NaBloPoMo - Day 17 - My Own Back Yard

Still recovering from our annual party...
The food was AMAZING, the wine flowing, and this year my caterer made a warm apple cider, cinnamon and Southern Comfort drink that really hit the spot... or many spots depending on how much you drank of it...

Thought I would share the following pics:

This is our backyard before the party...

And this is our backyard after the party...

It was a gorgeous night, little wind, the bonfire was just perfect

and even the moon popped out for a bit...

Another successful soiree in the books...!

NaBloPoMo - Day 16 - TYOFWM Wine and Mushroom Party

 

Every year we hold a Wine and Mushroom party and invite all of our friends. It's during the month of November that we usually get the first rains of the season and chanterelles grow in the moistened undergrowth of spruce trees. Our friends come over and hunt for these delicious fungi, and we have a splendid dinner and lots of wine.

This was the first year without my Momma being there. She really didn't come out of her room; she never was very social. But, I would make her a plate of all the delectable treats and rarely she might sneak out of her room and smuggle some desserts or sweets of her own choosing.

I make a small welcome speech before dinner and this year we raised a glass to my Momma and her memory.

There was no sunshine all day because of fog, but about an hour before people were going to start arriving the sun came out and I was able to capture this shot of the sunshine coming through those spruce trees at the top of our property... I like to think Momma shone down and was present in spirit...

Salud, Momma!

NaBloPoMo 2018 - Day 10

It was a beautiful night for a party.

We held our annual "Wine and Mushroom" Party at our home

this evening.

And it's all in honor of these:

This is a chanterelle mushroom which grows wild on our property.

I was concerned there wouldn't be much of a hunt this year because

the weather has been essentially dry.

Not even a good coastal fog to moisten up the soil

at the base of spruce pines where these like to grow.

However, my guests were pleasantly surprised to find several

of these lovelies, including this awesome, hand-sized specimen here.

The food was great.

The wine flowed.

The fire burned bright into the night.

And, a good time was had by all...!

#NaBloPoMo18

Day 15 - Time With Friends

Had our annual wine and mushroom party....

Still going on.... 

More when able...

Day 20 - Felt Good on My Lips

Since we moved to NorCal, we've spent a lot of time in the Wine Country.

We're only about 3 1/2 hours north of Sonoma County,

and from there it's a short drive to Napa.

We became members of the Coppola Winery

and have been getting wine shipments.

It gives us an opportunity to try new wines

and learn to refine our palate.

Of course, we've also gotten familiar with a lot of other wineries

in the Napa Valley...

My husband and I have had several discussions about the price of wines.

He's asked how could one wine possibly be worth

more than another of a similar vintage.

Is it the label?  

Is the taste really that different between 

a $100 bottle and a $20 bottle.

Then I tried these...

We had a wine and mushroom party at our home

a couple of weeks ago, and one of my guests who is a 

wine aficionado, brought these to share.

The one on the left was a red, 

very "loamy" with currant undertones.

The one on the right was a white,

deep yellow in color and sweet like a brandy.

Both tasted as good and amazing as could be

for about ...um... a $$$ a bottle.

My husband tasted them too...

and he agreed,

there really is a difference...

And, you have to taste a lot of different bottles

to appreciate it... 

 No fear, this is the collection after the party...

and, a good time was had by all...!

Day 9 - To Be Continued

We had a party today... After a week of stressing about details and two days of house cleaning and prep the party was had... Let's just say I made up for all the stress... But hey, I got my post in...!

MyPod Birthday Month #5 - It's Tricky

What can I say...?  This is a good example of the eclectic taste I have in music.

This song was a staple of the parties I attended during my first 2 years in college.  

Just fun to dance with, fun to sing along with, just fun, fun, fun...

How Long Has It Been...?

 Wow, after a feverish month of blogging daily, I have gotten lazy, haven't I...?

Let's wrap up:

On the 30th we had, what's becoming, our annual Wine and Mushroom party.

It was wet, sloppy weather and the chanterelles were a bit waterlogged,

but I made a fantastic sangria, plus opened several other special bottles I had

laying around the house, and we had a lot more people show up than last year.

All in all, a LOT of fun, and it really highlighted my lack of seating

since everyone chose to sit around the kitchen table and eat appetizers

instead of milling around.

That weekend I started my decorating for the holidays.

Here's the trim for the fence at the end of the driveway.

I love those big ornaments, but somehow 2 have disappeared, 

and I can't account for how that happened.

I have a thing for silver reindeer, and I added a couple more to the collection.

The slender deer in the middle of the picture is one of the new ones.

He's looking very handsome and is a nice addition to the herd.

We have green eggs!  

This means that at least one of our latest 2 hens are starting to lay.

As you can see, there are 4 different colored eggs, so at least 4 of the 13

(well actually 10 since 3 are roosters) chickens are laying now.

This will be great and I won't have to buy as many eggs when I start

my massive holiday baking projects.

I tried my hand at Southern Fried Pie.  Here are two attempts next to my final

all American apple pie.  My husband performed the taste test.

Not quite like his aunt used to make, but still deemed yummy.

Having done this, now I know what I need to do for the next trial.

But, first we've got to dry some more apples...

Our county is one of the "pilot" counties in the state for the California Medical Foundation "Walk With a Doc" program.  I led last weekend's walk in my town, and despite the rain and 38 degree weather, almost a dozen people showed up to walk the almost 2 mile route I had planned.  I brought the dogs which helped keep us at a brisk pace.  All in all pretty successful, and if anything it got me out of the house to exercise.... and, so should you!

Speaking of the dogs, they really do travel well.  We went on a 12 hour car ride to pick up my mother for the holidays.  The dogs slept most of the time.  They behaved well during our pit stops.  And, they didn't get annoying during those "drive thru" meal stops.

 

Then twelve hours back on the road, which leads us to the present.  

Momma's here to spend the holidays with us, and Dillon just loves his Gramma.  

Cheers to you and hoping you're able to spend time with loved ones

during this holiday season!