How About a Little Toilet Wine?

It's official; toilet training is the job from hell. I think it's quite possibly the worst part of parenthood, well it is for me anyway. On day five of "Potty Training Boot Camp" I can't imagine how we're going to get from where we are now to being able to have freedom again. We've been trapped in our house, chained to the smallest room by the invisible shackles of stubbornness, leaving only for a quick trip to get Burger King fries and Fanta orange soda on day four, when Shayden figured out if he didn't eat or drink he wouldn't have to use the bathroom. Thankfully, Fanta and fries won that battle.

This past week, there have been a few frightening moments where I've found myself longing for a glass of wine before 1:00pm, something to just lighten my spirit and give me the boost I need to muster up that extra bit of patience and empathy. Was it potty training that turned many housewives of the past into raging alcoholics, making them drink all day long? Sitting in the bathroom for hours, one's mind tends to wander. While staring at that shiny porcelain bowl, I dreamily thought about "Toilet Wine," and like Homer salivating over a doughnut, the mere suggestion of some powerful hooch made by prison convicts made me realize at that moment, I'd probably even down a glass of Boones Farm.

So,as the aromas of my son's urine wafted up from the floor below filling my nasal cavities with the intense smell of ammonia, I tried to imagine it was cat pee aromas from a lovely French Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc from the New Zealand's Marlborough region instead--ahhhhh Cat Pee on a Gooseberry Bush, even a wine with a silly name like that could be a savior.

I keep thinking back on one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, and the main character Andy Dufresne  ... "who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side". As I clean up the floor and the toilet, and everything else within spraying distance, the one thing that's getting me through the week is knowing at some point it's going to click for him--it has to. We will come out clean on the other side. My patience is being tested, and my family duties (bad pun intended) have pulled me away from my blog, social media and the big wide world of wine. So, while I'm not busy celebrating new life or being consumed with diapers and feeding schedules like my good buddy Suburban Wino (who has still miraculously and unbelievably found time to blog and tweet), I am tied up with my family and, yes, I'm sure it comes as no surprise, there are some things that will always be more important than wine. Until we sip again.

Cheers!

I should probably mention, this blog post was actually composed in the body of an email, because after 10 very long years, my old computer finally died. Not to let that be the sucker punch that would land me face down on the mat, I borrowed my 22-year-old son's laptop (or what I thought was a laptop), but discovered it didn't even have Acrobat Reader or Word. When I asked him about not having basic programs on his computer, I was informed it was a media center, not a laptop. Ahhhh. Blogging via email it is. Thanks for your patience, in fact, let's drink to it.

Wordless #WineWednesday — What's in Your Cart?

10 Things I Learned About Wine (From My Three-Year-Old Son)

1. It’s mama's!

2. It tastes yummy!

3. It smells like wine.

4. Gold, sparkly labels are pretty.

5. You can visit a lot more wineries after a good nap.

6. Swirling and sniffing is fun, even with a glass of water (try it!).

7. Two wine bottles fit perfectly in the child-sized shopping carts at Market of Choice and Trader Joes.

8. Corks might taste really good when you put them in your mouth, but they are indeed a choking hazard.

9. If you drank water and juice all day, you would never have a hangover.

10. Wine pops!

Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Reflections on a Glass of Oak Knoll

Driving the Oregon countryside on the weekends has far and away become one of my most favorite times for quiet contemplation, so, before I even began my wine tasting at Oak Knoll, one of Oregon’s oldest producers, I sat down at a cozy little cocktail table to download a bunch of thoughts accumulating in my brain before they flew away with the speed of a hummingbird (because that’s how quickly I forget things lately). The lovely Nadine came out from her post behind the wine bar to deliver me an extensive wine menu, providing me with tableside service while she talked me through their selections. In a nutshell… down-to-earth, gracious and friendly hospitality.

Oak Knoll Winery, founded in 1970 by Ron and Marjorie Vuylsteke, was the very first winery in Washington County. The Vuylstekes started their foray into winemaking back in the early 60’s after a bumper crop of blackberries led to the production of blackberry wines. A few years later, they were securing contracts with early regional grape growers and founded some of Oregon’s first wines, and by 1978, one out of every three bottles of Oregon wine sold was from Oak Knoll Winery. Today, the wines are crafted by the Vuylsteke's cousin, Jeff Herinckx, who joined the winery in 1984.

Their wines were certainly more respectable than I had honestly ever given them credit for. I never realized (or admitted?) how susceptible I was, but I kind of had it drilled into my head, from back in the day when I earned a paycheck from a certain winery, that a certain county’s wineries were basically subpar (with the exception of one, of course). That being said, I wish I could have actually tasted the wines blind, because as much as one’s surroundings can affect how the wine tastes, so can one’s personal experiences (in this case I was seriously trying to overcome a negative impression)—and can you ever really obtain an objective impression of a wine?

One of the wines I truly enjoyed was Oak Knoll’s 2007 Pinot Gris ($14). With a nice, rich and creamy mouth feel, the wine made it’s entrance with the typical apple and pear you’d expect at the surface, but underneath I detected entrancing layers of melon and tropical star fruit notes while the mouth offered additional exotic flavors of grapefruit, mango and a spicy, zingy ginger finish; it was a delicious, intriguing and complex white wine, great for summer with a nice acidity and a moderate price point.

Another stand-out wine was the 2005 Pinot Noir Vintage Reserve ($29). It’s light ruby color tinged slightly brown hinted at a touch of age opened up as slowly and surely as a hare in a race to reveal surprising depth and unexpected characters of leather, sweet red cherries, ripe juicy strawberries, violets and an intriguing spicebox finish of spicy clove and sexy cinnamon—ooo la la.

While meandering about outside, soaking up a bit of spring's welcome but early sunny offering, I savored a bite of dark chocolate with Oak Knoll’s 2006 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which was all dark fruit and pepper in a glass, and thought long and hard about my own predilection for the unpretentious that often directly competes with an equal desire for high quality; it’s not easy to achieve both, yet Oak Knoll continually strives to do so and that’s probably why they continue to remain such major players in this wild game of Winopoly. Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Ten Things Make Ten Smiles

Kind of like the new version of the chain letter, a few days ago, my dear friend Rachel tagged me in her wonderful blog 6512 and Growing. Rachel usually moves me to tears with her words, so her challenge to list ten things that make me smile was ever more fitting. While the list is hard to keep at 10, these images popped into my head and just thinking about them made the corners of my mouth turn upwards. So, thanks for tagging me and here's my smiles in reverse order!

10. Beautiful gifts from nature.

9. Skinnydipping.

(Did you really think I would post a photo?)

8. Diving through waves in a warm ocean.

7. Dreaming about endless possibilities.

6. Skiing through soft powder.

5. The warm sun on my aching body.

4. My adorable kitties snuggling up together.

3. Shayden being Shayden.

2. My sweet husband making me dinner.

And finally, the thing about to put a big smile on my face right now:

1. A glass of good wine at the end of a busy day.

 

I'm opting out and choosing not to tag anyone. Does that mean I'll have seven years of bad luck? I sincerely hope not, I've certainly had my share… but if so, bring it on. I'd really love to hear what makes you smile, so please leave a comment before you go. Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Winery Detour 1: Unforeseen Consequences

Since beginning this awesome and ambitious quest of mine, things have been gone a bit differently than I originally expected they would. First of all, I just thought it was going to be this fun little side project. Little did I realize how quickly it was going to consume my entire life. Like a spark in a dry forest, it’s been growing and spreading, and I have no intention of trying to contain it. In fact, now I’m fanning those flames, hoping they’ll go completely out of control.

My first moment of random recognition: I was working at Cooper Mountain one day and a customer said to me very loudly in front of a full house, “Hey, you’re that blogger girl”, evidently having seen me around and then recognizing me. It was a touch surreal and, for a moment, I felt almost like a celebrity. Then last weekend, purely by chance, I found myself alone in a room with a reporter from the Oregonian asking me what I was doing there. Two days later I had an article about the blog published and it's now flying through the Twitterverse.

My husband Hunter has been one of the biggest surprise side effects of all. He happily stays home with our son Shayden, enjoying the one-on-one time, while I’m out “working”. He enthusiastically listens to the crazy stories of my meanderings when I return, offers amazing suggestions and then stays up late at night to help edit my posts… tirelessly. Absolutely unwavering in his support thus far, I owe him an enormous thank you and will have to think of some way to make it all up to him… next year!

Well seemingly unwavering. Apparently Hunter, either venting or sharing, told his friend Rob how between work and the project, I’m away from home a lot more these days. Well, Rob’s something of a comic genius (though I wouldn’t say that to his face for fear his head would swell even more) and he sent us the following hilarious letter from Shayden to me. Hunter calls it "Rob dribble"… I call it a wonderful gift from a friend. His note kept me motivated and gave me a huge belly laugh when I was feeling most overwhelmed and under-motivated. Thanks Rob!

Dear Mama,

Why are you tawking so funny afta u cum home fwom dwinking at tha winery. I'm starting to worry mama, u r stahting to smell like a wino. When u say that u wuv me in burp talk it make me nervus like wen tha mawnsters talk to me fwom under tha bed at nite. mama, why r yur lips so wed and your teeth so puwple? Dada is always taking care of me on the weekends, where r u always going? do u luv the bottle like I wuv my bottle? be careful u don't get cavities. cause u can't lose your baby teeth no mor. Mama stay hom and hug me, but don't throw up on me like I sometimes did on u. Cause it smells like wine and stains my undies. I wuv you mommy, no dwinky and dwivey okay, or i take the kees fwom u. I wuv u.

wuv,
shaydog.
P.S-yummo:)

Lesson for the day: Never stop appreciating the simple gifts you’re given daily, be it someone’s generous contribution of time, energy or something that just brings a great big smile to your face. Savor it. Until we sip again…

Cheers!