Our Own Wine

One of the things about Canada that is not as great as the U.S. is the alcohol prices.  Last year, I gave J the book Boozehound for Christmas.  It it a really interesting book about the history and backstory of different alcohol and cocktails, and as a result, we decided to keep more of a complete bar in our home.

Moving to Canada, this was the wrong time to decide to diversify our drinking.  For example, Woodford Reserve Bourbon is $25 at the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) and $18.90 at the ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) store in Virginia, both state-run liquor stores.

Our next door neighbors offered us a fantastic glass of wine at their house. After complimenting them on it, we discovered that they had "made" it themselves at a local winery.  Here, you begin by adding yeast to the grapes and juice, and then you leave the mix in the winery for about 2 months, where they care for it.  Next, you go back to the winery where you bottle and label your wines.  Then you can enjoy.

We bottled Amarone-style wine, which goes for about $30 a bottle in the LCBO, and we've been really happy with our wine.  We named our wine "Phoney Baloney Amarone" and  "it's a terrible situation" after a story from one of J's co-workers.  We were able to get 30 bottles for about $250 and the cost of the bottles.  We can reuse the bottles the next time we bottle wine, so we don't recycle these bottles, we rinse them and save them for next time.

According to Judy at our winery, on-premises winemaking is popular in places like California, but may or may not be available in certain states, depending on local laws.  We ordered our wine from a kit, but some places may be more hands-on.  It was really fun.

I have fun pictures of this, but am having problems syncing my phone with my computer and got someone else's cloud pics so this time, no pics. But I didn't stomp on grapes like I expected either. Maybe next time.

My Mom Got A Tattoo. Really.

"What color do you want your tattoo to be?" Gabe, our tattoo artist, asks.
"Do you have Chanel pink?" my sister asks.
"No, but I have titty nipple pink."

My family is in Charleston, SC for the memorial service for my Aunt.  Her name was Kathleen Andrews, but everyone in our family called her Craze.

In honor of her crazy spirit, some of the women in our family thought we should get tattoos.  Mainly me, and my cousin Carla. We were so enthusiastic that my mom and sister may have gotten caught up in the excitement.

I don't know the last time you took your mom to a tattoo parlor, but I highly advise that you do it soon, with your entire family, if possible*.

We decided to get butterflies. It is in honor of a story that was told often by my aunt Craze, about a butterfly who needs to experience the struggle himself in order to be strong enough to be independent and free.  Interestingly, I was reminded of a parallel quote we used from the GT/AAP office about "stealing a child's struggle" and instead letting them work through the hard part to achieve their own accomplishments.

My mom and Carla got the same tattoo, pictured above. My more reluctant sister and I got this butterfly tattoo**, below:

I was pretty excited to go to get another tattoo, and I had also long wanted a daisy on my toe, so I also got one of those. It was from a camp song at girl scout camp. Ah, the lifelong positive influence of girl scouts.

The story gets better: this song is originally by the Smothers Brothers, and from an album called "Mom Always Liked You Best."

Tattoo Song:

There's a daisy on my toe

It is not real, it does not grow

It's just a tattoo of a flower

So I'll look cool while taking a shower

It's on the second toe of my left foot

A stem and flower, it has no root

Why? 'Cause that wouldn't look good!

There's a daisy on my toe

My right foot loves my left foot so! 

The actual lyrics are slightly different, but this is how I learned the song. I've wanted this tattoo for over 20 years.

Craze continues to extend her positive influence, even through she is not physically around.  I am filled with sadness and grief at her absence, and so much joy at watching the dolphins play in the water just off the water of where we are staying.  I am glad to see our family, and know that she is sitting on my shoulder, laughing with us and amazed at our whimsy.  My heart is glad to be in the place where I married J 10 years ago, and show my children the beach where we committed to each other.

I will miss Craze so much. She is the one who gave me my first Barbie doll, when my mom wouldn't. She was the fun Aunt, giving me popcorn for breakfast, taking me on adventures, letting me dress up and create parades through her house, play dog with her dog Polly, and creating another safe place for me.  She was always loving and fun.  She took this love to everyone she helped, and she helped so many.  I hope I can live my life, like her, in the spirit of love.

*Worried that I took my kids to a sketchy tattoo parlor? Don't be. We made reservations. It was a highly reputable tattoo parlor.  As far as those things go. Or, as I described it to J, a gallery of live body art.  S slept through most, E played on the phone. Do you feel better about it now? I'm probably the only person to drive a minivan and wheel a double stroller into this place.

**Worried we will regret this? My mom did. As we are driving home, mom asks, "do you think we'll regret this?"  "There isn't any buyer's remorse, mom," H says. "This s*%& is permanent."
But we're enjoying them so far.