Graduation

Our oldest daughter, Rachel, graduated from The University of North Texas, my Alma mater, a little over a week ago so we headed back to Texas to watch her graduate. She is the one with an anchor on her hat.
The Family

Sisters.

Rachel and her boyfriend Brad.

After the graduation we had a tail gate party at our car and enjoyed some Holiday Shiner Bock Cheer we had picked up at the Beer Barn in Denton. The kids working that day were amazed I had worked there during my time at North Texas.
Sometimes I feel so old!!

How Not To Spend Christmas Eve

I have commented several times that the "rain" in Sacramento is not truly "rain". After dealing with rain on our recent visit to Texas I'm thinking the rain in Sacramento is much better to deal with - at least I don't need to worry about the crazies driving.
Jim, Hagen and I headed out Christmas Eve to finish up some shopping. I was driving, as I was more familiar with the area. It was pouring rain and somewhat foggy so people for the most part were driving slowly on the freeway. I did notice a certain Nissan 350Z in the far left lane going a little faster then everyone but didn't think much until she was suddenly hydroplaning right into the driver/passenger side. Fortunately no one was hurt. Just makes me mad that we were sent spinning across the freeway and almost got hit again. Even if you are a safe driver you have to watch out for the idiots.
It also gave me another opportunity to discuss driving strategies with Hagen.

Monday

Jim has taken Monday's off throughout the month of December to use some of his vacation time. This past Monday we headed to Napa to pick up some wine and do a little bit of tasting. We stopped in at Chappellet and enjoyed a tasting with Candice of their latest released reds. I was also very excited to learn that the release of the 2009 Chenin Blanc was available. I was very intrigued on a tour of their facility about a year ago to find out about a new aging process they are using at Chappellet called the "Egg" which was made of cement.

The Egg

The Chappellet 2009 Chenin Blanc is a blend of grapes from the "Egg", french oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. We bought two bottles - one to try and if it's good one to gift.

Afterward we stopped overlooking Lake Berryessa and enjoyed our lunch we had picked up at Soda Canyon Grocery. I love stopping there because I can order a liverwurst sandwich. Jim, who just loves to share, has no desire to have anything to do with my sandwich so I get it all. I don't know what this says about me but I'm not a food sharer.

My wonderful Liverwurst sandwich

Onward we headed to Joseph Phelps.

The property is so interesting to look at as the seasons change.

My favorite is still the 2006 Insignia

We also stopped in at Domaine Caneros to picked up our sparkling wine and to enjoy a glass of their Vintage Brut.





And since we had never been there, we went across the street and did a tasting at Cuvaison. I really like their Two Estates.

It was a wonderful day and to top it off we stopped and shipped a case of a variety of wines and sparkling that we had picked up to Fort Worth for our holiday vacation in Texas.