Friday evening

[ksmith]

So Runaway King is currently stretched out next to me on the couch, snoring softly, the top of his head pressed against my leg. Gaby, meanwhile, lies at my feet--if I need to get up for any reason, I will need to play Furniture Twister to keep from stepping on her.

I'm effectively immobilized, IOW.

In other news, ordered demitasse cups from C&B so that I can drink trolleypup's hot chocolate properly. Also ordered stemless wine glasses because I am so sure-handed.

And it's raining again, dammit.

Comments

[sandramcdonald.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the escapees are fine!

I came home from the grocery store to find a very healthy, happy looking black dog (I have no idea what breed) in my dead!neighbor's yard. He trotted over to me, no leash or collar, and by the time I got the groceries inside, he'd wandered off again. I suspect the college student 2 doors down, who had a friend over. He was a very happy and healthy dog, and I'll keep an eye out to see if he comes back.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Back in King's younger days, when I would take him into the woods and let him run off lead, I never had a problem getting him to come back. I would walk along the trail as he ran among the trees, and every so often I would see his head pop up from behind a stump or over the edge of a slope. Just checking to see where I was. As long as I was in view, all was good. If I disappeared from sight, he would come dashing back to look for me.

So he does come back. I'm more afraid of a car hitting him or someone hurting him than of him not coming back.

Hope Black Dog has a home.

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

I love our stemless glasses--my wee overworked hands always want to clutch too hard at a stem, for some reason. And they're so pretty!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I got a set of these. Inexpensive, all-purpose.

I have a question about wine storage for you and Kelly. I always have leftovers. I had been using a Vacuvin for years, but I hear they're really worthless and that it's better to simply refrigerate both red and white leftovers. Your thoughts?

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

Leftovers? What dat?

Also...*highfives self* Iz enabler. Hee!

[pmrabble.livejournal.com]

You're OK refrigerating for a day or so. Like Puppy says, couldn't tell you about any longer!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Welp, in my case the unfinished amount could sit for as long as a week.

One reason why I am reluctant to invest in really good wine. I make do with the best table varieties I can find, because it a glass of that goes off, I don't feel so bad.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Demitasse cups.

I can only imagine how rich this brew will be.

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

I actually make it a bit weaker than the directions, and sometimes add just a splash of a nice rum.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I have rum. I also have Grand Marnier.

See what you've started?

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

Mmhmm!

If I didn't have to go to work later: plain oatmeal with a splash of scotch is nice, to go with the hot chocolate with rum.

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

Vacuvin sucks the air out of the bottle, yes? It's not the inert gas gadget or the little plastic bottle-condoms?

A lot of our wine actually goes to the neighbors if it's good enough to finish... our consumption's very low compared to our supply, because K gets freebies. If something's so very good that we want to finish it over a few days, we do the air-sucking and it'll extend the fridge life a little longer. Not more than a week, I'd say.

We do keep both red and white in the fridge after it's open.

The glasses look great!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Vacuvin is the air-sucker with the special stoppers. They redesigned it a few years ago, reducing the number of rings on the stoppers from three to one, and the things just plain don't seal as well anymore. Any variation in the diameter of the bottle neck and I can't get a vacuum. I've hunted for the old stoppers, but they're hard to find. I still have one from my original set, and treat it with care.

A week of refrigeration is about the time I need. Good to know.

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

I did point this thread at K in case there is further expertise on offer.

[kelly-yoyo.livejournal.com]

I don't think they're worthless at all, but they're not foolproof. Whether a wine will keep or not very much depends on the wine and how it's made.

Quality seems to matter, but also the variety and style. Big bold reds seem to keep better than light, fresh whites.

I have had some wines keep for two weeks on the kitchen counter under vacuum, and other wines spoiled after just one day in the fridge under vacuum. The wine that did keep was expensive, and the wine that didn't was cheap. But I won't even generalize from that.

So in my semi-professional opinion, the Vacuvin is just fine. Other methods are good too.

I have samples of something called a wine shield which is a light plastic disk that floats on the top of the wine left in the bottle. It seems to work quite well, but I'm not thrilled with a method that creates unnecessary disposable plastic.

I haven't tried the gas methods, but I hear they're good.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I've been reading about the gas methods, and may look into one of those products.

I should add that it's rare when I pay more that $15-20 US for a bottle of "house" wine. I check the ratings, and have found that the brands/years that actually get rated do indeed taste better. But I tend to stick with Rosemount, Gallo, and other middlin' labels. I know I should be more adventurous, but I would like to attend some tastings first instead of blindly spending money.

[kelly-yoyo.livejournal.com]

Don't have to spend a lot to get exciting wine. You might want to check out wines from Spain right now. They have made huge jumps in quality over the past few years, and the prices are still really low. Great bargains to be had!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice!