Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Walla Walla!....It's so nice, they named it twice!

Walla Walla: New November roadtrip for Fall!!
Did you know that Walla Walla, home to sweet onions and yummy wine is the largest city in Walla Walla County, Washington?!...or that
Walla Walla is in the southeastern region of Washington, approximately four hours by car from Seattle, Washington and thirteen miles from the Oregon border and 5 hours from Ketchum, Idaho?
Walla Walla is home to the lovely Whitman College, the oldest bank in Washington state, and it even hosts a state pen!
I bet you didn't. Now, let's get movin'....
Yep, last month I took a little drive and got to play with the Masons and the Maybos
What a treat......or dare I say, "hoot"?!
The first activity in Walla Walla was at the insanely, lovely Abeja winery.
Minus the fact that it was butt-ass cold, like thirty-two-degree-East-of-the-Mountains-cold, it was a beautiful, sunny, and extremely enjoyable weekend.
Yes, it's true! We got to see Scott and Anne and Addy at 2 different locales in Walla x 2!!
Scott is not "under the influence". But he is under his influence. And that is something that does not need to be explained for those of us that all know and love him, now does it? (Smirk)
And yes, he is suffering from a pot-belly.
I believe it is a condition that he has had since he was a very small child, and it sometimes gets inflamed when he is around co-conspirators or is making appetizers for 700.
Fortunately, Addy does not suffer from Mason-pot-belly-syndrome, but I know that she does have strong Mason-super-dork genes in her which makes her even more endearing and lovely than she already is. Isn't that one of the 500 million reasons that we love these people?
Anne, you are so cute.
Pow-wow under the heat-lamp.
OH! And look! There are the Maybos, (Sam, Claudette, Kelley, and Monika), and Mark Wagon-er (just kidding, Mike). Yay. :)
Scott and Anne of course made nutty(meaning crazy-delicious) food
Cold Smoked Salmon Tar Tar in Carrozza with Creme Fraiche
Autumn Mushroom Strudel with Red Onion Tellicherry Pepper Marmalade
Lettuce Cup with Scott's Salumi Cotto, Crispy Napa Cabbage Slaw & Cabernet Reduction
Tunisian Spiced Pork Rib,
that went along with some nutty (meaning crazy-delicious) wine.
At Abeja, they had a pretty, nice, outdoor kitchen (for warmer times, like not now).....
......a wood-fired oven.....
....and a sitting area.


We got "cheesey" not "whiney" in the wineyards.
After the day we had a nice dinner at Mark's house and then went out. My camera is not great after five, so there is no evidence....you will just have to take my "word" for it.
The next morning we moved pleasantly slow, and we then had a serendipitous tasting at Longshadows (one of my super-faves since forever) and Mason encounter #2!!

Thank you, again, Scott and Anne and Dane.
At Longshadows, Claudette found out that she has a special love relationship with Iced Wine. Nice!
Meanwhile, Kelley was trying to remember who was watching Sampson while at the same time pondering: "How the hell do they get all that wine into these tiny little bottles??"
Scott, again, was talking about the many fine attributes of Steve Perry, while Nick was trying to look interested, even though he has no idea what a "Steve Perry" or a "Journey" is, Addy was completely enthralled, because she grew up loving the band Journey because of her father's little-known-obsession with Steve Perry, and Anne was thinking about which great ice-cream of hers would go best with the magnum of Sequel wine that she was planning to sneak out of the winery when they leave.
Or.....
They might have been trying to figure out where to go for lunch because they were starving.
It was very pretty at the Longshadows.
We also visited L'Ecole.
L'Ecole is in an old schoolhouse that still has creeky old hardwood floors and steps. The windows are big and the wine is yummy. I didn't take any pictures there.
"Oh! Wait", except for this one of some Maybos doing some more thinking...."Oh!....and this little gem!"
-No, it's not me.
And on that note, I left Walla Walla on a Sunday afternoon; a late Sunday afternoon, as the sun was setting at 4pm.
Welcome Daylight Savings Time!
Or is it the end of Daylight Savings Time?
Whatever it was, "Bienvenuto".

P.S. Happy Birthday to Shurley and Doris!! oxxxxx


News Flash: Seattle Loses Crucial Bid at Weather Auction

Well, now it's official. Results for the National Weather Sun Auction arrived at Washington State Headquarters in Chinatown yesterday, and it is reported that Seattle was not able to obtain any full sunny days for the end of the 2011 season. However, auctioneers did agree to give all days with sunbreaks to the Puget Sound area, free of charge.
Producers of Vitamin D supplements were seen high-fiving as the results were announced while Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire has not yet commented. :(
I am going to hope that the sun will soon join the "Occupy Seattle" movement.
Have a great day. oxx

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Are you getting ready for ski season?!


.....My brother, Scott probably is ;)

Sunday, November 13, 2011

This is for Robin's Johnny ;)

Walla Walla, Washington.
Viva Italia!!

Good Morning Chinatown!


This is what the ID looks like when it hasn't woken up yet on a Fall Saturday or Sunday morning. That is, when the Chinatowners aren't lighting off firecrackers and clang-clang-clanging around celebrating something.


Okay, so to clarify, this is a rare, Fall, Saturday morning; just after 8:00 a.m.
It is gray, a wee-bit chilly, and the air smells clean and slightly damp.
It is very quiet!!
The mail trucks are sitting quietly.
They are waiting to go out and deliver bills, catalogues, and sometimes letters to peoples. (Hint. Hint-Ha. Ha.)
The crack dealers are sitting quietly....
And even the "po-po" are sitting quietly, maybe munching on dumplings.
It is a lovely time.
Then, around 11:00 a.m. or so, there began to be people in the streets...
......in both directions.
The mail truck was back to fighting with the garbage truck.....
....And the shop keepers were having "Grand Openings".
And once again, all was well and busy in the world of the ID.

Some peeps from a couple of Saturdays ago.....

Pink and Black!Not pink and black!
Hi.On a mission with orange drinks.
Semi-Funky-Cold-Medina
Pretty.

Revolucion

You all know how I love a good Revolucion!! ;)


I love this woman/colonial man!!....
Yeah, so....where is he? Is he snuggling up with Carmen San Diego in some tropical locale? Or is he drinking himself into a stupor because he can't believe what has been going on in the good ol' US of A since he last visited?
Hahahahahaha! "Bite Me"!