And Now for a High Brow Musical Interlude

I love that mad wee Scot.

Casato Prime Donne, Part 2

After siesta time, we were given a tour of the wine-making process and the cellars where the wine is aged in huge wooden barrels. It was fascinating and impressive!

It was cool and dim in the cellar. There was art here too.

After the tour, we arrived back in the small gift shop where wine could be purchased. The staff were experts in packing the wine in special styrofoam containers for safe transport home in our luggage. Because I am allergic to red wine, we didn't buy a bottle of Brunello but got a nice white wine instead.

Our intention was to drink the wine on our next anniversary in 2009. Well, we forgot. 2010 came and went too, with our bottle of wine still gathering dust on the wine rack. But this year we made a determined effort and remembered to open our special wine on our anniversary.

It was a wonderful remembrance of our perfect day at Casato Prime Donne.

[Photos © 2008 and 2011 by Debra She Who Seeks and My Rare One]

Casato Prime Donne, Part 1

My Rare One and I are not big into wine so when we visited Tuscany in 2008, we only toured one winery. We visited the Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino, a region famous for its red Brunello wine. Montalcino is south of Siena and Florence and in the late Middle Ages, it suffered greatly in the power struggle between those two city states.

The Casato Prime Donne is owned and operated entirely by women, a rarity in Italy's male-dominated wine industry. This assertive feminist connection was the drawing card for us, not the wine!

But speaking of the wine, it is aged in the Casato's beautiful old stone cellar house --

There was lots of art displayed on the buildings and grounds -- see the white ceramic doves high up under the eaves on one side of the building?

We arrived at siesta time after lunch when everything was closed, so we spent about an hour walking around the surrounding vineyards and countryside. The soil here is heavy, dense clay which is ideal for only two things -- growing grapes and making terra cotta pottery and other items. No wonder those activities were traditionally Tuscany's two main industries!

Harvest was just starting on the day we were there and already, the fields were dotted with many bright plastic containers full of grapes. My Rare One had a lovely conversation with some women harvesters even though no one spoke each other's language. She can talk to anyone!

Tomorrow -- a cellar tour!

[Photos © 2008 Debra She Who Seeks and My Rare One]

To My Rare One on Our 8th Anniversary

While we missed out on being young together, we can hopefully look forward to being old together . . . . I can see us many years from now in the seniors home . . . you, me, Her Royal Highness the cat or her successor . . . two old babas doting on our beloved feline . . . .

And if that's not excitement enough, we'll get all gussied up and go to the activities room to play canasta . . . .

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in his hand
Who saith, "A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!"

--Robert Browning

Love you! xoxoxoxoxo

It's Earth Hour Tomorrow!

Tomorrow evening at 8:30 p.m. local time, people all over the world will be turning their lights out for one hour -- Earth Hour -- in support of action on climate change. Yes, it's just a gesture and it can't fix everything (or indeed anything) but it's still a symbolic way to show your heart is in the right place! My Rare One and I usually end up playing cribbage by candlelight during Earth Hour -- ooo, romantic!

Pastafarianism

Since I'm an equal opportunity pagan, today I'd like to celebrate the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Truly we are all touched by His Noodly Appendage . . .

And never forget . . .

Indian Village at Calgary Stampede

Thought I'd share the photos of the Indian Village encampment which I took last July at the Calgary Stampede. When we visited, most of the teepees were closed so we couldn't go inside. But the exteriors were interesting enough!

The Indian Village has its own stage for dancing and musical performances. They also sell bannock and tea. But we were there too early for any of those activities.

It was cold and rainy that day too, as you can see from the overcast sky. The next day it was scorching hot -- one extreme to another!

[All photos © 2010 Debra She Who Seeks]