T'was the Sunday before Thanksgiving, when all through the house......

Had an awesome Sunday and I just had to report!

Worked an 8-hour shift at the wine shop along with coworker Megan and bosses Randy & Dale. Incredible vibe, all the customers super nice, regular customers with their smiles and their "Hi Nancy!" and new customers, mostly finding us for the first time online. Pretty cool.

Sold tons of German Rieslings to go with turkey, and also some Alsacian Pinot Gris and Vouvray Beaujolais and all sorts of great stuff. Just a great energy all around.

Then I was scheduled to go to a twin birthday party - friend (whom I met at The Wine Country) has twin brothers turning 40 years old so she threw a nice party - I got them each a bottle of Chimay Belgian Trappist Beer - always good drinking, and for the BYO part of the program, a bottle of consistently good sparkler J. Laurens Brut (NV) from Limoux, France, a cremant blanc de blancs that is dry and refreshing, though of course not as fine as Champagne, but hey, perfect for your cocktail party situation. And at $12.99, no one is going to balk at the price.

I also brought a bottle of next month's wine of the month, an Italian red with a hard-to-remember name: 2003 Cantele Riserva Salice Salento from Puglia and that got sucked down so fast I didn't get a taste even, but Johan did and liked it a lot - I have a feeling I could have brought 6 bottles to this very crowded and happening party and there wouldn't have been any leftovers! I feel happy because I had a vote in choosing it for Wine of the Month next month (as did almost all of my coworkers!)

After leaving the party, Johan and I headed to our favorite sushi joint in town, Yen in Belmont Shore, where we indulged in some fantastic sushi, our favorite of the night being the sea urchin - oh my God! Now I know something like sea urchin sushi may not be not a thing for many people, but for us last night it was heavenly. Gentle, tender folds of soft tissue, rich in the taste of creamy sea-scented cashew butter or some such thing. Here I am with tasting notes of the sushi. Enough said! I'm sure others have better descriptors for this most unusual of meats, but suffice it to say it was the star of the show last evening for me. Followed closely by some yellowtail and yellowtail belly. All very delish!

So there you have it - it is possible to have a great day even when you are working on Sunday! Especially during the very exciting holiday season. At least I seem to be having my bells on today. :)