By melisse Back in September we spent some days on the Oregon Sand Dunes. We were far away from internet access at the time, on the move and not writing much about our experiences in order to share them with you. So I’d like to take this opportunity to reminisce now. The dunes are an otherworldly place. The smooth, beige, unmarred, silky, windswept, rolling expanse has an immense elegance. I feel utterly serene in this environment. Quito approaches it with unbridled joy. She particularly likes running straight up the vertical dunes to perch upon their sharp edges. I dismay at dis [View Full Entry]

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I was recently reunited with one of the best groups of people I've ever had the pleasure to work with. We all worked for a small agency in Marin County, California that provided a definitely non Marin-like service. We helped children, who through no fault of their own, were placed in group homes by California Child Protective Services because they had been brutalized by their parents and were emotionally unequipped to handle the intimacy of the foster care system. Essentially, we helped these children (and occasionally their families) heal. I thank my friend Kim for setting up the reunion of o [View Full Entry]

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I fessed up this morning to Ali and Bill. I told them that I had to come clean. They looked at me completely intrigued. I confessed that last night I had done what I usually do when Melisse leaves me alone when she leaves town. I ate a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food. Here were the circumstances. Melisse was gone in Idaho and Bill and Ali along with Bill's son, Ethan, went to a birthday party in Ethan's honor at his mother's house. Thus, I was home alone... with the recently purchased (not by me), unopened pint of [View Full Entry]

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By melisse Pick a little walk a little, pick a little walk a little, Walk walk walk, pick a lot, walk a little more. That’s how it goes out here. It started with the wild black berries in the Pacific Northwest, beginning early September. Though locals reported it was the end of the season, the bounty of these berries was stupendous all along the coastal regions of Washington, Oregon and northern California. Then, upon landing at Ali and Bill’s eight-acre apple orchard in Sebastopol, the bounty continued to flow. If there’s any truth to the adage about an apple a day, [View Full Entry]

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By melisse: Last weekend a large lump swelled above the plain of the flat sandy expanse of Kehoe Beach along Point Reyes National Seashore. Large black vultures lined the lump’s surface, eventually flying off as we neared. Much larger than a dead seal and piled like a large mass of old carpet, we circled the mysterious object trying to figure out what it was?!?! It looked like some sort of dead animal, but what? We were relieved at its lack of stench. I held fast to Quito to prevent her from rolling in it but as goats like to climb up [View Full Entry]

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By melisse: From state to state in the US of A many things are the same, but many are different. Each region has its own flavor; cultural norms, speech patterns, laws, geography, vegetation, weather, industry, and agriculture. That’s what makes it fun to travel around this great land. Sonoma County has its unique flavor, one we grew to love 9-15 years ago when we lived here. It’s fun to reconnect with it all now. We hadn’t planned on holing up here for so long, but many factors have pulled us in and we are enjoying being here immensely. During the past [View Full Entry]

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...on wine. I had a truly wonderful wine country morning yesterday. My friend Jim and I headed over to Kenwood where Melisse's and my old pal and landlord from Glen Ellen days, Doty, had enlisted me in this year's wine crush. Doty has become a fairly sophisticated vintner in the years since we lived with him on the mountain. He and his friends/business partners David and Catherine collect leftover grapes from Sonoma valley vineyards then make their own wine. It is not for sale, only personal consumption. About 15 of us gathered to crush this years grapes and bottle 2007's crush [View Full Entry]

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My brother, John, had a near brush with death. In mid September, unbeknownst to him, Strep B bacteria began taking over his body, rendering him feverish, weak and at times, delirious. He checked himself into the emergency room but was sent home with “the flu”. About a week later, still with fever, he blanked out and drove his car down a 200 foot embankment. This event made the front page of the Pocatello newspaper. He was rushed to the hospital and sent home with no injury. His fever persisted. About two weeks later, friends came to check on him at home [View Full Entry]

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This is the best story I've heard so far. The weekend before last, Ali's mom was having a family gathering at her house in Orinda, an upscale community just over the hill from Berleley, CA. Ali's sister, Sandy came early to help clean and prepare. They found some old paint cans and decided to take them to the dump. Unlike some places, toxic materials including paint need to be signed for with address and phone number because there many legalities regarding toxic disposal and you must be a resident of the area where it is disposed. Mom and Sandy took care [View Full Entry]

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Unlike the midwest, in California, Dia de los muertos is a significant day. California, after all, was part of Mexico from 1821,when Mexico gained independence from Spain to 1846 when it became part of the United States. Celebrating dia de los muertos is a major Mexican tradition that continues to this day in "Alta California". In the Catholic religion the two days following the pagan Halloween are celebrations of those who have gone on before us. November 1st is All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation and All Souls Day, a day given to recognize our dead ancestors. Now when [View Full Entry]

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