Southern Sonoma Country Life

To Write or Not to Write? Day One of National Novel Writing Month

Keyboard polished and coffee cup at the ready? November 1st marks the first day of National Novel Writing Month. 

Launched in 1999, National Novel Writing Month takes place each November, challenging writers to pen 50,000 words of an original and new novel in just one month.

You don't have to be an American reader/writer to participate. Aspiring novelists form around the world participate in online tips, tools, support and ra-ra to keep up the momentum.

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to encourage writing, no matter how amateur, through to the end of a first draft. The general gist of it is to focus on the actual end result of that complete first draft. If it's any good at all, there's hope for the flegdling writer that, with some later editing, he or she might just have the makings of a book. 

And given today's self publishing and e-publishing options, whyever not? Channel your inner J.K Rowling, E.L James or Stephenie Meyer and imagine the possibilities. 

 

Oyster Hopping in West Marin - Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop E-Mag Goes Coastal

West Marin's wild, fresh foodshed is in danger of becoming extinct if too many more feature articles appear in the nation's spotlight, this week! 

The New York Times travel section dedicated a big splash page to our coastal cousins over the county line in West Marin, followed by an in-depth article in Sunset on bioluminescence and night-time kayaking on Tomales Bay. 

Today's issue of international taste-maker, Gwyneth Paltrow's e-mag, Goop, gets to manicured grips with an oyster-focused, West Marin coastal expedition, featuring a shucking video for the newly initiated.

I've been scribbling away at revisions on my own little book project on the foodies and farmers next door, despite being told by several representatives of the publishing world that this is too regional a subject. I think I'd best proceed before we find ourselves here in more rustic Southern Sonoma and West Marin Counties to have shed our secrets entirely & at risk of becoming the next Napa Valley. 

 

 

 

Fall Gathering Workshop at Petaluma's B Street Mercantile (Followed by Creative Gift Tags & Wrap)

Fall "Gathering" Workshop Wednesday, November 20th, 7pm $10 Materials Fee, Drop-In or Pre-Register   Join the team at B Street Mercantile Co the week before Thanksgiving to create beautiful and simple decorations from found items.  Gather autumn objects such as leaves, twigs, nuts and berries.  B Street Mercantile will provide all the craft tools and materials needed to create seasonal decor such as place cards, napkin rings, candle holders and centerpieces.

Creative Gift Tags & Wrap Wednesday, December 11th, 7pm $10 Materials Fee, Drop-In or Pre-Register   Let the talented team at B Street Mercantile help you add a unique and personal style to your gift wrapping this season. B Street Mercantile will provide all the materials you need to create special gift tags and will share some fun ideas for gift wrap. The store welcome participants to contribute and share ideas and images for the class.  All participants will leave with a stack of gift tags!   For more information on either of the workshops, please visit the store's website

Sebastopol Saturday Street Fair in the Barlow - Bay Area's New Artisan Food Amusement Park

Looking for something fun to do while out and about in the West Country of Sonoma County, Saturday afternoon, November 2nd? The brand new Barlow district in Sebastopol, farm-fresh foodies-nirvana invites you to a street fair with food trucks, music and pop-up vendor stalls galore. Festivities run from 4pm to 9pm. 

Also, how about a two-for-one sort of outdoors day? Downtown Petaluma is also celebrating the harvest season with all sorts of merriment, this weekend.

GMO Labeling - Vote With Your Fork (& Wallet)

Just because you think you're buying right at the checkout - organic goods and other popular food and beverage choices don't necessarily equate to the healthiest options. Let the buyer beware and all that, but all economic arguments aside, I'd far rather know, as the consumer, which items in my shopping cart are GMO free.

In taking a look at the left side of this column - at least two product manufacturers whose goods I've bought this week, I'll be taking a break from in my immediate buying cycle in favor of those who support clear labeling of genetically engineered ingredients. 

According to The Cornucopia Institute, Proposition I-522, a citizen’s initiative on the November 5 ballot in Washington state that would mandate clear labeling of genetically engineered (GE) ingredients on food packages, has become the most expensive initiative campaign in the state’s history. 

The institute, which promotes economic justice for family-scale farming, produced this compelling infographic infographic detailing the financial expenditures of corporate and organizational supporters and opponents of I-522, after a number of new opponents to the GMO food labeling proposal were revealed following the release of their names by the Grocery Manufacturers Association , a national business lobbying organization. 

 

David Strathairn - Master of the Stage, Underneath the Lintel, A.C.T San Francisco through November 17th

Academy Award nominee David Strathairn (Lincoln; Good Night, and Good Luck; Scorched) utterly captivates in his extraordinarily, complex, solo performance in the stage drama Underneath the Lintel, currently running at A.C.T's Geary Theater in San Francisco.

In his role as an eccentric, Dutch librarian who discovers a mysterious, red Baedeker travel book in a return bin—some 113 years overdue, this exquisite performance takes us on a scavengar hunt, a whirlwind world tour of historic events depicted through a box of personal scraps. 

As Artistic Director Carey Perloff says, this is a play: "That would only have been created in an era of real books - and, indeed, real libraries."

She asks: "What does this librarian's story mean to a world obsessed with technology, in which the traces we leave behind are virtual more often than real?"

A.C.T is currently in the process of excavating The Strand, an old San Francisco movie theater in Central Market, half a block from Twitter, Yammer, Spotify and Square HQ's. How will the two worlds of global online platforms and neighboring live theater stages collide? 

As a packed house fell in silence for the magic charms of storytelling at its absolute best, we can only hope that such age-old forms of entertainment, communication and knowledge gleaned from as much from books as live performance will stand the test of time. 

The set for Underneath the Lintel reveals its own secrets. Painted props, costumes and artifcats from decades and decades of American Conservatory Theater tell their own stories. 

Simply one of the best shows I've seen on the West Coast. If you have a chance to see it, don't miss it. 

 

 

Al Jazeera Correspondent, Stephanie Scawen's Bold and Moving New Documentary, MS & Me

In her dreams, she dives, in her dreams, she's not disabled. Al Jazeera Correspondent, Stephanie Scawen takes us along on her journey from Malaysia to the Orkney Isles, from medical labs at Cambridge University, down to London and on a drive to the English seaside for a heart to heart with her Mum, as she quests for a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

Stephanie and I met as 18 year old journalism students in the UK, many moons ago. Though we've kept in touch over the years, it has been quite the challenge keeping up with her remarkable romp through life as a television reporter and producer throughout Asia, and as an avid scuba diver and unstoppable adventurer, to boot. In her moving, immensely informative, newly released Al Jazeera documentary, MS & Me, I see beyond the cane and the awkward climbing into cars, the self-same headstrong, humorous, super independent and determined Stephanie that took her reporting skills out into the big wide world as an energetic and enthusiastic young journalist.

Living with MS for the past 17 years has not stopped her from pursuing her career or her adventurous life. Her smile, her forthright manner and those steely, blue eyes. It's never going to be game over for this girl. Two and a half million people suffer from the auto immune disease of Multiple Sclerosis.

It is far more common in the far Northern European countries than in the tropics. The fact that Stephanie lives and works in sunny Malaysia has clearly helped keep the disease from progressing too rapidly, thanks for high doses of beneficial Vitamin D. Studies in the cold, dark Scottish Orkneys have revealed it to be a hotspot for Multiple Sclerosis - with four times as many people in its population carrying the one major genetic risk factor than in other Northern countries.

While the documentary explores the very real possibility of a cure for MS, it most likely will not come in time for my friend Stephanie. Until then, it's my hope that she goes on reporting in the field and blazing a trail for others faced with similar challenges. Stephanie, you are an inspiration.

Experience Neighboring Napa Valley from New Heights with Wydown Hotel's New Soaring Over California Package

Wydown Hotel, the stylish, contemporary, 12-room property centrally located on beautiful St. Helena's Main Street, invites you to enjoy harvest season from the sky, in the vineyards, and in the heart of downtown with anew Soaring Over California package and the exclusive “Happy Hour at Any Hour” partnership with La Condesa Napa Valley. 

Soaring Over California enables guests to take in sweeping, birds-eye views of Napa Valley, with optional upgrades to ride through the vineyards by horseback and tour Castello di Amorosa.

The La Condesa “Happy Hour at Any Hour” allows hotel guests to enjoy happy hour prices on cocktails at the bar or 10% off their total bill seated anywhere in the restaurant when they show their hotel keycard.

The Soaring Over California package includes the following for guests who would like to experience Napa at new heights:

• One night stay at Wydown Hotel 
• Pre-flight coffee and pastries at Calistoga Depot
• Transportation to all locations on itinerary (launch site varies)
• Sunrise hot air balloon flight over Napa Valley with views of landmarks such as the Palisade Cliffs, California’s Old Faithful Geyser, the Tuscan castle Castello di Amorosa and Chateau Montelena
• Champagne breakfast at Michelin-starred Solbar at Solage Calistoga

Optional package upgrades The Royal Treatment and Vineyards by Horseback are available for purchase. In addition to the above-mentioned items, The Royal Treatmentupgrade includes the following for an extra $26:

• Tour of Castello di Amorosa, Dario Sattui's authentically-styled, 121,000-square-foot, 13th century Tuscan castle and winery
• Wine tasting including Castello di Amorosa’s current releases and barrel samples

In addition to the items listed in the Soaring Over California package, the Vineyards by Horsebackupgrade includes the following for an extra $120:

• Guided 90-minute horseback ride through the award-winning Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards
• Wine tasting at Chalk Hill Estate Winery

(Packages begin at $424, double occupancy, exclusive of tax and gratuity.)

“Happy Hour at Any Hour” at La Condesa offers Wydown Hotel guests two cocktails per keycard, at happy hour prices, any time the restaurant is open. Guests are also welcome to enjoy a full meal at La Condesa with a 10% discount off of their bill with proof of stay (with a maximum party size of four).

More details about the packages and promotions at the Wydown Hotel may be found on their recently redesigned website: www.wydownhotel.com; or by calling (707) 963-5100.

ABOUT WYDOWN HOTEL:

Wydown Hotel is a singular property, independently owned and operated by Mark Hoffmeister, who manages a professional and welcoming staff of St. Helena locals that are passionate and knowledgeable about the area.

The Hotel offers service at a level of refinement and professionalism generally associated with larger hotels, balanced by the friendliness and “personal touch” of a boutique business, making for an exceptional and unforgettable guest experience.

Wydown Hotel opened in July 2011 after an extensive renovation of the old Eagle & Rose Inn, where the entire building was overhauled and remodeled with luxury custom furnishings and a fresh, contemporary design. The property’s twelve guest rooms fall into three categories: Premium, Premium Atrium and Luxury Corner, and feature king beds, Keurig coffee makers, mini fridges and spa robes.

Guests also have access to a 24/7 front desk staff, complimentary parking, tea and coffee in the Living Room, coupons for coffee at the nearby Napa Valley Roasting Company, wine tastings at the adjacent Materra Tasting Room and Wi-Fi. Wydown Hotel partners with Health Spa Napa Valley, providing complimentary access to their state of the art fitness facility which features LifeFitness, Precor and Cybex strength equipment and a 25-yard outdoor heated lap pool.

Wydown Hotel is located at 1424 Main St. in St. Helena, Calif. For reservations and additional information, please visit wydownhotel.com or call  (707) 963-5100.

Second Annual Crab Catch at Nick's Cove - Sunday November 10th

In honor of the long awaited opening of Dungeness Crab season on Tomales Bay, Nick’s Cove is hosting the 2nd Annual Crab Catch!  Locals and and travelers alike are invited to participate in the crab catching competition, chef demo and lunch with Executive Chef Austin Perkins, “Crabby Hour” and an all day crab-centric menu, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to one of my favorite non-profits, the Petaluma Educational Foundation.

The crab catching contest will begin at 10am, with prizes awarded to all age groups.  Those who return by 2pm to Nick’s Cove’s patio will be eligible to win the award for “Heaviest Haul”, and be crowned “Crab Royalty” with names to be engraved on a commemorative plaque and the title held until the following year. 

There is no entry fee, however you must RSVP to dena@nickscove.com no later than November 9th, and participants must have their own boats, crab pots, bait and a fishing license (if over 16).

To sign up for the cooking demo, please visit http://crabcatch2013.eventbrite.com/ and for details on lodging discounts on Sunday November 10th, please call our lodging office at (415) 663-1033 or book online.

American Made - Innovative Shinola Manufacturer Puts U.S. Products Back on Our Luxury Wish-Lists

Fall issue magazines have been gushing over these gorgeous American-made watches by Shinola and I can see why. As a watch-lover, these are modern classics. Hand-me-down-to-future-generation-worthy.

I checked out Detroit-based manufacturer, Shinola to find out a bit more about this stylish new line and happily discovered the innovative company hasn't stopped at watches. 

Responding in a 'timely' fashion to the current strong push for American made quality goods, Shinola shines the spotlight on the beauty of industry with bicycles, leather goods and journals. 

Shinola Factories around the country are able to relive their old glory days in an updated fashion that makes products to stand out from the foreign-made crowd. What a great example for an American revival of quality goods. 

Click here to learn more about Shinola's mission to make the best bikes, watches, journals and bags on the U.S market and to watch short films from the factories.