Day 2

     

      We had a little cold front come through last night so high today is supposed to be 66, cloudy and scattered showers.  I had planned to go into Blanco today to look around, might still go.  I would buy a little scarf but tomorrow it will be back up to 85, such is Texas weather!  One of the dogs is on medication and I gave her it to her yesterday in pieces of hot dogs, then she ate her dog food.  Later in the afternoon, she upchucked everything, including the hot dog pieces I had given her, so this morning I crushed her pills and mixed it with one of the fresh eggs from the hens.  All gone.  And I didn’t give her quite as much food.  There were sketchy instructions given.  We will see what happens today.  She might have just been upset with the change of guard at her house. 

     I did read one book yesterday, Friends, Lovers, Chocolates by Alexander McCall Smith and paired the book with Gnarly Head’s 1924.  I can honestly say I enjoyed the wine more.  I had not read any of Alexander’s books, and although he is a good storyteller, the book was different than I expected.  The wine wasn’t.  Today I will be reading “The Journey Within”, Exploring the Path of Bhakti by Radhanath Swami and pairing it with Leroux Creek Vineyards- Rose De Leroux- West Elk, AVA- Rose wine.  This is a cute little winery/vineyard in Hotchkiss, Colorado.  Although most of the tasting rooms in Colorado are around the Grand Junction area, the majority of grapes are grown in the Western AVA, in the Hotchkiss and Paonia area, right outside of Montrose and across the Kebler Pass from Crested Butte.  Beautiful rolling hills and some majestic mountains views, fruit farms, vineyards and farm land dot this area.  My husband and I have gone on vacation several times looking for a winery/vineyard to buy in this area, I want to move to Colorado, colder weather, but have not settled on anything as of yet.  We may end up just buying a family cabin for vacations.  One of our favorite places to stay in Colorado is up in the Grand Mesa area.  Lots and lots of pine trees.  We picked up this bottle of Rose on our last trip this past August.  I am not usually a Rose person, but if I remember correctly, I liked this one, or I may have liked it better than the other wines he had.  The owner is a cute little Frenchman who loves what he does, and his passion shows in his wines.  Because of the climate in Colorado, there are grapes being grown there that I am not familiar with, and as with any new flavor profiles, our taste buds have to get used to it.  That is why it is said to not judge a wine before the 3^rd taste.  The first taste gets your mouth used to the shock of the flavor, the 2^nd, your mouth and senses have had a chance to discern and the third gives the full flavor as your mouth is coated with the wine.  Although, there are plenty of wines that after the first taste I would not put back in my mouth.  I have certainly come to the age of that saying, “Life is too short to drink bad wine.”

Day 1

   

   While my son and new daughter-in-law are on their honeymoon in Italy, I will be house sitting for them in Blanco, Texas, taking care of the two dogs, Sadie and Phoenix and the ducks and chickens.  It is a beautiful location, albeit a little noisy during the day as it is situated close to a highway, but nights after 10 are quiet, and the stars are so bright.  I am excited about this, I have brought 6 books, 6 bottles of wine, (coincidence?  I think not!) and am looking forward to being in the country again.  I do miss the quietness of country living, the beautiful landscape, the different sounds made by nature, rather than man made sounds of the city. I do have local TV, and thank goodness at the last minute my son got internet.  I was really going to be roughing it then!  I got in last night, and watched the Astros/Dodgers game, well that is until they went in to the 10^th inning, and I was like, nope, not staying up.  I was happy to hear that the Astros won by 1 point.  It will be good for the city of Houston to have a World Series win, after all they have been through with Hurricane Harvey. 

     After taking the dogs outside and feeding the chickens and ducks, I looked in the cabinet for a cup to use for coffee, and there was one of my old ones that I had left behind for my son when I moved.  It made me smile.  I honestly think it was one that the previous owners of the house we sold had left.  It is so cute.  Anyhow, the dogs and I enjoyed the cool morning outside, watching the chickens and ducks scratch around for bugs and such. 

     Blanco (/ˈblænkoʊ/ BLAN-koh) is a city in Blanco County, Texas, United States. It is approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of downtown San Antonio and almost the same distance west of Austin. The population was 1,946 at the 2016 census estimate.  Folks from Alabama and Tennessee started living in Blanco in the late 1850’s.  Agricultural was and still is its main commodity; cotton, peanuts, peaches, pecans, pears, grapes and figs.  As of lately, tourism has played a big part in the small town, as Hwy 281 goes directly through Blanco and takes tourists to Johnson City and onto Fredericksburg towards the Hill Country wineries.  There are two lavender farms, several restaurants, an awesome antique shop, Real Ale Brewery, and recently added were two distilleries- Ben Milam Whiskey and Andalusia Whiskey.  They also have a great state park that is always packed with overnight campers during the summer and holiday weekends.  My favorite place to eat in Blanco is the Red Bud Café, sandwich style dining with local beers and wines, plus attached to the restaurant is a great gift shop full of lavender products, jewelry, eclectic clothing and other fun things.  There is also Blanco Donuts, whose Kolaches are fabulous.  I haven’t tried the donuts yet, but plan to this week.  My son also has raved about the Chess Club Café for a great brunch place.  I will let you know.  And so begins my 10 days in Blanco.  I now have the task of deciding which book to start reading and which wine to pair it with.  Such decisions.