Ok, ok... Here is the list of wineries we visited this past weekend... I want to go back so bad!!!
Click them to see their websites...

V. Sattui
Charles Krug
Freemark Abbey
Whitehall Lane
Robert Mondavi
Domain Chandon
Plump Jack
Opus One
Cakebread Cellars
Francis Coppola
Chateau Potelle
And then one of the finest dinners ever here at the The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone

Now, the order of the above list is in the order we visited them... I think... *hic* Enjoy!!!

Well, I said that E & M might show up with hang-overs... I was wrong I tell ya!!! They arrived ready to go and we had a ball... Yesterday, we hit about 5 or 6 wineries and today 5 but this time, we decided to get a limo to take us around the valley to make the driving thing a bit easier... It was the best... I have a list of the places we tasted at but I just don't have that right here in front of me just this second... I will get that next to ya the next blog, with the links to their web pages, if available... This trip was a 10 out of 10... Wooo Hooooooooooo!!!!!

Napa Valley... That is where we are right now, waiting for Erik and Margrit to show up... They where visiting Gabe & Nicole in San Jose', Which scares me a bit, cuz they probably got a little tipsy last night and I'm afraid a hang-over may be in the cards for today... hehehe Not a good thing when in this area of the world... I could be wrong, we'll see... I know that I had to be carefull myself last night so that I could tour the wineries without that stupid headache and upset stomach today... The thought of a hang-over while doin' the tours, doesn't work for me...
We where sitting in our room this morning when a knock at the door broke the dull roar of the news... It was a very nice gentleman from the Mondavi winery... He handed us a very nice 3 pack of wines from their winery... They look sooooo good! Anyway, after opening the card, we where very pleasantly surprised that it was from Karlie's (one of our employee's) Parents! They are so nice and thoughtful, totally took us off gard... THANKS GUYS!!! :O) We can't wait to taste the wines...

Play Swearing Simon!


Again, not for the kiddies... But fun as $*@(%!!!

The story of canned meats, as told by curator of this odd but intriguing site...

   Canned Hams & S P A M S

The Curator answers the question,
"Why do you collect cans of meat?"

I had gone to mima’s house to participate in 1990’s Christmas festivities. No sooner had I set down my luggage, than I spotted a tastelessly decorated holiday gift basket. As I tore through the red cellophane wrapping in anticipation of preparing a high cholesterol snack, my grandmothers’ shrill voice set me a fluster, "Youngster, if you’re hungry, you can have this." She thrust the wrinkly hand attached to her skinny little arthritic wrist into the basket and loaded me up with all of the non-perishables that the basket contained: cheeselogs, fruitcakes, & a canned ham. I shoved the mother lode into my suitcase, fearing, as a poverty stricken college student that I would have to actually eat that ham. Frankly, I was frightened, never having consumed anything requiring a key to open.

The next significant event in the history of the Potted Meat Collection occurred during the sweltering summer of 1992. I was heading into my last year of college. My pal Jeff Cornwell and I hopped in the car and sped towards our local white trash grocery mart in need of refreshment: Pabst Blue Ribbon and corndogs. My what a bonanza we found! An enormous bin of Armour Star Potted Meat Food Product stood before us. Its’ sign read, "4 for $1.00." "What is a potted meat food product?" I recall having wondered at the time. One hears of "cheese food products" and probably wonders how does a cheese food product differ from actual factual cheese? One must concurrently query the same of meats. How does a potted meat food product differ from real actual meat? I twisted the can to reveal the ingredients, and there it was, the magic ingredient: "partially defatted cooked pork fatty tissue." This must be the distinction between cheese and cheese foods! I raced my cart maniacally through the grocery, chanting, "Partially defatted cooked pork fatty tissue." The words trip delightfully off the tongue; take a moment to say them aloud before reading on.

Jeff sported the quarter to purchase the Armour Star Potted Meat Food Product, observing how it elicited oodles of giddy joy. Arriving home, I remembered the ham looming in the pantry. Two years later, the unconsumed Plumrose Danish canned ham sat in my pantry betwixt the mint jelly and the garlic-n-herb jelly. Why do relatives always send strange jellies? I fetched the ham and displayed it with the potted meat food product on the bar. They made such a lovely pair. That holiday season, while traveling through the south, my college roommate, Kate, happened upon and gifted me with a can of Pork Brains with Milk Gravy. Two’s company, but three’s a collection.

In the spring of 1993 I viewed an expose on lifestyles of the bizarre and freaky, which featured one of my favorite filmmakers, John Waters. Mr. Waters’ eccentricities have led to his amassment of several curious novelties, one of his fans mailed him a jar of dirt from John Wayne Gacy's basement. I had bribery on the brain. I would bequeath him the collection as incentive to cast me in one of his films. It’s obvious now how naïve I was then. I actually thought I would be able to part with the collection. Never did I imagine I would form a sentimental attachment and sense of pride to a collection of canned meats, including seafood and poultry items. Several years later I found myself with over 100 cans of meat and a small role in the John Waters' film Cecil B. Demented, Mr. Waters and I never had an opportunity to discuss my collection.

What is the future for the Potted Meat Museum? The Potted Meat Museum is looking past the American grocery store shelf and into the realm of foreign & exotic meats. With the Haggis having taken 4 years to procure, these exotic meats have a very tempting appeal. The Museum is looking forward to adding a variety of canned snake and Spicy Goose Webs in the very near future.

Enjoy the Meats, the Curator

CLICK HERE to visit her site... :o)

I found this funny has heck site and YES, it's on the geeky side... Just watch...You'll see what I mean... hehehe

Here ia a pretty amazing site really... You need to set your screen rez very high to see all the controlers & animations but it's worth it... Click!

I know, I know, you have always wanted to build your own time travel machine but just didn't know where to start... Me too!!! So, I did some research and digging and came up with this great site. Hope the future is a bright one for all of you! :o)

Time
Travel

Silly Bar Tricks

Oh there isn't, is there?

CLICK HERE