The Great Grape Walk

We went to Lake Chautauqua in New York last month for the Great Grape Walk at the Johnson Estates Winery in Westfield, NY. We didn’t participate in the actual walk as the weather wasn’t cooperating but managed to walk through the part of the grape vineyards.

They had harvested most of the grapes and these were some that were left on the vines. I don’t remember exactly which grapes these were. We sampled a couple and other than the seeds, were quite tasty.

Halfway through the vineyard we started to feel sprinkles. We headed back to the main building but were pretty wet by the time we got there. Fortunately it was warm enough that we weren’t chilled and the rain shower didn’t last very long.

They had an outside dining area set up for tastings and charcuterie boards. Mr. Aitch and I shared a flight of red wines and a charcuterie board with foods that would enhance the wines. My brother and his wife tried the dry rosé wines and had a charcuterie board with foods that enhanced their selections. Both had similar items but they were not exactly the same.

Here is another example of the charcuterie boards. (I wasn’t thinking or would have taken some pictures of ours that day.)

It was a great afternoon with wonderful wines, foods, and family.

Wrapping up grilling season

It was in the mid-70s yesterday and it’s supposed to get into the low 80s today. I don’t believe the weather forecasters much but fall is in the air and I know the temperatures are going to drop. Plus it gets dark earlier so grilling slows down for us.

Mr. Aitch is the Grill Master (I don’t care if that’s not PC) in our house so when he offers to cook, I say “Yes!” Of course I have to get everything ready for him and can relax with a glass of wine while he does the grilling.

The menu consisted of BBQ ribs,

roasted baby red potatoes with onions,

baked beans, and wine.

This wine was a one of five bottles we received for our anniversary from my brother and sister-in-law. One for each decade of our marriage.

Did you notice the wine drip catcher on the bottle?

We may have a few more days ahead for grilling burgers, sausages with peppers and onions, steak, and chicken but those may be coming to an end soon.

Can and do you grill outside all year or are you limited by the weather?

Patti

Cheers to you!

I renamed the Drinkers Mitts: Cheers to You! Mitts

cheers-to-you-mitts-001

I really enjoyed knitting these.  The only issue was finding the right (or close enough) colors in my stash.  Most of the yarn is Knit Picks Stroll fingering weight yarn.  The beer mugs at the top are knit from an acrylic yarn that just didn’t seem to get along with the wool blend after blocking the mitts and want to recede into the background.  My ribbing isn’t as nice as I wish.

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My friend liked them.  A lot.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of her modeling them.  But alas I didn’t.

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Apart from the background color change, the Cosmopolitan drink (?) is now a Margarita as the pink I had didn’t go with the red.  If I make these again, I would add a row or two of plain knitting between the beer mugs and the ribbing.  Maybe it was using two different yarns (acrylic and wool) that caused the less than perfect transition.

A quick, little knit

I needed a quick gift.

So I whipped this up one afternoon.

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It started out as plain red then I got bored so added the blue.

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Firecracker heather and Midnight heather (a deep blue).

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Kind of reminds me of The Cat in the Hat.

Cat-in-the-Hat

Perfect to catch those nasty drips on the wine bottle.

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