Monday, April 30, 2012

Vacation

I'm on vacation! I'm having a wonderful time-not doing much of anything! The main reason for my vacation occurred yesterday, when I went to the Cayuga Lake Wine & Herb Fest. Future events include lunch with a friend, the Buffalo Botanical Gardens, and time with my kids. I also hope to get things accomplished around the house-so far that hasn't worked too well. I also hope to make more writing time...that includes blogging. Hopefully, I can make that happen.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Sandwich

Tuesday evening at work was so busy that I never got a break. I came home and, fortunately, remembered that I didn't eat and put my sandwich in the fridge to take the next day. Wednesday I got ready for work. When it was almost time to go I got the sandwich and a go-gurt from the fridge and put them, along with an orange and my flavored water in a bag which I hung on the kitchen door knob. I ran upstairs to the bathroom, then put on my coat and gave Sam his marrow bone filled with peanut butter...which he had been "talking" about when I was upstairs. I grabbed my work bag and lunch and was headed out the door when BOOM, the water fell out of the bag along with the go-gurt. I looked down and saw a huge hole in the bag. I had been using the bag for a while and it seemed thin...but where was the orange...and my sandwich? I went back to the kitchen and found the orange...but where was the sandwich? Then I saw the empty baggie. Sam! Apparently, Sam grabbed the bag, made a hole and got the orange and sandwich out-while leaving the bag attached to the door knob. He then removed the sandwich from the baggie and ate it! By that time it was too late to make another sandwich, so I just grabbed the cheese and luncheon meat and stuck that, along with the rest of the loaf of bread in a new bag. So much for preparing my lunch early!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Okocim

Okocim
9/11/10-4/22/12

I'm still in shock. I came home from work yesterday to find Okocim dead. I have no idea what happened. He was young and hadn't been ill. I saw no signs of trauma. Okocim was a sweet, outgoing boy and I still can't believe he's gone. I'm sure his brother, Grodziskie, and his friends, Tyskie and Zywiec miss him as well.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

DVD Burner

While my computer has a cd burner, it does not have a DVD burner. I recently bought a device to convert VHS tapes into DVDs, but need a burner. This weekend I went to Best Buy and got one. However, when I tried to install it today, it aborted the installation, saying, "This software can only be installed with a LG (HLDS) device". What the heck does that mean? After work I'll try again-maybe I need to put the installation CD in the burner and not a regular cd drive. Any ideas?

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Watches

I remember the WKRP in Cincinnati episode where Mama Carlson blamed her son for not being able to wear a watch. My mom doesn't wear a watch either. Apparently, in some women, their body chemistry changes so that it screws up the workings of a quartz watch. Lately, I've been going through watched like there's no tomorrow. I just got it and I look down-the time is off. I am so dependent on wearing a watch. Can I no longer wear them? I have been getting my watches on clearance, however. I'm hoping that they all just have very old batteries. This weekend I'm going to take a few and have their batteries replaced. We'll see what happens then.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Freeze Warning

We've had some really weird weather. Yesterday we broke records reaching into the 80's. Today was very nice and sunny-but the high was only in the 50's and tonight we have a freeze warning. I'm praying for all the fruit trees. This too warm, unseasonable weather, quickly followed by freezing temperatures isn't good!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Golden Nose

This weekend I participated in the Golden Nose Awards. I learned to be a wine judge and was a beginning judge for the Golden Nose competition. The event started last night with a social in the hands on kitchen. We drank wine and munched on wonderful hors d'oeuvres-the deviled eggs were amazing-they had bacon and a spicy tang! I could have eaten the whole pan of dessert-goat cheese and apples with honey baked in puff pastry. Yummm! This morning started bright and early, I had to leave the house at 7:30am! They gave us fruit, muffins, and danish and we began. We received an introduction to wine judging including the six esses for successful wine tasting (can you guess the 6 s words?). We then learned the components of wine and tasted pure versions (straight water, ethanol, acid, sugar, and tannin). The third lecture was about wine flaws and off flavors. We then tasted a flight of different varietals (1 labrusca, 2 hybrids, and 2 vinifera). Then 3 professionals judged 2 wines-which we all tasted and judged as well. We then heard their comments and rankings. After that we broke up into 7 groups. My section had lunch (yummy sandwiches, salad, potato chips, and cookies) then we started judging! Our head judge was Ian Barry, the winemaker at Villa Bellangelo Winery. It was great working with him. My group judged 6 flights (groups) of wines-2 Reisling, 1 Gewurztraminer, 1 Catawba, 1 Pinot Noir, and 1 Port for a total of 22 wines! As taught-we had to spit each one, you can't swallow that many wines and still be functional. It was sad dumping some of that wine...the exception was the wine we awarded double gold-most of us just had to have a little swallow of that Gewurztraminer! A double gold is given when it's a unanimous decision to award gold. It was interesting to see the varied responses each wine gave-on several we ran the gamut in our rankings-from no medal to gold! What was really interesting was that in some cases-people that were polar opposites on some wines-gave the same rating to others! There was a 3 hour break before the awards and a buffet dinner. I decided to come home... stay home. Part of me wanted to return, but I wasn't up for the drive back-if only it was a smidge closer...or the break wasn't as long. Sam is glad I returned home though! I had a great time and learned a lot. I may attend next year as a returning judge. If you have the chance, it's a great opportunity-if you're able to go, take advantage of it!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter!

WesoĊ‚ego Alleluja! I celebrated Easter yesterday with my folks as I have to go to work today. Sam and I drove to my folks house and had the traditional Easter breakfast-fresh Polish sausage, beet horseradish, hard-boiled eggs, rye bread, butter (in the form of a butter lamb), fruit salad, and juice. I went to the cemetery and put flowers on the graves of my grandparents, Aunt Bert, and brother. Back at my folks we opened the champagne and opened our Easter gifts. I got a gorgeous book about cooking and travel in Poland. Then it was time for potato chips and leek dip while watching an Easter episode of The Vicar of Dibley. All morning we also worked on the main course-the duck. What a treat! It was a lot of work, but boy it turned out fantastic. We had duck, salt potatoes, and salad for dinner. For dessert we had a lovely strawberry pie. Happy Easter!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Sam's Health Issues

My poor dog, Sam, continues to have health problems. The good news is that he doesn't have glaucoma...the bead news is that he has uvitis. He's on Baytril and will return to see the doctor then. Hopefully, things will have improved and he can get his vaccinations. His ears are bad again-so they'll need treatment, and I need to get more medicated shampoo for his weekly bath...his skin condition isn't much better. His joins are bothering him more as well, so I'll probably have to start him on something stronger. Right now he's taking allergy medicine 3 times a day and he just started Baytril for his eye. The cost of Baytril for an 85 pound dog is quite a bit higher than that for a pound and a half rat! Yikes. Hopefully, it will work. Please, keep Sam in your thoughts. Thanks!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Late Again

I used to always be so prepared for the holidays. I'm not sure what happened, but that's no longer the case. My International Easter cards will be late...I'm hoping the other ones will get there in time...especially considering I haven't finished making them yet! I'm close...hopefully I'll post them tomorrow. I'm not even decorating. Hopefully some day I'll get back to being prepared and excited for holidays.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

April Fool's Day

My body played an April Fool's joke on me. It kept waking me up. I went to bed...3 hours later I woke up. A half hour after that I was up again. Another hour or two...up. An hour before my alarm...awake. Of course, when I finally had to get up... I didn't want to. Now I'm fairly certain I'll be sleepy at work today. Sigh. I'm ready for vacation!