Dad, (non) Mother's Day and wine

After an urgent visit to the dr last week my dad was scheduled for a bunch of tests. I know he doesn't like going and they always tire him out. A couple were done last week and there are at least two scheduled for this week. Poor circulation in his legs/feet due to diabetes had caused severe pain in his toes. Plus in recent times, he sometimes has problems speaking and is confused. The pain med he got makes his stomach upset. Mom didn't want me over for Mother's Day, citing she wanted the day to herself to care for dad. Sigh. Turned out to be just another Sunday.

Saturday was fun, though. I took good friend Lucy to Rosenblum Cellars' open house for her birthday. Noel came along, too. Their first time and it was a beautiful day in Alameda for the event. Rosenblum is best known for zinfandels and though Lucy was more a white and sweet wine fan, I knew there's be a bunch for her to try. We went on a short tour and got to try samples of a zin that had only been in the barrel for several months. Back in the main tasting area Lucy had already found her fave: Late Harvest Viognier. Viscous and sweet, I knew it, though the Muscat de Glacier was a runner-up, lighter and less sweet, but with aromas of honey, orange and peach.

We met up with debmats and herefox while doing more tasting and munching of cheeses, breads and grilled sausage and veggies. Oh, yeah. Tucker's ice creamery of Alameda, who gets a special batch of zin with which to make ice cream for the open house, was there with a zin as well as a viognier (regular wine, not late harvest) sorbet. We agreed the zin ice cream was very good and the sorbet was interesting but the alcohol overpowered the rest of the flavor. We then wandered over to St. George Spirits distillery around the corner from Rosenblum and partook of raspberry wine, fruited vodkas and brandies, and a single-malt whiskey. The kaffir lime vodka is still my favorite, but I think I need a bottle of the whiskey, too. We then went back to Rosenblum where I got some birthday wines for Lucy.

We split from debmats and herefox (who apparently went to see X2), had lunch at an okay Italian place and then went to Tucker's ice cream shop where I bought three quarts of the zin ice cream. Yum! Maybe both Mom and Dad will be up to having some when I see them later this week or on the weekend when we'll be having another family meeting with my sister.

Book signings

Recently found out one of my favorite authors, Samuel Delany, will be in San Francisco. A book is being reprinted and some stories recollected into another, which he'll be signing on 5/22 at Modern Times. He and I were guests at Confusion 17 several years ago and I was major geeky fanboy when we spoke.

Strangely enough, a friend of mine, ElizaBeth Gilligan, is doing a signing at a bookstore on the same block, Borderlands Books, at about the same time on the same day. It's for her first novel, Magic's Silken Snare.