My favorite Winery song.. Reflejo de Luna..

This song brings me back to peaceful,

blissful, quiet, relaxing,

calm, breezy

and sweet days spent

enjoying wine outside on the patio

at Fence Stiles Winery.

It's one of my very favorite cd's

that they play.

: )..

Ahhh.

I think I need some sangria.

Stat!

A terrible loss..



Our wine mob has suffered a terrible loss.

One of our winery owners passed away.

He and his wife created a fabulous winery and 

a fantastic late harvest wine called "Ishq".

Ishq means Love in 14 languages,

and William and Shriti had to fight the hardest

to get this name approved because of slang meanings.

Our wine mob will never be the same without

William and our hearts are all breaking for Shriti and her son.

They made everyone feel warm and welcome when they stopped by.

They gave so much to others, never hesitating to lend a hand to those in need.

William will be missed.

Ishq..

Forever in our hearts..

Wine.. And.. Paint? : )..

Ooooh my poor, poor, poor neglected little blog..

Waiting patiently for me to return..

Working extra hours at the group home..

Just never remember to come back..

 

However, during the little hiatus..

I discovered this lovely little event..

 

Pinot's Pallette..

It is a painting class..

Where you can sit and drink wine?

Count me in please!

 

Here are some of the paintings

 in their gallery..

 

There are wine and paint classes

located all over the US..

I think I might just have to check

into one for sure..

At least one of my wine mob

is interested as well..

: )..

Alrighty!

Let the fun begin!



Now this is how to spend the weekend..

Snacks..

Sangria..

Great temperatures..

At the local winery..

Yeah buddy!

Gotta get me some of that..

Temps in the 70's?

That's what the doctor ordered..

: )..



Spring Time Sangria? You betcha!

Yes please..  : )..

Arbor Mist Frozen Apple Sangria..

Found here..

Strawberry Wine Punch? Yes, Please!

This early morning shift is killing me....

I have one month left before I can bid on another schedule..

In the meantime, this might help that time

pass by with a little vim and vigor..

Lol..

Strawberry Wine Punch..

Count me in!

: )..

Just say no to snow..

We are supposed to be getting ice and snow again,

but it's actually pretty nice outside this morning..

Today is my Saturday..

Sooo I'm thinking..

I might need a little bit of this..

Found here..

Wine Clubs, Wine Mobs and Car Keys Oh My..

Haven't quite adjusted to my new 0400-1230 schedule

where I can blog as much as usual.

Work is getting easier though.

I'm not a total zombie at 4am right now,

although, I haven't exactly been the brightest bulb in the building either.

Went to the first Wine Club pickup at Fence Stile Vineyard

Saturday night with our Wine Mob.

Had a great time.

Got some great wine.

Went out to get in the car to leave.

Went to get my keys.

Guess where they were?

Our new car only has one set.

The key has a chip in it,

and a duplicate would cost $60.00.

My key?

Was securely in the ignition.

The doors?

Securely locked.

Awesome.

Had to catch a ride home.

Had to catch a ride with the not so thrilled other half 

the next morning.

Had to try several different things before

he was able to hook the button and

pull it up.

We will be getting a mock key

because apparently, I have a proclivity to lock

my car keys in the car.

I'm great at that.

Well versed.

Proficient.

: /..

However..

The wine club was great.  : )..

Delicious food.

Delicious wine.

Great friends.

Got a sneak peak at

Fence Stile's new

building where they will have

a bigger tasting room

and party facilities.

It was a great night despite the key snafu.

: )..

Candlelight Wedding..

 My former co-worker Cheryl and her fiancée are getting

ready to have an evening, candlelight wedding

ceremony tonight.

 The blissful bride to be..

 Her dress for this evening..

And her gorgeous flower arrangement..

 

Should be a great evening.  : )..



Ready for the weekend..

Long day..

I was goin crazy..

Think I might need some of this

over the weekend..

Luckily I've got something similar in the fridge..

And some cute puppies..

And it's almost time to make some of this..

Might have to make some this weekend..



Grapes and Bees and Wasps! Oh My!

 Ohh, a nice little bird nest..  : )..

 Those nice little birds, pecked holes in the grapes.

Which increases the sweetness so they are ok.

However?  Yup!  It was bee city!

Yikes!  I got stung three times,

another person had 7-8. : (..

Yeow!!  There were a lot of yellow jackets,

wasps and bumble bees there too.

 All in all, they have 11 filled tubs of Seyval Grapes.

 The best yet?  It rained for about 15 minutes

right at the end and we were soaked.

 After the bee stings, we thought we'd end up

getting struck by lightning.  Yikes!

The after pickin meal is always delish.

The owners are vegetarians,

but the food is always great.

And the wine is too.  : )..

Grape Therapy..

 

It's almost time for some grape therapy..

 

Especially this kind..

 

 

 

 

 



Ooooh yeah!!! It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!

I ventured into one of our local Hyvee liquor departments

and started doing the happy dance!

They have stocked Windy Wine's

Peanut Butter & Jelly wine!

 

Yay!  So of course!

It has to be...

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

 

And what better way to celebrate?

With the troops.

Wineaux Wednesday.. : )..



Taters, Maters and Mullets.. Oh My!!

Had an awesome non-weekend weekend..

Now, I've got one 8 hour shift between me and

a weekend to recover from my

non-weekend weekend..

 

The Helmick Nation journeyed across

 the great state of Missouri to root

for Andrew Helmick's Ram debut.

What a debut it was!

7 minutes left in the game, the Rams

were down 19-0.

Andy finally got his shot.

 

His mom Jeanie and half of our crew

erupted in a cheer so loud from the lower level

that it caught the attention of the camera man and the

pressbox above.  Not only did they make the

game coverage?  They also showed Andy

on the field right after that talking

about how much support he had from family

and friends.  Awesome.

 

What could be even better than that? 

His first pass??

CAUGHT!

He gained 30 yards!

Second pass?

Batted down from a GB Packer defender,

although Andy almost managed to catch it!!

Third pass?

CAUGHT!!

He picked up a couple more yards

before getting knocked

out of bounds.

All in all???

Awesome!

Fantastic!

Wonderful!

Such a great debut of a young man who defied the

odds and would never say never.

Whatever happens is in someone else's hands,

but lemme tell ya!  I think the Ram's

have seen so many great things from Andy.

They would be crazy not to keep him on that 53 man roster!

My favorite souvenier from the game..  : )..

 

Other activities this weekend included a Sunday

morning brunch at a local St. Louis winery,

trips past a farm selling "Taters and Maters!"

and a gas station selling mullets.

It was a long drive, a great time

and then a long drive with wine stops here

and there.  One more day and

then I can rest..  : )..

 



A great day..

Worked my 8 hour shift and got off

early enough to enjoy the day..

 Checked in with Ladoga Ridge Winery to

see if they would be harvesting grapes

again soon.  I certainly hope so!

 I had such a great time last year! 

This wine came from grapes I helped gather..

 Would love to have some shrimp..  : )..

Ummm hmmm!

 And found out that my friend's son is back

in the game, trying to make a spot

on the St. Louis Ram's 53 man roster.

He's definitely making a name for himself out

there, including this great one-handed touchdown catch.

We get to go to St. Louis next weekend to

see his first preseason game!

Can't wait!

Go Andy Go!!

Helmick Nation is on it's way to support ya!



Now that's how to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Cool Temps..

Gray skies..

No rain..

Sweet breezes..

Great friends..

And..

 Vidal Sangria with mango,

peaches, limes and lemons.. 

Ahhhhsome.

Ahhhh.



Food Substitutes.. : )..

I love Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches,

but this wine?  Is awesome.

Need proof?

It just won a Gold Medal at the

Missouri Governor's Cup competition.

It's grape wine with the taste of peanut shells.

And..  It's brilliant!  : )..

And deeeeeelishus..

And yummy..

And.. Did I already say Awesome?

 And now?  When I was killing time at Walgreens tonight?

I found these yummy chips.

In the mood for steak but don't wanna cook?

Here ya go.

Rip open a bag and munch away.

Yummy!



It's Peanut Butter and Jelly Time!

It's been a pretty nice, quiet, peaceful

couple days and apparently, I missed posting.

That's ok though.  : )..

 

After working a 7am-3pm shift on Thursday the 4th

at the old group home I still work at as needed,

I tried catching a little bit of sleep from 5:30pm until around

9pm because I worked another 8 hour shift from

11pm-7am later that night.

Between fireworks and barking dogs,

I didn't get any sleep that evening at all.

 

I caught up on sleep on Friday.  Ergo, no post.

Yesterday?  We spent it with the wine mob

visiting two local spots.

We started out at Fence Stile,

one of our favorites and then ended up

at a place I hadn't gotten out to yet.

 

It was the Windy Wine Company in Osborn, MO.

They have some mead wines, including a very

spicy one called Chipotle Mead.  It was a little too spicy,

and I am not a big fan of the mead wines.

 

However?!  Oooooooooooh.

Let me tell you.

I've had blackberry wine.

I've had peach wine.

I've had chocolate wine.

 

Now?

I've had... 

Peanut Butter & Jelly wine.

Oooooh.  : )..  It was just that good!

It's a grape wine blended with the taste of peanut

shells, which gives it a great PB& J taste.

The only down side?

It turned my teeth purple.  Lol.

It was worth it!

Yummy!

Ooooohhhh.. It's a ghostly apparition!

Sy Fy's Ghost Hunters filmed an episode

at the Belvoir Winery in Liberty, MO

recently and it's getting ready

to air tonight..

Gonna DVR it while paying it forward

at a charity Bingo game.

 

Belvoir is one of our favorite local

wineries and is rumored to be haunted.

It used to be a boy's orphanage as well as a home

for the indigent and elderly.

They had a fire in one of the buildings

and reportedly had two people die.

 

Should be an interesting show.