Happy National Punctuation Day!

Did you know today, September 24, has been named National Punctuation Day? No? Check out this link to learn all you've ever wanted to know about punctuation. There are no parades or barbecues, no moments of silence or football games to honor the marks. But there is a contest--and the winner will receive "punctuation goodies", whatever they may be. Your guess is as good as mine. You can find out the rules at the link above. And if you enter the contest, please let us know.

In case you were wondering, National Punctuation Day is the brainchild of a former newspaper editor from Pinole (near San Francisco) named Jeff Rubin. He created the honorary day in 2004 as a way to highlight the importance of the proper use of punctuation marks. How do you intend to celebrate?

They're Here!

My PajamaJeans have arrived. I opened the bag and they look kind of BIG...I’m not feeling very positive at the moment, but I’ll try them out tomorrow.

Grapes Into Wine

Wine is bottled poetry.

--Robert Louis Stevenson

We got up at 4am Saturday morning, dressed in work clothes, and headed for the vineyards. Davis has been making wine in our garage for the last three years but this year, for the first time, we were going to pick the grapes ourselves. We set out in the dark, not sure what to expect, and arrived at the vineyard just as the sun peeked over the horizon.

The morning was cool and the grapes plentiful. The three of us picked about 400 pounds of Zinfindel grapes in about two hours. As the sun rose higher, and with it the temperature, the bees began to wake up. Fortunately, we were about finished by that time--I'm not sure I'd want to pick with the bees so active. Overall, it was a marvelous experience...and although I complained about having to get up so early, I'd do it all over again.

When we returned home with four large containers filled with grapes (and the spiders that came along for the ride!), Davis and Cody ran the grapes through the destemmer and crusher...a very interesting process. Now the grapes are in the cold soak and will soon begin their long journey to become wine.