Different Perspectives

Yesterday I dialed a wrong number. A woman picked up the phone and, in disjointed, hard to understand English, said hello. I had a hard time hearing her due to all the noise in the background (children). I realized immediately I had not called a spray wash company.

I said "Oh, I'm sorry, wrong number." The woman's voice got a bit strident and she said "no, my number, not wrong".

I told her I had dialed the wrong number. She got even more heated, "no, no, right number".

I tried again telling her I meant to call someone else. Nope, I sure didn't. Or so she said.

Finally I just said, 'I'm sorry' again, and hung up.

It's the little things in life that sometimes stick in your head, ramble around, popping up at strange times (like when I first woke up this morning).

I don't have a clue which country in our great big ol' world that she came from. In my imagination that poor woman paced the floor worrying that someone was going to change her number, take it away or thought she was illegally using that phone number. I have concocted stories in my head off and on...she came from a communist controlled country...the children managed to get her out...she watches their little ones while they work to make it in America...

I wonder if that simple wrong number brought back bad memories for her?

She probably hung up the phone and said "stupid American woman, how can she think my number is wrong?" and then completely forgot about it.

A story with no ending because I will probably never know.

Fibromyalgia and Food "Fix"

Years back, when I worked a desk job, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

I had been running regularly, working out, taking aerobic classes, and was very active (but not overly so). Slowly I got to the point where getting out of bed in the morning was painful. I hurt. I was miserable. Sleep was sporadic and I was slugging through the day.

Luckily, being in a management position which gave me fantastic health benefits, I was able to work with my doctor to try and figure out the cause. We did every test imaginable over a long period of time. Finally I ended up with a rheumatoid specialist who came up with Fibromyalgia.

She gave me a whole slew of prescriptions and toldl me to get on the treadmill and walk for ten minutes a day. I laughed, thinking of the races I used to run & thought she was really underestimating my abilities. I couldn't walk for five minutes.

I filled the prescriptions and took them for a few days. I really, really 1) hated the idea of taking all those pills and 2) hated the side-affects. I stopped and went back to being miserable.

However, I didn't give up. I started a search for another answer. I did NOT like the idea of being weak, spiraling into medicine dependence, or being labeled.

I ultimately went to see a nutritionist. Not your typical hospital nutritionist (here's your food pyramid, eat like it says). I went to a private doctor who believed in using food, vitamins, minerals and all that's natural to combat illnesses.

She put me on what she called a shock diet. Nothing white in my diet at all for two weeks. If it was processed with anything white I couldn't eat it. It truly was a shock. I went through withdrawals I suppose. For about three days I walked from refrigerator to pantry to almost banging into walls as I detoxed from all the junk I had been eating (I thought I was a healthy-eater!). By the time the 2 weeks were over I was comfortable with eating whole foods and rather liked the diet.

Long story, but after the shock diet, dumping all the vitamins I thought I needed and narrowing them down to a few select choices, changing my diet, etc. I have never had any of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia... It wasn't an overnight process but it was a fairly quick turnaround. (Note: when I go back to bad eating habits, don't allow myself to get sufficient sleep, I can tell when my body is heading back in the yikes direction. I adjust and get back on track.)

That was my very first real experience with looking at diet and nutrition as a "cure" rather than going with the drugs most doctors automatically prescribe. Since then I've looked for doctors who say diet, exercise, lifestyle before pulling out the prescription pad. They are hard to find.

When my cholesterol started going up my doctor (at the time) told me I just had bad genes, luck of the draw. She "allowed" me two months to try and decrease it before starting me on Lipitor. It went up. I was half-ass about working on it at the time, bought into "gene" thing.

Later I did some research, read how I could lower it naturally with diet and proper exercise. I ditched the Lipitor. My cholesterol is well below the top range and has stayed there for years. My doctor still insists on testing it more often than usual to monitor :-)

I could tell more tales...I have politely argued with many doctors, done it my way and been successful in every instance. Good research and culling through all the hype of the current fads is crucial.

I'm not saying that diet can cure everything, but we really should give it a shot first. Even if it's not "the" cure eating healthy sure will help with fighting whatever you are facing.

I now have an OK doctor. She's not "into" the same things I am but when I walk in and tell her I'm doing this or that she says OK, try it, go for it, we'll do blood tests and see how it works. She has even given me some natural alternatives when I asked. She's still a prescription pad grabber first type, but she's agreeable to trying other things.

I am getting ready to tell her I've gone totally plant based. That's going to be an interesting conversation!

On the hunt for sugar-free frozen potatoes...(Healthy Eating Post) - updated

I am a lazy cook. I used to do gourmet meals, spend time in the kitchen, but there's just way too much to do in life these days. I'd rather be in the studio!

Given there's only two of us, buying fresh often results in a lot of waste. I toss half of what we buy sometimes simply because we like variety and we can't eat a whole bunch or bag before it goes bad.

I'm not into buying real potatoes, cleaning and cooking them either. Yep, lazy cook. I will at times but when I want hash browns for breakfast or fries for dinner I want them now.

If you've read any of my past posts you know I don't eat any form of added sugar. It works for me...maybe not for you. I have found so many benefits from cutting it completely out of my diet over the years! Plus I've learned it's easier to ditch it all rather than try to eat just a little. I always want more and the craving cycle starts.

I've looked for frozen potatoes without added sugar over the past few years without success. Now that I'm moving to a much higher plant-based diet I wanted, needed, some potatoes. I got serious about finding some.

Who would have thought that finding hash browns, home fries or other frozen potato products without added sugar would be a problem? Did you know that your Ore-Ida, Alexia, etc. have sugar on them? It's getting harder and harder to find things that don't have some form of added sugar.

I know many of you are saying something along the lines of "who cares?". If you're diabetic they tell you not to eat potatoes anyway, sugar or no added sugar. Most of you already think I'm over the top with my 'no sugar' life-style! Give up cookies? cake? candy?

If you're eating sugar and you know it, that's one thing. But if you are eating sugar in your blue cheese salad dressings, mayonnaise, and other items that don't need or call for sugar, it seems kind of sneaky. According to some statistics over 80% of what you buy these days has added sugar. I dare you to go to the store and fill your cart up with things that have no added sugar...and try to go just five days without sugar. Bet you spend those five days craving the stuff, talking yourself out of giving it up. You will go through withdrawals.

I recently watched a fairly short documentary narrated by Katie Couric titled "Fed Up". If you have kids, or you struggle with your weight, I'd highly recommend that you watch it.

Here's the trailer:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCUbvOwwfWM)

I looked at every single bag in the grocery store's regular frozen food section. No luck. Every single bag had added sugar, plus many had things I couldn't pronounce. I went on-line looking at ingredients. No luck until...I finally found ONE company that doesn't add sugar to their potatoes: Cascadian Farms.  (http://www.cascadianfarm.com/products/frozen-potatoes). Guess where I'll be heading later today??? They sell them at Kroger in their healthy section. They probably sell them at Publix and other stores, too. They are organic, too! Big plus.

Here's another documentary, from Canada that's well worth watching.




 And one more (I keep finding them and adding):




I found some interesting sites while on my search:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=48 - interesting take on the much-maligned potato
http://www.potatopro.com/ - loads of information
http://www.potatoesusa.com/index.php - United States Potato Board

Shopping at Sams Club (Healthy Eating Post)

I was pleasantly surprised to see more organic offerings in the aisles as I wandered. There is very little I will buy at Sams aside from paper products as they only stock the most popular selling items. Sadly that means some of the most unhealthy stuff that exists usually.

They've always had a sampling of organic fresh veggies such as spinach, kale and lettuce. This time I noted they had carrots --- non-GMO labeled, too. I found a number of things that were labeled non-GMO.

I didn't find any organic fresh fruit. Maybe they had some frozen organic but I already have enough so didn't check it out.

The organics things they had on the dry / non-refrigerator/freezer aisles included some soups, some chips and a few other items. All but one of them had sugar of some sort. I don't do sugar. It was nice though to see a better selection.

I found some non-GMO/organic rice with kale and chia seeds that I grabbed to try. Very good, had it for dinner when I got home. It's microwavable stuff, too. I hate to spend the time cooking any more, just too much to do in this world. Dislike cleaning up even more than cooking...

re: Healthy Eating Post - I thought I'd start labeling them with that title just so those who could care less will know to skip them. That is assuming anyone at all is reading along...

People think I'm crazy...

Yep, they do. Well, I probably am in many ways that seem normal to me...but the one that most of my "normal" friends and family think I'm over the top about is what I eat.

I'm usually the lone one who asks for a veggie plate at a banquet. I'm the one my Mom calls before I go visit to find out if I'll eat this or that...and no matter how many times I tell her I'll find something to eat she still wants to try. I love her all the more because she does try, even though she thinks I'm crazy! I'm the one who gets the call asking if I'll bring my own food at Board meetings or other day-long events because they can't figure out what to order for me.

Now I'm kind of inching toward going vegan. I'm already a self-titled vegetarian. I will drink milk, eat some cheeses and eggs and haven't cared if my gluten-free, sugar-free waffles were made with dairy (I just discovered they aren't!). Going vegan means I'd give up all by-products with dairy, cheese, eggs and other food items made with animal products.

I'll tell you up-front that I think animals are on this earth so we can eat them and / or wear them. I've been a vegetarian since my teen years. I've probably bought and cooked meat three times in the past 20 years --- to feed someone else. Grass fed, hormone and antibiotic meat raised the way they used to be raised, of course.

I've known that it was kind of hypocritical to not eat meat because of the way they're processed, fed, treated, but give a pass to the milk, eggs, and other products produced from those same animals. I buy organic, cage free, but haven't been as stringent when it comes to the mixes, frozen waffles, etc. that I buy for convenience.

As I wrote in a previous blog I have been watching all kinds of food and health related documentaries while I'm walking on the treadmill. They have finally convinced me to give it a shot.

I'm going to move slowly, not go hog wild (pun intended).

I am going to majorly increase my veggie and legume consumption. I am going to only buy vegan processed foods (like my waffles). I pulled the cheese out of the fridge and tossed it in the freezer so I can give it to someone in the family who eats cheese. I left some things in the fridge because my husband is not on the same page and so we'll have dual eating habits.

I'm doing this for two main reasons that have a lot of subsets.

1- the health benefits. I watched, and then read, enough to see clearly that meat, dairy, etc. eaters had much higher incidents of a wide, wide assortment of illnesses. I won't bore you with all the details but it was enough to make me dig further and ultimately decide that our food and diets have changed over the past 50 or more years and it just ain't healthy to eat them pigs...

2 - the way we raise and process our meats is disgusting, criminal, horrific. Castrating animals without any anesthesia? cramming them into pens? cutting off beaks? grinding up live chicks? Not to mention the deplorable working conditions for those who work in the meat processing plants.

This isn't a "new years resolution", it's something I've been moving toward for a while and yesterday watching one of the movies again things crystallized in my mind.

Here's my plan:

• No cheese.
• No eggs.
• No butter.

Just doing those three is going to be a major adjustment but I'm not stopping there...
I will:

• Use organic, non-GMO, farm raised cow milk in my morning tea for a while until I've cleansed my palette and adjust to the other changes. That's the only time I use milk and I that tea is a vice I enjoy too much to ditch. Gosh, I am already doing enough crazy without depriving myself of my early-morning enjoyment!
• Substitute vegan foods (waffles, mayo, butter, etc.) for some of my current choices.
• Include a daily veggie smoothy with some fruit (decided the juicing was for the devout)
• Eat more legumes, seeds and nuts.
• Make my plate 70+% veggies.
• Take a B12 supplement off and on. 

Those are some major changes for yours truly. I'll keep you posted. I had a vegan waffle with half a banana, natural peanut butter and organic raisins for breakfast. Wonder what I'll do for lunch?

My friends and family thought I was crazy before. Now they are going to think I'm certifiable.

Juicing or not?

I've been watching a ton of health related movies since getting a Roku which gave me access to Netflix, Amazon and a bunch of other channels. I usually watch them as I'm walking on the treadmill. It makes me feel virtuous to do double-duty, plus it motivates me to keep on moving.

It's been very interesting and educational. I've watched "Food, Inc.", "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead", "Vegucated", and other similar movies.

After watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead I decided to experiment a bit with juicing.

I don't really need to lose a ton of weight although I wouldn't mind dropping some. My main reason for wanting to try juicing is to get a few more veggies in my system. I'm also a bit concerned about my joints as I've had issues off and on for years since I pushed myself too hard and fast when training for a marathon. Long story but the end result has been an inability to run marathons...or for any length of time.

Tale after tale of people getting of medications, reversing diseases or chronic conditions sparked a strong interest. I'd like to prevent going down the path of doctor visits, prescription medications lined up on the counter, poor health, lack of energy, obesity, brain-fog, and all those other negatives that are so prevalent these days.

I'm a vegetarian, been one since my teens. I don't eat sugar of any sort except, horrible I know, Splenda in my hot tea in the morning (more on that sinful choice at some other time). I stopped with the gluten long before it became a fad. Despite all of those so-called "healthy" food choices I know I am addicted to carbs. Give me a choice between a piece of toast and a stalk of broccoli and guess which one I'll grab?

I have a Nutribullet and had been using it for smoothies but I thought juicing might be a better option. I get plenty of fiber so ditching the natural fibers isn't that big a deal for my intestines, but I am not thrilled with tossing all the good stuff out.

My daughter-in-law loaned me a juicer. She had tried it, said it was messy, a hassle, she'd done it a few times and given up.

I just tried my first juicing. It's messy, it's kind of a hassle and something I may or may not do again! I made a kale, strawberry, apple concoction. It was good. If someone else made it and handed it to me I'd love it.

Right now I have a bunch of glob-filled things in my sink waiting to be cleaned. And the residue on my little glass is not appetizing. My teeth may be green also. 

I'm kind of thinking that maybe I'll just stick with the Nutribullet. I can toss all the same stuff in it, whir it a bit and have a filling, fiber-rich, vitamin-rich drink.

I did learn a few things during the process though. I have been making my smoothies completely backwards. I've been fruit heavy.

I just watched a video on YouTube by Elizabeth Rider (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45XdMtaig1E) about some common juicing mistakes. I watched it thinking she was going to tell me how to do things so I didn't have such a mess (ha ha). I need to make sure my smoothies are green. More kale, fewer bananas, mangoes and strawberries.

If you're interested in more on juicing here are a few YouTube videos that caught my attention:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjt3bxyKcCI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDeTKomY4P8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKzng1_byMY

Here a trailer for a movie/documentary I'm going to watch if it's on Netflix/Amazon, etc. :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQNNX2Oo7Kk&list=PLDB08EB984B46CB4D

On a side-note: I saw a number of videos lamenting major weight gain after going off a juice-fast. I think if someone slowly goes back to eating HEALTHY foods, makes veggies a platform of a normal diet rather than the little exclamation point on the platter, and has done their juicing correctly that shouldn't be an issue. I didn't watch any of the videos as I wasn't going to do a juice fast like Joe Cross or others who tout the benefits.

Zumba... R.I.P.P.E.D. and more

I've been working out regularly for a number of years. Mostly I hit the treadmill and the weight machines with my friend. We've been getting out butts out of bed and to the gym between 5:30 and 6:30 almost every morning. Yawn.

I hit a plateau and really wasn't seeing the kind of changes I wanted so about a month ago I started tossing in a few classes to the mix.

Zumba is fun. I'm still working on all the steps, but I move, and move, and move. More often than not I move in a different direction that the rest of the class but who cares? I'm moving. Some instructors are fun, some are fun to watch, some are focused...all bring a different style...all get my heart rate going.

I think that the R.I.P.P.E.D. classes are possibly my favorite "get something done" type class. They push my limits. It's weights, jumping jacks, all kinds of varied things. Those initials stand for something...Resistance, Intervals, Power, Plyometrics, Endurance, and Diet. So far no one has said anything about diet in the class aside from "eat well", whatever that might mean. I didn't realize the D stood for diet until I just looked it up to share!

I'll probably try a few of the others but I think I need to stick to the ones I've mentioned for a bit.

I won't climb on the scale until I go to the doctor next month. I needed a goal and the doc visit is it.

Wondering why I'm writing this? Me too.

Go see "Annie"!

I read the reviews by the reviewmeisters.
They panned Annie.
I almost didn't want to go see it.
I'm glad I did.

The movie is positive. It's uplifting. It's fun. The acting is good. The music is great. There's really nothing negative I can say about it. Sorry to those who make a living reviewing movies, you got this one wrong (dang, you need to take a dose of something to counter your cynical minds).

It has GREAT messages:
- you can be anything, background doesn't matter
- work hard and you can achieve
- hard knocks happen but your attitude will help you triumph
- redemption for any and all

I could probably list some more but those are the ones that shouted out at me as I thought about Annie afterwards. I thoroughly enjoyed getting a dose of positive in the guise of entertaining theater.

The music is fun, catchy, sing-able and yes, good. Sure, the words are a bit different but so is the movie. It's very loosely based on Annie. I think it kept the main themes but with a modern twist.

Sure, it's different. But go out and read the first comic strip then watch all the subsequent cartoons, movies, spin-offs, remakes. Think Annie has changed? What creation from the 1930s hasn't been changed to fit the times? 

They dissed Cameron Diaz (Miss Hannigan) for overacting. Did they SEE Carol Burnett in the 1982 remake? Kathy Bates in the 1999 version?

They didn't like the music? the singing? We left the theater and went straight to the store to find the CD. We bought the last one. I don't know if that means they're selling like crazy or the stores just didn't stock them!

I hope every parent takes their children, all ages, to see the movie. I have seen most of the other versions, if not all. I like the fact that they modernized this one.

(I'm going to come back & add some more later, breakfast calls).

What would you miss the most?

I just finished re-reading One Second After by William Forstchen. It's an interesting book, thought provoking and scary. It's a story about what happens after an EMP attack is unleashed on America.

I see that they're in production at Warner Bros. to make a movie with the book as the basis. I'll go see it.

The scary part of the book is that it's a true possibility. Many of the apocalyptic movies and books are so far removed from the realm of possibility that I would classify them as entertainment. The things that happen in One Second After could happen. I doubt it would happen on the scale that's depicted in the book, but even an EMP over our major cities would create devastating havoc for many, many years.

An EMP is an Electro Magnetic Pulse. I won't go into details, it's easy to look it up (and I'm definitely not an expert!). On a very-simplistic level --- it would wipe out, shut down, kill computers, cars with electronic components, airplanes, your electric can opener,  trains...anything that has a computer circuit or is run by any form of electricity. Here's a quote from the "About EMP" section on Forstchen's website: "In far less than a milli second the entire power grid of the United States, and all that it supports will be destroyed." (http://onesecondafter.com/pb/wp_d10e87d9/wp_d10e87d9.html)

Destroyed.

How do you repair things without electronics? Dams would shut down. Trains wouldn't run. Freezers wouldn't work. Electric power tools would be useless. Tractors, dead. Processing machines, kaput. Circuit board fried.

Most grocery stores have maybe three days of food. They rely on heaters, coolers, freezers and transportation.

How far are you from a grocery store? Right now you hop in your car and drive the five or ten miles. Unless you have a clunker from the 60s or earlier you vehicle isn't going to work. So... think about walking. Think about carrying the food home. Think about how fast those who got their first would clean out the shelves.

If you do have a clunker that works how are you going to fill the tank with gas? The gas station pumps aren't going to work.


No communication either. No radio or TV no Internet to tell us what's going on. No cell phones. No telephones, either. You wouldn't know what was going on with your son in college, your daughter who's visiting a friend across town or your parents living in another state.

Hospital equipment unable to function, elevators stopped or crashed... People in the inner cities would start to move outward hoping for food to live on. How long before the animals on the farms are butchered without thought to the future?

We gradually acquired skills and knowledge to bring us to our current wonderful lifestyles. What happens when all at once everyone loses everything? Most of us don't have even basic survival skills. Do you know what's edible in the forest? How to butcher a deer (assuming you could figure out how to kill it in the first place)? Know where the nearest stream is with fish? Could you grow a garden with edible food before you starved? Could you protect it from those who are out to survive any way possible?

Since reading the book for the first time I sometimes look at some of the things I take for granted and wonder what I'd miss most. Some of the big things are easy --- connection with family, communication, heat, air conditioning, FOOD. Transportation. Refills on medicines.

But, assuming I was one who managed to somehow survive for a period of time, I sometimes wonder what little things I'd miss the most?

I always think about toilet paper. Once whatever I have in the house is gone it's gone.
Toothpaste.

Bandaids.
Aspirin.

Shampoo.
Hot tea.
Napkins.
Contact lenses / replacement glasses.
Tape.
Music.

What about you? 

Here are a few links to get you started if you'd like to know more about EMPs:
http://onesecondafter.com/pb/wp_d10e87d9/wp_d10e87d9.html
http://www.futurescience.com/emp/emp-protection.html
http://unitedstatesaction.com/emp-terror.htm

Quick note on earaches...

I've been plagued since I was a child with intermittent earaches. No health issues, just have to make sure I take care when swimming, etc.

Monday started with an earache, much worse than usual. It got more painful as the evening progressed, none of my usual remedies made a dent. Even aspirin didn't ease the pain.

I did what most of us do these days when we can't get to a doctor, I hit the Internet and went on a search for natural remedies. I found a ton of suggestions, unfortunately I didn't have any of the items listed in the house... except alcohol and white vinegar.

I gave it a shot. Everyone had different mixtures -- 3 portions of white vinegar to one of alcohol, etc. I went with half and half. I put it on a cotton ball, grabbed a heating pad & went to bed to read. 15 minutes later I realized the pain was completely gone. It's been three days and it hasn't returned.

Next time I go to the doc I'll let her take a look just to make sure nothing's going on in there, but I imagine it was just the old swimmers ear. If it comes back, I'll head to the doctor.

Figured I'd take a minute & share just in case anyone ever ran into the same problem. I didn't see any horror tales or comments from doctors saying not to do it but whenever you / we go the route of home "repair" you / we need to be cautious... That's my official disclaimer . Be careful with your ears, eyes, and all the rest of your bod.

Lines of Privacy in a Relationship

The relationship of a friend just ended because one of the duo was snooping into private documents. I don't know enough of the details to know whether it was curiosity, jealousy or just different lines of privacy that caused the guilty party to snoop.

What it did bring up for me was the ending of one of my relationships years back.

I caught my guy reading my diary / journal. It had been in a drawer, hidden, not a place where there was any excuse for him to look and possibly find it. He read enough to start asking questions about things in the journal. Nothing incriminating or bad about him. However, I used the journal to vent feelings on issues, worry out problems, or walk myself through choices.

It wasn't the kind of stuff that anyone would want to share with another, and while lining out choice or venting feelings even I understood they were fleeting and many times not even how I truly felt once I put them on paper. I always destroyed the journals after I filled them.

It destroyed our relationship as I didn't want anyone who'd snoop, violate my privacy, and then, to make it worse, start questioning me about things in the journal during our attempt to work it out. I truly felt violated.

Today I believe that there are lines in a relationship. There should be some privacy allowed for each party. I wouldn't pick up a piece of mail belonging to my significant other and open it, or read it without permission. I don't go through drawers or closets.

I was curious, what are your lines? I realized everyone's lines are different. My ex brother-in-law walked into my parents house the first time he met them, went straight to the fridge, opened it and took something out to drink. He didn't ask, didn't wait for them to ask. It was an assumption on his part that he was welcome to whatever was in the fridge. He also would open any closed doors and take a look if he walked by them... Those are two big no-nos in my book!

Would you log in and read your spouse or significant others' email? Open a piece of mail directed to them? Go through his or her closet? office desk? Is it a trust issue or just different lines of privacy? Do you feel like your significant other has the same lines as you?

Falderal and Hendersonville, NC

Don't you love the word "Falderal"? Obviously my spell checker doesn't 'cause it's popped the squiggly red line under the word... what foolish nonsense. Ummm, well the definition of falderal does include foolish nonsense....

Anywaze, the reason I'm going along on what some might call a worthless trifle is 'cause Falderal is the name of a winery in Hendersonville, North Carolina and I fell in love with their wines over the weekend!

I did a show with my son up there over the Memorial Day weekend. Someone from the winery posted a comment on Facebook inviting their friends and fans to visit them. I popped a comment back saying we were going to be up there working the show, would love to stop in but knew we wouldn't be able to do it (long days when you're working a show!). They said to let 'em know where we would be and they'd bring us a sample! Wow, how out of the way, above and beyond nice --- and obviously someone who cared about promoting their wine (very good business sense).

Saturday afternoon someone DID drop by with a sample. Yours truly tried the "Nantahala White" which is a peach chardonnay. Absolutely loved it. Turns out the winery was just a few blocks away! So, long story short, we bought two bottles of the Nantahala White, plus two bottles of their "One Pink Toe" which is a raspberry zinfandel. Ditto on how good it is...

The BAD part about this story is that they can only sell in North Carolina. The GOOD part is that a lot of my friends live up there or nearby, or vacation in the area, so at least I can encourage them to buy and try. Even better, my sisters and I have been talking about a girls weekend in Hendersonville. Not because of the wine, it's a trip we've been talking about for a while. However, we will definitely be stopping by the winery to get the weekend started on the right foot if you know what I mean!

Prior to our girls weekend, we'll be having a girls night and Falderal wine will most assuredly be part of the night!

Hendersonville is a great place to visit and live based on my discussions with the locals. I've done the Memorial Day show for three years now and each year I am more impressed with the area and the people. Finding a great winery just adds to the attraction.

Here's what the label has to say about Falderal Winery: All wines made by Falderal Winery are hand-crafted in small batches to ensure high quality and full flavor. Our wine is crafted locally from the finest juices from all over the world! Once you try it, we know you will agree."

I agree.

www.falderalwinery.com --- haven't checked, but maybe they can ship! If they do, I'm gonna try some other wines.

Addendum: I just popped over to the Falderal website. You must, must go check out the wines they carry! Shoot, I may have to buy one of each and line them up on a shelf just for comments when people come to visit. Great names, great labels, lots of fun: http://falderalwinery.com/our-wines/