Wait for what? Our flight out to bad ol' CDG in Paris. We read, putter around stuffing more stuff into the 4 borderline-too-heavy bags (50lb limit each) and the carry-ons. What DO we bring with us to France after all this time you MUST be wondering, if you are NOT wondering that then you don't know something...we have been doing this exact thing since we bought the cottage in Lignieres in January of 2002. Yes, it's been 7 long and fruitful years. Each time we went and that included the first few when we went 3 months at a time we took "stuff" with us, lots of stuff.
Stuff:
Books, a rare hardback but lots of books for our reading habits.
Jeans, working about the house and yard creates a need for utility clothing.
Kitchen equipment we cannot do without.
Computer parts
Electrical transformers, don't ask.
Certain spices for faking Mexican cuisine
Underwear, French do not have XXL anything!
Misc. clothing for weather conditions we may never experience.
Other clothing
That's the stuff. There are lots of other things that we'll find crammed into the bags that I didn't even know we wanted or needed, medicines for example. Tums for the tummy, 2 bottles of 500 tabs each. It's an array alright. It's ready to go. So are the cats.
___
On a dark note, you know we had 4 policemen killed in Oakland, CA last weekend. A parolee decided he didn't want to go back to prison so easily so shot the two cops that stopped him, stood over them and finished the job with bullets to the head in each. Then he holed up in his sister's abode armed with an AK-47 waiting for the next police action near him and he shot two dead through the door. Yes, he too was killed. Awful reading every day in the SF Chronicle. The "community" he came from was that of poor blacks, a rotten neighborhood of druggies, gangs and hostility of all sorts. No place I'd even want to find myself in the daylight even. A pocket of doom in the middle of Oakland's city limits. Thinking about this brought to mind those days of yore when policemen actually WALKED the precincts and were friendly faces to chat with over coffee now and then. Now, they are helmeted SWAT Teams that break into buildings and seek out societies problem citizenry with military precision. Have we gained anything? I think not.
They needed more than helmets and handguns and chest protectors to do battle with this guy.
They needed NEGOTIATION, they needed COMMUNICATION, they needed CALM, they needed SITUATIONAL ASSESSMENT. They needed a whole litany of training (and NOT ON-THE-JOB in a sudden spray of 9mm gunfire!) before they tackled this very angry and very excited parolee. Where, oh where, does the police deparment hide it's training manual and it's humanity? Yes, I'm what you would call a bleeding-heart LIBERAL on most matters but this mess speaks of a great lack of foresight, training and leadership. Who told these police officers to rush in in their SWAT uniforms and 9mm pistols to take on this man and his AK-47? Who? Will the perp please stand up? I don't see anyone standing Mr. Mayor of Oakland, do you? I see families crying, friends sighing, newspapers being read, TV shows explaining but I don't see anyone saying "I told those men to go in", do you? No, I don't think you saw that either. Where IS the leadership to explain all these bodies and the mistakes they made that led up to this, including the ones made by the parole board that turned this hopeless man loose on an unsuspecting society.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunny, Sunny Sunday in Napa County
Well with a week and one day to go before we fly to good ol' CDG in Paris we decided to take in the sights and flavors of Napa Valley. The drive thru Jamison Canyon, Highway 12 was easy and the intense green of a wet spring has colored every hill and dale with an emerald sheen. The yellow of mustard flowers blended with purple wildflowers by the acre. Amazing scene, a sight in California that is repeated over and over mile after mile everywhere you go this time of year. Makes me glad to have a home here and know how very fortunate we are t live here even if it is part time. In a blind-minded moment I forgot my little camera but with three of us it would have been an intrusion to stop the car for me to grab, yet again another shot of this tranquil and spectacular countryside. We stopped at the new Oxbow Market built near the river amidst Francis Ford Copola's buildings of COPIA, The American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts that recently suspended operations. Too bad, a great idea and with, I thought, a monied backer who would support COPIA for a long time to come. I apparently was wrong. Anyway the market is running, if not full speed ahead at least nearly fully rented and well attended. Prices were, as expected and as we've seen before, NOT competitive with any other market anywhere,
high and higher. People stood with their hands in their pockets but little money or goods were exchanging. We ate at the wonderful Argentinian dining spot named Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, just superb! The Cachapas, a 100% sweet corn pancake, folded and filled with pulled pork was truely fabulous! We divided one by three to maintain a low financial profile which is the way of life in the US of A these dark days. A small salad with Papaya vinegarette was crunchy, sweet and lovely. Three smallish corn flour papusas each filled with either black beans, cheese or chicken, they were each delicious with a crusty exterior and a soft, flavorful interior. Amazing!
What a find!
___
Then off to St. Helena further up the highway amid the acres upon acres of grape vines grown so carefully and tended beyond the possible under my care (that's for sure!). Money, money, money surrounds this entire region, huge wine cooperatives, French corporations, E & J Gallo, so many wineries belong to one or the other of these, all sold out for hard cash when the game was rich. Now...the wine glut is well known but the prices are still high, what are they thinking? On the way into The Valley (as it is known) there are HUGE, Refinery sized storage tanks on the hill above the highway...thousands upon thousands of Napa's finest lies therein...aging in-bulk as the glut continues. With the world financial situation the way it is it might be time to drain the swamp and start over. Sure.
St. Helena itself was good fun, the downtown area is all small shops, antiques, homewares, women's clothing stores, hardware and cooking supplies. An interesting walk, I did buy ONE thing, a fish spatula, very flexible under Mario Batalli's label...for pulling resistant bread for my cast iron dutch oven. I needed it Saturday night! The bread was stuck like I'd glued it and I had a terrible time getting it loose...and yes, I had buttered the pot and sprinkled corn meal on the bottom as well, still I had problems.
We returned to the car largely empty handed except for my spatula and Audrey's kitchen towels and wanderred off to a snack at a nearby drive-in "Taylor's" where the line to the window was 30 customers deep! Just good ol' American snack food, french fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, rootbeer floats and malts and shakes. The place is popular among locals and visitors alike.
We ordered mini-corn dogs with fries, a vanilla coke (fountain made) for Kelly, a rootbeer float for Aud and I had a Coke float. Terrific way to end the day! We drove back along the highway and turned left to cross the valley a short ways to the road known as Silverado Trail. We drove it along to the signs to Lake Berryessa and our home port of Fairfield/Suisun about a 1/2 hour away along the winding, forested road.
high and higher. People stood with their hands in their pockets but little money or goods were exchanging. We ate at the wonderful Argentinian dining spot named Pica Pica Maize Kitchen, just superb! The Cachapas, a 100% sweet corn pancake, folded and filled with pulled pork was truely fabulous! We divided one by three to maintain a low financial profile which is the way of life in the US of A these dark days. A small salad with Papaya vinegarette was crunchy, sweet and lovely. Three smallish corn flour papusas each filled with either black beans, cheese or chicken, they were each delicious with a crusty exterior and a soft, flavorful interior. Amazing!
What a find!
___
Then off to St. Helena further up the highway amid the acres upon acres of grape vines grown so carefully and tended beyond the possible under my care (that's for sure!). Money, money, money surrounds this entire region, huge wine cooperatives, French corporations, E & J Gallo, so many wineries belong to one or the other of these, all sold out for hard cash when the game was rich. Now...the wine glut is well known but the prices are still high, what are they thinking? On the way into The Valley (as it is known) there are HUGE, Refinery sized storage tanks on the hill above the highway...thousands upon thousands of Napa's finest lies therein...aging in-bulk as the glut continues. With the world financial situation the way it is it might be time to drain the swamp and start over. Sure.
St. Helena itself was good fun, the downtown area is all small shops, antiques, homewares, women's clothing stores, hardware and cooking supplies. An interesting walk, I did buy ONE thing, a fish spatula, very flexible under Mario Batalli's label...for pulling resistant bread for my cast iron dutch oven. I needed it Saturday night! The bread was stuck like I'd glued it and I had a terrible time getting it loose...and yes, I had buttered the pot and sprinkled corn meal on the bottom as well, still I had problems.
We returned to the car largely empty handed except for my spatula and Audrey's kitchen towels and wanderred off to a snack at a nearby drive-in "Taylor's" where the line to the window was 30 customers deep! Just good ol' American snack food, french fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, rootbeer floats and malts and shakes. The place is popular among locals and visitors alike.
We ordered mini-corn dogs with fries, a vanilla coke (fountain made) for Kelly, a rootbeer float for Aud and I had a Coke float. Terrific way to end the day! We drove back along the highway and turned left to cross the valley a short ways to the road known as Silverado Trail. We drove it along to the signs to Lake Berryessa and our home port of Fairfield/Suisun about a 1/2 hour away along the winding, forested road.
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