tis the season for wine tasting

Wine tasting seems like more of a summer or spring activity to me--probably because of how many wineries have views and decks and such.  But we're fast approaching one of the busiest winery visiting times of the year as the end of November slips closer. (here's a great link to help with planning your winery tastings.)
N and I usually stay clear of the crowds, but I see that Wandering Aengus will be open November 21 and 22 for tasting and (of course) purchasing.  We've noticed how it's getting tougher to find their ciders in the Salem area, so I'm sure we'll spring for a case that weekend.  Or maybe more, since it makes a good gift, too.

By the way . . . have you signed up for Friday's Wine Walk??

Saturday Night in Newport

“24 Hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not."–H.L. Mencken”

We chose to eat at Rogue's, Brewers On the Bay, Saturday after the Duck and Beaver games were over.  N and I have talked about eating here for a couple of years, but until Saturday had only made it to a pizza stop at their Bay Blvd. location.  Our trips to the beach are usually of the "there and back in a day" variety, making a relaxing visit to a public house out of the question for those of us who are prone to nap after a beer. 
We walked up the metal ramp, through a narrow silo, following the sign that beckoned us ahead.  We followed the wet, roped, cement path and heeded the caution signs near the ramps and puddles.  Soon we arrived in a rustic area stocked with bottles and bottles (big and regular) of their beer varieties, hats, shirts, etc.  We located the stairway that went to the dining and tasting rooms.
N said that I breezed by the sign directing us to bay view dining, as I lead him into the bar.  Didn't even notice!  Just as we considered backtracking, the bartender held out an on the house Mogul Madness sample.  Mmmmm!  He suggested we fill out the paper form for a sample tray--how to choose 4 from that list?!
I jotted down:  Juniper Pale Ale; Smoke Ale; Dry Hopped Red; Imperial Stout.  My favorites of the 4 were the Juniper Ale and the Dry Hopped Red.  The other 2 didn't even come close,and I should've known better than to try the smoke ale.
Both of us decided we had to try their "famous" fish and chips with Idaho fries.  The fish was delicious with the addition to dill to the beer batter, (but why not more cole slaw??) and the fries were crispy and hot.    After we finished eating, N ordered a pint of the Wet Hop Ale and I ordered a glass of Dry Hopped Red.  The bartender kept us entertained with banter and gave a wee suggestion that perhaps we'll see a pub house on the Independence hop farm on 3590 Wigrich Rd.some day.  I did notice they have tours at the farm--Mon. thru Fri., 7 AM-6PM.

Just the 2 (3) of us

Photo by Jim Layman
I don't know who's enjoying this weekend more, N and I or Hope.  She's stretched out on the bed, next to both of us, watching the world outside our 3rd floor window while I play on the laptop and N watches the Duck game. 
We arrived in Newport around 6:30 last night.  The weather was relatively calm as we took Hope for her first walk and later when we went to Nana's Irish Pub in the Nye Beach area (which N and I both agreed is worth 4 out of 4 stars).


After breakfast, we went for a long drive and  stopped to enjoy some roadside views along the way.  The most impressive?  Boiler Bay!  Wow!  What a show!  We were soaked from both the spray from the breakers and the rain.  We drove around the bay and then along the Siletz River.  The weather raged almost the entire time--downpours, hail and thunder and lightning.
Once we returned to Newport, the weather was calm again.  NOAA says the calm is temporary, but, hey, we didn't come here for the weather.

Car music flashback

When Lise and Fran were small, we spent a fair number of hours in our car, driving to and fro to visit family from Tillamook, Roseburg, and then Salem.  Our constant companions on those car trips were our Raffi cassette tapes.
N and I could probably still predict, with at least 90% accuracy, what song follows another on his first 4 albums.   I'm not sure we would've given up adult music to any another artist.  Raffi has a gentle, soothing quality that can calm any age. 
Once in awhile, while involved in an adult conversation about "what are you listening to", I would go on and on about how much I loved Raffi.  "Have you heard "The Gorilla Song"?", I'd gush to concerned friends.  I'm still sad we never made it to one of his concerts (sigh).
And today there are times when I'll burst into a Raffi song out on the playground or on the way to the bus and sometimes one of the small people will join me.  I guess he's still playing in cars today.  Good news!

G K's -- The Old Scout

When the Tough Should Get Going

November 3, 2009
The former Marine officer Matthew Hoh, who resigned his Foreign Service post in Afghanistan because he feels the war is pointless and not worth dying for, deserves all the attention he's gotten and more. The Obama administration faces hard decisions there, and the man made a good case against deeper American involvement. He says that our presence among the Pashtun people, the rural, religious people, is only

I'd like you to meet my friends--the red wigglers

I love the excitement the short folk have for the worm box and the worms--reminds me yearly why I do science every week.   :>)
I read Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer for the first time.  In the past, we've read Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser.  I love the illustrations in Wendy's book (by Steve Jenkins) and the detail about wormlets, what worms eat and how, but I may revisit Linda Glaser's book next year.  It's better geared to our age level and allows for more time to do our science journals.
After reading I opened up the worm box to "introduce my friends" to the students.  I showed the decaying apple, banana peels, garlic clove shell (worms ate the insides) and the leaves intermixed with the coir and worm castings.  Only a few yucks and "why do worms eat garbage?", most couldn't wait until they could hold one.  Some years only half will hold a red wiggler, but yesterday only 3 out of 40 said no.  
After holding the worms and talking about how they move, we washed our hands and returned for a gummy worm treat.  BUT first we stretched and relaxed the gummy worm to show how real worms travel.

Flag traditions from my youth

As I was leaving work yesterday, I noticed our afternoon custodian draping both the school's national and state flags around his neck as he finished adjusting the cable and pulley.  I flashed back to the daily flag ceremonies in my small town elementary school.  It's very possible I have the details wrong, but here's what I remember to the best of my knowledge: 

Each week a different classroom (grades 1-6) would have the responsibility of raising and lowering the flag.  It was a privilege to be one of the two students chosen to perform the unfolding, attaching and raising each morning--as well as the lowering and folding at the end of the school day.  I can remember being in classrooms where the entire class attended the ritual and others where only the chosen students were in attendance.
Today with all of the demands placed on a student's school day, taking that much time for a ceremony that teaches respect for a national symbol seems difficult to justify and yet worthwhile all the same. Maybe once a month?

The time it was a'changing

I just don't get it--even when we "gain" an hour in Autumn, our internal clock is knocked out of whack.  Years ago I read that there's an increase in automobile accidents and heart attacks when the clocks are changed.  It has to affect productivity as well (except for you Amy).
After a couple of minutes googling this morning I did find some articles on the Spring time change, but not Autumn (1, 2).
Part of me wishes we'd stop daylight savings time and part of me understands why we do it, but I would like to see a review about whether it's worth the slight increase in accidents to continue.

The art of holding our breath

N and I kicked off our weekend with the pub crawl and then woke up (no, not early!) Saturday ready to get to work. N drove to his office to try and catch up after a week of meetings and heading out of town. I did chores and then took Fran out to the last Saturday Market, Keizer dog park and then to Reader's Guide. Saturday Market was the easiest with the wheel chair and Reader's Guide entrance was the worst.
Oh how I miss their old location and book selection!!
On Sunday, Lise and I ran errands while N tackled the leaves and worked on his PVC green house. I can't wait to see how it works this winter. Oh and I (thankfully) was reminded about this week's worm science lesson.
I was sure I had stocked the worm box with enough food since I last tended them. BUT I'm pretty sure the lack of food is why they left. Very sad! After gleaning a handful of worms from our compost pile and compost container, I discovered they hadn't gone far. I moved the worm box to begin cleaning off the exterior and found leaf debris that was full of red wigglers! Yay!
Another week closer to Fran's surgery date. Yeah, we know. It may not be the answer.

Okay, so I lied . . .

I apologize in advance for these lousy cell phone pics, but I wanted to give you an idea of what was out there last night.  Silly me left my camera at home, although the video camera would've been just the ticket.

I told everyone who asked at work that I could check-off "pub crawl" on my list of things to do, because I was getting too old to do those kind of activities.  The closer the date for the October crawl creeped, the more I considered trying again.  This time with a better plan (eat at one stop, drink at the next) and thanks to Amy, we almost stuck to it.  A buck for a slice of pizza at Straight from New York??  Yup!  All we needed was that orange bracelet.  :>)
There were so many great costumes and people having fun.  Even though I felt exhausted after the work week, I had a fun time with lots of therapeutic laughter.

Leaves!

K2 and I decided to do our leaf science lesson this week.  The gamble was whether Tuesday and Wednesday of this week would be drier (weather wise) than the next.  I'm glad we made the leap.  The weather turned out perfect both days.

I took each group out for a short leaf walk.  We compared the oak trees in front of our school (variety of colors, number of leaves left) and selected 2 leaves per person for a project, before heading inside to enjoy our two books.  I read "Leaf Man" by Lois Elhert and "Autumn Leaves" by Ken Robbins.  Afterwards I shared why I love Leaf Man: how the author strolled through her own woods during autumn, collecting and scanning what she considered to be the best leaves, then printing and cutting the scans out to create leaf pictures.  My goal is to create an awareness of the changes in the world around us and inspire them to make their own creations.  At the end I demonstrate how to do a leaf rubbing with paper, crayons and the leaves we selected.
Something L and I have tried for the past 3 years is to have the children listen to another book about making leaf pictures when they return to the classroom and then having a chance to make their own.  L then takes their leaf creations home to scan and make a classroom book.  The morning class did a nice job, but the afternoon crafted some amazing pictures.  Something about that creative part of our brains working better in the afternoon AND the instructors giving better explanations.
{Have to share one funny from the day:  During the first trip (of 4) out of our building to begin a leaf walk, I spotted a pile of dog poo in the middle or our path.  I alerted each group to watch their step and reminded them to clean-up after their own dogs.  One of the short people in the middle of day remarked, "Maybe dogs should learn to clean-up after themselves!".} 

Happy Hour idea

I'm knocking around an idea for eatsalem.com. 
Hopefully, I'll spring into action soon and quit with this long rumination.

I thought it would be fun to gather a group together and do a weekly happy hour review--on an off day of the week.  Maybe come up with a simple score sheet of some kind.
Would 4 rating areas be enough?  Something like:  ambiance, available times, quality of food and drink deals.