A Night in Napa

Song - Freddie Freeloader by Miles Davis


Thursday evening Mr. B and I mixed it up a little....... 

You know how you get in those ruts where you come home from work - well, Mr. B comes home from work, I am already home from work because that's where I paint. 
 

He does a crossword puzzle to decompress and I walk around the garden to see what has happened since my morning walk.

We sometimes have a glass of wine, talk about our day, prepare dinner and watch some TV. 
 

Pretty routine.

But Thursday night a group that I paint and show with - Bay Area Studio Artists - had an opportunity to attend an event up in Napa at Chimney Rock Winery.  We have been talking with the manager about doing an event there ourselves and he invited us on up to have a look.

The current artist showing there is fairly famous - Clifford Bailey.  He does a lot of musicians, waiters, chef's and diva's.  Mostly with a flavor of the 1920's

.

Clifford was there doing a painting demo while yummy appetizers (duck salad, wild boar in polenta, cheese stuffed eggplant, etc.) and great wine were passed around. 

 Mr. B treated me to a little painting entitled "Travis" but he just doesn't look like a Travis to me so I have renamed him "Clive"! 

As we were leaving I noticed how beautiful the vineyards and mountains were in the evening light.

The grapevines are just starting to send out shoots.

Afterward, we headed over to a friend's restaurant in downtown Napa - Oenotri for dinner and it just topped our evening!

It felt like we had taken a mini-vacation.

Now why don't we do it more often????

"Respond to every call that excites your spirit." --Rumi

A Little Garden in the Woods

Song - Ain't No Sunshine by Aaron Neville

On Sunday Mr. B had his baseball draft at our home.

This is his presentation of the condiments.

This is his Wild Venison Chili (served with Wild Boar Sausages) Mmmm....

This is Mr. B calmly studying his baseball stats before the crowd arrives

 because his party was kept simple.

This is my presentation.

Silver, 

linen tablecloth, 

bouquets, 

candles, 

handwritten place cards, 

games for the kids

and

clean bathrooms!

This is my "keep it simple" meal.

(This is just the ice water and the dessert....I am always too busy to snap a shot of the meal!)

You won't find a photo of me calmly doing anything prior to a party 

because it never turns out simple!  

I wonder why? 

But afterwards I'll be in a horizontal position on the couch with a glass of wine!

So on Sunday I left the men-folk to their important business of drafting a fantasy baseball team, while I headed down to the Santa Cruz cabin to do a little gardening. Mika came along as my assistant.

 

I replanted the large ferns next to the cabin where we had transplanted them about 6 months ago to do some work on the cabin.

Mom's Five-Finger Ferns are doing beautifully.

I put in three new Mother Ferns and transplanted several Spider Plants in between. 

 

Then I planted Foam Flowers (which love the shade) along with some Begonias 

in front of the living room window. 

 I planted 3 six-packs of Mckana Giant Columbines along a semi-sunny side of the cabin. They grow those beautiful long-spurred blooms and will reseed for next year. 


 

Wax Leaf Begonia which can grow in sun or shade.

Mika and I had a wonderful day in Santa Cruz and Mr. B's party was a big success.

Now it has stormed for the last two days.  I hope my little flowers don't get washed away.....

"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open." -- John Barrymore