Wine Me Up!

 So by now all of my readers know that one of our hobbies is WINE. To be more specific, visiting wineries. This part of the world has over 100 wineries!!! Too much to taste, not enough time. Kirk has to stay sober for driving and check- in but I can just have a good time. Each winery here in the Okanangan Valley is more lovely than the last and it is hard to pick our favorites but here goes: Above is Summerhill Winery which is famous for sparkling wine - such fun - and of course it's stunning view of the lake.

                                           

My absolute favorite winery has to be Dirty Laundry Winery. It is in a hundred year old "house of ill repute" now a winery, tasting room and bistro. The tasting room is decorated with vintage "unmentionables" and the bistro looks right down on the tracks of the Kettle Valley Steam Locomotive. Of course after lunch we had to take train ride. Well, needless to say, Kirk enjoyed that more than I did!

Here I am at Arrowleaf Cellars. This winery had the nicest sommelier and the best pic-nic spot also some very nice Viogner which happens to be my favorite wine. We stopped here as part of a tour of some of the East Side wineries including the very popular Grey Monk Estate however we really prefer the smaller more intimate wineries like Arrowleaf and there are a lot of those in this area.

One of the best small wineries is Greata Ranch Estate Winery. It is actually the sister winery to the much bigger and not as appealing to us CedarCreek Estate Winery. The deck off the tasting room at Greata Ranch wins best view for sure. It hangs right out over Lake Okanagan with nothing between you and the lake but a great glass of "Peachland White" and lots of grape vines. STUNNING!

                                                               Where is your favorite winery??

Farm Stand

                                                                 I LOVE summer!
                        I love the fresh fruit. I love the fresh vegetables and when I see FARM STAND -
                                    I go shopping....... usually for fruit for the breakfasts we cook.

                             
                          But sometimes I can not resist shopping for myself. Look at all this jam!-
                                                    the strawberry/rhubarb is just delicious.

                               Now this is my favorite Farm Stand ad... it made me stop.
                       The farmer was very friendly but we did not get to meet the wife, DARN!

This is my favorite piece of public art in Kelowna and guess what? It is called 

   FARM STAND         

Where is your fave Farm Stand?

Beside the Sea

You can't get away from it on Lopez - you are always right beside the SEA!

You know that one of my favorite parts of this job is doing "research" so that Kirk and I can give good concierge service to our guests. There are so many lovely places to "research" here and be beside the sea. The top photo is while we were exploring Shark Reef Sanctuary and this one bicycling at Outer Bay.

But it turns out that the VERY BEST PLACE to be BESIDE the SEA is right in front of the MacKaye Harbor Inn - look how happy I am!

Island Thyme

                                             

  Our new home -
LOPEZ ISLAND WASHINGTON   

 Called the "friendly isle", Lopez Island is really a step back in time with charming farms and historic homes scattered throughout the bucolic scenery. We have even learned to do the Lopez Wave because you can not pass anyone without acknowledging them. Soon we will be locals!

           We are currently innsitters at the
MacKaye Harbor Inn . It is located right on the water and surrounded by lush grounds and gardens. From the wraparound porch you can look out over the bay and sailboats of south Lopez Island to see seals and bald eagles.
         Sharing my garden with me is the cutest little deer [hence the big white gate in this photo]. She is welcome to the lawn but we need to keep her out of the herbs and flowers. Every morning I get to go out to gather garnish for my breakfast table and bouquets for the rooms - one of my favorite parts of the job!


Look - how pretty!!

                                 

       

  And this is one of Robin's "peace" roses.
      WOW!!


 What's your favorite flower?

Big Horns, Big Peaks

    WOW!   Look at these guys!  We were on our way up to to go hiking at Guanella Pass in Colorado and had heard that we might see some Big Horn Sheep but never expected to get this up close and personal. We almost got in a wreck - so close that you could see them breathing.
Big Horn Sheep are really very majestic animals and didn't seem at all concerned about being watched. Obviously the one in the middle is posing for the camera - "my right profile is my best side" - he knew he was going to be on the front page of my next blog!

  So, after the encounter with the Big Horns we did drive up to Guanella Pass at 11,000 ft to see some really Big Peaks. The pass is a stunning area with tundra and tarns ringed by mountains including a few of the "14ers": Mt Evans and Mt Bierstadt. It's a beautiful place to go for a walk if you can catch your breath. We hiked up the Mt Bierstadt trail and had amazing vistas at every turn.

                                     

So, if you are driving in Colorado - watch out for the Big Horns and Big Peaks!

Easy as Pie

 Kirk and I do have a "real" home even though we are never there. It is in Parkdale Oregon - famous for it's apples. SO we are always trying to find ways to serve apples at Breakfast and here are two of our faves.....

This first one is Upside Down Apple Pie: always a hit with the guests. Because you are my favorite readers, I will give you the recipe and then you will wonder why I get paid to do this - It is SOOO easy.

First spray a pie plate and melt 2 TBL butter in it
Arrange apple slices and sprinkle with pecans
Pour 3 TBL maple syrup over the apples and
Sprinkle with cinnamon
Pour 2C pancake batter over apples
Bake at 350 for 40 min
Invert to serve and VOILA!

Now one of Kirk's specialties is his Apple Compote but he will not give out the recipe which just means that he doesn't have one and it comes out different every time he makes it. Hey, it's always delicious and that's all that matters!

So after he creates his secret compote, we put it on top of our Apple Baked Oatmeal. And since two of our recent guests: Veronica and Theresa asked for it..... here is that recipe-

Spray a 9/13 pan
Mix:
4C Oats, 1C Br Sugar, 4t Cinnamon, 4t B Powder, Salt
Add:
1C Melted Butter, 2C Cream, 4 Eggs, 4t Vanilla
       and a bunch of Craisins

Bake at 350 for 40 min

Now serve with Apple Compote [or maybe applesauce since I can not give you the compote recipe]!

 

  OK, Veronica and Theresa - there you have it.


 Now let me know your favorite Apple Recipe so I can try it!

Springtime in the Rockies

Well it's back to work for us - we are innsitting in Golden Colorado again and it is our favorite time of year here - SPRINGTIME!  So lovely!  One of our favorite things to do is go hiking in the Rockies.

There are so many beautiful trails near Golden that it is hard to choose but one of the most popular is Lair O' the Bear . Although it is usually pretty crowded, you can get away if you hike far enough up Bear Creek and into the hills above. The flowers are stunning in the springtime and it is hard to decide which is prettier. Kirk votes for "Indian paintbrush" but I like the old fashioned lilacs you can find around old homesteads. There are old homesteads scattered all through the Rockies and it always tugs at my heartstrings to think of the pioneer women who would try to make their cabin more beautiful with flowers.

Anyhow, after a hike it's nice to come "home" and look who waits for us in our garden.......AWWWWW