Life is not a dress rehearsal

Dearest Gentle Reader,

Bridgerton fans will appreciate my opening comment. For the rest of you, just know that I mean that with love. I started watching Bridgerton one year ago today, when I returned to my local American Red Cross donation center (Warzel) as a platelet donor. I had been a platelet donor for many years (2011-2020, I believe) as I learned from my previous husband Mark what an incredible gift of life it is. He always thought it was one of the best things that I ever did. He was right.

During early Covid, the Red Cross told me that they needed my red blood cells more than platelets due to my blood type, B-. However, the power red donation process was something that my body just couldn’t adjust to. I really tried, and I also learned later that they really want platelets the most from any willing platelet donor regardless of blood type. So last year, on the 9 year anniversary of Mark’s death, I went back to donating platelets in his honor. Since then, I have been a regular donor and have been back 18 times in the past year, even amid our travels. It will be one of the first things that I do when I get back to Cleveland. I highly recommend any kind of blood donation for any of those who are physically able to do so, as it is truly a life giving gift. I do so in Mark’s memory, as well as to support (too many) people that I care about who are being treated for a cancer diagnosis today. Cancer sucks.

OK, that was an important thing to say, especially today. (see my FB/IG post if you are so inclined). The 10 year anniversary just makes me want to stop and reflect, do some good in this world, and be outwardly grateful for all of the love and blessings that I have today, even moreso than I normally am. I never would have dreamed that I could be on such an amazing adventure with someone that I love so much. I am truly one lucky woman.

So today was our first wine-filled day. It was our first time in this area and we booked today’s wineries based recommendations from my dear friend Chelly. We made sure that all of the wineries we book in this area were both RV and dog-friendly as well.

Granville was our first stop, an expansive family-owned winery on the top of a sweeping vista. Jake, not from State Farm, was a wonderful host and we loved all of the wine.

The reds were delicious, and we bought a few to take home. Well, to take in Livvy. They may or may not make it home since I may get thirsty one day. We even got a delicious chardonnay. I don’t normally spend extra $$ on chardonnay but it was so good that we decided to splurge on one bottle for a hot day!

Neither of us have ever been to a wine region so close to harvest. It was so beautiful! And we were encouraged to walk the vineyard and try a berry. (funny that they called it a berry, not a grape). We did try it, and it was delicious. Nothing like a pinot noir finished product, but yummy nonetheless. I prefer the finished product, though.

We sat on this porch for our wine tasting; fun fact that this home was the home that the wine grower was raised in. They have since converted this into a lovely tasting area, with all of the amenities and a great vibe. Highly recommended!

Jake recommended a couple of spots for lunch, which is important when you are making the day out of wine tasting. We opted to try one of his recommendations, the Merenda Italian Deli. It was much better than the PB&J we had planned!

Next, we were off to Dominio IV which was super laid back on a farm-like setting.

Cute vibe, good wine. Yes we bought more to support our local vinters. Once you’ve purchased a tasting, you may as well buy enough to get the tasting fee waived. It’s like “wine on sale”, and who can pass up that kind of a deal?

While the Willamette Valley region runs over 150 miles, 19,000 acres with over 500 wineries, we chose to stay right in the middle of it. Literally, Rick looked at a map of Willamette Valley wineries and then found (the perfect) RV campground near the center. We then worked from there to find the wineries to visit. So far, it’s worked out well. There are wineries on every turn and up every hill. Everything has been less than a 20 minute drive, and will continue to be so for the time that we spend here.

So of course, after our two planned winery stops, we decided to try one more on the way home.

Black Dog Vineyard popped up on a few signs, was highly rated and dog friendly. And so we were happy to try it! Here they offered a wider expanse of wines over a variety of different tastings. We tried two different tasting flights in order to expand our exposure. Guess what? We found wine that we liked, and bought a few to bring back. Not surprising, I know… again, must support local vinters. They work hard and it would be a shame to just leave without making a purchase.

Back to Bridgerton. We don’t bother to subscribe to many channels or live tv for most of the year, so getting the opportunity to watch Netflix while giving platelets has made for some fun binge watching. Bridgerton fits the bill, with mindless fun centered around so-called “society” events in the early 19th century, where someone publishes about society gossip under the name Lady Whistledown; she starts every letter with “Dearest Gentle Reader”. Hence, this is how I began today’s post.

But I thought of it because the last winery was playing the Bridgerton soundtrack. In the series, they take pop hits and turn them into classical beauties. Think Madonna, Pink, Taylor Swift, and others. They are always played while these society nitwits are having the time of their lives. It’s great fun and brought me full circle to appreciating every day as a gift. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Find what you love, and hopefully someone you love to share it with. But no matter what you do, get out there and live it, dearest gentle reader!

I am so grateful for the love that we share – for each other, for adventure, for quiet, and for wine.

Life is not a dress rehearsal

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