Prickly but beautiful

Gorgeous but tiny thistle, a photo by lizaleemiller on Flickr.

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Pigeon.

Pigeons really are beautiful, a photo by lizaleemiller on Flickr.

Do you know that you are common?
Behind your back, you are compared to rats.
You don’t know that, do you?
Regal, colorful, superior pigeon.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Hope for Spring

There is hope
On softly scented breezes
And delicate shades of pink

 

© 2011, Liza Lee Miller.

A Satisfying Day

Today was our every-other-monthly crafting day.  My mother couldn’t make it (sad!) but we had a GREAT day.  There was discussion of beading or crocheting so my amazingly clever sister found a project that combined both.  We made crocheted, beaded necklaces.  Jody found a tutorial and got us started.   I was so pleased . . .

Mostly because it turned out I was really good at this.  I’ll definitely be making more of these.  Hope my friends like them!

Packed away . . .

Long night, packing away
Sparkle and color and light
Confined to boxes, sealed up tight
The glorious tree awaits the compost truck
And the holidays are over.

 

© 2011, Liza Lee Miller.

Resolutions

 

We rang in the new year with sparkles and friends.   We toasted the new year.

My resolution this year is simple.  I am going to resolve to carry my camera with me and share my thoughts and visions in this blog.  I’ve drifted away from that this year and I need to get back to it.

And birds.  I gotta get back to the birds.  Wonder what my first bird of 2011 will be . . .

Merry! Merry!

Wine! Wine! Wine! (with no whine)

Sometimes Greg and I can be slugs . . . by which I mean that we’d rather slug around the house than put any effort into our social lives.  Being content with your life can hold you back.

So, when my friend, Brenda, suggested we do a wine tasting tour together, I jumped at the chance.  We met at Cabrillo College where we and 7 other folks were loaded into a van and took off for a day or learning and tasting. I love wine and I’ve learned a little bit just from living in California and drinking better and better wine but I was really looking forward to learning something about wine.

Our first stop was Regale Winery and Vineyards.  This is an absolutely beautiful winery on Old San Jose Road up in the Summit Region of the Santa Cruz Mountains.  They are a new winery and I really liked their wines.  We got to walk into their vines and learn something about wine making and the kinds of things that can make a difference in how wine tastes

I have never been a fan of Chardonnay (or even most white wines, really) but I was pleasantly surprised by a taste test we did.  The class leader opened two bottles of chard — one from California and one from France.  Turns out that I’m not a big fan of California chardonnay but I liked the French one quite a bit.  There are some processes that are used in making wine that produce different flavors.  I prefer a Chardonnay that doesn’t use the Malolactic process.  The French wine had a lighter, sweeter flavor that I much prefer.

I bought this lovely Barbera  — it was really yummy.  I’m planning to serve it with a great homemade lasagna.  YUM!  Brenda is modeling it for us so that we could taunt Greg with all the fun we were having!

Next we headed to Byington Vineyard.  It’s another beautiful Santa Cruz winery.  We drive by this one all the time . . . it’s on Bear Creek Road.  We’ve never stopped there.  It was really great.  We took the tour of the vineyard and the wine making area.

Here’s Brenda checking out the barrels in the cellar area.

Our last stop was at Poetic Cellars.  This is a tiny winery and a family affair.   The winemaker, Katy Lovell,  was pouring for us.  Her husband writes poems for each wine and then their son sets them to music.  There we were tasting their wines while being serenaded by these gentlemen.  Meanwhile, outside, the winemaker had started up equipment and was backing up the forklift.  It was quite a moment.  She gave us a chance to see some of the work behind the making of delicious wines.  We got to punch down the wine that was starting to ferment.  We got to watch her run a batch of grapes through the crusher/destemmer. It was all very cool!

I learned a lot about wines and winemaking.  The tour was through The Santa Cruz Experience.  They do wine-tasting trips and I would totally recommend their services.  I was definitely a little tipsy after all that tasting . . . to have someone else do the driving is a REALLY good idea!