Southern Sonoma Country Life

A Case for Coffee

To quote Abraham Lincoln: "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea, but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."

Actually, I'm good with a cup of tea or java depending upon the time of day. Jump starting the morning with a mug of tea (brought to my bedside by the dutiful Italian husband no less), I typically transition to a latte mid-morning (bowl at Aqus, stove top espresso machine and warm milk at home) and second cup of tea around 4. Of course. That's afternoon tea time. I don't have to tell you that.

Sometimes, well, quite often if I'm honest, I sneak in an additional cup of drip coffee later on in the morning. Keeps me focused on those deadlines when I'd really rather be out and about in the winter sunshine.

How much caffeine we consume from coffee and/or tea is a topic of frequent discussion amongst my peers. Guys and girls in their prime, making a valiant effort to combat the aging process by living a (sometimes) overtly virtuous middle age. All terribly dull and dutiful when one takes into consideration today's headlines in the New York Times that coffee is in fact, linked to lowering risks of dementia.

That does it. I'm never giving up my second cup, considering it may very well help stave off the extremely offensive symptoms of not only Alzheimer's disease, but Parkinsons too. Both of which a good many of us have in the family heritage department.

According to the NY Times article, a team of Swedish and Danish researchers tracked the consumption of coffee within a group of close to 1,500 middle aged women and men for an impressive 21 year period. Taking a number of socioeconomic and health factors into consideration, the study showed that subjects who drank three to five cups of coffee daily were 65 % less likely to have developed any form of dementia.

It seems that coffee may have a similar antioxidant effect in the bloodstream as red wine, reducing vascular risk factors of dementia.

All the more reason for red wine at dinner. The rest of the time I tipple water. Nice, fresh, SoCo aqua from the filter in my fridge. Cheers!

Will Big Box Demise Boost a Downtown Revival?

After all of the hoopla of mega big box do-it-yourself magnate Home Depot buying up Petaluma's popular Yard Birds store, remodeling and reopening in its original name, the financial mire of the moment has made for the latest announcement of Yard Birds imminent closure over on Lakeville Highway.

Though the loss of jobs is certainly top concern within the community, I cannot help but wonder if this trend of boarding up the big boys is going to work a treat for boosting a small-business-owned downtown revival.

Take Rex Hardware on B Street for one. Devastated were we when the original, historic Rex building burned down three summers ago. Yet out of the ashes look what rose again? Who would have thought that buying a light bulb or a new loo seat would have been an option for downtown shoppers without a neighborhood hardware store on hand? Yard Birds on the outskirts of Petaluma had it covered, but clearly not nearly enough electrical re-wiring and towel racks are being screwed into bathroom walls around town to keep it a viable enterprise.

I'm not even going into the subject of new construction. Without it the city coffers are continually crippled, the local economy in a quagmire of inertia. Lumber is simply not being stocked. Not a lot of point unless things start to pick up in the building arena.

Until that happens, downtown stores such as Rex Hardware should hopefully experience a revival unlike anything we've seen in a recent half century. Here we are in a back-to-the-future scenario of store assistants knowing many of their customers by name. Offering to order an item that's not in stock. Providing a service with a smile of an independent business owner, happy to be making a decent living from selling stuff people actually need. What a concept.

 

A Drop in the Ocean

Actually, this is not the ocean, but I did snap this shot of Nicasio Reservoir on my way back to Petaluma from Stinson Beach this morning. As a thick blanket of coastal fog swirled through the hilly terrain of West Marin, wrapping my route in a misty funnel of tranquility, I was momentarily transported at least in my own imagination to the serene scenes of Scottish lochs.

"Wonderful day" called a lone cyclist pedaling furiously through the fog, clinging to the side of the rural road for dear life (just a little bit dangerous out there in periods of low visibility, though I'd wager he'd taken the risk of a tumble to take in the simple magnificence of the January morning).  

Yesterday's mid-afternoon hail storm had cleared away the rain, what little bit of precipitation we could call a wet weekend.

For really it was a mere drop in the ocean of what's needed in these overly dry winter days. And Nicasio Reservoir is as good a benchmark as any to show us just how low we can go with water levels in the region.

Nicasio reservoir was built back in 1961, causing all sorts of controversies as the Marin Municipal Water District forced the displacement of several historic family farms for the vast and shallow drainage basin to be used as a back-up water source for the county.

The 400 foot long, earthen Seeger Dam was built along the Nicasio River, devastating a spawning wild salmon population.

Nowadays the reservoir is known for its rapid evaporation, and though still a popular fishing spot for catfish and bass, current mercury levels in the water do apparently make a fish dinner from these local waters a little too much of a health risk when consumed more than once or twice a month.  With that in mind, I opted out of casting a line and hit the road back to town.

Sleep Better with the Phrase of the Week

Word of the week appears to have morphed into Phrase of the Week due to all sorts of intriguing emails I have been receiving giving me insight into several familiar sayings I for one, take for granted on a daily basis and had little idea as to their origins.

Did you know that in Shakespeare's day, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes? By pulling on the rope, a mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on, hence this week's phrase "Good night sleep tight".

No doubt the knowledge of this will have you dreaming like a baby! Thanks to Elaine in Lincolnshire for scoring this little bit of trivia from the back of a Horlicks box. And for my American readers who may be wondering what on earth Horlicks may be, I won't keep you waiting until next week's word of the week - check out all sorts of suggestions for improving your slumber on the Horlicks site.

One More Thing.....

Forgive me for inundating your in-box, but I had to share this excellent link to the New Yorker on-line sent to me by my Obama besotted buddy, Steph. Who can blame her when you read what he had to say about Michelle. Fellas, take note, seems to be the nation's number one husband for good reason!

Have Your Say - It's Dialog Day for Subscribers

An email message from one of my number one comment makers here at Sonoma Country Life prompted me to post a quickie on the subject of regular reader dialog.

Because most of my lovely, loyal readers receive my posts via email subscription, the comment section doesn't come up in your in-box at the bottom of the blog. Nor do you get to see any of the other stuff on the web page of Sonoma Country Life.

This is fine and dandy and makes the process of perusing a post much swifter than wading through all the rest of my stuff I have on the page. But if you've ever been burning to make a comment on one of my posts, please do feel free to take a moment and click on the Sonoma Country Life heading at the top of the post, which will transport you onto the full site and hey presto, there is the comment section at the bottom, ready and waiting for your words of wisdom!

I do receive quite a few emails from readers who have lots to say about some of the stuff I write about, and I'd love to see these posted for everyone else to read. Don't be put off by having to add your name and email address. Lots of comments come with screen names and your email will never appear online.

Hope to hear what you have to say!

Home State Pizza Friday Night Dinner at Della

 

Not ready to put away the festive red, white and blue of inauguration week? Or maybe you are still wishing you'd made the trek to D.C. along with three million fellow American merrymakers?

It's not too late to have a little extended Obamarama fun this weekend. For downtown Petaluma's favorite (not to mention one and only) bakery, Della Fattoria is serving up an extra special Friday night Home State Pizza Dinner from 6 to 9pm.

Take your picture with the Weber Family's life-size cut-out of the man himself as you ponder your choice of Hawaii or Chicago for (President's pick) arugula-topped, artisan pizza.

Cafe manager Elisa Weber and her hubby are fresh home from the biggest show on earth, with a photo gallery to share. Not able to contain their excitement from having been in the middle of all the inaugural action in Washington this week, Elisa and her team are putting a trademark Della tasty twist on their economy-priced Home State Pizza Dinner (which includes a glass of red or white wine, mini soup with crostini & delicious cream puff with custard, whipped cream and blueberries).  $20 a person, I'd recommend making a quick reservation by calling Elisa at Della Fattoria: 707 763 0161.

Thanks for the use of a few of your fantastic pics, Elisa! Have your feet reached the ground?

Inauguration Day in SF

Listening to Obama's historic inauguration speech on the freeway in a car full of fifth graders may have been somewhat an unusual scenario but it certainly proved memorable.

 

Signed up for driving a field trip to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art a couple of months back. Like you do. As an involved parent. January 20th, a Tuesday. No Problem. 

When the reminder sheet came back from school about 10 days before the biggest inauguration of our time, the penny finally dropped. Depart school at 8.20 am prompt. Return by 2.50 pm.

Glad to hear that I wasn't the only slightly distracted parent to not have noticed the significance of the date as we filled in obligatory field trip permission forms prior to the Thanksgiving Break.

I confess to having felt a wee bit peeved upon the realization that the momentous swearing in of Obama and his 17 minute speech might well be drowned out by the incessant chatter of six 10 and 11 year old school kids, clamoring to share jokes and I pod songs and sprinkle crumbs from their sack lunches in the back of my car.

But I was wrong. It was a road trip to remember. The kids in my charge were wide eyed and ready to pay pretty rapt attention to the crackling KGO Radio report and broadcast of our new Presidents' oath of office and speech.

Waving an American flag for one brief moment from an open window as we crawled through central Marin traffic, the youngsters were perfectly aware of the poignancy of the  moment. Our passage into a city at pause was swift.

Keeping eyes peeled for a left turn onto Geary off Divisadero, the car pulled up to a stop on Obama Street. That's right. Obama Street. Some particularly capable crew of merrymakers had made replica street signage to stick over Bush. Bit of a laugh. Maybe it should stay that way.

San Francisco was awash in balmy 70 degree sunshine as the kids were coraled into classroom groups inside of MOMA and mums and dads and grandparents (see pic of retired veteran Valley Vista teachers Anne Jones and Mike P) who had so graciously given up the chance to sit glued to the box were granted a bit of a reprieve.

Over in Yerba Buena Gardens we sat on the grass with hundreds of San Franciscans and took in the rest of the inauguration coverage on huge, open-air screens. Might not have been the way we'd imagined taking it all in, but it certainly fulfilled day one duties to step up and get involved and think of others before ourselves. Becoming a small part of the bigger picture. Like the man says.

By the way, did you know that MOMA offers free family admission on the first and third Sundays of each month?

Transfer of Power

Regal qualities of this historic morning fill the country with optimism. Viewing the role call of American public service join the motorcade in Washington D.C. - it's emotional, amazing, incredible to witness such an unprecedented support of a new presidency.

Where are you watching the 17 minute speech this momentous morning? I'll be ushering in the new era with a car load of fifth graders. After all, it's their future. Will be sure to have my camera on hand today, along with my American flag.

Word of the Week

Sonoma Country Life reader, Kathy of Colorado sent me this week's word of the week in an email regarding current biz at her Six Degrees Studio (Kathy & her crew created my website). New business is  going "Gangbusters"  this January, for Kathy, which is highly encouraging news for the rest of my readers who haven't been hearing this kind of upturn in too many small business economies.

"There's a word of the week for you," wrote Kathy, of the term gangbusters, which originated as slang for police or officials engaged in combating criminal gangs: now more frequently used in everyday speach for very forcefully, energetically, or effectively!

The on-line Free Dictionary outlines gangbusters as: with great impact, vigor, or zeal: came on like gangbusters at the start of his campaign.

Now who does that remind you of?