake. He’s also the owner of Hundred Acre wines, a high-end wine label based in Napa that sells wines starting at about $250 a bottle. Each Layer Cake wine is grown, made, bottled and labeled in its country of origin before being shipped to the US."
By chance, Flamin' and Sarge brought a Layer Cake, 2010 Shiraz, McLaren Vale, 14.1%, an extremely well-balanced wine, just short of a fruit bomb, fresh blueberries, blackberries and cherries, dark and dense, pepper and dark chocolate. This is certainly an inky Shiraz with a long, lingering finish. Decided to put up a local against these two impressive reds and decided upon a La Frenz, Naramata Bench, 2006 Merlot, 13.5%. Not disappointed by any stretch of the imagination as one finds aromas of dark fruits and chocolate on the nose, cassis and coffee on the palate. Again, a very balanced wine with well-structured tannins and a nice lingering, satisfying finish.
Just sat down to eat when Rebecca and Corey joined us for the meal. They had both been working and were planning on stopping by to say hello anyway so we simply set two more places. (Chloë had been working until 8:00pm so she wished her Grandmother all the best beore she dashed off to Maya's birthday party.) All in all, a delightful meal with some quite impressive wines, not to mention the delicious food. For dessert I had ordered a strawberry mousse cake, (Cora Lee could eat everything but the bottom layer.), from the bakery at the Pacific Culinary Institute, just at the entrance to GI, under the bridge, just before the Seawall), so we sang For She's A Jolly Good Fellow before Rosie blew out the candles. Only had three, an 8 and a 5 with an upside down 5 as we didn't have a 2!
Guests left at around 11:00pm as it had been a full evening. I put on the dishwasher and settled Her Majesty in bed before turning in myself, to read a few chapters of Winter in Madrid. Wonderful way to end a truly wonderful day! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!
Alex and Samantha at the comedy show in Pasadena
With friends Jessica and Ashley
My fancy haircut today
Hi Tinsel Town!
Glad you enjoyed the pics,Mata Hari! Which Layer Cake? Am curious about cost. Very pricey here at around $30-$33CDN.
It was the shiraz and I had read this blog beforehand and found it at Trader Joes'
Blogroll: Wine Sense Two Cents
In Layer Cake Wine, Wine on August 10, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Layer Cake Wines are 100 Percent Pure
“Money is no object, I just want to make the best damn wine possible”-winemaker Jayson Woodbridge
Layer Cake is an
ode to winemaker, Jayson Woodbridge’s grandfather who always told him
that the “soil where wine is grown is like a Layer Cake, layered with
mocha, chocolate, hints of spice and rich, always rich.’ More
importantly, the wine, if properly made, was like a delicious cake
layered with fruit, mocha and chocolate, hints of spice and rich, always
rich. “Never pass up a good layer cake” he would say.
Jayson Woodbridge
grew up in Canada. “I spent half of my life in southern Ontario,” “I was
an investment banker in Toronto. We basically financed Canada’s top oil
companies.” Jayson decided he was destined to make wine, but before he
could take that step he knew he had to “save a bunch of money.” He went
about amassing a nest egg, and in 1999, he retired. At age 35 Jayson
Woodbridge moved his family to the Napa Valley and became a farmer. He
called his winery, Hundred Acre and it was a success right from the
start. Robert Parker scored his 3rd vintage Hundred Acre Cabernet
Sauvignon 98 points.
Winemaker Jayson
Woodbridge and his team focus on making wines from unique locations that
have a sense of history and family, and the Layer Cake Wines symbolize
time, terroir and something that can only be hand made. As a result,
every Layer Cake wine is a true and distinct reflection of the farmers,
the land and Jayson Woodbridge’s own style of winemaking.
“This high-level
success was satisfying,” says Jayson Woodbridge, “but I wanted to show
people what we could make for $15 and have it taste like it’s $60 or
$70.” So Layer Cake came into being, a line of wines made in various
regions of the world and selling for around $15 to $28 a bottle.
Kristin’s three reasons to buy this wine:
1. Jayson
Woodbridge somehow managed to source some of the grapes for Layer Cake
from the same vineyards that Penfolds Grange gets their grapes from…”The
Grange” sells for $200+ a bottle…Layer Cake under $20…Hello!
2. Jayson
Woodbridge is so determined to produce the best wines that he passed on
making 2007 Layer Cake…who does that? He could have sold the wine by the
label alone, but he passed!
3. Wine Geeks like
me will be impressed by the fact that Winemakers Philippe Melka &
Helen Mawson joined Jayson’s Layer Cake project. “The idea of making
wines in distant lands with a true understanding of the terroir of the
place and how the wines should be made, and then delivering such great
wines at these price points is rare, and I’m thrilled to join Jayson in
his efforts. His vision for Layer Cake is something I have believed in
for a long time,” he continued.-Philippe Melka.
Layer Cake Shiraz
Region: Barossa Valley, Australia
Grape: 100% Shiraz
Lifespan: Drink now
Layer Cake Shiraz:
Who can resist cake? This Shiraz is equally irresistible..Dark, dense
and creamy, complex aromas of black plum, bing cherry, blackberry,
coffee and pepper merge with licorice, tobacco, mocha and dark
chocolate..
Cheese Pairings: Aged Gouda, Aged Cheddar, Roaring Forties Blue
Food Pairings: Pulled Pork, Blackened Fish, Steak
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