Stay strong, McClish clan.

Happy thoughts.

It's coming along ...

Consciously or unconsciously, the dining room is looking more and more like a pub each day. And I love it.

Bought a used dart board some months back at The Albatross. (Seriously - it's in great shape and was only $10.) It's paired with my Guinness chalkboard, on which scores from my last game of 301 (where I prevailed) still remain.

Got this pint glass set and tray a couple weeks ago, ridiculously cheap, on an endcap in Target. I found my wall pub clock on an endcap in the same Target a month before.

B & J gave me a great hand-me-down wine rack/bar a year or so ago. Bottom is fully stocked with reds from here and here. (Whites are stored on a rack hidden in a cupboard in the kitchen.) Liquor rests on top, including my bestest pal and an effing cool bottle of this. (The liquor overstock lives in the sideboard.)

When the transformation of the whole house is complete, I may offer up photos. Until then, while I pinch pennies for my mortgage, I know I have a great place to sit and have a drink..

Yard work is kicking my ass.

How many karma points do you get per relocated snail?

The inventor of the Egg McMuffin has died.

McThanks, Herb Peterson.

The Awesome Ohio Corn Flake

This auction was sent to me from a friend today. There's really nothing else I can add here.

"There's even an opening in the center - just about where Columbus would be!"

The Pope Room

After our fondue excursion last month, our group grew and took over the Pope Room at Buca di Beppo.

The family style dining at Buca is worth checking out any time, but I think it's more worth it to wait until you have a posse and can sit in the Pope Room. The Pope Room experience is worth the advance reservation wait. (We booked it about a month ahead.) It's kitschy, and at times, creepy. Adorned with all things Pope, the circular room is filled with a large, round table, with a "Pope throne" at the head (where I was made to sit.)

And in the middle of the table, rotated on an enormous lazy Susan, is the bust of the Pope enclosed in a clear case. So as you reach for a serving of pasta, you also get the stare from the lazy eye of His Highness.

It definitely added a richness to our discussion of the new and improved deadly sins.

(Photos coming when Mori finally sends them ...)

Happy birthday, Miss Trinity.

Wishing you a fantastic day from California ...
Love, Me

How did I get here?

Effective around 11:00 this a.m., I own a house. (It gives added significance to St. Patrick's Day, I suppose.)

It's shocking, really. I anticipate waves of disbelief, pride, relief, and panic. (Expect more reflection (or not) in weeks to come.)

Right now, it feels kind of like this:

And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ...am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
My god!...what have I done?

Too much.

Our team experienced the following on Friday:

Two had birthdays.
One person entered into the ICU.
One person had his first child.
One person's mother passed away.

Frankly, that's too much beauty and tragedy to be contained in one day. And really, more drama than the team can metabolize just yet.

Here's hoping for a few less extremes on Monday.

Add on a couple more days.

Thanks for the attention to detail, National City.

An hour and a half of paperwork.

Just a couple days to go.

Chickity-Check Yo Self before You Wreck Yo Self

While there seems to be some debate on whether the Pope intended to name new deadly sins, or simply give a modern, global focus to the old ones, there sure seem to be infinite ways to go to Hell now.

Destination: Barrel Tasting

A long day spent today on the roads of Sonoma County, particularly those of the Dry Creek Valley. Great company, great wine, great music, and great food. Or, to summarize, a great Saturday.

(If you'd like to check out our incredibly random Barrel Tasting road trip playlist, please visit here.)

We headed out for the barrel tasting a little later than planned (thanks, BART delay) but no matter. We still hit several destinations, including the main two that were our ultimate priorities.

Bella always wins for service and presentation. And apparently word has gotten out because it was packed today. Thankfully, Bella is on it, spreading out pourers, tastings stations, and food (yum - BBQ pork and grits) so that you never really felt like you were waiting. Bella also has the coolest of the coolest winery layouts, with a winding cave carving its way into the vineyard hillside.

A. Rafanelli doesn't really do much above and beyond a regular tasting, mainly because they know their wine is exquisite and they don't have to. They also only take cash. And they don't deliver. (So, in many ways, they are the Zachary's of wineries.) Like a good, little devotee, I made my cash withdrawl before the trip so I'd be ready to bring some Cabs home with me.

Leaving our last winery, most of our caravan was a little tipsy (not me - D.D. ovah here) and very hungry (I was totally part of that group.) We all agreed on a shared desire for good burgers and were trying to find one particular destination. A woman working at said last winery put the kibosh on our intended restaurant, instead insisting that for burgers, Johnny Garlic's in Windsor was the place to be.

We were there in record time, menus in hand. We were surprised to discover that our burger destination had but one burger on the menu. (Surely, this disqualifies the place as a "great burger joint," right? I'll have to tell the lady who recommended it if I see her again next year.) Well, we were famished and didn't give a rat's ass at that point, so 5 of the 7 of us just went for the one burger. And it was good.

'Til next year ...

Hey, Alanis. This is actually ironic.

Sorry to break the partisan wall, people, but it had to be done.

The Ohio Republican Party is questioning the integrity of the election. Really? The Republican Party? Really?

Have they already forgotten that the head of Diebold has already done enough to put the integrity of Ohio elections into question?