Aunt B Drinks. Yes, another wine post. I am just finishing up a bottle of Schnink Haus Auslese- 2004 . Product of Germany.

I like sweet wines, and this is sweet and fruity. This is in a blue bottle and is about $14.00 at our local Paradise Meats. The blue bottle is a 200 year old tradition representing dependable quality and great value. It is suppose to be a "fun" wine.

A little info about the winery: the Schlink Haus winery is a small family-owned and operated enterprise in Germany's spa town of Bad Kreuznach on the Nahe river. In 2004, they joined a pink ribbon campaign to donate a minimum of $75,000 to the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization.

I like the sweet taste, but haven't had just the right food to go with it. Looks like they(the winery) have good and right intentions, so I think it is a good choice. You be the judge.

I'm wild about orchids. I recently went to a lecture about wild orchids of Michigan. In my search for orchids on our property, I know I can identify three: purple fringe, , yellow lady slipper, and pink lady slippers. I don't know a great deal about each orchid, but they were a surprise to find since I never knew, as a child on this farm, that they existed. They seem so rare and exotic in the wild.

At the moment, I have only two house orchid plants: a miniature dendrobrium and a pink orchid ( I lost the tag) the kind one would wear for a corsage. They are thriving considering the dryness and sporatic neglect.


I got my first orchids at a yard sale. Yes, my neighbors grew wonderful orchids. Since the first ones, I have done a good job of killing them off especially when I try to transplant them. Now, I just sink the whole pot into orchid potting chips. That way, I don't disturb the roots. I have beautiful fragrant flowers when, at last, they bloom. I can appreciate the lure of the orchid in Victorian times. And, I can't wait until spring so I can begin my own search of the orchids on Wyndehill Farm.

Of course, I should start out the new year with a book review. Lessons in Becoming Myself by Ellen Burstyn has been a refreshing pleasure to read. It was a Christmas present form BF.

Now, I know very little about Hollywood or movie stars or movies or Broadway plays, but Ellen has received my deepest respect for what she has done for the acting profession and for women. This book is about her life with its many successes and failures. It is her great search to find out why she was placed on this earth. Certainly, a question most of us ask.

I found her quest to put women in heroic roles much to be applauded. She has been nominated six times for an Academy Award, and won the Best Actress Oscar in 1974 for "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" co-staring with Kris Kristofferson. She also starred in "The Exorcist" which has become a classic and many other plays and movies.

However, her personal life was mostly in shambles and her story leads to Sufism and a spiritual quest. This was the part that really interested me since it would seem so hard for a movie star to get beyond the glitz and glamour. I applaud her tenacity and faith.

Anyway, the book gave me many new ideas to ponder and sources to delve into. I mentioned that the book was refreshing because Ellen Burstyn seems truly interested in the world and its people. With all of the ugly news from Hollywood, it gives me another thread of hope.

You people who keep up with Hollywood and movie stars should definitely read it.

Happy New Year! 2007, it's great to be here. My 100th post and a new year, must be a record. I have accomplished one of my retirement to- dos. I am really enjoying blogging. Thanks to everyone who reads my posts and to those who respond. Sometimes I think my life is very humdrum, but as I look back over the year,well, it ain't been too shabby. Tune in for the next round.

Did I mention that Aunt B eats? Our good and gracious friends the J's came to visit us after church today.

We had a brunch consisting of BLT dip served with sesame and flax seed chips, Montgomery's cheddar cheese and assorted crackers, and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon drowning in a bath of sweet BBQ sauce.

We exchanged gifts and talked and talked and talked. We don't see each other much and so had a lot to catch up on. They were spending the evening with their son, his wife, and young daughter. We can't wait until they both are retired so they can spend more time with us Up North.

And again, a special Christmas gift- their friendship.

Aunt B Eats and Drinks. What a marvelous end of the year dinner. We ate Japanese cuisine cooked by RT and his wife HT.

Let's see, we had avocado and shrimp salad served in the avocado shell, pork and green onion shish kabobs, sushi with omelet and mushroom and sushi with tuna, fried asparagus wrapped in bacon, all kinds of interesting crackers and chips served with tofu dip, cheese ( not Japanese), fresh persimmon wedges, and for dessert a coconut custard with fresh mango topping. I also had two margaritas.

It was a wonderful get together with longtime friends, their children, and grandchildren. Lots of stories, lots of laughter, the dog offering everyone his hedgehog toy, a cozy fire, and the best of companionship. What more could one ask for on the last day of this year? It was another special Christmas gift.

Three more posts and I'll reach 100 before the new year. We've been invited to CT's for Japanese dinner prepared by her son RT. I'll report more later.

If you like a sweet wine, I found a good one. Now, I know this is a little late for your New Year's Eve celebration, but I think this is a really tasty, go-with-anything, table wine. It is definitely a step up from the usual Riesling wines you find at the grocery store.

It's called Lingenfelder and it's a 2004 Riesling, a product of Germany with the bird label. At our local Paradise Meats it cost $13.99. We had it with our Christmas dinner, chicken and ham, and it was a very pleasant accompaniment, not too sweet with a full body, no aftertaste.

Here's some info about the wine from the Vancouver Magazine , April 2001,
"Lingenfelder is a small family property in the Pfalz region. Winemaker Karl-Rainer Lingenfelder shows his confident, experimental side in this fresh, barely off-dry style. The light-bodied, aromatic mix of peach, ripe apple and honeyed citrus is kept simple, reflecting a philosophy of making wines with the least manipulation possible to retain natural character and complexity. Bird Label is Lingenfelder's only bottled wine using non-estate grapes, but an effective testimony to the 100-percent riesling recipe."

So, here is my new blog title- Aunt B drinks. Cheers!