Yucky Tricks

A weekend or so ago, The Captain's mom, The Captain, and I went down to a family vineyard in the Dolenjska region where she's from. From what she told me, we were going down to have lunch and say hello to family members; she talked a LOT before we left but that was all the information she really gave. Off the back of that information, The Captain and I got dressed up smartly, loaded up the car, and left.



...so you can imagine how perturbed I was when we pulled up to the vineyard, got out of the car, and were handed buckets, scissors, and gloves. CapMama turned to us and was like "You guys have a change of clothes, right?" Steam blew out of my head and -- despite the fact that this happens all the time* -- it took everything I had to keep quiet and go with the flow.



I walked up the steep hill into the vineyard with my brand new ankle boots on, angered about the state of my new shoes and frightened I'd fall down the hill.



After leaning against a fence post for 15 minutes watching everyone else work, I finally decided to jump in and help pick some grapes. It was nasty work, as this year's mix of weather coupled with the neighboring vineyards bout with mold (the neighbour, who probably inherited the damn vineyard, refuses to come out and pick grapes anymore and just leaves them to rot year after year) meant that most of the grapes were either dried like raisins or totally moldy.



Our job was to knock away all the sour grapes and pick out the few decent looking ones. Messy, stinky, yucky work.



I ended up taking my shoes and socks off so I could get a grip on the ground and not slide down the hill.



It ended up being the best decision; though I did have to contend with pesky people walking past me every few minutes with admonishments and "concern" that I would catch cold (catching cold seems to be the worst fate that can befall you in this country, geez.)

Anyway, after an hour or two of this cruel punishment, at least I got a good meal (pictures to come)....and, of course, this little blog post.



*Slovenians have a bad habit of not giving you necessary information unless you explicity ask for it. Problem being that you don't know what you don't know. Frustration!

Moving Up

On a slightly off note, I just wanted to congratulate my lovely Aunt Genevieve who was recently named Ghana's new ambassador to France.



As they say in Ghana, ayekooooooooooooooooooo! (means something like "well done", but better).

Just Thanks

photo source

Another year and no turkey. One of these days I'll do it again, when we can gather up a critical mass of people and food and chairs and time. While the food may be absent the thanksgiving is ongoing. This day is really about giving thanks for the harvest and the abundance that has been cultivated, and so I give thanks for all that I have harvested and all I have been given and the abundance that overflows in my life. Thanks so much to all my family and friends and even strangers who have shown me kindness. Thanks to all the people who never forget me and even to those people who came in my life only for a fleeting moment. Thanks to the people who've known me since I was just a little thing, and thanks to those gracious people who only just received me with open arms and warm hearts for the first time today.......

Thank You
Thank You
Thank You

May all your days be overflowing with love and may the love we have for each other spill out and over into all that we do.

Home On The Range

A week or so ago, we went down to the family farm and vineyard down in Dolenjska (Trebnje to be exact). I tasted the sweetest grapes and had the best and freshest lunch ever. We got to walk around the vineyards and explore a 500 year old house. Man, did I have a superb time!












Piggie water fountain




























sign says, "Here we are again"

Where I Am Sometimes

My brother and I are sort of music snobs and the other day while exchanging links and music files we decided to start a blog rambling about music and other stuff. If you're into that kind of stuff, you can check it out here:



Don't worry, I am still working to keep this blog (and my many other blogs)updated.
See you around the nets!

From Wheelville With Love

The garden is in bloom! This is what CapMama brought up today.


translation: (clockwise from left) PINK BOWL: arugula, garlic (though i think it is spring onion), RED PLATE: herbs or fragrants, parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and majarom, CLEAR BOWL: spring lettuce (btw, nice spring lettuce and asparagus recipe here)

Munich - Part II (final)

Viktualienmarket, Moderne Pinakotheke, street scenes, Englischgarten, Olympic Park























See you next year Munich!!

Munich - Part I

So I had my first experience of the family trip to Munich. They have been going for 30 years, but the family has shrunk and spread out a bit in the last decade, so the last few years it has just been the Cap and the CapMama.

Munich was a nice city, but it felt kind of generic and sanitized. This was my first visit to Germany, but I have a feeling a lot of the country is like this. It sort of hurt that I didn't have the internet and had accidentally forgotten my list of cool places to check out. It was alright checking out the touristy stuff but next time I'll be equipped to find the seamy side of the place.

Anyway, here are pictures. Sorry I forgot to take a stereotypical picture of me sip with a beer stein, but hey! here I am eating some wurst!

























More pictures tomorrow or y'know whenever I get around to it.