The Joys of a Well Sunburned Nose

A few quick items before I go and veg in front of the tee vee set.

• 

  This is the view from the in-laws' backyard. Yeah. I know. It sucks to be me.

• Robbo will be pleased to hear that I started Master and Commander today after finishing the interminable Name of the Rose, which I was determined to finish even though that book is like foreplay with a premature ejaculator (and if you don't get what that means, I'm not telling you.) Anyway I'm not very far into M&C but I'm already having a hard time telling why dearest Robbo has a problem with Russell Crowe in the role of Capt. Jack Aubrey.

  {...}The listener farther to the left was a man of between twenty and thirty whose big form overflowed his seat, leaving only a streak of gilt wood to be seen here and there. He was wearing his best uniform---the white lapelled blue coat, white waistcoat, breeches and stockings of a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, with the silver medal of the Nile in his buttonhole---and the deep white cuff of his gold-buttoned sleeve beat the time while his bright blue eyes, staring from what would hav been a pink and white face if it had not been so deeply tanned, gazed fixedly at the bow of the first violin.{...}

  Ummm, what's the dealio here, Robbo?

• I got to experience Arizona viticulture today. We did a tour of wineries in this area and while two out of three sucked bullets, the third was truly something to write home about. Callaghan Vineyards. If you have room for storage, buy their wines. I really mean that. Their wine is nice to taste---and I did enjoy tasting a few---this is wine that will age BEAUTIFULLY. And I really mean that. A few years in glass will do wonders for this stuff---and it's pretty damn good to begin with.

  I tried the 2004 Syrah, Zinfandel and Claire. This Syrah is truly marvelous: rich, full-bodied and spicy, it could give any number of Californians that I've tasted a run for their money. The Zin wasn't as tasty or as impressive as the Syrah---it was a bit on the fruity side---and was a bit weaker than I expected it to be, but it was still quite lovely. The Claire, however, was bloody spectacular. That is a wine that in ten years will be wine you open up to celebrate special occasions, like when babies are born or your children get engaged and you're having a special dinner. It's a wonderful and special wine.

  I know what you're thinking: local winery action, oh joy. That last bit was undoubtedly accompanied by an eye roll, wasn't it? I'm sure it was. Because I know I've thought the same things, but really and truly, Callaghan has the potential to become a very important winery in the years to come. I was floored when I tasted their wines. I was expecting more MD 20/20 that I'd received at the previous two wineries, which shall go unnamed, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

Ok. That should do you for now, my devoted Cake Eater readers.

Oh, and my guest bloggers rock!