Love, Forgiveness and Shafer Relentless

Earlier this week we attended a memorial for a man who was just two years older than my husband.  He was a well-respected community leader with a big heart and was also a philanthropist who supported and promoted many children’s charities.  I knew he lived life Large but what I didn’t know until hearing his friends and colleagues speak, was that he was also a jokester.

Stories of him being such a bad driver that he ran into and over a Saguaro cactus on a golf course with the cart and then enlisted help to squish it down so he could drive off and continue his game coupled with, having 12 packages of turkey legs delivered to a neighbor who couldn’t find them at his local Fry’s store, helped me realize that there was much more to this man than I knew.

I was struck by how short life seems when you’re not ready to say goodbye.

As I was holding Ron’s hand during the service, I was thankful I still had my favorite person in my life.  I was overcome with a tremendous amount of love and respect for him.  He does so much for our family and I appreciate how hard he works to create this wonderful life for us.

A wonderful saying from a shop in Solvang, Ca.

He is my forever partner and I’m having so much fun on this life journey with him!  I realize that finding that person that gets you, that makes you laugh, that loves you for all your crazy quirks is hard to find but, when you do, hang on for the ride of your life – it’s worth it!

Wayne Dyer uses an affirmation from his Meditations for Manifesting that goes something like this:  “My judgements prevent me from the seeing the good that lies beyond appearances”.

How many times have you made a judgement based on something you saw or heard only to revise that judgement when you had more information or heard the whole story?

My guess is, many times….

I’m sharing this in hopes you will stop for just a moment and give thanks for the good things in your life…..the things that don’t suck.  The things and people, that if they weren’t in your life, you would miss.

I used to think Forgiveness was for the people in my life that didn’t conform to my expectations.  Those that did me wrong, the ones that needed grace and were lost for their misguided ways…..

I’ve done a lot of soul-searching in the last couple of years and I realize forgiveness is between Me and Me.  I forgive Myself for being unyielding, obstinate and for seeing life only through My filter.

What I now realize is that everyone has their own story.

Love them and let them be.

No judgements.

Live your life as an example of how you want others to treat you.

Love unconditionally.

Every time I hear this Collective Soul song Forgiveness, it stops me in my tracks and I am overcome with such strong emotion.  It reminds me I’m not perfect….

I’m also reminded to hug those I love, long and often.  You never know the length of their life journey…..

One of the things we had in common with the man whose memorial we attended was our love of wine.

Relentless 2009-we drank the 2007 before I could get a picture!

Shafer Vineyards was one of his many favorites and Relentless was one of his recommendation to us.  We enjoyed the 2007 vintage with good friends (very important!) which is mostly Napa Valley Syrah and a bit of Petite Syrah.  It is dark in the glass and tasted of blackberry, dark cherry, tobacco (Ron) and cedar (Me).  It’s definitely a  full-bodied wine to be enjoyed with food and will cellar well for the next 5-10 years.  If you visit Napa Valley you really should visit this winery.  They have 2 tastings a day of only 10 people each so you will be assured an amazing experience with top shelf wines!

Tonight Ron and I are raising a glass of wine to Jon.  Here’s to the life he lived – full speed ahead, to his love of wine and to the legacy he leaves behind.  We will miss you.

Cheers to those that have gone before us….

Music Monday with Muse ~ Supermassive Black Hole and a bit of Linkin Park

It’s Monday and time again for Music Monday’s.  Today is really kicking my butt, so I searched for a song that could convey what I feel pent-up inside of me….

Yes,  I am a Twilight fan…..I have no shame in saying that.  I’ve read the entire series and watched the 1st three movies.  Ok, who wouldn’t want a boyfriend that sparkles like diamonds when the sun is cast upon him, AND has super un-human powers to carry you on his back while racing up a mountain and then jump from tree top to tree top?  It could be a bit more exciting than zip-lining don’t you think?

I happen to be fascinated by space and the concept of a black hole, which leads me to the concept of Forever.  Once you’ve been converted to Vampire you live FOREVER….just think of all you could accomplish in that amount of time.  I think I could go around and around with that one….

I do think this song fits perfectly into the above baseball scene.  As for Muse, they know how to speak to me via bass guitar and drums.

To back up just a bit, Saturday, I worked at my favorite Fry’s Signature Store and afterwards indulged in a glass of Pinot Noir called Cherry Pie.  With a big hit of dark Bing cherries this complex Pinot opens up with some time in the glass and is definitely enhanced by food.

Courtesy of Vintagepoint.com

For Father’s Day I got Hubby a rotisserie attachment for his new grill.  We decided to use it yesterday to cook our first whole bird on the grill.  I purchased an all natural hormone free chicken and I’m telling you – it does make a difference!  It was juicy and so full of flavor I can’t believe we waited so long to try this.

But, I’ve got ahead of myself.  As an appetizer we had Peach, Prosciutto & Ricotta Crostini.  Ah-Maz-Ing!!  After trying many brands of prosciutto we’ve found Boars Head or San Daniele to be the best.

Courtesy of bonappetit.com

After dinner, was a dessert of  Grilled Fresh Figs with Ice Cream and Honey.

Courtesy of finecooking.com

I used organic Black Mission figs from Whole Foods, fresh thyme and mint from our herb garden and Talenti Vanilla Bean Gelato.  You have to try this!!!  In Arizona we have a small window of fresh figs (about 6 weeks) so I like to try as many of these recipes as I can.

In case you thought this post was about food and not music as I originally started out with, here is another favorite song of mine by Linkin Park with lots of drums, guitar and screaming angst called Bleed It Out….Crank.Those.Speakers.Up!!!

So,what did you do this past weekend ?  Did you try any new foods or wine?

Until next time, Cheers to you…..Cheryl

Thank you Missy….