A car geek's Royal Wedding post...

Okay, so I was amused by a 'recap' of the Royal Wedding (would never have gotten up early to watch it AND would definitely NOT hang out for so many hours to watch all the details) and I actually enjoyed the abbreviated coverage.

As a matter of fact, I have to go off on a tangent that the Royal Wedding is a good thing for the world to have seen. NOT because of the pomp and circumstance, not because of the "princess" fantasies that have captured the world and definitely not due to the celebrity bestowed upon the Royals thanks to the late Lady Di. In all reality, we have an attractive young couple parading around the wonderful institution known as MARRIAGE. Yes, while we Americans seem to be entrenched with single-parent households, we have two 'icons' (not my words) who are in the spotlight showing the world that it's cool to be married. God Bless Kate and William; I hope they are more successful than daddy Charles! (Di vs. Camilla? Really, Charles?)


Now back to my original post--and speaking of daddy Chuck, the thing that REALLY caught my eye happened after the goofy kiss(es) on the balcony--a lovely top-down drive in a vintage Aston Martin DB6 Volante. See this link for info about the car; all I can say is that kudos to the Queen for giving Chuck this sweet little 21st Birthday present! (where was mine??? ; ) And to think that it runs on wine (guess I could post this on BoKnowsVino too?)! How cool is that?

Kill Bill! (Actually, Kill THIS Bill!)

Take a glance at this article on HR 5034. This bill is going to take wine consumption back to the dark ages of Prohibition! Write your Congressman! Likewise, check out this site and find out more about this horror-show.

As for Georgia residents, time to go on the attack! If you are in the following districts, you need to yell at your representative NOW. As for John Barrow (D-12th), Paul Broun (R-10), John Gingrey (R-11), David Scott (D-13) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-3): SHAME ON YOU. I plan to research your contributors and I can almost guarantee that the big distributors have given them a lot of money. Meanwhile, I still can't get Ridge wine shipped directly to me due to overzealous restrictions on the State level--if HR 5034 passes, I will NEVER get the specialty wines I used to get from them. BOO!

A simple thank-you...

So what's up with the blooming onion pic? I place it here as a fond reminder of a great date night last night. Even better than that, it was a low-cost date night due to a thank-you gift received by my wife for all her work on a difficult closing. An agent friend was kind enough to give us a $50 gift card to Outback Steakhouse and noted we needed to enjoy some beef, a blooming onion, and a pitcher of margaritas after difficulties getting to the closing table. Well, I did have beef (Susie had Salmon) but we each had wine (quelle surprise, eh?) instead of margaritas--we felt 'duty-bound' to have the blooming onion, however and I had forgotten how yummy it was!

It was also fun to go to the movies (though the popcorn was a bit much after dinner) and enjoy a great new chick flick, "It's Complicated". I do admit I enjoy so-called chick flicks, but this one had some true "LOL" moments and I highly recommend it. (our last date night included "Up In The Air" with some other dude from Kentucky and it was great as well, though the ending was a bit of a surprise to us).

So yes, we're a cliché (dinner and a movie) but we had a great time! The closing was 'all in a day's work' but we truly appreciated the gesture. Get out there and enjoy yourself!