The Long Hike

Yesterday, I went for a hike with the Sanchez brothers and their friend to the top of Mt. St. Helena. They were very proud of thier accomplishment as this video will attest. We packed our lunches and set off from Robert Louis Stevenson State Park on a four mile trek to the top of the mountain. The boys were enthusiastic but began to gripe after an hour that they were hungry. Sebastian Sanchez and I ran ahead of the two others and hid behind a rock as the boys began calling out for us. We then jumped out and scared them with a loud growl. This was the first stop along the way.

After a lunch of bologna sandwiches and a peanut butter power bar, we continued on to the top. A lot of rocks were hurled down the hillsides and we kept our eyes out for good hiking sticks. Eventually we were above the timber line and they could see the whole town of Calistoga for the first time. Alejandro remarked how small the cars were, as if we were viewing the town from an airplane. Two and a half hours after we started out, we finally made it to the top.

The hike back down was fun as we invented a guessing game about different categories like Action heros, songs, rocks, vegetables, etc. just to pass the time. Around 4 PM the sun was beginning to go down and we still had about an hour of daylight left before getting back to the car.

When we arrived back in Calistoga, eveyone was dog tired but happy that we had undertaken this challenge.

Serving and being served

Today is Thanksgiving and I will be attending dinner at my nephew Edward's house in Napa. I suspect that relatives and friends of Edward and Antonella will all be there. It is common for me to dread these family events, until I get myself through the door. After that, I am fine. Some years ago, I attended Thanksgiving dinner at my sister Martha's house in San Francisco. I was in charge of making the garlic mash potatoes ( I read recently that this particular culinary assignment was given to Lindsay Lohan by her family their Thanksgiving dinner... a token gesture a best). I can hear them whispering to each other in the kitchen, " Well, it would be hard for her to mess that up. Anyway, garlic mash potatoes have become my forte.´

The dish came out pretty well, actually. Martha liked them, as did my sister Ellen who was visiting from Australia. This made me feel pretty good because I had been experimenting with dill pickle juice as a way of bumping up the flavor. All in all, I was proud of my meager accomplishment. Preparing and hosting an ENTIRE EVENT is quite another matter. I have only hosted one of these types of gatherings as an adult.

While working at Indian Springs Spa, I was able to secure a few cottages at a special rate. Family members from the Midwest and points north arrived to enjoy the weekend in Calistoga. I had to work and at the same time was trying to organize a picnic at one of the local wineries .Hosting a family gathering and enjoying what you have organized is not the same thing. Needless to say, one of my nephews ended up getting lost and the picnic had to be moved to another location because the reservation for the space was going to be scrapped if not everyone arrived on time. It all worked out however, and we had ended up having the picnic at a local park.

This reorganization happened because my sister Martha took charge and updated the plans. This is typical. I'm not saying that I won't ever host a family event like this again... but the likelihood is pretty strong that I won't. Thankfully, my family members have learned to be flexible. Besides, there are others who do a much better job of pulling it off.

More from W.O.F.

Here is another short video from the Conference.

Worlds of Flavor Conference.

This video was shot as I perused the building during my break. It looks like a lot of activity was going on in the Ventura Center so I just focused the camera on what I thought looked interesting.John from Illy coffee was preparing an espresso for me as of everyone was buzzing with excitement over what Chef Bobby Chinn would be preparing and what trends from his French/Vietnamese palate would ensue.A lot of creative energy in the building was pushing things forward.Admittedly, I am not much of a videographer. All I know is to move the camera slowly and try not to be too jerky. The results are spontaneous and unplanned and it looks like it. I should prepare more ( like remembering to compress the videos before I upload them ).Another video will follow, so stay tuned !

Worlds of Flavor 09'

Today is the final day of our annual three day "Worlds of Flavor Conference." This week, this month, and past year just flew by. Like last year, we invited some really amazing chefs as presenters. One fellow I knew very little about was Bobby Chinn, who's Vietnamese/French Cuisine background provided the WOW factor that was second to none. We had iron Chefs' Marimoto (who, by the way will be opening a restaurant in Napa ) Cat Cora, Seamus Mullen and Tex-Mex impresario, Rick Bayless. Moroccan Chef Mourad Lahlou and Violet Oon were up there presenting their latest creations.The theme was "Street Food and World Comfort Food" of Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean. Last night, the marketplace on the second level of the building was filled with people enjoying everything from Squid, Pork rolls, Baklava, Peanut Satay, Lobster tail, Sliced Avocados with anchovies on a crostini, and the list goes on. I couldn't sleep much last night after trying to digest all that strange and glorious food. Now, you may ask, does a smiling seal have anything to do with this blog post?

Chef Andrew's latest venture

I have created this logo following the directions given by Chef Andrew Wild and his supportive wife, Brenda. This image, I hope will bring much success to his catering business and his brand. Now that he is a proud poppa with a brand new son, I am certain that it is all systems go at this point. Perhaps one day, young Porter will be another talented chef in his own right... one never knows! Anyway, If you like this logo I am certain that you will enjoy the whole package that Andrew brings to the Culinary business.I wish him much success and prosperity.

My Blue-Haired Grandniece

Here I thought that it was only old ladys who had blue hair.This is Cooper,who is my niece Marian's child. (who coincidentally looks a lot like her mother did when she was her age).She posted this pic on Facebook, and now little Cooper is a star on the internet.

This Halloween was uneventful for me. I drove home from work at 6 PM only to find throngs of kids roaming the main drag in Calistoga after the costume parade. The thing I found so perplexing was why the kids were then loaded onto these large buses to be transported three blocks to the fairgrounds !! I can understand the idea of having a safe Halloween party in one location, but these "helicopter" parents and the school board need to cut the kids some slack.I mean, it used to be that Halloween was the one night that kids get to assert a little independence and throw a water balloon or two. Hey, what six-grader doesn't want to "TP" old man Baxter's house just for giggles? I can just see the mothers after the kids get home from their neighborhood rounds,rifling through their goodies to make sure no one tossed a tampered candy bar in their bag.It was kind of sad for me because I only had the next door neighbor kid drop by, and the lucky bastard got all the whole bowl of goodies !

Thinking outside the box

I have heard it said "That it is not what you don't know than can hurt you... It's what you DO know that just isn't so ! " More often than not, I have been forced to eat a piece of humble pie when I take the initiative to venture off in areas where I think I have confidence and skill. Lately, I must say that I pride myself on the quick and efficient way I can break down cardboard boxes. I think that If I were pitted against someone as to who would be the fastest to break down ten, average-sized cardboard boxes into a flat pile, I would win. This month I had to correct someone who was a teacher as to how I would like these empty boxes passed on to me, so that I could break them down correctly. This teacher brings students who want to gain community service hours in order to graduate from high school to a Food Distribution site every third Tuesday of the month. It is here that I confronted the teacher when he took his box cutter out, to slice upon boxes of canned fruit for the students to place inside pre-arranged paper sacks to be distributed.

It was just playing out all wrong. After slicing open the boxes, he would hand me the part that he cut out on the top, and then the empty boxes were handed to me to be broken down by the students after all the canned fruit was placed in the bags.This little gesture forced all the boxes to come apart in several separate pieces that did not stack well. After I told him how to open the boxes correctly without a box cutter, he just ignored me. He explained that it was an easier way for the students to get the cans out of the boxes. A long shot of an explanation if I had ever heard one. I demonstrated that all he had to do was pull the flaps on the end open, pull one can out, and the rest would come out easily. Again I was ignored and he just continued to open the boxes the way he wanted them open. This encounter could have easily escalated into a shouting match, but I bailed before it got too heated. To me, this was recovery. I am letting go of situations where I would normally have fought to the finish for the short lived satisfaction of being right and making someone else wrong. At times, it may seem worth it. These times have been growing shorter and shorter as I gain more maturity.

Wet and Muggy

This week has been an example of controlled chaos.The suprise storms have taken down two trees out front. Water has seeped into the building and has destroyed some of the merchandise at the Spice Island Marketplace, and yet the store will be moving thier new rolling gondola racks into the new retail space starting next week.

The campus store will be moving shortly, but not until the floors,doors,electrical,plumbing,ventilation and other preliminary procedures are complete. The air is humid and full of cement dust. The lady from our maintenance facility is running around dusting all the diplay cabinets and furniture.Most of the major work is done and yet the noise and dust is continual.Our weekends have still been very busy with wedding events, cooking classes and demos. This trend should continue right on through until the end of the Worlds of Flavor Conference.

We have learned through an email attachment that the president of the Culinary Institute is regretful that we won't be having our annual Holiday Party because of financial constrictions. We still are hosting a number of guests daily, and have visitors constantly.The picture above are a couple of my pals from the Campus Store. Maricella and Stephanie are very positive people who along with the other "Spice Girls" add charm and vitality to our retail space. The other people here are also a lot of fun to interact with on a daily basis. This is my extended family.

Reinventing oneself

Back in my youth, my challenge was to do my best at being honest, especially with my mom because she did not tolerate fibbing or outright lying. To me, that meant to not put up with anyone's Bullsh*t, unless you were doing it in jest, and it was obvious to the other person. My mom could sound so phony on the telephone when talking to nuns, though. She had this high pitched apologetic tone that sounded to me like she was grovelling. My sister and I would tease her about this, and she did not like it. I think she had a thing about nuns being "holier than thou" which was manifested when they would call and talk to her about us kids and our school work. I also think that she was well aware that we were not perfect little angels. The reason I bring this up is because as an adult I tend to fib more, and try my best not to tell an out-and-out lie when asked a direct question. Nowadays, everyone can be so political... doing their best to skirt issues that are best kept private. Now, if we are as "sick as our secrets" as the saying goes, then we undoubtedly have a lot of healing to do. Perhaps this is how one gains that priceless gift of humility.

Fall in the air

Already the wind is picking up and the leaves are all turning brown as they fly from the trees. The days are golden and rust colored and the hills absorb deep shadows as the season eases on into October. Tonight is a full harvest moon and the weather is cooler... a lot cooler. Business at the CIA is as brisk as the weather,and will continue to be right on through until just after the Worlds of Flavor Conference the first week in November.
Tonight I attended a going away party for a fine young man named Israel Ramirez, who is joining the Marines. He is doing this mainly for his education and the benefits. One can only wish him well, as
this country is still looking for Bin Laden, and the situations in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan continues to escalate. I know Israel is a serious young man, and this is a big step in his desire for a future. I gave him a bottle of good red wine that he can drink when he returns from active duty. His family I have known for over 15 years since I have lived in Calistoga. They are truly wonderful people and I wish them all well. I hope and pray that Israel comes home safely, and that God will protect him.

Prickly Pears

It's Wednesday, and after taking a nice hike around a part of Lake Hennessy I hadn't seen before was a new adventure. My friend Don and I walked about 2 miles out and 2 miles back and found a few delectable items along the way. He even brought some plastic bags to gather some Fennel seeds that were growing wild along the path. We spotted a few red tail hawks, some egrets, some deer and also a pelican. The sun beat down pretty hard and my arms were exposed. Don let me wear a long sleeve shirt because I had forgotten to bring one of my own. The day before, I had been to the dermatologist to have some pre-cancerous spots frozen with liquid nitrogen, so I needed to protect my arms. Towards the end of the hike, Don spotted some "Prickly Pears" and proceeded to cut one from a bush. I warned him not to do it because of the nettles, but he extracted one and handed it to me. Yikes !! The nettles got into my fingers and they are impossible to see with the naked eye. Nothing will get them out except time and patience.Don was as annoyed by the whole experience as I was; and yet it wasn't serious enough to put a damper on the beauty that surrounded us. I have already made plans to visit Lake Hennessy again next Tuesday with a new friend, Rebecca. Don't worry, I am going to avoid those cactus pears.

A Wild Child

This post is a special tribute to Chef Andrew and his wife Brenda on the occasion of the birth of their new baby boy, Porter Andrew Wild. So far, their is not much I know about him, but I know he arrived Monday at 3:30. Now I would not be suprised if this youngster follows in his father's footsteps. Both Andrew and Brenda have a strong background in both Wine and Food, and as the old saying goes, "Apples don't fall far from the tree." I would not be surprised if this youngster gets a full-on culinary education before he reaches third grade. Now about two weeks ago, I was invited to Andy and Brenda's house on Lake Street for a party. I was really impressed with how beautiful their home is. The kitchen had all modern, state-of-the-art equipment. The living and dining room are exquisitely decorated, and the outside patio and back yard are perfect for entertaining. During the party, Brenda showed us where the baby was going to stay. She had this room "tricked-out" from top to bottom. A beautiful mural painted by my co-worker Martha Leach depicted rabbits, birds, bugs, butterflies and trees that worked perfectly. Even their dog, "Bear" lent a yellow-painted paw print to the floor of the room in anticipation of the new arrival. I know that Brenda and Andrew will make great parents and a wonderful home for little Porter, as he gets to know this new and enchanting world.

Tech not Touch

The Beatles had it right... " Ah look at all the lonely people, where do they all come from?" and " Where do they all belong?" I was sitting at a table at the Napa Valley Coffee Roastery today, and everyone was pecking away at their keyboards fixated on their monitors, sipping thier fresh Latte's parked precariously next to their laptops. No one was talking with one another. An elderly lady came and sat down at the table next to me and remarked to her friend that people aren't making any effort to chat with one another in a casual fashion any more. I overheard this, and pulled the earbuds out of my ears and turned off my IPhone. I was embarrassed to be a part of this all too obvious picture of uban life in 2009.

From the corner of the room a young college age woman was answering her cell phone... " Hello ? Hello? " Yes, wait... I've got it here." She furiously scrambled to fish a flash drive out of her purse to plug into her laptop. " Yes, the file is in .pdf format, so I can read it on my Mac." Isn't it great to be so efficient and tech-saavy I thought.
All of this zippy equipment that is supposedly going simplify our lives; And all it seems to be doing is impressing little old ladies who seem oddly out of place and hopelessly out of the loop. No one even looks up from their screen to acknowledge anyone else at the nearby tables. It reminded me of the indifference exhibited in that scene from the movie "The Time Machine" where all these beautiful people were sitting around picnicking as someone falls into a river and drowns. No one even bothers to notice. We all may as well have been in separate cubicles. Occasional spurts of intense concentration was the order of the day.

Non-verbal, and mostly unconscious signals like these only serve to isolate ourselves from others. I am certain that this is how it looked from this elderly woman's point of view. Many mobile devices these days are such a bloody façade. A blue-tooth device that sticks in your oh-so-self-important ear seems to say, "Excuse me," I am in the middle of a conversation that is more important than anything you have to tell me. So,even if what you have to tell me is that my car is getting ticketed outside... buzz off !

These laptops, cell phones, Ipods and blackberries are creating barriers between us. If this scenario actually happened, I imagine it would be a wonderful lesson to those that were observed by that woman and her friend. People are missing the opportunity to make themselves available for friendly conversations with other human beings. Hmmm... perhaps this is because we are all just too busy getting ahead.

Friday on my mind

Today, I am hoping to hear from the Peanut Board. I have 2,425 Buddy McNutty hats sitting in the living room of my one bedroom apartment waiting to be shipped. Do they go 2nd Day or 3rd day ground. Decisions, decisions... as I wait patiently. Holding myself in quiet anticipation for the big push. I have been busy since last April putting together what was flippingly assumed could be turned around in a week's time ( yea, right ) Anyway, no more small token orders of less than a hundred hats sent off for a summer camp via Fed Ex overnight. This is the big one.Besides, a lot of TLC went into preparing this order. Aside from it being my first ( an admittedly a test run ). It will not be my last... but most likely not as large the next time. Each of these hats had to be fed through my fourth ( yep fourth ) Epson printer. Twenty- four ink cartridges, and around 40 crumpled and rejected hats later , I have reached the magic number of 2,425. Hopefully, I will hear from my client in the morning via phone or email. But for now... I will rest.

Losing Important people

This week has been a great shock in terms of two leaders that we have lost. The first one was Senator Edward Kennedy; Despite the cloud of controversy that hung over his political and personal life with regard to the incident at Chappaquiddick, He still championed the causes initiated by both his brothers, John and Robert. His life served as a testimony to valiant liberal causes. He was a very effective politician and spokesperson for liberal ideals like human rights and civil liberties. He, along with the other Kennedy brothers have left an unerring legacy in this country. The other leader that will be sorely missed is Deacon Bob Little of the St. Helena Catholic Church. He was killed in a motorcycle accident over in Sonoma county, not far from his home.This man was a great orator and inspirational person. He also was a great guide to people who weren't always forthcoming with their religious beliefs. He will be missed in the community, especially by Father Brinkle, who is getting older and was very dependent on Bob to assist him with a lot of the parish duties. We shall see very quickly how much the legacy of these to men will be carried out in the days to come.

A New Semester

Today a whole new crop of students checked into Vineyard lodge. And... a whole bunch more were moved off campus to Pacific Union College to stay in those dormitories temporarly, because Vineyard Lodge 2 has not been completed. Sure it is Leed (i.e. Green, sustainable ) Certified, but these students preferred making just one move in this semester. Thankfully, it is a good group and they all look eager and willing to do whatever it takes to have their experience at Greystone be one of the most valuable of their lives.Besides in a week or two they will be able to transition into the brand new dorm only a mile away from campus. A car pool was set up so even our shuttle system won't be taxed too heavily. The image above is called "Starborn" to signify the talent that comes from adverse conditions. It is my hope that there will be whole group of students that will shine as the new classes get underway.

Sunny Sunday

The drawing above is of a dagger that I reinterpreted from some clip art that I saw today. I am switching around to drawing objects for awhile, just to see how well I can embellish them. It is enjoyable to add a lot of "filigree" surrounding the outside of the object itself. The image was modified quite a bit in Photoshop as any seasoned user might be able to tell.Today I went to mass at O.L.P.H. which I haven't been to in awhile since they consolidated the 8am and 10am masses. I have been going to mass in St. Helena since that time, and I actually prefer St. Helena for Sunday services. The Calistoga church needs a more articulate orator to better serve the English speaking parishoners. Fr. Manuel means well, but cannot be heard past the first or second row of pews. Even with the microphone on, he does not get is message across.It was nice however, to connect with old friends from the men's club, even though I haven't attended meetings after stepping down as president. Also, the church needs the new energy efficient lightbulbs and to have ones that are burnt out, replaced. Okay, enough of my griping.

Keeping up the drawing

Stardate: Friday, August 14th, 2009. Today I stayed at home most of the day. I drew the picture you see above. I got the image from an old book which had a poster that i wanted to re-create in my own style. I enjoy the "tooth" of the Canson paper that I used to color this picture. The prismacolor pencils are one of my favorite mediums for coloring and drawing. The paper destroys fine lines and makes everything more uniform whether you like it or not.I am still exploring doing landscapes. I am not drawing from life lately, even though I will sometimes do that just for practise. Even when I am drawing from life, I am also drawing from my interpretation. This style is more illustrative and something I am not sure I will stick with... we shall see.

In too deep

Today I went to purchase a DVI to VGA adapter plug to enable my monitor to be used on my new Mac Mini. Now I find out that I need a USB 2 Firewire cable to transport all my files and folders from the old Mac to the new computer. You would think one of the Apple Genius'at the Apple Store would have thought of asking me if I needed any of this stuff before I travelled forty miles over the hill to downtown Santa Rosa from Calistoga, three times! This whole digital world has gotten out of control. I have been a Mac user since 1998 and have owned a Powercomputer,Powercenter 132 (a Mac Clone),a Performa, An Emac, a Titanium Powerbook, a MacBook, a Power PC Mac Mini and now an Intel Mac Mini with a whole assortment of Epson Printers, Scanners, External hard- drives,Flash drives, Digital cameras, Video cams, Speakers, Mics, DVD/CD burners, FIVE IPods a Cell Phone and now an IPhone. I have had accounts with ATT,COVAD,METRONET,AOL,EARTHLINK and now COMCAST. I have purchased heaps of software from all the big companies and I am not really happy being chained to all this crapola. I know a woman who doesn't own a digital thermometer and doesn't really want to go this route ...who can blame her?

Have you been to the local coffee shop lately? It should be sectioned off into cubicles there are so many laptops, blackberries, cell phones and Iphones. It is sad how these things have dramatically affected our lives... and unfortunately people like my friend is getting steam rolled. Where have all the public phones gone? The fine art of letter writing? Penmanship...ahem! Too bad for her though, for not jumping on board with Online Banking, Blogging, Facebook and Twitter, and me for being unable to shun all this supposed wonderful digital "inovation". I want to walk away from all this crap but I can't now... I am in too deep and it has destroyed my ability to have sustainable relationships with family and friends because I am interacting with MACHINES and not people. This society is just becoming a swarm of technological servo-mechanics. Our minds have been molded to offer endless opinions and observations about pretty much anything and everything. This practise alone has trained us also to become editors in our own right, who would'nt dare utter a word of discouragement lest we be read, and brought to task by landlords, employers, ministers, family doctors, therapists and love interests and co-workers! Thanks a load for this grandiose Internet Tower of Babel and this digital groupthink monstrosity called "Social Networking", (damn you, Facebook, Twitter and every digital camera anyone has ever used to post images to the Net !)But hey, isn't this a nice little logo I designed in Adobe Illustrator, for the Bakery dream of one of our CIA Baking and Pastry graduates? I just HAD to post it to my blog, dontchaknow? ;-}