Random Thoughts On A Monday Morning

 

Game Day. The perfect excuse to eat and drink to excess, critique commercials, and snooze through a halftime show with performers whose peak was back when electric cars were sold at Toys ‘R Us for $49.99. I no longer do any of these things, so what does a Las Vegas Raiders fan do? Live life like it’s just another day, and yesterday that meant wine tasting.

At roughly the same time as kickoff, I poured myself five ounces of a white wine blend and put together a small bowl filled with things to draw out its stone fruit flavor. Ghirardelli dark chocolate. Water crackers. Smoked Gouda cheese. I normally have healthier mid afternoon snacks, so my excuse is this wine doesn’t pair well with the boneless rib eye steak I had for dinner. 

Here’s who made the wine… more on that below!

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I’m single as we head toward Valentine’s Day, aka Singles Awareness Day, so I’ve decided to “date” myself over the next few days.

Today Artoria and I head to Meritage at Callaway Vineyards & Winery. The menu is updated, and for lunch I’ll have an entree, tacos or a sandwich with a paired wine I’ve never had before. If I love the wine, I’ll take home a bottle for the 2025 Wines page, aka my “Sample 52 wines in 52 weeks” challenge. Unlike my prior visits to Temecula Wine Country, this will be a three to four hour getaway so I should be home in time for dinner.

Tuesday is Miku’s big day out. I’ll take the long way to Dudley’s Bakery — east along Interstate 8 and then northbound Highway 79 as it winds through the mountains, hugs the western and northern edges of Lake Cuyamaca, divides Julian, and then heads west and descends into Santa Ysabel. I’ll have lunch with a chai latte, and then pick up a loaf of bread and one or two more bottles of wine for the “52 in 52” list. 

Rain or shine, Wednesday is shopping with Artoria. Williams Sonoma for a cheese knives set and a matching cutting board. The comics shop to chat with my long time friend and pick up this week’s reads. Even if I get drenched, I’ll have plenty of things to comfort me at home until the weather clears on Saturday.

I'm so looking forward to all of this!