A "Piper" Kinda Night

Song - The Pied Piper by Crispian St. Peters


Friday night I got to check off one more item on my 100 Things To Do Before I Die list!  Mr. B took me to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco to see Maxfield Parish's 1909 Mural of the "The Pied Piper of Hamelin".

So we had planned this trip several years ago but suddenly the hotel's management decided to auction off the painting and it was taken down off the wall at The Pied Piper Bar & Grill.  After the ownership was deluged with protests, they decided to refurbish the painting and in August of 2013 it was reinstalled!

The beautiful floral arrangement at the hotel's lobby

The stunning garden court

The entrance to the bar with a small bit of the painting showing

SIGH......

"The tale of The Pied Piper dates back to 1284 in the rat-infested town of Hamelin, Germany. The piper was hired by the townsfolk to lure the rats away to the river where they drowned. Upon his return, the townsfolk refused to pay him. Seeking revenge, the man played his pipe again, luring the children from the town, never to be seen again.

Dark stuff.

Enjoy your Manhattan." - From SF Weekley - By Rhys Alvarado

 So after a very yummy cocktail and appetizer we took a cab over to a Basque restaurant where we were meeting some of Mr. B's business friends.  The restaurant happened to be named "Piperade" and therefore the title of my blog - two pipers in one day!

Mr. B and Chef Gerald Hirigoyen

The chef came out mid-meal to see how we were enjoying our dinners.  Mr. B and he got to talking and found out we have Basque friends in common.  Small world and great food!!!


" San Francisco has only one drawback - 'tis hard to leave."
- Rudyard Kipling

The Mountains are Calling

Mr. B and I just returned from a few days in Yosemite.  We were participating in the Chef's week up there and by participating I mean - eating, watching demos, eating, dining, eating and taking in the quiet Winter beauty!

No snow, no rain, the Merced River looks like a trickling creek. But still, the cold beauty takes my breath away!

Yosemite Falls had some water and even some ice formed where the mist rises and freezes.  Can you see the white thingy in the center of the photo?

That's ice!

And on our morning drive around the Park we spotted this fellow.  I guess he thought he was a pedestrian!

He got tired of posing for photo's and decided to lay down for his close-up shot!

Everything was so quiet and serene.

Except for Mr. Raven who was noisy from dawn to dusk!

Came upon another Coyote who was listening at a mouse hole.  He was so patient and would cock his head from side to side while listening to activity inside the hole.

I was waiting for him to do a face plant!

We enjoyed learning about cheeses and how to taste them properly from Peggy & Sue founders of The Cowgirl Creamery!  Mmmmm......yum! They were both so funny!


 I told Mr. B that it was like spending the day in France where you get a plate of cheese any time of day!

Peggy

Sue

 

 

On the final day, Chef David Bazirgan from The Dirty Habit in SF showed us how to make scallops and soup.  I wouldn't mind him cooking my meals anytime!!!

While waiting for the evening's sun to set, I took a photo of Half Dome's reflection in the Merced River.

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike." --John Muir

Onward

On my painting blog/website is the final collage of my 28 paintings from the last 30 days.  I thought I would share it here as well.  The challenge was from Leslie Saeta - 30 Paintings in 30 Days.  We began with over 1400 artists and about 250 finished the challenge!

I missed two days because Mr. B and I took a little trip to Yosemite for a few days.  But today I painted one of the two missing and tomorrow I will paint the last one!

If you would like to see each painting close up, just go to my painting site - jeanettebaird.com

On some of the posts, I showed the process of painting these little gems!

My Fresh Air Mom!

Song - Mambo Italiano by Dean Martin

So I have this wonderful Italian mom who still likes to be involved in the lives of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, a long lost cousin, her neighbors, her neighbors dogs or cats.....you get the picture. She likes to keep track of the pulse of the world!

She is especially happy if she has a baby or two or three on her lap.  Or one she can rock to sleep!

Mom has been concerned that I haven't gotten any fresh air or sunshine because I paint too much.  So even though my easel is 18" from a double French door that is kept open all day into my garden, it still isn't up to moms ideas of fresh air.

The other day my son's were home and the youngest said he was going to head back home because he was tired and needed a nap.  Mom said "Why don't you go jogging?"  Huh? 

OK.  Well meaning, very loving and caring.  But things should be done her way.....right? Must be the Italian in her, or maybe it's all moms?

So Mom - this is for you!  I took a walk the other day and brought my camera so I could document what was happening in the garden in January!

The Narcissus are blooming

The Lemons are happy with all of our winter sunshine

My Sweet Pea's are climbing - with a little help from me!

The Rosemary is blooming and fragrant

Moss is growing around the pool deck

My Rodde's are ready to sprout

Primroses are happily smiling everywhere - except my front walk where the dear have eaten them ;-(

The Veronica plants are blooming in the late day sun

My Camellia bushes are full

Even my lawn is full of weeds and dandelions

As I turn the corner into the side yard, I get a full scent of my huge Daphne bush

Little Grape Hyacinth's are multiplying everywhere

Spring Snowflake - a sure sign of Spring coming!

Star Magnolia

And finally my flowering Quince!

Hope you enjoyed this walk around my garden - Mom and friends!

And that fresh air did feel good!!!  I guess mom's sometimes know what they are talking about!

See.  Even as a little girl mom was happiest with a baby on her hip!

What's on My Easel?

30 Paintings in 30 Days - After Edward Hopper


So last night was our Bay Area Studio Artists reception at Chimney Rock Winery.  We had a great turnout and the winery poured some fabulous wine as well as having some great appetizers!

Unfortunately,  I was so busy greeting guests that I forgot to take some photos of the even!

Here are a few.....

It was a beautiful evening and we were able to enjoy the courtyard where Sue and Marcy presented several large pieces of work.  And inside we were able to set several smaller pieces around the tasting room!  So if you were not able to make it to the reception, the show will be up until the end of April!

Also, they will be having another reception for us in mid-April as well!

Before the doors opened Mr. B and I strolled around the beautiful grounds. This is their barrel tasting room.

And here is the inside of the barrel room - I just wish I had an option to do "scratch & sniff" on my blog because the scent in this room was heavenly!

 Looking out of the barrel room, along the trough fountain and courtyard and back to the wine tasting room.

Inside they were pouring their white wines and outside were their lovely reds.

After our reception we drove to downtown Napa for dinner at Oenotri and to our hotel across the street.

Oenotri is an amazing Italian restaurant run by a good friend Tyler Rodde.  We had a crab appetizer, and platter of house cured salumi (they were so good we ate them before I remembered to take a photo)!


For our salads, Mr. B ordered the Chioggia Beets with Avacado & Meyer lemon, Mascarpone and Arugula. 

I had the Red Oak Lettuce with Mandarin, Grapefruit and Meyer lemon, walnuts and Watermelon Radishes. Yummmm.......

Next we were treated to a Fegato pizza cooked in a pizza oven brought over from Italy.  On top of the pizza was cream, parmigiano-regianno, balsamico, shaved Foi Gras torchon and chives.  The California ban on foi gras had just been lifted 2 days ago!

This pizza had a light delicious crust and the topping was like eating something from another world - rich, heavenly, rich, delicious, rich, incredible, better than butter rich! 

Then our main courses came.  Mr. B ordered swordfish with fried potatoes, clams, mussels, garlic, onions and parsley and I had a comfort food pasta dish, bucatini alla carbonara, farm egg, pancetta, red onion and parmigiano!  Yum all over again.........

And in case that wasn't quite enough, we finished the night off with a Mandarin sorbetto - Prosecco Zabaglione and vanilla meringues.

We then limped our tired selves over to our hotel across the street!

Meanwhile back at home our little darlin' stayed with my parents.  She charmed them so much that my mom took several photos of her getting comfy on the couch!

I think she is pretty comfortable at their home, don't you?

Sweet dreams.....