Vacation: Day Two

Day One was all about TV (a couple episodes of Dexter, Julie and Julia, Twin Dragons) and lounge attire. And for me, getting a good start on that $40 bottle of merlot M's bosses gave me at the Christmas party last Saturday. I was just a little shell-shocked from the week before, I think. Work continued to be extremely busy and stressful, but there were some nice parts.

One of my colleagues planned an olive oil tasting and tour of the presses, so five of us escaped the office early on Monday and drove through the Dry Creek valley to the tasting room of the Dry Creek Olive Company. We sipped four varieties straight like the pros do, warming the cups in our hands first, and then used bread cubes to dip the oil mixed with fancy vinegar, which they also make. Due to the recent frost, they weren't pressing the day we visited, but the tour was still very interesting. The company has two mills, the traditional three-wheeled stone type (two mounted like an axle that turn while moving around the outer edge of the third stone disk) and a metal hammer style press. It was so nice to learn about something both interesting and delicious.

We also had a couple of office parties, but it was a tough week for them--they felt rushed, what with everyone racing to wrap up last minute tasks before the break. Ah well.

I'm feeling much better now. It's been a quiet, lovely day. No Sunday blues to be found. I did a very little bit of Christmas shopping today (huh, how did that new travel-style purse and grey turtleneck sweater get into my cart?), surprised at how few people were out and about the Sunday before Christmas. Though maybe not so surprised given the economy. Lucky for us, Mom is coming down tomorrow to pick up her granddog, so I have time to run more errands before we leave for Vegas on Tuesday morning. I've been doing a little Sin City research, and starting to get excited about our trip.

Time for more TV. M's found a movie about a commune in Northern California in the late '60s for us to watch. Not sure how long I'll last, but might be interesting.