Grandma Kathy's 65th Birthday 2018

Today is Grandma Kathy's 65th birthday. She was here this weekend visiting so we took her to Paumanok Vineyards for a birthday wine-tasting and then we bought her the bottle of her choice. She's back on the Cape today but she went to lunch with her mother, sisters, and brother. Happy birthday! Hope it was a favorite one.

Paumanok Vineyards with her minions

Inside the tasting room

 

Miranda has to be in all the pictures.

Kathy, Mary, Nesie, Dick, and Great-grandma Ruth at the Beacon Room in Orleans

Ten Years Since We Met 2016

Ten years ago, Kevin and I met for the first time in the outdoor seating area of Mudhouse coffeeshop in Charlottesville.

To celebrate our ten-year anniversary of meeting, we went about 20 minutes east to North Fork to a vineyard we'd heard good things about, the Paumanok Vineyards. We did a white wine tasting and I liked all the wines we tried, the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, 2012 Chenin Blanc, 2011 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, and 2012 Riesling. My favorite was the 2011 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, so we bought a bottle of that and sat outside with cheese and crackers.

Sitting outside by the vineyard

Yum.

 Paumanok Vineyards

The closed a little early and practically had to push us out the gate. Even the rain didn't hamper my enjoyment of the wine and the setting. But no matter, Kevin had a plan B, which that there was a relatively new whiskey and bourbon distillery with tastings. On the way there though, I saw a chocolate shop and Kevin turned around. The North Fork Chocolate Company had tasting too! Some of the chocolates are good, but don't ask for recommendations unless you want to know what not to eat, as that's how they unload the unwanted chocolate.

Here comes their next victim

In clockwise order fromt he top left: Salty Dog, Ice Cream Sundae, Bourbon, 75 Dark Organic

I loved the 75 Dark, get that.

The Salty Dog tasted like licking an actual wet dog

I also made Kevin stop so I could hug a huge tomato on the side of the road.

 Finally, we got to Long Island Spirits, which had more of Suffolk County vibe. It is perhaps sometimes a dance club? Kevin did the bourbon tasting and I alternatively sniffed or licked a little liquid from his glass because it all resembled nail polish to me.

Long Island Spirits

Bourbon tasting

State of the union: Crazy in love.

North Fork with Jon and Becky 2011

Perhaps in an effort to convince me that Long Island is not a developing country Kevin whisked me off to North Fork on Thursday, where our good friends Jon and Becky had rented a vacation house for the week. Kevin has been visiting them there for the last two years, but this was the first year I didn't have to work so I could join them. The plan was to relax and make lobsters for dinner and enjoy the beach the next day.  The first plan was a success. We enjoyed some wine and beer in the backyard while Jon grilled up some corn, and then went inside while Becky boiled the lobsters. It's only the third time I've ever had lobster right out of the shell, and the first time was when I was a kid, so I struggled quite a bit with my attack strategy. The delicious reward was well worth it though.

Enjoying a walk along the bay

Jon watching Kevin and James enjoy the hammock

Wine, check, pacifier, check

Sorry, lobster buddy, we have special plates for you and everything

The next day it rained so we had to rethink our beachy plans. We decided on a two vineyard, one brewery tour. I haven't gotten out of the house s much as I used to so I was super excited. We were a little concerned about taking James to adult places even though Becky assured us they were family-friendly, but James was surprisingly well-behaved, for James. Kevin did kindly take him outside for a little while at Lenz Winery while I hit the wine tasting, but he did get to try most of the wines first. I really liked the wine there and enjoyed my time chatting with Becky while Kevin and Jon fed and bounced the baby outside.

James then had a total meltdown in the car, but since it was in private, we were pretty psyched. He rallied for the Greenpoint Brewery, possibly because he was so stimulated by all the new sights and sounds. (Stimulated = freaked out.) By the time we got to Paumanok Winery, James fell asleep for his big afternoon nap so we were able to relax, enjoy the view of the vineyard, and ask Jon and Becky about their trip to Paris from a few years ago.

Three Clous at Lenz Winery

Becky and Jon at Lenz Winery

Greenport Harbor Company

The boys at Greenport Harbor Company

Becks and Jon at Paumanok Winery

Us at Paumanok Winery

What other baby can say he celebrated his 100-day mark with a winery-brewery "crawl?" Not very many, I'm sure. He had a semi-traumatic doctor's appointment the previous day before we left for North Fork, so we know he's now 15 pounds 7 ounces, and measuring 25.5 inches long. Though when I measure him, I get 26 inches... but somewhere around there.  Our mothers insisted we ask the pediatrician about introducing cereal or other solids to get James to sleep through the night. The pediatrician said that he shouldn't have any, and that it definitely wouldn't get him to sleep through the night. In fact, he suggested NOT feeding the baby at night, but just going in to comfort him. I'm not too confident about that idea just yet. I feel like James is stubborn and strong enough to cry for hours in protest. But we will eventually try if his sleep doesn't keep getting longer on its own. Right now he's up to four hours at a time, and some nights he only gets up once.

At the pediatrician's with his super intense finger bandage for his anemia test