Dad's First GOLD!

Guess who WON GOLD this past weekend at the Youngsville Art & Vino Venue?  MY DAD!  I'm so proud of him!  He was so very excited about winning, too, and rightfully so!  He will be receiving his Gold Medal soon for this Dry Wine.  This was an Amateur Wine Making Contest and it was judged by Wineries in our region.  He received GOLD for the Dry and our dear friend Lynn received a GOLD for her Sweet Wine.  There were only 2 GOLDS awarded.  There were a few Silver, Bronze, and Diamond, I think, too...but...Dad and Lynn's were the only 2 Gold's!  Woot!  Here's a photo of his bottle.  The labels were finished in just the nick of time, too!  He named it Irish Red.  It's a Chianti. 

Recently he started a white wine...a Riesling. I'm looking forward to trying this one!  I thought this dry was great...not overly dry so I guess one could call it a Semi-Dry.  Either way...I really liked it.  It was smooth, too!

This event was so much fun!  We've been vendors with our Wildtree Products each year.

I was able to take a few photos of our set-up before all hell broke loose! LOL!

Once the start time hit - the event-goers seemed to come thru the door fast and furiously!  BUT...it was fun, regardless!

We sold out of the Hot Pepper Jelly - as we tend to do at the events we sample it at!  It's overall our BEST seller - second year running!  As you can see in the first set-up photo in front we had all the Grapeseed Oil Flavors out.  To the right we had 3 'dry' ones for people to try...the Lemon Pepper, Rodeo Rub, and Mediterranean Rub.  In the center of this 2nd photo you will see a wooden stand that we came across and decided to use.  I'm not real sure where my parents came across it but it works nicely!  Looks pretty sharp, too!  On the right hand side you will see the other items...some dips, spreads, sauces, more dry rubs, and some more jams/jellies, too!  It was a FUN Day all around!  And my Dad's very first medal for his wine making!  YAY!

Paco's Pouting, Suzie's Scratching, The Rouse is Rockin', and Sassy Cheesy Salsa

It kind of looks like Paco is pouting here.  I took this picture over the weekend - in the evening - when we were comfy on the sofa.  I believe this was Saturday Evening.  This was before I was so RUDELY Awakened by Suzie at 5am Sunday Morning Nailing just below my left eye as she jump off the back of the sofa and did her best impression of a Guard Dog while seeing something she questioned outside of the Living Room Window!  She woke me out of a dead sleep with that nail-scratch and I'm certain it will scare.  I've been putting Aloe on it a few times each day in hopes it will help in the meantime.  I don't usually wear make-up but I am trying to 'rock' the cover-up today while at work to try and hide it.  WOWZA!  Did that hurt for most of yesterday! 

Suzie knew she 'got me' and was trying to 'butter up' to me the rest of the day yesterday - her way of apologizing.  Of course I couldn't stay mad long.  I mean...LOOK AT This!  I sometimes call her my 'lil pot belly' cuz she lays on her side and shows her belly like a baby pot belly pig.  She cracks me up!  Yeah...so I couldn't stay made long even tho the scratch is clearly visible to everyone I come in contact with.

In other Weekend News - Saturday - during the day we went to Youngsville, PA, for the Rouse Summerfest with our Wildtree Stock.  Rouse is a local historical name known for quite a bit around here.  Now the Rouse Name is known for the Rouse Home/Estates.  It's a Retirement Home/Nursing Home/Transitional Care/Day Care, among other things.  It was a fun time, the weather was cooler than it has been, there were a few bands playing Bluegrass, Oldies/Beach Music, etc.  It rained a little bit but held off until almost the end for the heavier rain.  We didn't do awesome business-wise but we didn't do awful, either.

At the end of a busy weekend and headed into the busiest week of my work year I needed some comfort food and noticed I had some Daiya Cheese I needed to use.  I wanted an EASY sauce type thing for Corn Chips so I added the remainder of the Daiya Shreds into a splash of Almond Milk and melted it down and added a half of a jar of Natural Salsa - Medium - to it.  It's VERY tasty and I have lots to get me thru this week!  I think I might thin a bit out for pasta early this week to stretch it a bit further.  Rice mine work well, too!