Lummi Island Wine Tasting August 3 ’13
Credit where credit is due
Being, like many of you, a “recovering Catholic,” I am easily shamed when any of my many shortcomings are pointed out– mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa (all you Heathens need to know is that you strike your heart with your fist each time you say “mea culpa”…you know, a little groaning and anguish is so good for the soul…). So this is to note that the photo I posted last week of Lummi Island as seen from Vendovi was actually taken by our dear friend Kier, who visits Lummi for a few weeks each year, and who is reliably tethered to her smart-phone at all times and thus able to email, search the web, or take pictures wherever and whenever duty calls. So muchas gracias, amiga, for always being prepared and for sharing your technology with us…!!! And yes, it was a lovely outing!
Leapin’ Lizards, Sandy!
When I was a kid in the Fifties, each Saturday morning brought our local paper, the Bangor Daily News (established in 1889 and still in the same family) to the doorstep, and with it the “colored funnies,” which we would read over a Saturday treat of Eastern Maine’s famous chocolate doughnuts (imho, you can’t buy a decent doughnut anywhere west of Augusta, Maine…). The comics section was only both sides of two full sheets of newsprint, so only eight comic strips. For years and years, the first page had Dick Tracy at the top and Little Orphan Annie at the bottom. Both strips had been around a very long time and already bizarre and anachronistic, so to this day, I couldn’t really say what Orphan Annie was really about. It always seemed disjointed and strange, especially since all the characters had little white circles where their eyes should have been! I mean, how weird is That?
What is important about all of this is that THIS FRIDAY at 7PM (August 2) a group of students from Beach School will perform ANNIE. The players have been in Theater Camp for several weeks, and have been working hard to put this show together. We certainly intend to go, and encourage all of you to attend as well!
Love in the Afternoon
One of the great perks of our little business is that it is often pretty quiet early on Saturday afternoons. That means that when someone comes in early (you know, before 4!), there is often space to hang out and chat; and after all, that’s a big reason why we keep doing this. So last week our early guests (anonymity preserved) exemplified a relationship that perhaps only those of us of a certain age can truly appreciate: a couple trying to condense the accumulated artifacts of two mature households into one. She did it by ditching everything Back East before moving here. He is doing it piece by piece, room by room, gift by gift, yard sale by yard sale.
As an old friend advised while viewing our garage in town just before we moved to the Island almost 20 years ago: “You know what this is? It’s Karma. Get rid of it!” Good idea, but it’s not that easy in a culture that is trained to acquire more and more stuff, but knows little about how to pare it down. Personally I have a really hard time even throwing away bent nails...I mean, they can all be straightened and used again, right?
Still coming off the sobering yet entirely pleasant experience of the 50th HS Reunion, I confess a fond appreciation for our deep, collective instinct to pair off into household units. Btw, don’t you think he looks a lot like somebody famous?! Go ahead, guess, and then click!
Mt. Baker Roussanne ’10 Washington $12
Notes of apricot, honeyed white peach, grassy aromas and lengthy dried apricot flavors with a plump mouthfeel and a cleansing minerality and acidity.
Borsao Rosado ’12 Spain $9
Spicy strawberry and orange zest on the nose, with a light floral quality. Juicy and clean, offering tangy red berry flavors, a kiss of white pepper, good focus, and a light touch.
Pech Celeyran 5th Generation Rouge ’11 France $14
A fifth generation French wine maker produces this blend of GSMC (grenache-syrah-mourvedre-cinsault) on an estate which dates back to 1868, on land that was once an island, first planted in vines by the Romans.
Andeluna Cabernet Sauvignon ’10 Argentina $11
Currant, pepper and coffee on the nose, complicated by licorice and menthol notes. Juicy, brisk and intense, with a savory quality and toothcoating tannins.
Bodegas Triton Entre Suelos ’10 Spain 90pts $12
Sexy, oak-spiced aromas of black raspberry and cherry, with pipe tobacco and floral nuances building with air. Fleshy, supple and sweet, offering bright red and dark berry flavors and a smoky, spicy quality. We sold out of this almost instantly when we last had it a few months ago.
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2072 Granger Way
Dear Rich, thank you so much for your eloquent photo acknowledgement. Much more than I expected, however great fun to read! “Recovering Catholic” and all (-; very special! Take care dear friend!