21°f/-6°C, rising to 55, mostly clear.
We had some wild winds Thursday, with gusts up to 74mph recorded near our home! We were fortunate; no downed trees around our house although there were several along the road, and our power stayed on. Many people in the area lost power, so we were lucky. The deck was littered with small branches and twigs, and we had to hunt for the dogs' food bowl, but that was it for us. With that wind came some heavy rain too, and it beat on the side of the house that seldom gets hit by rain. So that bedroom window that needed washing? All clean now!
Pip, AKA Pippy, Pippin, and Pippy Longstocking, a few weeks ago.
Yesterday we took Pip, our new dog, to visit the animal shelter we got him from a couple months ago. Poor puppy was nervous at first, I guess thinking we were bringing him back! The people at the shelter were so pleased to see him, and to see how he had grown and how happy he was. He remembered them too, and just soaked up all the lovin'. I forgot to take photos! Well, my hands were full, really, as Pip wanted to see everything, smell everything, etc. The lady at the shelter, who was the one working when we adopted him, gave Pip a pretty red Christmas collar. We had decided that instead of giving gifts to each other this year, we would make a donation to the shelter, so we delivered that while we were there. We are just so pleased with our new boy, and very glad we found him.
In the evening we went to our first ever wine tasting. Yes, we are that behind the times! Actually, Larry wasn't all that keen on it as he really prefers beer, but he tried all the wines and liked several. The winery is fairly local, so to speak--- it's about 25 miles away, but it takes a while to get there because getting to Pee Wee, in Wirt County, WV, isn't all that easy.
Mr. DeFeo, the winemaker, who moved to Pee Wee about the time I came to West Virginia, came here for the same reasons I did: to get away from urban sprawl. He is a descendant of an Italian winemaker who emigrated to New Jersey, and now he and his wife make a wide variety of wines, as well as balsamic and flavored vinegars and flavored olive oils.
Everything we tasted was delicious, and if I had been more flush of cash I would have come home with a lot more than my two bottles of wine!
Today I finally got started baking. Mincemeat tarts from mincemeat I preserved a couple years ago, chocolate-orange shortbread and peanut butter cookies were on my list today.
Those tarts are so, so good. It is a shame that mincemeat is one of the foods that is dying out, at least here in the US. It's an old-time taste that apparently doesn't please younger palates.
Tomorrow may be chocolate cherry kisses, Kahlua brownies, and maybe cherry tarts? Or maybe chocolate-orange biscotti? Not sure yet! I so love to bake, but being married to a diabetic and having to constantly watch my own weight, I rarely get to indulge my urge. Except at Christmas!
...I'll pass on the wine and have a cookie or two, please!
ReplyDeleteSounds good, Tom!
DeleteWe are still into mincemeat up here in snowland; I have a jug in the refrigerator that will become the bottom layer of a pumpkin and mince pie ... a layer of mince in the bottom, a little less than half way, covered with pumpkin, mixed as you would for an all pumpkin pie. Served with whipped cream, it makes my husband very, very happy.
ReplyDeleteI don't go into a frenzy of cooking these days, although I used to. Now the daughters madly bake and the grandkid madly bakes and I can write comments on interesting blogs.
I like the sound of that pie, Mary! Two of my favorites in one.
DeleteNo one in my family that live close by are into baking, sadly. One granddaughter who is on the other side of the state is a fantastic baker, so we may getbto sample her goodies when we go up for a visit soon.
Hello Granny Sue, thank you for your visit. I can see you are a master baker. It all looks fabulous and I love the idea of Kahlua brownies. Yum! Your Pip is such a beautiful friend. Have a wonderful holiday season!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kay, you do the same!
Deletei miss some good red wine..cookies are so tempting, Sue.
ReplyDeleteThank you , Angie!
DeleteI don't drink alcohol, but the tarts look delicious 😋 The dogs are adorable.
ReplyDeleteThe tarts are really good, if I do say so myself! Just a shame only Larry, ne, and our son who will be here on Christmas like them.
DeleteWe love mince pies but don't make them any more because of weight gain so we just buy 6.. we have been to a wine tasting and very nice it was too.. that dog is a sweetie!
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is anywhere around here to buy mince pies, Chris. So few like them! Personally I think they don't know what they are missing.
DeletePup is a sweetheart, still very much a puppy!
Never knew there was a winery in Pee Wee, but I'm not into wine, so it wouldn't have been on my radar. I finished our baking yesterday, and I'm glad because I was doing too much sampling.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly keep their winery a secret, I think! No brochure, no website...but very good wine.
DeleteWee you were lucky and the window being clean made me giggle.
ReplyDeleteAnd Pip´s story sure warmed my heart. A donation is a great idea.
We by accident went into a wine tasting in Tuscany, Italy. Poor Ingo isn´t allowed wine (pancreas-wise) so I had to as the 90-something Italian "Nonno" - a very sweet Granddad - did not understand.
Glad I´m a slow drinker ;-)
And YES - olive oil we bought there, too, so yummy!!!
I talked myself into baking onion-cake. What did I do?!! To yummy times, huh (hopefully)...
That's funny about the wine-tasting! I have never cared for olive oil but after tasting theirs, I want to try more. It was very good.
DeletePip is such a lucky dog to have found a loving home.
ReplyDeleteAll your baking looks so toothsome. It's nice to indulge sometimes.
We feel like the lucky ones, honestly. He's a lot of energy for 2 old folks, but so good for us and for Buddy.
DeleteWe had those some winds a few days before you, except we had some damage. Glad Pip finally warmed up and knew you were not dropping him back home!
ReplyDeleteHate to hear about the damage, Jim. Apparently there was quite a bit of damage in various places across our state. We got lucky.
DeleteWhat a great way to share your joy with Pip now in your family! Baker you are, and it is a noble art form...much appreciated though often gone before photos, good you got a few! I last tried a wine tasting about 10 years ago, and am definitely off alcohol these days...but it was fun if tongue twisting as I got tipsy so easily!
ReplyDeleteI found it was beginning to feel it after the 5th little taste! It was fun, though, and I learned a lot about grapes and the whole process of making good wine.
DeleteUnfortunately neither of us seemed to have the gumption to do any baking this holiday season but we do still have a tin of Judy's chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from her last baking day so we're not bereft.
ReplyDeleteAw, I'm sorry you guys aren't feeling well, Catalyst. At least you have a reserve in place so your holiday won't be cookie-less.
DeleteAll your baking sounds wonderful. The wine tasting sounds like fun. I suppose a wine maker branching out into vinegars as well isn't so surprising.
ReplyDeleteMy mother would always make a mince pie for the holiday. Not too many around here that like it. Pumpkin is a better choice to make which I will be doing later this week,
ReplyDeletethis sounds so lovely. I actually bought mincemeat tarts this year -- I love them but have never made them. Yours look delicious and the cookies sounds great. I love that you took Pip on a visit to the shelter. Wonderful. And enjoyed a wine tasting! Three cheers, my friend. I'm behind reading and not sure if I'll catch up but hoping your Christmas was very merry and your new year even more so!
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