Plenty of Wine and a Posh Penguin

This week and next week are my busiest work weeks of the year, as the institute where I work is having its annual conference, and I'm in charge of all the logistics. So I don't have much time to post, but still some time to read! I have to to stay sane after all.

This past Saturday we had spring weather: sunny and in the 70s. I think we're in the only part of the country not covered in snow or ice at the moment. So Ickie and I went to several vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley. We tried a lot of things we liked, and bought two bottles of vintages we loved. The first was a Nebbilolo by the Clendenen Family Vineyards, which I'm really excited about having with some meaty Italian food. The second was a Mourverde from Bedford Thompson. We enjoyed tasting, talking to the folks in the tasting rooms (who were not at all pretentious), and wandering up and down the dusty main street of tiny Los Alamos trying to sober up a bit between vineyards.

We also strolled into a combined bakery/deli/art gallery/realtor's shop and found a wall full of cartoon originals by Jay Sopp. He writes a series about Penny and Polo, a dim-witted penguin and his capable polar bear sidekick, members of the Slightest Inkling Society of Exploration in London. The books are full of colorful art and feature two Jeeves and Wooster types engaged in Victorian era adventures reminiscent of Around the World in 80 Days. We bought a copy of Aerorace!, which was amusing whether or not you've had several glasses of wine. The bookseller also directed us to a place called Storyopolis in LA, a large children's bookstore. Just the name of it sent me into spasms of delight!