I am a Wine-Drinking Country Music Lover

Yes...I am a Country Music Lover
Country Music Television (CMT) has a new show called Giants which plans to honor the giants of country music. Reba McEntire is the first CMT Giant. Tonight it aired. I only watched the last hour of a 2 hr 20 minute show, but it sure was fun seeing/hearing other artists perform her songs in tribute. Yes...I am a country music lover. As such, I am also excited to see that Toby Keith is making his movie debut (on CMT, of course) with none other than Willie Nelson! Willie is one of my longtime loves. One of my favorite CDs (I originally had the cassette tape and wore it out over the years) is the 1981 Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits and Some That Will Be. Though I'm not 100% sure, I think this may have been his first greatest hits album. I don't find any that predate this one. (By the way, mom: Burt Reynolds is in that movie, too. A little somethin' for everyone!)

Tried that Pinot Noir Again
Several postings back, I may have mentioned something about an awesome Pinot Noir and tilapia pairing. Well, I've visited the restaurant again and had the same wine. It's from New Zealand's House of Nobilo ICON wines and is a 2005 Marlborough Pinot Noir. It was just as good as the first time I tried it. The label reads, "The wine shows complex spicy cherry fruit aromas on the nose with enhancing French oak overtones. The fruit on the palate is attractive, ripe and integrated finishing with elegant tannins." I'll have to agree with this. (I think??? Still learning, remember.) I was excited that I could smell AND taste the cherry in it. It even sort of had the texture of a cherry. After my glass was empty, I smelled inside of it what seemed to be a strong oak smell. Being able to pick up on these "nuances" seemed like a little breakthrough for me. I was excited! Still am. (Yes, I had the tilapia with it again.)

My Son Refuses to Read my Blog
Curtis called me last night to ask me what kind of wine I like. I told him if he'd read my blog, he might have an idea. Of course, this was after I asked him why he wanted to know what kind of wine I like. I know lots of you are thinking that he was probably drinking wine and wanted to compare notes. He's not of legal drinking age. He would certainly never be experimenting with alcohol. No, I'm not that naïve. Of course, I questioned him! Yes, I believe him when he said he wasn't drinking any. Still don't really know why he was asking. There's an outside chance that he's making his Christmas shopping list (for the first time in his life). Anyway, I don't know what his aversion is to my blog. I think he might be afraid of learning something about me he doesn't want to know...??? Or he could be reading and just doesn't want to admit that he reads it. Then again, if he were secretly reading it, he wouldn't have called me to ask about wine.

Back to Non-Complimentary Coffee
I surrender on this one. After stopping at Bistro by the Tracks for a pricey little dessert and coffee Saturday night, I realized I had no problem paying for that cup of coffee and thought to myself, "So what's the big deal? Let it go already!"

Non-Cloudy Pickle Juice (a follow-up)
I bought a new jar of pickles on Sunday. Without thinking, I stuck my fingers in it to fish out the pickles to go with my sandwich. It's been 5 days and the pickle juice is not cloudy! I washed my hands immediately before pickle fishing, so that must be the key. (You may recall that I wrote about cloudy pickle juice several weeks ago.)

Coming Attractions
Shalane and I plan to see The Holiday tomorrow night. This is the new chick-flick with Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jude Law. Stay tuned for a review. On Sunday, mom and I are going to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Concert. I'm very excited to get a well-rounded dose of Christmas music and performance. There will be music, ballet, and singing. I think Santa will be there, too. Ho! Ho! Ho!