Viaggio Estate Winery

Saturday found us spending the day at a book seminar at Viaggio Estate Winery.  Historian, Rex Ruth, appeared with his book, Blood, Fire, and Faith. 

Any lover of history will enjoy this 3500 year trip through time following the development of our form of government as we know it today.  From Moses and the Ten Commandments, to the Magna Carta, to our Founding Fathers and the writing of our Constitution, and everything that occurred in between, freedom has been a hard fought for and precious gift. 

The wintry setting at Viaggio was grey and cool.  The gardens were just starting to resurrect from their winter sleep.  The vineyards were still slumbering. But as I strolled the grounds during lunch and breaks, I could easily image how this place would look at the height of summer in full, lush bloom.

Wouldn't this be a lovely staircase for a bride?

 

The private family home is hidden here.

This armored guard invites guests in  . . .

 . . . to take a comfortable seat.

Gentlemen set down their hats

and we enter the heraldry room.

Winding stairs lead us to mystery

and we find ourselves in a fanciful garden .

Where we ended our happy day.

Il nostro viaggio alla cantina è stato un giorno meraviglioso e siamo usciti molto felici.

Our travel to the winery was a wonderful day and we came away very happy.

 

San Francisco, There I Went

This past Saturday, I headed over to SF with my friend, Elaine. She likes to drive. I like to ride. It's the perfect blend. I pay for gas and parking and we are good to go.

Saturday's mission had been planned for several weeks. We went to SFMOMA (SF Museum of Modern Art) and the Cartoon Museum. Two exhibits waited to be enjoyed. The drive over could not have been easier -

No traffic
no accidents to slow things up
no weather

It was clear sailing all the way.

A Joseph Cornell exhibit was at the MOMA through early January. Cornell is an assemblage artist, producing boxes and building secret and mysterious worlds within these boxes. I picked up a JC book before going to the exhibit to familiarize myself with more of his work and along the way immersed myself in his life. I'm glad I did because I saw so many of his assemblages there that I had first met in the book.

Seeing them personally was such a rich experience. The pages of a book gives the viewer only a taste of what he did. To see them in a exhibit was a completely enriching experience. I kept on wanting to reach in and touch everything, even moving in close at one point to view the box more closely only to be stopped by the glass case. Ouch!

The Cartoon Museum had an Edward Gorey exhibit of his costume and set designs for the 1970's Broadway production of "Dracula." You know, the one with Frank Langella (be still my heart). It was terrific being able to see his designs in their various stages. It was also good being able to see this show separate from Gorey's more recognizable work many of you may be familiar with. It was like getting a peek into a very specific part of Gorey's world.

Elaine and I walked down Mission over a four block area. I had never seen so many museums packed into a few short blocks. All were specialized and rate further exploration, especially the African Diaspora Museum on Mission.

We passed Buena Vista Gardens with its beautiful fountains and setting for outdoor music and opera.

St Patrick's Catholic Church was across the street from the gardens. We visited it as our last stop before returning home. While there, enjoying the quiet and utter peace of the place, I was approached by one of the city's ubiquitous street people.

"Sorry - no purse with me."
"Is it at the Marriott's next door?"
"Sorry - no purse", I replied, stunned by this brazen question.

Moments later he and another homeless person started yelling at each other across the church, slashing a ragged tear into the peaceful fabric of the place.


The sad thing is that as I recall their yelling words, they didn't make any sense. It was like they weren't even seeing each other but rather they were seeing someone else and hearing other words in reply. Only a physical body was taking up space, each body the image of someone who wasn't really there.

Between museum visits, we hit Mel's Diner, enjoying good burgers and sublime onion rings, and way overpriced coke, no refills. Next time I'll ask. The place was packed from 11 a.m. when we first walked by to 3 p.m. at least, makig our final pass as we returned to the garage to pick up our car and head back home.

Truer words . . .

. . . were never spoken.

I had no idea when I posted the bird out on a limb that it would be a foreshadow of something that will be consuming my life for a while. I will be posting about it shortly as well as our beautiful visit with Lea and Milt and the fun of the Calabash Festival. But I'm at work now and have a lot to think about regarding George, friendship, sacrifice, and compassion; not to mention the approaching one year anniversary of the passing of my mother. October is such a beautiful month. After the last few days though, I'm discovering that I will approach next October with a certain degree of dread since trouble always seems to come in threes. In the meantime, here are a few lovely pictures of Santa Rosa, the festival, and a friend.

Beautiful sunshine

Charming Cottages

Nature's Bounty.

Food for Thought

Beautiful Lea with friend, Hesperia

A Helping Hand

A Helping Heart

Living brightly in the world

but also in a world apart.

Please remember George.

Every thought is a prayer

Taking a Break in Willows

Several months ago, Corey and I started having virtual meet-ups for tea and coffee in the mornings (well, MY mornings anyway. LOL) But Friday at 6:50 a.m. in the little town of Willows, CA, it really happened. The place: Starbucks. The players: Corey and AnnieElf (c'est moi!) We were joined by Don and Krista in the festivities. Our schduled stop of 30 minutes turned into 90 minutes. It was definitely a "Let the chatting begin!" moment.


We had so much fun, exchanged small gifts and we had to laugh. I gave Corey a tile coaster I had made a while back and she gave me a pretty stack of eggshell blue and rose printed COASTERS. Great minds think alike. We both were thinking of packing and traveling light.

Just as we were about to leave, we got an extra surprise. Sacha was out and about with his grandmother and they stopped in at Starbucks expecting that we would be long gone and they would not be interrupting. Well, grandmother was almost right and I'm so glad about that "almost" because now I have this wonderful picture of son, mothers and grandmother to treasure and share with you all.



Online, Corey is poetic and mystical. She brings dreams to life and poses fanciful but probing questions. In LIFE, Corey is laughing, outgoing, absolutely BURSTING with life. My favorite picture of her dancing in her great purple/blue dress is exactly as she is in real life.

Corey, those 90 minues were the best. I can't wait for summer.

Turlock to Santa Nella and Back

I drove out to Santa Nella today to visit mom and dad for the first time since mom's interment last month. Our weather has been windy, rainy, and icy cold. We expected all three but were gifted with clear blue skies and no wind. The rain had backed off for a couple of days so even the mud was no more. The little gold leaf is something I found in my pocket. Of course, I forgot flowers. I'm not good about these sorts of details. If Don had been there, the flowers would have been there too.

On the way to Santa Nella, we passed a small herd of Brahman cows and calves. I've never seen baby Brahmans before and of course the camera was out of sight. We stopped on the way back but by this time most of the herd had relocated and the babies were in a far corner curled up on the ground. However there was one pretty lady by the road and she posed very nicely. I am impressed with how pretty the females are. They are very different from the Gurneys and Jerseys around here.

Years ago I had noticed this barn whenever we passed this way to Hwy. 5. I always promised myself I would find this barn again and take pictures. Well, the day finally arrived. The barn seemed much brighter than before. The farmer was out working and told me they had painted it a few years ago to brighten it up. I don't think I'm the first person to take pictures of his barn since he didn't seem very surprised to see me clicking away.

Linda and her son David and I arrived home and settled on lunch at Bistro 234. Bistro is one of those place the reeks of atmosphere, serves good food, and in the end always disappoints me. I'm not picky but for me it is all in the details. I don't like it when the bill comes and I'm surprised by extra and unexpected charges. I also don't like it when all I get is an apology and a gee I'm sorry you didn't understand. I!!!! didn't understand? Hard to understand when the details of the extras aren't explained and no one else at the table heard them either. I had told Linda that Don and I had been there a couple of times and I always left feeling vaguely disappointed considering the dent the place always leaves in my pocketbook. Well, after a two year break, I've been reminded again that there is a reason I don't go here very often.


But even aside from the Bistro disappointment, I had a memorable day. I had a happy day. Brahman babies, Pepsi barns, clear crisp weather. What more could a girl ask for??