casacaudill

wine tasting in amador county

This weekend we made a quick getaway (2.25 hours, quick) to Sutter Creek and Amador County for some wine tasting.  A couple of years ago we went to ZAP, a Zinfandel-focused wine event at Fort Mason in SF and really liked the Amador County wines we drank.  Since then we've been talking about visiting the area, but we just never got around to doing it.  After hearing several friends talking about their weekend getaways and camping trips, I told Alan we should do something this weekend.  That was Wednesday.  By Friday afternoon we had a list of wineries - including one that we'd visited at ZAP - in hand and reservations at the American Exchange Hotel in Sutter Creek.

We woke up early and drove up past Sacramento, into the rolling Sierra Foothills.  We got a bit lost on the way to our first winery as the Google maps directions were ... um, flat out wrong ... but we finally made it the Shenandoah Valley.  Our first stop was supposed to be Bantam Cellars but I didn't love the look of the tasting room so we kept going until we hit Vino Noceto, the one we remembered loving so much.  Unfortunately, they weren't tasting the zinfandel we'd had before and at $35/bottle we weren't interested in picking it up.  Still, they had some decent Sangiovese so we bought a couple of bottles and then made our way to Terra Rouge/Easton Winery down the road.

Since it was off the main highway, the winery itself was much more picturesque.  They were having a tremendous sale, but none of their sale wines really spoke to us.  Instead, we ended up leaving with a Muscat (that Alan's mom will love) and a couple of bottles of Barbera.

(taken with my iPhone so the quality isn't great)

Trust me, we had EVERY intention of buying Zinfandel - that's what Amador County is known for ... but the first two wineries left us pretty much in doubt that we'd find something we really liked.  Before leaving, we pulled out the camera and took a couple of pictures of the lovely setting and turning leaves.

From Terra Rouge/Easton, we decided to go off the beaten path and visit two of the wineries that were described as having great zins and no crowds - Story Vineyards & Winery.  Well, when we arrived there were a TON of people as their grounds are the perfect spot for a picnic and someone had decided to take their birthday bus there.  While that group was in the main tasting room, we went down to the "cave" to barrel taste.  Unfortunately, we encountered another large group there.  Eventually the crowds thinned out and we went back to the barrels to order futures for pick up in January 2010.  Let's hope the wine that we pick up then is as great as the one we drank from the barrel b/c that was utterly delicious.

After Story our last stop of the day was Dobra Zemlja, which was even more off the beaten path than Story.  The grounds were gorgeous with lots of shade and areas to picnic.  The tasting took place in "cave" built into the hillside and the wine was really tasty and the vibe there very cool.  We bought 3 jugs of a Zin/Syrah/??, and 2 bottles of Zinfandel port that was QUITE good.  We hung out there for awhile because it was very hot (upper 70s in mid-November ... but there's no such thing as global warming) and I just needed to sit in the shade.

From Dobra we went back into Sutter Creek to check into our hotel and wander around the town.  When we went to check in the guy tried to charge us significantly more than I was quoted on Friday, but he quickly fixed the error.  The room we were given was TINY, but nothing worse than we had in Paris.  Unfortunately the walls were paper thin and our neighbors were big fans of Sports Center.  We took a nap and then decided to look around town.  If you're not into antiques there's really not a lot going on in Sutter Creek, but it really is a gorgeous little Main Street.

(another blurry iPhone pic)

We got an espresso/latte at a cute little shop and then went back to our room for another nap.  Well, Alan didn't nap but I did.  Apparently I needed some extra sleep.

We woke up and decided to have dinner at a mediterranean restaurant, Susan's Place.  I almost wanted to leave when we walked up and the owner/hostess (?) was kind of rude to us and thought she'd get a laugh at our expense.  But, we were there and we liked the look of the menu so we stayed.  Alan got some pot roast over polenta and I had a seafood chowder, both of which were really good.  I think we were in and out of there in like 45 minutes and the waitress told us we were her easiest guests all night.  Listening to the table behind us, I could understand why.  At one point one of the ladies said to the other, "have you ever been a waitress?  Worst job in the world."  Yeah, smooth.

We got back to the room only to realize that in addition to our neighbors being fans of Sports Center, our other neighbors had checked in and were apparently in a rather large and luxurious room.  We know this because they kept screaming, "Oh my god, look at how awesome this room is."  And then they'd have all the other people they were with come down and see the room and the shouting would begin anew.  Oh, and we were also directly over the hotel's bar, The Annex.  This meant that we had loud, bad music playing until after 2am.  Even with the white noise app from the Apple App store playing, I couldn't get to sleep. 

I have to say, even though the hotel was the #1 rated on TripAdvisor, I just can't recommend the place.  Even if we had had the super large room, we still would have been over the bar.  Now, if we were the type to stay up until 2am shooting pool and listening to the juke box, this might have been fine.  But we're not.  And I'm sure most people who check into the hotel aren't either.  So yeah, kind of a disappointement all around in terms of our accommodations, but at least it was cheap(ish).

This morning we checked out and they'd gotten our room rate correct.  From Sutter Creek we drove down to Amador City for breakfast before getting on the road.  Amador City has a population of 150 people and it's tiny and quaint.  The bakery we visited was just the cutest little thing and the town itself was probably where we should have stayed given that there were no bars.  :-)

The wrough iron place in the background of this picture was just the cutest outdoor shop for decorative iron pieces.  Whether it was ants made from iron and river rocks, or full gazebos or gates, if I was ever in the market for something original and was nearby this would be the place I would go.  The prices were incredibly reasonable too! 

From there we hopped in the car and in just a little over 2 hours we were back home playing with Dakota.  When we walked in she was meowing and purring and just so happy to see us.  And then I realized that this was the first time she'd been completely by herself since we moved to California in 2002.  She may not have liked Miles much, but he was still her companion during all of our out of town trips and extended vacations.  Poor girl.  Now she's passed out on the table having been running around in circles for the past couple of hours.

While it was a much needed getaway, it's definitely good to be home.  If for nothing else than the fact that tonight I will sleep on a king size bed in a quiet room. 

why i love my cube mates

While listening to Britney Spears on iPod Friday, the song "Boyz" comes on.

Marge: She's a naughty girl.  "What will it take for you to sleep with me?"
Jen: You know what I'd say - 200 bucks.
Jen: That sounded better in my head.

Inappropriate laughter erupts.

5 days in seattle

We're going to Seattle in February for 5 days - we arrive Saturday morning around 11:30 a.m. and leave Thursday afternoon around 4 p.m.  For those who have been to Seattle, what are some "must-do" things to consider?  What day trips do you recommend?  Is the $200 it will cost to get to/from Victoria worth it?  What about renting a car and heading out to wine country - too far?  Not worth it? 

Any/all feedback is greatly appreciated. 

insert vague daniel powter reference here

Today was an utterly craptastic day.  I can't wait until this week is over.  Thankfully, we're going to take some much needed R&R and head out of town on Saturday for some fall scenery and wine tasting.  We've been talking about going to the Sierra Foothills for several years now so we're finally going to do it.  One more day ...

redecorating

I created a new blog banner last night using some paper & graphical elements I purchased from Oscraps.com, via the talented Paislee Press.  I was a little sad looking at the old banner with the picture of Miles.  And this one's simpler. 

Thankfully I was able to complete that before I was STRUCK DOWN WITH FOOD POISONING FROM DINNER.  Yeah, food poisoning complete with middle-of-the-night vomiting action.  Lovely way to spend a Tuesday night, really.  I'm considering a boycott on Indian food because this is the THIRD time in a couple of years that I've gotten food poisoning from it.  To add insult to injury, this time we weren't eating a cheap Indian restaurant (where you almost expect to get sick).  Nope, this was a fancy place where my meal was $15 and my mango lassi was $4.  So we paid a lot of $$$ only to have me throw it all up before the night was over.  Oh, the horror.

And I feel like CRAP today.  My stomach hurts so bad, but I seem to be through the worst of it.  Having stayed home on Monday with a fever, I couldn't very well stay home again on Wednesday with food poisoning.  People might start to get suspicious and think I'm interviewing or something (which I'm not).

christmas already?

If the music in the big box retailers and the emails going back & forth amongst my friends is any indication, I should be thinking about Christmas.  Yes, even though it's not even Thanksgiving yet.

And I am thinking about Christmas - my family is coming to visit and it'll be the first time we'll have been together on the holiday in EONS.  So in that regard, I am totally there.  But color-coordinating wrapping paper?  And what I'll be doing for my holiday cards?  Um, totally NOT top of mind right now.  But apparently, it should be.  So add this to the list of things I need to obsess about. 

Given that we will have a full house this year I probably SHOULD think about where the tree is going to go.  Because that's essential in accommodating the brood.

 

a weekend full of progress

This weekend was a BUSY one. 

Friday night I got home from work late so we didn't do anything but go to dinner and watch TV.  My GERD started acting up so I popped a pill and went to bed fairly early.

Saturday we woke up feeling ambitious and ready to tackle the day.  The sun was shining the birds were chirping and it wasn't terribly cold.  Since our plans to purchase the orange tree were foiled last weekend by the torrential downpours, we decided this was the weekend.  Before leaving though, Alan called around to find out if anyone had a 15-gallon Valencia orange tree.  Everyone has a 5 gallon one but we needed something bigger.  We called Berkeley Horticulture and the lady who answered the phone said that they had a 5-gallon but that it was already 4 feet tall so that might be an option for us.  We drove over there and wow, it's a gorgeous nursery.  I never even knew where this place was but had heard several people mention it. 

As it turns out the Valencia orange trees WERE NOT four feet tall - not even close.  More like 2 feet shrubs once placed into the ground.  And so, our search continued.  But not before it started pouring rain - again.  Knowing that Thornhill Nursery had a 15-gallon Washington navel tree, we carried on, heading to other nurseries that we had called earlier in the morning.  We stopped at Broadway Terrace Nursery to check out a "squat 15-gallon" Cara Cara orange tree.  It was unimpressive so we decided to head over to Thornhill and pick up the Washington Navel that we'd already seen and knew would work for us.

And yes, it was still raining.

And Thornhill didn't think the tree would fit in the back of our Saab, so they sold it to us but told us to come back with Alan's Dad's Toyota Sequoia the following day.

So we made our way home, but because of the rain, anything outside was off-limits.  Alan ended up working in the basement fixing our heating issues (we now have warmth!) and I decided that I absolutely couldn't go another minute without addressing the window treatment & bedding situation in the guest beddroom.  So off to Ikea I went where I encountered a three year old screaming the loudest case of bloody murder I think I've ever witnessed.  This child did NOT want to experience the greatest Swedish store ever.  She was so despondent and distraught in fact, that she flung her body on the floor and proceeded to pee herself.  All the while her parents just looked at her like, "WTF is going on?"  She was clearly in charge and she was making me miserable.  Here's the thing I don't understand - once the child peed herself, the parents never got anyone to come clean it up.  They just grabbed their child and ran for the door, leaving - quite literally - a puddle of piss in their wakes. 

I realized that I was less than impressed with the wares at Ikea this go round and decided to make my way to Target.  Good lord, so had everyone else.  But I persevered and managed to find two sets of flannel sheets - $14.99 any size.  Yay!  I'd been looking for another set of flannel sheets for our bed, so I was able to get one for each bed for less than the normal price of just our bed.  Unfortunately, Target only had 3 curtain panels and I really need 4, so I left feeling only slightly successful.

That night I started to feel a bit tired and lethargic and generally in a sour mood, but I didn't think anything of it. 

Sunday dawned bright and early after Dakota jumped up into bed with us at 6am and proceeded to purr the entire morning while sitting next to me.  But I'm not complaining - I'll take the kitty love any chance I can get ... especially since this is something that cat does once every 5 years or so.

Sunday was cleaning day.  As I already wrote, I shampooed the foyer rug and whatdoyouknow, it's back to looking green instead of camo colored.  Alan planted the orange tree, I trimmed some rose bushes back, Alan pulled up some dead tomato plants and I painted some more in the kitchen.  We're still not finished, but I figure if I can just paint a 3 foot space every day this week, we'll be done by the weekend.  At least that's my hope.

Oh, and I got my iPhone.

Unfortunately, while at the AT&T store I started to get very hot.  As in, my ears were completely red and I was sweating.  I figured it must be all of the excitement over my new gadget, but the heat didn't let up.  By the time I was done cooking dinner, my entire face was the color of a cherry tomato and I felt like I'd dipped my head in acid.  And my cough was back.  We ate dinner, watched True Blood and Amazing Race and then it was time for bed at 10:30 p.m. which is actually REALLY early for me, especially on a Sunday.

I slept like CRAP.  I was up coughing all night and was having the worst, most realistic, scary dreams.  I think I probably got only 2 hours of sleep at a stretch.  I woke up at one point with dead arm, something that is happening more and more frequently and is not at all pleasant.  By the time my alarm went off this morning at 6:30 a.m., I was hot, sweaty, exhausted, coughing and feeling like crap.  I'm going to work from home today on some work stuff, load up on Nyquil when I'm done with that, and try to get better.  Just when I think I'm done being sick, I go and get sick again.  Quite frankly, this just pretty much sucks.

technology

I got an iPhone today.  Yipee!

well, that was disgusting

I just shampooed the carpet in the foyer and um, the water is the color of mud.  That's ridiculously gross.  Rather than using the regular carpet shampoo (laden with chemicals and things I can't pronounce) I just used the Mrs. Meyers lavender detergent and the room smells great.  And clearly it cleaned up a lot of junk that was there before, so yay!  I just wish I could get the water a bit hotter so that by the time I'm at the end of the rug, it's not lukewarm.  I might start adding boiling water to the mix.

one word meme

borrowed from Posie Gets Cozy:

    Where is your mobile phone? purse
    Where is your significant other? office
    Your hair colour? yellow
    Your mother? working
    Your father? prick
    Your favourite thing? love
    Your dream last night? maggots
    Your dream goal? hawaii
    The room you're in? cold
    Your hobby? travel
    Your fear? death
    Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
    Where were you last night? boulevard
    What you're not? calm
    One of your wish-list items? iphone
    Where you grew up? hesperia
    The last thing you did? ate
    What are you wearing? pajamas
    Your TV? essential
    Your pets? neurotic
    Your computer? new
    Your mood? sad
    Missing someone? miles
    Your car? saab
    Something you're not wearing? shoes
    Favourite shop? target
    Your summer? hot
    Love someone? wholeheartedly
    Your favourite colour? blue
    When is the last time you laughed? tonight
    When is the last time you cried? yesterday  

Your turn!

cluck, cluck

There's been a lot of controversy in the state these past few days about the fact that both Prop 2 and Prop 8 passed.  The theory being that if you're a compassionate enough human being to want to protect animals, you should also be a compassionate enough human being to want to extend the right to marry to homosexuals.  While in theory that's a good point, in reality we've clearly seen that is not the case.  So then you have a lot of angry, pissed off people saying that it's no fair that chickens have more rights now than gay people.  AND THEY COULDN'T BE MORE WRONG. 

I understand the sentiment, really I do.  I understand the heartbreak, the anger and the ridiculousness of it all.  How can we live in the society we do and still discriminate against someone for who they love and how they want to live their lives?  What does one person's choice in a spouse have to do with me?  It doesn't, and it shouldn't for anyone else.  Alas, the power of zealotry is a strong one.

But ... while I think Prop 8 was the worst kind of legislation out there, I really do not think it's the same as voting to give animals enough room to turn around in their CAGES.  These are TORTURED animals, people.  And you PUT THEM IN YOUR BODY.  Factory farming is one of the reasons we're so obese and sick all the damn time.  The hormones they pump these animals full of is disgusting and you're kidding yourself if you think it's not one of the reasons 9 year old girls are hitting puberty and wearing c-cup bras by the time they reach junior high (um, hello - that would have been me).  I've also heard it's one of the leading reasons that so many Americans are lactose-intolerant.  People aren't generally intolerant of milk - their bodies are intolerant of TAINTED milk.  (And if you think for a minute the chicken you're getting in the store from those giant, disgusting factories is anywhere near what a chicken is supposed to be, you're kidding yourself something fierce.  THIS is what hens should look like - see, they're actually kind of pretty.)

I'll say it again, a yes vote on Prop 8 makes you a hate-filled, vile person (and I likely don't want to know you).  But a yes vote on 2 does not make you care more about animal rights than gay rights.  The two propositions are not mutually exclusive.  You can - apparently, but I don't understand how - be for one and against the other.  They have nothing to do with one another and it pains me to hear people say that now animals have more rights than gay people.  It's simply not the case and if you think it is, talk to the pit bulls that used to belong to Michael Vick and the douchnozzles like him. 

And while gay people will continue to have to fight for the right to marry the person s/he loves, you have the right to move about freely.  You're not locked in a cage all day, simply waiting for the day you're off to the slaughter line.   AND, YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT PROP 8.  You can protest.  You can elect officials who will enact change.  You can show the world that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being gay simply by being the person you are and showing your neighbors and co-workers that your rights are just as valuable as theirs.  You have a voice.  Animals do not have a voice.  That's why people like me talk loudly for them.  But, that doesn't preclude me from also talking loudly for your right to have the same benefits that I do.  I'll stand next to you and proclaim that your marriage is just as important as my marriage.  But I'll also be shouting from the rooftops because animals need a voice, too. It's kind of up to us to keep them safe and protected.  Because let's face it, anyone who's been to Kauai knows that chickens aren't too bright and even if they could talk for themselves, they likely wouldn't know the best way to go about it. 

home improvement in progress

There's been a lot of home improvement activity here at casacaudill in the last couple of weeks.  Some planned for, some not.

As you recall, on election night our pipes decided to go on strike.  While Alan was snaking the kitchen sink, the brown sludge decided to change tactics and find its way out our bathtub's overflow valve.  While Alan was in the kitchen with the door closed, working furiously to encourage proper drainage, I was in the bedroom hearing a very clear, "glug, glug, glug ... drip, drip, drip" from the bathroom next door.  He was up that night until 2:30 a.m. trying to fix the situation, but in the end realized it was time to bring in the professionals.

The other day a guy came out to see what the problem was.  Apparently, our pipes were backed up hella bad.  A little chicken soup caused so much damage.  But if it hadn't been the chicken soup it would have been something else and it was only a matter of time before I was the one faced with a set of demonic pipes while Alan wasn't home - because I'm SOOOO equipped to deal with that scenario.  So, our plumbing problems come down to a few key issues: poor installation of said pipes, pipes that are too small (they were installed before the new code so they didn't need to be bigger), and drain fittings being suspect.  Nothing is urgent and we could fix it all for about $1000, they say.  Add it to the list of everything that will take $1k to fix.

We also had an HVAC guy out last week (or was it the week before?) to take a look at our heating system since we had to do some surgical repairs to the ducting a couple of weeks ago to eliminate some issues we'd learned about with a certain high-strung, neurotic, ill-mannered Himalayan cat.  So now Alan is working on shoring up the intake register and maybe soon our home will have heat.  In the meantime, if you visit casacaudill, please bring a sweater.

In addition to painting - but not finishing - our kitchen, we also had a chimney guy come out today to give us some information on fixing our flue (?) and putting a damper on so that the rain doesn't come in and the heat doesn't go out.  He estimates that will cost about $550 to do.  One of my biggest "wants" in our house was a working fireplace.  I was excited when I walked in and saw the gorgeous set up in the dining room (if not a bit perplexed as to why it wouldn't be in the LIVING ROOM).  Unfortunately, we've never been able to use it as our inspector told us it MIGHT have issues.  Rather than press our luck, we held off, instead using a lovely candelabra that while soothing, wasn't really what I was going for. So, we asked him to take a look at our fireplace and tell us what we need to do to make it work.  A couple hundred more and we'll have a working fireplace in no time.  So ... that's our next project.  We're going to have a nice, warm fireplace ready to go for the December holidays.

I have no idea what home improvement project we are to be faced with next, but living in a 1916 craftsman bungalow that has likely seen better (and much worse!) days, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.

plumbing problems

I'm unable to properly shower this morning and this is throwing off my day completely.  Thank goodness my arse was parked in front of the TV and my most strenuous exercising was limited to pumping my fist in the error or raising my wine glass to my lips because otherwise I might just be a bit stinky and (more) unhappy about this recent turn of events. 

After spending some time under the kitchen sink, Alan was forced to retreat and deal with the brown sludge that was coming out of the overflow valve of our bathtub, right next to the bedroom.  I went to bed sometime close to 1am, but he stayed up dealing with the issue at hand.  Sometime in the 2am hour I woke up to hear him on the phone with someone - I imagine a plumber. 

At 6:30am my alarm went off and I realized that I was going to have to make it through the long day only only 5 hours of sleep.  Poor Alan, he's looking at much less.  And we still have the plumbing issue to address.

In the meantime, Dakota is making it much easier to get out of bed and greet the day.  I don't know what has gotten into that cat but this morning she jumped into bed with me and purred like a beasty.  She's been following me around ever since I woke up and as I type she's sitting behind me on the couch.  This kitty definitely wants to be by my side.  We don't need to be interacting so much as just NEAR each other.  And that's okay by me, for now.  Now if I could only just convince her to sit on my lap, all would (nearly) be right with the world.

we interrupt this celebration

Well, it's not all fun and games and celebrations at casacaudill this historic evening.  We don't know what happened or why or how come tonight, but our sink is PISSED.

All I know is that about an hour ago Alan came into the bedroom and asked me if I had seen some kitchen tool.  I told him where I thought I might have seen it once upon a time.  Several minutes later I heard the sound of water, but clearly not water coming out of a faucet.  No, this was water coming out from UNDER THE SINK.  Um, not good.

Alan's still at work trying to fix what ails our aging plumbing ... hopefully he'll be able to right what's wrong.  If not, wish me peace and tranquility b/c I'll likely start cussing up a storm about how much a 1916 bungalow costs to maintain (more on THAT, later).

Edited to add: Okay, now it's getting ridonkulous.  We have brown, crazy water coming out of our BATHTUB.  Um, our sink is broken and now our bathtub is broken.  Methinks we've got problems.

Yes We Did

It's okay to be educated and speak eloquently. 
It's alright to like arugula and lattes.
It's okay to want your country to live up to its potential.
It's good to aspire to something greater.
It's no longer acceptable to pander to the nation's lowest common denominator.
Scare tactics are over.  Lies do not work.

Tonight the nation has spoken and they have spoken LOUD AND CLEAR.
Yes we can, people.  Yes. We. Can.

It's nearing 10:45 p.m. and San Francisco, Los Angeles and Alameda counties have still not reported on the very important proposition measures before us.  It looks like Prop 2 will pass handily, Prop 4 could go either way ... but Prop 8 is the one that weighs heavy on my heart.  I can only hope that like-minded individuals in these counties - those that embraced love and hope and change tonight in our President - have also embraced love and hope in our brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, sons, daughters, neighbors and co-workers.  I can only hope that when I wake up tomorrow Prop 8 - the proposition condoning hate - will have been defeated and the marriages of my blogging friends, co-workers and those I do not know but have rooted for from the beginning will be as safe as that of mine and Alan's.  I can only hope that people saw this proposition for what it really was - an opportunity for the extreme right to legislate hate and intolerance. 

In the meantime, I go to bed happy knowing that my fellow Americans embraced this opportunity and overwhelming voted for the right candidate.  To my friends and family in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia - YES WE DID!

There is, quite literally, dancing in the streets of Oakland tonight.  For the first time in ages, I feel like we live in a true neighborhood, bound by the same principals.  As I walked outside to wish our friends adieu, you could hear the partying - the car honking, the hooting and hollering, the JOY.  Pure, unudulterated joy.  Change is coming to America and these Americans are PROUD.