Ewww. I got a really bad cold and the fever kicked in christmas afternoon when the kid was still tiny… While I was feeling not great I felt worse as MrsTobinL had spent time on a really nice roast and other stuff for dinner and I was all food is the last thing I want to see at the time.
The only good thing was that my son and wife getting it on Christmas Day meant I got to eat prime rib (at my mom’s house) instead of ham (at my mother-in-law’s house), since I was operating at around 75% by that point.
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Yeah, it might be coming up on Valentine’s before I get thru the Bee Hive set. I’m lucky if I ever listen to something more than twice; I actually try to stick to a personal rule that I’ll keep a given album on my phone until I’ve listened twice. (And here I am actually considering heading over to a Half Price store for some more.)
That’s a band that had always appealed to me more on paper than in actual listening, but I heard some clips from this at Amazon and was very pleasantly surprised. Prettier than what else I’ve heard by them, but that doesn’t amount to a whole lot (mainly Third and Live in Paris). It was actually (and favorably) reviewed in Cadence a year or so ago; otherwise I might not have known about it at all.
It’s strictly red, usually Spanish, at our house, I don’t care what goes better with fish or whatever. The exceptions would be some sherry or, less often, some sort of cocktail that I probably didn’t mix the right way.
I don’t know where everyone else is (I’m in suburban MD), but no foolin’, y’all are welcome to come over for something like that. I have neighbors up the street who own old Victrola and Edison equipment and maybe they’d show up as well (though perhaps not with the equipment/records).
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heh. MrsTobinL has a thing for KrautRock so I am familiar enough with them. I am more fond of Can and Neu! personally. I have Third in the bowels of my MP3 library.
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Oh man, I heard Can’s music as something of a piece with Miles Davis’ music from about 1968 onward. From there, I’ve dug more and more (and mainly earlier) into jazz, but I did get Future Days and Ege Bamyasi out again recently.
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Nothing fancy, I usually don’t spend more than $8 or $10 for a bottle.
Now you’ve reminded me that I haven’t seen this one in a while. It used to be named “Martin Codax” and I believe maybe they’ve since changed the label again.
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Well for me I am pretty simple when it comes to wine. If it is dry red and spicy I am going to like it.
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Yeah, I still think that I really don’t know from wine. But I think we’re pretty much (or completely) in agreement. On the nose! You win a cigar! etc., etc.
My experience tells me:
- Tempranillo (a kind of grape) = good
- Tempranillo from Rioja (a winemaking region in Spain) = better
- Crianza (aged for something like 3 years) that is a tempranillo from Rioja = best.
The epitome of what I like in a Spanish red might be Museum crianza, though it’s not from Rioja:
This one has a smoky quality; I seem to recall (or may have imagined) that it is aged in bourbon barrels. But it might be too much of a good thing, as I’m kind of overwhelmed by the flavor by the time we’ve finished a bottle of it (which, believe it or don’t, takes a couple of days or more).
Besides Spanish reds, we’ve had good luck with La Finca malbec wines from Argentina. These may be had very, very cheaply at Trader Joe’s (like $4.99) but Alamos malbec is much, much better (and still $10 or less).
ETA: Having explained this preference to someone who had briefly lived in Georgia (the country), she recommended Georgian wines. The store where I shopped only had a couple of different kinds but they did not disappoint.
I don’t really know how urine tastes, but white wine has a quality that I can only describe as “pissy,” i.e. “I imagine this is how piss tastes. I think that I shall stop drinking this, for it is too, too pissy. This wine reminds me of the time that the feral cats got into the garage and pissed all over everything.” That’s white wine, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve yet to try a good white wine, i.e. one where I don’t imagine that the vintner has squeezed a full cat’s bladder into the product. To a somewhat lesser extent, the same goes for champagne. For New Year’s Eve, if one is supposed drink something involving a cork shooting out of its bottle, then I’ll open a Belgian abbey ale instead of champagne.
That’s my $0.02 on wine. Oh, sorry, the subject was Christmas LOOT, carry on then…
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Late to the party because I was on a low-tech vacation, but I finally found a copy of this for Mr. Bells. And also for me, because I did not get one as a kid:
(the photo is from google, we haven’t had a chance to set it up yet. But the tower works, so yay)
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Can I come over and play? Thats is awesome!
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I got a belated Christmas present last night from friends who were out of town for the holiday: a soft purple tunic with a matching patterned shawl. I know that doesn’t sound like loot, but it’s really pretty and thoughtful (and unexpected) so it’s a prize to me!
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You were lucky. Last year I got half a lump of coal, and I was grateful.
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Wait, you actually could. We’re in the same general area. Next game night!
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A lump of coal? Luxury!
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Well, when I say “coal”, it was only a bit of dried mud stuck to the stocking, but it was coal to me!
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I read that post and immediately started looking for a Four Yorkshiremen gif…I should have known you’d have already taken care of it!
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Thanks… not everyone thinks my gifing skills are a worthwhile skillset!
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Only one thing to say to those types:
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I got something so wonderful it fills me with total joy. My daughter is a really talented ceramics artist. This year she did her own take on Tord Boontje’s plate just for me. Here is one of his pieces:
and here is her special rendition she made just for me. It includes my favorite animal: the giant squid, a heron which nests on our property and two baby herons, our three kitties, and a bear which is an animal my husband really loves:
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