How long has it been since I posted a wine review? Honestly, I don’t usually go for italian wine. I don’t have anything against it. I just don’t always reach for a bottle when I have other options. But this weekend I felt like picking up a brunello and this 2013 Caparzo did not disappoint.
Aged two years in Slavonian oak, this fire brick red wine has subtle notes of tar and cassis on the nose (even after decanting an hour… it was still hard to find!). Once it hits your mouth the first thing you’ll notice is the taste of roasted meat (and charred rosemary?) and raspberry. Clean, light berry finish. I picked up an extra bottle to save for 2-3 years.
Planted potatoes, watermelon, an herb garden, some lettuces and peppers, and about a dozen sunflowers; worked on the irrigation system; and hunted Easter eggs with Amiens and Aletheia.
We set up about 70 students with Wikipedia accounts today. We didn’t get much editing done (they’ve got the rest of the semester to work on that), but we got them one step closer to being empowered Wikipedia editors and creators.
Beatrice the Pug cares little for New Year’s resolutions.
In 2016, I resolved to simplify and to focus on ways to increase my creative output both at work and at home as well as contribute to self-fulfillment. I pledged to read my own tomes, to finish an outstanding research project, to commit to monthly challenges, and repeat my mantras daily.
I didn’t do any of that.
Instead, I over-complicated my work-life balance by attempting (and failing) at an assortment of daily routines. I continued to allow myself to get bogged down in other people’s projects and priorities. I hardly read anything at all. I dropped the research project (thankfully), the monthly challenges (by month three), and the daily mantras (at the recommendation of my therapist).
Nonetheless, I am back again with a series of resolutions for 2018. Let’s keep this simple:
Priorities for 2018
One thing I did manage to accomplish in 2017 was decrease my digital footprint. I deleted over 30 online accounts. I’d like to continue that trend and eventually get off Facebook entirely. Possibly Twitter as well. I also want to limit the news I consume to just a few respectful sources (primarily NYTimes and Metafilter) so I can spend more time contributing to what I care about, i.e. LibraryThing and Wikipedia. Additionally, I’d like to:
Read my own tomes
Sleep 8 hours every day
Strengthen my meditation practice
Call my parents weekly
Habits to continue to cultivate
These habits-to-cultivate are the same ones I resolved to develop last year. I’ve made some progress on them, especially through regular mediation and therapy, but I still have a lifetime of work ahead of me.
Be grateful.
Be present.
Smile.
Breath.
Listen.
Make eye contact.
Of course, blogging more is a perennial desire. You may have noticed I’ve started back-filing posts as far back as 2010. As I continue to (re)discover content that I posted to various online spaces over the past decade, I’m steadily moving some of that to this domain. 😉
How long has it been since I posted a wine review? Honestly, I don’t usually go for italian wine. I don’t have anything against it. I just don’t always reach for a bottle when I have other options. But this weekend I felt like picking up a brunello and this 2013 Caparzo did not disappoint.
