“Papillon made it to freedom. He lived out the rest of his natural born life. The Penal Colony did not.” As the days dwindle away, I almost feel like I should be making hash-marks on the wall.  We are making the most of it, the same way everyone else is.  The liberty that we enjoyed just weeks ago, seems like a bittersweet memory as we are just pawns in a political fiefdom.  I can think of plenty of things to do, and I am trying to make small dints in the progress, but I just can’t get truly motivated and I am really a happy go-lucky guy.  It is hard to believe that a virus has put a stranglehold on parts of the world, and yet we hear nothing from other parts of the world.  My Bride and I are doing what we can, and we are still maintaining our life style.  Getting up in the morning, three square meals a day, household duties and our daily half-hour walk, which may have to be extended, because soon the route we walk will be finished in less than a half-hour, but we do need that brisk walk, as we walk all over the place, so as not to invade the space of other neighbors that have decided that they need to get out in the fresh air as well.

We have a well stored larder, which is a bonus today.  My Bride had a brief period in her life, where food was limited and since that time, she has been determined to have more food that is needed, and it has paid off now.  Our meals have been varied, not frou-frou, but with the ability to maintain our strength and our soul.  Just before this ordeal, she had signed on with Weight Watchers, because she thought she was a bit overweight, and she had maintained the regimen, I have been kind of under the same system as we both are eating the same meals, but she is more strict and she is getting the results that she desired.  One of the meals that we have had, and yes, just about every meal has been made to have at least one additional meal was Kielbasa and Sauerkraut.  Definitely a good Ethnic dish, but we have always had discussions, as she always bought “fresh” and I was always a fan of “smoked” and one day she tried the “smoked” and she really liked the flavor.  She also used to boil the meat, and I have always preferred it fried with the sauerkraut and onions and some diced potatoes.  After a meal like that, one is not hungry, which is good, because if anything, I have to lose some weight as well.

Since, it was time to open another bottle of wine, I had to do some decision making.  With Fresh Kielbasa it would be much easier, because the meat is rather bland, except for some spices used in the preparation.  With Smoked Kielbasa, the flavor is heavier and more pronounced, and even the fat has a different personality.  So, I was looking at my different wines, not the usual suspects, I was looking at some of the wines that we buy for company, but we have no company to entertain.  I went with a winner, actually a real winner.  The wine was a spectacular wine from Michigan, namely Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling 2017.  In their Twentieth year of production Black Star Farms on Old Mission Peninsula in Michigan, they were honored to receive the 19’th Annual Canberra International Riesling Challenge (CIRC) -Best Wine of the 2018 Challenge and only the second time an American wine came out on top.  There were 567 Rieslings from six countries (Australian, New Zealand, USA, Germany, France and the Czech Republic).  The Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling 2017 scored 98 points, in addition to taking home Best Dry Riesling and Best American Riesling.  The acidity of this wine just did wonders with the potentially difficult Kielbasa and the two just paired perfectly.  Even my Bride enjoyed it the nuances of flavor, so we may not be at the French Laundry, but we are wining and dining as best as we can, as we all look forward to an end of this period.