Wine, Windows, And Song

Ok, just hand me the bottle. Now.

Well my night started by shovelling a lot of snow to the point to were most people's muscles would be hurting. In my case, I felt no pain because I am made of steel.

I get inside and I'm starving. Sure I could have cooked buy Why? I pick up the phone and ordered a pizza to die for. I tell the guy, "listen you punk - I'm starving, you better make me the best tasting pizza you have ever made". The kid is shaking in his boots taking down my order. I could hear him in the background saying "Ok guys make this next one perfect" I tell the kid "Hey, I heard that - Are you saying the last pizza you made was no good?". The kid panics "Oh, no we make the best pizza's in town". I say "Ok punk, I'll be waiting for my pizza".

The door bell rings, it's the kid punk. I ask him "Is this the best tasting pizza ever made?" he says "Yes Sir, it is". I tell him "I know where you live, I'll hunt you down like a dog if I"m not happy".

I take the pizza, bring it in, open it up and Ohh baby was it good. I threw on Hot Italian sausage (I know I could have used my mothers but I didn't), pineapple, green olives, anchovies, green peppers, mushrooms, bacon, ham, onions - there was a few more items but I can't remember. Now that's a pizza.

Well I shovel it down like I was eating chips. Oh yeah, I also had 20 chicken wings
I threw those babies in my mouth and within seconds, I'm spitting out bones faster than I could eat them. I washed everything down with a coke (I know I should have had a beer but I didn't have any).

So right now I'm full as a COW and have no desire for food for a least 4 weeks.
I am about to go burn all the pizza off by going to sleep (someone said sleeping burns calories, so I intend to sleep for a least 14 hours).
So that's my night, hope you all have just as a good night as I did.
keep laughing
The Funny Guy

lol that was funny, "The Funny guy D."! And I am just here working on MySpace codes for my website:). I hope everyone is having a goodnight:)!

I have pretty much been on gather for the last four hours. I also had a pizza for dinner - Veggie Lovers, my favorite. I haven't shoveled any snow for maybe 4 years. My philosophy is that God puts it there and he can get rid of it for me when He is ready. He hasn't failed me yet; sometimes it takes Him a while to remember to get around to it but eventually it disappears. I would love to have a nice fire but I am not a Boy Scout and can't build one.

Being on Gather is a lot like having a nearly unlimited number of pen-pals. I fondly remember all my pen-pals -- two in Russia (one I still keep in weekly contact with), one from a Indian reservation in Northern South Dakota, and one in Malta. It's a deep human need to communicate with other like-minded souls and I'm glad I don't need to stock up on special airmail paper and envelopes and stamps to do it anymore.

Funny Guy, we had an emergency pizza night too. Now I'm eating the leftovers while everyone else sleeps -- calories don't count then, you know.

Darn it, i wrote a comment and i guess i hit enter instead of post. I enjoyed your story and it made me lonely for the past and the ones i have lost touch with.
Oh hell, just pass me the wine!!!

Hey everybody, since you guys commented on my comment - I might as well reply to yours.

Hey Jadan - Well for some reason God doesn't know where I live. He has no intentions of getting rid of the snow for me. If I leave it up to him, I'll be burried alive in my house. Next time you talk him (God) tell him my back is broken and I would appreciate his help in getting rid of the snow.

Hey Jennifer - Eating leftovers eh? Was it the best tasting pizza you ever had? if not, call them back and tell then the Funny Guy said to bring you another one at no charge.
keep laughing
The Funny Guy

Mariana!

I have Loquita, my chihuahua, in my lap. We just stopped at Mickey Dees for a coffee and and are headed out for renedevous with the International Space Station. I've got a load of spare parts and my stacks are blowing black coal under that full moon.

10-4 cha'

Colonel Possum & Loquita

Mariana, great ramblin's! I'm winding down, about wound down, after a week of commuting 2 hours a day in weather that makes me long for your Louisiana clime. Fleetwood Mac is providing the soundtrack in Drury tonight.

How fun to come back to so many comments! Tom, first of all, I'm glad that you have the weekend off and can hang around your lovely place and relax, Colonel, keep those wheels a rolling! The Funny Guy - oh you're a trip...I guess I'll have to make you president of my fan club - hahahah...you seem to do such a good job of commenting! And, I loved what you wrote by the way - if I ate that much, I'd have to sleep for 14 hours too! Donna and Tomi - here take a swig or join me and grab a couple of crystal goblets! Miz Jennifer, I found my Japanese friend on Google. he's president of some division of Sony. I'm trying to send him a message now. Jadan, I'm grateful to see you as always! Thank you Idalia and same to you! I really appreciate all the comments & yall come back later! SAlud.

It fascinates me to meet folks here who know of and do things I've never heard of. Sometimes we seem to connect, Mariana, on some poetic level, and then I read something like this, and I feel we live in entirely different worlds. For instance:
+ I know what eucalyptus is, but I have only heard of it as leaves used medicinally. What is a "chunk" of it...a log? Is it a tree and not a bush? (I looked it up - it can be either a tree or a bush - there are over 700 varieties!)
+ I've never heard of Louise Erdrich. (I looked her up as well, and found that she is a not-all- that-well-known Native American author.)
+I've also (I live in a fairly rural, remote area, I suppose) never heard of Yellow Tail Shiraz, but I assumed it was a wine. I have only recently started drinking wine, and there is so much too learn (too much, actually, since I find it all pretty much tastes the same). But, this flavor (is that the right word?) sounds interesting; I looked it up, and it mentioned a 'licorace' quality...I love licorace. Is this something only sold where you live? I have never seen that brand here, nor a flavor called "shiraz" in the stores here.

Thank you for sharing your evening. Mine was spent with a good friend, as we braved the wind and snow together.

This morning is clear and mostly calm. I will be savoring the warth of my flannel pajamas for as long as possible. The wind chill is -4 degrees here. A cup of chai and NPR with the cats for an hour will be nice.

I have never been one to feel lonely, and only on a rare occasion am I bored..... but it is very nice to know that at any time of day or night I can send my thoughts, feelings, rants or celebrations out to a vast audience of chance reception.

Mariana, love the whole ambience, you describe it so well! I was reminded of the pen pal club I belonged to as a young girl but the letters are long gone (my mom cleaned out her attic when she retired/moved, and I wasn't there at the time to claim stuff!).

James, Yellow Tail is a reasonably priced brand, and shiraz is a type of red wine - just ask for it, it should be everywhere. Try the Yellow Tail pinot grigio as well.

I was also not familiar with Louise Erdrich but looked her up and discovered she lives in Minneapolis, which is where I live. I'll put her books on my list!

lovely, mariana!! ah, i LOVE erdrich (Who i think is very well-known; i never met anyone who didn't know her)! she has an awesome bookstore in mpls!! cool, eh?? last night, we watched a movie and had some yummy enchilada casserole i got off emeril earlier this week. it was SOOO good. however, funny guy, i only ate one helping. thus, i could even move around with no difficulty!! haha. :) love these, m!!

Mariana, you write so beautifully that I am taken to the world you paint. I too love a night of music and books. Sleep even will draw away from me knowingly, allowing me to wander peacefully, joyfully in the wonderlands they guide me. I have my nostalgic memories, of my younger years, events and little friends, awakened, reading your words that flow like a lovely stream. Alluring piece.

Such lovely writing, Mariana. Again I'm reminded why I always keep coming back to find new articles from you, they have never been anything less then thought provoking. This article brought warmth and serenity to my cold surroundings up North. I felt I could ask to share some of your wine, it was that visual. Excellent!!
Your Fan,
Charles D

I liked this piece and will like it better when you've re-written the sequel meeting the two of the past.

I used to correspond with the troops in Vietnam. They'd publish names and addresses in the paper during the war.

Chris - that is so interesting. You know I still correspond with the woman in New Iberia - in fact, around 8th grade, I went on some kind of church train trip (yes 30 miles in a train) and she met us. We've been great friends for years. Regarding my Japanese penpal, I found that he's a member of Japan's futball organization but am having trouble finding an email address to that organization. I'm still working on it. I have all his letters back home in La. in a closet. I saved all the letters rec'd from Viet Nam. I had two boyfriends over there (not at same time)! Salud.

Charles, thank you and I did go and read your wonderful poem about Gather addiction! That was wonderful. You may drink my wine, anytime!
Vijay, I think I will copy and frame this lovely comment as it's as lovely as a bouquet of red roses left on my doorstep - thank you for those kind and inspiring words. Your own writings are a marvel. Salud.

Well deserved, Mariana, well deserved. And thank you for your words towards my writing, I'm always looking to improve. Joining gather and meeting people such as yourself is the inspiration I needed to search deep within.
Charles D

James, I love your curiosity! Yellow Tail wine can be found in most supermarkets. I prefer the merlots or shirazes or mixes with Cabernets. I like drier wines but also like a kind price for everyday wine drinking or cooking. James, eucalyptus trees were brought over here to Santa Barbara from Australia and they took off like crazy - this is good and bad - they are lovely trees with leaves and buds that are used to repel fleas. Some smell like cat piss and others smell like lemons. They are great looking trees; however some varieties are known as widow makers since the branches can fall at anytime. They are really bad in fires since the oil in eucalyptus is highly flammable - hence, why there have many some pretty bad fires in areas where these trees grow in groves. Ok, let me see what else you've asked. Louise is pretty well known in certain circles and is an excellent writer. Yes, she is native american and writes about her people. Ok I'll comment to the others. I enjoy all these comments! Salud.

Miz Theresa and Miz Dorothy & Miz Jessie, I loved all your lovely comments! How sweet of you to take the time to come and join us. I'm keeping this thread going all weekend so feel free to come by and visit once in a while! Thank all of you! Salud.

Miz Amelie - true friends are there for you always. I just heard from one of my best friends in 8th and 9th grade. She ended up being shipped off to Boarding school and I haven't seen her for many years. She is going to scan the diary that she kept. Just ten minutes ago a friend of mine called to tell me she handed Brad Pitt her book (Katrina did have angels) talking about the Hurricane. She opened a shelter. Anyway, I inspired her to write it and she wanted me to know that Brad came out of his dressing room - he's a small little guy and thanked her very much. She lives in Donaldsonville where The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is being filmed. More later. I appreciate you dropping by - find your penpals - they are out there probably thinking of you as well! Salud.

Well, I guess while you wrote this I was watching tv. Since we have the Dishnetwork now these last 3 or 4 weeks, there's something to watch once in awhile. But I'm here checking in this morning. My husband is working on my February website, and I'm just sitting here catching up on my e-mails and message boards, this Saturday morning.

I actually got my start on the computer writing about my backcountry and ghosttown adventures to a cousin in Oklahoma - we were e-mail pals. - and got to know each other that way. This was over 10 years ago. From there I found several message boards related to ghosttowns, and the desert and started posting my adventures. That was so much fun, I decided to put together my website and write histories of the places I go to regularly. The people I met on the message boards, I got to meet out in the backcountry, too, and many are now my friends. In fact more often than not when I am out in the middle of nowhere and run into another backcountry traveler - they know who I am. Gotta love the internet.

This should be an exciting day - this evening I'm going to have dinner with the grandson of the man who was the bigwig of my friend's ghosttown, Cerro Gordo, when it had a little boom in the early1900's. Turns out this guy lives only 5 miles away from me and a 1/2 a mile from my childhood home. We're going to meet in a local restraunt then go over and see all of his grandfather's archives. Looks like the making of another book to me!!!!

. Looks like the making of another book to me!!!!
Miz Cecile, you have a wonderful life and things just seem to all fit together and will continue to do that in series of "chance" meetings and "coincidences" which we know are not that at all but meant to be's! In the summer, my life is a lot like yours - I meet up with this one and that one who is related to so and so who did this and that. It enriches my life because it seems everything I do has a connection. I am excited to read that your penpal experiences with your cousin inspired you to write about Ghost towns. That's so neat. How is your book coming along? Ok have fun with the grandson and viewing the archives - let us know how it goes! Salud.

That was a great ramble, Mariana. I was thinking of doing something similar today, but opted for putting out a couple of questions, instead.

The wine sounds divine. I think I'll open a bottle, myself, after I finish this comment.

We opted for a "jammie Saturday" ourselves. The temperatures are in the single digits and the wind is howling in off the lake. Snow is blowing by and beginning to drift. We have a couple of movies for later on. I'm snuggled in the den with the laptop and a cat at my feet. Hubby is upstairs, going between his drum set, guitar and harmonica. Life is good.

Miz Ina - I love it - sounds completely like my kind of Saturday; however, here in Santa Barbara the sun is shining and after our hillwalk, I think we may go on downtown and have lunch somewhere - we'll see - it's still a tad cold maybe 65 degrees or so (I know you Yankees are throwing snowballs at me). We have to take advantage of the sunshine! That's neat that the hub is a musician - music keeps life going - I love music of all types and usually wake up to Aaron Neville. I won't pop the cork until later tonight - thanks for stopping by Miz Ina - I'll go see your questions! Salud.

Miz M. I sure do love the way you write. Last evening I had a wonderful night. I caught up with all my personal corresponds, went to bed with a large glass of cold milk and warm
chocolate chip cookies, put on some jazz and starting reading Calvin Trillin's recent book
about his late wife...amazing book, a great lady and a true love story. I think I would enjoy writing a review on it. All in all a very nice evening.BTW: what is 'yellow tail shiraz' ...hope it doesn't crawl into my bed this evening!! :-) Madame Mozeeee

Mariana!

Just checking back in this morning. Hey Mozy is back...cool!

Cheers,

Colonel possum

hi Colonel, wow glad you made it back - great to see you - when's the Valentine Party at the OHC????? Salud.

Mozeee always good to see your smiling face! Glad you caught up with everything! Yellow Tail is a wine found in most grocery stores but it very popular and not bad at all for those of us who like to uncork on weekends ! Thanks for stopping by! Salud.

Wonderful article and wonderful evening pastimes. I am holding a clean cloth tight;t over my right palm wheli I type clumsily. I'm trying to stop the bleeding where i ponched my hand in a door. I finally got away from the computer and was cleaning upstairs when it happened with on of my bifold doors. I have some Yellow Tail downstairs. Maybe I should give up on the cleaning and have a glass.

Mariana, cool! I bought some Yellow Tail Shiraz this morning, and hope to have a sip or two this evening. It's a cool grey afternoon in lower Alabama and I'm awaiting the delivery of a new mattress set, so I know I shall sleep like a queen tonight!
I also had a Japanese penpal throughout high school and into college. Her name was Hiroko and she was an aspiring pianist. We exchanged records and magazines, and shared a love of the early Beatles! I still have her letters too.

An afternoon update for you Mariana, I spent quite awhile just now talking to David L's father on the phone. David's father is Robert C. Likes the author of the "bible" on my friend's ghosttown Cerro Gordo. Nearly a year ago Bob found me on the internet via my website, we got acquainted via e-mails back and forth for months, and now we talk on the phone a lot, and discuss our favorite ghosttowns history! David was told about my website by his father, and e-mailed me last summer. The first thing David did was tell me to join Gather, and I've been here ever since.

2 1/2 hours to kill then I'll be stepping back in time with my other ghosttown connection at dinner! Can hardly wait!!!

I don't drink, by the way, but my husband does. Can't you get Yellow Tail at Trader Joe's?

Miz Audrey, I am so sorry about your hand - hope you can still type with it! I loved your photo essay about your Key Largo trip with Flat Randy and friend. It was so much fun! Enjoy that YellowTail! Faith, oh good, I'll try to get on here later - I'm holding ladder for the old man right now, he's hollering. Trader Joe's is where I get all my wine, Cecile. Why pay more than one has to! I am excited to hear about your afternoon - let us know how it all works out! Salud.

Our dear Mariana~

The whine of the airboats are heard on this misty cold evening. The wind is coming from the North/northwest making me wish that we had central heating or that the fireplace was built already.

I sit here in my little writing nook with my fuzzy oh-so purple slippers on and am sipping Banyon Rock Merlot. A few pieces of Dove dark chocolate have been consumed and the foil wrappers lying in front of me is the testament.

My day here on Lake Pierce has been ambling back and forth to the former toolshed now turned laundry/garden shed doing laundry as hubby Chuckles pursues the continued construction of his ten year science project of making Tindel Den Cottage ours.

He's down with a pretty bad cold and has had his fill of lentil soup and chicken noodle soup. He asked for a toasted cheese sandwich for dinner. Needs more rib-stickin' food in his tummy. Hot tea laced with local honey was his chairside companion today.

Love, light, and blessings~Mama T

What a totally delightful slice of life! Thank you Mama T, Miz Theresa for your always positive and uplifting comments which always make me smile! I know you will love that fire place - mine is something that I can't live without. Tindel Den Cottage sounds like an ongoing project...our little Casita here in Santa Barbara is forever in a state of "what project did you start today" - lots of starts and nothing finished - oh well...there's never an end to maintenance when one owns homes. I hope Chuckles feels better - put some Vicks Vaporub on the bottom of his feet and put some hand-knitted footies on him, make him sleep with a crochet cap on his head...have a beautiful Satiddy night! Salud.

Miz M. I am going try and find Yellow Tail Shiraz next Friday next instead of milk & cookies, According to Miz Faith & yourself it seems like one might get a really good night sleep with taking a sip or two!! Sweet Dreams to ya' all!!
Madame Mozeee

Madame Mozeeee hello Beatific Babe - I miss our group - what happened to the girls? Oh, yes, it's a wine - and a good tasting wine, actually for a decent price and found everywhere! You'll enjoy Yellowtail. Thanks for dropping by, Mozee, always good to see you! Salud.

You always write so lyrically, Mariana, and you always inspire me.... Yes, I miss Mozy's group, too...

Kathryn, what a wonderful surprise to see you here tonight. Thank you very much! SAlud.

What a wonderful essay you have written!!! I really respect your writing from my heart. I write essays in English as a second language. I would really like to follow what you have done or are going to do. Thank you.

Sancho! Thank you very much and may I reciprocate the compliment after reading two of your wonderfully written essays. I enjoyed both of yours very much. I would like to welcome you to Gather at this time. Gather Wa ikaga des ka! (I know that's botched)...Salud.

It's the iciest night in my region in the past 10 years, according to ABC News, which I'm watching right now while Gathering at the same time. They say that with the wind chill factored in, temps tonight will drop to -45 F! I've got chickpeas cooking in order to add them to pumpkin soup in a little while. I am very thankful that my home is warm and cozy; God has provided for me.

I love Yellow Tail shiraz! Yellow Tail is the name of an Australian vintner and shiraz is the variety of grape in this particular wine. It is a deep red wine. I enjoy it with hearty and well-spiced beef dishes.

The only Erdrich book I've read is _Love Medicine_, and it is good. It was many years ago. I haven't seen any of her other books.

We don't have eucalyptus trees here in the Philadelphia region; it is too cold for them to survive our winters. However, they were very familiar to me during the years I lived in Spain. They line numerous streets in Madrid and other cities and towns. Of course, by the time you get to Andalucia, the southernmost region, you see more palm trees lining city streets. It must smell wonderful in your house with the eucalyptus burning!

I had penpals when I was young, too. Two came through my Spanish teacher, one in Argentina and one in Chile. I kept up corresppondence with the Argentine woman into our adult years; she was married and had a daughter. I moved from Spain back to the US and lost her address in the move, so we lost contact. I've been sad about that and wish there were a way to find her again. Another was from Northern Ireland. We were writing for several years, and in 1969, while I had a summer job down at the shore, I sent her a box of saltwater taffy. I never heard back from her. The troubles in Northern Ireland were particularly bad in her town that summer, according to the newspapers here, and sometimes I wonder if something happened to her that summer. I still have a small gift she sent me. Pen pals are wonderful. You share your life and you learn about theirs, and the world is smaller because of it.

Am I the same person I was when I was sharing letters and life with those girls? Sometimes I feel very different from the little girl I was. Since writing with them regularly, I've been to grad school and had a career--actually, 2 careers. I've lived on three continents. I've been married and widowed. Even my teenage dreams of the future did not include much of what I've experienced, and some of what was dear to me has not happened.

Thanks for sharing your story, Mariana. It's always a pleasure spending time with you.

Bless your heart, Miz Dorine. YOu surely have lived a full life and one still filled with many riches of love, food and the wealth of God's infinite provisions. Have faith. Yes, I've changed quite a bit in many ways from that little girl (she's the one in my Icon) of my Garden City town. I've gone on to graduate from the University here in Santa Barbara and to have enjoyable careers and more jobs than I can count. I've travelled and lived all over the place as well and found a husband. I too am looking for Kasamaza Kume, my Japanese penpal. I think I'll contact him soon as he's around. If you want to email me the name of your penpal, I shall see if I can help you find her. I have cousins in Venezuela who work in International hotels. We have many eucalyptus trees here and if you want me to send you some leaves, I'll be glad to. As you know, there are quite a variety. I also have several olive trees in front of my house and I know spain has many. Louise has several good books out - The Beet Queen is really good followed by The Bingo Palace. Other books are Tracks, The Crown of Columbus and some of poetry. If you like Spanish authors, I'd highly recommend Gabriel Garcia Marquez whom you've probably read (One hundred years of Solitude) and Isabel Allende. Also, Ana Castillo is a fabulous author - she is based in Chicago.

The sun came out today so I spent most of the afternoon sitting outside in the backyard reading magazines and drinking wine and eating 72% cacao bittersweet chocolate. I was in heaven. The hub worked on a fence and cooked spaghetti and is now watching the game - I am not into football or any sports except ice skating which I love to do.

Always nice to connect with you as well, Miz Dorine - enjoy those elegant meals that you fix - they sound totally Delicious! Salud.

Well, the only thing I find wrong with the scene you paint is the windows. (I thought the title referred to the other type of window). Nice article. I for one am really happy you're a penpal kinda person.

Hello Tony, well, let's imagine that it can be that kind of window that I'm referring to - absolutely - a window is something you look through, back to the past and into the future. Make sure you keep that glass clean so that it's easier to see through...I'll always be a good penpal sorta person even though I'm sure I can be a pane sometimes...oops, I mean pain...well, you know what I mean...a window is a window is a window! Salud.

Ok... It's time to bring some laughter to this place.

Hi Salud,
If the producers of YellowTail wine knew all the advertising you are doing for them, you'd be a millionarire. Call them up and tell them, you've sold more bottles of wine then they will ever sell and you want to get PAID for it (and give me a cut of course)

What's with all this talk about eucalyptus trees? You know why some smell like cat piss? because its a cats way of getting back at people. What they do is they climb up and piss on the tress they like! Humans don't like the smell of cat piss so they won't go near those trees.

Now for the trees that smell like lemons, cats go to houses and act like that are abandoned. The people take them in and when the cat see his opportunity, he rushes to the fridge and grabs some lemons and jump out the window. He then heads up the tree's who's branches fall off and starts sqeezing the lemon juice all over them. When the people come, the scent of lemons attract them to the trees and when they look up... POW a branch hits them right in the head. The cats on the others trees starting laughing there heads off and the people know nothing about what's going on.

So, the lesson here is - Beware of anything that smells like lemon's

keep laughing
The Funny Guy

Heyyy Funny Guy, you know you should be my manager because you just gave me a great idea and I should write to them and let them know all of the folks who are going to purchase Yellow Tail wine because of my recommendation! I like that. You have a good brain there.
Regarding the eucalyptus, I'm amazed at your penchant for remembering details but then that's what comedians usually do - make us laugh about ordinary things so you have to have a good memory for things...that's so damn funny, I can't believe you said all that about the cat in the trees...hahaha - reminds me of an adult style kids book. Ok, now here I am giving you ideas! Love it! Salud.

i'm late to the party, but how i love getting these little snippets of your life...such fun, honey.

Miz Mona d. hello my sweet friend - my parties are always ongoing, never ending, and time is only a few hors d'ouevres sitting on a clock...glad to see you as always! Drop by for a visit sometimes, anytime...Salud.