I'm bored...

So I'll leave you with something pretty to look at while I go turn on the "get cleaning" music and dance around the house. For me, "Get Cleaning Music" = the B-52's, Dire Straits, Spiller, C+C Music Factory & Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Who do you listen to when you've got to get moving?

Love you later!

David Bruce Winery

This past weekend we went for a very short drive up our mountains to one of our favorite wineries - David Bruce Winery.
It was just a quick trip with a purpose - to pay back my BIL. When he visits Hawaii (quite frequently!) we sends me bags of Kona Coffee. And not just a couple, but more than enough to keep my habit satiated.

But you can't go to a winery without tasting, even if you know what you want to buy. So we tasted. Or, rather, I tasted, he sniffed. They were pouring four different wines last weekend -

1. 1. 2002 Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido - a vineyard wine made with grapes from only the Bien Nacido vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley. This was by far the best wine we tasted this afternoon. It was fruity with just a hit of tannins to keep it from being too soft.
   2. 2005 Sangiovese, Paso Robles - Paso Robles is a beautiful section of California between here and Los Angeles. It's a straight shot down Highway 101 into the valley and has some great wines and vineyards in the local. Unfortunately, I don't appreciate Sangiovese. It's spicy and seems to be watered down when I taste it.
   3. 2005 Petite Sirah Central Coast - Sunset Magazine named this a "food friendly wine", and I can see that. It's a very mild wine that will not overpower most anything you could throw at it, and has a sweet red-fruit flavor that most people will like. I personally prefer a Merlot for that - it's just got a bit more body to it than the Petite Sirah.
   4. and another 2005 Pinot Noir - I don't remember if it was the Sonoma Coast or the Central Coast, but it was not as good as the Bien Nacido Pinot Noir. It was a bit weak and watery and not really what I was looking for.

I had a good time tasting, but picked only the Bien Nacido from the tasting to forward on to the BIL. He also received some Pinot Noirs from the Russian River and the Sonoma Coast. To your health!

LA Sunday - Huntington Gardens 3 of 3

After the Japanese portion of the Garden, we went to the recently installed Chinese Garden, also known as the "Garden of Flowing Fragrance". As this garden has only recently begun, the bones of the garden are found in the architecture, as opposed to the plantings. Therefore, not much fragrance flowing just yet. From the Japanese Garden, you enter the Chinese Garden into a walled courtyard, with chrysanthemum imagery in the windows and lotus on the end caps of the roof tiles.

The floor of the courtyard, "Plantain Court", is an amazing job of interlocking panels of stone - round white rocks tipped on the side to make the inner medallions with black rocks in linear fashion to make the borders. Something to remember, if I ever have a courtyard garden. It might be difficult to sweep up and be hard on bare feet tho. Mmmm. Keep thinking then.

The centerpiece of the garden is the "Lake of Reflected Fragrance", not quite balanced as of our visit. But there are vistas from every vantage point. The lake is actually located on a piece of land which naturally collects water during the rain, however, we haven't had rain for quite some time. The limestone rocks surrounding the lake are supposed to represent the craggy mountains in Chinese paintings.

Passing through the "Corridor of Water & Clouds" was a joy. The "Wall of Water & Clouds" was topped with more of the roofing tiles from the entry wall, waving across the top in an echo of either a wave or the far mountain peaks. Each of the windows to the far side had a different pattern of fretwork installed and the zig-zag path lead us to the next place of beauty.

The "Love for the Lotus" pavilion is an intricate piece of architecture, with more to "find and seek" than I can imagine. There is fretwork and carving and views and and and...

Unfortunately, by this time, the docents of the garden were starting to herd visitors toward the entrance/exit of the garden, so we were not able to make it all the way around the Lake. One of the views, so exquisitely framed, was the "Pavilion of Three Friends" where bamboo, pine & plum share a grove.

At the exit we were greeted by this Chinese "Lion Dog". All in all, the Huntington Gardens and Library are worth several repeat visits. If you are ever in the LA area, make the trip to Pasadena to go. We arrived in the afternoon, and were only able to visit three of the FOURTEEN!!!! different gardens, let alone any of the art or library exhibits. I hear tale that the Children's Garden is awesome and the Conservatory has quite a collection of the odd and unique plants.

I had a blast on my trip to LA, not only because of the things we saw, but because of the people I was with. It was good to have a girly weekend, and to take a solo trip. I think that all women should feel comfortable and have the opportunity to take trips alone. There's a sense of - power? accomplishment? satisfaction? some of all, but not in a bad way - in fending for yourself, taking the time to stop when you want to, to not worry about anyone else's schedule, and taking a trip by yourself. Do it.

Oops! Or Where did the time go??

Time got away from me, and now I need to finish up my trip to LA. But I have to interrupt the regularly scheduled programming for a couple of notes:

1) My yarn projects for Christmas are officially complete! Wahoo!!! I have some things that I may do, but they are completely optional. I'm so very pleased with myself. Sorry, gotta gloat about getting something done anyway! I'd show you pictures, but then you wouldn't be surprised.

2) The quilt for my MIL is at the quilters. Yippee!! The thing is huge, it just kept growing on me. The woman said she'd try and work it in ahead of some of the others in her queue - since MIL is now in the nursing home - and I should have it before Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see it quilted. I'll have to add the binding once I get it back. I have some fabric that's going to look like Fruit Stripe Gum wrapped around the edges.

and 3) I know that Craig Ferguson comes on really really late at night. But I appreciate him even more than David Letterman or Jay Leno, so sometimes I will record the show just to see what in the heck he's got going on. If you don't know, this past year (or maybe 2 now?) he became a US citizen and is very interested in the political process. I watched the other night, I just had to share his opening monologue with you. I don't know how to embed YouTube just yet, but one day I'll figure it out. So click the link: Craig Ferguson Political Rant It's not an ugly rant, just one that makes a lot of valid points. And then click this link... Craig Ferguson Part 2

LA Sunday – Huntington Gardens 2 of 3

After marveling at the beautiful blooms in the Huntington Rose Garden, we passed the pair of Lion-Dogs guarding the entrance to the Huntington Japanese Garden. Where the Rose Garden was a riot of color and exuberant blooms, the Japanese Garden is a 9 acre canyon of green calm. The Japanese Garden was begun in 1911, and the mature plantings reflect the age. As you descend under the wisteria arbor, your first view is of the Japanese house on the far side of the gully.Closer in the foreground is a Japanese half-moon bridge, over a koi pond. Too bad for us, the koi pond and stream were undergoing renovation. However, the image of peace is persistent, despite the missing water. Traversing the gully to reach the Japanese house, you take time to notice the details like the Buddhas bordering the stream bed, or the lion head adorning the ridge-line of the bell house.





Once past the bridge and back up the hill, the 19th-century Japanese house offers a small vignette to reinforce the feeling of calm. Although not a tea house, it does have the set-up for a ceremony. It is filled with shoji, alcoves for display, and straw floor mats. Again, the details are what make the place special. The end-caps of the support beams are carved with floral scrolls and a lotus blossom perched atop what looks like a koi tail hugs the roof line.



We continued down a zigzag bridge through a stand of bamboo. The zigzag path is thought to confuse evil spirits who only travel in straight lines. The pathway led to a walled-in Zen rock garden, or karesansui. This dry landscape garden was added in 1968. The ginko trees were mature and beautiful in their greenness. Too many people, however, did not allow for the meditative factor that such a garden normally brings.

The Zen garden opens to a courtyard filled with Bonsai. There, various members of the local societies had either donated or were caring for a large number of bonsai trees. This juniper (could be a cypress, I'm not sure) is one of my favorites. They also had bonsai pomegranate and grape vines, complete with fruit.





Some of the details that I'd like to remember for when I get the urge to finally do something about my yard. I love the half-moon bridge and willow, but I like the zigzag path/bridge through the bamboo more. The rock wall that held back the hillside from the stone stream consisted of a variety of black granite slabs, some were smooth polish, some were rough cut, and some looked like leftovers. It was interesting in that it had texture, but it was calming in that it was of a consistent material.


Also, this "river" of mondo grass that wandered from the path outside the bonsai courtyard and down into the more native garden. It was placed under the oak trees and had large rocks bordering the curves so it seemed to flow naturally down the hill. It was also bordered by hostas, nandinas, azaleas, rhodes, and lilies. Although very green in the heat of the summer, I cannot begin to imagine what it would look like in the spring. I really think this would be awesome on my uphill yard. Assuming of course, that I could convince the deer not to eat it, and the moles not pillage it.