November 2009 Archives

We are having dinner tonight with friends at the Hog's Breath restaurant in La Quinta, CA. You know ... Clint Eastwood's restaurant. We will have one of my cellar wines corked: 1996 Dominus. It is drinking like silk. Simply stunning! Here's an excerpt from the vintner:

Dominus, produced by the Dominus Estate Corporation, is made solely from grapes grown on the historic Napanook Vineyard in Yountville, California.

The 1996 growing season was nearly perfect, one where everything seems easy. Of course, the team at Dominus was leery about this, and concentrated on their work in the vineyard even more than usual, in order to get the best quality grapes. Their efforts were rewarded; the wine is beautifully complex and well balanced.

Well balanced and complex is an understatement!

Posted via web from merv's posterous

Our business Website is now up and running at BIG (MT). No, it is not BIG Mountain! It is all about using Movable Type (MT) for presenting your business to the world. Included categories are News, Potfolio, MT Tips, Technology, Services and more.

We also have a Facebook group at BIG (MT) Group. We invite you to join.

Posted via web from merv's posterous

Just transferred my vehicle insurance from Virginia to Texas. The motor home went up 17.5%. The Vue went up 52%. Yuk. Explanation:

Texas has one of the highest rates of uninsured motorists in the nation.

Go figure. I'll check out South Dakota some time in the future. Same low personal tax structure as Texas and I am sure lower insurance rates.

I did get my Texas driver's license today: Class B Commercial (because of the motor home). I was required to pass a CDL test and do a behind the wheel driver test. I passed both.

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When we sold our house I sold about 3/4 of my wine collection but stashed away some favorites for myself including Silver Oak, Dominus, some Italian Brunellos, StoneStreet Legacy and many more.

I just opened a 1996 Legacy, a Bordeaux-style varietal blend, from my collection and what a wonderful experience. It is drinking very silky. Not one characteristic that is over powering. Nice tannins, fruit and very balanced acidity.

All I can say is WOW!

SoneStreet Legacy

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This is a letter currently circulating on the internet. It is long but worth reading. If you have the same sentiments, pass it on:

I am a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. Instead, we are burdened with Congressional Dukes and Duchesses who think they know better than the citizens they are supposed to represent.

There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.
 
You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut-job am I? Well, these briefly are the views and issues for which I seek representation:

I've posted many photos of the Providence in many different environments. Many of my friends and followers have no idea what the interior might be like. Believe me, it's not a camper. As a matter of fact, many of you refer to us as campers. I'm here to tell you we rarely "camp." We just always need to have a place to park to live. And, we try to live in places that we want to see and enjoy.

So, here is the interior of our "camper," all 500 (approx) square feet of it. Party anyone?

2008 Fleetwood Providence (Model 39R)

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Since we are on the road full time, it makes absolutely no sense to be based in Virginia and be subject to the enormous personal property taxes on our Motor Coach ($4.20/$100 of assed value). Our real property was being taxed at about $1.20/$100 of assed value. Does this make any sense at all? Not to me since we hardly use Virginia's highways. Virginia, you just lost me but not without a bit of sorrow.

So, we have become citizens of the Lone Star State. It is just a matter of establishing "domicile." No state income tax and no personal property tax.

We are still "wandering" and on our way to California for the holidays.

Posted via web from merv's posterous

We extended our stay in the Pensacola area for another week because of a Motor Coach windshield replacement and some emergency dental work for Pam. We moved to this RV park to be closer to downtown Pensacola. I found it doing a Google search on "RV Parks near Pensacola, FL. This one was convenient, had a good review and very economical. New having opened only a year ago.

What a surprise. Clean, uncluttered, nicely manicured, close to Interstate 10 (but far enough away to be quiet) and extremely friendly and helpful owners. I would recommend it for anyone.

Rating: 7.5 (out of 10)
Cost: $      ($ = inexpensive, $$$$$ = pricey)
Members of Good Sam
Weekly rate is $211 ($28/day plus tax).

Attended the Blue Angels practice yesterday and awesome is an understatement. Here's a link to the full album of my favorite 36 out of about 160 taken:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120862&id=568313900&l=0ca6d34e84

Posted via web from merv's posterous