The Universe Is Against Me!

The baseball season is upon us. Yeah! I've purchased Extra Innings from Cox so that we can watch the Cardinals play.

They had a game against Chicago Saturday afternoon. We were all set to watch, but it was not to be. Apparently the game was on FOX in that area so we didn't get it. Why am I paying for Extra Innings again? Greedy FOX! What about fans that don't live in the area?

Another game was to be played Sunday evening. Again we were all set to enjoy the game. I'd hurried home from a previous engagement and was really ready for some baseball. It was rained out.

That is why I say the Universe is against me!

The next game is Tuesday, so we'll see if the fates are against me or not.

Being First

Being first requires a couple of things. First and foremost, you have to be in a position to be first. Second, you need the talent and the drive to take advantage of that position. Being in the position without the talent and drive just means the next guy in that position will be the first and you will be forgotten.

Last night, both of these conditions were satisfied for our favorite major league baseball player. Jody Gerut was the first person to hit a home run in NYC's City Park, home of the New York Metropolitans, aka the Mets. Clearly he demonstrated he had the talent and drive to take advantage of the circumstances he found himself in.

Not only did Mr. Gerut (We haven't met, so we're not on a first name basis.) hit the first home run in City Park history, he is also the first person to lead off a game in a new ballpark with a home run. In Elias Sports Bureau terms, that makes him immortal. Someone may repeat the feat, but he will always be first. The subject of mid-game trivia questions everywhere. A surefire way to make sure your name is never forgotten.

Pretty cool if you ask me.

Mr. Gerut also showed his class (we expect such classy acts from someone from Illinois) by donating the bat he used to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

What a great way to start the season. And now we have MLB Extra Innings, so we can watch the San Diego Padres, when my beloved Cardinals are not on of course.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

It's that time of year again. So in honor of it, I just had to post this. I never realized the many different versions of this song. So I chose the version done by Gretchen Wilson.

My hopes for this year are to see a few Tides games, possibly a Nationals game and to see the Cards do well. Please God please! Okay enough of that. Enjoy the baseball season everyone!

-Michelle

If You Don't Teach Your Cat About Catnip

Who will?

In Memory Of A Great Man

I just found out that Jacques Recht, a wonderful and knowledgeable man, just passed away.

Jim and I were lucky enough to meet this man and form a friendship through our wine group. It was always interesting to hear his thoughts on wines and he was always willing to sit and chat with you about the many different things about wine.

Jacques, a Belgian oenologist, was sailing around the world on a catamaran he had built when he ventured into the Chesapeake Bay and had a chance meeting in 1980 with Carl Flemer, the owner of a large commercial nursery and vineyards on the Northern Neck. As it happened, Flemer was in need of a winemaker to launch his Ingleside Vineyards. Jacques agreed to give him a hand, at least for a few weeks. Thos few weeks turned into 25 years, during which Recht moved from Ingleside's winemaker to wine making guru for the entire state. He has been a consultant to numerous wineries, including Oasis, Oakencroft and Tarara. For the past several years he has been the winemaker for a small winery, Athena Vineyards, which is near Wicomico Church on the Northern Neck.

Our sympathy and hear felt wishes go out to Lillian, his lovely wife, and all his family. He will be greatly missed. Farewell Jacques, you will be missed.

-Michelle

Good Friends, Good Wine, And Good Food.

Normally our weekends are a time for Jim to just relax. And we really don't do much of anything. This weekend, however, was a bit different.

So Saturday we drove the 2.5 hours to Ingleside Vineyards. Of course we did do a tasting. Hey they have new things for tasting. Plus we stayed and chatted with our friends and drank a glass or two of Rosato. We were actually on a mission to get a case of Rosato di Sangiovese, but that wasn't our only reason we were there.

No we were also there for a meeting with our wine group. Something we had not done since we left the area. And it felt like coming home. We fell into the same old jokes with some of our friends and many people acted as if we'd been gone for a short amount of time. Not the nearly twelve months that we had been gone.

The first picture is of our friends, Bill and Linda. Just two of my favorite people.

The wine tasting with our group was seven red wines. The theme, there's always a theme, was big bold reds. It's been a while since I've had a lot of reds. I'm a bit out of practice.

Jim, being the smarty pants he is, told the group he was just there to drink. So he took no notes on the wines. I quite frankly am out of practice and really couldn't pick out the subtleties of the wines.

After the wine tasting we broke into two different groups. Some went to The Moorings while others went to Good Eats.

Linda, Neil, Phil, Andrea, Debbie, Melanie, Linda, Jim and I all went to Good Eats. We had three bottles of wine at the table.

Jim and I both had the blackened prime rib. Which was wonderful!

We spent a few hours there. The staff was wonderful. The food fantastic! The company even better.

The Great Michelle...

Has done it again!  That's right I predicted a boy and so it came to be.  

Our friends Sarah and Jameson, well more Sarah than Jameson, had a baby boy on the fifth.  Congrats you two!  

My sources tell me William Clark weighed in at 7.5 pounds and was 21 inches long.  And that Mommy and baby are doing fine.

See Jameson, I told you it would be a boy.  Silly thing!  How could you ever doubt me?

I expect baby pictures people!