C'mon, this is a Republican plant, right?

I found this delicious little gem the other day: Why Mommy is a Democrat. The illustrations are just too much, especially the one where "Democrats make us safe, just like Mommy does," and it shows the mother squirrel swiftly keeping her children from being trampled by an elephant. Uh-huh.

Wine: Big Llama

Last Friday, fallenpegasus and I opened a bottle of Fat Llama Shiraz, 2004 vintage, and were simply unimpressed. It was heavy, oaky, and not at all sophisticated. It wasn't the worst wine we'd ever served, but it certainly didn't rank as a repeat buy.

Today, I had another glass with dinner. It had improved significantly with a little exposure to the air-- it was much smoother than it had been. Still way too oaky and a bit too simple for my tastest. It may also have been the meal: on Friday, we had halibut fillets. Today, I made ground chicken burgers with crumbled bacon and bacon-grease sautee'd onions mixed into the grind, and then cooked the chicken patties in the bacon grease in a stovetop grillpan along with charred Grannysmith apple slices. Stunningly delicious, and the wine went with it very, very nicely. I'm not inspired to buy Big Llama again, but I am inclined to forgive it for its terrible showing against the halibut.

Y'know, the good life isn't that expensive after all. A couple of burgers, a $8 bottle of wine, some spare time... After dinner and we put the kids to bed, I owe Omaha a massage. Naked, with an oil with essence of lavendar, marjoram, and orange.