My First Bead Bracelet

When my mother died, I found some crafty necklaces she made. I did not want to just toss them out. Some of the beads were pretty, so when I saw a Beginners class at U Bead It. http://www.ubeaditsacramento.com/ I learned not to use that stretchy clear stuff which gets too loose fast. Using memory wire, a flexible but strong wire I could string beads easily. So here is my first attemp that I am very happy with. I hope to make some for my beautiful cat Isabella, but sew it on to a grograin ribbon for a more comfortable fit. We'll see won't we.

New Jewelry

Found this unusual pillow shaped lapis, wanted a bracelet but the design did not work out. So here is the earing and necklace set. I love the agate green beads. All from U Bead It in Carmichael.

LODI WINERY TOUR

What a surprise - having heard about the amazing new wineries in Lodi was an understatement. Just one hour from Natomas is the rural town of Lodi, famous for their Zinfandel vines. They even have a specialty called Old Vine Zinfandel. Just off Hwy 99 is the Oak Ridge tasting room an old round barrel room. Their Pinot Grigio was good, nice bouquet and smooth on the tongue. But the excellent, winner of a blind taste test - see "Bottle Shock", is OZV Zinfandel 2005 at $14.95 a bottle. This ruined the rest of the wine tasting for nothing else was in it's league. Even white wine people liked it. It is one of the most amazing wines you will ever taste.

About 15 min. north to Lockeford, very small town, was the Vino Piazza, a Winery Village, of 8 wineries and shops. Nothing to recommend but Watts has a Rosado (Shiraz/Zin) that was good. I really enjoyed meeting the women on the bus and exchanged phone numbers. One older woman got very outrageous after the first winery, even crying and yelling. Her husband would not let her get out at the 3rd winery, poor man. But yes it was excitting and I had a wonderful time.