Life is good....busy, but good. At least half of all the grapes have been picked, therefore, we are half way through harvest! Yeah! This last weekend over 3 tons of grapes were picked and crushed. That means we are now moving on to the red varietals.

At the studio, I have finally, at long last, completed Ponte Vecchio! It should be dry and ready to hang at the vineyard this weekend. I have invited David Gross and Claud Davis  to join me for painting in the vineyard. We will set up our easels and each work on a painting during the winery hours both Saturday and Sunday. We are also going to each bring a completed painting to hang for the weekend. I have seen the paintings by David and Claud, and you are in for a treat! So, please join us.....come sit on the veranda with a chilled bottle of crisp Chardonel or Oktoberfest wine, while enjoying some of Chef Kamal's Hummus and Pita Chips. There will be live music both afternoons. AND,  It is going to be in the upper 70s, temperature wise! See....it's true...Life is definitely good!

On Friday evening, the Crossroads Art District will be hosting the First Friday's gallery tours. I have a very special friend showing at the Leedy Voulkos Gallery http://www.leedy-voulkos.com/. Kristin Goering's paintings are always as fun and as vivacious as Kristin is herself! Also showing in the Crossroads area is Anne Garney. Landscape Paintings by Anne will be at The b Gallery. I am looking forward to visiting with both of these artists and seeing their latest work!

Things will be changing at For Art'sake in the next week or so. Our next show opens on September 18th with a fun Artist's Reception with plenty of wine and food starting at 6:00pm. The theme of the show is Color, Color and More Color, and trust me, there will be lots of it! Please join us for the evening.  For Art'sake is located at 10 South Silver, right on the square in Paola, Kansas. I bet the paintings David Gross, Claud Davis and I work on this weekend at the vineyard, will be a part of the show!

Italian Harvest Grape Pie
We will be the picking the first of the red grapes during this weekend's harvest . To celebrate, I am going to be baking Tuscan Wine Grape Pie  - Schiacciata con l'Uva. One of the nicest things about autumn in Tuscany is Schiacciata con l'Uva, an astonishingly rich, sinfully juicy wine grape pie whose country roots are clearly revealed by the dough and the crunchiness of the grape seeds. I use the recipe from my friend, Judy Witts Francini. You need wine grapes for authentic Schiacciata con l'Uva, and those I have! I think maybe I'll make enough to have some  at the winery on Sunday! You had better come to the winery!