The Thrill of Victory...

...tastes so much better when compared to the agony of defeat. I'm disappointed to report that the St. Rose Fighting Eagles 6th grade girls volleyball team came up short in their quest for the NBCS league championship, losing on Saturday 19-25 and 17-25 to arch-rival St. Helena. Overall I was very proud of the girls for their improvement over the course of the year, how they learned to play well as a team, and for how they handled themselves in defeat (and yes, before the game we did talk about how, win or lose, to act). Mad in particular had a great year. Here's a pic of her with the second place trophy:

The game reminded me of a quote I saw recently on a blog about Soviet champagne posters:

In victory, you deserve champagne;

In defeat, you need it.

Anyway, the Soviet poster blog is pretty cool. Here's an example:

And if you like champagne (or simply want to learn more about it), a great place to visit is Schramsberg in the Napa Valley. Schramsberg's history dates to 1862, when it became the first Napa Valley hillside winery. The grounds are beautiful, the tour is very educational and interesting, and the wines, well, awesome. The tour is a bit pricey--$25 per person--but I would strongly recommend this splurge. (And if nothing else, drive up to the winery and just walk around---the drive up the hillside is strikingly beautiful, among the redwoods and old oak trees.)

The Old Winery

Through the Forest

And Mad: We'll get em next year!