Oenophilia

Oenophile: noun, a person who enjoys wines, usually as a connoisseur.
And since everything is connected, today's post has inspired my Twitter Word of the Day. Follow me all summer, as we expand our vocabulary.

It's wine and jazz season chez nous; and some like-minded friends invited us to indulge those passions at Alba Vineyard, where the Eric Mintel Quartet was performing.

 

We sat under the arbor for the music and picnicing, but also had a lovely wine tasting inside. Alba is an award winning winery in a beautiful location in Finesville, NJ.

 

My favorite wines were the Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Noir, and a fabulous ice wine made from apples, called Forbidden.

WIP Wednesday 6/22

In the ongoing tribute to Byzantium, one Mosaic sock is now complete. I love how the Azules and Botticelli Red go together.

Steampunk continues apace, with the capelet edging beginning to look good.

And the garden has been progressing nicely, too. An Asiatic lily has managed to avoid becoming deer food by cleverly blooming amidst the Russian Sage.

Garden surprise of the day is this giant toadstool - about 5" diameter - thanks to all the rain we've been getting.

Ladies Who Lunch

The school year draws ever closer to its end, which means that my Woolly Mama friends and I need to get ourselves out to lunch before being overrun by children all day long. This season we chose The Lovin' Oven, a delicious local place with great food, although perhaps an unfortunate name. Things we ate included steak sandwich, spinach panini and huevos rancheros; all excellent.

No actual knitting took place; it was hot, and we were hungry. But here we are, five knitters and one fine jewelry maker. You can also see Buddha in the background.

Incidentally, no fine jewelry was made either, but if you'd like to see Caroline's lovely work, check out New Hope Beading on Etsy.

Camp Out

Another busy weekend, featuring Girl Scout camping in the Poconos. It's amazing how much stuff one has to bring for 2 overnights in a cabin; sleeping bag, towels, snacks, fan in case it's hot, heater in case it's cold - which it was, but sadly I didn't . . .  lots of socks.

We've been going to this place for 6 years, and it's very nice. Especially cabin #29.

Especially at night.

And most especially when Kate gets arty with the camera.

 

  

The camp features nice cabins, a boathouse, and a main hall with a deck where the girls exiled the extraneous moms.

 

While my Scout was mastering the rock climbing wall,

I got a whack of my lace stole knit.

Thus, we returned home exhausted, to be greeted by the boys of the household who were also exhausted after their own Cub Scout camp out.

Memorialized

Everyone chez moi was busy with projects over the Memorial Day weekend. In knitterly happenings, the steampunk-inspired Escallop Mitts are done. Inadvertently, I knit one S/M, and one M/L, but that does make a size evaluation easier when grading. (It's the right one which is larger).

 

Not that bigger is necessarily better, but DH's project involved ripping part of the side deck off the house.

Then it was off with the Cub Scouts to march in the Memorial Day parade.

Luckily for us all, he replaced the deck just in time for our friends to arrive for a party.