Housesitting, and my list of next-to-visit wineries

 The great thing about housesitting is that it's a change from the norm. Whether I was in my own apartment, renting my parents basement apartment, or living in a room in someone else's house, staying at someone else's place is a good change - especially if I get to pet sit, too. It's nice to break up your daily routine, or weekly routine, and then get to help someone take care of their pets while away. This is my first time sitting for Benny (the boxer/heeler mix), and Rosa and Mabel (the tuxedo cat sisters). They have been an absolute hoot and so fun to watch. 

It's funny though because though I get a break from my norm the one thing I do more of is clean in someone else's house. It's not because its dirty or anything; it's just that I really want to make sure that I leave someone's place better then when I came. So today, I'm not only making sure that tomorrow's transition is easy back home, but I found something to do to make my stay better than when I came. The only risk I take in this is that one time the couple got offended. I had thrown out the trash and it had leaked, plus it was white and dirty. I decided to clean it; but they didn't like that I cleaned up their mess and thought I was telling them they were dirty people. I was just trying to do something nice. It worked itself out and they realized I just did it to be kind. But the next time I sat for them, I just made sure to clean after myself and leave it exactly the way it was when I came. It felt weird; but it made it non-dramatic.

The lesson is that you just don't know how people will respond to things - even simple things like this - because we all have different perspectives, likes, dislikes, and how we do things. We find this in every aspect of life - home, work, friend, family, etc. After that experience, I didn't stop doing "one thing" beyond my responsibilities. Everyone else was either appreciative, or never noticed, and that's okay with me. So, for this sitting trip, I cleaned their fridge partially. I knocked something over while putting my food in, and the lid wasn't on tight, so it leaked. Instead of just cleaning up the spill, I cleaned a few of the shelves that just needed a sprucing up. They may never notice, but it's always good to leave something better than you found it. I will always believe that.

It's almost time to walk Benny - but since I had about half an hour, I decided to write this and do a little research on what wineries I'd like to visit in Napa, Paso Robles Livermore, San Jose, Gilroy/Morgan Hill, Carmel/Monterey/Soledad areas on my next trip there. 

For Napa: Shadowbox, Tamber Bay (2nd time, but the first time was with a friend who created a lot of drama over the day, and I didn't enjoy my time at all at any winery that day), Stags Leap, Domaine Carneros, Migration, Trefethen, Ehlers, Pine Ridge, Del Dotto, Reynolds Family, Robinson Family, MadoroM, Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel, to name the next ones on my list. If any of these sparks your interest, hit me up and we can go together or meet there. I'm cool going on my own, but it's fun to also go with a friend.

For Paso Robles: Peachy Canyon, Tooth & Nail, Niner, Jada, Sextant, Epoch, Adelaida, Le Cuvier, Opolo, Saxum, Turley, Alban, Tudor, Austin Hope, and Pear Valley are next on my list.

For Livermore: Cuda Ridge, Wood Family, Steven Kent, 3 Steves, Charles R, Fenestra, and Crooked Vine.

For San Jose: Mountain (no haven't actually visited there, just had a taste of their wine), Muns Vineyard, Silver Mountain, Fellom Ranch, and Charles Usher.

For Carmel/Monterey/Soledad area: Silvestri, Odonata, Twisted Roots, Bernardus, Joullian, Pisoni, Talbott. 

Gilroy/Morgan Hill area: Besson family, Verde, Creekview. Unless a new one pops up, I've been to all of the wineries in this area except for the three mentioned.

(If you notice, I have not mentioned Lodi, San Diego/Temecula, LA, Sonoma, Alexander Valley, etc, really in any of my blogs. I'm simply just too far away from them for a one-day drive and wine tasting safely. They will require an overnight stay to be feasible for me. However, when I'm in a little better position to afford random overnight stays, I do plan to add those areas to my list.)

All of the above wineries have been referred to me or while doing research I thought I'd enjoy tasting there - and, of course, I consulted my Vivino app, and it said I had at least an 85% chance of liking the wines there. I love that app! Also, there are a few of these that I know don't offer tastings so I may just have to buy a bottle somewhere to try.

Anyway, that's this blog for now. It's time to walk Benny. I hope everyone has a great weekend, with only good things!

Lots of love,

Tiffany 💋