I have been in many places, but I’ve never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can’t go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I’ve also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don’t have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I’m not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

I’ve been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I’m in Capable, and I go there more often as I’m getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

And, sometimes I think I am in Vincible but life shows me I am not!

I have been in Deepshit many times; the older I get, the easier it is to get there.

I found a certificate online for a golf club fitting at Hot Stix.  My friend, Dave, and I decided to each purchase one and go together for the fittings. Dave called and made the appointments and , being paranoid as he is, he confirmed with them no less than 4 times.  When we arrived we were told that there had been a schedule glitch and that we would have to take turns being fitted.  Well, I can tell you that that did not sit well with Dave who proceeded to offer a piece of his mind in which he held nothing back.  To the credit of Hot Stix, they apologized profusely and then offered both of us a second fitting at no charge in which they would work with whatever they didn’t do this time.  The fittings are for either woods or irons. Dave chose woods and I chose irons so now we each get to do the other.  Yeah!!!!  I had such a hard time deciding and, once I found out that my clubs are too short, the shafts are too weak and the lie is off, I probably really need to find out how bad my woods are. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why I haven’t broken par:-P 

When we scheduled, everyone told me that they would push really hard to get me to purchase very expensive clubs from them. I found that not to be the case as did Dave.  As a matter of fact, they wrote down all of the information on the driver Dave wanted so that he could go and purchase it anywhere he wanted.  They were really just great and I would definitely recommend them to anyone who wants to check out their equipment and strengthen their game. They do the fittings at Legend Trail Golf Club where the views are beautiful and all in all, I think it is a wonderful experience

I spent last week in Napa Valley and was fortunate enough to arrive in the middle of the crush.  If you have not yet enjoyed that experience, I highly recommend it.  It usually happens anywhere from early September until mid to late October.  This year was very late due to the crazy climate the wine country has been living with.  The air is full of the smell of grapes and the roads are filled with trucks hauling grapes to and from the vineyards. I love to drive with the car windows open and sit outside for meals. I don’t know if there is anything quite like the sensuality of smelling fresh crushed grapes. During harvest, it’s best to go during the week because weekends can get crazy with the number of visitors.  Most wineries have parties and celebrations and they invite lots and lots of people to come and enjoy. There are always great bargains as many of the wineries greatly discount some of their wines in order to make room for the new vintages. Rooms can be hard to come by so it’s best to plan ahead.  I love flying into Sacramento instead of Oakland or San Francisco because the drive is so much easier and the airport is smaller and also it is just beautiful.  They just opened a new terminal which houses Southwest Air and it is really first class.

We decided to seek out some boutique wineries that we had never visited before along with some of our all time favorites.  A few of the new ones were Dancing Hares and Redmon.  They both make incredible big reds that rival most wines I have tasted anywhere.  They are very, very small and off the beaten path so not easy to find.  Appointments are a must as they are just not open to the public like some of the larger tasting rooms.

Of course a trip to Napa just wouldn’t be complete without visits to our favorite restaurants.  Bistro Jeanty in Yountville is a completely charming little French restaurant with a charming patio, a small friendly bar area and a community table in addition to regular seating.  We always opt for the bar or community table where you are likely to meet lots of the locals who work or own the wineries.  It’s always a delightful time with lots of laughter, good wine, great food and shared knowledge. Michael’s favorite is Steak Tartare and their version is a homerun for him. Mustard’s and Bistro Don Giovanni are a couple more stand by’s and they never disappoint. Good to know that wherever you eat in Napa you are welcome to bring your own wine so we always purchase a bottle of one of our favorite tastings and take it along to lunch or dinner.

I guess I am going to just have to dream about Napa and Sonoma and Dry Creek and Alexander Valley and Santa Rosa – - oh sorry – I started to get carried away there.  At any rate, I’ll be looking forward to my next trip in the early spring.

ONIONS
PLEASE READ TO THE END: IMPORTANT

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that
visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.
Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very
healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different,
the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the
rooms of the home (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn’t
believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under
the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu
virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping
the family healthy.
Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several
years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were
many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions
around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must
work. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never
got the flu.

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who
regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this
most interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don’t know about the farmers story, but, I do
know that I contracted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill. I came
across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an
empty jar…placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the
onion would be black in the morning from the germs.. sure enough it happened
just like that.. the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around
the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful
antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note.

Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don’t know what to blame.
Maybe it’s the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria which is why they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu’s.  It is also
the very reason we shouldn’t eat an onion that has been sitting for a time
after it has been cut open.

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS!!!!

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of
mayonnaise.. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the
Mullins family. My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.

Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned
from a chemist.

One of the brothers, Ed, guided our tour. Ed is a
chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formulas -
he even developed sauce formula for McDonald’s.

Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone
asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always
worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed’s answer will surprise you. Ed said
that all commercially- made Mayo is completely safe.

“Mayonnaise doesn’t even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but
it’s not really necessary.” He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at
a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked
about the quintessential picnic with the bowl of potato salad sitting on
the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials
look for is when the ‘victim’ last ate ONIONS and where those onions came
from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it’s not the mayonnaise (as long as
it’s not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It’s probably the
onions, and if not the onions, it’s the POTATOES.

He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked
onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion. He says
it’s not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your
refrigerator.

It’s already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit,
that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you
put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!) Ed says if you take the
leftover onion and cook it like crazy you’ll probably be okay, but
if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you’re
asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato
salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial
mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook
the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and
creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections
because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

O.K. I know I have a strange sense of humor and probably have been known to laugh at inappropriate things at times, but I have got to tell you that I got such a chuckle out of this that I just had to pass it along.  We all know that we are in the midst of a crisis in this country with bed bug infestation.  From what I hear, there are now bed bug sniffing dogs that have proven to be the most effective means of getting rid of the little critters.  Contrary to what we might think, the dogs find the little pests in corners in rooms and behind draperies and such. Sounds to me like the little buggers are smarter than the average nuisance because we tend to think we might locate them hiding beneath our lovely down comforters not holed up in the dark corner of the room.  Well, anyway, I do hope I never have to go in search of these canines for a problem in my own house.  Do keep in mind though when you might be tempted to purchase something in a consignment store, you never know what unwelcome guests might be following you home.

I’ll get right to the point here though and that is – should you ever have reason to suspect that you are hosting these offensive buggers, do not, under any circumstances, try to eradicate them yourself. I am here to tell you that you will be taking your life in your hands and that would be much more painful than a few red welts covering your assets. Just this morning, I read that dozens of Americans have fallen ill from using insecticides on their own.  As a matter of fact a North Carolina woman actually died after using 18 cans of chemical fogger to attack the tiny little blood suckers. I wonder who croaked first – her or the bugs.  Try to imagine breathing in that bedroom and run for the gas mask. Sad that the federal health officials have to issue a warning for consumers to be careful when attempting to kill the reddish brown little insects.

I’ll close by saying that though their bites cause itching and welts, they are not known to spread disease. They are a major hassle. In recent national surveys of exterminators, bed bugs were named the toughest pests to get rid of. I wonder if I could find a way for those sniffing dogs to train me. Makes you think twice about which hotels you stay in doesn’t it???