Da Vinci

Picture by J-Dog-copyright 2005


Da Vinci Chianti, 2004. Italy. $8.99 alcohol 13%. Wine spectator made it it's daily pick at under $15.00.
I like it. Although it's a little "thin", it has OK flavor, smooth, fruity. Just a bit pale tasting. It's missing something.
I bought it for the label. Of course I know he was an artist, but I used to live next door to the DaVinci, in the Korsakov (who was a composer and also a syndrome). A high rise in Denver. On the 5th floor. I lived there for 7 years and they never raised my rent. When Bob and I merged families, it was too small so we bought a house.
I still can't figure out how J-Dog makes such good pictures in Microsoft Paint. Look at all the detail.
I decided to have a "Paint" contest. Everyone who would like to, please submit a drawing done it Microsoft paint to my e-mail address. Then I will post them and we will have a survey to see who wins. Kmasitti@gmail.com You have until November 27 to enter. The winner will receive a bottle of Protocolo.

WILD HORSE

Now my car needs a battery. And a headlight. And I just had it in the shop again for an ongoing clutch cable issue. Funny how it waited until I got it home to burn out. Ok, I can do the battery...but the light??? That's just out of my league. (incidentally, New Jersey Bob calls a battery a "bat tree", you know, like the bat mobile or the bat channel. I make fun of him). So I decided to take a trip up to Sheridan Wyoming to meet up with the Bob part of me( he had the weekend off) and let him be the man. Mister fix-it. So, here we are, vacationing in the town of 12,000 with the bucking horse logo everywhere you turn. Here's the top 10 things to do in Sheridan Wyoming. We're going to try and see some of this today. We already did number 3, but didn't see any trolleys.
The first night up here, not really a night, I left at 11pm Friday after closing the shop down and arrived at 5:13am. The Bob part of me was 20 minutes behind coming from Montana. I booked our room in advance and decided the Best Western would be a safe bet. I would have picked the Holiday Inn except they wanted $109.00 an night! In Sheridan. Wyoming. In the middle of nowhere. A town of 12,000.
My first clue that I made a mistake...I would have arrived at 5:03 am if it weren't for the train I had to wait for. The train that was just one block away from my destination. The train with the really loud air horns that they blew liberally. The train that comes through every 30 minutes between 9pm and 2am and again between 4am and 9am. Blowing his horn. Waking me up. Geology Bob sleeps on an oil rig, so this was more like a lullaby to him. Don't think for a second I didn't let him know it was keeping me up. Why should he sleep in peace when I couldn't?
Later that day we decided to go for a run to see historic downtown Sheridan. Main street of course. Here are a few points of interest. The Rainbow Bar where strangers are welcome.


It says so in the window. I wonder how many big city outsiders would go in there for a beer. We didn't. By the way, everybody here smokes. It was hard to stay in any bar for very long. I guess they missed the health warnings. Since we couldn't breathe we decided to get dinner. This badger was hungry too. He's having a chipmunk. You could buy that if you wanted to. I though it would look good on our fireplace mantle. Frugal Bob was emphatic about NOT letting me bring it home. He said it cost too much. But if it didn't we could buy it? Right. I think he secretly wants it.


We found a Chinese buffet. In Sheridan. Wyoming. Town of 12,000. In the middle of nowhere. They had lots of choices. Sticky rice. String beans (they were pretty good). Broccoli that tasted like chicken. Lots of deep fried things that were indistinguishable from one to the other. They even had cottage cheese. Yes, you read that right. Canned peaches to go with the cottage cheese and Licorice ice cream. Interesting color. Grey ice cream. Cowboy Bob found many things he thought he'd try.

(if you look closely, you will see the bandana he has tied cowboy style around his neck while wearing an IBM e-business shirt). He's embarrassing to go out with but I love him anyway. I think he just wanted to fit in with all the other tight Wrangler jeans wearin' cowboys.
Now for the wine. I brought a bottle with, DaVinci, but we decided to support the locals and chose the much more appropriate,WILD HORSE, 2003 Merlot. $16.89. Alcohol 13.9%
We didn't have wine glasses, so we used plastic hotel cups with the Best Western logo. You aren't supposed to have drinks in the hot tub...but oh well, we're on vacation dammit! Rules are made to be broken, right? (don't tell my kids I said that). The Bob part of me didn't really like the wine, although he couldn't put a finger on exactly why. I thought it was smooth, a little too sweet, peppery, oaky, full flavored and not too bad, but probably not worth the $16 price tag. I would drink it again I just wouldn't consider it a great value wine, unlike Protocolo at $5.99 a bottle. By the way, if you ever get to Sheridan Wyoming and visit Buffalo Bill's Chop and Steak House for dinner, DON'T order the stuffed crab appetizer OR any of the fish entrees. They manage to turn the fish into fish jerky. It's not very good. If you complain, they will take something off the order and charge extra for something else to make up for it. I guess they don't think you will look at the bill, or remember the prices. Back to Denver in the morning and back to reality.

Alone Again, sigh...

Tonight, sipping wine, talking to the Bob part of me on Verizon,(can you hear me now?) You have to click that link, blogging and relaxing. Bob is still in North Dakota, freezing his butt off. Nope, he won't be home for T-day. It's ok though. I have to take some relocation customers out house hunting that week anyway, so even if he was home, I wouldn't be.
Right now, he is trying to buy some stock on our fantasy blogshare account. I have been trying to figure out how that works, but just don't get it.
I guess we made the top 100 wine blogs.(Out of 122 we are 84).
84: Kimbob's Wineblog BlogShares profileLast Indexed: 16:55 08 Nov 20054000 / 5000 shares available @ B$17.72 ea. - 65.51 p/e.
We can do better than that!!! (I'm so competitive).
Dom Martinho, Vinho Reginal Alentejano, 2001 Red Wine. Alcohol 13.5% This is from Portugal.$7.99 I have to say, the label is very pleasing to the eye. This picture is not very good, but the colors are "soothing". It's not quite THAT blue in real life. Ok, sounds corny, but the first time I saw it in the store, I almost bought it, and when I went back today, I HAD to buy it. Very strange. It was calling me.
It won't work twice though. It's not very good. Heavy mineral smells, very pale looking in the glass. Very acidic, and lacking in any distinguishable amount of flavor. It will still relax you, if you can swallow it.
When I was back home in Wisconsin, I ran across some old pics. Here is one of J-Dog sitting like a good boy in his highchair. Here is one of the Kim part of Bob(notice the placement of the ashtray, very nice) and one of the Bob part of Kim. Since The Bob part of me is 5 years older, putting these pictures together is probably chronologically correct.

Baby J-Dog at Grandma's house

Kim part of Bob with her Papa




Bob part of Kim, he is sooo cute!

I Hate North Dakota

Our van broke down yesterday. Well, maybe broke down is an overstatement, it wouldn't start. Not even with the power booster thing we have. It needed a new battery. Since the Bob part of me is STILL in North Dakota, I had to fix it myself. So I went to Wal-mart and bought a battery. I was asking all kinds of questions that nobody could answer. I wanted to know if it was maintenance free, they didn't know, but they thought so. I said, "do you need to add water"? "They said they didn't think so but you could if you wanted to". I wanted to know the life of the battery, they didn't know but if it went dead within 3 years I could bring it back and get a new one, providing I kept my receipt. I told them I didn't WANT to bring it back, I wanted one that would last a long time. They couldn't help. Incidentally, the receipt they give you is printed on thermal paper, it will last about one year before it fades to something completely illegible.
So, I go home and get the step stool out so I can reach the engine, after one trip to Ace for a nut driver, I succeeded in removing the old and putting in the new. I tightened everything down, and I had ignition!

Since I did such a great job in saving money today, I mean I could have called a tow truck, taken it to a service station, bought an over-priced battery and paid to have it installed, I am having some wine. The Bob part of me would be so proud of my thrifty ways.

Jacobs Creek Shiraz, Vintage 2003. Southeastern Australia. Alcohol 13.8%. $4.99. Apparently, it won some awards, but I don't think it's that good. For the price it's ok. It has a licorice flavor that is a little too strong for me. It is also buttery and spicy, but not very smooth in the end. Kind of burns going down. That won't stop me from drinking it though. After a hard day of working on cars and almost breaking a nail...I deserve it, even if it's not the best.

Don't forget to vote in our latest polls !

Milwaukee Tasting

So, I went to Milwaukee over the weekend to have a Marykay skin care party for my Mom. After the party I went to dinner with my Dad. He took me to the Anchorage on Port Washington Road in Glendale. Except that it was pouring rain, we had a beautiful view of the Milwaukee River. While we were waiting for our wine, a raccoon sauntered past our window and headed toward the river. He was probably looking for a little dinner himself. I had already tried most of the wines on the menu, so we went for the special of the month and were served the last bottle. THE LAST ONE! Maybe they knew we were coming.

Casillero del Diablo (means Cellar of the Devil) Camenere, 2004. $20.00 From Repel Valley Chile by Concha Toro. Alcohol 13.5% It was spicy, smooth, had a slight oak flavor and my Dad and I both thought it was very good.
90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Camenere. After fermentation in stainless steel tanks, 70% of the wine is aged in small American oak for six to eight months, 30% is aged in stainless steel for 8 months.
The appetizer. Daddy'O wanted to try the portabella mushroom. I said ok, I'd try it. The Bob part of me knows how much I loathe cooked mushrooms, I wish he was there to save me. So our server, Dan brought it out, dad cut it and we both tried it. Dad said it tasted "earthy", I said, "as in dirt?, I agree". As we were sitting there, an Earwig thought he'd join us at our table, he must have noticed the smell emanating from our appetizer and thought he was going home. So Daddy'O caught him humanely in his napkin and gave him to Dan to dispose of. Since Dan is going to college and working part time so he can go into the Marines as an officer who flies fighter jets, I asked Dan if he was going to kill the bug. He said he wasn't. When I questioned this, considering his future, he said he was part of the new, " kinder, gentler and more compassionate military". Hmm. So on to our main course of Walleye Pike for me (you can't get that in Colorado) and Opah for Daddy'O. I thought Opah was German for grandpa. They said it was fish. Maybe they are 2 different spellings. Both were delicious, but I couldn't bring myself to eat the mushroom shaped red potatoes.
So try the wine and if you get to Milwaukee, we recommend the Anchorage and so do the bugs.

Do Goats Roam?

In South Africa? Maybe in a petting zoo. Iv'e been thinking a lot about this particlular wine. J-Dog is the "BIG" dog, the "TOP" dog, that's right, the "LEADER OF THE PACK as he puppy-sits my Arty and Sasa for the weekend. Knowing I would be dropping the pups off, he had a bottle of wine waiting just for me!
Goats Do Roam, 2003 alcohol 14.0% (nice!) $10.99 Mmm, it's a fruity, dry red with mineral undertones and bold, smooth flavor and VERY long legs.
Good pick J-Dog! You Da Man!
The company http://www.goatsdoroam.com says that the goat is trusted to pick or choose the best grapes to make the best wine. It's been my experience that goats eat, well, everything. Tin cans, paper bags, little kids jackets at the petting zoo, fish, and pretty much anything that passes past their mouths. Here is some proof. Here are some goats eating a shrine and a machine.



I'm off to Milwaukee in the morning to host a MaryKay skin care class with my Mom...hopefully J-Dog will survive the weekend with the bad little puppies, if it gets ruff (haha), he can just throw the pups outside, pop open another bottle of the goat's wine and sit back and relax. The Bob part of me is STILL in North Dakota, which reminds me, be sure to check out our latest poll. What do YOU think of the big ND? Your opinion counts! Please vote. Thanks!

No refund for me....waaahhh

So, I'm sitting here, having a Protocolo flashback while watching the fate of my State tax refund go up in government wasted dust. It's a very sad day for me. First, I have to tell you that I forgot to re-cork the Protocolo last night...and I tell you, let it breathe!!!!! YES! Let it breathe!!! It is so much better tonight! So I decided to drown my over-taxed, depressed self in vino. The funny thing is, the way the polls look now, we will be able to keep up to an ounce of Mary-Jane, , in our posession, but we will not be able to afford it. I count on that refund every year to fund my habit. This year it would have been about $180.00. (ok, I'm just kidding about the pot, but I am sad about the refund).
Ok, it's not exactly over yet, but it's not lookin' very good. I even put one of those cheesy "vote NO, it's Your Dough" Stickers in our store for everyone to see. I can be over-enthusiastic sometimes. Yes, REALLY.
So just remember, before voting, smoking, I mean drinking Portocolo, pop the cork and let it sit for a while.