Southern Sonoma Country Life

Petaluma Herzog Hall Community Kitchen Fire Relief Campaign

"Every fire season I show up to put in my work," says community hero Miriam Donaldson, founding chef of Sonoma Family Meal. "Please help me build a long term relief structure for Herzog Hall Kitchen at the Petaluma Fair Grounds for disaster evacuees."  

The seasonal fires in Sonoma County affect everyone in our community, but the acute impact to evacuees can be an extremely traumatic and hungry experience as I saw for myself volunteering with Petaluma People Services at the fairgrounds last year. 

"While there are non-profit groups that help manage the workload of cooking and comforting those who need it most, the actual physical work often falls on the backs of volunteer chefs and community members," says Miriam, whose farm-to-table restaurant Wishbone is beloved by foodies around the Bay Area.

Last year during fire season Mariam headed the kitchens at the Petaluma Fair Grounds, which housed up to 700 evacuees. "Now thats a  LOT of hungry folks who need and deserve care," she says.

"Our little group managed to do it and do it well!  We installed new kitchen equipment on the fly, pulled together healthy meals for hundreds and worked closely with the other evacuation sites in petaluma to share resources. This year we will be stretched thinner than ever and safe care for our community will be even more important." 

Miriam aims to bring this vital community kitchen fully up to safety code, equip chefs and kitchen volunteers with the proper equipment (ever try making rice for 700 in a regular kitchen pot!?) and establish a  mobile community accessible kitchen kit that may be dispatched to various relief kitchens as needed.

"Basically, I need lots of big pots and pans, a small trailer to move things around, PPE for volunteers, and a huge list of small wares.," says Miriam. 

Monies contributed to this fund will directly impact those in crisis and will help lower the environmental impact of cooking for so many people. Good planning reduces single use plastic, water and food waste. Funds will also aid long term support solutions for our community. A kitchen that is built to perform relief is cheaper and safer to run than one cobbled together in a panic.

So let's do what we can to help Miriam plan ahead!  She'll do the work, but she needs our help. In an ideal scenario, the city and/or Fairgrounds committee would be outfitting this kitchen prior to fire season, given the past two years of experiences, but that's not happening. People caring for people and coming together in large numbers is what will make this happen in a timely fashion.

And don't think that this kitchen ramp-up is solely for outsiders seeking refuge in our town. There are many reasons why a community kitchen provides a lifeline to locals in times of emergency. 

Here's Chef Miriam's GoFundMe page. Click here and let's get this done! 

 

  

Getting to Know the Unadorned Self With Sonoma County Stylist Jennifer Robin

Petaluma-based beauty expert, artist and professional color stylist Jennifer Robin is one of my favorite go-to, local buddies for a regular reminder that we don't have to go completely wild with our new all-natural approach to hair and makeup during this crazy period of history we find ourselves in the midst of.      

"In my former life before COVID, I began each day with a careful outfit selection and artful application of makeup," shares Jennifer. " I inserted my contact lenses, combed out my eyelash extension and smoothed any stray frizzy hairs with a heated brush."

"The next thing I knew I was looking in the mirror through my eyeglasses at my eyelash-less eyes. Gone was any need to look “presentable.” Right away I discovered that blush and lipgloss brightened my mood but that was all the makeup I needed. As the months passed I’ve never felt the desire to even out my eyebrows, smooth my skin or conceal my spots or circles."

It’s a relief, right?

"I’ve begun getting reacquainted with my unadorned face," says Jennifer. 

The super-stylist claims we have a way of seeing ourselves that isn’t really looking, or looking at ourselves without really seeing. "I started with my nose," Jennifer explained. “Hello there,” I said, “You certainly are substantial.”

"I don’t have anything against my nose, but I tend to look above and below it at my eyes and smile, and delete any photo with an angle remotely unflattering. The same with all visible signs of aging, always making sure to use the enhancing “portrait” feature on my iPhone," she suggests.

As with many of us, daily walks have been Jennifer's happy time during SIP and in May she created some new lip glosses to match her bandana collection. Friends and clients were in need of some cheering up so she made some for them as well. Her Self-Care Lipgloss collection was created featuring Tender Pink, Soft Sienna, Sweet Lilac and Warm Apricot. Soft, luscious, hydrating, and easy to wear with little or no other makeup. In June she added Gentle Red lipstick and Rare Rubies lip gloss.

"Wearing masks that cover our faces (and sadly our lipstick) is a necessity for the foreseeable future," says Jennifer "and I haven’t found a way to feel positive about it. Maybe you have. For now, I’m just enjoying the times when I’m home or outdoors. I wear makeup when I feel Iike it, just to enjoy the familiar pleasure, not to be “presentable.”

"There is a stirring in the beauty force as clothing stores reopen and we venture out to get our pedicures and haircuts," says Jennifer, though at the time of me posting this, those services are now on hold again.

"We’ll see what’s ahead —but I think we will all come through this with a changed perspective about our appearance and the demands it makes on our time and energy," says Jennifer.

"Beauty standards are ours to choose and redefine and that’s something to feel good about."

The post Getting To Know The Unadorned Self appeared first on Jennifer's Website & blog Growing More Beautiful

 

Support Project Spilled Milk and Join the Good Folk at Bellwether Farms in Raising Funds to Help Farm Families in Northern California

 

Join the good folk at Bellwether Farms in raising funds to help farmers and families in Northern California.

Covid-19 has caused widespread disruption to agricultural businesses and family farms. Fifty % of the US food supply is consumed in restaurants and with so many restaurants closed, the impact on artisan dairy production is substantial—Bellwether Farms' food service customers have not ordered since the end of March.

Simply put, the farms' network of family sheep dairies is now producing a lot more milk than they can effectively sell. Simultaneously, the massive unemployment throughout our economy is putting unbelievable strain on our essential hunger relief organizations.

 Bellwether Farms finds itself in a unique position to help both farmers and those in need of high-quality nutrition. That’s why the farmers have starting Project Spilled Milk.

Project Spilled Milk aims to make the best out of a bad situation—that  farmers are supported and that food gets to people who need it.

All funds raised from this innovative campaign will be used to purchase sheep milk from our local farmers, which will be used to make delicious yogurt to donate to Bay Area food banks.

Bellwether pledges to dedicate one production shift each week to this effort. If the farm is successful in raising its goal of $50,000, it will be able to buy the milk, ingredients, and packaging necessary to deliver 25,000 16oz containers of yogurt to food banks in Northern California.

Click here to visit www.BellwetherFarms.com to learn more!

 

Spout The Dragon Becomes a Firefighter — Delightful New Kids' Book by Sonoma County Author David Adams

Supporting fellow local authors is important to me. Getting word out about a new book in our community seeds its journey into the outside world. Here's a fun one to add to your kids' book collection this summer. 

Spout isn’t your ordinary fire breathing dragon, he is a unique water dragon. His water ability sets him apart from the other dragons. He learns being different from his peers isn’t always easy, but being true to yourself is more important. When the forest is on fire, Spout decides to help the firefighters. He realizes that being unique can lead to extraordinary dreams.

I've added it into my books by Sonoma County authors list on

Bookshop.org Click here to order.

About the Author

David Adams is a Petaluma-based police officer in Sonoma County. He works closely with firefighters and knows how important they are to the community. He has a wife and two daughters who share his love of reading. David has always wanted to write a children’s book, and like Spout the Dragon, is overjoyed to see his dream become reality.  Congrats to David on releasing his first book. 

(2020, hardback, 34 pages)

 

 

Support Local Cheesemakers — The California Cheese Trail's Handy Guide to Curbside, Pickup and Online Delivery

 

 

 

In these trying times, small cheese makers, farmers and producers need our support more than ever. 

Here is The California Cheese Trail guide to supporting the local cheese community in California:

Curbside Pickups & Deliveries

Achadinha Cheese Co – Pickup and deliveries

Cowgirl Creamery Pt. Reyes Shop – Offering curbside pickup at their Point Reyes shop / Online shop is open

Epicurean Connection – Pickup, Delivery + Online Classes

Daily Driver SF – Offering curbside pickup and delivery

Joe Matos Cheese Co – Pickup + Online Shop

Lady & Larder – Curbside pickup, Delivery + Online Shop

Milkfarm – Curbside pickup

Nicasio Valley Cheese – Call 415.662.6205 and they will come out to meet you outside the shop / Online shop is open

Nicolau Farms – Pickup, Delivery + Online Shop

Palace Market – Open

Pennyroyal Farm – Pickup, Delivery + Online Shop

Ramini Mozzarella – Pickup at various markets, groceries and ranch

Smallgoods – Curbside pickup & delivery

Spring Hill Farmstead Cheese – Various farmer’s markets + online shop

Stuyt Dairy – Pickup + Online Shop

Another National Finalist Award for Big Green Country — National Indie Excellence Awards 2020.

Wow! How exciting to open my email and discover that my novel Big Green Country is a finalist in this year's National Indie Excellence Awards, a second honor after winning a Gold medal this Spring in the IPPYS. 

 

Thanks to all my readers who have supported me and Big Green Country. The book groups that have read it and have invited me in person prior to shelter at home and more recently via ZOOM have been terrific. I'm very appreciative. It's super hard to get word out about an independently published book at the best of times so it's great to be winning some awards and seeing that Big Green Country continues to sell online in print and ebook. 

 

Here's the press release from NIEA. It's kind of a big deal for an indie writer. Happy Dance at my desk!

 

The 14th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) recognize the Winners and Finalists from this year's robust competition of entries originating from all across the United States of America.

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A leader and veteran of publishing award contests, The National Indie Excellence® Awards are open to recent English language books in print from self and independent publishers. Judging is now completed for the 14th year of this competition and the results commend a wide range of truly exceptional titles.

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The National Indie Excellence® Awards celebrate independent publishing as a strong and vital sector of our industry. Recognizing excellence in all aspects of the final presentation, NIEA champions self-publishers and the independent presses who produce the highest quality books across a spectrum of metrics. Established in 2005, NIEA’s entrants are meticulously judged by experts from various facets of the book industry profession including publishers, writers, editors, and designers.

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Winners and Finalists are determined on the basis of superior written matter coupled with excellent presentation in every facet of the final published product. Jurors value the synergy of both content and form as they review entries spanning multiple genres. Sponsorship awards and monetary prize awards are selected from the overall group of Winners and Finalists.

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"This year’s entries continue an upward trend in high-quality publishing, even among first time or newer authors. The competition is intense. Indie Excellence® proudly celebrates the talent, dedication and love they put into the book product."

– Doug Fogelson, President National Indie Excellence® Awards

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To view the 14th Annual NIEA Winners and Finalists click here: Winners, Finalist

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https://www.indieexcellence.com/

Meet Josephine Pilkington Hill — Spotlight on Sonoma-Marin Suffrage Association Members

As Petaluma prepares for its Women's Suffrage Centennial events this late summer and fall, I'm sharing this piece I wrote for the Online Biographical Dictionary Project of Women's Suffrage Activists on Petaluma Suffragette Josephine Pilkington Hill — Sonoma-Marin W.C.T.U, Charter Member, 1879; Sonoma County Woman Suffrage Association, Precinct Officer, 1890s; Petaluma Political Equity Club, Vice President, 1903.

Josephine Pilkington was born in 1841, in Troy, New York, to James Pilkington, a British-born farmer and traveling salesman and his Irish-born wife Margaret Lennon Pilkington. Margaret's mother was a descendant of Scottish Jacobite William Wallace. In 1853, Josephine (Josie) and her pioneer family, including two brothers, Thomas and John, traveled west across the plains.

In 1862, aged twenty-one, Josie met and married pioneer William B. Hill in San Francisco, returning directly to live in Petaluma, where William had established agricultural interests. In 1866, William was elected as the first President of the Bank of Sonoma County. By this time, the couple was amongst the largest landowners in Sonoma County. Josie gave birth to four sons: Alexander B. Hill; Raymond P. Hill; William K. Hill and James V. Hill. Alexander was the only son to survive his mother post young adulthood.

Josie served as a charter member of Sonoma-Marin W.T.C.U in 1879. She was described by the Sonoma West Times and News as an earnest member in its ranks, serving elaborate luncheons in honor of visiting guest speakers and data gatherers and functions for her fellow Woman's Club members. In the summer of 1896, she attended a meeting in the Congregational Church parlors for the purpose of organizing an Equal Suffrage Club rallying for a referendum in California that same year. She was appointed precinct officer of Petaluma precinct number four, motivating members to interview voters and women in her precinct to establish how many residents supported the vote-for-women cause. She helped formulate lists for the state association to embark on missionary work and the circulation of literature.

In 1902, William, who had since established the banking house of William Hill & Son, died suddenly at home. The following year, Josie and Alexander sealed what was described in The Petaluma Argus Courier as "the most important deal in local real estate in many months" by jointly purchasing a "splendid piece of property at the corner of Keller and Washington Streets". News spread fast that a magnificent opera house would be built as a memorial to her late husband.

Also in December 1903, Josie was elected Vice President of a new organization known as the Petaluma Political Equality Club following a well-attended lecture on the Women's Suffrage Movement that continued gaining momentum after California's failed 1896 suffrage referendum. The W.C.T.U met regularly at her home, under the auspices of the suffrage department of which she remained actively involved.

In 1907 Josie became benefactress of Petaluma Woman's Club having donated one of the most valuable building lots in the city and assisting in the funding of the original clubhouse next to the Washington Street Hill Opera House.

Josie dedicated the rest of her life to seeking the vote for women and being active in "all movements that will better the conditions of the citizens". She passed away at home in 1918, after a long illness, aged seventy-six. The flag at the Woman's Club was lowered at half-mast in her memory and she was buried in the Hill Family plot at Cypress Hill Cemetery, leaving behind one son, three grandsons, Dolph, Blake and Raymond and one great-grandchild.

Sources:

OnlineBiographies.info: History of Sonoma County, California With a Biographical Review History by Tom Gregory Historic Record Company Los Angeles, California 1911

 

The Petaluma Courier: Aug 26, 1896, Nov 22, 1907

Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: Mar 1905

The Petaluma Argus Courier: Dec 4, 1903, Dec 9, 1903, Sep 14, 1907, Nov 9, 1911, Jan 10, 1918

Sonoma West Times and News: Jan 11, 1918

 

If you'd like to learn about the women who shaped the suffrage movement in Petaluma, mark your calendar for these upcoming events:

 

Save the Dates for Petaluma Historical Library & Museum's Women's Suffrage Movement Centennial Events, Aug 26th - Nov 8, 2020

So much work is taking place behind the scenes of lockdown for a remarkable series of events to commemorate the Women's Suffrage Movement Centennial from a Petaluma perspective. What an amazing team of historians we have here in town and our beloved museum as home base despite the fact the lights have largely been off these past few months. 

We must continue to learn from history in order to push for a better future for all. There will be opportunities to attend events with safety measures in place as well as online.