Jacob's Creek Cabernet/Merlot (2005)

Hi All:

Well I am beat right out this weekend after graduation and the many late nights of decorating. My voice is shot and I was up half the night tossing and turning in the bed -- my body does strange things when I get over-tired...really weird! In any event, I still found time to sample a bottle of wine!! (grin)

Wine
Jacobs Creek Cabernet/Merlot (2005)

This Aussie wine only cost 14.50 cents and it would be a nice little stand-up wine at a party. I didn't like that I could really taste the alcohol in it but it was otherwise pleasant enough. It was not complex, didn't present with a variety of tastes and, to be honest, is not a wine I'd invest in again BUT I would turn down a glass if offered. Lots of berries....

Davidson Rating Scale
6.3/10

CONGRATS to the Graduating Class of 2008!!

A SHOUT-OUT to the graduating class of 2008 for Clarenville High School! It has been an honour and a privilege to teach you these past fours years and I LOVED organizing your graduation exercises. I am certain you will go on to have MUCH success in life, we are so proud of you all.

Have fun and BE SAFE this weekend. Be responsible and celebrate in an appropriate and moderated manner OK?! GO COUGARS!!!!

The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse.

~Edward Koch

Grand Theatre Grand Vin de Bordeaux (2005)

Hi All:

I hope this post finds you all well and enjoy life in your corner of the world. The countdown to Bermuda is on...we leave in 12 days!!! It will be so much fun! This week I went bargain hunting in hopes of finding a gem...I didn't but it wasn't terrible, terrible either.


Wine
Grand Theatre Grand Vin de Bordeaux (2005)

This wine was smelled like ripe fruit and was quite pleasant on the nose. The initial taste was also nice but the finish was acerbic and any sensation of taste was fleeting to say the least. This wine would be a nice a la carte or table wine for a large scale gathering of varied wine drinkers as it wasn't bad enough to put off an oenophile and compelling enough to the novice wine drinker to be exciting. And it is from Bordeaux, France after all! Next week I'm playing it safe and going with a bottle of McManus Cab. Sav!

Davidson Rating Scale
6/10

Have a great week everyone!

Ian

Hi All:

Happy Friday! I just wanted to share this awesome, "boppy", video with you all. It gave me pause for thought and allowed for reflection on what is indeed important in this life. Singer/songwriter Kat Edmonson (pictured to the left) designed the video to show worldly intentions, set forth one-by-one, hand-scrawled and held proudly aloft on makeshift cardboard banners. A short-order cook seeks to "include everyone." A young boy whose smile betrays a missing tooth says he'll "make friends with the world." A woman kneels in her garden with a sign saying she'll "support small farms." The song's title? As Gandhi expressed before her and the Austin, Texas-based Edmonson now sings:

"Be the Change That You Want to See."

John Wrixon (The Regular Man) R.I.P.

Through my association with TWO VILLAGES, I was introduced to the life of Mr. John Wrixon who passed away this past week in Epworth, Newfoundland. John was 96 and lived a long healthy and happy life.

How did I come to become part of John's world you might wonder, well let me tell you. In September 2005, after caring for his wife Mae at home for as long as possible, John was forced to place her in the protective care unit of the U.S. Memorial Health Care Center. Mae suffered from Alzheimer’s. John moved to St. Lawrence as well so he could visit and care for her every day. Mae passed away in December 2006, but John continued to visit the U.S. Memorial every day to volunteer his time to the other residents.

In 2007, John joined Two Villages to help us raise funds to build a school in Nepal and, stunningly, managed to raise the necessary funds (10,000.00) to complete the project. What an amazing story to write in the final chapter of his life...sadly, he passed away a week after ground was broke in Nepal for the school. RIP John. Please find below a copy of the poem he requested to be read at his funeral service entitled: " The Regular Man".

A Regular Man’s Prayer

LORD, let me live like a Regular Man,
With Regular friends and true;
Let me play the game on a Regular plan
And play it that way all through;

Let me win or lose with a Regular smile
And never be known to whine,
For that is a Regular Fellow’s style
And I want to make it mine!

Oh, give me a Regular chance in life,
The same as the rest, I pray,
And give me a Regular girl for a wife
To help me along the way;

Let us know the lot of humanity,
Its regular woes and joys,
And raise a Regular family
Of Regular girls and boys!

Let me live to a Regular good old age,
With Regular snow-white hair,
Having done my labor and earned my wage
And played my game for fair;

And so at last when the people scan
My face on its peaceful bier;
They’ll say, “Well, he was a Regular Man!”
And drop a Regular tear!

Laurel Glen 2003 "Terra Rosa" Mendoza Malbec

Hi All:

We were invited out for steak on Saturday so a nice Malbec seemed like a natural fit. I have been wanting to try this fine Argentinian offering for some time now so I was pleased to drop it into my cart, where my son graciously held it for me, on Saturday evening.

This was pretty black...OK, dark reddish-purple, in color, and smelled of black currants, ripe plums and chocolate. So it wasn't a surprise to me when I tasted juicy black-cherry fruit on my first swallow. As with a lot of the Malbec's I have tried, a quick flush of lemons and cherry persist in a very long finish.

For me, Malbec is a natural with red meat and an exceptional match with meat lovers pizza. I really enjoyed this wine!

Davidson Rating Scale
8.8 out of 10

Price
17.39 (Canadian)

Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon (2004)

Hi All:

Happy Friday! We had parent-teacher interviews at school today and then a PD session in the afternoon - translation: SLACK day! My friend John invited Chris and I up for supper this evening. Our youngest daughters and mommies were invited to a party so the big girls (and my big guy) were invited over to chill on a Friday evening. Lots of fun and very relaxing. Thanks John...we also had a nice wine (how can I tell you are not surprised?!!) to go with the BBQ. My review is as follows:

Santa Digna Cab (2004) which is a product of the famous Chilean wine family, the Torres', who launched Chile’s wine modernization at this small winery back in 1979. The wine tonight had hints of wood spice, earth, plum and black cherry aromas, though the intensity is not that high. Dark fruit, spice, and mocha and with some drying tannin and heat on the finish. The heat came off as bitter (good call John!) if you let it hang around to long in your mouth and Chris felt it needed another two to three years to round out. I plan to buy a bottle to lay down and in a few years we will try it again!

Price
$16.11 (Canadian)

Davidson Rating Scale
7.6/10

Have a great weekend everyone! Pic from my town below!

Ian