Sundy Morning Rant

Dan is out of town for a few days and Cass, uncanny little squirt, knows it. He's trying to see just how close he can get to making me crack. Not so, you say. A 3-month old baby simply isn't capable of scheming. Yeah, well...a new mother clinging desperately to her last nerve simply won't listen to any logical explanations, either.

The kid, who has been a pretty sound and predictable nighttime sleeper up 'til now (never did like daytime naps), has suddenly become a tosser-and-turner, jerking his arms and legs like some kind of marionette on speed and grunting like a wild boar. And waking up every hour - 3:30am, 4:45am, 5:15am, 6:25am...you get the idea.

And after weeks of being pretty darn happy, now we have fussy again. Pick me up, no not like that, I wanna face out, now I wanna stand, now sit, walk around, put me down, do jumping jacks to entertain me, green light, red light, feed me, no I'm not hungry anymore, sing, stop singing, read, stop reading, I'm tired but I might miss something if I take a nap so I think I'll just sit here and howl...

So if anyone in the Lincoln area wants to do something charitable this week, please stop in and visit us. Thank you forever. Amen.

Celebrating With Food and Drink!

Dan and I were married for two years last Saturday. My, how Father Time rushes past without a backward glance. How we stare after him, open-mouthed and breathless, wishing we had snatched golden opportunities instead of waiting for hypothetical tomorrows...

In true "seize the day" spirit, we vowed to make the most of our day, infant and all. With Cass in tow, we set off for the Farmer's Market this morning and browsed the local tasties and crafts. Sipping iced mocha, we strolled hand-in-hand and smiled at the hustle-and-bustle. Ever the frugal twosome, we satisfied ourselves with take-home purchases of Wisconsin buffalo wing cheese (exactly what it sounds like) and a jar of honey. After all, there are still four months' worth of marketing left. Have to save some goodies for next time..




Next, we decided to visit James Arthur Vineyards in Raymond, NE. For $5 you can sample any six of JAV's 20 wines. We took our first pick, a dry red, to a shaded table in the courtyard, where the air was fragrant with summer blossoms and there was a lazy breeze to keep us cool.

JAV would be a beautiful spot for a wedding reception or golden anniversary party. We left with a bottle of full-bodied St. Croix and an award-winning Edelweiss. In truth, we easily could have left with all six of the wines that we sampled BUT lo and behold...The Wine Passport.


A compilation of Nebraska wineries: hours, contact info and map. It's one of those "visit-to-receive-a-stamp-and-get-discounts-and-prizes" type things. So, sure, twist our arms. Since we had such a good experience at James Arthur and since there just happened to be another winery in Raymond...yes, well. You can guess our next stop. WindCrest Winery was much smaller and more intimate. Owner Dale was extremely personable (and generous - he let us sample TEN wines for $6!) and though his wines didn't have the "drinkability" of James Arthur's velvety reds and buttery whites, they did win points for originality. For example, WindCrest has a whole line of cherry-based wines and the chocolate color of their hearty De Chaunac is intriguing in itself.

So, I found a whole host of new places to check out right here in America's heartland. And the Mr. and I are not waiting around for our next anniversary to visit them!

B is for Berry and also for Mmmm...

The Warrens celebrated Memorial Day with a trip to the Roca Berry Farm for the kick-off of the 2010 strawberry season. If you make the first right after entering, you can purchase cartons of pre-picked berries for $2.00/lb. Or, you can travel a bit further down the long dirt road and tromp through the fields with basket in hand for $1.25/lb. Personally, I think I'd pay extra for the pick-your-own experience. Few things can say "summer is here" like the sticky-sweet aroma of strawberries baking in the hot May sun.

Husbadoodle and Cass sat back in the shade and I headed for the sea of dark green shrubbery. The picking window is short - 3 weeks at most - so we got there early to get the jump on our competition. There were still quite a few unripened berries, though. I was told by one of the few seasonal workers to push back the leaves and root around near the earth. Sure enough, lumps and mounds that I first took for dirt were actually the plumpest, choicest berries, half-buried by their own weight. I worked my way along the row and every so often I thought, that's more than enough for just the two of us. But the allure of that sugary smell made me drunk with the pleasure of being out, plucking away, watching the berry pulp stain my fingers.

I almost feel like I never really had a strawberry before this. Deeply red and rich and juicy, the skin didn't make a whisper of sound when I bit into it. There was no hint of resistance in the texture.


I'm pretty much ruined for store-bought fruit now. I think I'll head down to the farmer's market on Saturday for some cherries as well. Who knows? Maybe I'll even try my hand at growing a pineapple plant!

Roca Berry Farm reopens in the fall for pumpkin season and goes big with haunted houses and barns, fair-style munchies (candy apples, funnel cakes, kettle corn and more) and hayrides. I know where we'll be getting our jack-o-lanterns this year...