Charles and Charles

     A rainy Thursday made better by a surprisingly smooth blend of Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah. Pairing it with a harvest stew that includes a cup of this wine in its ingredients makes for a perfect finish to a long day.

     The vineyards are located in various parts of eastern Washington state. The bottle I'm trying is 2013 but the description for 2014 vintage is located on this Charles & Charles extended page of facts.

         

          "Aromas of cocoa, coffee, tobacco, sweet black cherry, licorice, underbrush, gravel, and loads of cassis (fancy for black currant)."    

      I do smell the scent of coffee and licorice faintly, but the black cherry and cocoa is a little heavier. Certainly an outdoors impression. I'd say the black cherry and coffee also comes out on top as far as flavors go.

     This is a keeper and will be seen again on one of my picnic blogs next year.

Wine; is it the Poetry of Life?

                                "Beer is made by man, wine by God." ~ Martin Luther

     In my very young days we often drank wine because it was easy to obtain. By easy I mean cheap. It rarely tasted good but we liked the way we felt after a few swigs. However, my very first experience with wine drinking was free. Up the street from the house I grew up in lived a man that had two very large cherry trees in his yard. My Daddy got a huge basket of cherries from a neighbor one year and decided to make some wine out of it. I'm not sure why because he didn't even drink alcohol. This wine was stored in the basement with the rest of our canned goods. I'm sure you've figured out by now how my first wine experience came about. It wasn't a very high alcohol content, but it was definitely fermented. 

     Over the years I have managed to develop a love and appreciation for wine. I do not necessarily follow the "rules" regarding pairing certain wines with certain foods. I asked a gentleman once what he drank his favorite wine with and he replied, matter of factly, "A glass".  I suppose I am the same way; although I've been known to drink it from a Dixie(c) cup or Tupperware(c), or straight from the bottle when necessary.   

     In 2007 The New York Times published an article: The Brief History of Wine. There is no point in repeating what they said when you can check it out directly, but I will mention the fact that most people probably didn't realize that  "Ohio was the first region in America to successfully cultivate grapes for wine". That was in the 19th Century.

     6,181,578,000. That's over 6 billion if you want the short version. That's also how many gallons of wine was consumed worldwide in the year 2014, give or take a few hundred. BKWine Magazine will give you more info if you're interested. France and Italy produce most of that and possibly drink most of it as well. 

      Medical research has proven that wine has preventative health benefits regarding many diseases, including cancer and diabetes, when consumed in recommended amounts. When faced with some of the alternatives I choose wine.

     Why do we love wine? I believe the answers are many. Wine is almost as old as time itself. It is symbolic of so many things in life that we want. It gets finer with age, as do we. It's poetic and romantic, as we long to be. It promises good health when not abused. It symbolizes relaxation and quality time spent with family, friends, and significant others. It doesn't have to be chilled; making it easy to transport on those picturesque picnics and hikes. The flavors are always unique to the maker so each new bottle is opened with anticipation; what flavors will we be able to pick out? The list goes on depending on the author, but these are the top reasons I enjoy wine. 

     I continue to learn more and more about wine as I try new ones. Look for some reviews here as well as more blogs about some of my favorites.  Below is a photo of me at  The Williamsburg Winery in Virginia participating in a wine tasting. It was a great experience.

"What's Your Major?"

 

  Since when is a science major qualified to run a student grant and loan department? How does someone with a degree in music have what it takes to run a community social service and welfare agency? Does a major in art really give one the qualifications to run a business office? I could go on and on with the list but I am sure you get the point.
  I have not been successful in finding any actual studies, but in all the different places I've worked (customer service, retail, distribution, purchasing, marketing, and medical to name a few), I have made this observation;  most people are working in a career that has little to do with their college major. I know you cannot be shocked by this information.
  Generally speaking I don't have a problem with this. I feel that a small part of the downfall of some of corporate America may be due to mismanagement via ignorance. By ignorance I mean that people are hired based on the level of their formal education as opposed to their subject of studies. Many experienced, qualified, and willing workers have been turned down for positions simply because they didn't have a BS or MS degree. This is especially true for non-profit organizations due to grant specifications.
  So I ask you, how is a 25 year old Psychology major going to do a better job as a purchasing agent than the 35 year old that lost his 6 year position in purchasing due to downsizing? All this makes me wonder about something. If one doesn't need a degree in Economics to be a purchasing agent, then why do they require a degree at all? I've heard it said to high school graduates many times; "Go to college and get a degree in something. It doesn't matter what, anything will get you a job with better pay". Why doesn't it matter?
  I feel the need to clarify that I am not against higher education. I believe people should get as much education as possible, especially when it comes to writing skills, communication skills, and general mathematics. I also believe people should put more thought into their college majors, and don't choose a field of study based on what others think is best, or what will be the quickest and easiest to obtain. Also, I am not faulting a person for seeking a job outside of their career studies. Some choices are based solely on the need for survival. I am just presenting something that has crossed my mind a few times and I wonder if I am the only one that has noticed.
  According to this article in The Wall Street Journal the American worker "... [has] held 10.8 jobs, on average, between ages 18 and 42".  No wonder graduates get so far from their original field of study. The way the world changes over the years it is really hard for a person to spend 40 or more years doing the same thing for a living and that is the reason many people evolve into a career gradually over the years and move away from their original field of study. This only proves to me the value of on the job training verses classroom studies.
  Who do I see as working closely withing the scope of their college training? Most people that are involved in patient care from reception to physical and/or occupational therapy to doctors of all kinds, accounting positions, information technology positions, and teachers are all usually working within their college major.
  In my opinion the bottom line is that people shouldn't be hired based solely on their degree, but in conjunction with work experience, and companies need to reevaluate how they choose someone for a position, and grant distributors need to give non-profits the freedom to choose the best person for the job. And as far as colleges go, maybe the Liberal Arts majors are right to stick to the general things and keep the options open for changes that may come along later on while the world itself changes.
 

Joe, Java, Mud.....its all Coffee to Me

  Is it true? Is the best part of waking up Folders in your cup? I believe most people would agree that coffee in general is one of their morning beverages. Part of my usual morning routine includes coffee and Facebook. Every morning without fail there will be various posts in many formats regarding the importance of coffee in assisting people to not only wake up, but also to function in some so sort of civilized and non violent manner.
I am chuckling as I write this because I can relate.
  When I was growing up coffee was a drink for adults only. I woke up most mornings to the scent of coffee brewing in the kitchen, and my favorite aunt and uncle kept a fresh pot all day. I think they had to buy a new coffee pot every year because they wore them out so quickly. Because of my personal experiences with coffee I always viewed it as the all American drink that was consumed either within the home, at a restaurant with dessert, or out of a thermos while hunting, fishing, or cutting fire wood on a chilly morning. As a small child most people used a percolator on the stove top to brew their coffee making it boiling hot. Daddy would pour it out of his cup and into a saucer, then swirl it around to cool it and slurp it from the saucer.

 Imagine my surprise when I discovered that coffee was not only an Arab drink (Yes, I am always the last to know, you probably already knew this), but also a drink made popular in the sixteenth century by Muslims. They actually started the first coffee houses. According to The National Coffee Associations web site coffee got its beginning as a beverage in Ethiopia when a farmer noticed the behavior of his goats after they ate the berries of a coffee bush. This is probably true if you know anything about goats. But then it spread to the Arabian Peninsula and it would never again be a simple "tea".

"Its popularity was perhaps due, in part, to the fact that Muslims, forbidden alcoholic drink by the Koran, found coffee's energizing properties to be an acceptable substitute."

"The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people frequented them for all kinds of social activity. Not only did they drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news of the day.  In fact, they quickly became such an important center for the exchange of information that the coffee houses were often referred to as 'Schools of the Wise.'"  ~ The National Coffee Association

  Although coffee came to the new world in the late 1600's, it never really became popular until after the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
  In early America Ben Franklin and others would hang out in Pubs to engage in conversation and plan the future of our country. I am pretty sure they weren't consuming tea or coffee, however many important decisions were made throughout all of history while sharing in some type of beverage that provided an instant link between the persons, and opened the door for the sharing of ideas and opinions. Many people have discussed how to handle a dilemma while sharing a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.
  What about our health? Web MD says coffee in moderation will help ward off many things from Type II Diabetes to some forms of cancer. According to other resources such as Living Strong, coffee can have negative effects on your cholesterol, blood pressure, and cause caffeine addiction, to name a few. I think with everything moderation is the key and if we make smart choices we will be able to reap the benefits of all consumable foods and less likely to suffer from the negative aspects.
  Either you love coffee or you hate it, but to think of it not being a part of our society is unimaginable. Despite its beginnings far far away, the uses for coffee have changed little and I will always consider it the all American drink as its use here is as old as America itself.

Mind Your Facebook P's & Q's Dear

If you are new to Facebook stop before you hop on the FB seat preparing for takeoff and ask some experienced users to give you a few tips on how to properly use this social network to your advantage while not embarrassing yourself and others.

My FB Homepage

  I’ve read a lot of articles on “Facebook Etiquette” over time, especially 2-3 years ago when FB was new to me and many others of my generation.  I joined FB on February 2, 2009. The only reason I joined was because my dear cousin told me if I wanted to see his pictures I had to join, but prior to that I had no interest in it. Since then I have enjoyed it greatly and have reconnected with many old classmates and far away family members.

I have decided to construct my own etiquette list based on things I have observed over the past 3 years.

• Do not leave a comment under a status update that is completely unrelated to the update. I posted a YouTube clip of an Aerosmith music video once and someone left a comment that said “Hey, are you working tomorrow? I need something.”  Really??? This would be a good time to send a “Private Message” or PM.  

• Be careful when it comes to posting on your friends’ walls. If you aren’t absolutely sure they will appreciate what you are about to post, then don’t do it. They are free to delete anything on their wall, but then you may feel awkward.

• I usually stay offline for chat, but many don’t and do not even know they can go offline. Don’t assume that just because FB chat says they are available that they even want to chat. And don’t be offended if they don’t respond to your chat message, some people either don’t have time or they are not really sitting there in the first place.

• Please hear me! If you have 15 pictures of Maria’s 8^th birthday party that you want to share with your FB friends, upload them as an album and post the whole album at once. None of us enjoy having our news feeds filled with 15 separate posts of each individual picture. Which brings me to my next point…..

• When you sign on for the first time in hours, remember that if you go through your news feeds and share every pretty picture, inspirational quote, and witty saying you see, then you have just filled my news feed with a dozen or more posts in a row. I am probably not going to take the time to read all of them and most others won’t either.  Remember—Quality over quantity!

• Facebook has given many of us a voice that never had one before. For many they haven’t just gained a voice, they’ve gained a platform. If you have a concern or even an opinion about something going on in your community, it is in my opinion acceptable to express your concern, as long as it is done in a mature and tasteful manner. If you put a little thought into it you can get your point across and still be honest while not making yourself look like a ranting idiot. Make sure you read what you wrote before you hit the share button.

• We all have an opinion and I am glad. How much fun would it be if we all agreed all the time? On the other hand there is a time when we need to know when to keep our mouth shut.  Most people enjoy a friendly debate, but if you disagree to the point of being driven to curse or throw around threats then you should rethink your strategy. It is also not cool to get in debates with people who are not your friends, but commented on a mutual friends’ status. Speak your mind as directly, honestly, and mannerly as possible and then move on.

• Before you write that post about how wonderful your spouse is and how much fun you always have with grandchildren, or how happy and blessed you are to have the job you have, etc.  remember…. Some of us actually live in the same town and see you on a regular basis. We know if you are just making up a bunch of hogwash.  

Now if you will excuse me I have some notifications to read.