knitting, creating, and loving life in the Midwest
We brought more than great memories from our trip to the Pacific Northwest:
Steve’s uncle and aunt graciously gave us this steamer trunk, belonging to Steve’s great-great-uncle Carl Swanson.
Isn’t it gorgeous?
The boys were oohing and aahhing over it, and the trunk that previously lived in our master bedroom is now in our living room, housing various blankets.
We are so happy and honored to have this beautiful piece of family history in our home.
My husband had planned a surprise for Saturday morning, my actual birthday. He and our friends convinced me to get up early and “beat the rush” — I am a morning person and I thought, hey, if you want to get up at 6am too, whatever. Well, the three of them were in on the secret, which was a balloon ride!
Unfortunately, Calistoga was very foggy that morning so it was canceled. Boo. Hiss. At which point my husband told me of the plans and I was disappointed but not as much as the three of them, who were so excited over the balloon ride. Oh well. It was a super sweet plan and someday we’ll go up and see the sights from way up high.
Instead, we ended up going to a winery I’d been wanting to visit for a while. If you ever get a chance, you should visit Castello di Amorosa.
image above from destination 360.com
Dario Sattui, owner of V. Sattui, built this castle in the style of a medieval Italian castle, and only produces Italian style wines. You can read the story here. It is quite historically accurate – following modern codes and regulations, of course – and it was nice to see details like the one my husband pointed out; a warming fire used to heat the rocks that made up the walls and then that heat would radiate into the rooms, making them cozier.
This place is breathtaking, and to someone who a) likes wine, and b) is a history addict, visiting Castello de Amorosa was a great experience.
My husband at the entrance of the castle.
The banquet room
My husband chose to have the wine & chocolate tasting. Honestly, this day just kept getting better and better! Our guide, Alene, was awesome, full of information, engaging, etc. After the tasting, we headed over to Joseph Phelps because our friends C&D had set up a tasting for us there.
I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow 😀
always speaks her mind, so I’m going to comment on Osama bin Laden.
I’m so glad.
I’m so happy.
I am deliriously joyful that this sick motherfucker is dead.
Obviously, this means about a thousand Osama-wannabes are now jockeying for power and we’ll need to be alert for retaliation and this is not over by any stretch of the imagination, bla bla bla.
Still, I am happy our brave men and women got him.
I am glad this evil man is dead.
I remember watching the second tower being hit by a plane while I was getting ready to go to work. The thousands dead. The grief. The unimaginable sadness.
None of that can be reset. The lost are still lost. The families still mourning their loved ones.
But I am happy OBL is dead.
Have a great week.
Casa de Berry 