New Years Eve - Dec 31, 2012

A wonderful visit from Susan's High School friend Ellen and her family.  Our neighbors Karl and Diane joined the festvities. 

Had a great Christmas Eve dinner at the Albion Inn with Gary and Allen.  We had ling cod and a mushroom rosato.

Monday movie club

Highly recommended

Harvest

The Blood, Sweat and Tears That Go Into Every Bottle of Wine
A Q&A session with the director will follow the movie
Director John Beck’s new feature-length documentary follows five family wineries – Foppiano, Robledo, Rafanelli, Harvest Moon and Robert Hunter – along with an amateur home winemaker and a rare all-female picking crew from Mexico, through what many would call “the toughest harvest” in their lifetime.
“Harvest” could care less about vanilla oaky finishes or fruit-forward quaffs. This is a gritty film that picks up viewers and drops them in the vineyards at 2 a.m. to see dark night picks illuminated only by tiny headlamps, 24/7 machine harvesting and the impact of 3 inches of rain on a cluster of grapes.
If you love wine and want to know how the grapes are harvested, you’ll want to see this film!
The screening of “Harvest” at Arena Theater is made possible thanks to a group of supporters who donated the money needed to pay for the rental fee: Jackie Gardener & Tom Falk, Jeri Taylor, Doug & Donna Blum, Molly Buckley, Carol Emory, Chuck & Jeanetta Miller, Debbie & Creig Hoyt, Andy Lang & Linda Kennedy, Pam Goedhart, Frank & Linda Bell, Jim & Mary Alinder, Linda Frye, Jim & Marcia Nybakken, Rob Elder & Jackie Baas.

Stairs at north side of house

Some of you may remember how difficult it was to go up and down on the north side of our house.  No more.  Marlene, who is a professional trail builder,  made these new stairs for us.  Now its easy to get to the bird feeder, propane tank, basement, and "back yard".   Hopefully some vegetation can now take hold.