Anyone who has read me long enough knows I love DVDs. While most people have gotten rid of theirs, I still buy them on occasion. I’m all about the physical media, baby!
Our collection currently numbers around 375 DVDs, and storage has long been an issue. We solved that problem when we purchased a DVD rack in March 2022, but we left Rapid City a mere five months after assembling the shelving unit, and it did not survive the move. It was tall and flimsy to begin with, and when we unloaded the U-Haul upon reaching Wisconsin, it was nothing more than a pile of metal and plastic. Bye-bye, $100. Hello, square one.
Not wanting to take our chances with another wobbly rack, Tara came up with an excellent (and hell of a lot cheaper) alternative: shelving for the basement wall. A few wall anchors and screws and a power drill later, we had a brand new storage solution for those DVDs.
Pretty handy, and the shelving takes up very little space in one corner of the basement. We even have room for our PS2 and Wii video games (yeah, we’ve got those, too). Best of all, there’s no chance of them tipping over!
This will be a great solution until we move again next year. (I kid, I kid.)
My parents fly back home tomorrow morning after a whirlwind weeklong visit. It’s amazing how near-perfect the weather has been; other than thunderstorms their first night, it was sunny and nearly fall-like the entire time. Next week it turns hot again, so they dodged that bullet.
By the way, the peach pie I made from scratch in July, and promptly stuck in the freezer, turned out delicious! There was some debate whether freezing it uncooked would have been smarter, but reheating it at 375° for 45 minutes brought it back to life perfectly. I got raves for the crust especially. As much work as that is to make – even my mom just uses a frozen Pillsbury crust – it’s totally worth the effort.
I will for sure have to make another one next summer, when our peaches ripen again.
Y’all had a few questions for my mom. First up, Rivergirl:
I’m tempted to ask if there was a lot of eye rolling during Mark’s childhood.
Sometimes. Mark was stubborn.
Well, I am a Taurus! That stubbornness is also key to my manifesting abilities, so I won’t apologize for it.
And also if she’s responsible for your disturbing devotion to SPAM…
No way are we responsible for the SPAM addiction; I don’t even like it. It probably came about from living in Hawaii.
It came about because SPAM is delicious, though I’m sure the Hawaii influence was strong, too. Bijoux posed the following questions:
Do you take any credit for your son’s musical tastes? What music did you play while he was growing up?
No, because I played a lot of Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, ABBA, and Chicago while he was growing up.
For the record, I like ABBA and Chicago (though strictly ’70s-era; none of this sappy ’80s-ballad crap, please) quite a bit, so there may have been some influence there!
What was his favorite food or meal?
He loved my homemade lasagna. I made it every year on his birthday.
I still do, mom! Which begs the question: why didn’t you make it this visit?!
And this one’s for Mark: Who orders Bloody Marys at a winery?
That’s a valid question, Bijoux. My parents, always on the lookout for new wineries to visit, found one in New Glarus last year called Bailey’s Run. We made the one-hour trek west, and I was intrigued by their Venom spicy jalapeño wine, which they offered in a Bloody Mary. I was skeptical but I’m always adventurous, so I ordered one…and fell in love.
It was actually one of the best Bloody Marys I’ve ever had, period. Spicy, salty, with just a subtle hint of sweetness from the wine. So good, in fact, I drove out there this past March, during my 11-day staycation between jobs, just for a Bloody Mary. It’s that tasty.
So naturally, when my parents found this new winery that also makes jalapeño wine-based Bloodies a mere 15 minutes away, I was super excited to try one. They even offer a flight, with samples of the following:
- Hot Shot Jalapeño Wine – a classic Jalapeño wine bursting with flavor!
- Smokin’ Hot Jalapeño Wine – our Jalapeño wine, only smoked!
- Hotter than Hell – a fiery blend of jalapeño, poblano, and habanero peppers. This wine will awaken any taste buds!
I really wanted to love these. Unfortunately, I didn’t even like them very much. The presentation was great, but the flavor, not so much. They all kinda tasted like dishwater (and in the case of the Smokin’ Hot, smoky dishwater). Not even close to the excellent one Bailey’s Run serves.
Guess I’ll continue making that 49-mile drive to New Glarus for my jalapeño wine-Bloody Mary fix.
Thanks again to my mom for participating in these blog posts. I’ll have my dad do it next time they visit (which won’t be until spring 2025…something about those Wisconsin winters scares them off).
Mark My Words 
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