Icewind's Ramblings

For most people Memorial Day is about the first camp out of the season, cranking up the grill or the first get together with friends for the start of summer.  For me it is those things and a day of reflection of the sacrifice that friends of mine has made, brothers whom I have never met but in the fraternity of having served in the military.  Memorial Day weekend starts out with many flags put on graves at many cemeteries, front yards across the country, and readying for many private and public events across this nation.  There are many big events planned during the weekend such as the 100 th running of the Indy 500 where there is much attention paid to what this time means and why it is celebrated and remembered. This Memorial Day was a little different from the last few I have observed in Alaska with a new twist being in Oregon this year.  It was busy but also a laid back weekend with various things going on.  Monday brought a cloudless day with bright blue skies, the snow-

Yesterday afternoon I was invited over to friend’s house here in Gresham Oregon for some wine, cheese, fruit, and dinner.  It was a nice sunny Saturday afternoon so driving over with the top down, sun on my face it was a beautiful day. I arrived around 4:30 pm and we opened a bottle of wine from our recent wine tasting at Dobbes Family Estate several weeks ago in Dundee.  We started with a nice Chardonnay and then opened a vibrant 2014 Patricia’s Cuvee Pinot Noir named after the wine makers wife.  It was nice at the tasting and even better in a home setting with friends. The cheese tray and fruit tray were out and everyone started to dig in and enjoy the fellowship spending time together.  Colin and Donna-Lee invited me over along with Donna’s half-sister Cheryl for an evening of games, food, and starting the holiday weekend off nicely.  We were going to cook but decided to wait awhile while we worked on the snack trays enjoying the conversations.  Colin and