Small people whining

Another week of strange weather eh? Wind, & sun for the most part here, with a dusting of snow.... we dodged the snow storm that hit the mainland and on either side of us here on Denman... lots of snow in Campbell River and Nanaimo... , but we had our share of wind gusts, and of course, power outages.... which convinced me on Tuesday to head into Nanaimo to Costco to buy a generator, (I had seen them there on Saturday, but resisted the temptation)....of course they had just sold the last one. Blast! Clay can you check your Costco please, (it could be "carry-on" the next time you come over).
Regardless of the weather here, Gumboots seem to be the official footwear for three out of four seasons. Trying to break from tradition, Kari & I bought each other Merrell waterproof hikers for Christmas.... Friday, Kari was in Vancouver, so it was the perfect day for me to pack up the K9 and head to the beach for a hike. It was an awesome day, the beach was deserted and the hikers performed admirably.

Curt Update: Heard from CJ... he's out on a foray and is staying here. (tenting it)
Says this place reminds him of Long Beach.

On the home front, small projects like puttering and painting around the house are keeping me busy for now, but I may go a little squirrelly when these projects run out. Kari's job is quite busy right now and on top of that, she has been given several more accounts. This may put some stress on the gruelling 3-day work week; at least at busy times of the year.


This Summer, we received a Welcome Wagon Package that included a coupon for a free "premise fee" at a local wine making place. Before Christmas, we stopped into "Grape Expectations", and found out the coupon is worth $48 bucks... and we had wanted to make some nice red wine for next Christmas. We were told about a high-end limited release Cab coming out in January, so we signed up and will be starting that next week. As the Chilean Merlot we last made, has fallen the victim of early, multiple, disappointing tastings it will stay on the shelf until at least April. The Chardonnay we made last spring, fell to the same early drinking fate; Meanwhile, we simply had to find something to fill the gap and remedy our poor discipline. Admittedly, I'm cheap and I know nothing about wine, so I set out to change that. The following segment is the result of the many minutes it takes to become a wine expert.... (without changing the "cheap" part).

Dave's Wine Corner.
Vancouver Magazine's International Wine Awards have just been released in print. They list the best wines in several categories. Although they didn't place first, the wines listed below ranked right up there with MUCH more expensive wines. Blind tasting does that, doesn't it?
Then the judges were asked: “What’s the best value for money?—no matter what the grape, region or price". Here was the answer....
Finca Los Primos Malbec, $9.95; Castillo de Monséran Garnacha, $9.99; Cono Sur Viognier, $10.99; Tormaresca Paiara Negroamaro, $10.99; de Bortoli Petite Sirah, $11.99; Vina Chilcaya Chardonnay $11.99.

(Cono Viognier is currently on sale @ $9.99 - LCB) The judges further comment on this wine: "World’s best value Viognier?"
Meanwhile, Gismondi (wine expert, Vancouver Sun) says of Cono Viognier: Floral, lime, mineral, mango, honey aromas. Ripe, round, rich but elegant with moderate acidity. Spicy, ginger, orange peel, honey and mineral flavours with a touch of citrus rind bitterness. Fine solid, fresh style for white meats and seafood. Great value. It shows up again at the Value Wine Awards 2006.
Meanwhile, I say: I don't even know what a Sommelier is; (but we should pull our troops outa there). I think there may be a run on this stuff, so we stocked up. Yup, it has a screw-cap, but I can live with that! While buying it, I noticed a California wine retailing @ $36 that had a screw-cap; what's the world coming to? Hung up on the screw-cap dilemma like me? This article is assisting me with the mental anguish of being cork challenged. Once you've read it, you'll be ditching all your investments in corkscrew ventures. Maybe soon we'll all be able to store our wine upright..... (I digress). I'm going to source out the rest of these proclaimed "best buys" in the near future... anyone want to split a case?