I'm such a winer

A couple of years ago, I decided to try my hand at making wine. I like to drink it, and I'm a reasonably intelligent fella - so I thought to myself "self" I thought "if hundreds of years ago mankind was able to make a good tasting wine having no knowledge of why or what was happening, surely I can do so too - how hard can it be?" Well, turns out it's harder than I might have thought, but I've got a few batches under my belt now and am learning more and more each time I do it. Is it any good? Well, I've not made anyone go blind yet 8-) Thus far I've got a red zinfandel, a supertuscan, and another italian blend for the dry reds, and a number of sweeter reds and a sweet white under my belt. There's something fundamentally intrigueing about the process to me - starting with the rough raw materials and refining them, changing them via living processes that continue to affect them and change them over time long after the fermentation portion of the process is complete. I'm getting pretty good at making the sweet wines - they're easy to tell if they're successful or not because they're ready very soon after bottling and they disappear quickly, so I know no one's trying to be sensitive about bruising my ever so delicate ego. The dry reds are a bit tougher to rate - they take years to mature to the point of drinkability, and only now are my first batches coming around to being ready to taste.

The label I choose for them is Chateaux la Feet - because I was worried that the finished product would taste, well, like feet 8-) Plus it sounds like it could be something real, and I like how it sounds. Here's the bottle neck label and bottle label from my last batch:

I've built a rudimentary wine cellar in the basement to house the ever growing collection of bottles (currently dozens and dozens, as each time I make a batch, I get about 30 bottles from each variety - and knowing that most of the batches I make take a couple of years to age before I want to drink them... well, I need somewhere to put lots and lots of bottles)! Someday I'd like to build a 'real' cellar, but that day's not today...

The best amazon.com item EVER

Or the strangest. Some sort of tank from star wars. The name is just fun to say. You can drive it up to 40 mph. Crazy. Badonkadonk Tank. All for the low low price of just under $20 grand! You've gotta read the reviews at the amazon.com site - they're hilarious...the other thing that strikes me as odd is that the 'other people' who bought this item also purchased 4.5 lbs of bananas, some grapes, and spicy sausages. I dunno about you, but I don't want to be confined to a bodonkadonk tank when those spicy sausages start working their way out of someone's bodonkadonk...

Writing about right...

I've spent considerable time over the last 6 months desparately wanting to make the 'right' decision. Right for me, right for my family, right for the long term, etc. I couldn't come to a point where I felt peace about any of the decisions. None of them felt right. A good friend of mine and I were discussing this over breakfast one morning, and he said something that really put it into perspective for me. I don't recall his exact words, but they were something to the effect of if you're doing something prayerfully and with God as a central figure in your decision making, it probably doesn't much matter which way you go. Huh. It's probably much like when my daughter comes to me asking if she can have an apple or a banana or an orange for a snack - she's asking because she wants to make the right decision, and is consulting me to validate those are 'right' options. But really, any of them are 'right' - they're all good options, so she can't go wrong with any of them. I wonder if that's sometimes how God feels with us when we're desparately looking to make the 'right' decision when really any of them are good options?

Still, I hope I've made the 'right' decision 8-)

Blogging, 101

So I figgure it's time I see what this blogging business is all about. Anyone who knows me well tell you that I'm a technical type of guy. If it has buttons, a screen, or takes batteries, I probably want it or already have it. So why am I so late to the blogging scene? Good question. I know what they are, I read a number of them, but have never felt the need to put my life online, or felt I had anything compelling enough to say that I felt strongly that the whole world just *had* to read it.

This is sort of me testing the waters, thinking if I experience it, then maybe I'd get it. So, here we go, the first official Johnson family blog. Now I have to think up something clever to say. Great.

Today I quit my job. I had been with a phenemenonal company for the last 12 (!) years, doing something I love. I was paid well, traveled extensively, and got all the free chocolate I could eat. I know, you're thinking what's wrong with me that I'd quit. Another company that also is in the same line of business has been talking with me off and on for almost the last year, and finally I accepted their offer. It's a great offer, and I'm very excited about it. The company is very, very strong in what they do, and I'll get to continue to eat lots and lots of chocolate (hey, round IS a shape.. I'm in shape!), travel to exotic places, and meet great new people. Great, so what's the problem? It's a very odd feeling leaving. It's normal, I suppose, to have a mixed bag of emotions during times like these. On one hand, very excited and have lots of anticipation. On t'other, feelings of betrayal to my original company and a feeling of loss of relationships - lots of the people I've worked with I've grown close to and consider friends. We've vacationed together, our kids are growing up with one another, etc. I'm not physically moving anywhere, but still, I won't get to see them every day. It's a very odd feeling for me. Did I make the right decision? Is there such a thing as a 'right' decision (more on that in the next post, if I remember to have a next post...)? The unknown is both compelling and daunting at the same time.

I make no promises that I'll keep this up to date. Will I get sucked into the world of blogging and find that I can't live w/o it now that I've experienced it? Or will I think this is for the birds, I've got enough to do (yeah right, I'm w/o a job for the time being!) and not keep it up? Time will tell....