A Successful Weekend

Well, we made it back home after a long, looooooong, exhausting weekend which consisted of:

• a bonfire-sized luncheon with Tara's friend, Sharon
• a Hagerstown Suns ballgame, which gave Tara a great peanut story
• 3hr harley trip (ending with a flat tire)
• 2hr fix-it session repairing my horse trailer
• 3hr road trip to drop off the horses in Kutztown, Pennsylvania
• 2hr trip to visit dad, accessorize his Ultra, and watch the Nascar race at Phoenix
• 2hr shopping trip to Best Buy and Kohl's
• 2hr visit to mom's for a "steamed shrimp 'n salad" lunch
• 2hr long long, rainy ride home

All-in-all, we got home safe. Call it a success.

Now... when exactly do we get to relax?

Feeling rough today

Oof... was a long long weekend. We did manage to accomplish 5 things, though.

1. Picked out rings. After a visit to Christian Caine, we managed to pick out a set of rings. They're simple, clean, and perfect for us. Along the way, we even got a little education in modern "pearl-dom". Do YOU know what a pearl coin is?


2. Finished cutting the grass. With the horse trailer being the way it is, it was a pain to get the ol' John Deere out of it. But, we did manage to finish by Saturday afternoon.


3. Went for a harley ride. Took a nice, breezy relaxing ride up to Hagerstown on Saturday. Put in a lil' country music (Keith Urban), a lil' sun on my back, and an hour to just hear the rumble of the rush pipes.


4. Fixed the horse trailer. After tearing off the handle, my neighbors helped me grind off the old lifting unit and attach a whole new one on it. Say it with me "Sparks were a flyin' out there!" Put that into the man's manual: anything with a power hand-held grinder, which spins at crazy RPM's, and creates a shower of sparks is defintely, definitely a top 10 on the testosterone chart.


5. Moved the big stuff. Tara had a big armoire, a 7' tall bookcase (apparently made of lead), and a kitchen island (used as a desk) to move to the house. We did it in one load, and managed to shred her and I physically, along with stunting a highschooler's growth at the same time. But that second part is okay, the kid is 6'6" and is only a friggin sophomore. His time to stop growing taller is NOW.

Sorry about the lack of a rant today, but trust me... I am currently stirring one. I just need to work some of the minor details out before putting it in writing.

My Favorite Wines

Okay, onto a lighter subject.

We had some friends over Saturday night, and apparently they have the same philosophy when it comes to wines. We can tell the difference between a $1 and a $6 bottle of wine. But, we can't tell the difference between a $10 and a $50 bottle. Self admittedly, we're no wine connoseur... connah... experts.

However, we do know what we like. Each of the following is cheap, but taste pretty dang good. Plus, they're not "hidden" gems you have to order from some remote town in northeast Massachusetts. You can find these at everyday spots like your local liquor shop, Wal-Mart, and Costco.

So, here's my current top-5 countdown (and I reserve the right to change it at any time).

• #5 - Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon ($10 - 750ml at Costco). Just had this on Saturday for the first time, and it's about as good of a table wine as you're going to find. It's drier than my other favorites, so don't expect a big "happy ending" with this. When it's off your tongue, the taste is gone.


• #4 - Clean Slate Reisling ($12 - local liquor store). I'm not too big on white wines, but Tara introduced me to it, and it's pretty dang good. Smooth and doesn't taste like the bark off an oak tree. We had it with seafood alfredo a while back, and it really did hit the spot perfectly.


• #3 - Beringer Stone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon ($11 - 1.5l at Wal-Mart). Best with steak or beef. It's hearty, it's rich, and it's basically a meal unto itself.


• #2 - Franzia White Zinfadel ($12 - 5l at Wal-Mart). Smooth everyday chilled wine. We keep this bag-on-a-box on tap in the fridge every day. It's light, sweet, and is perfect for a half-glass after a long day.


• #1 - Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon ($7 - 750ml at Costco). It's a good, spicy Chilean wine. It's got a great rich, flavor and is definitely not for the dry wine lovers.