Our little "Tuscany" trip!

Our date weekend was one of exploration. We decided to embark on a country journey and explore "out of the way" wineries. So we plugged in the trusty GPS and away we went. These wineries were not your fancy, have-your-wedding-here establishments but had the true charm of wine making. We came away with some pretty fun stories and met some great people.

This winery has the funniest name and it's why we went there! It's called "The Purple Cow!" The winemaker/owner of the vineyards was a young dad named John and he was very entertaining. He is in the process of designing his winery but for now, he makes and bottles his wines at the neighboring winery. He gave us corks that are stamped with purple markings that looked like cow spots! This is Tualatin Estates, which has been purchased by Willamette Valley Vineyards. It was interesting to see this winery as we were first introduced to their wine when we were guild members of WVV. The hostess in the tasting room was very knowledgeable and told us how they got started and what types of grapes are grown in this region. The view from the hilltops was beautiful.

Appolini Vineyards and Tasting Room was a great treat. The barrels are right in the room and creates quite the ambience. The winemaker, Alfredo, who is the owner as well, is from Italy and specializes in blends that remind him of Tuscany, Italy. We spent about 2 hours talking with his wife Laurine, about their adventures in Italy and all the great things about Italy. We are definitely going to return to this winery for some of their summer festivities (they host a buffalo BBQ as well as other summer events).

Greg enjoys the sunshine; his only comment was "where's the wine?" Not a good idea to have when you are driving!

One of the views from the hilltops. It was a perfect day and we really enjoyed exploring the back wine country in our area! We plan to do this again and take in the harvest.

I've got the Blues

It's blueberry season here and we were off to the blueberry farm! Last year, we got a little crazy - took Mom and Dad - and ended up picking 125# of them!!!! This year, we decided to scale it back and just pick for us, Andy & Teresa, and Ryan & Aimee! So 54# later, we were home and ready to put up the berries!

We picked 4 1/2 buckets - the 1/2 bucket was a new variety and we wanted to just have those to eat. Unfortunately, after they weighed them, the gal dumped them in with all of the rest! (They did taste really good right from the bush, though!)

Blueberry jam is done and ready for the freezer. My daughter-in-law, Aimee, talked me into trying this last year. We love it!

MMM, good!

Fabulous, I say, Just Fabulous!

I can only say "WOW!" These photos were taken at the Independence Fireworks. We all were in awe over the display and now I'm in total awe over the pictures. Credit has to be given:
These were shot by professional photographer, Adam. Check out his fabulous website: http://www.adammathiasphotography.com/ You won't be disappointed!

Dog Days....

of Summer....that's what the blocks originally said. Then Greg vacuumed and decided the blocks didn't say it right! So here's what we have now! (We really laughed and laughed when I discovered it - Greg got a big kick out of changing the "traditional saying!")

It's the pits!

Yep, 25# of cherries to put up.....this is just the first 15 pounds! We love these and I froze 35 cups so far. Tonight it's cherry jam making time!

Independence Day In Independence

It was quite the celebration weekend. This year we hosted Independence Day. It's been a few years since we had most of the familiy here. When we were in Lewiston, we had quite the gatherings (since we had the pool and boat then!) so this was very fun for us to have the holiday back in our home! The guys are hanging out watching the Mariners and catching up on whatever it is guys talk about when there's a game going on!

It was a hot day so Greg cooked his bacon and meat for his specialty beans on the griddle on the deck - didn't want to heat up the house! Rusty says......yum......please!?!?!?!?

We took in the old fashioned parade - Bryan found himself a seat on our friends' pickup and kept himself cool under the big umbrella!

We decided to wear our "Team Pelican" shirts: Here are Beth, Bryan, Greg, me, Mom and Dad!

On Sunday morning, the family gathered for breakfast along with friends of ours that have been a part of the festivities too. We really enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to this again next year. We have decided what better way to celebrate our great country than in Independence on Independence Day!!

FOR SALE!!!!

Anyone want to buy a plane?? At a garage sale???? You bet! Greg has his plane up for sale as he wants to start building his new one! So he thought that he could generate some interest in it during our annual yard sale. Good thinking.....we live in an airpark......there are LOTS of pilots here.....and pilots know pilots......so who knows?????

No takers yet but we're not giving up! We did get a lot of lookers and people commenting on it. Most of the comments went something like this.....You fly that?.....You actually go up in that?....Are you crazy?!!! It will be somewhat bittersweet when the plane leaves our hanger but it will be exciting too because that means the new plane will be started! (And I won't have dress up like the abominal snowman in cold weather!)