My friend Barbara and I went up to Cloverdale to see our friends Jacquie and her daughter Debra. They are wonderful hosts and their home is very comfortable. Barb and I ate up their chocolates rationalizing we were doing them a favor by getting it out of their way. They have a very good Pizza joint that they ordered a vegan and a meat pizza. Visiting Jacquie and Debbie just what the doctor ordered, wonderfully relaxing! Debbie gave us each a nice hanging art piece for our patios for Valentines Day. I completely forgot about Valentines Day! We love to see them and we will go back.
The weather was unseasonably warm, in the mid 70's, but dropping at night making it very nice for sleeping. We drove north to see a museum in Ukiah called The Grace Hudson Museum. This property has a plan to get volunteers by constructing senior living next door which will probably increase the volunteers from them at the museum. They had a fantastic gift shop with items made by local craftsmen. The prices were right too.
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| Grace Hudson painting |
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| Grace Hudson painting |
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| Grace Hudson painting |
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| Interesting artwork attaching a variety of objects |
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| There were several large objects adorned with shiny and other fascinating objects |
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| A necklace I bought for a friend, very inexpensive in their gift shop |
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| I bought this necklace for myself, also very inexpensive |
We stopped to eat in this casual restaurant in Ukiah called Ellie's Mutt Hut and Vegetarian Cafe. All eating styles covered here. It was tasty too! We stopped at a wine tasting room, Jaxon Keys on the way back to Cloverdale and I got a picture of Jacquie with her daughter Debbie on the steps heading up to the tasting room. I did buy one bottle, but I felt these grapes had a bitter under taste which was generally not appealing to me. Beautiful setting though and obviously it had a following with several people in the tasting room.
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| Debbie and Jacquie on the steps of the wine tasting room - Jaxon Keys |
We went to Jacquie's son Scott's and his wife Elaine's home with their dog Mongo. Scott's neighbor had let his Zinfandel grapes go and he let Scott pick the grapes for himself since the owner wasn't well enough to deal with the grapes. No one wanted the grapes because they were too sweet. Scott ended up with about 400 pounds of grapes. Though they were very sweet he made a wine his wife called "Scott's Portly" (love the name). Scott said it was slightly less sweet than port, but I think that was its appeal. A pipette was used to draw wine up and put in a glass for me. It was very good!
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| Wine Tasting at Scott's Portly |
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| Wine Tasting at Scott's Portly |
They also had gorgeous orchids on the porch. And, the tree which we had seen all over this area was in their yard -an Acacia which had such beautiful yellow flowers.
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| I saw these in Hawaii going like weeds. I've not seen them grown so casually on a porch! Lovely! |
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| This is very small maybe 3 inches at most, very delicate picked from an Acacia tree in the wine country |
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| Acacia tree at Scott's and Elaine's home |
We also went to Coppola Winery where I replenished my wine. Jacquie felt it was too commercial and doesn't want to return there. That is not a problem, since there are so many wine tasting rooms and vineyards. We drove up to Sonoma Lake which was full.
We stopped for an early dinner at Thaiway 101, a Thai restaurant in Cloverdale. Very tasty! The weather was perfect this whole trip, in the mid 70's. The word was a major storm was coming on Wednesday. That is what we need to help us in our drought. In Bakersfield it was a mild rain.
We stopped to eat on the way home and it was not good. Apricot Tree is closed. Harris Ranch is open but it is not half way for us and attached to a feedlot for cattle. Barbara is vegan which makes this a bad choice for her even if she could get a salad. The previous time we stopped for Anderson's split pea and we did not like it at all. It tasted worse than canned soup! So this was on Interstate 5. We decided that next time we head north and come south, we are taking Highway 99. There are a lot more choices there even if it adds a little more time to our trip.
I am continuing to read The Bible. I'm about halfway through. Proverbs has more to it and are the lessons from The Bible. I'm up to Ezekiel, at 57% on my Kindle.
I keep sending materials I receive from family to my friend Mike who is doing my family tree. My cousin Barrie sent me some gems. My second cousin contacted my cousin Steve for information. He responded to her, but from what she shared with me, it wasn't what she wanted. She wants to meet family that is currently Orthodox and I don't think this generation of my family who grew up here are Orthodox. I think we have blended in. Mike thinks our family is the story of immigrants in the United States. I'm so glad he likes working on this. It is like a puzzle to him! He has 238 people identified on both sides of my family. Simy said she will send me a link to understanding the Jewish religion better. She also promised me a couple of pictures but has a lot on her plate with a son marrying soon.
I was watching a recorded episode on CBS News Sunday Morning from 2/7/16. There was a part of this on the Japanese toilet with the many features it can have. My step-mom Kate and I went to Japan a couple of years ago and experienced many of these features. I was so impressed that I believe it makes out toilets antiquated. It was particularly special when traveling when it was so cold. The seat on toilets at rest stops was nice and warm! They are expensive though, with some being around $5,000. I would love it!
Video from CBS News Sunday Morning
Another short on a person who was terminally ill and mentally competent wanting a choice to end his life. This takes place in New York. There are just a few states that allow this with California going into affect. Of course there are people who think this is wrong because people also beat the odds.
Here are recent pictures of my great grand children. They are soooo cute! And, another granddaughter Alyssa, is expecting a child in September!
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| Photo with California Poppies as backdrop taken of Crystal holding her daughter Nylah, my great granddaughter. Picture taken by Crystal's mother Jennifer |
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| Billy holding his son Conner, my great grandson |
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| Billy holding his son Kason, my great grandson |
My kitties each have a bed on top of my bed. It is unusual when they share the same bed. It was not particularly cold that evening, but, I suppose they needed more comfort than usual.
Here is my most recent attempt of a horse with a head shot. I actually feel it improves with each try at drawing it!
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| The full picture I did |
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| I think I like the cropped version more. Maybe the head is too small for the body above. |
My granddaughter Heather posted this from Nicole Gabert. Heather lost her grandfather on her dad's side of the family. She was very close to him and is grieving. It certainly felt this way to me also.
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| GRIEVING |
That is it. I hope your week went well and this coming week is good too. I'll see you next Sunday. Rachel
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