Too long... too long... and TOO HOT!

I am remiss... I am lazy.... I am a bad bloggin' grammy! I look at my kids' blogs daily and sigh when nothing is there.. but here I am letting nearly a month pass without a word of my own! Is my life so uninteresting? (in a word... yes...)

I am tired of school already... and September is not even over yet! My kids are okay... my classes are okay... but I am not really all here! It is the autumn of my discontent. The weird thing is that Ed is in a bit of the same mood as well. We need a pick-me-up.. or a good swift kick in the pants! I am not sure which.

Today was a day spent entirely in faculty meetings. Planning curriculum... now THERE's a project that will make you start babbling and crying! But this too shall pass.

It would help a great deal if the 90 degree temps would GO AWAY. It is time for sweaters, crunchy leaves, and cool nights. I need it to come SOON! This endless summer is creepy.... global warming is real and I hate it! COME ON FALL... get with it!

Bella Notte! August 24th, 2007

I am a little behind in getting this post placed, but wanted to post the first ever "Taste of Tuscany" Dinner held at Rolling Meadows. The dinner was purchased by the Hoenigs and 3 other couples at the LHS Dinner Auction last March. The date was finally set for Aug.24th. The candles were lit and Italian music was playing in the background, as my best friend, Carol Gaunt, and Gretchen put their phenomenal chef skills to work and created a dinner that will long go down as the most sumptious ever served in our little dining room!

It all began with Antipasti and Bruschetta starters with a wine tasting and walk in the vineyard as the sun set low in the west. Next came salad... a pear and bleu cheese with light balsmaic/vinagrette dressing, then a dash of sherbet and champagne to prep the palate for the next course. The main course included fire-grilled Tuscan vegetables, Italian Saliccia roasted and served on cheesy bread, and Spinach and Cheese Cannelloni. All served with the diner's choice of wine. Finally, dessert was a parfait of chocolate brownies, vanilla icecream, and raspberries, layered with homemade hot fudge! OH MY it was good!


The Rohlfings, the Schmidts, the Boyers, and the Hoenigs arrive for their "Taste of Tuscany!"


A pretty table awaited the guests.


First comes the antipasti!


Gretchen and Carol were in their element assembling this dinner!


Ed took the diners on a tour of RMV wines.

Labor Day - Relaxing with Friends

I absolutely LOVE Labor Day weekend! It's right up there with the 4th of July! You don't shop, send cards, or feel frantic... you just relax, kick back, and "honor the American Laborer"! Hey that's us... we labor! We teach the laborers of the future too! So this Labor Day weekend we started by having dinner with our friends out at the vineyard. We drank wine and ate bruschetta till we thought we'd burst. Then we ate pasta, grilled Italian sausages, and salad... and of course, drank some more wine. Then we cued up the deer to romp in the meadow and it was a perfect evening! You gotta love Labor Day!

Everyone took a walk near sunset.


Isaiah is the cutest!


A classic Gaunt grin!


Just as we told about our deer herd... on cue, enter stage left... one deer!


Then when we had a good fifteen minutes to watch her, she decided to romp away.

Harvest at Rolling Meadows - 2007

Well, it was a strange year for grapes. It all began to go crazy back last Easter with a killing freeze. (that was good-bye to the red grapes). Next came a drought, followed by 3 weeks of record high temps which bumped harvest up nearly 2 weeks. Somewhere in there we also attracted the attention of a herd of 14 deer who LOVE to eat grapes. Bottom line... it took only 1 weekend to harvest what we usually take 3-4 weekends to harvest. However, thanks to a little help from 3 of our students... we had a great time bringing in the Seyvals and the Niagaras. And remember... there's always NEXT year!

Stacey hunts for Niagaras.


Zach enjoyed driving the tractor.


Ed ran the press.


Eric loads another lug into the crusher/destemmer.


Here comes a nice Seyval Blanc.... stage one!