Virginia Vino

Basically, I've been in a holding pattern for the better part of the last two weeks. I'm here, I'm moved in, I've located the bank and grocery store(s), and I know where my school is located. All I need now is...work to do.

Dear God, that's a sad statement.

I've been checking the school website daily, hoping the section list will be released early, but so far my hopes have been crushed. Without books or assignments to keep me occupied, I've taken to going on excursions, hoping to see a bit more of the area than the walls of the apartment. Today, I retraced my steps to Barboursville, which I visited yesterday in my quest to find ruins, which had been alluded to by a sign on the way to the antiques shops in Ruckersville, a 20-minute drive up 29...

Suffice it to say I'm going to miss this free time by this time next week, but anyway, back to Barboursville. There's a nice vineyard located on the grounds of the old Barboursville plantation, and for $4, you get to sample 16 wines (and keep the glass! Cheap stemware!). Since I made the trek alone and on a largely empty stomach, I figured sampling all 16 wines might be a mistake, even though I knew enough to sniff, sip, and toss the rest of the wine into the bucket (thanks, Davenport Wine Tasting Night!), so I chose a few and ended up buying two bottles, then walked over to the ruins to take pictures. It wasn't Urquhart, but hey, I'll take what I can get (and, lest this factoid be overlooked, Thomas Jefferson designed the place. Did the man ever sleep?)

I ended up continuing the trek north, almost to Culpepper, and spent some quality time in yet another antiques shop (though I refrained from purchasing the 1938 Minute Tapioca recipe guide, which was largely unremarkable except for the inside back cover: paraphrasing, all tapioca is grown in far-away Java, but only Minute Tapioca is produced in America, in clean American factories, so you know it's pure!).

Oh yes, I also managed to cook a turkey breast (points deducted for presentation) and make mashed red potatoes, so the day hasn't been entirely wasted. Not sure what to do tomorrow--sections, please? Pretty please?

One last note: I managed to speak to Shotgun Man, the fellow hanging out in his yard with a firearm. He's trying to kill the groundhog that's been eating his flowers. That's one way to do it...