Just another Wednesday hanging out with Dr. Richard Smart

Tomorrow I will be attending Improving Wine Quality in the Vineyard Seminar hosted by Chemeketa Community College. The main speaker is Dr. Richard Smart. He is the Managing Director of Smart Viticulture, an international vineyard consulting business. He consults in 28 countries, with a specialty of vineyard manipulation of wine quality, and is considered an authority on canopy management. From 1982 to 1990 he was the Government Research Viticulturist for New Zealand. His book “Sunlight into Wine” is recognized world wide. I was lucky enough to work at the same winery as Dr. Richard Smart in Tasmania.

I would see him and his wife day to day at the Tamar Ridge Estate in Kayena, Tasmania. I missed my opportunity to take a picture with him because I was too shy! Tomorrow I will snap a few. His experimental wines at Tamar Ridge were fantastic.

AGENDA
9:00 a.m. Registration and coffee

9:30 a.m. Welcome
9:40 a.m. Vineyard Factors Affecting Wine Quality
10:20 a.m. Managing Vineyards to Improve Wine Quality by Canopy Management and Irrigation
11:00 a.m. Influence of Vine Vigor on Wine Quality
Noon Lunch provided
1:00 p.m. Managing Vineyards to Improve Wine Quality Using Modern and Old Technology
2:00 p.m. Visit Chemeketa’s teaching vineyard to discuss vineyard attributes and wine quality
4:00 p.m. Tasting of local wines

Monday, Monday

Life has been kind of crazy lately. So I have started a board of inspirational pictures, quotes and realizations to view each day to guide me back to the positive side. Instead of letting a chaotic work environment get me down, I will embrace each day as a new opportunity. I have realized that I cannot change everything. The things that I can change I will. I want to enjoy life to the fullest. I have only one life to live and plan to do so smiling and experiencing all that I can. So I will leave you with a few of the inspirational quotes and guidelines for living life that are posted on my board.

Be as kind to the janitor/maintenance/vineyard worker/ as you are to the CEO.

Your friends love you! Realize that not everyone at work needs to.

Mistakes? Nah. Call them learning opportunities.

Embrace what you've got. Acceptance gives off good energy, and there isn't a person alive who isn't attracted to that.

You just have to make the decision to go forward and never look back--and then move slowly and steadily toward your goal.

I will measure my success in how many times I smile in a day and not how many dollars I make in a day.

I will travel the world like it is my playground. I will see and experience everything possible.

I was not born to sit in a cubicle day after day.

I will go out and make change instead of sit and hope for it.

Beep, beep, but no scratch, scratch

"Beep. Beep. Beep." Alarm going off at 5:45 AM. Cue the "Scratch. Scratch." on the door. I said cue the "Scratch. Scratch." on the door. Nothing.

I jump out of bed. I open the door. No Javier. I start to panic. Then I look down under the antique chair and he is half in his bed and he is breathing funny. He doesn't move.

Usually each day when my alarm goes off, Javier immediately starts scratching on my bedroom door. I let him in, and we cuddle for a bit while I wake up. So I knew that something was wrong. I quickly get ready, and at 7:00 AM I rush Javi over to the Sherwood Pet Clinic. He has a couple of X-Rays and then they want to monitor him for a bit. I pick Javi up and transfer him to a different clinic where they will continue to monitor him and treat him once they figure out what is wrong with him. Hopefully my little bud is okay and feeling better when I get back.

Today I am off to Scottsdale, AZ to visit my bio Dad, Ben. I am looking forward to some sunshine and warm weather and to see my bio dad. It has been way too long. Goodbye cloudy Oregon. See you in a couple days.