Hi! Just wanted to share a view pictures from our 4th of July. In the afternoon, we drove out to Gaston and visited our friends, Keith and Trudy Kramer, who own Kramer Vineyards. Keith and Trudy are great people. Very generous of their time, friendship, and knowledge. They were the ones who gave us a bundle of sticks as a house-warming present ten years ago. When we looked closer, we saw that the the sticks were labeled "Pinot Noir," Mueller-Turgeau," "Chardonnay," and Rielsling." We stuck the sticks in the soil and they grew into grapes! Well, most of them. There were a few casualites. At one time, Glen and I wanted to have a winery but as we got to know Keith and Trudy and saw how hard these people worked seven days a week all year round, we realized it was way way way too much work for us. We decided we would do our part for the wine industry and be consumers!
Some of the finest Pinot Noir's come from Oregon and upon closer inspection, you will fine that the finest of the finest, comes from Kramer Vineyards. Spectacular. Wayne and Becky went with us on this trip which made for fun day. Some snaps:
Such a nice day. The evening wasn't too bad either! It was our 5th annual neighborhood block party. There were 10 families with some friends and some former neighbors even came over! I think this was the first year that none of my family was here. I'd say as long as we've been doing our block party, someone from my family was here! We invited Casey and Amanda but those young kids had plans! Miranda didn't join us this year either. Oh well, there were LOTS of little kids there so I got to at least be an auntie for the evening! I actually didn't take too many pictures. None of me, of course. Here are a few:
Neighbor Josh wheeling in for some fun.
Our buddies, W and B.
John's annual shimmey up the light standard to dim the lights for the evening.
And then of course, the smartest ladies in the cul-de-sac....making margaritas with a hand crank blender. Yee-haw! We had us some good fun!
That's all for now! Hope you have a great Thursday!!!!
Ooooh, what a great day! Looks hecka fun, I'll say. I told Nate all about your tradition and of course he wants to go now. Can't wait to show him these pics. Love you, sis!
Posted by: renee | July 06, 2006 at 12:28 PM
Ah, the sparkly, cul-de-sac memories those pictures brought back....and a hand crankin margarita machine? Sign me up! Sorry to have missed it this year Shell, I'll try again for next year.
Love you.
Sisi
Posted by: simone | July 06, 2006 at 01:18 PM
Oh, sounds like a lot of fun!!! I love the view of the vineyard. Eventhough, I don't drink I love going to the winery coz' it's so beautiful!
Posted by: Malou | July 06, 2006 at 08:46 PM