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Declan!
Merry Christmas
Wishing you a peaceful, happy and healthy new year ahead. With love. |
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| Uco Valley! |
As 2012 comes to an end, we are completing the 2012 planting season at the vineyards. Over 80 acres were planted and are now progressing nicely and under close watch by our vineyard management team.Wondering what planting involves, exactly?
Here is The Vines’ process for growing great grapes:
1) The trellis system and built and the irrigation system is installed and tested.
2) The plants are submerged completely for 24 hours before planting to rehydrate the plant. This procedure helps to activate cells and tissues that are dormant, and we eliminate any soluble growth inhibitor.
3) Once done, we use slight finger pressure to be sure the graft is securely attached to the rootstock. Note: It is very important to dig a large enough hole to accommodate roots, trying not to strangle them, to be sure they grow healthy.
And with that, the planting process is complete, and vine management begins.
Members of our team dig as many as 600 holes a day depending on soil conditions. The Uco Valley soil requires a bit more muscle power than other areas due to the rocky soil.Quite a different scene to vineyards around Healdsburg!
Our team is thrilled to have the 2012 planting season – our sixth – completed. These vines are on their way to becoming amazing wines! We will keep you updated how these vines progress.
As much as we all complain, your robust joviality, when not impaired, is enjoyed by yours truly, and most others. Mme Coriandre & I are simply nudging you to be the supercalifragilistic self you are in your natural state!! N
Hi Kids!
Just a quick message to send along more greetings as well as a few snaps. Sorry if I've sent some of them before.The Sisterhood is out for a morning stroll in the light rain. Not sure if I'll even have time for a short ride today as quite a few errands to run. Fondestos, Cheers and Supercalifragilistically Yours, Patrizzio!
PS: The Shopping Sisterhood just came back from an aborted walk, laden, literally laden with purchases from a local Thrift Store with brand new Corning Ware casseroles, vintage Pyrex, Fiesta Ware, (Chloë collects this and found seven cups/saucers and a creamer all for $7!), a medium sized Le Creuset low dish oven platter, (Poifect to roast either Jake or Molly but not large enough for Maggie!), and a Penguin Ice Cube Bucket, (We have two at home and they are wonderful for keeping things like stuffing or mashed potatoes hot! all, aside from the new items, almost never used!) The Great Casserole Heist!!! They don't need No Stinkin' Value Village!
Beautiful snowy drive home to Kamloops.... No one on the road but us!! Can't wait to spend Christmas with the family!!! — with Corey Sutherland
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Patrick James Dunn Happy Christmas from Tinsel Town, Beckster and Kid Chelene!
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Patrick James Dunn Happy Christmas to all your family in Vancouver from the Dunn/Durston/Prince families in Tinsel Town!
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Hi Dallas Cowboys and Cowgirls!- Patrick James Dunn Happy Christmas from Tinsel Town, Beckster and Kid Chelene!
- Patrick James Dunn Happy Christmas to all your family in Vancouver from the Dunn/Durston/Prince families in Tinsel Town!
I had wanted to send greetings earlier, (A little light reading after a heavy dinner!), so I must apologize for not writing sooner but it has been a hectic, yet wonderful time ever since leaving the confines of Villa Vicente, in Berkeley, and the northern environs of Healdsburg, Sonoma. We arrived here last Tuesday, in such good time that Ayn had to leave work and drive home to let us in! Thanks, as well, for sending along your keys. Will let you know when they arrive, of course.
Just west of Sepulveda, the bike path dips down to join a service road to get under the 405 and the overpass forms quite a large sheltered area. I noticed, on the way out, that there seemed to be a small "village" of what I gathered were homeless people there as a number of the local inhabitants could be just be seen above me as I trundled past. On the return leg I noticed that there were a couple of strings of Christmas lights wound around the railings on the top of the concrete retaining wall that runs the full length of the over-arching freeway. As far as cover from the rain, I can't imagine a better spot. Not sure about shelter from the wind however as it was so strong that I literally had to gear down to lowest setting in high when I turned turned north to parallel Canoga Avenue. Don't think I've ever experienced such gale force winds, even on rides out to Iona. Of course, I was literally sailing along, hell bent for leather on same stretch, once I turned around at Chatsworth. As I approached one intersection I was going as slowly, short of stopping, as possible, and the wind literally swept me along, so all I needed to do was use my brakes to control my snail-like advance!
Ayn arrived shortly after 6:00pm, along with work-mate Jennnifer Kramer, (originally from Iowa), and we sat down to eat and visit, toasting the season and new friends with one of the above-mentioned whites, a Duet by Louis Latour, a 2010 Chardonnay, (70%), Viognier, (30%), blend, weighing in at a very respectable 14%. Not bad at all, actually very, very tasty and more than a perfect compliment for the rustic, peasant style food prepared so effortlessly by the Cycling Chef! Once Busboy/Scullion Patrizzio had cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher and The Sisterhood had primped, we set off, in Ayn's car, for the 170 South to 101 South to take to the Susnset Exit to eventually make our way to the Open Fist Theatre Company on Santa Monica Boulevard to see a production of BOTH: A Hard Days Silent Night.
BOTH is a new musical that tells the story of the Nativity using
twenty-three Beatles songs. According to the program notes, "Not a
single word is changed!" The story is told/sung by Father McKenzie and a
cast of sixteen which includes Mary, Joseph, Gabriel,
Three Wise Men, Angels, Shepherds, The Taxman and Herod, plus a Gospel
Choir! Written by Mark Wilson, with musical arrangement by Jason Paige
there is a four piece band, guitar, keyboard, bass and drums. What a
production! What a production! A cross between
Total Experience Gospel Choir from Seattle meets Rocky Horror Picture
Show and I am not exaggerating one iota! Apart from the staggering array
of simply incredible, powerful, powerful voices, both black and white
singers, is the remarkable, almost uncanny
fit between the biblical Nativity story and the Beatles lyrics. The
venue seats about a hundred or slightly more so it is a very intimate
space and the entire cast had the audience both mesmerized and thrilled
from start to finish.
What a high energy, completely unexpected pre-Christmas gift to put us in the holiday mood. All of the numbers, solos, duets or group efforts were wonderful, hand-clapping, soul-stirring, please don't stop thrillers but during the Taxman's songs he has five very, very shapely back-up singers, (Quick-change artists for sure as they doubled as angels as well!), clad in delightfully skimpy black, form hugging dresses. Sultry blonde sveltoid at the mike directly in front of Ayn and I was extremely well endowed and I was quite worried that her mouth-watering voloptuosity might spill out of the more than revealing top, given the full-tilt exertions and gyrations that the vocals and choreography required. For her part, Ayn was far more concerned that my eyeballs would fall out of my head, pop right onto the stage!
The husband, Tahramey, of one of Ayn's work colleagues, Glenda, works
with Kate Sullivan, one of the members of the choir, and this was how
Ayn learned about the show. We sat with G/T during the performance and
afterwards, in the lobby, we were introduced to
Kate. Funnily enough her family owns a cabin near Westport, not far
from Kingston, where close friends of ours own the local hotel, bar and
B&B. Thanked "Dolly Parton" as well and discovered Sarah Jane Nelson
is originally from Louisiana so I assume she comes
by "sultry" naturally! Wouldn't mind riding on a Street Car Named
Desire with her, let me tell you!
Walked G/T back to their car, parked not far from ours, and thanked them again, for making it possible for us to have known about this truly exceptional musical. They will join us for the New Year's Day Open House we are hosting in Simi Valley, so it will be lovely to see them again before we leave LA. Back home quite quickly as traffic had thinned considerably by this time of night, shortly after 10:00pm. Dropped Jennifer at her vehicle and wished her Happy Christmas. She is off to visit family in Iowa for the holidays but will be back to join us for the Open House as well.
Into Ayn's apartment and while Mother and Child chatted I tried to catch up on messages. The Sisterhood repaired to their beds around midnight but I stayed up until shortly after 1:00am, the not so gentle snores coming from both bedrooms having a soporific effect on my already heavy eyelids. I drifted off to sleep with visions of enticing, large, shapely sugar-plum like mammaries dancing in my head, let me tell you!
Thursday morn, after some yogurt and gluten-free granola, I donned my high fashion cycling garb and set off, at 10:22am, to explore Brown's Creek Bike Path, the route which continues further north from Chatsworth. Day was glorious, in the extreme, wind much lighter than yesterday's hurricadoes, and I yanked off my cycling gloves almost as soon as I was on the dedicated bike path. [If I'd been able to strip down to my underwear and one long-sleeved cycling shirt, without stopping, I'd have done so!] Before setting off, I had decided I'd try to see if I could ride the Busway Gauntlet without having to dismount and I'm more than pleased to report that I Fought the System and the System Lost!
Having ridden most of the route the day before I knew, more or less, about all the possible dipsy-doodle opportunities along the considerable way and I am happy to report that, other than causing a few traffic accidents, running more than few Yellow, tending to Red lights, knocking over some toddlers on tri-cycles and getting into a beef or two with some nasty looking gangbangers when I spit on their graffiti along the Browns Creek Bike Path, I sailed along, nay breezed along, spitting on traffic lights and road conventions to find myself on Sierra Canyon Road, the vista of the New Mexico-like rock faces surrounding me breathtaking in the extreme.
Quick loop there before heading back down BCBP, having nodded to a horse and rider who would be taking the Bridle Path on the other side of the waterway, to Nordoff where I had to abandon the dedicated route as a maintenance vehicle was taking up the entire path looking for spots to stop and nap before having thermos lattes, I presume! Rejoined the route at Devonshire and it was nothing but smooth sailing all the rest of the way home.
Took advantage of a number of local "domestiques", both coming and going, by following scruffy-looking, milk cartoon-toting, sketchy looking types to the various intersections and slowly back-pedaled until the lights changed! More than happy to report that I cruised home, reaching Woodman with a little over 74 K on the clock, to slide past Ayn's apartmento to do about a further 7K's worth of back-street dipsy-doodling to bring my count to 81.3 K over 4:29:37, AVG 18.1 KPH, MAX 34.1 KPH. Longest ride of the California Experience and a wonderful outing indeed.
Cora Lee had made a scrumptious turkey, tomatoe pasta sauce and I threw together another green saladin and when Ayn came home from work we put the rice pasta and regular pasta on to boil. By the time Ms Hallmark had bathed in scented unguents and joined us downstairs, we supped on the tasty fare and tried to figure out the next few days, everything from menus to who will drive to the airport to meet demanding relatives from the Great White North. Once again, Dishwasher Dunn cleared the table and when the kitchen was tidy, The Sisterhood arranged themselves on the couch to watch Wanderlust. Not my fare so I spent my time sending long-overdue missives.
Chloë arrived last night, about an hour later than expected, due to a snow delay in Kelowna. Cheap WestJet flight had stop-over there. We footed the bill and when asked if she wanted to pay extra for a direct flight she decided she could suffer! Clara had given her Michael Connelly's latest, The Black Box, as an early stocking stuffer so she was quite happy, in the end, to read it in the airport there. It will be wonderful to have everyone together, particularly at this time, and we feel so fortunate to be able to have such a terrific family gathering. Clara and Dusty arrive tomorrow so we'll have four generations together over the hols.
My own recent travel experience was far more modest, however. Had a great ride yesterday when The Sisterhood were out shopping, of all things! Loaded my bike onto the rack and took Woodman Avenue to the 101 North and exited on Topanga Canyon Road where I followed this picturesque, twisting and turning road to the Pacific Coast Highway. Chap I was chatting with in the lobby of Open Fist Theatre, where we saw Both last Thursday, told me about the Marvin Braude Bike Trail which runs from the Will Rogers State Beach, right across from Temescal Canyon Road in Pacific Palisades, to Torrance County Beach, in a parking lot at the base of the Palos Verdes Peninsula hills. The whole trail is 22 miles, (35.4K), in length but I only managed to go as far as El Porto Beach, just past the Scattergood Generating Station, a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power electrical generating plant, run on natural gas, and possessing two distinctive red and white chimneys.
Quite enjoyed having wonderful vista of the Pacific on my right as I headed south, and the various, colourful communities, up against the cliffs, to my left. First is Santa Monica with its Municipal Pier housing quite an amusement park which boasts a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster. Bike path takes one under the pier itself and then Venice Beach is next. This is perhaps the busiest section of the route as the ocean front walk here is something else!
Next was Dockweiler Beach State Park and I was plane spotting as I zipped along for LAX is almost immediately east of here. There is also an RV Park here but I'm not sure why people would want to stay in such a location, at least at this time of year. Furthermore, close by is the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant, the largest wastewater treatment facility int eh LA Metropolitan Area! Almost next door are the earlier mentioned Scattergood Generating Station and the Chevron El Segundo Refinery with a huge, ugly, rust coloured holding tank of some sort, just before the parking lot at El Porto Beach. According to Wikipedia:
"El Porto is one of the most popular beaches in the South Bay area with surfers from near and far because of an underwater canyon that creates waves usually larger than those at neighboring beaches. These swells have lefts and rights that break over sandbars and are consistently big when other beaches are flat. The breaks can hold waves up to double overhead."
Interestingly enough, I passed a young surfer, after I turned around to make my way back, who was carrying his surfboard on a nifty brace that was attached to his bike! Noticed quite a few surfers catching the waves of Santa Monica Bay and wondered how cold the water was. El Porto is part of the City of Manhattan Beach but I will have to explore this part of trail another time. Would certainly like to go all the way to the end of the trail, past Redondo Beach to Palos Verde. Was first at RB in 1983 with Chloë, (She was seven!), and Salmon George Csoti, when the three of us took a road trip to Disneyland. Dropped Chloë at the San Francisco Airport on way home. She flew to Seattle and Cora Lee picked her up there before leaving next day with Jean and John Anderson to rendezvous at The Budget Lodge Motel in Redding! George dropped me off there on his way back to Vancouver and I discovered Jack's Bar and Grill, (home of unbelievable 16oz filet mignon), the night before they arrived. This was our second trip to California and the very beginning of our wine tasting excursions!
Once there, it was smooth sailing all the way back to Will Rogers although the wind had picked up and it required somewhat more effort to make headway. Once under the pier at Santa Monica the wind had picked up and I must admit that I was beginning to tire somewhat by the time I was close to what I thought was Temescal Canyon. Got a bit of a fright when I reached the parking lot and my car was nowhere to be seen. When I first arrived there were very few parked vehicles so I knew exactly where my car was parked, close to the ticket booth and the washrooms. So surprised and upset, (Had my car been towed? If so, why? And what was I going to do? Cycle Topanga Canyon all the way back to Woodman?), was I that I turned around, hoping that I'd come too far and had somehow missed the Mother Ship! As it turned out, I hadn't come far enough and was overjoyed when I came to the next parking lot and my saucy Hybrid was patiently waiting for me to come and claim her! This was around 4:22pm so ride was probably about three hours.
Loaded my bike, locked it onto the rack and then took a few snaps of the beach before heading north on PCH to Topanga Canyon. Waved goodbye to WRSB just before 5:00pm and after the up and over of TCR traffic was moving well on 101 South so I was back on Woodman and home by 5:30pm. Once I'd showered and changed I did a bit of web searching and was able to estimate that I'd covered about 16 miles on each leg for a round trip total of 51.499008K, close enough to 51.3K, (To annoy my fellow riders back in Vancouver I try to end each ride with .3! Since I cannot enter this as an Official Ride, (not having had odometre to provide corroborating evidence), I will also admit that my feet actually touched the ground twice: Once, on the way back, between Dockweiler Beach and Vista Del Mar Park, I missed a detour around a section of the trail closed for maintenance and had to turn around or face wading through the soft beach sand that would have sucked me and my Trek Madone under like ravenous quicksand. The trail was so narrow at this point that I was forced to un-cleat, much as I fought the impulse not to do so!
The second dis-mountment occurred on Washington Blvd when I was forced
to wait for a damnable light change and no possibility, whatsoever,
presented itself for a saving dipsy-doodle. Twice brokenhearted, I
proceeded, taking some comfort in the fact that ride
was not an officially sanctioned one anyway. Nevertheless, a grand
outing, boldly cycling where I'd not gone before!
This morning The Assembled Sisterhood left for a power walk and after I had a bite to eat before set out for Sierra Canyon again, this time with trusty sidekick odometre in tow! More than delighted to report that I managed my longest ride of The California Experience today while The Sisterhood pedicured and shopped. Took the Orange Busway/Brown's Creek paths all the way to abovementioned Sierra Canyon, just under the Ronald Regan Freeway, into the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Some of the boulders, both size and colour, were simply stunning, reminding me of some of the remarkable landscapes in foothills outside of Phoenix. Back home with 103.3K on my trusty odometre over 4:56:33, AVG 20.9KPH, MAX 47.8KPH so I'm pleased as punch and may well have to celebrate with a cask strength single malt!
This evening had dinner at Kabuki, extremely fresh, popular, affordable, wonderful, wonderful sushi, in Woodland Hills. Drove home on Ventura Blvd past Ayn's office building, in Studio City, formerly Mary Tyler Moore's production offices! Now, making lists for tomorrow's errand runners!
All the best to Miranda, Adrian and you two from Cora Lee, Chloë, Ayn and Los Horridos/The Lost Buritos, Pierre and Alex. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Pics: Snaps from Tinsel Town, The Land of Gentle Giants! Pierre with Coriandre who needs to be on the steps, (I've asked Santa for a step-ladder myself!), and Alexander, after too, too much Coffaro Zin! (one of our favourite wineries in Sonoma, Dry Creek Valley) Hard evidence of my ride today!
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