Friday, September 25, 2009

Vroom


It's been a crazy few weeks. Monkey has started ballet, Peanut has started guitar & piano, and Puddin' has started getting bored. Stan is wonderfully brilliant so he's much in demand for committees and meetings on top of his work-a-day job. He's also in a singing group that has started up again for the fall. I'm in the center of this mess, trying to hold it all together.

With Monkey & Peanut I'm trying to motivate them to work quickly but thoroughly so they continue to do well in school, practice instruments/dance so they can enjoy their activities, not to mention clean up after themselves so I don't hide their stuff. Where Stan is concerned I try to pick up the slack so he can focus his attention on the plethora of very good gigs he's gotten himself into. Poor Puddin' gets the short end - she just wants to play, read, snuggle, explore & other wonderful toddler things but her family is not cooperating.

In the midst of all this, we had car trouble. I took the dying car in for some work early on Friday and Stan took the more lovable vehicle to work. Our mechanic always has the car back to us the next day (at the latest) so it was under control. By Monday afternoon we still only had one vehicle and suddenly things got complicated. Stan had a meeting, I had guitar lessons, and we even had a sitter lined up. The "super-mom" in me felt the need to give up on my lesson time for the greater good of the family. The rest of me was screaming something along the lines of "over my dead body." [In all fairness, I must report that Stan offered to stay home from his meeting. I was the one putting pressure on myself, not the wonderful hubby.] After a mini-meltdown and a quick chat with the mechanic we were able to borrow his car and the whirlwind of activity resumed.

Over the next few days, driving around in someone else's car, I was acutely aware of when & why I was driving. I noticed that most of the day-to-day errands for the family I do walking, with Puddin' in the stroller. When I get in the car, though, I'm often doing something that I find personally rewarding. I walk to the grocery store but if I want good bread (which is a treat I adore) I have to drive to one further away. The kids and I walk to school every day but once a week I drive to meet with friends and chat about the goings-on at church. And then there's my guitar lesson - that blessed half-hour a week when it's all about me - which is hard to get to without a car.

I've never been a car person before. I resisted learning to drive for far longer than is normal, and was quite proud during my decade as an urbanite that I was above such things. Now I'm startled to discover that I find freedom in my car. As much as I bad-mouth it, I'm grateful that the peculiar little car is back. Long may it live.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Bewitched & Bewildered


Last year for Halloween we had some great costumes in our family. Two out of the three even won awards at the Fall Festival costume contest. Peanut went as a rockstar - including a child sized studded collar and pink streaks in the hair. Monkey went as a woodland sprite (tree fairy) and made her costume by hand. Puddin', who was quite unaware, was dressed in her white fleecy jacket and went as a sheep.

It's time to start the costume conversation again but this time I may not get much input. If the custody rotation for weekends stays as it currently is then Monkey and Peanut will be with their mom for the festive day. If she's the one taking them trick-or-treating then she'll likely want control over the costumes. I'm not super picky about their costumes, but I do love helping the girls with creative process. I like watching ideas grow and develop in their brains until they have enough ownership over an idea to do the work to make it happen. It's a glorious process to watch. When I get taken out of the loop I worry that the process might be something closer to "which Disney princess would you like to be this year?" I certainly hope not - these girls are far too creative and thoughtful for an easy out like that. I think they're beginning to see some of that so hopefully they'll stand up for their own ideas and come up with something worth showing off to their friends and neighbors.

Now, as for Puddin', I'm still in charge - and it matters more this year. She's old enough to go to a few neighbors houses. She's also old enough to take all her clothes off if she doesn't like the costume I put together. I'm not too keen on the idea of picking something for her but the concept is so new that I'm pretty sure she can't choose for herself. I'm looking forward to the day when I can engage in the same creative process with her and help her express who she wants to be. In the meantime, I welcome easy, toddler-friendly costume ideas. Help please!

Coppola Claret

Coppola Diamond Collection
Claret 2006
California

This wine goes down easy. Rich, smooth, full of tobacco & dark berry flavors. The tannins mellowed almost straight out of the bottle, with little attention from us. The "nose" leaves a lot to be desired but the flavor more than makes up for it. For dinner we paired this with steak (rubbed with pepper) and the Claret stood up to the strong flavors admirably. Sitting around after dinner, the wine is still enjoyable - quite relaxing, actually. A good dinner wine doesn't always sip well or vice versa. It's nice when the wine flows so smoothly through the evening.

Today's wine nerd note: Unlike many U.S. wines, this one is named for the blend rather than the grape. But Claret is already a big clue - it's simply a name for a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend. Often there's some Merlot in there but not necessarily. The term originated with the British and they use it to refer to wines from Bordeaux.

One final note: A big thanks to Glenn & Nancy for giving the bottle to Stan for his birthday!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Pierre Amadieu Côtes du Rhône

"Among the world's great reds, Rhônes are the most untamed. Flavors dart around in them like shooting stars. There are whooshes of sweet earthiness and surges of smoky black fruit. The wines' howling spiciness has no parallel. Rhônes are the wine equivalent of a primal scream."
The Wine Bible, Karen MacNeil

Pierre Amadieu
Côtes du Rhône
Roulpierre
2006

When I first gave a glass to Stan for tasting his response was a surprised look and "that's funky." I'm not sure, but I don't think he meant funky as a compliment. This wine is tart, tangy, spicy, and peppery. It's buzzing with dark cherries and has a dry, minerally finish. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea but I enjoyed it. This wine asks a little more of the drinker - it demands attention - so settling into the couch with a book isn't going to work this time. But if you have the patience to dart through the various zings, you'll be rewarded.

I've never been a huge fan of French wines, mostly because they take so much more knowledge and attention. The wine world over there is so marvelously layered that I have a hard time finding my way around. The "new world" method tells me what grape I'm drinking but when dealing with the old world I have to remember things like French geography. I never studied French geography so this is quite a leap. Lately I've tasted a few wines that make me want to leap. You're welcome to come along, if you like.

The above quote about Rhône wines made me like this wine even more. I like a wine (or region) that won't be pinned down. In my readings I found that there's Northern Rhône and Southern Rhône, which are dramatically different, and never the twain shall meet. Côtes du Rhône, the wine in question, is the only exception. Côtes du Rhône (and it's fancier sibling Côtes du Rhône Villages) is the only wine that can be made in both districts of the region. Côtes du Rhônes is also the only wine that can be made of any grapes in the region, while other appellations must choose from a much smaller subset. Why must the French be so cryptic? I went to Pierre Amadieu's website and found slightly more helpful information. This wine was made in Gigondas, which is in fact Southern Rhône, and was made primarily of grenache and syrah. This wine is of their lowest level, which they call Découvertes - or Discovery (thanks to Google for translation help.)

There's lots more information I could bring up but just one more detail that I found interesting: Côtes du Rhône is often used as a café wine in France. According to French taste, this is a humble wine for everyday drinking. For once, I'm in agreement with the French.