Southern Sonoma Country Life

Last Moon of 2009

Happy new year!
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A New Take on Slow Food at San Francisco Zoo

Could have watched the surrogate gorilla momma and her cuddly charge at San Francisco Zoo for the entire afternoon had it not been quite so nippy outside.

Plans to spend the day at the Academy of Science were foiled (despite a champion parking spot) by a two-hour admission line, too bad for the International travelers in tow but a great indication that museums are experiencing a renaissance of popularity in these parts. Similar situation over at the King Tut exhibition at the De Young and also, apparently at the new Walt Disney Family Museum over in the Presidio (though I did think to call ahead before attempting to switch action plan).

Drove down to Ocean Beach, hung a left and headed on down to San Francisco Zoo as plan D. Always a pleasure to wander amongst the wonders of nature, though an extra layer or two would have been a bonus for those of us not naturally endowed with thick, fur coats!

To watch a gorilla strip a bamboo shoot for its mid-day meal called for a spot of light refreshments over at the Terrace Bar - an extraordinarily lengthy undertaking for the briefest of bites, bringing new meaning to the notion of Californian slow food. 

Recycled Christmas trees were evident in almost every large animal environment, with black bears snuggled into previously neglected branches in an exhibition of one of the more unique methods of making the most of the seasonal crop.

Petaluma's First Annual Boxing Day Trifle-Off

Boxing day parties at the most British of Petaluma households have been a long standing tradition amongst certain SoCo expats for more than a decade past.

Sausage rolls, mince pies, fruit cake, shortbread, rounds of Stilton cheese, pickled onions, you name it, the traditional British Christmas fayre fills Lesley's festive table (pictured top) to the brim for an annual knees-up to rival any Boxing Day do in the old country.  

For some reason, unknown to those Harvey Bristol Cream infused statisticians amongst us, there has never before been a pot-luck duplication at the Boxing Day do of a good, old-fashioned Sherry Trifle.  Until now. And let me tell you, two rival glass bowls of sherry-soaked sponge, rich, creamy custard, a layer of fresh berries, fluffy, freshly whipped cream and a topping of almonds or (in my case), crumbled Cadbury Flake chocolate caused considerable excitement amongst the rowdy UK set. 

Bill (possibly better known as front man for the Hoovers/and/or shy and retiring (ha!) team captain of the infamous Dogs B******s Petaluma pub quiz uber-team than his trademark trifle) whipped up quite the Christmas culinary competition by stepping up to the Trifle challenge.

If I'd known the much-talked-about Trifle-Off was finally going to take place this Boxing Day I might have had my Mum bring me over some fancy green slithers of Angelica and those tiny gold balls we loved so much on trifles as kids. I could have put a bit more effort into the custard perfection department, hunted down the most luxurious fruits....

Though trifle is trifle at the end of the day, with teenagers more interested in sampling for sherry levels in this decadent dessert and grown ups glad for a few spoonfuls of something sweet and nostalgic. And it's best to compete when the cards are even. Even with baker Bill. Who placed his trifle at the opposite end of the dessert table, thus positioning himself in a key locale to keep an eye on who made the first impact on the layers of colorful, creamy delight.

Helped myself to seconds of Bill's almond-topped offering, good sport that I am and must confess that this is a bloke who does indeed know his way around an English kitchen come Christmas time. Amidst much merriment and mirth and quite a load of ribbing, it was finally ruled that the trifle-off was a draw.

Next year it's fruit cake or mince pies for the Chrimbo cook-off, with preparation starting sometime around early October. Bill was muttering something about importing suet from London, though those nice butchers at the Petaluma Market are usually more than happy to dole out a bag of beef fat upon rare request.

Trifles actually date back to the mid 1500s in England, having first been recorded in "The good huswife's Jewell". Fruit and alcohol-soaked bread were added to this custardy confection around 1600. Absolutely unbeatable on the dessert table to this day.

(Andy from Manchester upholds the great British 'waste not, want not' mantra by polishing off the last spoonful of Bill's triumphant trifle!)

Petaluma Film Maker to Shoot Bridal Comedy Here in Sonoma County

Petaluma's independent film Producer/Director Maria Sundeen has selected Sonoma County's sumptuous Starlet Gowns store in Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa as the location for her quirky upcoming comedy featuring a goth teen bride and a small cast of colorful characters involved in this off-beat bridal gown rite of passage.

Maria has been working tirelessly on this project for the past few years and now production of The Once and Future Bride is due to take place over five days in January, featuring a cast of 10 and a crew of 15. Starlet will close for four half-days to allow the shoot though SoCo brides-to-be will still be allowed to access and try on gowns and accessories across the mall at the sister store, Starlet Gowns.

Funding for the small-budget movie has taken a hit over the past year of credit-crunched potential backers and Maria is looking for investors to finalize her cast and crew for full lights, camera, action to roll.

Top-notch production team has been formed from all over the Bay Area, including Director of Photography Mike Epple (www.michaelepple.com), Post-Production Supervisor Matt Rhodes (www.motivatedpixels.com), and Music Composer Douglas Pipes (www.douglaspipes.com). The film was co-written by Mick Erausquin (www.oceanhive.com), and Maria herself.

Check out the movie's blog and read about the terrific story behind the making of this story from a frank and passionate Petaluma film maker's perspective.  

Maria has invited me to post a blog or two on location, good job I'm not in the market for a fairytale frock, for you'd likely find me foraging through the couture somewhere in the background of the pivotal scene. Vera Wang, anybody?
 

Going Coastal - A Sonoma County Christmas Eve Outing

Oysters and Shrimp Louie for a late lunch at Nick's Cove in Marshall and a stroll along the scenic sands of Dillon Beach just a hop, skip and a jump along the coast was the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve afternoon.

It has been my tradition to head out west the day before Christmas ever since the boys were tots, weather permitting and this 2009 late December provided one of the most spectacular Christmas Eve afternoons in recent memory.

Where else can you fine dine in such casual luxury as Ncks? Tennis shoes, sweaters and scarves and a glass or two of Sonoma coast's cool climate Pinot to launch seasonal outdoor festivities?

From My House to Yours

 

Stockings are hung by the chimney with care. Plum pudding, brandy butter and rum sauce arrived with Cadbury chocolate, a suitcase full of old-fashioned parlour games and grandparents from over the pond.

Brussel sprouts, parsnips, sausage rolls, mince pies, a Christmas cake with robin on top. Chestnuts, wild rice and a Willie Bird brining in a salt water stew of cinnamon, spice, honey, star anise and oranges. 

A small mountain of potatoes to peel. Piles of parcels finally wrapped. That unbeatable air of anticipation preceding Christmas Day. Now that the planning, prepping, primping and preening of tree and tabletop has reached its peak it's time to wish you all a most Happy Christmas.

Whether you are one of my many readers who share this unique, Sonoma Country life, or you and yours are far, far away from this coastal Northern California clime, may the echo of the hush that will sweep over the bay at Bodega and into the valleys of Sonoma county tonight keep us connected in the coming year.

The First Noel - Petaluma Band 'Waters' Wets its Feet This Holiday Season at Bay Area Sound Studios

 

Petaluma-based band, Waters wet its feet in its first professional recording of four original tracks at

Bay Area Sound Studios this Christmas week, thanks to the world-renowned talents of the San Rafael studio's Director of Recording, Stephen Hart.

President of the San Francisco Chapter of the Recording Academy and  co-chair of the Producers & Engineers Wing, Stephen has an incredible recording legacy in the state of California and far beyond.

An absolute privilege it was for these P'Town teens to experience the magnificent mixing skills of digital maestro, Mr. Hart, whose work with the boys will be added here in audio once I get my hands on an online clip (musician pictured above/middle tending to sleep in during college vacation, thus missing morning deadline of Sonoma Country Life!) . 

The focus at BASS is on live band and ensemble recording. Artists can set-up in rehearsal formation, with sound re-enforcement if needed, work up their material, rehearse and record without ever having to relocate.

Last Call for London

Christmas is coming and as you can see here, the proverbial goose is getting suitably fat. So much so that the Bay Area's very own beguiling denomination of Dickens' family household members and staff sat down to a traditional Victorian English Yule time dinner with all the festive bells and whistles on this the final afternoon of the jam-packed 31st annual Great Dickens Christmas Fair.

This quintessential Victorian holiday party at the Cow Palace recreates all sorts of splendid sights, sounds and more pleasant aromas of London at the height of the Christmas season, circa mid-1800s. Despite reports of a gloomy economy in the real world holiday shopping emporiums of the Bay Area, Dickens Fair producers are tickled pink at the close of the 2009 run, with record crowds having flooded to the Cow Palace in droves, determined, perhaps, to put all the doom and gloom behind them for a few hours of unadulterated good cheer. And why not? 

Detoured off the 101 for a quick pint and a peck on the cheek for the producer en route to the airport to pick up globe-trotting parents who did in fact, manage to make it out of snow-bound London and over the frozen pond at surprisingly record speed.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

There's simply no saying that life in Petaluma is ever dull. Not for a moment. Certainly not on a week night. Take a Thursday night in December for instance. Close to Christmas.

After fulfilling my mommy duties for substantial indoor soccer game support on the cold, hard bleachers in the wilds of rural Cotati earlier in the evening, there were just two carols left for me to pipe in at the annual Upstairs in the Petaluma Parking Garage Christmas Carol party. I'll be Home For and Blue Christmas renditions proved the point that the acoustics up there in the premium parking spots are unbeatable and what a wonderful group of good spirited folk to join in a rousing, holiday throng of goodwill and great vocals. Standing slightly behind chantreuse Pamela Joyce was a smart move, thanks to the positioning of my pal, Gail as I dashed up the stairs two at a time to catch the final five minutes.

Off down the boulevard in the general direction of South, snuck in to Aqus Cafe down at Foundry Wharf for the grand finale of Lesley's famous Christmas trivia. Good thing I wasn't able to make it there early enough to join oldest son and his group of smarty pants teens in hot pursuit of several teams of Petaluma clever clogs. Don't think I have the trivia gene - so astounding it is to watch the pros in action.

Did manage to have my mug snapped by the last of the day's volunteer photographers who captured over 300 Aqus customers from early morning until closing time at 10. The unstoppable John Crowley, partner at Aqus and chief social instigator, has a plan up his sleeve to post every person pictured on the cafe walls come dark and dreary January. Maybe I should have stopped in for a latte earlier on in the day when I didn't look quite  so windswept and interesting? Then again, when has windswept and interesting been a problem? Certainly not with so many hot spots to fill a Thursday evening!

In the Bleak Mid Winter

What happens when snow fall is so unexpectedly heavy in the UK is that all roads in and out of most rural outposts are completely cut off until the gritters set to work. What happens when the county councils are in the midst of a credit crunch, as with the city council situation here in Petaluma right now, is that the gritters aren't even likely to turn out due to massive budget cuts. 

"We still have the sledge in the shed from when you were kids," emailed my Mum from snowed in, East-Anglia this afternoon. This is a good thing. I'm so thankful that my mother had the foresight to hold on to that relic of antiquity, for she, like myself is somewhat renowned for outing the unused and outdated with gleeful abandon. 

These intrepid parents of mine have tickets for a flight to San Francisco this weekend. To visit me. For Christmas. Their first Christmas in the United States since I moved here some two long  decades ago. And now they are officially snowed in and a good hundred miles from the airport. Country roads are two feet under fresh powder. Rail service is the next thing to go hay-wire in England with a heavy snow fall.

Envisioning my Mum and Dad atop their gift-laden suitcases, sledge driven down to Heathrow, I'm confident that where there's a will, there's a way! It hasn't snowed so heavily in December in England for years. Wouldn't you just know it?