Saturday, November 15, 2008

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!



















I know, I know...We still have Thanksgiving to get thru, but I just LOVE this time of year! It's just the feeling of how sparkly and happy everything gets during the holiday season.

And when I look forward to the burgeoning season, all the memories of Christmases past come flooding back ~
that bike was the BEST present I ever got! I was BREATHLESS when I woke up to find it! I remember the feeling I had when that picture was taken like it was yesterday.
I was SO excited to get that bike (which was really too big for me, but that made absolutely NO difference to me, because I KNEW I could ride it). It was a second-hand bike, but to me it was new. And it was beautiful. And it was PERFECT. A REAL bike!
No more little kid's bike for me. I was so excited, I was afraid to smile too hard, lest that might break the spell and the bike would disappear into thin air. My breath truly was stuck in my chest.
I LOVED that bike. I rode it and rode it and rode it, and I loved every single second I spent on it, my hair pulled back in a pony tail so that it wouldn't blow in my face (because doncha know, I HAD to ride FAST!). It was a sad day when I finally had grown too big for it; it was like giving up my best friend. Fast forward 40 years and I'm still a bike fanatic....only the bike on the right is how I roll now, LOL. I LOVE my bikes!

I also wish I had a hundred dollars for every guy I got to ride and/or buy a bike ;). Ahhh...the good ol' days!

So, I'm thinking about the holidays. We're not going anywhere this year, just hanging out at home. We've gone up to the Napa Valley the last 2 or 3 years, but it's such a long drive especially with 2 dogs now~ dh is not very patient about pulling off and giving them time to "go".....he thinks they should poop on command...or at least according to his time schedule, which means "pronto, so we can get to where we're going. He's really not a very good travelling partner, unfortunately. So we'll stay home and avoid the aggravation. Which means, I get to decorate! I have been decorating every year, but I left it at doing a bunch of smaller trees, since it is so much work to put up the big tree and get it decorated, since I am soley responsible for it and I really hate getting up on that ladder! But this year, I'll probably do it...it's about a 3 day job, but it's so nice when it's all done.

I'll miss all our friends up in Napa since this is the time of year when we usually get together if just for a drink somewhere; but a lot of the times if we go up, it's hard to get to everyone to spend time with. At the holidays, we sort of try to devote our trip to running here or there to try to get together with as many as we can. It's sort of what makes Christmas, Christmas to me now. Gifts don't matter anymore, it's the sharing of good tidings and time with good friends and family that makes it special.

We gotta get back there, LOL.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Wishin' and Hopin'




"Wishin', and hopin', and thinkin', and prayin',
Plannin' and dreamin' each night of his charms,
That won't get you into his arms".

Ohhh....MY good ol' days...the days of England Swings and Carnaby Street. I miss Dusty Springfield. And I loved this song.

This is what dh told me the YE's did all day yesterday while I was working at the Art of Food and Wine event; he took this with his Blackberry. Aren't they the BEST EVER? Just staring at the front door, LOL. Too cute.

Today, however, Madison is wearing his "Little MONSTER" tank top....the barking beast! He's such a sweetie though; he's actually learning to SIT! It takes him awhile longer (like a LONG while longer) to "get" things than Max does, but he makes up for it by his happy-go-lucky personality.

Yesterday and the day before were really fun. It was a little too warm on Saturday, and it was a little too cold on Sunday, LOL. And the morning was really windy. It did finally warm up though, once the front passed over us, sprinkling a teensy bit; but it didn't seem to deter the wine drinkers.

I worked at the wine tasting seminar tent, setting up wine glasses for each seminar (usually 6 per person) and then pouring each wine. I tasted only the last wines b/c we had poured almost all glasses for each setting, but not that many people showed up for it, so we sure didn't want to just dump it without at least tasting it! Unfortunately, for me anyway, the last seminar was one on "Affordable Burgundy", so they were all French wines. And I guess I'm a dyed-in-the-wool California girl....I really didnt' care for any of the six. I guess I thought the second one (a chardonnay) was good....and also, I hadn't eaten all day, so I imagine they all would have been better with food. I'm just sayin'....I wish the New Zealand wine seminar had been last, LOL..I LOVE their wines! And would have loved to have tasted some of the ones I've never had a chance to.

Anyway, I was EXHAUSTED by the time we were done; I started off the day zip-tying tablecloths to the tablelegs so they wouldn't fly off with the wind or up-end the wine glasses. There were enough wine glass casualties as it was! Not to mention one woman whose backside was larger than she thought (or she'd had too much wine before she got to the seminar), and hit the glasses on the table behind her (which had already been filled) and knocked over about 12 glasses, half being red wine. UGH.

This morning I'm tired, I should go run a few errands, but not sure if I'll get to them. Everything can wait til tomorrow I'm sure.

I think we're finally over the really too warm weather for this year, and hopefully can settle into some nice reason-why-canadians-come-here-for 4 months type of weather!

Dh's birthday is coming right up too; I need to get something planned for this weekend since he'll be gone on THE day to work. Life in the fast lane here.....