Grammy and Grampe

Childhood

As little kids grammy and grandpe always had these little tins around the house at the holidays.With the little butter cookies that had the sugar sprinkles on top. They sure aren't anything that you would find in the Willams-Sonoma catalog..and I guess therein lies the charm.I got this yesterday at the grocery store in the holiday section. Having this tiny tin sitting on my drainboard during the holidays always reminds me of those happy childhood days of waiting for Santa. The house all decorated for Christmas. Grandpe always had a fire in the fireplace. Fruitcakes from the neighbors sat in tins on the counter. Grandpe eating a slice every morning with his coffee exclaiming it to be the "best fruitcake Mary Alice had ever made." My grandparents have been gone for many years now, and when grammy died my brother Mark and I went out to the store room and found all of the boxes that held the Christmas decorations at the house in Los Gatos. And as I was going throught it, I thought to myself, why this is a box of just some old dime store ornaments and tinsel. Nothing special...alot of it plastic..you know, reindeers with glitter, snowmen with the carrot nose broken off, socks with stains and holes,the tinsel thin and smashed to one side.Construction paper chains Mark and I had made. A piece of brown paper in the shape of your hand and drawn with crayons to look like a turkey. A bouquet of plastic poinsettias with gold sparkle,candles that had a fake flame on the tip..all melted from spending the summer in the store room .Everthing in those boxes was tattered and old. But as kids..we thought it was MAGIC.Our eyes glowed with wonder and amazement at the tree and decorations every year.And I thought, as kids you don't know or care about what store the decorations came from, how much they cost and were they fancy..... or not. Did they come from places like Gumps in San Francisco or those charming Christmas shops in Carmel? No, none of that mattered. It doesn't matter to kids. It's just the feeling of home and family that really matters. Still does.

Butter Love

There it is. Isn't that just the greatest looking crock of butter. We just couldn't pass it up. You can refill it so I can always have it in my refrigerator. Everytime I open the door, my eyes go right to it.....

Girls Day Out

Sharon and I have been friends for nearly 40 years. I was the first person to work in her shop in Cambria called "Heart's Ease". It was the best job I ever had. I learned about herbs and gardening and all things New England. And I was hooked. Forever.And now all these years later I am still "pretending" that I live in New England. Sharon and Jeff live half of the year here in San Luis Obispo and half at their cottage in Christmas Cove, South Bristol, Maine. So we miss seeing each other for about six months every year. Sharon and Jeff are home.... and it was girls day out. We have a mutual friend, Susie Bassetti who came "over the hill" from Cambria to meet us for lunch in Paso Robles. We ate at "Artisan" and we had a lovely time. Susie brought us each homemade foccacia and olive bread made from the olives on their farm. Lucky us ! After lunch, Susie had to get back to tend to things at the farm and Sharon and I headed out for a late fall drive. Just to catch up. Girls-style.

Vineyard Drive, Paso Robles, CA

After lunch Sharon and I took a drive to one of our favorite places.Vineyard Drive. It takes you out into an area called The Adelaide. It is a drive where you find yourself amoung vineyards and wineries and farmhouses and barns. And we had a beautiful afternoon. The sky was a buttermilk sky. Big high clouds shading the bright sun, the vineyards were in full fall color, the crush for this year was winding down. Walking into the wineries you could smell grapes and damp leaves. In the distance red shouldered hawks swirled high above in the late afternoon sun. We drove lazily down the road enjoying the walnut orchards and olive groves. We came upon The Halter Ranch...a big old house that has been redone by a local architect. It sits grandly amoung stately 100 year old oaks. There are many out buildings on the property...the old barn..the little red shed. It is so peaceful and quiet there. A PERFECT Novemeber afternoon. As the sun began to sink we moved on towards home, but only after one last stop. To Nature's Touch in Templeton.

Nature's Touch Organic Market - Templeton

Our last stop of the day was to a little market in Templeton called Nature's Touch. It is right off Highway 101 and sits just off Main Street. It is very small and they carry everything that is organic and from the local farms in the area. I got avocados from George and Beth's Farm on Santa Rosa Creek Road in Cambria, local olive oil from a farm called "Homestead" and a big sack of oranges from Cayucos Creek Farm. I thought those would look really nice in my big yelloware bowl in the kitchen. Very Christmasy. I got a nice package of fresh yeast and a crock of butter called CLOVER FARMHOUSE from a farm up in Petaluma. The crock is worthy of having it's picture taken and I will do that for you later. I would rather had that crock of butter than a new pair of shoes.It will look great on our Thanksgiving table.And it will remind me of a beautiful November afternoon with a dear friend.

November Afternoon Walk

I took Buddy for a walk around our neighborhood. This is the street we live on here in San Luis Obispo. The neighborhood is over 100 years old and we are in what is called "The Historic Raliroad District" I LOVE hearing the train.Anytime of the day, really. Sometimes in the middle of the night I will lay awake and listen for it coming from over the hill. And the little Del Monte Cafe is right across the street. John and I sneek in the backdoor in our pajamas sometimes for supper. It is cozy and farmy and old fashion. I've known the owner Debbie forever. She and her son Travis run it. And the food is realy good too. Comforting knowing they are there.