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Pour Wine Review, Episode 41 - Porteus 2009 Bistro Red

As many of you know, Amanda and I have been recording and drinking our way through Pour Wine Reviews as a pet project to document our exploration of wine and video production. We posted the first 40 (yes, 40!) to pourwinereview.com. One of the key learnings for me in the process was that keeping up multiple websites is a royal pain in the arse. Hence, I'm going to start publishing them here. You're welcome to see our past videos on our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/pourwinereview.

Here's a toast to Episode 41, my learning Final Cut Pro X and more Pour Wine Reviews! (Don't forget to switch the resolution to 720p to see us in HD.)

Losing My Hair Over Hair, Everywhere

IMG_5227 I wrote before about issues with excess hair โ€“ creating drain rats, breaking my vacuum. Although Iโ€™ve traded in The Wives (nickname for my old roommates) for a genuine wife, the recent acquisition of pets has led to an escalated state of loose hair in the house.

Amanda alone sheds a lot of hair. I encounter the occasional drain hat and hair in the sink. She grows it back, so itโ€™s all good.

When we adopted the cat, Fabrizio, I didnโ€™t notice much of a hair accumulation because his hair is so light and short. Iโ€™ll see it stack up like snow drifts at his favorite sleeping spots, but otherwise itโ€™s not a problem.

Gianna is one hairy puppy and inspired this post. I grew up with a Sheltie, Maxamillion, so I knew our new Collie would leave a trace of hair in her wake. I didnโ€™t anticipate the daily carpet she could produce on our hardwood floors.

Sometimes I wish this blog would get a sponsor like GoPro or Canon that would give me cameras and goodies to use and giveaway. No longer the case. Now I want a sponsorship from Swiffer. I use those little Swiffer sheets every damn day to lift the hair โ€“ Amandaโ€™s, Fabrizioโ€™s and Giannaโ€™s. Iโ€™m sure Sergio and I contribute to the mix, but only minority shares. I love Swiffer. I need Swiffer. Sponsor me, Swiffer!

I wonโ€™t even talk about our bedroom, the only room in the house with carpet. I wish I could leave the vacuum on 24/7. The first item on my Christmas list this year is the Roomba, so that I can just leave that on when Iโ€™m away at work. Forty hours a week of vacuuming might take care of all the hair the dog deposits in our room during the same time period. Hell, while Iโ€™m asking, sponsor me, Roomba!

The hair problem led me to decide to install hardwood floors upstairs instead of replacing the carpets. I know I did myself a favor going with hardwoods for a number of reasons, but the only immediate benefit I saw was the ability to Swiffer upstairs and have brief confidence that there is no hair on the floor until animals or wife reenter the room.

Now that I have a beard, I always find hair in it โ€“ not my hair, but the animalsโ€™ or the wifeโ€™s. Itโ€™s an intrusion of my own hair space. Itโ€™s hair on hair violence.

Weโ€™ve all adapted, and the hair is fairly under control, but say Sergio or I โ€“ the resident Italians โ€“ start shedding body hair, weโ€™re screwed.

Amanda Takes the Media by Storm

Amanda was a BIG hit yesterday and today, appearing on our local FOX, CBS, ABC news stations as well as The Seattle Times! The media flurry was all because of our #snOMG winter storm debacle, and Amanda was helping Take Winter By Storm spread the message about winter preparedness.

Here's her KOMO (ABC affiliate) appearance:

Here's our not-so-brief discussion about the big day. If you need to reach Amanda, please contact "her people."

Pumpkin Hunting and Slingshots

IMG_5070 Scott got a big group together to head out to Spooner Farms in Puyallup to go pumpkin hunting on Saturday. The place was huge, but it was packed! I felt like I was in a Halloween-themed Disneyland with all of the activities and kids around. I suppose we were the odd ducks -- 14 or so adults running around the farm.

The highlight of the trip was the pumpkin slingshot! You got two shots for a dollar, and I'm sure the group spent $75 combined to have a go at aiming a softball-size pumpkin 50 yards away at a target to try and win a gigantic pumpkin. Unfortunately, no one won, but it was a heck of a lot of fun!

Typical scene at the patch. IMG_5078

Malia and Kyle. IMG_5084

That's a lot of pumpkin. IMG_5089

Sean crammed some quick corn calories before hitting the slingshot. IMG_5091

Caitlin picking pumpkins for the slingshot. IMG_5101

Kyle and Malia have their picks. IMG_5107

Amanda sets up. IMG_5109

And fires! IMG_5110

My reaction. IMG_5093

My turn (I got close). IMG_5119

Scott has his pumpkin stash ready. IMG_5125

Kyle has a go. IMG_5129

Scott reviews the best pumpkins for the slingshot. IMG_5131

Scott has a go. IMG_5138

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The peanut gallery. IMG_5145

Sean takes his turn. IMG_5153

Look at that focus! IMG_5159

Jesse shows his form. IMG_5160

No one hit the bullseye. On to the main event! IMG_5168

But first, bacon, anyone? IMG_5225

Courtney makes a choice while Walker learns why not to pick up a pumpkin by its stem. IMG_5175

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Amanda considers her options. IMG_5184

Amanda picks a winner. IMG_5188

Kyle defends his choice. IMG_5194

Tough to get a good picture of Caitlin sometimes. IMG_5202

Not even the camera can warm up the Ice Princess. IMG_5197

Our spoils. IMG_5206

Amanda is in her element. IMG_5204

$18 later, and we're a step closer to Halloween! IMG_5207

 

King of the Hardwoods

Sergio was on a trip abroad most of the last month shooting weddings in Greece and Germany. We took advantage of his time away to show some love to the often-neglected second story of our house. It's the only part of the house that hasn't seen a major overhaul, but that was about to change. The upstairs had VERY old carpet. I could believe that it was hand-sewn by Tibetan monks centuries ago and made its way down the Silk Road, across Europe during the Crusades, across the Atlantic on the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria and by covered wagon to our home during the Gold Rush. That's how old the carpet was.

Amanda and I were ready to install some hardwoods upstairs and took our time making price comparisons because hardwoods are NOT cheap. We finally settled on bamboo at Home Depot, dropped a paycheck on wood and supplies and got to work. The pictures tell the rest of the story, and Sergio was pleasantly surprised when he returned home!

What we were dealing with in one of three upstairs bedrooms:

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Rolling the old carpet up while Simon supervises. IMG_4867

Relief. IMG_4869

The worst part of pulling up carpet is pulling up tackboards. IMG_4872

"Clean" floor. IMG_4873

Just about done for the night. IMG_4874

Gianna confirming it's bedtime. IMG_4877

Dad joins the work party, flanked by animal support. IMG_4883

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Sergio's bedroom, halfway done. IMG_4896

Preparing the middle room. IMG_4900

Finishing the back room. IMG_4901

Puppy attack! IMG_4906

Celebrating a finished room. IMG_4934

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Finished product (minus the baseboards). IMG_4962

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