Birthdays are for Celebrating....Whatever Your Age!

As we get older, celebrating birthdays can sometimes be met with reluctance. We don't want to face the number going up on our calendar,

we feel like we're getting older and there's nothing to look forward to, or we just don't have the same youthful outlook like we used to.

The current life expectancy of a Canadian woman born today is 83 years old. That's alot of birthdays! I have decided that not celebrating in style is just NOT an option! Afterall, it's MY life, and another year passing by is a pretty terrific thing. Each year adding on to the one before, bringing experience, more knowledge, new memories etc. When it was pointed out by a friend that my birthday was rapidly approaching, and she emailed me, asking what I was doing, the answer that came to mind was kind of on the boring side. Having a nice dinner with my children. Of course, I would be the one cooking the dinner....and probably cleaning up afterwards.  And though I very much enjoy the company of my wonderful children, eating dinner with them is not an out of the ordinary experience. I quickly comprised my reply to my friend.....Having a party! Ummmm...okay, now what. She, in turn, quickly volunteered to help out. Not wanting to make it a big, fancy affair, I sent out a facebook invite and planned a very simple 'appies and drinks with good friends' type of evening. The ensuing result was a houseful of friends, good food, good wine and so many beautiful, flower bouquets that my house looks like a garden. Of course, it's never a bad idea to have good wine, and this was no exception. The wine flowed into glasses with ease. My favorite of the evening was a bottle of Masi Valpolicello Bonacosta 2009. Given to me by a good, wine-loving friend, I found it to be an extremely smooth, medium bodied wine. A simple wine, it's lack of complexity makes it a good choice for sharing with a group. 

While drinking wine, discussions often occur about different types of wine and what to try or not try. I love hearing about new wines and look forward to sampling one that has been recommended. My next purchase will be a South African red called Root. It makes me think of a strong, terroir rich wine with a lengthy history.

 One of the wines that didn't get opened was a bottle of Fuzion, a Shiraz Malbec from Argentina.  For this, I checked out the website. http://www.fuzionwines.com/about-fuzion  It has me intrigued with its claim to blending old world with new. It brings me back to celebrating birthdays. An old custom, with friends, both old and new. Experiences, both old and new. A coming together, a blending of what has been and what is yet to come. So, for your next birthday, remember that whatever your age, your life is deserving of a special celebration. Throw yourself a party and toast yourself! You'll be glad you did.

Cheers!

September is half over already! Where does the time go? I sometimes think that time actually hides itself away and then suddenly jumps up and gobbles up as many days as it can and before you know it half the month is already gone. It's a big surprise that you've just used up 15 days of your September and can barely remember what you did with them. It happens to children too but in a much slower fashion. They start out as babies and then before you know it, there they are walking across the stage at graduation, or down the aisle at their wedding, or you're looking at your grandchild thinking "how did this happen????" I'm pretty sure you know how it happened, but it's the speed at which it occurs that can be mind boggling. I believe the same thing happens with a bottle of wine. You sit down and the bottle is full. Full of promise, full of aroma, full of that robust, warm flavour, just waiting to be shared. You have a glass. Your companion has a glass. The next thing you know, there are 3 empty bottles sitting there and you can't remember how that happened! Where did the time go? Where did the wine go? Just how did those 3 empty bottles get there? And why, oh why, is my head pounding like this???? So how do we control this? What can we do to prevent the phantom time stealer from wisking away our days and nights?  Why, the only thing we can do of course.......quietly sit down in a chair......and have a glass of wine! It's completely guaranteed to slow down and mellow even the shadiest of time phantoms...but that's not to say that the night won't somehow get away from you, it will just be a more enjoyable way for it to go.

Recommended wine to while away the time with....start with a wine from your own backyard. From the renowned Okanagan Valley, the Mission Hill Reserve 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is selectively aged in French and American oak, with a distinct and powerful flavour this wine will help slow down the hours as you sit idly and bask in the blackberry and mint undertones lingering on your tongue. As you watch the ruby richness swirl in your glass, you'll know that time is simply meant to be enjoyed.

Cheers!

Sunshine and Wine

Is there anything better? Camping in the sun...with wine. Enjoying a warm evening...with wine. Relaxing on the deck after a nice walk...with wine. Conversation with friends.....with wine. Sunshine just seems to make everything better, including the wine! After drinking red wine for quite a while now, I finally had a chance to drink some white wine while camping. Well, in truth, it was a white wine cooler type of drink; white wine mixed with diet grapefruit soda. A cool, refreshing drink that tastes even better when you're in a yellow, rubber dingy  on the middle of a lake. Okay, not quite the middle of the lake, in fact, not even that far off shore, but the sun was shining, the water was gorgeous and the drink was mmmmm, so tasty! To simplify matters for the camping aspect, the wine came in a box for easy transportation. Now some might think, hmmm, a box? But for the purpose of consuming multiple beverages over a long, hot, sunny lakeside afternoon, the boxed wine cannot be beat...except maybe by an ice cold beer! To be fair, not everyone can enjoy a box wine with the same enthusiasm, however, for those of us that manage to turn the other cheek, while someone fills our glass, it does the trick just fine. And for some, whose name I won't mention here, it does the trick so well that much less wine is consumed the following day. Suffice to say that wine, in a box, on a beach, by a lake, in a glass, with sun shining overhead, is thing to be enjoyed. Not too hard to take if you take your relaxation time seriously.

Enjoy the sun and the wine everyone!