Kramer Vineyard Celebrate – Again!

On Friday night, Twitter told me that it was National Champagne Day.  Which I thought was a bit odd, as I always assumed that December 31 was National Champagne Day, but who am I to argue?  Do we really need an excuse to drink wine?

A friend of mine had come over to meet up for dinner, so I uncorked this lovely bottle of Kramer Vineyards Celebrate!  I have blogged about it before, and it was equally good this time around.  It is dry with light berry flavors, made from Pinot Noir grapes.  I first tried it at the Bubbles Fest Oregon Sparkling Wine Festival, and continue to enjoy it today.

Kramer Vineyards Celebrate! Rosé of Pinot Noir

If you have a chance, make sure you get some of this wine!  I hope you all enjoyed the weekend.

 

2016 Philomath Frolic

Back in July (I know, it seems like forever ago to me too, but it’s been a very long several months) I took a long weekend and went down to Oregon to spend some time with my family. My Aunt and Uncle were visiting Oregon from Michigan, because my cousin and his daughter live there.  They invited me down for a couple of days of fun activities.

First up – a rodeo in my cousin’s small town. I was about to experience my first-ever Philomath Frolic. It had been ages since I’d been to a rodeo, so I was excited to go. I know that not everybody agrees with rodeos, but I grew up riding horses, and running barrels and cattle penning for fun.  I even used to try to rope, but I was never talented enough…

The weather wasn’t great – it rained a good portion of the day, but it at least wasn’t too cold.  And we were in the covered grandstand.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…

The Drill Team – the Frolic had a drill team – a group of horses and riders who do a synchronized pattern on their horses.  It’s kind of like synchronized swimming.

First up in the competitive rodeo events was Saddle Bronc Riding.  The goal is to stay on for 8 seconds.  Your free hand can’t hold on!

 

 

 

Next came Calf Roping – you have to rope the calf and lay him on the ground.  Best time wins.

 

This is breakaway roping.  The rider ropes the calf, but immediately lets go.  Best time wins here too.

 

In Team Roping, you have a Header and a Heeler.  It’s like it sounds, the Header ropes the head and the Heeler ropes the back legs.  There is a 5 second penalty if the Heeler only catches one back leg.

 

Donkey Racing – this event is just for fun.  One person rides the donkey down the length of the arena and around a barrel.  The other person rides back!  Or as you can see, sometimes “riding” is a bit of a stretch.

 

This baby donkey was just born the night before!  He’s so cute!

 

Barrel Racing – the rider and the horse execute a pattern of running around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern.  Fastest time wins, with a 5 second penalty for knocking over barrels.

 

 

Bull Riding is easily the most dangerous sport for the rodeo rider.  The goal is to stay on for 8 seconds.  It is hard to do!  I wish the first photo below was a little more clear, but I couldn’t resist posting it because it is such an awesome photo!

 

 

 

So that was my Philomath Frolic experience.  I hope you enjoyed it!  Have you ever been to a rodeo?

Marina Seals

Work has settled down, but it was still a busy week because a good friend of mine was in town!  I hope that soon I will have the time for proper posts, and to get caught up on my recent adventures.  But for now, here’s a quick pic.

I was down at a work meeting in August in Everett, Washington, and the hotel I was staying at was right on the water.  I went for a walk at the marina in the morning, and was blessed to see this mama seal and her pup, hanging out.  They were so close, and as you can see, she was as curious about me as I was about them!  What a treat!

It just goes to show you, sometimes you don’t have to venture far to see something amazing.  Happy weekend everybody!

 

Boomtown Pinot Gris

Another tough couple of weeks at work, but at least it is the weekend!  When I got home from work, I cracked open the Boomtown Pinot Gris.  Boomtown is the second label from Dusted Valley, a Walla Walla winery with a tasting room in Woodinville.  Two Wisconsin natives with a dream for wine making opened a winery in Walla Walla, and they make some really good wine!

The Boomtown Pinot Gris is a wonderfully balanced wine; crisp with just a little sweetness.  It is certainly a Pinot Gris done the Washington way, with much less of the sweetness of the Oregon style Pinot Gris.  Not that I don’t love a good Oregon Pinot Gris, but this one is fantastic!

Boomtown Pinot Gris

I paired mine with a tuna fish sandwich with pickles, because, hey, I like to class things up on a Friday night.  And you should drink what you like, and sometimes don’t worry about whether or not it goes with what you are eating.  Don’t tell anybody, but I had dinner in my pajamas too.  I said it was a long week!

Boomtown is available at grocery stores, restaurants, and through the tasting room, but you can’t buy it on their website.  If you see it, pick some up!