lummi island wine tasting oct 16-17 ’26
This weekend open Friday & Saturday 4-6 pm
stunning fall colors at BC’s Chaberton Winery
fall colors at BC’s Chaberton winery
We enjoyed a lovely retirement dinner this week for BC/Lummi Island resident and long-time
friend of the wine shop Kelli Dale and Porsche-race-car-restorer-husband at the Chaberton winery a short distance north of the border. Their family has shared a vacation home in Isle Aire for at least as many years as we have been open and have been good friends for many years.
The occasion provided a stunning fall scene of richly colorful vineyards, background trees, stunning blue sky, accented with bright and expansive white clouds. In just the last several days our little region has showing off its Fall colors with bright fading greens, deepening reds and oranges, and this spectacularly Blue sky…!
Friday Bread Pickup This Week
Dried Cherry and Pecan – A levain is mixed to start fermentation and gluten development, with bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat, dried cherries and toasted pecans added, for a nice rustic loaf that goes nicely with meats and cheese – $5/loaf
Pan de Cioccolate – A delicious chocolate artisan bread made with a levain, bread flour and fresh milled rye flour, honey for sweetness, vanilla and plenty of dark chocolate. Makes fabulous toast, even better french toast – $5/loaf.
and pastry this week...
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls – Time for all things pumpkin! A rich sweet roll dough of eggs, butter, sugar, and pumpkin rolled out, sprinkled with toasted pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice, and sliced into rolls for baking and frosted with a maple cream cheese frosting. Yum, don’t miss out! – 2/$5
This week’s wine tasting
Alto Moncayo Zisnero Garnacha Spain $16
Ruby red; aromas of cherries and currants; pleasant freshness with notes of laurel and toast, balanced acidity, lingering palate.
Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz ’21 Australia $26
Succulent, rich aromas of dark berries and black plum with notes of sandalwood, rosemary and thyme;
soft tannins, and structured, voluptuous palate showcases the reliable poise and piquancy of this winery.
Bodega Garzon Single Vineyard Tannat Reserve ’18 Uruguay $16
Opaque deep, dark red; opens with enticing, delicious aromas of very ripe, dark fruit and berries stewed in their own liqueur, with lingering notes of spice, herb, and licorice on the seamless finish.
Economics of the Heart: “Mutually Assured Destruction” Revisited
At any moment over the last 60 years or so, any of the nuclear powers could have launched devastating attacks across the world that might kill millions or even billions of people. Standard armament for many nuclear missile submarines on underwater patrol gives each one enough destructive power to destroy vast areas of the global economic infrastructure built up over the last several decades.
Back in the fifties when many of us old-timers were kids, we were shown numerous versions of what nuclear war might mean not just for the future of humanity, but for life itself on our planet. And yes, we did in fact do drills at at school that involved “taking shelter” in our elementary school classrooms by crouching under our desks on our hands and knees, taking “shelter” against forces that could vaporize us completely in an instant. Yes, it gave us bad dreams.
The brutal American atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 effectively showcased the awful destructive power of these weapons against human lives and infrastructure, generally making them effectively “Unusable.” The puzzling reality of their continued existence suggests that some global players can still imagine there is some workable balance between international capacities for “mutual assured destruction” and the possibility of better-defined and assured set of assurances that could actually build trust and eliminate them altogether.
But none of that tells us htf we got to this current point in international history where the whole concept of “nations” seems to have become meaningless, in particular to a handful of autocratic (and somewhat autistic…?) multi-billionaires whose only purpose seems to be acquiring personal wealth and power. They convey an inner world with very low emotional affect, as if they don’t actually have emotions in any physical “felt senses” of well-being, affection, warmth, hugs, kindness…you know, like actual human beings. But Republicans have lived for individual wealth and power since the New Deal.
You can go person by person through the ranks of Republican politicians at all levels of government, and not find a credible sense of humor, kindness, honesty, curiosity, or warmth. This also applies pretty much to every Republican cabinet official, $donor, and most elected Republican Representatives and Senators. It is incomprehensible that they can go through day by day by day of White House grift, graft, cruelty, incompetence, and lying without feeling something like shame, or outrage, or — wait for it — dishonor.
This is the nature of the pit our country is in. A nasty, self-centered, mean-spirited, angry, and cruel collection of human beings has drunk some kind of weird political Kool-Aid that has made them enjoy hurting other people. Indeed, the more pain they cause, the more praise they get from their insane leader. In effect, HIS insatiable delight in causing pain to other people– any other people– is all he lives for. He delights in it.
Fingers crossed, folks. Stay strong, vote, and fight every day until we have our country back.
lummi island wine tasting oct 9-10 ’26
This weekend open Friday & Saturday 4-6 pm
This sunset is from 6 months ago and just like the one a few days ago…
and so the world turns..!
Friday Bread Pickup is Back!
Flax seed currant Ciabatta – Made with a poolish that ferments some of the flour and water overnight before being mixed with the final ingredients which includes a nice mix of bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat and rye flours. Loaded up with flax seeds and dried currants for a delicious bread. This bread is mixed with a lot of water that makes for a very slack dough so it can’t be weighed out and shaped like other bread, it is just cut into pieces. A really flavorful artisan loaf – $5/piece
Black Pepper Walnut- made with a nice mix of flours, bread flour, fresh milled whole wheat and rye. A fair amount of black pepper and toasted walnuts give this bread great flavor with just a bit of peppery bite to it. Would go well with all sorts of meats and cheese – $5/loaf
and pastry this week...
Rum Raisin Brioche: A delicious brioche dough full of eggs, butter and sugar. Filled with golden raisins and chunks of almond paste and as if that wasn’t enough, topped with a chocolate glaze before baking. Ooh la la, what’s not to like. I can only make a limited number so be sure to get your order in early…! – 2/$5
This week’s wine tasting
Cloudlift Lucy Rosé of Cab Franc ’23 Washington $19
Pale salmon in color, with aromas of fresh nectarine, citrus peel and strawberry; palate is dry, bright, and focused, with lively, mouthwatering citrus and minerality that extend the finish.
Ciffre St. Chinian ’20 France $20
60% grenache, 40% syrah; aromas and flavors of plum, cherry, raspberry jam and cassis coat the palate with hints of clove and cinnamon that add intensity and length.
Tre Donne Langhe Nebbiolo ’18 Italy
Dark mauve in color ; nose of red berries, tobacco, and chocolate opens to a balanced palate marked by soft, structured tannins that pair well with well-seasoned dishes, tasty sauces, and roasted or grilled meats.
Economics of the Heart: The New Ugly American
gee…Putin looks a LOT like Stephen Miller! Coincidence…?
It is difficult to find adequate metaphors for the rapid fall of the United States leadership role in international affairs and respect since the Tweetster came on the political scene ten years ago, after Barack Obama’s second term. You will recall that in 2008 Obama took office from the exiting Dubya just as the excesses of his administration was crashing our national economy into a major recession; Dubya’s invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan had become a disaster that would last for twenty years and seems to have forever changed the uneasy balance of Eurasian international politics and political economy.
Indeed, without those unbelievably short-sighted interventions, based far more on the prospect of making $billions for a handful of American corporations than the socioeconomic development and stability of the region, the nations of the Middle East remain in multi-dimensional conflict with each other and even rule their citizens harshly, particularly women, with rigid rules and punishments including beheading for those that break them.
In a certain sense, this is familiar territory for American so-called “diplomacy.” In particular, our nation’s various forays in Southeast Asia from the late fifties until the fall of South Vietnam to the North were managed in a particularly counterproductive way that was exposed through fiction in The Ugly American, a novel by retired Navy Captain William Lederer, (a fellow USNA grad but 31 yrs earlier) who wrote many books and film scripts over his 95 years.
That book was to specifically written to call attention to a common failure of US occupations of the era to work closely enough with the controlling regime of a country that valuable opportunities to help people thrive using local customs and social structures were missed entirely. Lederer’s strong feelings from his own experiences taught him that much of US occupation ignores ordinary people and their needs and merely adds wealth to local leaders who already control it.
Lederer’s insights provide a useful perspective on our nation’s present challenges in the light of the idiocy and cruelty of its current government. Everybody knows this government is using every ounce of its political power to build the personal wealth of the Trump family by looting hundreds of $billions from our national treasury, the states, the people, and federal workers. At the same time they seem to derive substantial sadistic satisfaction from breaking up immigrant families and imprisoning them under unacceptably cruel and inhumane conditions.
The Tweetster has also have found it entertaining over the past year to attack small boats in open waters with heavy military munitions, murdering hundreds of unknown individuals and claiming they are “drug smugglers,” without ever intercepting/ inspecting/ verifying their claims with actual inspections. These are all correctly called “murders,” and are illegal under international law. Also, probably as a tip of the hat to his buddy Vlad, he invaded a sovereign country (Venezuela), deposed its elected leader, and claimed ownership of its fossil fuel reserves.
That brings us to the ongoing debacle of the ongoing bombings of Iran, the stalemates in the Strait of Hormuz, and subsequent interruption of the international oil trade. All of this idiocy is destroying our nation’s status in the world; killing, wounding, and demoralizing our military, impoverishing our own people, substantially depleting our weapons reserves and national security, alienating us from our traditional allies, and substantially weakening our military response options until stockpiles can be rebuilt.
It all adds up to a Gigantic Indictment of everything the so-called Republican party seems to stand for these days. Who the hell benefits from this nonsense except our international foes?
This coming election is forcing every one of us to examine our present circumstances, come together as Americans, and eliminate the tyrannical forces amassed against our 250 yr old Constitutional government. Every day more people turn against the lying, the greed, the cruelty, and the ongoing self-aggrandizement of an insane, cruel old man who may never have had a kind idea in his entire miserable life.
The emerging truth is that after these past two years, Americans are DONE with this man’s broad ignorance, bottomless Ego, and endless Cruelty. Every day more and more people are looking around as if seeing the decline in our domestic and international situation for the first time, gathering in the streets, and reclaiming our Constitutional democracy “with freedom and justice for all.”
At this moment a gigantic-enough Blue tide is turning our very tired– and very tiring– Maga coup into a state by state reassessment of our collective and individual goals, values, and commitments. Time for a New Deal.
lummi island wine tasting oct 2-3 ’26
This weekend open Friday & Saturday 4-6 pm
fall colors are here, and wind is gettin’ colder…
Friday Bread Pickup is Back!
Multi Grain overnight preferment – The initial mix of flour, water, salt, & yeast is fermented overnight to allow a portion of the dough to begin enzymatic activity before mixing with bread flour, whole wheat, rye, cornmeal, and flax, w/ sunflower and sesame seeds added for crunch and extra flavor. – $5/loaf
Rosemary Olive Oil – Made with bread flour and freshly milled white whole wheat; fresh rosemary from the garden and olive oil make for a tender crumb and a great allaround bread – $5/loaf
and pastry this week...
Chocolate Croissants!! – Traditional laminated french pastry made with a bit of sourdough flavor and another pre-ferment to help create the traditional honeycomb interior, then rolled out and shaped with delicious dark chocolate in the center. Quantities are limited so get your order in early so you don’t miss out! – 2/$5
This week’s wine tasting
Tre Donne Roero Arneis ’23 Italy $21
Pale golden yellow; soft aromas of orange blossom, honeysuckle, nectarine, and lemon verbena; flavors of pear, peach, quince, and green apple; enduring minerality and balanced acidity.
Greenwing Columbia Valley Cab Sauv ’21 WA $19
Alluring aromas of Bing cherry, rooibos tea, loamy earth with hints of cinnamon, clove, and wild herbs; palate of red currant, raspberry and wild strawberry, fine-grained tannins and bright acidity.
Lancyre Pic St Loup Vielles Vignes ’20 France $18
100 % malbec; unfolds with dark, enchanting notes of blackberry, grilled plum, and jammy raspberry with accents of orange peel, vanilla, and tobacco spice, finishing with balanced structure, plush texture, and a lengthy finish.
Economics of the Heart: The Enemy Within
Everybody wants economic security for themselves and their families. As a nation we pretend we all want that for everyone in our country. However, what we have seen and experienced over the last forty years has been a concerted effort of the Republican party to concentrate wealth (i.e., ownership of income-earning assets) into fewer and fewer hands. while at the same time flooding news and information airwaves with deliberate lies and misrepresentations about climate change, Constitutional responsibilities of elected and civil service federal employees, and 24/7 media insistence that they are the Good Guys. They have been playing that game for so long most people just wince and roll their eyes. Or as Leonard Cohen put it, “everybody knows that the dice are loaded.”
Clearly the single focus of the Republican Party since about 1980 has been to redesign public news media outlets to create a 24/7 Fake News cycle with the single objective of portraying “Democrat voters” as woke, corrupt, fictitious, mean-spirited, trans-gender, non-citizens out to destroy our country. But again and again and again, reality has demonstrated that the ultimate goal of the Republican Party is to concentrate the world’s wealth into the hands of a very small number of joyless trillionaire men at the top of a global society whom everyone else serves at the pleasure and whim of these, their masters.
Either these people don’t believe that the Global Warming that is happening at their behest is exterminating vast regions of habitat, croplands, fisheries, and forests across the planet, or like an ostrich with its head in a hole, really don’t care one way or the other. Nor do they care about the immense suffering their policies seem designed to accelerate, including water shortages, mass starvation (like when they did away with USAID), global warming, higher winds, increasingly destructive floods, storms, fires, and species extinctions— we have already seen enough of the reality of the long list of Horrors by now to know that yes, fifty years after knowing CO2 from fossil fuels was killing the planet, the Oil Giants are still pretending it’s a hoax and all the Republicans are pretending they’re telling the truth as our planet begins to die.
In various forms, most existing autocratic nations across the globe promote a certain brutality of spirit, by which the leaders accumulate vast personal wealth, and the masses do the grunt work and strive to subsist. They take what they want and leave the pack to sort out the rest.
As we have seen in our own country in the last two years, it’s not just about the $Money to these guys. Oh, no no no, monsieur, it is Much more than that.
Indeed, as card-carrying psychopathic sadists, it is, as we see from the obvious glee of the Tweetster whenever he inflicts criticism or anger on someone and gets to watch them suffer physically and emotionally, or when ICE sends a family to a torture prison in a distant country. It is an addictive pleasure that no amount of bombing little boats in the Caribbean, or elementary schools in Iran, or withholding aid from Ukraine just to torment its leader will ever relieve. There is a big dose of sadistic psychopathy in this picture that many watch every day on their Cruel Channel. Regardless of who is is speaking in the always crowded and tastelessly decorated Oval Office, everyone present knows that at any moment they can become the target of his disdain.
In the coming election our duty as Americans is to take majority control of both the House and Senate. It’s a tall order, yes, and almost certainly there will be a lot of squabbling, lawsuits, and court cases. At long last we have a moment where it is at lease theoretically possible to get control of Congress for the Tweetster’s Farewell Ride. Wouldn’t that be lovely…?!
lummi island wine tasting Sept 25-26, ’26
This weekend open Friday & Saturday 4-6 pm
hmmmm…might get a bit wet out theah this weekend…
ayuh, might wanna bring youh slickah just in case!
Friday Bread Pickup is Back!
Poolish Ale – the preferment here is a poolish, made with bread flour, a bit of yeast and a nice ale beer for the liquid and fermented overnight. Mixed the next day with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat. This makes a great all around bread with a nice crisp crust. – $5/loaf
Buckwheat Walnut & Honey – another flavorful artisan bread made with a poolish, fresh milled buckwheat, and bread flour. Buckwheat has an earthy flavor that in this bread is balanced with a little honey. Some toasted walnuts add a nice crunch, going well with meats and cheeses – $5/loaf
and pastry this week...
Brioche Sugar Tarts – In France this pastry might serve as a goûter (kids’ afternoon snack). The tart is made with a rich brioche dough full of eggs and butter, rolled into a round tart and topped with more eggs, cream, butter and sugar. Great topped with fresh fruit! As always, quantities are limited, be sure to get your order in – 2/$5
This week’s wine tasting
Garzon Single Vineyard Albarino ’20 Uruguay $34
Medium-bodied white wine with dense texture, rich, elegant aromas, and succulent flavors of pineapple, lemon zest, chamomile, sea salt, stone fruits, and a bright, tangy acidity, pleasing creamy texture, and deep flavors!
Jordanov Vranec ’20 Macedonia $18
Aromas of ripe berries with notes of clove, nutmeg and cardamom; full bodied with ripe dark fruit and hints of herbs and dark chocolate on the well-structured finish.
Angeline Cab Sauv ’24 California $16
Opulent aromas of black currants, morello cherries, savory cedar and mocha with an undercurrent of petrichor. Red fruits are on full display to the taste, with bramblefruit, red plums and fresh strawberries; defined by its round edges and silky tannins.
Economics of the Heart: When Leaders Lose Their Followers
The stage is now being set for the most important American election of our lifetimes. Those of us committed to preserving American democracy are currently engaged in a battle to save it from the card-carrying foreign and domestic enemies committed to destroying it completely (pretty much every Republican in Congress.) From a broad perspective, this battle has been part of American politics for at least a hundred years, pitting the moneyed few against everyone else.
That changed for a while under FDR’s New Deal in the 30’s, which put unemployed people to work on Federal projects building infrastructure, investing in public education, creating Social Security, and stimulating that magical economic “circular flow” by which $$ circulates continuously from wages to purchases from people who grow stuff, make stuff, store stuff, and transport stuff.
We all have ongoing needs for safety, affection, food, water, shelter, and community in amounts sufficient to sustain and enrich our family and community lives. Everyone is in some sense both producer and consumer. We all need more or less the same basic things to stay alive, and we must all find employment to pay for them.
As we have mentioned before, the small class of ultra-rich business and banking guys who were responsible for kicking off the Great Depression/Crash a hundred years ago (not to mention Dubya’s crash of 2008! ) are the same ones who have been setting the stage to, more or less, change it back to the way it was in the booming profit margins of the early 20’s. The rich were very rich indeed, and the poor were stretched thin. And during the Depression, of course, finding even basic shelter and sustenance was elusive, creating substantial populations of homeless men, sometimes going door to door for scraps of food. (so my mother used to tell me)
The still-unfolding Republican “Plan” was set out in great detail by Project 2025 in its 1000-page playbook to replace American democracy with an Authoritarian police state. Our only hope for restoring Democracy and Constitutional law to our country is for enough loyal American voters to replace enough Republican Senators and Representatives in the coming election to give Congressional Democrats an ample majority in both legislative bodies in November!
2072 Granger Way