WillThink4Wine

Wine is both pleasing to my palate and soothing to my spirit.

Being the wine-lover than I am, I have to say that in my view there is very little that can’t be improved upon simply by pairing it with a nice glass of wine. Reading a book, a small gathering of family & friends, a quiet evening on the sofa, wine chats with the SisterDears, an airplane flight and even blogging all go well with a nice glass of wine.

Planning a great meal? Pair it with a nice wine that will compliment your food. The right wine actually makes the food taste better, and vice-versa. My best advice to new wine drinkers: Give yourself permission to ignore the white meat, white wine/red meat, red wine rule. If you like it, that’s all that really matters. Personally, I drink reds almost exclusively.

Panic Disorder

I have suffered from Panic Disorder since my early teenage years. Of course, at the time I didn’t know what it was, but I found that if I stayed busy cleaning, it helped a lot. Fortunately, being the oldest of eight children, there was always something to clean!

I also realized that if I allowed myself to become over-tired I was more susceptible to having an Attack. That’s just one of the reasons I try to be in bed by 8:00 every night… That, and when I’m well-rested, I also tend to be in a better mood and therefore less apt to bite someone’s head off!

When I first discovered my love of wine, I also discovered a wonderful Perk! Not only did it taste wonderful, but it relaxed me like nothing else ever had!

I have written before that I have a Love/Hate relationship with flying. I love that it can transport me so quickly to someone I wish to spend time with, but I hate that it also will trigger a Panic Attack.

It’s Wine-Thirty somewhere!

Not long after 9-11, I booked the only available flight into SisterDear2’s airport. It happened to be a very early morning flight, which meant I would not have my coping mechanism available. I finally decided to make an appointment with the doctor. I was hoping for a “magic pill” that I could take for the flight up and back. To make a long story short, he told me to disregard the time of the flight. Since wine works so well for me I was to imagine myself to be an International Traveler - and it was Cocktail hour somewhere! That’s how I got my tagline “It’s Wine-thirty somewhere!”

I’ll admit that I felt a little creepy ordering wine so early in the morning, but I’m so glad I did! In fact, I ordered several of those teeny tiny wine bottles! I had a wonderful flight, and while my fellow passengers may have thought me an alcoholic, they were blissfully unaware of the consequence of being in close proximity of a strapped-in woman in the midst of a full-blown Panic Attack! For three hours!!

Bye-Bye Paxil, Hello, Cabernet!

Tags: Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder, Simple Pleasures, Wine

I finally did it. I moved my blog to it’s own domain!

I’ve authored my own commercial website for about 10 years now, so I wasn’t expecting as many stumbling blocks as I encountered. It took quite some time to find a Theme I was happy with (hopefully, I won’t hate this in a day or two). I also struggled with blogging software, installation issues and finding what I hope is the right Host.

The two things that have amazed me the most though is the difference between Wordpress.com blogs and Wordpress.org blogging, and how much my brain freezes when I switch back and forth between the Blogger blogs and the Wordpress blogs.

Thank Goodness my cats are here with me, helping to keep me straight!

So. Welcome to WillThink4Wine.com!

Sit. Stay. Good Blogger. 

Cheers.

Tags: WillThink4Wine, Wine

I used to live in beautiful Lakeland, FL.

Lakeland is a wonderful city. It’s just about right… not so small that you don’t have all the amenities of a big city, but not so big that you have all the horrors of a really big city (crime, traffic, etc.). Although, when I left nearly 2 years ago, it had crossed the imaginary line in my head for “too big for me”. When I first moved to Lakeland it had under 50,000 residents. It is now over 90,000. I actually had to put on my turn signal to turn into my own driveway or risk being rear-ended.

Lakeland is located nearly in the center of the state and midway between Tampa & Orlando. It is the lightning capital of the US. As its’ name implies, it has many beautiful lakes. Two of my favorites, where I spent many evenings under the stars, are Lake Mirror and Lake Morton. Lakeland has also lots to offer in the way of Arts & Entertainment, including a marvelous Symphony Orchestra, Museums and great dining.

During my 15 years living in Lakeland, the city hired professionals to totally revitalize the downtown area. It is a marvelous place to eat, shop, enjoy the parks or just stroll the sidewalks and many outdoor Bistros.

But what I really miss about Lakeland is George. George was my “go-to guy” for wine.

There is a tiny wine store tucked away in an old plaza on the southside. It is there that you will find Vintage Wine Cellars, and it is there that you will find George.

I am a member of the Wine Taster’s Guild, or I was. Since moving to Georgia I have not found a wine store who offers Wine Pairings or even Wine Tastings, never mind Taster’s Guild membership. To my utter amazement, when I received my first membership card in the mail I discovered that Bronson Mela, the then esteemed owner of Vintage Wine Cellars, had the dubious distinction of being Chapter #001 of the Taster’s Guild. (Don’t I have fancy pants now, eh?) And as brilliant as Bronson was when it came to really knowing wine, George knew my preferences. Bronson mentored George well over the years; George is no wine slouch, either.

The most wonderful thing I love about George? All I had to do was call George and ask him to mix me a case. Presto! An hour later I’m watching George load the wine into my car - Thoughtfully hand picked just for me, packed in a case and my credit card billed; all by George. Seriously, how cool is that? Never once was I disappointed in George’s choices for me. He really understood the types of wines I especially enjoy.

I may have to take a drive to Lakeland again soon. I feel the need to reconnect with some dear friends. But, George, I miss you most of all! And George, my Spiegelau Vino Grande no longer runneth over. It is empty. Salute.

Tags: Wine

As luck would have it, nothing is cheap anymore. Salute.

It was 82 here today.. how the heck can you get in the mood to put ornaments on the tree in 82 degree weather? What happened to that nice cold front that we had all week when I couldn’t decorate because I had to work? It was 32 at night and only in the 50’s-60’s during the day. I was so looking forward to a nice cozy fire, Christmas music and wine. Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown.

My niece is on the warpath again; another manic phase coinciding with the end of the semester and the Christmas holidays. Now you know this can not be good. *sigh* And yet her mother, my sister the saint, is still in a festive, happy mood. I truly cannot imagine how she does it. God must have given her a double dose of patience and understanding. A mother’s love would not suffice.

My cats sat under the tree ALL day today while the squirrels collected pecans for the winter. They lay there just waiting. Never moving for hour after hour. Alas; not a single squirrel fell into their clever trap.

Well, tomorrow is another day.

Cheers.

I personally do not know anybody who has actually had an amicable divorce, as I did. Mr. X and I remain friends, albeit distant (we don’t even live in the same state anymore). In fact, my parents still miss him, especially my Dad.

After dating 5 years, I married my high school sweetheart. We certainly thought it would be As the years passed, we did less and less together, each following our own hobbies and pastimes. Soon, we even developed separate friends. Eventually we began taking separate vacations. During those last few years, we essentially shared morning coffee and the occasional supper.

Thirteen years ago, after 21 years of marriage, we decided to go our separate ways. We spent our last night together crying and hugging each other all through the night. Loving each other was never our problem. We did not hire attorneys. We did not fight over possessions. Because we were not fortunate enough to be able to have children, there was no child-custody issue. We harbored no ill-will towards the other. Total cost of our divorce? $120.00.

We each hugged and said goodbye to our oldest and dearest friend outside the courthouse. We wished each other health and happiness. It remains the single hardest thing I have ever done.

Mr. X has since remarried, this time to someone who shares many of his interests. He is now “Grandpa” to his step-daughter’s son. He is happy.

While I have remained single, I am quite content with my life. I’m not saying that I will never remarry, but I rather doubt it. I’ve gotten very ’settled’ and quite used to having everything exactly as I like it.

So Mr. X, be well. Oh, and Dad says “hi”.

Cheers to you!

Tags: Mr X, Music, Wine

I have always looked for any excuse to have Gatherings. I want to gather together all the people and things that I love into one place at the same time. Small World? I certainly don’t think so. I think it’s much too big. We’re scattered here, there and everywhere. Our schedules make it nearly impossible to gather. Someone always has to work, is studying for a Mid-term, will be out of town, or their child is sick, has a Soccer game, dance class or football practice… You see my point. We’re too busy.

I have 3 sisters who live very close to each other. I live 1,220.2 miles from them. While we do speak to each other almost daily, my sisters rarely get together except when I make my annual trek ”home”. I find this incredibly sad. I long for simple things, such as stopping by for a cup of tea or coffee together on my way home after an errand. Simple things that far too many people take for granted. So, that’s what this Blog is about…. Simple things. Simple pleasures. Family. Friends. Cats. Gatherings. Food. Wine.