A Chip Off the Old Block - Lyra Under My Desk Playing On Keyboards

I don't know why I like photographing the inside of tunnels.  Probably because the motion and the lights create such a cool effect, especially when enhanced with Plastic Bullet.  This is the tunnel on Rt 895 under the Baltimore Harbor, tak… — I don't know why I like photographing the inside of tunnels. Probably because the motion and the lights create such a cool effect, especially when enhanced with Plastic Bullet. This is the tunnel on Rt 895 under the Baltimore Harbor, taken on my way home from Philadelphia today.

Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Photo - Plastic Bullet Version

>> We picked up eight quarts of sour cherries at the farmers market yesterday, and they spoil very quickly. We could not find our cherry pitter (last used a week ago) so we had to buy a new one. Of course now we have found the old one and have two. … — >> We picked up eight quarts of sour cherries at the farmers market yesterday, and they spoil very quickly. We could not find our cherry pitter (last used a week ago) so we had to buy a new one. Of course now we have found the old one and have two. My sister Edie is in town and she helped, as did Eva and even Lyra pitted about a dozen cherries. We now have seven quarts of pitted cherries in the freezer and a fresh cherry crisp to have for desert tonight with vanilla ice cream. >>
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Cherry Fest - Eight Quarts of Sour Cherries Pitted this Weekend

My good friend Robert Bushey had this Zin in a restaurant and thought it was so good that he sent me a bottle. Thanks Rob. This wine is *insanely* good, although those Europhile wine drinkers who worship wine where the fruit flavor is buried beneath… — My good friend Robert Bushey had this Zin in a restaurant and thought it was so good that he sent me a bottle. Thanks Rob. This wine is *insanely* good, although those Europhile wine drinkers who worship wine where the fruit flavor is buried beneath the tannin would disagree. This is a heavily fruit driven wine, though as the winemaker's notes below indicate, the fruit is balanced by enough acid to give the wine structure and keep it grown up. We drank this with home made North Carolina pulled pork in an East North Carolina vinegar sauce and it worked great. Not many wines could have pulled that off. We were also pouring a very good Pinot Noir that was overshadowed by the Coturri. Our guests also loved the wine, and appropriately described it (as has Rob) as 'Port like'. I have had a number of good Zinfandels recently where I felt the winemaker was dialing back the fruit to achieve a more balanced wine and avoid the 'fruit bomb' label. This is not one of those... For my palate and on my scale this is a 5/5 wine. From the Winery Web Site:
My brother Phil Coturri, a partner and viticulturist for Coturri Winery, has a family estate in the Eastern Mayacamas Mountains in Sonoma Valley. East of the Sonoma Plaza, this vineyard is located about 1000 feet from the valley floor. It's very rocky and hot; the perfect place for Zinfandel. The terraces are steep and harvesting is like skating on marbles. When one thinks of the classic hillside vineyard ...this is it. For years, the Zinfandel from Phil's vineyard has garnered out best reviews. The wine is characterized with deep color, a sweet dry mid palate and a great acid finish. It streamlined on the tongue, yet the mouth is full of berries, brambles and jam. Not for those that like finesse or subtle wines, it's flavor profile is "Full Speed ahead".
Via iPad

Coturri Winery - 2003 Zinfandel - P. Coturri Family Vineyard

Alexandria Farmers' Market, June 19th - A Bountiful Harvest

My sister Edie is in town for a visit and we all went to the market this morning while Cathleen went on a long run. One of the many, many, joys of living in Old Town is being about three blocks away from one of the oldest farm markets in the country. We have been going to this market for over 15 years and it has really improved in the last five years. Far more vendors selling their own produce, more organic produce and more vendors selling meat in addition to fruit and vegetables. This is a year round market, but it is obviously at its best in the summer and fall. The market is just hitting it's summer stride now. Today was the first time this season there have been local peaches, and the early summer vegetables like summer squash and greens are incredible. Most exciting, sour cherries are in the midst of their (very brief) season. I bought two quarts last week and we made cherry sauce for cheese cake and a cherry cobbler. This week I brought home EIGHT quarts. We will freeze six and makes a big crisp with the others. Of course this means we have eight quarts of cherries to pit. At this point we have three quarts down and five to go. Somehow after last weekend we lost our cherry pitter and had to buy a new one. The new one is an Oxo Good Grips cherry/olive pitter and it is no where near as effective as the old one. Don't the people who make products like that ever actually use them? It has a couple of very basic design flaws.

Via iPad

This was one of four bottles that returned with me from my recent Australia trip.  I had a long conversation with one of the staff at City Wine Shop in Melbourne about New Zealand Pinot Noir and he explained that the fullest bodied wines c… — This was one of four bottles that returned with me from my
recent Australia trip. I had a long conversation with one of the staff at City Wine Shop in Melbourne about New Zealand Pinot Noir and he explained that the fullest bodied wines come from Central Otago, with Marlborough and Martinborough wines tending to be lighter.

The 2007 Amisfield (www.amisfield.co.nz) was well reviewed in the Feb/March Gourmet Traveler Wine magazine (and the 2008 received a 93 from WS). I definitely found this to be a full bodied wine with nice density. It was also well balanced - I like a lot of fruit and this might have been a little reserved for me, but it is a great food wine with real backbone and I suspect would cellar well. I only had space for one bottle in my luggage so I won't find out. I would put this on the low end of 4 on my personal five point scales, so 4/5. I hope I can find a bottle of the 2008 to try.
Via iPad

Amisfield Pinot Noir 2007 Central Otago New Zealand

Eva's Birthday - Entering Double Digits

Eva had a great tenth birthday celebration yesterday. We were joined by her friend Sarah and Anders, their parents Eric and Leigh, and of course Eva's grandmother Emily.

Eva carefully planned a menu of her favorite foods, and dinner turned out extremely well. We had pulled pork BBQ, Eastern North Carolina cole slaw (e.g. spicy), potato salad, fruit salad and tossed salad. It sounds like a lot of salad, but it all worked well. Eva had asked Cathleen to make her a cheese cake for her birthday cake, and it came out fantastic. As a last minute bonus I had gotten sour cherries at the farmers' market, and made a cherry sauce for the cake. It was amazing. I think everyone faced a battle between how much cheese cake they wanted to eat (a lot) and how much would fit in their stomach after the rest of the meal.

Grownups of course also had some good wine, an Amisfield Pinot Noir I brought back from Australia and a Coturri Zinfandel. These will be covered in more detail in later blog notes.

I had this at dinner last night at Punch Lane in Melbourne. The menu and our waiter both said it was a rich full wine, and they were right. I had a duck confit and the Pinot stood up to the earthy flavors with no problem. The reviewer's description … — I had this at dinner last night at Punch Lane in Melbourne. The menu and our waiter both said it was a rich full wine, and they were right. I had a duck confit and the Pinot stood up to the earthy flavors with no problem. The reviewer's description below is very accurate. I would give this 4/5 on my personal scale.
Savoury, complex and powerful. Great length, intense fruit character. Refreshing acidity and good tannins. Mouth filling and concentrated, savoury sour cherry and cream notes. Mixed roasted spices, char and earth. A powerful and complex bottle of wine. Ben Knight
Rating 94 Points; Date Tasted Jan 09, James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2010
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Merricks Creek 2007 Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir

One of my favorite spots in Melbourne for a casual bite to eat. Open early to late with a bar menu and a few main dishes. I had roast tomato and fennel soup for Sunday lunch. Good by-the-glass wine selection and bottles for drink in or take away. St… — One of my favorite spots in Melbourne for a casual bite to eat. Open early to late with a bar menu and a few main dishes. I had roast tomato and fennel soup for Sunday lunch. Good by-the-glass wine selection and bottles for drink in or take away. Staff is knowledgeable and quick to offer good advice. I have received many good wine suggestions and education on Australian vineyards.
Sent from Bill Phelps' iPhone

City Wine Shop - Spring Street, Melbourne

This is the oldest surviving plane from the Royal Australian Air Force. It was built in the UK and arrived in Australia in 1919. 8,000 of this plane were built, and used mostly as trainers.Sent from Bill Phelps' iPhone — This is the oldest surviving plane from the Royal Australian Air Force. It was built in the UK and arrived in Australia in 1919. 8,000 of this plane were built, and used mostly as trainers.
Sent from Bill Phelps' iPhone

AVRO 504K - Australian War Memorial

This fighter bomber was one of the last propeller driven naval aircraft. This one flew in the Korean War.Sent from Bill Phelps' iPhone — This fighter bomber was one of the last propeller driven naval aircraft. This one flew in the Korean War.
Sent from Bill Phelps' iPhone

Hawker Sea Fury - Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial - Canberra

I had several hours yesterday afternoon after my workshop ended in Canberra, and the War Memorial was highly recommended as a place to visit in Canberra. That was good advice and I was not disappointed. The War Memorial is a large and comprehensive shrine and museum commemorating Australian soldiers across all the wars in which they have fought. I spent most of my time in the Gallipoli and broader WWI exhibits. It would have been easy to spend most of a day going through the museum thoroughly.

Gallipoli, a battle and siege in Turkey during WWI is fundamental to Australian history. One of the Australian Prime Ministers said that Australia established itself as a nation through its role and valor at Gallipoli. ANZAC Day (25 April) was originally established in 1916 to commemorate the battle at Gallipoli. ANZAC Day is now officially a commemoration of soldiers from all wars (much like the US Memorial Day), and is one of Australia's most important holidays.

I liked the number of exhibits that were actual art, not just documentary material. Australia had a number of artists who are designated as official war artists (they continue this tradition today - see paintings from Iraq and Afghanistan here). Many of the photos I took were of bronzes made of scenes in the war.

I am having some technical problems with blog formatting and will do an update later with more info on some of the specific photos.

I have been on a bit of a quest tasting different Pinot Noirs, with a special emphasis on New Zealand. I had never had a Spanish (or more accurately Catalan) Pinot until the Llopetera. It is a great wine, very dense and thick. I like Pinot that not … — I have been on a bit of a quest tasting different Pinot Noirs, with a special emphasis on New Zealand. I had never had a Spanish (or more accurately Catalan) Pinot until the Llopetera. It is a great wine, very dense and thick. I like Pinot that not much light passes through, and this qualifies. This is really good food wine for rustic grilled or roasted meet, especially something a little earthy. I tasted the 2005, but see also the review below from a Spanish website of the 2006.

Amazing Pinot Noir Catalan, organic wine produced by a family winery founded in 2003.
It currently has 7 h. of vineyards planted with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Grenache, Carignan and Chenin Blanc.The Llopetera 2006 shows intense aromas of red fruits with well integrated wood notes. Dominates the fruit in the mouth with mineral nuances. Best served at 15 °, accompanied by grilled meats and vegetables.

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La Llopetera 2005 Catalan Pinot Noir Tasting Notes

Dulles Train Tunnel

The. Best. Gelato.Sent from Bill Phelps' iPhone — The. Best. Gelato.
Sent from Bill Phelps' iPhone

@churchkeydc followed by @pitangogelato. Very happy kids and taste buds.

We are at @churchkeydc for dinner and real ale. Took a great shot of Will with the Plastic Bullet iPhone app.

Another Plastic Bullet of Lyra

Great Photo of Lyra via Plastic Bullet

House of Vibe Allstars at Harvelles w/ @RampRateTony

My good friend Tony invited me to a party at his office tonight with his friend Eric Pulier and a bunch of other cool folks. We went out for great Mexican food in Santa Monica, then to Harvelle's to see House of Vibe. *Very* good band. I love seeing a bunch of musicians who are clearly having fun just jamming and playing. Hopefully work brings me to LA again on a Wednesday night. The photo of the band was done with NightShot on an iPhone - I sadly did not take it, but I now have NightShot on my iPhone. Thanks to Michael Oh for that photo. (I think it was also post processed in CameraBag)

Airport train at DIA is slow. This is my third airport train photo and I think the faster trains make better photos.

Denver Airport Train Tunnel