Chardonnaystitcher

2011 Those damn stockings!

2011-12-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

I finally finished "those damn christmas stockings" as I lovingly called them. My good friend, Linda has two daughters who gave birth to three girls within a 3 year time frame so I decided to stitch them all birth samplers and Shepherd's Bush christmas stockings. Because I only stitch if I have energy after working, it took me a very long time to get to them. So every time my stitcher friends and I were together, that is all they saw me stitching. They would ask, "hey what are you stitching" I would say, "These damn stockings". However, I think it was worth all of the time and the recipients were very grateful. Here they are:

In addition to these projects, I also finished the Primitive Halloween Sampler and Nora Corbett Dragonfly. The Dragonfly picture doesn't do it justice because you cannot see the details (beads, svarosky crystals, etc.). Here they are:

So, this ends my projects for 2011.

Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year.

Sonoma trip 2011 #1 Bucket List

2011-11-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

Michael and I with our friends Trish and Sean Smith and have always talked about taking trip to wine country once our kids were out of college. So due to the credit card reward points, we were able to do this trip sooner. This was my #1 bucket list item!

We arrived in San Francisco via Chicago yesterday and drove to Sonoma through Saucilito. We stopped at a great restaurant there called Harborview Restaurant. I decided to try to the special which was gnocchi with venison tomato sauce. So I thought that might be dangerous because how many deer do you know are indigenous to california? Well anyway it was delicious regardless of what kind of meat it really was. Trish had ravioli w sausage, spinach and mushrooms which was delicious as well

After lunch we drove to our resort which was the Lodge at Sonoma. We were upgraded to a cottage. The cottage was a large living/bedroom area w fireplace and huge bathroom. Unfortunately the door had a huge (1/2 inch) gap between the bottom seal and door frame so "anything" could slink in. The lodge could not fix it while we were there so I decided to

place a large towel between the gap on the outside. So as you walk by our cottage you see a large towel on the bottom of the door frame. I think it looked suspicious like we are doing something in the cottage. Remember this from college?

First night dinner was at a Thomas Keller restaurant called Ad Hoc. You don't know what that nights meal will be until the afternoon of the day so it's a surprise. We had endive, pear and Argula salad, hanger steak, gorgonzola dolce and carrot cake trifle w pineapple. We rated it a 4.5. Best: unknown menu, Trish fav dessert, colleen salad, mike salad, sean salad
Worst but not bad: flavor of steak, noise, wine pairings too sweet

2nd day breakfast at Sunflower Cafe. We had omelets, sandwiches, goat cheese bagel. Really good breakfast. Trish whose new blog will be named ZinDigger wants me to say that the water in the lobby is the best she has ever tasted. Add that along w the ten million cups of french press she has had so you know how sedate she is: NOT!

Onto the vineyards! We visited the following vineyards: Alexander valley famous for zins purchased Temptation and a reserve Chardonnay, SodaRock purchased a Sauvignon Blanc that tasted like a new Zealand sauvignon, Sausalito also famous for zins purchased a reserve Zin, Pepolito which was famous for noirs (pic w sunflower) and finally, the best winery was Dutcher crossing where we purchased a Cab. We loved this winery because the wine pourers were very knowledgeable, friendly, venue was comfortable and their gardens were beautiful. We saw at least six wineries in and had a great lunch at dry creek general store in 4hrs.(see pic) Our driver, Steve said it was a record. He actually told us to slow down. I think he thought we would get drunk too fast but that never happened.
We paced ourselves very well and drank plenty of water and ate plenty of bread.

Trifethen Vineyard

We ended the evening with a savory meal at which is a Thomas Keller restaurant called Boushons. We had trout w brown butter, roasted chicken (best I ever had) lamb (not a fav) and veal chop. The butternut soup was out of this world and the sorbet was very fresh. That is the best part of this place is the fresh produce. We rated this experience a 4.5 out of 5.

Third day: Onto the spa for facials! And more wineries. Well I had a grape seed scrub done and forgot to request a female for it. My attendant was a man that looked like Cato who lived behind Oj Simpson. That experience was worth a blog page in itself and I will save for a
girl night. We visited the Imagery vineyards where the create different labels for each bottle. We had a great picnic in this winery and drank a bottle of white burgundy. Very summery. Next we visited Arrowwood winery which had a huge wraparound porch with wicker chairs overlooking a huge vista of vineyards. I had a little spat with a few drunk women over chairs but other than that, an extraordinary experience. Our driver then picked us up so that we could visit a few more wineries and a restaurant that was one hour away. We went to chateau st jean where the pourer was absolutely rude but the grounds were beautiful. The grounds that was the memory I will always remember is St Francis. See pic below

St. Francis Vineyard

and you will understand. After a long third day, we decided to eat at Dry Creek kitchen restaurant. We can't tell you how many great and fresh dishes we've had here however this place didn't meet those expectations. The service was poor, portions were very small and bland. We couldnt believe it because of it's reputation so maybe it was a bad night. we rated it a 2.

Fourth day: more spa--facial which was refreshing. Lunch was at Centre da vin. We had ham w gruyere cheese, eggs w cheese and chicken pail lard (pressed chic). Great lunch. Went shopping at sunny vine store in Sonoma and bought a pic and "rooster melamine plates". Boo hoo, we had to drive to San fran to get Sean back for a conference. Michael and I finished our California trip meals at First Crush I had pepper linguini carbonara w cAesar salad and michael had sea bass. (not cooked enough for him but sauces on it were good). rating: 4

BEST parts of the trip, scenery, lobby in hotel w fireplace, spa, chicken at boushons, steve the driver, and the gardens at st Francis and being with our good friends.

Deep Creek Maryland

2011-10-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to be asked to join another stitching group for a cross stitch retreat at Deep Creek Maryland last weekend. These stitchers were from the New Kensington area and every year, they get together to eat, stitch and enjoy each others company. Only knowing 3 of them, I was not sure I would enjoy it but I DID!! I met Gail and Marianne who lived in the "city" growing up as I did and we talked about the "dah tahn" shops such as the Jenkins Arcade Button Shop, Kaufmann's, street cars, etc. I met Becky who is an engineer with a great sense of humor. I met a retired teacher named Joanne who was fun to stitch with. Shavonne who is dating a man who wanted to start a Bee farm (she had some interesting facts about that), Chris who was very nice and friendly and Lynn who I always thought was shy but was funny and outgoing and knew alot about football. And of course, my friends, Linda, Nancy and Andrea.

We arrived on Friday and left on Monday. We stayed in a 6 bedroom house very close to the lake: Fir Shore. The house was great and very cozy. I felt like I was at a gourmet restaurant because the meals were savory and very filling. We ate pulled pork (the best I ever tasted) sandwiches, chicken merlot, chicken parmesan (again, the best i ever tasted), spinach salad with apples and pecans and pulled beef braised for 24 hrs in beer. I can't even name all of the desserts but one of them that I remember was pistachio mousse. The breakfast selections were fruit along with a sausage and bacon casserole and french toast casserole (which was a dessert in itself).

The stitchers were very various walks of life and different personalities but we all got along. We stitched alot, , went shopping, watched the steeler game and ended our Sunday night with a 60s sing a long.

What a great fall weekend and a get way to meet new friends.

san francisco trip

2011-10-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

I had a business trip in San Francisco so my husband, Michael decided to join me. This was our first official trip as empty nesters AND our first trip away without our sons, EVER!

We took a tour of San Fran bay, ate Dungess crabs at Franciscan restaurant on Fisherman's wharf and took a scary cable car ride back to our hotel. We ate a great cheap breakfast at Cafe Restaurant which was across the street from the Hilton Hotel, (great deals) and Thai food at Mung Thai which was also located across from the Hilton. Our favorite meal was at Anzu cafe in Hotel Niko. They had a lunch special that included soup, crab roll, ahi tuna, salad and strawberries with creme freche (sp?) all for $18.

On the last day of the trip, we decided to rent a car and drive the coast (Route 1) towards Pebble Beach. These are some of the pics from that trip.

At Spanish Bay (Pebble Beach), there is a tradition that our friends the Tamalias told us about. Everyday at dusk, everyone sits on the veranda around large fire pits, and waits for a lone Scottish bagpiper to come off of the golf course playing music. The day we were there, there was a thick fog coming in so as the bagpiper played and walked from the course, he walked through the fog. It was like something out of Wuthering Heights (the moors). It was dream like. This is a memory that will last forever.

We ate at Sardine Factory in Monteray and stayed at the Monteray Marriott. Hotel was great, restaurant was like the Baltimore House in Pittsburgh (ugh!)

My business activities were also successful. We spoke with a lot of potential physician recruits. While we were sitting around waiting for recruits, a group of ER docs that I work with and I have decided that we will start a group through our company to gather all of the physicians and healthcare providers that work in ERs that want to volunteer in clinics or with the homeless. Some of them volunteer their time in Guatemala and work in clinics. They need all types of supplies and medicines to take with them so we've decided if we send out emails to people who want to help, this will get them the supplies they need. So we decided to call the project:
ERMI Pays Forward.
(ERMI is the name of our company).

So, all in all, this trip was successful and fun. That's a great combination.

Shop and Hop

2011-08-22T17:59:00.001-07:00

This past week, my cross stitch friends, Nancy, Deb, Janice and I went on a car trip to Ohio to visit 3 xstitch shops. We visited Blueberry Hill, Just Stitching and Crafty Ewe. Needless to say, we purchased lots and lots of stash. Nancy called me an enabler because she would show me a pattern and I would say it would be fun to stitch SO SHE WOULD BUY IT. Nancy bought the mystery sampler series which really looked like fun to stitch. We saw the end product. Deb and Janice bought lots of great stuff too.

My purchases were limited because I have so much stash, that I will not be able to finish it (on one trip, I counted how long it would take to stitch all of my projects) if I lived to be 100 years old. But, of course, I bought three patterns and fabric and thread for one.

The first one is a Primitive Needle Halloween pattern Kindred Spirits. I admired this at a retreat and when I went to go back to buy it, it was gone so this time, I bought it. I even started it.

The second project I purchased was a Heritage Sampler by AuryTM. It may not look beautiful but we saw it completed in Just Stitching. This project alone will take me years but it called to me and Nancy.

My last purchased project was a Celtic Welcome. Of course, I can't tell you how many Celtic patterns I have and have not even started yet, but as you all know, I HAD TO HAVE IT to fondle while I stitch other projects so I keep it on my ottoman and look at it everyday. This is what I do for patterns that I love but have not started.

After many purchases and many food stops (great bakery next door to Just Stitching), we arrived in Pittsburgh 12 hrs after we left. It was a fun day!

I thought I would end this blog with a funny. When I was looking for the pictures of my cross stitch patterns on my blackberry, I came across this pic from vacation. No, this is not Khaka Khan and its not a pic from the 70s either. This is my son and me at Hilton Head. My goal for vacation this year was to go "Bohemian". I packed 4 pairs of shorts and 6 shirts, all in one small suitcase. In addition, I decided not to do ANYTHING to my hair: no products, no straight ironing, NOTHING AND ITS SHOWS. Everyone, get a good laugh because I will never do this again!

Be back at you next week!

Books I've read part 2

2011-08-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Bound-4
Twilight series-3
A change in altitude-3
A discovery of witches-3
Does the noise in my head bother you-steve Tyler book. 2
An echo in the bone-4
The English teacher-3
Fly away home-4
Folly beach-4
The heretics daughter-3
House rules-3
I still dream about you- Fannie flagg book. 3
Maine-4
The rebellion of Jane Clarke-3
The red garden-4
The red queen-4
Rescue-3
Room-2. Very disturbing
Sing you home-3
Snow in july-3
South of broad-4
The weird sisters-3
While my sister sleeps-3
The wise woman-3
The wolves of Andover-4

Now I am up to date

Underground Book Club reads

2011-08-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

So, if you are reading my blog, I would skip this section unless you are an avid reader. I wanted to share or document the books that i've read in the past few years. I've been a avid reader since I was 16 years old which is about 36 years so this list is not complete. I've even added a rating (my rating scale 1-5 5 being one of the best books I've read ever).

I've belonged to a book club has been in existence since 2004. We meet once a month and the group has grown. We are called the underground book club and that is because we were originally part of a local women's club but did not want to pay the dues to continue to be in a book club so "we went underground". Below is a list of my Book club reads. We rate them as I mentioned above and we also share what "color" we saw when we were reading the books. The latter I did not share with you.

The Summons-3
LaCucina-3 beach book; not an epic novel
Me Talk Pretty One Day-2
Big Cherry Hollar-4
The Devil Wears Prada-2
Red Tent-5
The Secret Life of Bees-5
DaVinci Code-4 (at the time, I was offended because it was anti-Catholic but now I would have given it a 5)
No More 2nd Chances-0 not even on my scale
Queen Noir-3
Time Travelers Wife-3
Old School-3
Girl with the Pearl Earring-4
Memoirs of a Geisha-4
To kill a Mockingbird-5 all time favorite character SCOUT
Lost Girls-1
Portrait of Sepia-3
The Midwives Tale-4.5 local author who called into our book club
The #1 Ladies Detective Agency-2.3 good HBO series
The Birth of Venus-5
The Purpose Driven Life-2
East of Eden-4
Amateur Marriage-1
Queen of the Big Time-4
The Plain Truth-3
City of Falling Angels-2
The Kite Runner-4
A Tree Grows in Brookln-4
Devil in the White City-2
Triangle-4
Confessions of a Memory Eater-odd 2
The Last Days of Dogtown-same author as Red Tent not as good 3
Shadow in the Wind-3
The Brief History of the Dead-4
The Glass Castle-4
The Namesake-4
In the company of the Courtesan-3
Pride & Prejudice-3
Finn-2.5 also met with Author which was a great experience
Under the banner of heaven-3 enlightening
Evening-2.5
Nineteen Minutes-3
Thousand Splendid Suns-4
Loving Frank-4 book BY mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright
Water for elephants-4
Eat Pray Love-3
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox-4
Every Last Cuckoo-3
People of the Book-4
Peony in Love-3
Love in the Time of Cholera-2
The Lace Reader-3.5
Peace Life a River-4
Pillars of the Earth-4
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society-4
Sarahs Key-4
The Reader-3 disturbing
Unaccustomed Earth-4
Lamb Gospel According to Biff (Jesus' best friend)-5 Funniest book I've ever read
Flowers for Algernon-3
Firefly Lane-3 good beach book
Girl with the green dragon tattoo-2
American Wife-3 resembled Laura Bush's life
The Little Book-0
The Help-5
Cold Sassy Tree-3
City of Thieves-4
Remarkable Creatures-3
True Confections-3
The Gargoyle-4
Post Mistress-4
The Lost Symbol-3
The Reliable Wife-3
Let The Great wolf Spin-3
The Girl who played with fire-2
Crossing to Safety-3
Franklin & Eleanor-3.5 interesting and different view of Eleanor
Cutting for Stone-4
What the dog saw-2
Half Broke Horses-3
I Think I love You-4
The Widows War-4 Trilogy

Next post, the books I read outside of book club.

Vacation 2011. Hilton head

2011-08-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

As I said in my previous post, I wanted to document my trips. Our trip to hh was great this year. We did some memorable things. One of which was a sea turtle watch. We were taken on the beach at night where we inventoried a nest of 158 eggs that hatched, saw baby turtles swim to the sea and saw plankton in the ocean waves that looked like fireflies. they said it was a rare night wand we were lucky.

We ate at great restaurants: EAT which is Robert irvines place, red fish, smokehouse, Kenny bs, mellow mushroom and in Columbia sc. Docs BBQ and southern buffet. We also stopped in charleston sc,stayed w the smiths and ate at magnolias.

The other relaxing activities were sitting on balcony oceanfront w M sipping wine and reading 4 great books on the beach. One of which was lacemakers of glenmaura.

Pretty boring post but required for prosperity.

Be back at you!

Beginning a new phase of my blessed life!

2011-08-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at a blog. I felt the need to start a blog later in my life (over 50) because I am starting a new phase of my life: my last son T. is going to college and I am going to be an empty nester. I always wanted to write in a journal but never had the time because of the boys so I thought because I now have time, I would start one and not have to handwrite the info. In addition, I have a friend, Lee whose blog is hilarious and very written so she inspired me as well. It will be a place where I will document my stitching projects, my favorite pics, my favorite vacation events/restaurants, and the books that I've read. However, it felt a little egotistical to me to write a blog because you think who would want to read it, but my intent is to document; not be reading material for anyone. So here goes.

I am a woman in my fifties who is married to a great man, has lived and worked in Pittsburgh, PA my whole life, has two wonderful sons, loves to read, sing, crossstitch and travel (in that order). While on vacation this week, I decided I wanted to blog my experiences so on my way back from Hilton Head, my son and I spent a good part of the trip deciding what my blog name would be. I thought it should be a name that described my interests or who I am but that name was too long such as Pittsburgh Irish Girl (my name means "girl" in gaelic) or PIttsburghirishgirlsingerstitcher. My son thought my name should represent something that I say often such as "I want to poke their eyes out" or "because I say so" or "I am going to write them an email". Since none of those names were catchy enough, we decided my blog name should be something that I always do when I stitch: Chardonnay Stitcher. I think you understand the significance! (as I write my husband, M. brought me up a glass of chard so maybe I should change my name to Chardonnay Blogger???

The next part of this blog you may skip unless you are a cross stitcher. I've always wanted a place to save my cross stitch projects that I've completed and share with my fellow cross stitchers (since I am always giving them away).

So as I go to my pics file to insert the numerous xstitch projects that I've done for my friends, I CANNOT FIND THE PICS except for these two. How pathetic is that! I've waited all this time to share and I can't find the pics. So, if any of the recipients read my blog, please take a picture of the project that I stitched and email it to me. Anyway, these are 2 of the 8 DAMN STOCKINGS. (There is a joke behind the use of the word "damn"). I had been stitching stockings for so long at my Friday night stitch group that when they would ask me what I was stitching, I would answer, another one of those damn stockings.

I have so much more to share but I need to do some "real" work. In my travel home from vaca, I also felt that I should have a ending thought for those who read this such as something like, Stay Classy, San Diego or Be careful out there so here it is. It is a quote from the a dead person I would like to have dinner with: Eleanor Roosevelt. I think that it represents the way I want to live the next 50 years of my life (since I am all about goal setting).

Happiness is not a goal but a by-product. Be back at you!