A blog full of memories
I’m from the Yukon Territory in Northern Canada. I lived in Healdsburg, California from 2001 to 2009. These are some stories about life in Healdsburg.
I made this appetizer for a neighbourhood deck party last night. It is simple, but effective. cherry or grape tomatoes marinated mozzarella balls fresh basil lime juice cracked pepper As usual, I left it to the last minute to make. I should have got my tomatoes from Dan, the tomato man last Tuesday at the …
A few nights ago, I went out for After Hours at the Ravenous Restaurant here in Healdsburg. That is, I went just to hang out and get a bit of conversation and meet some interesting people before I turned in myself. Ravenous is a local restaurant in an old house on Center Street. The entire …
I hear about Mateo Granados from a few people before I actually get to talk to him myself. David and Ondine mention him when they find out I’m looking for interesting perspectives. And I crosscheck the reference with Julie, my winemaker-foodie friend. She nods her head. Yes. Definitely. And when I’m talking to Evie at …
As many of you know, this cartoon connotes EXACTLY what life is like today–virtually, physically. It’s pretty funny. Last week, my cousin NIK got engaged…and I saw her Facebook status update AND I immediately wrote to congratulate her. Talk about instant gratification. One day, I was talking to a friend about the lack of available, …
I started to have a conversation yesterday about egos–about labels and egos specifically. But I wasn’t as articulate as I would liked to have been. And I probably should have thought about it before I said it because I think the person I was talking to got a wee bit defensive about his industry (the …
I’ve just started texting with my mobile. I’ve never done it much before, but now, I have a few people I exchange messages with. It’s a bit like twitter, but I know the person I’m talking to somewhat cares what I’m saying. Today, I am on my way to the library (for the air conditioning …
After I interviewed Mateo Granados last June, I always stop by his tamale stand at the Farmer’s Market to say hello. He’s always happy and chatty and talking to someone or another. One day, I was just hanging out and Dan Magnuson of Soda Rock Farm comes over to drop off a few boxes of …
I emailed Evie of Tierra Vegetables a few weeks ago to ask if I could write a feature article on their Farm Stand. I wasn’t sure if she’d remember me–because I’d met her through a friend. But of course she remembers and sure I can write an article. She tells me a good time to …
As they are passing the soap shop, I hear one guy say–with a heavy German accent: Soap. His colleague repeats: Ja. Soap. That’s it. That’s all I heard. Soap. Ja. Soap. Somehow I just find that randomly funny.
I haven’t been blogging. I have no excuse. I have been a bit busy though. I have a new housemate (or two). We have been getting acquainted. Krista and her son Conor moved in in October. I’m happy that they are here. Conor is five. And I find myself identifying with having a five-year-old in …
Somebody recently wrote and told me he and an his familial entourage are taking a tour of Napa Valley. He forwarded me their itinerary and asked if I knew anything about the wineries on the list: Domaine Carneros Tour of Napa, boutique wineries Rubicon Estate Clos Pegase So, even though I know nothing about these …
Today, I can tell you a story about frustration and fun. During the summer, I was busy with my remodel and busy with work, and–well–just busy in general. I didn’t feel like I’d had a summer at all. I just wanted to have at least one day that felt like summer. I decided to plan …
Today, I spent most of the day catching up on administration an emails. At 4h00, Cindy said she was going to go back to Rosso & Bianco (where she’s doing her internship) to show her friends from her school around the winery and the lab where she works. I said I should probably go with …
I discovered the other day that my housemate Cindy (who is here for an internship) is keeping a photo blog of her time here! If you want to see a few pics of her stay, head on over to cindycalifornie.skyrock.com. Last Friday evening, she had her colleagues from her winery over for dinner. She made …
I’m suffering from not updating my blog. It’s painful. I now have a huge list of things to write about and to experiment with. First, I have a new housemate. Her name is Cindy. She’s from France and is working an internship at the Francis Ford Coppola winery in Northern Sonoma County. I’ll post a …
Ouch…last night, I visited my good friends KatieBird and her husband Sean. They are lucky enough just to have bought their first house in Healdsburg just before Christmas. I’d brought them a house warming present from the Yukon–an ulu knife for their kitchen. On second thoughts, I wasn’t sure they would like it but it …
Rick Mercer is a Canadian comedian who has this show called: Talking to Americans. In this show, Rick Mercer interviews and satirizes the perceived American ignorance of their northern neighbours. However, the other day, we were sitting in a restaurant in Healdsburg. After dinner, I excused myself to use the ladies room. When I got …
“When I use a word, it means exactly what I want it to mean. Nothing more. Nothing less.” Humpty Dumpty says this to Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. I love languages. I love finding true words: one word, one meaning, and nothing else. Somebody called me a logomachist once. I had to …
I had dinner with my friend KatieBird the other day. We were talking about cooking and eating and food in general (one of my favourite topics–of course!). She mentioned that her husband likes variety–trying something new all the time. She said she’s completely happy plugging along eating the same thing–well–because it works. I said I …
A Trueman moment is a phrase derived from the movie, The Trueman Show with Jim Carey. The directors would explain any random thing that happened so Trueman wouldn’t catch on to the fact he was living entertainment. A Trueman moment is a moment that you experience but there is no rhyme to reason for it. …
My friend and neighbour Paul Brasset has been a winemaker in Sonoma County for over thirty years. Over those thirty years, he has won the Sonoma County Sweepstakes award for his Chardonnay (more than once). He has recently started selling wines from his own cellars, but has started with only Syrah and Zinfandel. I asked …
