Puppies and Paint and 5 Seconds of the Globes

This weekend was a blur. I don't want to be a drama queen, but there was drama and there were Queens (okay, not really, but there WAS Dairy Queen ice cream wonderfulness in there somewhere so THANK GOD for that).

There WAS however, painting. And painting. And painting... and since I'm too damn lazy to write about it right now I am going to share my weekend with you in pictures.

As mentioned, there was painting:

There were also the puppies who had their socks walked off because we felt guilty for being lame Painter Freaks :

A bunch of spicy takeout...

More paint...

A bit of sarcasm:

Me: Oops! I'm not in your way am I?

John: Yeah, actually you are.

Me: I think what you meant was, "Of course not, darling. You could never be in my way."

John: Ha, ha.

.... silence...

John: Seriously, get out of my way.

There was week old red wine in a handmade mug with my name on it. Cuz, when you're walking around with a bunch of dust on your face who cares how your alcohol is served:

A whole bunch more paint:

Five seconds of the Globes:

And now I'm ready for bed.

Good night.

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Thanksgiving Wine: I Blame Canada

Thanksgiving is coming up. Food mmm. Wine mmm. The first glass of wine I can remember tasting was in my first year of university. It was Thanksgiving, and one of my friends had organized a potluck.

The cozy (read: cramped) house was filled with the homey aroma of turkey roasting in the oven, stove top dressing warming on the stove top (we were students, GIVE US A BREAK) and the distinctly musty smell of burnt cat hair (the hosts’ cat walked past a beeswax candle and narrowly missed bursting into flames). So much to be thankful for (an important one being NO ROAST CAT).

The first glass of wine I was to enjoy on that Thanksgiving Day, was a blend of red (I am fairly certain “red” and “white” were the only kinds of wine that existed when I was in first year uni)… generously mixed with the fizzy sweet goodness of… I’m sure you will all recognize this name… 7up.

7up. Well, I suppose my VERY first tipple was sans the 7up but I thought it was so disgusting and was THIS close to pouring it out (a deplorable crime for ANY university student to commit), before my almost cat-less friend had the brilliant idea to mix it with something that I DID like. And who doesn’t like 7up? I mean, come on.

To be honest with you, the wine didn’t even taste very good masked by the 7Up. Thinking back on it: OF COURSE IT TASTED HORRIBLE! Wine and 7up?! There were at least a dozen people in that house and NOT ONE person stopped me. Zero. You’d think that in a group of 12 people over the age of 12 there would be at least ONE PERSON who would have the wherewithal to say: “Hey, I think that the combination of soda pop and wine might be a bad plan.” I am from a small town in Northern British Columbia. I can’t possibly be expected to know the finer points of consuming wine, let alone what kind of pop one should mix with it.

Really what I am getting at is this: What on earth is going on in Canadian universities? Do you think this travesty would have occurred in Italy? Chile? France? I am VERY STRONGLY DOUBTING IT.

Chantal: Mais non! Take this vin away, vin is grotesque! Horrible, horrible, horrible (pronounced “horeeeble”)!

Nicholette: Oh mon dieu! Moi can’t believe you do not like wine. What to do, what to do? I know, let’s BASTARDIZE IT BY MIXING IT WITH SOMETHING CARBONATED.

Do you see? I can’t even translate the scenario into half-French because IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. It’s not even in the half-French vocabulary. The French have been drinking wine with their croissants since they were 3 years old… and what exactly are the Canadians doing? Drinking maple syrup? Drinking snow? Losing hockey games?

My first experience with wine could have been a beautiful memory. I could have stood out on the balcony to get away from the cat smell, drowned in the intoxicating bouquet of “red” and let that first sip of my true adulthood mingle with the bloated feeling of eating far too much on a very special Thanksgiving Day.

Instead, I had some really bad 7up.

And I blame Canada.

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Gladiator Biker Chick

I bought this bottle of Cycles Gladiator solely because it was banned by Alabama. Banned in Alabama! Apparently the Alabama Beverage Control Board figured it was "pornographic." I think one would normally see more boob at a Super Bowl halftime show, but whatever. It's a nice table wine and they are getting a bunch of press, so good for them!

In honour of the artwork I took this pic in front of my super tough biker jacket. I do not own a motorcycle. I am not tough. I have no idea what the characters on the back say. Please don't write to me and tell me it says something like "The wearer of this jacket is a bonehead." It won't stop me from wearing it, but I firmly believe that ignorance is bliss with these kinds of things.

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Pinot: A Nice Firm Handshake

After all the hullabaloo (that's right, hullabaloo) of the last post (A Letter to the Asshole Who Abandoned My Dog) I thought I would take this time to address another Very Important Subject:

Wine.

That's right, folks. Hold onto your shorts cuz there's gonna to be controversy.

Now, I am a cabernet sauvignon person, much like I am a dog person, and a jeans person and a Britney Spears person (whatever people, don't judge. Don't even try to tell me you don't do a little shoulder waggle when her songs come on). I decided to give a pinot a try. Obviously I've had pinots before, but this time I wanted to pay attention to the experience a little more. I am a Cono Sur fan so I grabbed their pinot (thank you to Alan from The Amateur Wino for the suggestion!)... and I won't lie, it's going to take a bit of getting used to.

It is exceptionally aromatic... I'm not saying I didn't like it. I'm just saying that between Cono Sur's cab sauv and pinot I might lean towards marrying the cab sauv and having it's children and with the pinot... I'd give it a handshake. Not one of those annoying limp wristed handshakes at all, it would be a nice solid handshake with eye contact and everything... but it would just be a handshake all the same.

I'll keep trying to broaden my horizons.

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Camping: It Totally Rocked

Not sure if I've made it clear, but all in all, camping rocked.

We drank.

We slept.
We went for long walks...

And on the drive home we found THE ONE AND ONLY NON-DISGUSTING OUTHOUSE in all of British Columbia THANK GOD oh my GOD I thought I was going to DIE if I had to wait one more SECOND I SWEAR to GOD I would have peed all over the JEEP like ALL OVER IT that is how close I was to DYING of too much pee.

So I took a picture of it for your viewing pleasure.


You're welcome.

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Camping: Connoisseur Only Different

Ok. So I would definitely recommend this wine- it's organic, it's Chilean... it's all good.

I also like it's name: Cono Sur. Like "connoisseur" only different and easier to spell. Get it? I did, which might have been part of the reason I bought the bottle in the first place.

But the real reason I am posting this photo is that I am so excited that my camera can do the whole "blurry in the background, focused in the front" thing. That is some fun stuff. I have a (grabbing a camera and copying, copying) Canon Digital IXUS 850IS. Yup. Turns out the IXUS can do the blurry thang.

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A Beer Good Enough for Prince George

I mentioned the other day that John and I went to an Organic Festival. One of the first signs that greeted us was for lemonade and we smiled and nodded and murmured, "Oh, what a nice pretty sign, it's so pretty, (sigh) so cute. Oooh. Ahhh."

And then angels started singing and THE CLOUDS PARTED AND OUR PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED BECAUSE WE WEREN'T GOING TO BE ASKED TO GET THROUGH THE ENTIRE DAY ON LEMONADE ALONE - IT WAS DECREED!!!

That's right. This wicked Organic Fest had a Green Drinkery. Yessireebob. We were at a dang good festival.

My first "taste" was the Lotusland 2002 Pinot Noir (above). I liked it. I was a happy camper. Granted, I was sitting in the sun, downing a generous glass of wine and everyone was practically BEGGING me to feel all high and mighty as I was supporting the organic wine industry... but still, I think that Pinot did it's part to brighten my day.

The discerning wine drinker will note that the picture above is not of a glass of red wine and a glass of white wine. No, no. The glass on the right is a glass full of BEER. Beer? Beer! There is a good reason for the departure from the pure "Wino" side of "Fido & Wino" however as this is a very special glass of beer. Oh yes.

Drum roll please.

Let me introduce you to... NATURELAND!!!

John tasted NatureLand's Organic Lager and said it rocked. This is all lovely and good but the real kicker in all of this is that the Pacific Western Brewing Company- which brews NatureLand- is based in PRINCE GEORGE!!! I grew up in Prince George! This is amazing because Prince George has also voted, year after year, to keep a giant wooden man (Mr. PG if you will) as the mascot for the city (I'm not kidding, google it). Who knew good 'ol PG had it in 'er to whip up some tasty organic brew?

Pacific Western: If you're reading this, call me! (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)

Bongs and Bras and Naked People (oh my!)

So, I went down to Berkely, CA last week and this is what greeted me in the lobby:

And this what greeted me in my bathroom:


Bras in display cases and naked people. What is it with me and pictures of naked people in weird places (read about more nakedness here)? Clearly I did not do my homework before arriving at the hotel. Perhaps if I had I would have been prepared for the bras, the naked people and the bong lamps. Bong lamps? Oh yes, bong lamps:

It's actually called a "Custom-Design Bong Lamp" and I could have had one of my very own for a cool $275.

They even had a whole bottle of Gia Domella, Cabernet Sauvignon right in the room, which I did not have because I would have had to drink the entire bottle to myself (waste not, want not) and that would make me an alcoholic. Ahem.


Overall Review: I didn't drink the wine, but I give it a Thumbs Up because how cool is it to be in California with bongs and bras and naked people?

French Restaurant (capital "F," capital "R")

John and I celebrated our anniversary (ahhh, ooooh) and we went to this fabulous, cute little restaurant that had a bunch of wonderful posters on the walls. It was cool and quaint and made us miss Europe. It was a French Restaurant (capital "F," capital "R"). You can probably tell because in the poster above, the woman is BARE CHESTED. GASP!!! When I was in Amsterdam I don't think I ever saw so many naked women in advertising in my life. And I was scandalized, I must say. I once went to a perfectly reputable restaurant and on the large (too large in this case) screens there were people doing things that you don't want to watch while you are eating. Why on earth did they think that would be a good idea? I am far too prude for that kind of thing. What happened to good old fashioned Dutch windmills and clogs and marijuana and prostitution with your meal?

Since we were at a French Restaurant we had French Wine. We never have french wine. We have Australian wine and Chilean wine and South African wine... but not a lot of French. And when I say "not a lot" I mean "nada." It was a 2007 Brouilly, a red Beaujolais wine, and I have probably completely embarrassed myself by missing something important in the name, but in any case, you have the picture there below so you can find it if you want to give it a go. The candle doesn't come with it.


Overall Review: Thumbs Up (even from John!)

Wine: We're Just Not That Into You

I drank the last glass of this bottle (2006, Santa Amelia Reserva Selection, Cabernet Sauvignon Maule Valley Chile) on a Very Special Date with Myself. Ah, the Self Date. As you all know, I love my husband dearly... but who can resist the pull of an Evening All to Oneself? Sigh. I mean, I didn't go an light a bunch of candles or anything, but it was lovely all the same.

It was a Friday, which is the absolute best day of the week in my humble opinion. I was tired, but not so that I fell asleep as soon as I crashed on the couch. And I got to watch a bone fide click flick (He's Just Not That Into You) without being assaulted with scoffs every time someone did something "unrealistic." Unrealistic? Um. I am not so sure what is "unrealistic" about guys and girls swirling around in a sea of indecision and emotional pandemonium before falling breathlessly into the warm embrace of total and utter HAPPINESS AND SPLENDOR AND AMAZINGNESS AND FANTASTIC OUTFITS AND CUPS OF LATTE THAT NEVER END. What is so unrealistic about that exactly?

Anywho- the wine. The first glass I had had a chance to breathe for almost an hour (I forgot to water my plants and my mother says that if I kill one more plant I am going to Plant Hell and well, you can only imagine how that keeps me up at night), but it still tasted like it needed more time. By the time Friday came around it had definitely improved. It's a bit spicy and woodsy on the nose with a hint of current. John said there was a hint of "old."

John's Review: Thumbs Down
Shauna's 1st Review: Thumbs Down
Shauna's 2nd Review: Thumbs Up
Overall Review: Thumbs Up because I obviously get two votes on the vote I think is more important.