Father's Day was perfect, since I declared we would not turn down our street on our way home from church, and just keep driving down Old Highway 395. It wasn't my idea exactly, but I was driving. I had a million things to do yesterday. I sloughed them off. I always have a million things to do. (I admit that 990,000 of them are pointless, but that still leaves 10,000 that aren't.)

We went up to Wine Country. Not that Wine Country, mind you, but the surrogate Wine Country we use down here when time and money disallows the other, proper country. We are "Club Members" of one of the wineries locally and it was time to pick up our Spring Shipment, though it is Summer now -and what a perfect summer day it turned out to be! We let our inner compass direct us to the unknown sweet spots of the universe and found a beautiful place, Keyways Winery. How was the wine? Dismal. But this guy was playing music out in the vineyard and they were giving out free Sangria to all the dads, on account of it being Dad's Day. The best evar.

Sangria! That jungle punch of wine makers, the saviour of all Temecula! (IMHO.) The music was great, the weather was perfect, and we laid out a blanket on the grass and picnicked, while the kids ran circles around us. If you had pulled me aside six years ago on my wedding day -interrupting that game of Boccie out on the lawn while all your friends were drinking good brews and sitting in those sweet wooden chairs in the stream- if you had pulled me aside and shown me a picture of yesterday, Father's Day 2009, and revealed to me my future, I would've swollen with joy, proclaimed my triumphant arrival at bliss, and declared that we get on with the ceremony, tout de suite!

We didn't get any pictures. But, trust me, it was awesome, and we intend to return to it all some day and take you. I commented that I wasn't rich enough to have a beautiful winery and vineyard like that place, but that I was at least smart enough to go there and enjoy it, and so we shall.

And now: the week. The past few weeks have been taxing ones for the family, and this week promises more of the same, unfortunately, but at least we got yesterday's blessed respite to remind us what good living is all about. It was a necessary blow-off of all chores, duties, and obligations, and I feel I have twice the energy for it today. Balance, I guess.

Sorry about the BGPR (Butterfly Garden Progress Report). I know you came looking for it today, but I didn't have time to get any good pictures, and, well, since the Butterfly Garden has recently been used as the Ditchman Memorial Grounds, I thought I would wait a bit out of respect for the living, and non-so.

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