DW&F: Wine, Gourmet Cheese and Failure to Fail
Hello everyone!
What a great, if lazy, day. And who am I to rock the boat by working hard on an intro? So let's get to it!
Daily Win and FAIL!
Win: Wine and gourmet cheese
Today, Cathy and I enjoyed the last shipment of my Cheese of the Month Club that I received in December, which was a gift from her sister, Christy, and it was the gift that kept on giving all year long! We busted out two of the three cheeses from this shipment, one of which was a "Pinconning," a cheese named after theshithole town in Michigan that is located just north of Bay City, or in the area along the edge of the palm between the thumb and index finger if you're using a hand as a map as most Michiganders do. If you live somewhere else, you don't have the luxury of being able to display a body part as a map, except for a few places such as Rosebud, Texas.
Anyway, the Pinconning cheese brought up a whole lot of memories--which is not something I'm used to in a cheese--because it reminded me of my grandma's companion, Frank, who was essentially the grandpa I never had since both of my biological grandfathers died when I was a toddler. In fact, one of my grandfathers died on my second birthday, not that I really remember either of them.
Frank used to drive a truck from the Kraft cheese factory in Pinconning, Michigan, and he often talked about the cheese that he used to bring home after work. I had never tasted the cheese he talked about--at the time I was really only exposed to Velveeta and Kraft singles--but to this day I vividly remember Frank's stories of driving the truck. When I visited Michigan for the first time when I was seven years old and stayed with my grandma for the summer, Frank, who at the time was retired, was called back to work by Kraft as a fill-in. I clearly remember sitting on his lap after he got off work and commenting on his shirt, which had a grayish-black stripe across the belly from the truck's steering wheel rubbing against it. At that point, I remember deciding I wanted to be a truck driver because on his belly was irrefutable proof that he did something for a living, and the dirt on his belly was in my mind equivalent to a battle scar, which was more than I could say for the other adults in my life at the time. Sure, they worked hard as well, but did they come home with evidence of a large truck steering wheel? no way, and that's why Frank ruled!
The cheese also reminded me of my cousin, John, and my aunt and uncle, Diane and Dennis, who lived in Pinconning briefly. Just after I turned 16 in 1991, I visited them during spring break, and John took me to my first "real" concert: Van Halen (during the Sammy Hagar days). The three of them still lived there during a big turning point in my life, which was a year and a half later when my parents, brother, and I moved from Michigan to North Idaho. Not long after that, the three of them moved back to California, and all my ties to Pinconning were essentially cut off for good.
Yes, a cheese made me think of all this. And it was delicious, too, especially paired with a Three Buck Chuck Sauvignon Blanc, which the accompanying literature suggested (not the "Three Buck Chuck," but the "Sauvignon Blanc"). Good times.
We also had a Cypress Grove Purple Haze chevre, which went well with a Crane Lake (cheap) Sangiovese, again like the accompanying literature suggested. Although this cheese didn't dredge up deep memories from my childhood, it tasted fantastic, and the cheap wine from Rite-Aid actually turned out to be a suitable accompaniment.
Also, Cathy hit another home run when she made a batch of her homemade crackers! She is the only person I've ever known who makes her own crackers, and they're better than any store-bought Keebler Elf crackers by far!
The cheeses and the wine and the crackers mean only one thing: Win!
FAIL: ?
Hmm.
Today I can't think of a FAIL without feeling like someone who whines for whining's sake. Seriously, today was a great day, and I just can't come up with a FAIL. Sure, I could probably bust out some news headline about the Israel-Palestine conflict, or I could talk about Bill Richardson's apparent scandal, but these things seem to be par for the course these days, not some anomaly, and FAILs should be somewhat out of the ordinary.
No, today I experienced a FAILure to have a FAIL. It was a good day, and if you've been paying attention, you should know that I've resolved to appreciate what I have. That puts me at odds with the FAIL obligation, but I still think it's been a good resolution thus far because I've been much less of a whiny, cynical bitch than normal. Hooray for me! Of course, we'll have to see how long this lasts. Uh-oh, there I go again being cynical. FAIL!
I guess it could be worse. I could have a new, positive attitude and never post FAILs and just think everything is peachy. But that would be no fun...
Rob
What a great, if lazy, day. And who am I to rock the boat by working hard on an intro? So let's get to it!
Daily Win and FAIL!
Win: Wine and gourmet cheese
Today, Cathy and I enjoyed the last shipment of my Cheese of the Month Club that I received in December, which was a gift from her sister, Christy, and it was the gift that kept on giving all year long! We busted out two of the three cheeses from this shipment, one of which was a "Pinconning," a cheese named after the
Anyway, the Pinconning cheese brought up a whole lot of memories--which is not something I'm used to in a cheese--because it reminded me of my grandma's companion, Frank, who was essentially the grandpa I never had since both of my biological grandfathers died when I was a toddler. In fact, one of my grandfathers died on my second birthday, not that I really remember either of them.
Frank used to drive a truck from the Kraft cheese factory in Pinconning, Michigan, and he often talked about the cheese that he used to bring home after work. I had never tasted the cheese he talked about--at the time I was really only exposed to Velveeta and Kraft singles--but to this day I vividly remember Frank's stories of driving the truck. When I visited Michigan for the first time when I was seven years old and stayed with my grandma for the summer, Frank, who at the time was retired, was called back to work by Kraft as a fill-in. I clearly remember sitting on his lap after he got off work and commenting on his shirt, which had a grayish-black stripe across the belly from the truck's steering wheel rubbing against it. At that point, I remember deciding I wanted to be a truck driver because on his belly was irrefutable proof that he did something for a living, and the dirt on his belly was in my mind equivalent to a battle scar, which was more than I could say for the other adults in my life at the time. Sure, they worked hard as well, but did they come home with evidence of a large truck steering wheel? no way, and that's why Frank ruled!
The cheese also reminded me of my cousin, John, and my aunt and uncle, Diane and Dennis, who lived in Pinconning briefly. Just after I turned 16 in 1991, I visited them during spring break, and John took me to my first "real" concert: Van Halen (during the Sammy Hagar days). The three of them still lived there during a big turning point in my life, which was a year and a half later when my parents, brother, and I moved from Michigan to North Idaho. Not long after that, the three of them moved back to California, and all my ties to Pinconning were essentially cut off for good.
Yes, a cheese made me think of all this. And it was delicious, too, especially paired with a Three Buck Chuck Sauvignon Blanc, which the accompanying literature suggested (not the "Three Buck Chuck," but the "Sauvignon Blanc"). Good times.
We also had a Cypress Grove Purple Haze chevre, which went well with a Crane Lake (cheap) Sangiovese, again like the accompanying literature suggested. Although this cheese didn't dredge up deep memories from my childhood, it tasted fantastic, and the cheap wine from Rite-Aid actually turned out to be a suitable accompaniment.
Also, Cathy hit another home run when she made a batch of her homemade crackers! She is the only person I've ever known who makes her own crackers, and they're better than any store-bought Keebler Elf crackers by far!
The cheeses and the wine and the crackers mean only one thing: Win!
FAIL: ?
Hmm.
Today I can't think of a FAIL without feeling like someone who whines for whining's sake. Seriously, today was a great day, and I just can't come up with a FAIL. Sure, I could probably bust out some news headline about the Israel-Palestine conflict, or I could talk about Bill Richardson's apparent scandal, but these things seem to be par for the course these days, not some anomaly, and FAILs should be somewhat out of the ordinary.
No, today I experienced a FAILure to have a FAIL. It was a good day, and if you've been paying attention, you should know that I've resolved to appreciate what I have. That puts me at odds with the FAIL obligation, but I still think it's been a good resolution thus far because I've been much less of a whiny, cynical bitch than normal. Hooray for me! Of course, we'll have to see how long this lasts. Uh-oh, there I go again being cynical. FAIL!
I guess it could be worse. I could have a new, positive attitude and never post FAILs and just think everything is peachy. But that would be no fun...
Rob
posted by Rob at 11:26 PM
4 Comments:
Personally, I like em better without a fail anyway. Daily wins are where its at. Here's to a good win!
Hello Anon!
Yeah, I also like wins much better than FAILs, but at least they give me a great excuse to post the FAIL pictures! Thanks for the comment.
Rob
Nice to read the comments about Frankie. He was a great grandpa to us. I also remember him talking about his cheese!
Hello Chris!
Yeah, Frankie was a cool cat. I miss him.
Rob
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