Please Donate Today to Help Alfred

I was speaking to some of you this weekend about my friend Allison's foundation that works to help women and children in Uganda. You may already know Allison as The Wine Princess. (Twittering as @TheWinePrincess, too.)

You must agree that she's absolutely adorable. But, before I filled you in, you probably didn't realize that the primary reason she opts to pour private wine tastings for a living and works for herself is to have the freedom to go to Uganda for a couple of months each year and work in support of a very small non-profit she runs, Hesed Ministries.

They do amazing, inspiring things in the villages of Uganda. Alfred (shown above) is the "boots-on-the-ground" missionary for their humanitarian work and he has been ill and running a very high fever (103 F). They've been treating him in the village without success. He really needs to be moved to a facility that can provide more modern medical care...relatively speaking, of course.

He and his wife together are raising almost 20 orphans and sending them to school. He sacrifices for the ministry and when the organization decided they needed to shut down due, in part, to the expense of his salary ($100/month), he said "We are working for the Lord, so we will work with or without pay."

A donation equivalent to his current salary (between $20 - $25 per month) from just 35 of us could raise the rest of the $1500 needed to get him to the better medical facility and will give him a better chance of recovering. In Uganda, you must pay in advance for medical care. He is currently being treated in earnest for malaria, though it's clear from the lack of results that malaria is not what's making him so sick.

Any donation can help, even $5 toward the cause. So far they've raised $625. If you can help with any size gift, please donate today!

You can donate at www.HesedInternational.org using Paypal. All donations made during this period will be earmarked for Alfred's medical care.

You can also track the progress and get updates on Alfred's condition on Facebook.

My New Favorite "Wine Bar"

It's more like a glorified wine store, with a cool Enomatic machine, but it's where I tried Norman Cellars 2006 "The Monster" Zinfandel and fell in love. Took a bottle home with me. Plan to drink it soon.

They also have a kitchen led by a hard-working chef named April. I know her name, because she also ends up delivering food, clearing glassware, etc. I suspect that's necessary because the place isn't really staffed to be a "restaurant."

Every bite of food was fantastic and I can wholeheartedly suggest the chicken satay and the citrus shrimp. YUM! Next time, we'll probably try one of the lovely cheese plates.
With the machine, you can try a taste, half glass, or full glass of any of the wines. We had fun walking around and trying to select wines that would go well with our food, based on the tasting notes posted. We were starving so food choices first. Wine selections to complement.
Tuesday nights are half-price wine night, so with all that we drank our cards still cashed in at a pretty reasonable rate. Plan to drag some friends there the next Tuesday that I'm actually in town....which will be February.

Church Street Cellars
(703) 255-0550
111 Church Street NW
Vienna, VA 22180

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

I have plenty of wine here, plus gin, tequila, and six types of rum, but somehow no bourbon. How is that even possible?

If the kid gets back and isn't thrown in the pokey, we'll be havin' Southern Pecan Pie with Bourbon-Honey whipped cream TONIGHT at Alex and Paige's.

It's less than three miles down the parkway. How likely is he to really get caught, huh?

Wine Killed My Laptop

I have so much more to share from the fabulous wine-soaked girls' weekend at the shore, but I'm recovering from technical difficulties.

Friday night, during an impromptu dance party, someone (probably me...er...actually, it was most definitely me) knocked a full glass of the lovely Sunfish Syrah right onto the keyboard of my beloved Compaq.I really believed it would survive, figuring I'd sopped up most of the spill immediately.

Alas, I am easily distracted, especially by classic songs from Off the Wall and early 90s gems from Bel Biv Devoe. So, off I went to keep dancing with the girls and my trusty pal died all alone.

This week has been spent recovering data, reinstalling software, and basically running a little orientation for my fancy new HP.
The good news is that the replacement is faster, more powerful, has a Webcam - how modern! - and a much bigger screen.

With glass in hand, I say "Onward!"

Perfect Location for the Girls' Weekend

We're in St. Michael's Maryland for a Bachelorette celebration for our beloved Heather Patterson.

You probably know her...the most adorable little preppy in our circle. Cute, cute, cute! And smart! And...getting married in Florida two weeks from tomorrow. (Sorry guys.)

Wait until you see the pictures of the house! It's the perfect location for the celebration. (Keep your pants on...they're posted below. I wouldn't hold out on you for long.)

I just rolled in as a few of the early arrivals stroll around St. Michael's shopping after a Ladies-Who-Lunch-ish spa outing. Left all my cares behind and arrived to find THIS!!!

Like dutiful gals, we're claiming different adorable bedrooms.
No mystery why I chose this one.

Across the hall we've got the bunk room - which will probably hereafter be known as the awesome room.
Check out this view! And there are kayaks for us. Yippeee!
And...all the best provisions for a girly celebration.
Here is the view behind me when I'm writing (have assignments to finish, of course...so maybe I didn't leave ALL my cares behind). Perhaps I should figure out a way to turn around and enjoy this.

It's about 3:30 pm now. Right now you can use your imagination, but mark my words: in a couple of hours we'll be sitting here, drinking wine and watching the sunset.
More pictures to follow.

More Birthday Celebrations

...and somehow they always involve wine.

We gathered at Jen's beautiful home to celebrate three August birthdays: Carrie's, Liz's, and mine. There was amazing Thai food accompanied by several varietals, including the great Frisch Riesling provided by Brigette.

Val brought a very special, inconvenient-to-procure cake, which was incredibly delicious and warmly welcomed. In the excitement, she started blowing out the candles for us. She's just full service!

There were some good-natured scuffles over some coveted handbags and no less than three pairs of girlfriendy feet sported hot and enviable shoes. (I'm especially thinking of you, Erica. Polka dots!)














A few candles were still lit, so the birthday girls blew them out together and made many wishes, most probably involved more wine. Mine definitely involved more Thai food and fervent hopes that there'd be plenty of cake for seconds and maybe thirds!

Brigette's beautiful Lauren looked on and didn't seem entirely convinced we'd spent our wishes wisely.

But even Lauren concurred that we're very lucky women, all of us so grateful to have such a wonderful, supportive group of bon vivants as dear friends. It even looks like she became a touch verklempt thinking about it.