The changes that I am making to lose weight are changes for a lifetime. I'm retraining myself to make different choices with food, with drink and with exercise. So the question for the weekend was "Can my new lifestyle include a wine tasting trip?" Answer: yes.
Tom and I joined my brother Rick and his wife Pam for a day of wine tasting in the Shenendoah Valley. The day was beautiful. The sky was blue and the temperatures were in the upper 60s with just a hint of a breeze. My thoughtful husband planned ahead and packed meat and cheese, nuts, fruit and bottles of water. This insured that we wouldn't need to stop for a high calorie lunch.
We went to five wineries. They were all unique and interesting, as these small wineries in this area are. Each one had excellent wine. One of our stops included the Fitzgerald Winery. It sits at the top of a hill and the view from their patio is nothing short of spectacular. We sat and ate our lunch with a glass of their wine, looking out over the whole Shenendoah Valley. It just took your breath away, it was so beautiful. I could have stayed there the rest of the afternoon.
As fantastic as the day was though, the best part was spending time with my brother and his wife. Rick is two years younger than I. I kid him that he was always "Mom's favorite." Most of the time I'm not kidding. We've gotten closer the past few years than any other time in our lives, partly because of dealing with our Mom's accident and subsequent death. But also because we decided to make our relationship a priority. We purposefully plan get-togethers. Because he and Pam live 45 minutes south of us, it is a challenge, but well worth the time and effort. Pam and I are better than sisters-in-law. She's like a kindred spirit. As a working woman, she's very self-assured and capable in whatever setting she finds herself. She's a nurse and she worked for a time as a drug sales rep. This meant that she traveled around the Western U. S. alone. Its because of her that I first traveled on my own to visit my daughter in Connecticut. She's also talented and crafty at home, making her own tomato sauce, canning her own corn, running a little farm with my brother. We've gotten to be wonderful friends and I love talking to her and hearing her perspective on life. Bringing Pam into my family was one of the best things my brother did.
So, yes, wine-tasting is okay. Spending time with Rick and Pam is better than okay.
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