tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89339202381329451822024-03-04T22:07:40.695-06:00Schram Vineyards Winery & Brewery - Waconia, MNWaconia, MNAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comBlogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-71154293453764216222015-01-29T12:51:00.001-06:002015-01-30T08:23:30.252-06:00Winter Thoughts!I cringe every time I click on the blog tab on the website and see that the last post was from... Halloween! Ugh. It's nothing unusual that things have been busy around here and blogging has taken a backseat. I keep thinking one day that will change again! We had a good push to finish the year strong by rolling out our Case Club, and some fun events, including the culmination of the season with a New Year's Eve Bash, which promptly ended at 10pm. It was kind of perfect, actually. We toasted with our new sparkling wine and were in our pajamas by midnight. <br />
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Silly me, I thought that January would be a time to take a breath and actually catch up on some mindless TV shows, but my passionate and ambitious husband has goals in mind and I often joke that my new boss is really cracking the whip! He certainly has a vision for where he wants us to take this business. No rest for the weary here as we are already working on scheduling out the calendar for this year, making plans for expanding with distribution on our wines and beers (did you know we are bottling our beer for distribution now?), attending some tasting festivals for beer and wine, doing some minor construction fixes inside, and most importantly, getting our request approved from Carver County to revise our existing Conditional Use Permit to include year-round operation! A huge win! Now that we have a brand, new, heated building with indoor bathrooms, it seems a little silly to close up for 4 months a year, right? We are also very excited to be teaming up with the local and talented Traci Dokken of <a href="http://www.tracidokkendesigns.com/" target="_blank">Traci Dokken Designs</a>! She is helping us to lay-out a design plan to get our space spruced up and pulled together. She has some fantastic design ideas already that will be able to work for us thoughout ALL the seasons and we can't wait to execute on them!<br />
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With the exception of some private and fun special events this winter and reservation only tasting and tours with the winemaker, we are closed until March! Which doesn't seem all that far away since it is almost February already. We will announce our official opening date and plans for this spring very soon! We are looking forward to opening again and see familiar and new faces this season. It's going to be a great year!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-8582557059757097162014-10-29T21:56:00.003-05:002014-10-31T11:23:13.372-05:00Trick-or-Tastings!With Halloween approaching in a few short days we thought, what can we do to make Halloween fun and special at Schram Vineyards? Being as we have two small children, we will be doing the "traditional" trick-or-treating with our little cherubs for a bit. But what about the adults? We want our candy too, right? Here is our guide to pairing candy with our wines and brews! <br />
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This was a careful (and fun) experiment! Stop by on Thursday or Friday and get the bonus of some thoughtfully picked out candy pairings with your wine or beer tastings. YUM! <br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #ff9900; font-family: Cuprum, serif; font-size: 18pt;">Trick-or-Tastings! Happy Halloween</span></b><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cuprum","serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">!</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 18pt;">Wine and
Candy:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Boots – </span></b><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jolly Ranchers -</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
Try the sour apple flavor to kick it off and pick up the green apple flavor in the wine!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sierra Victor –</span></b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b>Candy Corn</b></span><b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> -</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Two
classics that can’t go wrong. Both go down easy!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blossom –</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sour Patch Kids -</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> A
perfect sweet and sour pair. Lots going on in the mouth with all the flavors here. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blush </span></b><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Skittles </span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">-Bursting with fruit
flavors. Pick up a little strawberry?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Barrel 4 – </span></b><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Peanut Butter Cup/ M & M’s </span></b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Because<b>
</b>you can’t stop after just one</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bonfire -</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Hershey’s Milk
Chocolate </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">- </span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Think s’mores over the campfire</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Marquette –</span></b><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Hershey’s Kisses </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">-</span></b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Seal it
with a kiss. The subtle vanilla flavor in the wine pairs nicely with this classic chocolate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 18pt;">Beer and
Candy: </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mocha Monkey Coffee Ale </span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">– </span><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Milk
Duds </span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">-</span><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Care for a dash of milk in your coffee? The full bodied candy gets washed down nicely with this beer.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Red Baron Ale -</span></b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b>Peanut M & M’s </b></span><b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">- </span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Because the malt and hops in this beer go hand in hand just like peanut butter and chocolate</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Smoked Porter </span></b><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– York Peppermint Patties
</span></b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">- Full flavored smoke and chocolate followed up with a little mint
and chocolate</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Scottish Ale - </span></b><b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Swedish Fish.</span></b><span style="color: #ff9900; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> It's l</span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">ike swirling a sugar stick in your sweet tea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Hefeweizen - Laffy-taffy.</b> We are partial to the banana flavor as it picks up that fruit in the brew!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">We'll have 8 beers on draft this weekend, but we just picked 4 for our candy pairings!</span></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-42345392632953848532014-09-11T13:30:00.000-05:002014-09-11T13:30:00.910-05:00The Winery Building--opening soon!I just realized the last building update post I wrote included pictures with SNOW on the ground! Ay ay ay! Now that we are into September, I figured I better get some new pictures and updates up on the new building, which we are hoping to occupy the building by the end of this month--just in time for the cooler weather to roll in. <br />
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We couldn't resist the natural look of cedar for our siding and how it fits in so well with the landscape! </div>
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Becoming an iconic picture already! Here is the plane flying overhead just after taking off from the grass landing airstrip next door! </div>
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Right before the floors went in! Haven't snapped any pics since the "French Barrel Oak" floors were installed, but have to keep something a surprise, right?<br />
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Bathroom area! Three cheers for indoor plumbing!<br />
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The view!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdfFtukYyEysJ-5Vqg9ysqd1uYah-3c0oIW20ZvCIgBX8u1vZ_u36MhZj_LWD2Zc88Cw78I-KCSZUn2J8I13tyO9O2S5M5PMsaPdqzPfOsg90FDuhQxLkrY2GGhMIgPqz0p21X7XG_D4/s1600/DSC_0537+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdfFtukYyEysJ-5Vqg9ysqd1uYah-3c0oIW20ZvCIgBX8u1vZ_u36MhZj_LWD2Zc88Cw78I-KCSZUn2J8I13tyO9O2S5M5PMsaPdqzPfOsg90FDuhQxLkrY2GGhMIgPqz0p21X7XG_D4/s1600/DSC_0537+-+Copy.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our hard working contractor, "Mr. Shuey."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhmr2XufJWCrWRQbbSL8NafpfGckyLgQVl5bv3DFJ7AfA6LpXYYxsredLtKgW0gsfU2BIO2oVi6QhvbO3XTNbDrGVES-n4K99_TGx4Nh915kgmbIEc2j8N_pldHSgXNWJf30QzbxrpvE/s1600/DSC_0466+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhmr2XufJWCrWRQbbSL8NafpfGckyLgQVl5bv3DFJ7AfA6LpXYYxsredLtKgW0gsfU2BIO2oVi6QhvbO3XTNbDrGVES-n4K99_TGx4Nh915kgmbIEc2j8N_pldHSgXNWJf30QzbxrpvE/s1600/DSC_0466+-+Copy.JPG" height="400" width="267" /></a></div>
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Stairs leading down to the cellar<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6xr8TdEfyX_dRcnnr9ZQefLntCYLztEifsrY1APujT6rIK9qaXTzE7U8_x7DrbQO3K3nwA1HlrgB9PH1xR6_XETemO97J0wP4qO1XOc2opF0Xpe1r6S4w0JO4QYthy2AJVdNBXocHK4/s1600/DSC_0471+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6xr8TdEfyX_dRcnnr9ZQefLntCYLztEifsrY1APujT6rIK9qaXTzE7U8_x7DrbQO3K3nwA1HlrgB9PH1xR6_XETemO97J0wP4qO1XOc2opF0Xpe1r6S4w0JO4QYthy2AJVdNBXocHK4/s1600/DSC_0471+-+Copy.JPG" height="400" width="267" /></a></div>
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The wine cellar/wine processing room</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96KQ_c-_pIuLfYex-euaYCHlzH4S3UnYaYc0blw-gxZYxLyTyvywOfuXo1XrFXG6Y4W6W9KFS1GcHeQayxGuKy1agJ_N4nYh-nYrA88sRuvLX52tNrG57-fkOZicg27u-O1xSHmzyIhM/s1600/DSC_0475+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96KQ_c-_pIuLfYex-euaYCHlzH4S3UnYaYc0blw-gxZYxLyTyvywOfuXo1XrFXG6Y4W6W9KFS1GcHeQayxGuKy1agJ_N4nYh-nYrA88sRuvLX52tNrG57-fkOZicg27u-O1xSHmzyIhM/s1600/DSC_0475+-+Copy.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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One side of this room will be lined with barrels and we'll be able to do private tastings and events. </div>
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More to come on our Grand Opening! </div>
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-36765494217356654942014-06-26T00:37:00.001-05:002014-06-26T00:37:11.848-05:00Building ProgressWe wanted to say thank you to all the friends, neighbors and customers for reaching out and offering sympathy and a helping hand for the collapse we had to our building after last week's storm. We are humbled by the support and thankful to have so many people behind us in this project! And for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I'll fill you in! <br />
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Last week's set-back was actually only one in a series of "disasters" we have faced since starting this project and I thought I would show you the series of events! </div>
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We find ourselves repeating over and over again, "It will all be worth it in the end!"</div>
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And, "Someday we'll laugh about this."</div>
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And, "If you build it, they will come."</div>
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I mean, that last statement is really the goal, right? And while I wish this were as easy as building a ball field, it is going to be pretty sweet when it's done! </div>
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This past spring we had frost, fire, floods all take place. It has felt as if nothing has swayed our way, but we've been fighting through it. <br />
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It took 8 months to get the building permit.<br />
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And what felt like three months just to get the ground un-thawed from the frigid winter. We had to use concrete blankets to heat the ground to be able to excavate deep enough. And at one point, those blankets caught on fire. Didn't catch that on camera and the aftermath just looked like char coaled tarp. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAM6Tln_IObohbp-BaMrZnWPgPocLsCMA_KwS28zoz3cViFWHHSNiJKlDdFGKsaNWJNV7HCBivNExaEqscxnBJQrRnCodcSrmOXy6NzhIVMj0ClgymZ7NyhcEOAkhl8cQ2QuddsZ3D664/s1600/DSC_0911+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAM6Tln_IObohbp-BaMrZnWPgPocLsCMA_KwS28zoz3cViFWHHSNiJKlDdFGKsaNWJNV7HCBivNExaEqscxnBJQrRnCodcSrmOXy6NzhIVMj0ClgymZ7NyhcEOAkhl8cQ2QuddsZ3D664/s1600/DSC_0911+-+Copy.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's an exciting day when there are 5 cement trucks on site. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1yfztsgxOrmV3KD81yr-mMmp4tY3oinAOlbiRvVrxibkdeEoH_3oz5-o2i1yN1nlXZdyN1QIvjpd_BzGxhMfFWO35ozQPyqECmOwFDwOlmolcHfTVCPgi4nNpf3ShtTp3NTRM0MRGHgI/s1600/DSC_0915+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1yfztsgxOrmV3KD81yr-mMmp4tY3oinAOlbiRvVrxibkdeEoH_3oz5-o2i1yN1nlXZdyN1QIvjpd_BzGxhMfFWO35ozQPyqECmOwFDwOlmolcHfTVCPgi4nNpf3ShtTp3NTRM0MRGHgI/s1600/DSC_0915+-+Copy.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then all the snow melted and and the rain started coming and that lovely new wine cellar built into the hillside, flooded. It looked more like a swimming pool. </div>
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Finally we got the floor. </div>
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And it felt so good to have trusses! It actually was starting to look like a building. I took this on a Friday.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADgkSe0rSCRLljiJQyoVLGwhylgcvaGbBn4a_zH0I1_czUC_8ni1EMN_PJ85AaY6o0zuSLveRFIoEaYM3bCnxRy8mxk0gqL5h9PN16kQB-l7AooQwqn5LKhNS3A7Jpau1xqnTRpmmU1A/s1600/IMG_1791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADgkSe0rSCRLljiJQyoVLGwhylgcvaGbBn4a_zH0I1_czUC_8ni1EMN_PJ85AaY6o0zuSLveRFIoEaYM3bCnxRy8mxk0gqL5h9PN16kQB-l7AooQwqn5LKhNS3A7Jpau1xqnTRpmmU1A/s1600/IMG_1791.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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And then this the next morning after a storm with 60mph winds blew through! Arg!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yWzsZnim9MwH6W6Mi8kgX4tGoTradgY1PIILV2lOnXZjbN8FQGM1j8_NyPM0gaqH-vu6gwcUYb0kkaleQcaL-GvwyOAJ4LlpCVV4eK4RkowKAP4R9_DmjftpHFohtmFBo9IOBvUfIh4/s1600/IMG_1793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yWzsZnim9MwH6W6Mi8kgX4tGoTradgY1PIILV2lOnXZjbN8FQGM1j8_NyPM0gaqH-vu6gwcUYb0kkaleQcaL-GvwyOAJ4LlpCVV4eK4RkowKAP4R9_DmjftpHFohtmFBo9IOBvUfIh4/s1600/IMG_1793.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">But the construction crew is working hard. </span></div>
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I'm sure they love me for posting this picture. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7tr5oNy7alZdCqaczAKTiK_Hc5ybxIvCoerFK0EKiKpxM5S7TslXOLoTsDGeFH5J6Yp0Xu6ut3ZrF1rGBsdeB1cOeCmpX-Unvr9tJ-6V5IbvHc7U5GSAZ5I2yR____QHCk-8ouwrV4Q/s1600/DSC_0216+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7tr5oNy7alZdCqaczAKTiK_Hc5ybxIvCoerFK0EKiKpxM5S7TslXOLoTsDGeFH5J6Yp0Xu6ut3ZrF1rGBsdeB1cOeCmpX-Unvr9tJ-6V5IbvHc7U5GSAZ5I2yR____QHCk-8ouwrV4Q/s1600/DSC_0216+-+Copy.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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And the new trusses went back up this past week! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7ljdtb79V9J9ry8We3WF9i45K-gvl2Klk02P0h0OV13ZiOAcIzTl1rNGosZ07O-hsr9XcMN5SVQwJtPSAJUBWqBwkXFDeZtuyoK30H1zCkDJibE1jTNX-6GGkTvseMQ8wAaNr24O5mw/s1600/IMG_1811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7ljdtb79V9J9ry8We3WF9i45K-gvl2Klk02P0h0OV13ZiOAcIzTl1rNGosZ07O-hsr9XcMN5SVQwJtPSAJUBWqBwkXFDeZtuyoK30H1zCkDJibE1jTNX-6GGkTvseMQ8wAaNr24O5mw/s1600/IMG_1811.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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They've made ever more progress since this picture a few days ago, but more to come.</div>
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It has not been an easy process, but it'll all be worth it in the end! </div>
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-86411565876702183812014-06-15T21:37:00.000-05:002014-06-17T09:25:15.410-05:00A Day in the Life of Superwoman<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">
I wrote this story on May 14th, the day after the following events took place and just now decided I would post it. I deliberated if I wanted to actually post it here, but after sharing with a few close friends, decided that perhaps I would. Our crazy life is what makes us endearing, right? Just say yes. </div>
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I've been blogging for years, although not so much the past year or so and that is for two reasons. The first being time. Juggling two kids, a husband, two dogs, a full-time corporate job, and running a winery and soon to be brewery "on the side" is enough to fill my plate. And then some. The second reason is because the blog I started back in 2009 when it was just my husband and I and our two dogs growing a vineyard has evolved. What started as a blog about this venture getting a new business off the ground evolved into our website for our winery. And I've found myself a little gun shy when it comes to sharing personal stories of our crazy life on what is now a professional business website. The posts are more about the evolution and updates with our winery and expanding business, and less about the crazy antics of our family and what goes on behind the scenes. And in my opinion, that's the good stuff. But, I've pulled back on sharing them to keep a separation. </div>
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Lately, however, I've been feeling the urge. In this crazy life I lead, I find myself wanting to document stories. If not for anyone else, for me. So that years from now I can look back and remember what times were like right now. And probably get a good laugh because this life, right now, is pretty insane. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I call myself </span><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Superwoman</span><span style="background-color: white;">. When Aaron asks me how my day was, my usual response is something along the lines of , "Oh, I was just busy being </span><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Superwoman</span><span style="background-color: white;">." I don't mean it arrogantly. I mean it in the way that I don't know how it is humanly possible for me to do everything I am doing in my life right now. But somehow I am. </span></div>
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Case in point, last night. After working my corporate day job, I picked the kids up from their respective daycare and preschool. Pulling back into our driveway, I had to drive onto the lawn a little to get around a cement truck that was here pouring concrete for the walls of the brand new winery building currently under construction. After unbuckling the kids out of their carseats and ushering them inside, getting shoes and spring coats off, we were just getting some toys out to play at home, when Nick pops his head in the door. Nick is a regular face at our place as he has helped with a lot of the winemaking, and will be taking on a brewmaster role for our brewery. We are all in the office/mudroom, which has become one of our favorite rooms in the house. It is southfacing, bright, faces the vineyard in the back and was remodeled last year from an old one car garage stall. </div>
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"Did any packages arrive today?" Nick asks while waving hello to Bridget, my 1 1/2 year old. She puts a hand up to her mouth and makes a "mwah" sound, blowing him a kiss. He was looking for some brewery equipment something or other that was supposed to have arrived. </div>
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It is unusual for a day to pass that we don't have a delivery from Fed Ex or UPS, but it's been known to happen. I quickly run to the other side of our one level farmhouse and see if there were any boxes by the garage door. I am just peeking out the window at the door when I hear Axel, my three year old call out from the office, "MOMMY, I HAVE TO GO PEE!" </div>
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Usually when I hear those words, there is a 50/50 chance that he has already started going. We've been potty training him for, oh, about a year and a half and while he has been very good lately, accidents are not unusual. Apparently, I did not read the right miracle potty training book. I race back to the other side of the house where Nick is still standing with my kids waiting to hear if I found any delivery boxes with both kids in the room. I look at Axel standing there helpless. "Run!" I say to him. "Run to the potty." I see a pool forming at his feet on the tile floor. This time, the 50/50 is not in our favor. He starts to run, but I realize he is leaving wet footprints as he runs, so I pick him up, holding him a foot from my body and scurry to the other side of the house, where our one bathroom is located, all the while shouting over my shoulder apologizing to Nick that I didn't see a package and don't have time to keep looking right now. He understands. This isn't his first time witnessing a scene like this at our place. </div>
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I help Axel pull his wet pants off and plop him on the toilet, even though I doubt there is anything left. I leave him there to go get Bridget, still back on the other side of the house and make sure she isn't putting any clump of dirt or gravel in her mouth that may have been tracked inside from Aaron's work boots or one of our dog's paws. She isn't. This time. So I grab a rag to wipe up Axel's "prints" off the floor. Then I pick her up and carry her over to the bathroom with me to see how Axel is doing. As I am standing in the doorway with one hand wrapped around the door, Axel's independent streak takes hold. He doesn't want me in there helping him, so he forcefully jumps off the toilet and runs to the door and slams it. On my hand. </div>
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Ouch. </div>
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That might leave a bruise. </div>
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I go to the freezer to get an ice pack. Opening the freezer, reminds me that it is dinner time. I look at the clock and it's a little after 5pm. I hadn't figured out what to make for dinner yet but remember I had gotten all ingredients for tacos last time I was at the store. Good, quick, easy meal and the kids like it. </div>
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I go down to the basement, still carrying Bridget on my hip as I don't want her walking down the steep flight of stairs herself. I go to the chest freezer where we have been storing the cow my husband bought last December. At the time, he thought splitting half a cow with our neighbor was a good idea, so we have been working our way through 306 lbs. of beef. There are boxes and bins of toys on top of the freezer and I remember we put them up there last week when our basement flooded due to all the rain. Now that we have a new sump pump, I take all the toys off the freezer top and put them back on the floor along with Bridget, who immediately starts pulling them out. I get my pound of ground beef and scoop her back up to go back upstairs and she squirms in my arms. </div>
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My thigh vibrates once. Text message. But I am carrying a toddler and frozen beef, so it can wait. Plus, the frozen meat feels good on my sore hand. </div>
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I get back upstairs, stick the beef in the microwave to thaw and pull out the tacos. </div>
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Bridget is being fussy. Now she doesn't want me to put her down, which makes cooking one handed difficult. So I pull up Pandora on the ipad and set it to Raffi to see if the music will cheer her up and get her distracted with dancing so I can cook dinner. It works and she starts bending her knees bopping up and down to some silly song. </div>
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My thigh vibrates again so I pull my phone out and realize I have two text messages. </div>
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The first is from our graphic designer, who has been designing our new wine labels. We open our winery back up for its second season in 3 weeks and we have a very tight timeline getting our labels finalized, printed and bottled on our new wine releases. Although I normally put work aside this time of day, I open her text since I had been expecting to receive the final artwork from her earlier that day and hadn't received it yet. </div>
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<i>"So there's an issue</i>," the text says. </div>
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I sigh to myself and respond with, "uh-oh." </div>
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Axel comes running into the kitchen then. He isn't wearing pants, but his shirt is extra long, so I decide for the moment I am going to let it go until I can find out what the issue is with the labels. </div>
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Apparently the issue was with one of the images we had chosen, which we had spent days lamenting over and had finally come to an agreement. Great. </div>
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Bridget is getting fussy again and now standing by the refrigerator swiping her hand across her belly, saying "Eeeee. Eeee." Sign language for "please" along with her verbal interpretation. This usually means she wants milk, so I get her a sippy-cup. </div>
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My phone vibrates three more times while I do this. </div>
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I remember I had a text from someone else earlier and check that first. It's from my neighbor, who is getting married in 4 days. She is doing a wine themed wedding and I told her I would loan her a few "wine" things from our collection. </div>
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<i>"I forgot to come get corks from you! Can I stop over in the next half hour to pick them up?"</i> her text message reads. She had sent it about 10 minutes ago. </div>
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I look at the other texts coming through from our designer who is sending me different variations of artwork for the label. Knowing we are on a tight deadline and that she is working on this <u><i>now</i></u>, I know I have to respond to give her some direction on where to go with this. </div>
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"I want milk, Mommy, I want milk. I want milk." Axel repeats while tugging on my leg. Bridget is now standing on a stool playing with the taco box on the counter. She is intrigued by the shiny cellophane the soft taco shells are wrapped in. </div>
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"Axel, go get your pants on first, please." I tell him. Getting him to wear pants is probably the #1 struggle right now. </div>
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I politely text back my neighbor and say that it is a little chaotic and now might not be the best time. I feel bad because I know what it is like being a bride 4 days away from your wedding day and trying to get all the details finalized. </div>
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The microwave dings and the meat is thawed. I decide to put the freezer pack back in the freezer because I am too busy to keep it on my hand anyway. Opening the freezer is like opening a treasure chest for my kids. Both kids toddle over, totally intrigued. Is it the cold, the lights, the food? What is it about a freezer? Maybe just because it is on their level and they want to explore what's inside. Bridget wants to pull things out of the freezer and Axel doesn't want to shut the door, so I struggle for a few moments trying to occupy them with something else so I can close the freezer door without them making a fuss. </div>
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My phone rings now. It's Aaron. He usually calls on his way home from work from his "regular" job. Usually to discuss dinner and what is on the docket that night. There is always something to do out in the winery or the vineyard or the construction site for the new building, especially as we get closer to opening. He asks if Nick is there and I tell him yes. I tell him I am making tacos for dinner. "Should we invite Nick in for dinner?" Aaron asks. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">There was a time when my husband asking me at 5:15 if it's okay to set another place at the dinner table would have bothered me. But now it is second nature. And because I am S</span><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">uperwoman</span><span style="background-color: white;">, I said "yes, of course." I can barely manage putting food on the table for my family, but YES, honey, let's invite another adult male in for dinner. </span></div>
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I get out the frying pan. Opening the cabinets sparks the kids curiosity. Axel starts digging in the utensil drawer and pulls out some grilling tongs. These days he is interested in anything but his toys and instead opts for random household items. A corkscrew kept him occupied for half an hour a few days prior, so I am curious to see how long the burger tongs will last. Bridget goes for the spice drawer. She like to pull out the jars and toss them on the floor. </div>
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"Axel, get some pants on please," I say as I fry up the meat. </div>
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I realize I haven't responded to the designer, so I quick take out my phone and flip through the photo texts she sent. Nothing like trying to make a major branding decision on the fly and by looking at images through text. </div>
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<i>"The first one."</i> I respond via text after looking at 4 of them. </div>
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Out of the corner of my eye, I see Axel is standing over by Bridget trying to grab things with the burger tongs. Some tupperware that has been pulled out of the bottom cabinet, probably by Bridget.</div>
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I continue getting stuff out for dinner--cheese, lettuce, salsa...</div>
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Bridget suddenly shrieks and I quickly realize it is because Axel has tried to grab her head with the hamburger tongs. I pick her up to comfort her, while removing the tongs from his hands explaining that it's not okay to do that. </div>
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"Sorry, Bridgey," he says. </div>
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I ask him again to go get some underwear and pants and I tell him that I will help him put them on. I don't see if he does because Bridget is still crying in my arms and lunging towards the spice drawer in which she was just "playing." Trying to figure out what she is so upset about, I look in the drawer and see that her sippy cup of milk is lodged in the drawer between the spice rack. The top has popped off and the drawer is filled with milk. </div>
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I get her a new cup to calm her down before removing all the spice jars from the drawer so I can wipe up all the spilled milk. While I am doing that, I see Axel, who never left to go get pants during this fiasco, clench up. He looks up at me, teeth clenched and his lower lip spread out and I can tell his whole body is tense. I know this look. He is squeezing the cheeks of his bum. </div>
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"I have to go poopy," he says calmly and quietly while taking short steps to try and walk to the bathroom. </div>
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"Okay! Go quick, Axel!" He moves as a little faster towards the bathroom, but just as he's leaving the kitchen, I see something fall from his bottom. </div>
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Yes. That happened. </div>
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I hesitate for a minute wondering if I should go help him first or clean up what he just left on the floor. I opt for the latter since Bridget is walking around the kitchen now and the last thing I need is my toddler picking up a piece of poop. When I reach for the paper towels, I notice I had just used the last one to clean up the milk mess, so I go to the pantry to open up a new package so I can clean up the next mess. </div>
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I turn the heat down on the meat and go to help Axel clean up and get pants back on. </div>
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He now insists on wearing not one, but two pairs of underwear. The boxer brief style for 3 year olds. I briefly try to explain what "under" wear means, but then decide not to fight that battle. At least he's now wearing pants. He also picks out a pair of shorts to put over his two pairs of underwear. It is 55 degrees in Minnesota afterall.</div>
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"Can we go play outside?" he asks cheerfully as I am helping him pull on his shorts.</div>
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I fear a tantrum will ensue with my negative response, so I choose my words carefully, "Not right now, Sweetheart, because we are going to eat dinner and I have a special job for you!" He perks up at the sounds of that. </div>
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Back in the kitchen, Bridget is content, so I pull a step stool up to the stove and let Axel pour in the taco seasoning and water into the meat. Bridget wants some action too, so when he is done, I let her stand up there and "stir" the meat. </div>
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"Day-Oh" comes on the Pandora. We are dancing and singing "Daylight come and me want to go home" when Aaron walks in the door. The scene he walks into makes it look like I have everything under control and we are just happy go lucky. Bridget is happily at the stove cooking. </div>
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He greets the kids with hugs and because<i> he</i> is Superman, he goes into the bedroom in his business casual clothes and returns 20 seconds later in his grubby work clothes. He heads outside to chat with the construction guys and see the progress from that day, and to tell Nick to come join us for dinner. </div>
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When he comes back in, I am setting the table. Aaron tells me Nick declined dinner. I mean, I don't know why. Why would a quiet single guy not want to eat a boxed meal with a bunch of crazies? </div>
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After getting the kids seated at the table, I realize I have everything out...except the taco shells. I ask Aaron to help me look for them. Last I remember seeing them, Bridget was playing with the cellophane bag. So we spend a good 5 or so minutes searching for the tacos. Aaron is snorting at me-- half laughing, half annoyed wondering how I managed to lose the taco shells. We check the bathroom, the bedrooms, under the table, anywhere she may have wandered off with them. </div>
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I find them eventually in the freezer. She must have slipped them in there during the freezer fiasco. So I spend a few more minutes thawing them out, while the kids are squawking at the table. </div>
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Bridget put all the taco lettuce on top of her head during dinner, so I declare it bath night. Especially after Axel's performance that evening. And then routine as usual--jammies, playtime, and stories before bed. Aaron heads back out to do some work out in the winery. </div>
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Just as I am about to close the door to Axel's room after giving him a hug and kiss goodnight I hear him say, "But Mommy, you forgot to say prayers!"</div>
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Well I can't forget that, can I?</div>
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And so I go back in and kiss his forehead one more time and in his sweetest little voice, he recites his prayer. </div>
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I shut the door and go back to the office to see if the graphic designer has emailed over final versions with the new image she texted earlier so I can see a better mock-up of it on the computer. </div>
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"Woof!" I hear just as I sit down at the computer. "Woof!" </div>
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The dogs! I forgot I put the dogs outside before I picked up the kids! They've been outside all night and their kennel area is right outside the office door. So I get back up, walk to the garage where we have their dog door and let our two miniature horses back in the house. It rained earlier that day, so they track muddy paw prints all over the hardwood floor. They are excited to come back in and immediately head to the kitchen table to see if there are any remnants leftover from taco dinner. Tux, our male dog, whose head can rest comfortably on top of the dining room table, licks a piece of meat off the table, which reminds me that I still need to clean the table from dinner. I realize they are probably hungry, so I put food in their dog dishes. 6 cups each. Then I search for a rag to wash the paw prints off the floor--I find a wet one, which I think was the same one I used to wipe up Axel's pee prints just a few hours earlier. Even though I really don't want to do it now, I do it anyway because it is easier to wipe up paw prints when they are still wet. When I go to throw it back into the hamper by the laundry machines, I see the hamper is pretty full, so I start a load of darks. I think Axel may be short on underwear anyway, so want to make sure he has enough clean clothes for tomorrow. It is now about 8:20 and I am just sitting down at the computer <i>again</i> and I see I have about 4 new emails that have been sent that night from the contact form our our website. I see subject lines with "tours", "gift certificates", "donations request" and "Schram Vineyards private tastings" when my phone vibrates. A phone call.</div>
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It's Staci, one of our lead employees. We had been emailing back and forth earlier in the day about the upcoming training and picnic we are doing this coming Sunday for all our employees. She has been a lifesaver and has picked up a lot of responsibility that Aaron and I haven't been able to manage. Staci wants to run a few things by me that she has put together---our policies, our new opening and closing procedures, information on the history of our vineyard, etc. We talk through it for about a half an hour. While I am on the phone with her, I see the email from the graphic designer with the updated wine labels come through. They look great! I hold the phone with my shoulder listening to Staci while quickly typing a response to the graphic designer to give her the thumbs up on the labels. I need her to package up the files so I can send to the printer and hoping I can catch her while she is online so she can do it right away. </div>
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As I am finishing up my call with Staci, I am pacing the office when I see a little face glimmering in the hallway. It's Axel, peeking around the corner from his bedroom with a big smirk on his face. It's about 8:45pm. </div>
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"Axel, get in bed." I say holding the phone away from my face. "What are you doing out of bed?"</div>
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"But, Mommmmy," he says. He knows how cute he sounds when he draws out his words. "I'm poopy."</div>
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SERIOUSLY? I don't say, I think it. But seriously, how many times does a 3 year old poop in one evening?</div>
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So I get off the phone with Staci, who's been listening to this interaction, so I can get Axel cleaned up and back into bed. Hopefully this time for good. </div>
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As I am closing the door to his room- again - Aaron comes in from the winery. It's 9pm. He's carrying 6 sample bottles of wine taken from the tanks and a graduated cylinder. </div>
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It's wine sampling night. And although it is "work", this is just what the doctor ordered tonight. Basically, we need to decide on the final wine blends for the wine labels that were just finalized. We'll be bottling them in just a few weeks and need to get it right! Tonight, we try a few variations of our new white wine and our rose. We have a pretty good idea of which varietals we will use in each of them, but need to figure out percentages, and see how the wines react to each other, if they need sweetening, etc. </div>
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We spend about an hour and half tasting and trialing different variations and finally land on a few blends we think are winners. We decide we'll try them with another panel of wine tasters soon before we make it final. I am feeling excited about our new wine releases. And also a little buzzed. It's about 10:45 and time to hit the hay. But not before I forget to switch the laundry. I remind Aaron he needs to take the garbage out because the truck comes by 7am the next morning. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px;">It's 11pm by the time I go to bed.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Shortly after midnight I hear crying. And apparently Aaron does too because he kicks me under the covers. This is our signal to each other that "it's your turn to get up." And because I am </span><span style="background-color: white;">S<span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">uperwoman</span></span><span style="background-color: white;">, I get up. I sit up for a moment in bed listening to determine which bedroom the crying is coming from and realize it is Bridget. She doesn't get up at night much these days, but something must have woken her up tonight. I sleep walk into her room, lift her out of her crib and we cuddle on the cushy chair in her room and she stops crying immediately. We both fall asleep in an awkward chair sleeping position. Sometime before 1am, I put her back in her crib to sleep. I guess all she needed was a cuddle and I am happy to indulge her with that. I go back to bed with a crick in my neck from sleeping sideways in a chair. </span></div>
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At 5am, Axel crawls into our bed. Fortunately, he falls back asleep for about an hour and a half. At 6:30, I feel his hand on my shoulder and I open one eye to see his little face about an inch away from mine, his head tilted. In his sweetest little whisper he says, "Mommy, can I have a breakfast bar?"</div>
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So I get up to get him some breakfast. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Because I am </span><span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Superwoman</span><span style="background-color: white;">. And ready to take on another day....just like the day before. </span></div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-73268269257468063772014-03-11T22:20:00.000-05:002014-03-12T12:25:34.543-05:00The BuildingIt's not until I look back at blog posts from two years ago when I was writing about how we were deliberating over an exact site for the winery building that I realize how long of a road it has been. Those of you who have been reading about our journey for a while know what I am talking about. <br />
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Nothing in this planning and building of a winery has been easy and figuring out how to get a new building up has been no exception. But, I am happy to announce that we now have a permit in hand and a new building underway! Fortunately, we were able to get some of the ground work (and I literally mean...<i> ground work)</i> done last fall before the ground froze for the winter. And did it ever freeze! We spent the winter finalizing the design, lay-out, and went back and forth between the county and architects to get everything compliant. Multiple revisions, a few headaches, four bathroom stalls and a handicap ramp later, and we now have a stamped and approved plan! <br />
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We may have toasted with a few drinks that night to celebrate that win!<br />
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Many have asked what this new building is all about--what will it be for, what will it look like, aside from the fact that it will have four bathroom stalls? I thought I would address that here.<br />
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First of all, the new building will be built on the same site as our beloved old chicken coop (pictured below), but in a much larger footprint. This cute little building served as host for so many harvest parties before <span style="text-align: center;">we even opened up the winery and holds many fond memories. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">...</span><span style="text-align: center;">And some <i>not</i> so fond memories of having to clean out the chicken coop of all it's remnants when we first moved in!</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The chicken coop was taken down last fall, preserved, and being rebuilt across town.</span><br />
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Goodbye old friend...</div>
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We chose that site because we felt it took advantage of all the property has to offer--views of the vineyard and the lake, set far enough away from the road and residence, yet close in proximity to parking and our other special amenities like our outdoor pavilion and Bocce Ball courts.<br />
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The new building will allow us to comfortably grow and expand our wine production, and a big tasting bar will accommodate tastings indoors so we can have a longer season and be open on some of those cold and rainy days! The outdoor areas are some of our biggest assets and we will still use those to the fullest during the warmer months and even plan to have some additional outdoor tasting bars.<br />
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The new building will serve primarily as our new tasting room, retail space, wine processing area and will feature a wine cellar below built into the hillside to give it a cool cavelike feel--the reason we excavated so deep into the ground where the ground slopes down from the pavilion! Adding that feature made the building project a whole lot more difficult, but we think it will be well worth it in the end!<br />
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The forms are just about in...</div>
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The entrance will be on this side (north) of the pavilion with open air doors in the summer so customers can walk in and out and enjoy both spaces. </div>
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Keep in mind these pictures were taken last week...before all this snow starting melting. Now it is a bit muddier!<br />
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I know...nothing too exciting to look at yet. But it will be fun to look back and see these once the building starts going up, won't it? We'll share more on the design of the building once we have a better visual to show.</div>
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See that big silver box on the right side of the picture? That has a story too and will play a role at the pavilion tasting bar this summer. Have I piqued your curiosity? <br />
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Leave it to Aaron to add another project to the list. Why am I having flashbacks to the<a href="http://www.schramvineyards.com/2010/03/corral.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="http://www.schramvineyards.com/2010/03/corral.html" target="_blank">cart corral</a> project from 4 years ago? That's a good story too if you want to<a href="http://www.schramvineyards.com/2010/03/corral.html" target="_blank"> read it here</a>. His inventive nature sure keeps things interesting around here.<br />
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As with any construction, these things can take time, especially when dealing with a frozen ground and melting snow and all the other things mother nature can bring this time of year in Minnesota. But the crew is making progress. <br />
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This will be the cellar entrance side (south). Longer term plans will also have a deck on the main level overlooking the lake. Can you visualize it? <br />
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Just look beyond the snow and mud....and complete lack of a building. Can you see yourself here on a warm, sunny day taking in the views sipping on some wine? <br />
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So what will happen to the old white winery building, you ask? Well, we have some pretty exciting plans for that building too as we expand our business this year. But that announcement will have to wait for another day...soon! Stay tuned!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-9993728737024807852014-01-24T22:55:00.000-06:002014-01-25T10:40:53.829-06:00The Best of 2013<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being the end of January, we are just about beyond the window of "let's reflect on 2013," so figured I better get this post up quick before it seems too nostalgic. And Aaron has actually had input on some blog post ideas of late and he thought this would be a good one. I agreed. Right after each event occurred, we had little time to reflect on it because there was always something else happening right on the heels of it. I am pretty confident I will look back at 2013 thirty years from now and say it was<i> just about</i> the craziest year of our lives. At least, I hope that's the case! Raising an infant and a two year would be enough to call it a physically exhausting year. But, on top of it, we had just a few other events that made it a whirlwind year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The year was filled with all sorts of memories and it would be impossible to highlight all the individual interactions we had and specific memories we created with so many of you! And so we bring you some of highlights of 2013 (in chronological order)!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. First wine tasting panel</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaron called this our first official winery event, which took place last winter. The first tasting and feedback from our first commercial production straight from the tanks and barrels. Major decision making on our blends and single varietals going on here before we bottled. It all starts with good wine!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Building the Pavilion</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hesitate to say whether the "building" part of it was a highlight since it took many weekends, many county inspections, several cuss words, and lots and lots of timbers to complete. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But once it was up...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was pretty cool.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And due to it's commercial grade construction, the pavilion is now the soundest structure on our property. Seriously.</span> </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. The house and landscaping transformation</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's hard to remember what our rationale was and how we came to make decisions the way we did, but last year we also got new windows, new siding, had a new car-garage put onto our farmhouse, converted the old garage into a new office, re-landscaped the house and the outbuildings, built two Bocce Ball courts, and put in four 12x20 foot garden beds by our house. This place looked a lot different a year ago! All things that needed to get done and we figured let's just do them now to get this place looking tip-top. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you were to have come in April, the place was a disaster (remember it snowed in April/May)? It delayed all of our projects a bit, but we pulled off having most of the public areas complete by our opening in July. </span></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Putting up the sign</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eeeeek! Aaron's Uncle Don delivered our custom made sign in June and we were finally able to put it out front. No hiding now. We're official. </span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Bottling Day and Kare11 Visits</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both of which took place on our 4th wedding anniversary in June! Kare11's Boua Xiong showed up right when we were getting the mobile bottling unit set up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">It was kind of a thrill being all miked up and talking to Kare11 at a pinnacle turning point in our business--and then being on the 6pm news! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaron was a bit stressed out because the bottler wasn't working right away. And we had, you know, 7000 bottles of wine dependent on this machine. But it eventually came through. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good mobile bottler. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This made it so real. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Schram Vineyard's first vintages!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Opening day</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ribbon cutting. Okay, now it is<i> really </i>official.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPd7OePEk6GF7Pf4Wa6-U02QNS9Q3T9R1y2OXluPXRmJ_-wbKfcD0IgpfYtLqF76vsifQnd9357_EClLpwK03aZ-DRlOvUVRX6vi6usnENX7-VtxRGux6BBsO2QO2IZMFtaZMvP5o9NM/s1600/DSC_0724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPd7OePEk6GF7Pf4Wa6-U02QNS9Q3T9R1y2OXluPXRmJ_-wbKfcD0IgpfYtLqF76vsifQnd9357_EClLpwK03aZ-DRlOvUVRX6vi6usnENX7-VtxRGux6BBsO2QO2IZMFtaZMvP5o9NM/s1600/DSC_0724.JPG" height="640" width="428" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, I love that this picture with Aaron's wind pants ballooned out and his shoe laces untied made the local paper. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Classy, Aaron. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His defense was that he thought it would be a "waist up" picture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaaand, apparently it wasn't. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">When we "opened the doors" our first day, it was so fun to see people show up and serve our very first customers! A moment we had been thinking about for a long time and it was really happening! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. First Wedding</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We hosted our first wedding! This adorable couple called us in July and said they wanted to get married in August (after a 4 year engagement!) and just have a small ceremony and toast with our wines. We made it happen and it was lovely and perfect and such a nice experience for our first wedding! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. Wine and Shoe Night</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A long time dream of combining two of my passions. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqqRCN20dSosUGDmoBEiCzLBYjT9cJ52CLVWZxw1h0WV85iqw4s_2bcsAxVUVEg3Sp5p1D2QWb54MQLJyWT2YOJuZCRlhPCH5PqqKDnLDwD9_2jjz4jEaQBsogZ-iC4M4lIt0LCC-e_o/s1600/DSC_0953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqqRCN20dSosUGDmoBEiCzLBYjT9cJ52CLVWZxw1h0WV85iqw4s_2bcsAxVUVEg3Sp5p1D2QWb54MQLJyWT2YOJuZCRlhPCH5PqqKDnLDwD9_2jjz4jEaQBsogZ-iC4M4lIt0LCC-e_o/s1600/DSC_0953.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a hit! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. Cigar Rolling Night</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another fun event on a perfect September night. It was such a fun group and a really cool atmosphere that night. Everyone was relaxed and complimentary. Lots of laughter. Lots of memories created among friends that night. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. Bocce Ball </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It had always been a vision of ours to put Bocce Ball courts in. I naively thought that to build a Bocce Ball court, all you had to do was screw together some boards and make a rectangle. Little did I know, it took excavation, leveling, proper drainage, and lots of landscaping to get them looking and working world class. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite them being a bigger investment than we originally thought (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess adding a second bathroom on our farmhouse will have to wait)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, we were thrilled with how they turned out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And even more thrilled to see people enjoying them!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1X8aWSkHh-o-nDGwCGJ0Pl9pTAXZv1YRU8IP6FrWgOcRmGH2krM1ZwvEWjQCtj7R5kjs6fGIK5j-imSup4ZtNa-d2vc2dCR2ngq3QHOEiuT63G9_YZl2hMu-M3jsn6PZZx145P0_rrGs/s1600/DSC_1025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1X8aWSkHh-o-nDGwCGJ0Pl9pTAXZv1YRU8IP6FrWgOcRmGH2krM1ZwvEWjQCtj7R5kjs6fGIK5j-imSup4ZtNa-d2vc2dCR2ngq3QHOEiuT63G9_YZl2hMu-M3jsn6PZZx145P0_rrGs/s1600/DSC_1025.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our inaugural Bocce Ball league confirmed we made the right decision putting them in. Our diverse league was just the right combination of competition and fun. And wine. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11. Western Weekend</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't actually have a lot of great pictures from this weekend. Why, you ask? Because after putting together a weekend full of music, a boot sale, line dancing demos, horse and wagon rides, and cowboy food truck, we found out that, um, none....and I mean none of our employees could work that weekend. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBXJ2ngeqPJn_khVNtyxhLFF9EbJ_zTer2OVGiQklevm-Q72pJ655oy0XMGmWiCcRHWvmpGu38dncjjYyJ3c-azEYIgaDQQFCQTjE-4EfInZqvRCEsr6XIKx9d0goZVxAnsKaKDgZIGo/s1600/DSC_0293+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBXJ2ngeqPJn_khVNtyxhLFF9EbJ_zTer2OVGiQklevm-Q72pJ655oy0XMGmWiCcRHWvmpGu38dncjjYyJ3c-azEYIgaDQQFCQTjE-4EfInZqvRCEsr6XIKx9d0goZVxAnsKaKDgZIGo/s1600/DSC_0293+-+Copy.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, my dear mother and her friend Karen, the brainchild of Western Weekend, stepped up to the plate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And wouldn't you go figure, that was our busiest day of the season! We got slammed. Those ladies brought in some good tips that weekend! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOH-WzJ2DpAsy6gaA4d0NMkQnPYuV5rff3uDWRsKKUEJwvidxlZ55Xfq4oiwW5RYODYsV5ouYXzmEYjFkCR2zeeT52034QZ1rJXJioqH8CaMRvXd8VztHLx8yjZcO9YQFAw0W46vn7AU/s1600/DSC_0296+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOH-WzJ2DpAsy6gaA4d0NMkQnPYuV5rff3uDWRsKKUEJwvidxlZ55Xfq4oiwW5RYODYsV5ouYXzmEYjFkCR2zeeT52034QZ1rJXJioqH8CaMRvXd8VztHLx8yjZcO9YQFAw0W46vn7AU/s1600/DSC_0296+-+Copy.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it was just the four of us pouring wine like crazy that day! And we made it. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12. First Steps and First Birthday</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As any mother could, I could fill up oodles of pages of highlights just on our kids, but thought I would throw in at least one kid highlight to this list to show that 2013 was a year filled of firsts not just for our winery, but for our family as well. And, of course </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to show once again that I am superwoman. I am exhausted just looking at the pictures above and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">then remembering that I still nursed a b</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">aby until 10 months through it all while chasing around a two year old? Exhausting as it was, I cherished moments with my babies and loved having our little ones around while getting this business off the ground. Even though our shoulders got a little sore carrying an infant on our back all year. And even if we did have to apologize to a few customers when our two year old would run into them with his dirt bike.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You thought I was kidding when I said there was one excitement after another last year? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Aaah! She just smiled!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Woohooo! Our wine labels arrived!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Honey, she is sitting up!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Oooh! Our first case sale!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Honey, he went on the potty!!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Whoo wee! Our Marquette wine won a SILVER MEDAL at the ICCWC!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our little miss took her first steps the first day of our harvest in September, a little over a month before her 1st birthday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coincidence? I think not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This girl was anxious to pick grapes!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">13. Bonfire</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bonfire harvest party has been a tradition since Aaron and I bought the property and moved here in 2008. And it was fun to do it again last year as a public event, to close out our first season of Schram Vineyards. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">14. The New Friends</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And perhaps the best and most pleasantly surprising highlight of last year was all the new people we met, the new friends we made, and the tremendous support and positive feedback we received. We had a lot of good times and good laughs. So many faces became familiar to us throughout our first season and it was incredibly humbling. Our customers, friends, family, employees, volunteers, neighbors, and all and the people behind us are what making this venture a go and we are blessed to have so much support. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No doubt 2014 will be full of more "firsts" and new exciting developments, but personally, I am hoping to get a little more sleep this year. Just a little. </span><br />
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-51156236651044826432013-12-06T14:38:00.000-06:002013-12-06T15:22:37.172-06:00The Off SeasonThought I would dust off the ol' blog as it has been awhile since I have had a moment to write. My how life has changed since I first started writing in 2009. I used to post several times a week!<br />
<br />
I kept thinking that after we closed the winery for the season, we would somehow end up with all this free time. Suddenly we'd put the "closed" sign up and spend the next seven months hibernating, sitting on the couch in our pajamas, sleeping in, relaxed...<br />
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At least that is what I had fantasized in my head. And I'm not sure what planet I was living on when I thought that.<br />
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It has been quite the contrary.<br />
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<i>Quite the contrary.</i><br />
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I once heard Walter Bond (former Gopher basketball player and current motivational speaker) speak and his whole topic was about what he did on the off-season. That's when he worked the hardest to improve and get ready for the next season and that is how he became better and more successful.<br />
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So, while this is our "off-season," it is going to be time spent getting ready for next year. Coming off the high of such a successful 2013, we are anxious build on that momentum to grow and improve and get ready for an <i>even better</i> 2014. <br />
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Don't get me wrong, we've had some nights to relax and have thoroughly enjoyed spending some uninterrupted family time. The cold bug hit our house once already, which forced us to spend some time resting. Nothing like a sickness to remind us that we need to take it easy once in a while.<br />
<br />
But, we've also spent some time doing the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>Getting our wines into local liquor stores and doing in-store tastings. We continue to add more stores, but currently we are in Legacy Wine and Spirits and Colony Plaza in Waconia, and Century Wine and Spirits in Chanhassen. The Ground Round in Waconia will be serving our wine and some other restaurants in the works!<br /></li>
<li>Pairing up with local business on events. We participated in the D.E.A.R (hunter's widows weekend) and did some wine sampling of our wines at Mackenthun's Fine Foods. We area also teaming up with them for a holiday appetizer class next week! <br /></li>
<li>Putting a brand on our honey wines--to be revealed SOON! One of the greatest things about opening the winery has been meeting all sorts of new people, making new friends, finding our enthusiasts and supporters and discovering our customers' talents. One of our customers is a designer and she has put together a pretty awesome label design for our new brand and we are excited to see it on the bottle! If we can pull this all together, we hope to get it rolled out and available for New Year's as it makes a great toasting wine!<br /></li>
<li>Getting the ground work done to prepare for building the new winery building. Unfortunately, now with this freeze, it may be on hold until spring, but we got a good start!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXVPfmlyVsVqzH5XCZ6MCrWyAyCKbUgLEOU_Nvrlk2aiU6n9L9MyKOEseoZ2YOoUKb2ragnodij5lSzQTDQqu1zGKYE4m7CoB4eNjJEiNH3P7TvtjGm8KhK44x1BeTpc2JzY3YL_JAZs/s1600/DSC_0468+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXVPfmlyVsVqzH5XCZ6MCrWyAyCKbUgLEOU_Nvrlk2aiU6n9L9MyKOEseoZ2YOoUKb2ragnodij5lSzQTDQqu1zGKYE4m7CoB4eNjJEiNH3P7TvtjGm8KhK44x1BeTpc2JzY3YL_JAZs/s640/DSC_0468+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></li>
<li><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYwMdIIdeFkDMhkn8HgK5bUDh1s9zg6b4MYPZYVSN9tZ6q9Xbka6Py1Ot2sMMnaiIKQf5wvvtOtllZkfROCLUTI18mRzIq4CrDixIZ9IdTPJ3DJe1yqvt3_aS6IkIM4DBS86EQqB2-WY/s1600/DSC_0464+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYwMdIIdeFkDMhkn8HgK5bUDh1s9zg6b4MYPZYVSN9tZ6q9Xbka6Py1Ot2sMMnaiIKQf5wvvtOtllZkfROCLUTI18mRzIq4CrDixIZ9IdTPJ3DJe1yqvt3_aS6IkIM4DBS86EQqB2-WY/s640/DSC_0464+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></li>
<li>Barreling wine, racking wine, making wine for our next year's vintages!<br /></li>
<li>Trying to enjoy the typical chaos of all the projects going on in our house. Over this last year, amidst opening a winery, caring for two small children and holding down full-time jobs, we have been doing some remodeling work on the old farmhouse we call home. We are taking it one project at a time, which means it has been drawn out and our house is in perpetual remodel mode. House projects plus a loose cannon husband, plus two small children always opens the door for some drama. There could, for instance, be an open can of paint left out one day that our newly walking one year old could discover, spill all over the rug and her freshly washed pajamas. And the dogs could come over and run through it and leave painted paw prints all over the wood floors while my two year, who has stripped off his pajamas by himself, dances around the house wearing nothing but a cowboy hat. And Aaron could be out in the winery at the time racking the wine from our 2013 harvest and I could run out there in my slippers frantically carrying a baby with paint on her hands like gloves and toss the baby into his arms and tell him he needs to clean her off before she tries to eat it while I get the dogs out of the house so I can clean up the paint in the house without kids and dogs walking all over it!! And the paint could, for instance, still be on their tails weeks after this incident...</li>
</ul>
I mean, something like that <i>could</i> happen around here. Not saying it has or anything...<br />
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Looking forward to an eventful holiday season! It will be 2014 in the blink of an eye! <br />
<br />
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-19922613705143674322013-10-02T21:01:00.003-05:002013-10-03T10:41:51.278-05:00After HoursNo, not the kind of "after hours" that you are probably thinking. I am talking about the after hours that take place once our business doors close for the day and our family life resumes with the two miniature horses who live in our house. <br />
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You see, Tux and Belle <i>used to</i> have free roam of the vineyard. Getting their exercise was not a problem. For being 4 1/2 year old big dogs, they still have quite a bit of energy to burn off. <br />
<br />
Now that we've opened the winery, things have changed a bit and they are spending more time indoors on the weekends. They spend a good amount of time during the day peering through the glass door into our "backyard" watching all the humans laugh and drink wine. And it is tough for them not to be a part of the action. So many hands out there that could be scratching them behind the ears! Although they are friendly and love any attention they can get, their collective 200 lbs. of energetic dog love can sometimes kill the mood for a relaxing wine tasting. <br />
<br />
Some of our customers have witnessed them getting let loose, when someone (ahem: our2yearoldson), accidentally leaves the door open when going in and out of the house. And it is quite a sight to see them galloping out of the house towards the tasting bar area. <br />
<br />
We usually hear a few excited squeals and then the natural reaction of grabbing the wine glasses off the table, should one of these ponies knock it over with their wagging tails! <br />
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And so, after several hours waiting patiently watching customers come and go all day long, we wait until the last person leaves and closed sign is up..<br />
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And it is time to let the dogs out...<br />
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Stop for a break... </div>
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and Belle hears something...</div>
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It is the 4-wheeler...<br />
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aka...our dog walker.<br />
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And they are off!<br />
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<br />
Yep, this is how we walk the dogs.<br />
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They will chase that thing all around the vineyard.<br />
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Barking most of the way.<br />
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Because, you know, the 4-wheeler is quite a threat. </div>
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A few times up and down the rows and they start to lose some steam.</div>
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Aaron slows for a minute to let them catch up and catch their breath for a minute.<br />
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One more time, doggies.<br />
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Can you keep up, Tux?<br />
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C'mon Belle. Time to go back inside.<br />
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Whew! What a workout. </div>
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That should tire them out...</div>
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At least until tomorrow. </div>
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There you have it folks. There is a sneak peek of what after hours look like at our place. It definitely fits in with our crazy. </div>
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-68168580386198256742013-08-28T22:43:00.000-05:002013-11-25T13:23:01.784-06:00Whoooo...weeee! Don't mistake my lack of blog posts as an indication that there is nothing new to report on. The truth is, I can't keep up with documenting all the excitement! One event ends and we turn around and bump into the next one. The last seven weeks have truly been NON-stop. So busy, yet so much fun! <br />
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The number one question we have gotten since opening our tasting pavilion is, "What inspired all of this?" or How did you decide to start a winery?"</div>
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And a very close second is, "How in the world do you do all of this?" A winery and two small children? You must be very busy! </div>
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And then I slip in the fact that we both work full-time jobs... </div>
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Heh, heh...</div>
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I am not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed that we lead this crazy lifestyle. But, we are (somehow) managing to pull it all off -- parenthood, careers, and a new business. I think one helps the other-helps the other. We have learned to thrive off the chaos. Our staff and help have all been AMAZING! We absolutely would not, could not (have I been reading too many Dr. Seuss books?) be doing all of this without help and we are so thankful to have good people in our lives who are living up to and adding to our reputation. And while free-time is nearly unheard of these days, we do find some time to unwind with a glass of wine. And wine does help. <br />
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A lot. </div>
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The kids are very much a part of this adventure with us. Don't be surprised if you see one of us walking around the vineyard or winery with a 10 month old squacking on our back or if you find our 2 1/2 year old riding his bike handing out apples from our apple tree to some customers. If nothing else, our kids don't lack in social skills. "My name Ax-el. What your name? You want apple?" he said to some ladies sipping wine last weekend, while pulling an apple from his bucket. </div>
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Or, </div>
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"I see friends!" he'll call when he sees kids walking with their parents in from the parking lot. Heck, he says it when he sees a group of adults too. "C'mon, Mama. Let's go!" as he grabs my hand to go greet new guests.<br />
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I posted pictures recently to our new photo gallery page, so you can catch up on our fun events and all the pictures there! </div>
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Wine and Shoes Ladies' Night was a huge success. Aaron questioned me when I told him this "wine and shoes" idea. "You are going to do what? Bring in shoes?" he said skeptically. Okaaaay....that sounds kind of weird."</div>
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"Trust me," I told him. "Wine and Shoes. Women will come." And when he started to see the RSVPs rolling in, he got really into it. It was a ton of fun and this will definitely be a regular event! Now Aaron has all sorts of ideas for the next one. He is a skeptic turned enthusiast!</div>
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We had our first wedding! Crazy, right? But, an awesome couple contacted us and said that after 4 years of engagement they were finally ready to tie the knot and were hoping we could accommodate an intimate wedding in our vineyard just a few weeks out. Why not? We said. With only 16 people, it was a good way to get our feet wet. What a beautiful night! And a beautiful couple! They toasted with our honey wines and it was perfect! </div>
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We hosted the Chamber of Commerce lunch. I said it before and I'll say it again-- We are so proud to live and have this business in such a supportive community with other awesome people and businesses! </div>
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And can I just say that for an IT nerd, Aaron is an <i>unusually</i> comfortable, charming, and engaging public speaker. </div>
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I mean, you couldn't have shut the guy up if you tried. :) <br />
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Did I mention we won our first medal? The Cold Climate Wine competition was a few weeks ago. We entered our Marquette wine and won a silver medal! </div>
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Other upcoming events:</div>
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Grape picking--starting Labor Day weekend and going to the end of September</div>
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Cigar Rolling Night--September 13th</div>
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Western Weekend--end of September (exact date coming)</div>
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Boots and Boots-beginning of October (exact date coming)</div>
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Oktoberfest celebration--yeah, wineries can do this too! </div>
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All right...I'm exhausted just writing about it. I'm going to bed. At least until the baby wakes up...</div>
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-67828826185615744782013-07-18T12:03:00.003-05:002013-07-18T22:38:24.858-05:00Opening Weekend HighlightsI figured I better quick get a post up on our opening weekend before our second weekend comes! It's hard to pick just a few highlights from our opening weekend, but I am going to do my very best to keep it to a few. I posted some pictures on Facebook as well, but wanted to get in writing a quick recap. Considering we had a lot of details come together at the last minute, we felt overall that the weekend was incredibly successful thanks to our awesome staff, "Schrambassadors," and customer support. All the last minute things we had hoped to have in place that we didn't by the time we opened didn't seem to matter! We had a good steady flow of traffic all weekend and had great feedback from our customers. <br />
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A few highlights:<br />
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<li>All the new friends! We were so humbled to see a strong turn-out, not only from our friends and family, but from all sorts of other folks who have been enthusiastic and anxiously awaiting our opening! We look forward to getting to know many of you better and see your faces more often! </li>
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<li>The various modes of transportation. Not only did people travel by car, but we had bikers and bicyclists stop by the winery too. One guy was out for a bike ride, saw our winery signs, and decided to buy a few bottles of wine to bring home to his wife. How great is that? We even had a group from down the road come via wagon pulled by their Norwegian horses. Fun! </li>
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<li>Our first case sale! We were excited to meet a crew of Minnesota wine enthusiasts who came out on Friday night and bought a case of wine! Definitely a reason to celebrate.</li>
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<li>The support of the other small local, family owned Waconia businesses. It is so encouraging to live in a town with so much support of one another. As Schram Vineyards, we aspire to join the ranks of other well known family names in towns and create the same strong reputation of our brand. Thanks to all the local businesses for stopping out to see us. We look forward to seeing more of you! </li>
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<li>The regulars. We must have done something right if we saw some folks come twice over the weekend! </li>
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<li>The ribbon cutting! Even though Aaron's shoes were untied and his pants were ballooned out by the wind, we loved doing the ribbon cutting to make our opening official. We were so touched by Chamber President's, Kellie Sites, kind words thanking us for making our home and establishing a business in Waconia. As the third winery in the town, we are definitely cementing the town as Waconia Wine Country! </li>
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<li>Seeing this guy with a huge smile on his face all weekend. Any one who talked to Aaron over the weekend surely heard the passion and enthusiasm he has for this business. Such a high to see all the hard work from the past five years come to fruition. Most importantly, we had fun!</li>
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Thank YOU to everyone who made it a fun and successful opening weekend! You are all appreciated! </div>
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-90282978372155418922013-07-02T21:57:00.000-05:002013-07-02T21:59:33.875-05:00An Open Letter to my HusbandDear Aaron,<br />
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When you looked at me the other day and asked, "Are we insane?" I had to laugh. Has it really taken you until now to realize that?! Yes, we are insane, but that's what makes this special.<br />
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In the last few weeks, Father's Day, our Anniversary AND your birthday all passed with nothing more than a mere acknowledgment of the day in the morning with a peck on the cheek. Just because we just had too much other stuff to concentrate on, doesn't mean I didn't <i>want </i>to do something special for you. I mean, I don't even think I let you sleep in on your birthday and I think the only "gift" I got you was your favorite Blizzard flavor from DQ. Hope you liked it! We did spend our 4 year anniversary bottling wine and that was an appropriate celebration.<br />
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Since we have so little time to sit back and reflect, I thought it was important to take a few of my very spare moments to do just that. We are scrambling still getting everything ready for our opening, but one thing I want you to know...you're the coolest guy I know. <br />
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The day we met, you told me your dream was to have a vineyard and open a winery one day. I really thought it was a pie in the sky dream. How one might say, "I want to be an astronaut and go to the moon one day!"<br />
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I've watched you work tirelessly day in and day out for the last five years to make this happen and it hasn't been easy. Blood, sweat, and tears in its literal translation. It has been exciting and often times very stressful. But you have used your best project management skills and "can do" attitude to make this all happen. You have challenged <i>me</i> every day and although I want to ring your neck sometimes, you have pushed me to grow as a person too. I know you have wished recently that you had more time to spend with our little ones the last few months, but you know what, you are giving them a pretty special gift. They may not get it yet, but they see you working hard every.single.day. You had a dream and you are making it happen. Who does that? Now when we tell them they can do anything they put their mind too, you are living proof of that being done. That's pretty cool. <br />
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We are not there yet, but we are darn close. Good work, my Gentleman Farmer. I'm proud of you.<br />
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Love,<br />
Ashley<br />
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-75842291877213648202013-05-17T15:28:00.001-05:002013-05-17T17:47:16.402-05:00ProgressAaron and I took some time off from our day jobs this week to concentrate on getting some work done around here. Nothing like using vacation days and turning them into 12 hour manual labor work days. But things they are a-happenin.' We are grateful to have had 4 days of nice, dry weather to knock out some big things. And to be honest, although we need every last minute of good weather to keep plugging away on all of this, I am grateful the rain forced us to take (a very short) little breather today. <br />
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With the help of friends, neighbors, contractors and employees, we made some good headway.</div>
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The vineyard is completely pruned! Just in time for all those buds breaking out!</div>
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And in the areas where there isn't construction going on, we're able to start executing on our landscaping plan! We got the beds shaped and designed and will get most of the new plants in this weekend. </div>
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We even dipped our little grape stompers' feet in the wet cement of the concrete pad! <br />
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Cement was poured for the footings of the new pavilion!<br />
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Cement truck<br />
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We moved the garden up closer to the house and this new spot is getting prepped for our Bocce Ball courts! I took this picture standing up by where the pavilion is being constructed. <br />
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All this and they are also putting a new garage on and residing our little old farmhouse at the same time!</div>
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I am so excited for this all to be done and looking beautiful, I can hardly stand it! We are working hard towards our mid-July opening. </div>
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-41718309291224766702013-04-23T19:59:00.001-05:002013-04-23T20:54:40.873-05:002 Sets of Pictures--Same Day!This bizarre weather month, being marked in the books as the snowiest April on record, culminated today with a most unusual starting and ending of the day.<br />
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Although the snowstorm that came last night left us with a lovely looking morning, I think all of us Minnesotans can agree it came unwelcome. Like really? I mean,<i> really</i>? C'mon! It's April 24th for cryin' out loud! We're <i>told</i> it's the last of the season. I thought that was the case back on April 11th when it was almost unheard of to get snow. The snow that came last night, was light, fast, and powdery. Definitely not good snowman building snow.<br />
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When we woke up to snow this morning, I thought this could quite possibly be (and hopefully will be!) the only time we will see the vineyard covered in snow this late in April. So, like the rest of the other annoyed Minnesotans waking up to snow this morning, I too did my best to make lemonade with this lemon of an April. And at least I can say I got some great pictures!<br />
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After picking up the kids in the afternoon, I stopped over to talk to the neighbors who were outside chatting enjoying the sunshine.<br />
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One of them was wearing a t-shirt.<br />
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I took Axel outside to play and stuck Bridget in the carrier along with my camera.<br />
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Here is what it looked like around 4:30 this afternoon.<br />
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Barely a trace of snow left.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvplsbiLRFIu3XoueqDfoBh87OqZvdXp0D4xGr3f2ApgBkC_OtDBX6J2CimwTuNMbAq3jpugPuTQ-G7gWtTrNwQIUvjnsywqXq9rEnCA8ABrcor9UXKHwcWauvjpXMOcVcH8dj4pZxJQ/s1600/DSC_0329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvplsbiLRFIu3XoueqDfoBh87OqZvdXp0D4xGr3f2ApgBkC_OtDBX6J2CimwTuNMbAq3jpugPuTQ-G7gWtTrNwQIUvjnsywqXq9rEnCA8ABrcor9UXKHwcWauvjpXMOcVcH8dj4pZxJQ/s640/DSC_0329.JPG" width="428" /></a></div>
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It did look a lot prettier this morning. But, I'll take the brown because I know it is only a matter of time (days? weeks?) before this will all be green and lush!<br />
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This HAS to be the end of the snow. PLEASE let this be the last!<br />
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Can you believe these were all taken today? Amazing what a difference 8 hours can make with a strong sun.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlAt1fn8agLRK2t5qYwg48e4CMTsgUBqPRvBwv8eAOvxHc9jp1LdXTILa2A-uKMuXcDUmcRXnWQ_LpCbqcpx_LruFG4_RK8eqX1XWRYy7wRxX3LT5w8DoTymY0ZbAn6VXocU7bS3OYOo/s1600/DSC_0336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlAt1fn8agLRK2t5qYwg48e4CMTsgUBqPRvBwv8eAOvxHc9jp1LdXTILa2A-uKMuXcDUmcRXnWQ_LpCbqcpx_LruFG4_RK8eqX1XWRYy7wRxX3LT5w8DoTymY0ZbAn6VXocU7bS3OYOo/s640/DSC_0336.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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No. This next one was not an accidental picture. I really did get that excited to see some green grass.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyw1BX8Op0kUandSJ2vU-vNKAcuVdNpyTXtfDlJDrXjA94UBDL6ygtUhUxkh1JJvXtqaJ9JwX1-vUsh8LISlYwxq90r0wFoSX-q0psxSMtu6YdAweU6zRx91rJhWiGk6p-G2Ja2SxLdgM/s1600/DSC_0338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyw1BX8Op0kUandSJ2vU-vNKAcuVdNpyTXtfDlJDrXjA94UBDL6ygtUhUxkh1JJvXtqaJ9JwX1-vUsh8LISlYwxq90r0wFoSX-q0psxSMtu6YdAweU6zRx91rJhWiGk6p-G2Ja2SxLdgM/s640/DSC_0338.JPG" width="428" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayZ9Gy77ATzjEBXXfqaEzoZOdY1z2M2pnI9Q4vTKq7SB5q1tqA3f01z7m7yatOaJc7d9oiRF6d9SoFZiz8HKBSz-TsCIVsRbtopryi9vfBF38d1S9UteL4gzmaz_cBGVDoyrX8fbk3jA/s1600/DSC_0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayZ9Gy77ATzjEBXXfqaEzoZOdY1z2M2pnI9Q4vTKq7SB5q1tqA3f01z7m7yatOaJc7d9oiRF6d9SoFZiz8HKBSz-TsCIVsRbtopryi9vfBF38d1S9UteL4gzmaz_cBGVDoyrX8fbk3jA/s640/DSC_0341.JPG" width="428" /></a></div>
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Now, here is where it gets interesting! </div>
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Remember our unseasonably warm spring last year? To feed my curiosity, I looked back to see when I had written a post last April and saw that I had written a post exactly 365 days ago...<a href="http://www.schramvineyards.com/2012/04/how-are-those-grapes-doing.html" target="_blank">.April 24th 2012.</a> And that post included pictures of green, green grass, green trees and budding grapevines!</div>
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And not only that, in my post I mentioned that the pictures I was posting were already a few weeks old! Mother Nature sure keeps things interesting. </div>
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Here is what April in 2012 looked like for us...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKssy0Tj7JA7boUhJuIE2uomWXAa78QvxhkrT7-5erUU0hQm_pXFAl7YlpnuEvOJghKd-U7z6xYltWgQgbmAsSElQLHQRcACkgKAd3IuwrgEftbpqXvuNc9OzAgVNYmVSl6tS0R258lw/s1600/Spring+2012+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKssy0Tj7JA7boUhJuIE2uomWXAa78QvxhkrT7-5erUU0hQm_pXFAl7YlpnuEvOJghKd-U7z6xYltWgQgbmAsSElQLHQRcACkgKAd3IuwrgEftbpqXvuNc9OzAgVNYmVSl6tS0R258lw/s640/Spring+2012+007.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YeG2nZ6Qf53hiDWSB4ATPBWrWWi-VVZJwq4nnK3Us6glJPNh46-sfG9Fb2SQWDSqk7ErvmUHWfKMIS5gTLIHZGdZixHUZYsy885AFN3IYvAOcZpYT25u5VekyU2h2qemKue-YvFo4hI/s1600/Spring+2012+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YeG2nZ6Qf53hiDWSB4ATPBWrWWi-VVZJwq4nnK3Us6glJPNh46-sfG9Fb2SQWDSqk7ErvmUHWfKMIS5gTLIHZGdZixHUZYsy885AFN3IYvAOcZpYT25u5VekyU2h2qemKue-YvFo4hI/s640/Spring+2012+002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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BUDS!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSN-1qEBYm8n8ZPF2sG4sItrwSZ0d72V7548EQqRZIf35Sh_4vgw_v5KjqqlmgDMbn8RuRlXLvCoVqm9oMTASlwhcZxSzjE2WCqyOUzGjiSS8Bwew-HuS8hyphenhyphenhdcXsmMqfSYXfVb0ObjY/s1600/Spring+2012+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSN-1qEBYm8n8ZPF2sG4sItrwSZ0d72V7548EQqRZIf35Sh_4vgw_v5KjqqlmgDMbn8RuRlXLvCoVqm9oMTASlwhcZxSzjE2WCqyOUzGjiSS8Bwew-HuS8hyphenhyphenhdcXsmMqfSYXfVb0ObjY/s640/Spring+2012+010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Oh, how I yearn for that green, green grass! And to get that garden planted!</div>
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Not counting my chickens yet, but I <i>really </i>think this could be the weekend that we actually can start on our outdoor projects without the interruption of snow, frost, or freezing rain. Looking forward the 70 degree weather they have forecasted for this weekend! Snow today and they are saying 74 and sunny on Sunday. Bizarre. </div>
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-54425563912995477452013-04-10T20:56:00.001-05:002013-04-11T13:53:38.595-05:00DenialSnow? What snow??<br />
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I don't see snow.<br />
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No, I didn't put my winter jacket, Uggs, and gloves on this morning....APRIL TENTH! <br />
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Yes, we are going to build the garden beds this weekend and start planting lettuce! That is what we have planned. <br />
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No, I didn't have to scrape off my windshield this morning?<br />
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Yes, I did just paint my toenails to get ready for sandal season. <br />
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Passion Purple. Thanks for asking! They match my new sundress.<br />
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UGH!<br />
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Denial. Complete and utter denial.<br />
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Last year at this time I had already been in flip flops for a month!<br />
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With a target opening date in July, we have a lot to get done before then and this snow isn't helping!<br />
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We are frustrated, but what can we do?<br />
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Deal with it the best we can and wait patiently.<br />
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It's not like we haven't had plenty of other things to do. Every hour of every day brings a new adventure. And that isn't an exaggeration. Between day jobs, vineyard work, wine making, two little one who are each reaching new milestones daily, it is constant excitement around here. Constant.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6mfDPaRlux0rVtIH_w7buC6djhbnohBk1Yp3Sm0PVXYyGdT_GAEz2HEeC8V8KP5e8Q_X8BzjVPHkUhhdJh4sxv6jvRGmTiEPJPYiPJ4lkC9Z8R-yAMOXgOXKD5P1mUpDf-fkUxDaVPQ/s1600/DSC_0242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid6mfDPaRlux0rVtIH_w7buC6djhbnohBk1Yp3Sm0PVXYyGdT_GAEz2HEeC8V8KP5e8Q_X8BzjVPHkUhhdJh4sxv6jvRGmTiEPJPYiPJ4lkC9Z8R-yAMOXgOXKD5P1mUpDf-fkUxDaVPQ/s640/DSC_0242.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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If there is one thing we have learned through this adventure of starting this type of business, it's that nothing ever really goes exactly according to plan. Nothing is easy as apple pie to get done, to make a decision, to get pushed through. Every little step has been a huge task. We've learned to roll with the punches. There is always a change in the weather pattern, something to wait in line for until we get the stamp of approval, something breaking down at the most inopportune time, one decision holding up making another decision. And when we lay our heads down at night and finally enter into that sweet stage of REM...the baby wakes up.<br />
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Or the two year old...<br />
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Or one of the dogs...<br />
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Yes, really. All of them. <br />
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I told you. <i>Everyhourofeveryday</i> is an adventure.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWJWKdFIiz-30wTLO5jXLzIipwVi_vObe-qIgUPKx-B5FOYQVawSn_RxsAOScQBl40B8KQCKcFXHNPABKAAArXJcjvQrqvgBVSeNo5UwQlkoD8cXRNjIjPpbr_2t2SP1pmt0DGgEKNC8/s640/DSC_0259.JPG" /><br />
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This boy is in toddler heaven playing in the mud with all the digging going on around here.<br />
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Among all the nicknames I have for Aaron, I sometimes call him, Superman. Because, as evidenced in all the posts I've written, you wouldn't think that he ever sleeps. I am thankful for his energy, good health, and for his good time management skills. He comes home from his day job and in a whirlwind, goes into a phone booth in his business casual clothes, and comes out in his jeans and t-shirt to play his daddy role. After bedtime, it's back in the phone booth and moments later he is out in his Carhartt and work boots to tackle whatever project is needed to get done that day. Superman. <br />
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Until we are up at all hours of the night with these children and dogs.<br />
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Then we're just zombies. <br />
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But, behind every Superman, is a Superwoman, right?<br />
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I remind Aaron of that often. <br />
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"You know I am Superwoman, right?"<br />
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"Okay, honey. You're Superwoman," he says patting my head. "Now, after you finish cleaning the muddy paw prints off the floor and make those final edits on the wine labels, can you put the kids in the wagon and come help prune some vines?"<br />
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Exactly.<br />
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-25891602700306957872013-03-25T12:05:00.001-05:002013-03-25T12:41:23.568-05:00It's Not a Party Until Someone Gets a Bobcat Stuck in the MudI started a post the other day, but before I got the chance to finish it, there was a change of events that made me change the whole tune of the post.<br />
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I had <i>started</i> to write about how it's been a chilly March and how our multitude of outdoor projects to complete this spring have been delayed until the ground thaws and how we are anxious to start on the landscaping, construction, garden, Bocce Ball courts, fire pit, pergola, and entrance. But as I sat down to finish the post while the kids were down for a nap on Saturday, I looked out our living room window and what should I see?<br />
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But Aaron ripping up the ground with the Bobcat! Wahoo! <br />
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So I guess the ground <i>did</i> thaw enough to get started on that garage! What do I know? We've had building material on our lawn, just waiting for the ground to warm up and I guess the time has come!<br />
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After I snapped a few pictures of this initial groundbreaking somewhere around 3:30pm, I sat back down on the couch in the living room (with my back facing the window where Aaron was outside digging with the backhoe), to finish writing my blog post.<br />
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Little did I know that behind me, Aaron had managed to get one of the treads of the Bobcat stuck in the muddy trench amidst his digging.<br />
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To make matters worse, in his attempt to get out, had somehow gotten the door jammed, locking himself <i>inside the Bobcat! </i><br />
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And there I sat on the couch with my back to this just typing and whistling away. He was only 30 feet directly behind me, but I was oblivious to his distress. He had his cell phone on him and he said he called me twice, but I deny ever hearing my phone ring.<br />
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I stood up when I heard Bridget waking up from her nap and only paused for a moment in front of the window long enough to think, <i>"Huh. I wonder if the Bobcat is supposed to be sitting sideways in the trench like that?" </i> But again, what do I know about Bobcats and their capabilities? I guessed I missed Aaron's attempts at waving me down at that point. If only Bobcats came with horns!<br />
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Luckily he was able to get a hold of a contractor who was doing some work elsewhere at our place, who came to rescue Aaron from the Bobcat. So he wasn't stuck in there for too long.<br />
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But then the real work began of trying to get that thing out of the mud.<br />
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With both kids now up from their naps, I was not much help in overcoming this endeavor (and let's face it--even if I didn't have the kids to care for, I wouldn't know the first thing about getting a Bobcat out of a muddy trench). Best thing I could do was keep the kids inside and out of the way, so we simply watched out the window.<br />
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Before it got dark, Aaron sent a picture text to our neighbors that said, "Look at the pickle I am in."<br />
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They were smart enough to know that was a plea for help. Low and behold, they were over a few minutes later....in their rubber boots. Could we ask for more ideal neighbors?<br />
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I sat with the kids and cheered them on as we watched them hook the pick-up truck up in hopes of towing it out...<br />
then the Tractor. <br />
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No luck.<br />
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I got Axel his afternoon snack and we watched out the big picture window on the edge of the couch in anticipation. It was so much better than sticking a Disney movie in the DVD player! It had all the elements of a great movie--adventure, suspense, teamwork, not giving up.<br />
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<i>"C'mon, Daddy! You can do it!!"</i> we'd cheer.<br />
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I'd occasionally hold Bridget up to the window and dance her around to offer some encouragement and a smile. <br />
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They tried and tried and worked through dinner. Unfortunately, the kids were not able to see the happy ending before it was time for bed.<br />
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After tucking the kids in, I stepped outside to see how things were progressing and snap a few more pictures. They had placed a plank under the tread to try and give it a hard surface to push off of.<br />
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I didn't learn until later that they needed to get it out<i> that night</i> because if the mud were to harden up on the treads of the Bobcat overnight, it could break the bearings if they were to try and run it again in the morning.<br />
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Another little piece of useful information I have learned living on a farm.<br />
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And sure enough, about two minutes after I arrived on the scene...<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">...and a mere 4 hours after getting stuck, they got it out!</span></div>
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We all cheered!<br />
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That's is how we spent our Saturday night.<br />
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What did you do?<br />
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-53044674333659801532013-03-04T21:11:00.000-06:002013-03-04T21:54:53.373-06:00Wine Tasting Round TwoTwo back to back posts...amazing, right? <br />
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The other night we hosted our<a href="http://www.schramvineyards.com/2013/01/its-tough-job-but-someones-gotta-do-it.html" target="_blank"> second round of tastings</a>. It was a rather impromptu gathering, but we were fortunate to have had such a positive response when we asked a selective group of family friends to come taste our wines on short notice. They were more than willing to come drink our wine and provide feedback on the blends, finishes and tastes of the wines we are getting ready to bottle.<br />
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We invited some of the more "experienced" wine drinkers we know for this tasting. </div>
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Aaron prepared tastings of the wines we are getting ready to bottle and requested feedback on a couple of different variations. <br />
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We got some great feedback and responses and now we have a pretty good idea of which we are bottling as a single variety and which as blends. </div>
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And we had a lot of fun in the process. </div>
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Even this guy was having a blast playing!</div>
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He found this wine barrel to make a fun racetrack for his little toy cars. Such creativity! </div>
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This is also not an unusual sight at our place....<br />
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Thanks again to all of our wine tasters! </div>
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Meanwhile, we are putting final touches on our wine labels and have our first "series" of labels just about done. Can't wait to share with you what they are all about!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-16043120622565672592013-03-04T20:58:00.001-06:002013-03-05T07:12:27.930-06:005 Years <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This week 5 years ago, this adventure all began. We closed on this house and also got engaged the first week of March in 2008. </div>
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Here is Aaron planting the field in the spring of 2008.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sQFAHDfRC5n4xnX30tN0CO1c61IHiEu3tj_9aViqiLNgDF3mSiKcQFMeqn7Y2zhuIDPxbMgzwNVMEqcQkzkBwvU98QJR1Z0FH2pS58SxJfL8c-2vlEhSpMHOzwUO6N069rsF9Djs4FM/s1600/166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sQFAHDfRC5n4xnX30tN0CO1c61IHiEu3tj_9aViqiLNgDF3mSiKcQFMeqn7Y2zhuIDPxbMgzwNVMEqcQkzkBwvU98QJR1Z0FH2pS58SxJfL8c-2vlEhSpMHOzwUO6N069rsF9Djs4FM/s640/166.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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And here it was that fall. That first year we started with an acre of vines and rented out the rest of the land to a farmer who planted corn. That was the only year we did that before planting our big plots in the subsequent years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwKlumLe7fORNX7prN7jl8KgKj1XQqd2P1esLATpsJBd0Xd6B5USYg388ggiCh_W9XUaEoeKDRWKChuXC6STpm1G-Ty81NglxiNmbDUmzFa7yTAXlaUFktka2zVQ8_P1ia8z5K_eeLdI/s1600/vineyard09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwKlumLe7fORNX7prN7jl8KgKj1XQqd2P1esLATpsJBd0Xd6B5USYg388ggiCh_W9XUaEoeKDRWKChuXC6STpm1G-Ty81NglxiNmbDUmzFa7yTAXlaUFktka2zVQ8_P1ia8z5K_eeLdI/s640/vineyard09.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here is our vineyard today.<br />
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Okay, not today <i>today</i> since there is a blizzard going on right now. Clearly, this was taken in the fall, but you get the idea. <br />
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Here is a picture of us five years ago. I admit, this is not my favorite picture of the two of us, but it was our first picture taken together at our new place. The beginning. Just a couple of bright-eyed newly engaged kids. We were proudly sitting on the bench Aaron had just made for the fire pit. One of his very first projects here...and those of you have been reading for a while know how many projects he has had since. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJydNjngOIK9gtZurs_iztpk6_k36d7lv0DU21NjnTc7RgZfmTAPnhFPbnMRWzWJSwRZ8Xw0u8R5W8JNWA4n6fWhbHZrOPG1tZ8QYdq9nkbKBdquyHviimkDCSFrMzSRY4WzmZZvCzdh8/s1600/116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJydNjngOIK9gtZurs_iztpk6_k36d7lv0DU21NjnTc7RgZfmTAPnhFPbnMRWzWJSwRZ8Xw0u8R5W8JNWA4n6fWhbHZrOPG1tZ8QYdq9nkbKBdquyHviimkDCSFrMzSRY4WzmZZvCzdh8/s640/116.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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And here we are today...<br />
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Ha! Just kidding. Those are my grandparents. But I won't deny that I've sprouted a gray hair or two over the last five years. </div>
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It has been a wild ride these past five years.</div>
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And a whole new ride is about to begin!</div>
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New post on our wine tasting event from the other night coming up next!</div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-88813588489338583332013-02-24T21:30:00.001-06:002013-02-25T11:54:47.121-06:00A Family Pruning AdventureToday was a beautiful winter day in MN. Fresh snow, sunny, and temps in the mid-30s. I figured there probably wasn't a better day than this to bring the kids outside while I help Aaron prune the vineyard. The kids were fed, changed, and relatively well rested, so figured this would be a good after lunch activity to get out of the house. Aaron agreed. "Yeah, come on out!"<br />
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And the next 25 minutes went something like this:<br />
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Aaron gets boots, jacket, gloves and mittens on our boy and takes him outside to the vineyard. <br />
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I try to get baby settled down so I can get her dressed to go outside too. I get on her snowsuit, hat, and when I couldn't find her mittens, settled for using a pair of socks on her hands.<br />
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Realize boy's snow pants are sitting by the front door. I guess Aaron forgot to put them on him.<br />
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Get my hat, gloves, jacket and boots on <i>while </i>holding baby girl because she is starting to fuss again.<br />
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Put her in the Baby Bjorn with her facing outwards. <br />
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Grab boy's snow pants.<br />
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Walk outside and realize the sun on the white snow is making it especially bright today, so I put her baby sunglasses on her (blindly since she is facing away from me). <br />
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Get out to the vineyard where Aaron is pruning, and boy is playing in knee deep snow...<br />
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without snow pants.<br />
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Aaron informs me baby girl's sunglasses are not on her eyes, but rather, over her mouth.<br />
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Boy is eating snow with his bare hand and I notice his mitten is nowhere in sight. <br />
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Aaron informs me the dog stole the mitten off boy's hand and ran off with it. <br />
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I chase down boy, who can still easily run under the trellis wire, and attempt to put his snow pants on <i>over</i> his already snow covered boots, with a 14.5 lb. baby attached to my front. <br />
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Baby girl is screaming.<br />
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Boy is laughing. <br />
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Aaron is pruning...now two rows over. <br />
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Succeed at getting one leg of snow pants on, but boy wriggles away before I can get the other leg on fully. <br />
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He runs away giggling with snow pants wrapped around his knees and I realize we were probably better off just cutting our losses and not bothering to put them on at all. <br />
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Baby girl is screaming harder now. <br />
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I turn to Aaron and jokingly say, "So, where do you want me to start pruning?"<br />
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Wish I could've taken some pictures of this comical 25 minute scene...<br />
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but as you can see, my hands were a little full.<br />
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-61225733937341653572013-02-10T21:45:00.000-06:002013-02-10T21:46:15.715-06:00Bocce Ball, Anyone?One of the best memories Aaron and I had when we visited Napa several years ago was going to a few of the wineries that had Bocce Ball (or the french version, Petanque) courts to play on alongside their vineyards. We discovered a favorite spot where we'd go in the afternoon after touring other wineries. We'd buy a bottle of wine from the tasting room and then head out to the courts by the vineyard to spend an afternoon sipping wine in one hand and playing one of our favorite pastimes with the other. It was our vision back then that this would be part of <i>our</i> vineyard's atmosphere someday and now, that "someday" is here! <br />
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As we are working out our landscaping design, (to be executed this spring as soon as the snow melts!), we are excited to announce that we will be building Bocce Ball courts alongside our vineyard! We envision our grounds to be beautiful, relaxing, charming, stylish, fun, and family-friendly. So, while our grand master landscaping plan will probably happen in a few phases over the next several years as we grow, this one vision, in particular, we wanted to make a priority for this spring. <br />
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Many people have asked us, "Um, don't you just play Bocce Ball on the lawn? What's with the courts?" While most people know Bocce Ball as a back-yard game played at barbeque's, we are going to offer a more structured play area, so they aren't balls thrown just <i>anywhere</i> on the vineyard grounds, and so that multiple games can be played at once. Also, having courts will allow us to offer a Wine and Bocce Ball League. How fun will that be?!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_FZyVO-XKBJXiQACEyNOWLdN8vxRCjcfzGah044I-Ff8U8zhUoQ58JN0OscO7vQfz0ohFQIVP9LN56cs8h5KhbiDI4tBTcXxXogfOBXNOAoiiSHfWscOz_Pu-NFzVUVYPWiQWCANk-A/s1600/bocce-ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_FZyVO-XKBJXiQACEyNOWLdN8vxRCjcfzGah044I-Ff8U8zhUoQ58JN0OscO7vQfz0ohFQIVP9LN56cs8h5KhbiDI4tBTcXxXogfOBXNOAoiiSHfWscOz_Pu-NFzVUVYPWiQWCANk-A/s400/bocce-ball.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-13513263375976807772013-02-05T14:37:00.000-06:002013-02-05T14:37:22.507-06:00MillieLast week, we said goodbye to the matriarch of the Schram family--Grandma Millie. She was a farmer's wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-GREAT grandmother and she was completely and utterly adored by all. She was Aaron's grandma and lived right next door to him on the family farm growing up. She played a significant role in his and his siblings upbringing after their mother died when they were very young.<br />
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She lived a wonderful and full life until the very end at age 96. I only met Millie for the first time when she was 90 years old and even then I was inspired by her abundant garden (which she managed to keep better weeded than mine), amazing cookies (molasses were my favorite), and kind and loving heart. I wrote a little bit about Millie a few years ago when she came for a visit from Wisconsin <a href="http://www.schramvineyards.com/2010/08/check.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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At age 95, she got her "I Love Lucy" moment and got to do her first ever grape stomp! Here she is with her sister, Velda (left), in September 2011. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62NJ5NYEj13DEC8zqkU7YefppOEg8QR8MKNH8z_kmFa9uE34sIFwjIZpOPcuZSsrYg09ecSqPKURi-1yzZcMwRJVMVnzt5JU-14KkumL_Re4rW2R2VtbdQe26RGtI-YLQNpXkeESi6gI/s1600/110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62NJ5NYEj13DEC8zqkU7YefppOEg8QR8MKNH8z_kmFa9uE34sIFwjIZpOPcuZSsrYg09ecSqPKURi-1yzZcMwRJVMVnzt5JU-14KkumL_Re4rW2R2VtbdQe26RGtI-YLQNpXkeESi6gI/s640/110.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here she is getting an ATV ride from Aaron's brother in-law around the vineyard!<br />
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Although we didn't know it at the time, we were fortunate to have seen her at Thanksgiving one last time. When I couldn't decide between her rhubarb and blueberry pies, in hindsight, I am so glad I decided to treat myself to a slice of each. Yes, she still brought multiple homemade desserts to Thanksgiving dinner just a few months ago!<br />
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And we are so thankful she got a chance to meet her youngest great-grandchild. <br />
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RIP Grandma Millie. Your legacy will be carried on at Schram Vineyards.<br />
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<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-79933240888077903092013-01-18T13:36:00.000-06:002013-01-19T11:13:05.689-06:00It's a Tough Job, but Someone's Gotta Do it! When Aaron told me the other day that it was time to do a tasting to start making decisions on our wine blends, I was more than excited. I've been a bit deprived of my wine for the past year--being pregnant and having a newborn, so he didn't have to twist my arm too hard to convince me to participate in the little test group he put together. <br />
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<i>"When?! Where?! Can we do it now?!"</i><br />
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This was just an initial tasting to sample some different blends of wines and we'll do a second tasting (with select individuals) when making our final decisions to make sure our wines appeal to different demographics. This is a BIG DEAL as these blends are going to be for bottling wine that we are going to sell in our tasting room THIS SUMMER! <br />
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Ah! Can you believe it? This March marks five years since we moved out here and started planting our first vines. At the time it felt like it was going to be an eternity before seeing this venture come to fruition and now it's here already! At the same time, thinking about all that has happened in five short years is quite overwhelming. We got engaged, planted a vineyard, got married, adopted two dogs, and had two children. And that doesn't even include the multitude of projects we've worked on the past several years. Life for us was really different 5 years ago today. <br />
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But back to wine blending...<br />
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Aaron took samples of all the wine from the tanks and barrels and measured out different blends for us to taste. We took notes and got a general sense of which wines and ratios will blend well together. </div>
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Initial sampling had positive results and we are so excited about how these are going to turn out! We'll have about 8 different offerings of wine-reds, whites, sweet, and dry. </div>
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And since we started this just before our two year old's bedtime, he didn't want to be excluded from the fun that appeared to be happening at our kitchen table. So, we let him have a little fun too. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39Cr6L2Nh4JMECtWLALun0rIf8uGsPgq0Rmdf6JEt1jaXBJBG3qK423RBoLRzjQZtAnE5mFy36F41h2ZanVPX0nL7BJLwMOsIIiVGTebIc16dHNjTMqgv7HO2cdfqvWZGYyWjZvWGYzU/s1600/January+2013+081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39Cr6L2Nh4JMECtWLALun0rIf8uGsPgq0Rmdf6JEt1jaXBJBG3qK423RBoLRzjQZtAnE5mFy36F41h2ZanVPX0nL7BJLwMOsIIiVGTebIc16dHNjTMqgv7HO2cdfqvWZGYyWjZvWGYzU/s640/January+2013+081.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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Here he is taking notes after delicately testing his palate for his preferences of bedtime "milky."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_Fu-6rwlHwd6M1gARnVPy3pGTRIuwgb2zFyNhqyAjGz2uZ1JRNZsej4troAvRrT5Cbv-MOcAtYjTKXIhRoRzqLoxvMgU7n1jzrdBo9zC1hCpDz8x2s3r20NGF1LqFjJ5PUZkHg5MCmM/s1600/January+2013+085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_Fu-6rwlHwd6M1gARnVPy3pGTRIuwgb2zFyNhqyAjGz2uZ1JRNZsej4troAvRrT5Cbv-MOcAtYjTKXIhRoRzqLoxvMgU7n1jzrdBo9zC1hCpDz8x2s3r20NGF1LqFjJ5PUZkHg5MCmM/s640/January+2013+085.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<i>"Smooth, creamy, kind of sweet..."</i></div>
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After all, he did start with wine blending at a very young age. <a href="http://www.schramvineyards.com/2011/03/babys-first-wine-blending.html" target="_blank">Remember?</a> I tried to replicate that experience with our now 3 month old baby girl, but she was having nothing to do with sitting in the Bumbo watching this all go down. </div>
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Then we went out to the winery to get a few samples straight from the barrel. As always, Aaron has <i>some</i> project going on and now is no exception. This is the walk-in cooler he is building that he can use for cold stabilizing the wine. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVawyYAZjAOhdAu-C-Li8vq4wXBb9Gq_ST1SuBs48cuIlRHLumNvtKhm0Gdh9FlTKtGAi4uDn5Vy2H7HmYfcN1IUmQrEKaWIRZiJ7TguSxGrRp0wYUk0qGoxIJ39tHuCZU9Ew4VTXXhI/s1600/January+2013+083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVawyYAZjAOhdAu-C-Li8vq4wXBb9Gq_ST1SuBs48cuIlRHLumNvtKhm0Gdh9FlTKtGAi4uDn5Vy2H7HmYfcN1IUmQrEKaWIRZiJ7TguSxGrRp0wYUk0qGoxIJ39tHuCZU9Ew4VTXXhI/s640/January+2013+083.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Big metal things really don't photograph very well, but at least you get the idea. Here is the inside...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Jiyn9IakzYqjQKlGbhV1Z-PMzW2rBZaBlbpvY_1kIL2xisqO0o8jJvkEK1rh5ldgIlfibVcDhuYqJbSyEzrPx3JAUk0FwnbdYhmdyU9U0RJesx6cUfukXTReSbwUwDxMN-lSRA0Mt8Y/s1600/January+2013+084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Jiyn9IakzYqjQKlGbhV1Z-PMzW2rBZaBlbpvY_1kIL2xisqO0o8jJvkEK1rh5ldgIlfibVcDhuYqJbSyEzrPx3JAUk0FwnbdYhmdyU9U0RJesx6cUfukXTReSbwUwDxMN-lSRA0Mt8Y/s640/January+2013+084.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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So, yeah.</div>
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There it is...</div>
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And after our wine tasting, we had to cleanse our palate with a little kegged beer. </div>
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Drinking beer out of a wine glass-- </div>
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...now I've done it all. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgri5YFQbje6hKfTWedFtx1q3ReHpPku9S6Q8LGLKCIzCGFyIsO_98tGgXIGpbnfBjcvRV1t-Yzgk5fb6SnPOkmPh5NmqRPx26Wwf8V1cjfo9O1xYKZJglkbr6lodw2K4MU3hR-PxnVInE/s1600/January+2013+082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgri5YFQbje6hKfTWedFtx1q3ReHpPku9S6Q8LGLKCIzCGFyIsO_98tGgXIGpbnfBjcvRV1t-Yzgk5fb6SnPOkmPh5NmqRPx26Wwf8V1cjfo9O1xYKZJglkbr6lodw2K4MU3hR-PxnVInE/s640/January+2013+082.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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Ever heard the phrase, "it takes a lot of beer to make good wine"?<br />
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I think this is what they mean by that. Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-20344046898708563742012-12-19T12:56:00.001-06:002012-12-19T13:04:43.095-06:00A New Twist on Spousal Gift GivingCall us boring, call us non-traditional, or call us genius, but Aaron and I have put a new twist on our gift giving to each other the past few years. Typically when I ask Aaron what he wants for Christmas, he usually gives me some sort of ridiculously, impossible answer.<br />
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Our second Christmas together five years ago, shortly before we got engaged, I asked Aaron what he wanted for Christmas. He told me he wanted a hydraulic jack.<br />
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True story.<br />
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Being the good girlfriend I was, I marched into Northern Tool in my 3-inch wedge boots and asked an employee there where I could find a "hydraulic jack." After a number of phone calls to Aaron from the store to figure out what kind of horsepower and model he wanted, I bought it, wrapped it, and put it under the tree, where it sat with him knowing exactly what he was opening Christmas morning.<br />
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He wanted it to build some sort of block maker for a future winery building project. And let's face it, now that building a tasting room is actually upon us, using this block maker is, um, not in the plan. Aaron's got enough projects on his plate to think about building a building<i> block by block</i>.<br />
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After doing this song and dance every Christmas where his requested gift is such an absurd and specific request, which essentially never ends up being a surprise, I suggested we try something new,<br />
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"Why don't we just buy our own gift this year and not tell each other what we bought. We'll still wrap the gifts, put them under the tree and open them Christmas morning. The surprise will be to the other person what we bought for ourselves!"<br />
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This worked great last year. I had been eyeing up some awesome rubber boots. Instead of trying to tell Aaron which specific pair I liked and what size fit best, I just bought them myself, wrapped them and put them under the tree and didn't tell him what I bought. And he was SO excited to see me open them Christmas morning. You should have seen the look on his face! <br />
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Okay, really, he couldn't have cared less. But he <i>was</i> happy to see me so happy to have my new rubber boots! Fashionable, yet practical for this uptown turned vineyard girl.<br />
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They are the boots I wore when we had our pictures taken for this article:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_u7MouKgwwe2HuG9pD_gjDaRT0YBxmDarOwcxPT5WL06m1ql0C7DlFKiFa8086WHNMVTQnBHzWBQwarpT-4APXurL7pZEpw0pve8grBQCM-WS3yVlo0DJT6tyxS9txW65rjP4Ba-85Y/s1600/SunPatriot-CCLiving-Sept.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_u7MouKgwwe2HuG9pD_gjDaRT0YBxmDarOwcxPT5WL06m1ql0C7DlFKiFa8086WHNMVTQnBHzWBQwarpT-4APXurL7pZEpw0pve8grBQCM-WS3yVlo0DJT6tyxS9txW65rjP4Ba-85Y/s640/SunPatriot-CCLiving-Sept.png" width="460" /></a></div>
And I have had more than one person tell me the boots were the first thing they noticed in this picture. I gave myself a pat on the back for that present.<br />
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This year we are sticking with stocking stuffers for each other. Since the focus is more on the kids and because Aaron bought himself an early Christmas gift this December, which could not be wrapped and put under the tree...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW12c72ChC9dl55NoO2wHZVnkbnxcO_doHdkLWF3sXXzdJCd0udRhM6AAMXOuC7FUA9J4-i5Pi-d301yleB81gt7eAsblZ72aXLr4d1zXTINngUys2gv029JLzdbBszI70-p9N2DX1CuI/s1600/IMAG0227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW12c72ChC9dl55NoO2wHZVnkbnxcO_doHdkLWF3sXXzdJCd0udRhM6AAMXOuC7FUA9J4-i5Pi-d301yleB81gt7eAsblZ72aXLr4d1zXTINngUys2gv029JLzdbBszI70-p9N2DX1CuI/s640/IMAG0227.jpg" width="358" /></a></div>
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Somehow he convinced me that because of all the projects we have underway (building, landscaping, etc.), this Bobcat would pay for itself 10 times over. So, far, it's just been a really expensive snow plow, but I still have hope! </div>
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And in all honesty, everything on my Christmas list is intangible in nature anyway: to be able to enjoy an uninterrupted glass of wine, a day of Aaron's time where I get to dictate the projects he does, like fix the laundry tub and help me organize the office. Funny how priorities have changed. This year, all I'd like is the the gift of time. And sleep. <br />
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And wine. Don't forget the big ol' glass of red!<br />
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-17041566160095868022012-12-11T10:59:00.000-06:002012-12-11T13:02:42.588-06:00Winter!Six weeks without a post might be a new record. I have been busy...doing things like helping our baby girl grow a second chin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLH1iauwyW15pNi22O1YYW_NTf78D-8o0IZiXYEw0Wol7zZg-XwxcrIZR53EwND0qYAviQQ4uKhVw06Dna1WOgNKf76daoyySdDO09nD6qsP84Q8aBpwLiumm-Hydodj8uLAPi8yihzg4/s1600/December+2012+059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLH1iauwyW15pNi22O1YYW_NTf78D-8o0IZiXYEw0Wol7zZg-XwxcrIZR53EwND0qYAviQQ4uKhVw06Dna1WOgNKf76daoyySdDO09nD6qsP84Q8aBpwLiumm-Hydodj8uLAPi8yihzg4/s640/December+2012+059.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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She got tired of everyone calling her a peanut when she was born. "I'll show them!" she said. She is going to love me for this picture someday..<br />
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Here is a cuter one...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mlYRHvDslaAI0sLKCBTcBV38E8DqK6ZWK1yLZYeZxSSLD7vMuYl7uFdT88ZW0LOwpyJyXYzVwy_SajvOSdwd9Tz5uNypnKk7sMtKlB804WjMLn60Kf1TL9QC2VMGtr_6STIvnU_wbes/s1600/December+2012+054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mlYRHvDslaAI0sLKCBTcBV38E8DqK6ZWK1yLZYeZxSSLD7vMuYl7uFdT88ZW0LOwpyJyXYzVwy_SajvOSdwd9Tz5uNypnKk7sMtKlB804WjMLn60Kf1TL9QC2VMGtr_6STIvnU_wbes/s640/December+2012+054.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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And one more...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghckaYpeSdY3O-9cNcIdzbDZo3DxgKTStEwCqjtucDSQXwiTvelp_IEca2cHK23-8wOi8dqApSB_jU0DZT-hdOZpVIwuX67okckchBLAO66G3ulqND1LVzmhp1cS7jHhNdTECTz0YQJ60/s1600/December+2012+063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghckaYpeSdY3O-9cNcIdzbDZo3DxgKTStEwCqjtucDSQXwiTvelp_IEca2cHK23-8wOi8dqApSB_jU0DZT-hdOZpVIwuX67okckchBLAO66G3ulqND1LVzmhp1cS7jHhNdTECTz0YQJ60/s640/December+2012+063.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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And big brother doting on his sister. He adores her!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MVuTjSTQoI1LFfCTsK4OWD0J14XbezQixUAXjh2Nx0TLJ4ARNxiTaYii-AQ-BLVC1ZYT_6w3A2Lk1rNLhzX2BAnl6QUmF52XLxVU7WvpxEjf3N3beJwr0144MqEB4jk4tieak2GeCpw/s1600/December+2012+049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MVuTjSTQoI1LFfCTsK4OWD0J14XbezQixUAXjh2Nx0TLJ4ARNxiTaYii-AQ-BLVC1ZYT_6w3A2Lk1rNLhzX2BAnl6QUmF52XLxVU7WvpxEjf3N3beJwr0144MqEB4jk4tieak2GeCpw/s640/December+2012+049.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Look..she's already annoyed. "Get <i>off</i> of me!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwj1v_GIe3AwShR-WXD9boNZV6Uq6yFtCC4r_jq4Gsp6vcXWZN7wYrlZUuJKC_GPPbHgaEjtSK9kEIq2izKr0Tpx-f6S4eik5mHmdtJSP2PHxuOJc9aQmeb5JQJ7rqBDjOl2RikMjaaj0/s1600/December+2012+050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwj1v_GIe3AwShR-WXD9boNZV6Uq6yFtCC4r_jq4Gsp6vcXWZN7wYrlZUuJKC_GPPbHgaEjtSK9kEIq2izKr0Tpx-f6S4eik5mHmdtJSP2PHxuOJc9aQmeb5JQJ7rqBDjOl2RikMjaaj0/s640/December+2012+050.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, that is all for baby pictures for now. Onto business...</div>
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Those of you in MN know we got dumped on with snow over the weekend, so I snapped a few pictures yesterday of all the pretty snow covered trees.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MMxl-yo0xRoj21NCtHIoqclDz-7wjZhqK1LfKjahHdz7eIm6FFYX5j9f-R-m71o6YSspgyWA-me2EcF8s3EUMFSU7CqahAKumNx0kZ_EQ2HPsdixln_o01hxUFWtqTKJqIDv84ItPDE/s1600/December+2012+080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MMxl-yo0xRoj21NCtHIoqclDz-7wjZhqK1LfKjahHdz7eIm6FFYX5j9f-R-m71o6YSspgyWA-me2EcF8s3EUMFSU7CqahAKumNx0kZ_EQ2HPsdixln_o01hxUFWtqTKJqIDv84ItPDE/s640/December+2012+080.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The snow coverage is good for the vines as it will help protect them from any sub-zero temps we might get this winter! I'm still crossing my fingers for a mild winter like we had last year though!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8yQ-8hLv7KkbxR_LAki1wg0j2-aydWLoxxIrbCOz7FNsmgYq7y2zNw_IrD713m79BI8q4UbcAHX4F8FdKh5UXARfP97SEf9UyFlelX83ufV0vHlA29e_ZjPz2DE0Ssv9f1yiAifP1Y8/s1600/December+2012+083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8yQ-8hLv7KkbxR_LAki1wg0j2-aydWLoxxIrbCOz7FNsmgYq7y2zNw_IrD713m79BI8q4UbcAHX4F8FdKh5UXARfP97SEf9UyFlelX83ufV0vHlA29e_ZjPz2DE0Ssv9f1yiAifP1Y8/s640/December+2012+083.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Remember the <a href="http://www.schramvineyards.com/2011/07/chitalpa-tree.html" target="_blank">Chitalpa tree</a>? We always lament that we don't have a view of the vineyard from our house, but at least we get this view (below) of the tree and lake from our kitchen window, which we can't complain about. This tree was inspiration for the tree in our logo (see our new header above). It's such a signature figure on our property and we like what it represents--strength, history, beauty, and a warm and welcoming place. Who wouldn't love to relax with a glass of wine under this tree looking out onto a charming lake and vineyard? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnms1ojOewadtS4VL6D86bE2uqsXMKKZU6_bkwvhctpNdvMXmTv8MuVb0pNdd3QCzv7GGQ_gAx4YVOD6mAjFdlb9mSvoC1bFWVS_wCFyZeHiKyTslq14HaGowwRAciqRIwlcrwcVlthE/s1600/December+2012+085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnms1ojOewadtS4VL6D86bE2uqsXMKKZU6_bkwvhctpNdvMXmTv8MuVb0pNdd3QCzv7GGQ_gAx4YVOD6mAjFdlb9mSvoC1bFWVS_wCFyZeHiKyTslq14HaGowwRAciqRIwlcrwcVlthE/s640/December+2012+085.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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Well...maybe not on the snow covered Adirondack chairs (which we forgot to put away before the snow--oops!), but in the spring, summer and fall, it is heaven! </div>
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My parents had a Christmas party last weekend and Aaron helped out by bar-tending. He brought some samples of the Marquette we have in barrels to give out for a taste. While it is still young and won't be bottled fully for several more months, we got a great initial response to it!</div>
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We also attempted a family photo that night...</div>
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<b>Take 1:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08GqRcMrQgm_5w5Jdk5R7ZqR2N-e0h-viGbDhFeoZHloTQRqae8pZDN1SOg7wX95bf9HWFPOjtWAbhkHo87U3vB_PM11GYvS83sMjWQT62X4kfgvSHH3Xq9YRV6U44QekADK8kVAMciU/s1600/December+2012+065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08GqRcMrQgm_5w5Jdk5R7ZqR2N-e0h-viGbDhFeoZHloTQRqae8pZDN1SOg7wX95bf9HWFPOjtWAbhkHo87U3vB_PM11GYvS83sMjWQT62X4kfgvSHH3Xq9YRV6U44QekADK8kVAMciU/s640/December+2012+065.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Take 2:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlAslwBvr_GvKAejK8wCSE3i_BeiLjrEf-6TdRiiSzQNUmrgy-u612hDRNWtJ2lSjGMAYWtKutgIUyCCHuXw7sfvZzg2WlMTm5t-vmo0vtwnmLxC8-IH614LX7KfSDLbcWRHAXU7QPUs/s1600/December+2012+067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlAslwBvr_GvKAejK8wCSE3i_BeiLjrEf-6TdRiiSzQNUmrgy-u612hDRNWtJ2lSjGMAYWtKutgIUyCCHuXw7sfvZzg2WlMTm5t-vmo0vtwnmLxC8-IH614LX7KfSDLbcWRHAXU7QPUs/s640/December+2012+067.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Take 3:</b></div>
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnZXvrJNO6idBAGLW5-nZg5klrgMk6Bay7w6RruiVdj4kXoYG8kTFefSMKbaHel9Pcyb699l5Sd_w55lfsdyWruT1ZFtt5rbXBGZC_dIEa6I3x1kHMHKDq_XknXCxXhVyIffSimpU2a4/s640/December+2012+066.jpg" /><br />
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<b>......</b><br />
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<b>.....</b><br />
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<b>Take 27:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uHIwPaoDfzYpKnDssb1Sh9cm3hyphenhyphenEwNUAGIA8N-hwFZptEK_-q3gstHuBAKj9Uu-LRndcDBAHtV-Slh9YgXMPqWztJJ0hxanMgHBy2CnpZ6vPUaRweMCJsIAnTcrgTnQR8w0i3VjUzhA/s1600/December+2012+078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uHIwPaoDfzYpKnDssb1Sh9cm3hyphenhyphenEwNUAGIA8N-hwFZptEK_-q3gstHuBAKj9Uu-LRndcDBAHtV-Slh9YgXMPqWztJJ0hxanMgHBy2CnpZ6vPUaRweMCJsIAnTcrgTnQR8w0i3VjUzhA/s640/December+2012+078.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Eh--Good enough! Merry Christmas! <br />
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Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933920238132945182.post-80962905217900238952012-10-29T21:12:00.004-05:002012-12-09T18:23:02.211-06:00My Honey-Do ListAs Aaron kissed me on the forehead and rubbed our newborn baby girl's soft little head this morning before heading off to work, I asked him, "Anything you need me to do today?" I was in ratty old sweatpants and wearing slippers, so I clearly wasn't signaling that I was too ambitious to tackle anything big. <br />
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It was kind of a loaded question. He knew the response he <i>should have </i>given me, but since I had offered, he hesitated to answer how he really wanted to. I only half expected the answer to be, "just get some rest and take care of our baby girl!" That's the advice for most new moms with an almost two week old, right?<br />
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Instead, I got, "Well, actually...."<br />
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And suddenly I got my "on maternity leave honey-do list" for the day, consisting of following up or making decisions on the various projects we have going on, landscaping, marketing, paying bills. Of course, he followed-up these requests with, "if you are feeling up to it..."<br />
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So while my days are mostly filled snuggling and taking care of our baby girl, I am trying to find a few moments (such as now when she is snoring away on my chest) to catch up on a few things and keep these projects moving along! No rest for the weary here. <br />
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While it is a little hard for me to run around with my camera around my neck these days, I was able to get a few. Here is a snapshot of a few projects going on around here...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfb4xIgsNK7anL1Yz8iDGgQY64ijlj7VzovoZ8YXhsAxQwiLhO34VeeBjy9vc7Eu9U2-qZSaiFfAfygk_qP4rMv09t5xQGEYcJh4AOAbxjv1KjTw8Xz-ituFrLvL-OFWRt5ikJYIbwDHI/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfb4xIgsNK7anL1Yz8iDGgQY64ijlj7VzovoZ8YXhsAxQwiLhO34VeeBjy9vc7Eu9U2-qZSaiFfAfygk_qP4rMv09t5xQGEYcJh4AOAbxjv1KjTw8Xz-ituFrLvL-OFWRt5ikJYIbwDHI/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+096.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Renovations begin!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYstu1oyxjuHtX1kqcOq_sLGJ635iZJtPAf9z-aoeHrqBOi2oYbfZNklajzVS2EpBmrXxvFKycC0Q_BgAfodqfBG5EFQ2NZnLMPW3qJ_-HPGDm1qsjHMwCbvR6hhju2Mf5TW4_xj34Po/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYstu1oyxjuHtX1kqcOq_sLGJ635iZJtPAf9z-aoeHrqBOi2oYbfZNklajzVS2EpBmrXxvFKycC0Q_BgAfodqfBG5EFQ2NZnLMPW3qJ_-HPGDm1qsjHMwCbvR6hhju2Mf5TW4_xj34Po/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+097.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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French oak wine barrels up on their racks!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggB1vCfRLuIKHl4Q7kT_MtpbIEwiueHhagf95bHMzezpSG-_W-K0S_k-__6g5WKFvG9LoT14-4OebuzaPs20aow5WGhyAhUrJrxJDv1xiFhtjYe3y4tIotQSRXV9IQsxWmuQbQ9tD4_-E/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggB1vCfRLuIKHl4Q7kT_MtpbIEwiueHhagf95bHMzezpSG-_W-K0S_k-__6g5WKFvG9LoT14-4OebuzaPs20aow5WGhyAhUrJrxJDv1xiFhtjYe3y4tIotQSRXV9IQsxWmuQbQ9tD4_-E/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+145.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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Wine makers at work!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOMkSQYwbUTYk-hUFTXJVAG3prlST_y9kNnSy9WMNurKvVjmsjURMS5ZJauOige9vjGni50ElG03Sr7y1Z8oxTYfvy74kD2B9MsE44ARW2bkAoe79FZ3oG9Vj9mmGQQ4LQ3g2agEfR2g/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOMkSQYwbUTYk-hUFTXJVAG3prlST_y9kNnSy9WMNurKvVjmsjURMS5ZJauOige9vjGni50ElG03Sr7y1Z8oxTYfvy74kD2B9MsE44ARW2bkAoe79FZ3oG9Vj9mmGQQ4LQ3g2agEfR2g/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+161.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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Little Miss B's first trip out to the winery. It was a windy day, so we had her bundled up!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5CtEQ5bBnoKW0hEBFbkFiy6X8zkYk1U2-JZJj_SP6wyV8ePaECMzmczeaN4vHgSGpC1a-3I8aQmWLR0wEtK20kMauc4h822bUeuoFmQX2u72T1VPVDWVgTZefwkE8Kfcbcqvc4yIsTY/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5CtEQ5bBnoKW0hEBFbkFiy6X8zkYk1U2-JZJj_SP6wyV8ePaECMzmczeaN4vHgSGpC1a-3I8aQmWLR0wEtK20kMauc4h822bUeuoFmQX2u72T1VPVDWVgTZefwkE8Kfcbcqvc4yIsTY/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+163.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoY5thIAXzb8BTOxRKraBiSCZmJictL3Kg6Tv67t9YP1Wdy_03qe50xaPo59y6BI7zEWATcqoRz6ZaJ1i7xhyFn8vAZVfZZHrPHU-TqRw_s8rvkbYSx5TE8KS85TXeJlXwct52R0henMU/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoY5thIAXzb8BTOxRKraBiSCZmJictL3Kg6Tv67t9YP1Wdy_03qe50xaPo59y6BI7zEWATcqoRz6ZaJ1i7xhyFn8vAZVfZZHrPHU-TqRw_s8rvkbYSx5TE8KS85TXeJlXwct52R0henMU/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+164.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLm7fygSesQABHe_MDzg1lI_ixrtrOJgm3gSklNaSJfKYS-8TKagsT8SJbbH6TfoWK5_3KvTCJqo8DAJA8u-WD90-8x-UVpIPrrjCQ-zzEDLzB7WbkjpcwiWqWnfN7E-WvrWi0HsWOS1Y/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLm7fygSesQABHe_MDzg1lI_ixrtrOJgm3gSklNaSJfKYS-8TKagsT8SJbbH6TfoWK5_3KvTCJqo8DAJA8u-WD90-8x-UVpIPrrjCQ-zzEDLzB7WbkjpcwiWqWnfN7E-WvrWi0HsWOS1Y/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+165.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We didn't have any trouble filling up the new winery building...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Ua8aaf0k7KFQ4AKyAeoa7E9h5fCAT4k9D_vwSNBm-Yp86pf0SKZeXcTJ8oBVPJdJgKnHn68hDBnbiB9vOXDpC6qnbHZrn32QO6GPqbYgvWNc01-DGozpoZ-D24ObnZr6oU4HgaxazXE/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Ua8aaf0k7KFQ4AKyAeoa7E9h5fCAT4k9D_vwSNBm-Yp86pf0SKZeXcTJ8oBVPJdJgKnHn68hDBnbiB9vOXDpC6qnbHZrn32QO6GPqbYgvWNc01-DGozpoZ-D24ObnZr6oU4HgaxazXE/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+166.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Grapes sitting on their skins before pressing...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrYPbN0aiAlhiQqn5PBzEB0nDHq-34Yfv0ExB785nBzaWx2fe15oxn1oVC7UxdxcNYIUmPnhGYuyBCBWkCQExAJ_4Orbf26lBaGaaiYsCxmT7JQgx57r9Gnvo-MmCnb4LkKZRS3q7Sqs/s1600/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrYPbN0aiAlhiQqn5PBzEB0nDHq-34Yfv0ExB785nBzaWx2fe15oxn1oVC7UxdxcNYIUmPnhGYuyBCBWkCQExAJ_4Orbf26lBaGaaiYsCxmT7JQgx57r9Gnvo-MmCnb4LkKZRS3q7Sqs/s640/Bridget+Elizabeth+10.16.12+167.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09991139423650736033noreply@blogger.com