Mad Housewife Wines

My friend and I waited for the celebrity of Mad Housewife to arrive at our local shop...but she was caught up in heavy traffic, and we had to leave. Not to be deterred, I took this photograph and my friend, Roxanne, bought a bottle of Mad Housewife wine. She told me later she had thoroughly enjoyed it, and would buy it again. So, I did a little research, and found the following from the Mad Housewife's web page. 

Did You Know That Mad Housewife Is An Award Winning Wine?
We’re more than just a clever and fun label. We’re a great tasting wine, too. Check out the awards our wine has received in blind tastings around the country.

Chardonnay
2007 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2007 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, Cincinnati Wine Festival
2007 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Orange County Fair
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Denver International Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Grand Harvest Awards
2008 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, Riverside International Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, 2010 West Coast Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, National Women's Wine Competition 2010
2008 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Next Gen Wine Competition 2010
2008 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Cabernet: Silver Medal, National Women’s Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Silver Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Bronze Medal, Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Bronze Medal, Grand Harvest Awards
2008 Cabernet: Silver Medal, 2010 West Coast Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Silver Medal, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2008 Cabernet: Bronze Medal, Next Gen Wine Competition 2010
2009 Cabernet: Silver Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Merlot
2007 Merlot: Silver Medal, Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
2007 Merlot: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, Grand Harvest Awards
2008 Merlot: Silver Medal, Denver International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Silver Medal, Riverside International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Silver Medal, National Women's Wine Competition 2010
2008 Merlot: Silver Medal, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, San Francisco International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, Next Gen Wine Competition 2010
2009 Merlot: Gold Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
White Zinfandel
2008 White Zinfandel: Silver Medal, San Diego International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Bronze Medal, Riverside International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Silver Medal, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Silver Medal, Critics Challenge International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Bronze Medal, San Francisco International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Bronze Medal, Next Gen Wine Competition 2010

Women from Essex

Photo: Dawn Hyde (nee Vincent) and Carol  (nee Vincent)

Three years ago, I was under contract by The History Press to write a book entitled: Christmas Past in Essex. ISBN: 978 07524 4463 5. I’m glad to report the book is doing extremely well albeit a small window of opportunity for sales. It is however, considered an "Evergreen Book," which obviously means it returns each year.

Yesterday,  I had the pleasure of having afternoon tea with Dawn Hyde and younger sister Carol, both of whom are Essex girls (and very proud of it I might add). They are both mentioned in Christmas Past in Essex (Page 76). Dawn remembers the special Christmases they had in Essex, even during the war years.

Following is an excerpt:

"The War Years

Christmas during the war years was particularly harsh for many families throughout England but particularly in Essex which seemed to take the brunt of the German attacks. Dawn Hyde (nee Vincent) recalls that an uncle lost his life on the Thames which was a frequent target for the German air force. Dawn’s own father worked as a tug captain on the Thames and he and his family knew his life was often in peril. Happily he survived, even though while living with his father in London, with his wife and twin daughters, the house sustained a direct hit. They all survived, but moved to Hullbridge soon after and loved living in Essex.
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“I know it must have been very difficult for my parents during the war – but I must admit that I never fully appreciated the danger we were in and how hard it must have been for mum and dad. When the sirens went off, we all used to run down to the shelter at the school which was only a matter of yards from our house. We used to cover our heads for protection and carry our gas masks as we ran. I remember that my gas mask had a picture of Mickey Mouse on the outside. Anyhow, we’d all run to the shelter with our dog running alongside us. Then we’d have to wait in the shelter until we heard the ‘all clear’ siren and then we’d come out and go about our normal day.

We moved to Hullbridge in about 1940, just after the war started. It was a lovely place to live, close to the water – everything was fresh and clean. There was only a three room school with outside toilets across the playground that used to freeze up during really cold weather. My teacher, Miss Anderson (she may have been married, I don’t recall) used to make a real effort every Christmas by decorating the class with wonderful pictures of Jesus, the nativity and other symbolic Christmas scenes. The whole feeling was one of happiness and security despite the bombings. Mostly, we were safe living in Hullbridge because London took the brunt of the bombings.

Since I am a twin, we girls always used to dress alike and mum used to have a seamstress in Hullbridge who would make identical clothes for us. It was a good time at Christmas because we always got a new outfit, some toys and lots and lots of sweets. This was because my uncle had a sweet shop in London close to Custom House, so he would bring bags and bags of sweets to us at Christmastime.

As I said, I have a twin sister who was born ten hours later in the day. In fact, that’s how we got our names. Since I was born in the early morning, the named me Dawn. My sister, Eve was born in the evening – hence the name of Eve. We loved Christmas! We played games (no television in those days) and so jigsaws, snakes and ladders and other board games all were played over the holidays. As we were twin sisters, we slept in the same bed and one Christmas Eve, we were sure that ‘Santa’ had just come in to our bedroom and touched our feet. We screamed with excitement! Such happy times!

In 1945, our younger sister Carol Ann was born, so there were now three girls in the family. We often played with those cut-out dolls and dressed them in all sorts of fashions and designs. We always seemed to have a Christmas tree but I remember one year when we had a very small tree that had to be dug out of the garden. Even though it was small, we still decorated it with real candles, little white candles that we lit on Christmas Eve."

Ceres - Goddess of Agricultural

In the Governor’s mansion in Denver, Colorado, there hangs a very nice painting of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, fertility and mother earth. The origin of Ceres is unknown, but she is credited with the discovery of spelt wheat, an important crop, and from which the name “cereal” is derived. Ceres had a cult-like following of people who believed that specific rites and rituals had to be performed each year to ensure a good harvest. One of those rites involved the tying of blazing torches to foxes’ tails. The poor foxes were then set free to race across the fields, setting the stubble alight. It’s believed this method purified the fields of all vermin and disease, and therefore promised a good yield on harvest day.

On the British Isles, the ancient Britons performed a different (and kinder) ritual. Sylvia Kent writes in her book Folklore of Essex ISBN 0-7524 3677 5.

“A corn dolly, fashioned from the last stalks of the previous harvest, was laid in the first furrow and ploughed into the earth. This was done so the corn goddess, whose spirit was believed to reside in the corn dolly, would look kindly on the farmers and ensure that the forthcoming harvest would be bountiful.”

Murder at the Brown Palace

Photo: Elizabeth Wallace and Dick Kreck

Just recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Dick Kreck at the Denver Woman's Press Club. Kreck gave a wonderful presentation, and kept the whole audience captivated as he described his research and exploits on his latest book, Murder at the Brown Palace - A True Story of Seduction & Betrayal - ISBN 1-55591-463-2. It is a fascinating read, and will surely keep you awake at night.

Following from the Bloomsbury Review

"Kreck has woven a riveting tale of murder and deception...This intriguing page-turner is impossible to put down."

Most Ghostly Village in England

(Photograph: Ruins in Pluckley)

The Guinness Book of World Records (1998) has Pluckley as being “the most haunted village in the country". The following excerpt is from my first book, Extraordinary Places...Close to London, IBSN 0-8038-2031-3 wherein I provide interesting and unusual places to visit in the Home Counties around London. Also included are stories of kings and queen, vikings, mysterious manor homes and castles.

Extraordinary Places...Close to London
Pluckley, Kent
Page 128

There are said to be at least 12-16 ghosts in and around the village of Pluckley. Two of the ghosts are Dering women, one who searches the gravestones looking for her child and another, a beautiful woman who wears an exquisite gown with a red rose pinned to her bosom. Legend has it her husband placed the rose in the coffin just before it was sealed. He loved his wife deeply and tried to preserve her beauty even in death. He had three lead coffins made each placed inside the other to insure an airtight seal and therefore insulating her beauty forever. However, the story goes that she was as wicked and cruel as she was beautiful.

Other ghosts of the village are the Gypsy Woman who fell asleep while smoking a pipe and died; the poltergeist who moves furniture at The Black Horse Inn and the White Lady of Surrenden Manor. The manor was burned to the ground in 1952, but the previous owner, an American big game hunter, sat up all night waiting for her to appear. Apparently she never did but the game hunter fired a blast of gunshot into the library ceiling for some reason he never explained.

Coke Ovens, Redstone, Colorado

Along the main road opposite the magnificent Restone Inn, a Victorian hotel that I will include in another post for it surely deserves some ink; I saw the honeycomb ovens, and had to investigate. After reading the information plaque, the site made perfect sense since the Crystal River runs alongside.

These “beehive” coke ovens were constructed in the late 1890’s to carbonize or “coke” coal mined in the coal basin for the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. A narrow gauge railroad, approximately 12 miles long brought the coal down grades exceeding 4% from the mine to Redstone. Total coal production was 1.1 million tons. The coke made at these ovens was then shipped to Pueblo by way of the standard gauge Crystal River Railroad. CF&1 discontinued coking operations in 1908.

Coke is made when special coals are heated to drive off volatile matter and moisture in the absence of oxygen. Coal was charged into these ovens from the top and after charging the ovens were sealed for 48 hours except for a small amount of air which was admitted to support enough combustion to maintain a cooking temperature. As the finished coke was withdrawn from the ovens it was quenched with water to prevent further combustion.