The High Life in Wine Country

Gideon and I have decided to stay in Sonoma, California for a while. We are living the high life, and by high life, I mean we are living way up high on a mountainside above Sonoma Valley. And by way up high, I mean we are literally above the clouds and fog most mornings. Most long-time residents of this mountainside refer to it as “The Hill” and we are now “Hill People”—an honorable title on the Hill, a not-so-honorable title off the Hill. We are trying to fit in, and I think we are on the right track. In fact, Gideon was just invited to watch South Park with some of the Hill Guys. He’s in. Everybody loves Gideon. I am turning out to be quite the Chanterelle mushroom hunter, so I think I’m close to being accepted.

We have taken up residence in the “Mom Cabin” on my step-sister, Rosemary (AKA Polly), and brother-in-law, Aaron’s property. The Mom Cabin looks like an old red barn from the outside, but it in the past year, the inside has been transformed into a cozy one-bedroom cabin, complete with kitchen and bathroom. When we arrived in October it was not yet livable, but Gideon, and to a very small extent, I, finished it up, adding flooring, painting trim, installing plumbing, etc. Furniture arrived a few weeks ago, and now we are enjoying our new “home sweet home” for the next few months. It’s funny… I think my dad and step-mom had this idea that they would finish this cabin and enjoy using it a few months a year and it would sit vacant for the remainder of the year. Now they will be lucky if they get to use it at all. JUST KIDDING Dad and Sharan. Calm down. We are not going to be here too long, relatively speaking. And you can sleep on the sleeper sofa when you visit. JUST KIDDING AGAIN!!! Ha Ha! Funny daughter!!!!

The "Mom Cabin", inside and out

When we decided to stay in Sonoma for the winter, we realized that we needed to bring our dog, Josie, out to join us. We were missing her terribly and she was wearing out her welcome with our family in Frederick, digging endless holes in their backyard, creating her own moonscape. So, in November, Gideon flew back to Maryland, filled in the holes in the yard, and brought Josie back on a direct flight to San Francisco. I admit, I was worried about Josie flying for the first time. In case you haven’t met her, she can get a bit over-stimulated and nervous. According to most vets and the folks at the airline, sedating a dog before flying is not recommended, but apparently Xanax, a common anti-anxiety drug is okay. So, Josie popped a pill and had a fine flight. Perhaps I should have popped a Xanax too, considering I was the worried Momma needlessly stressing out over the whole thing.


Josie is in her element here on the Hill. She quickly and effortlessly assimilated into the pack and is enjoying her Beta dog status. Polly and Aaron’s dogs, Shelby and Montana are her new pack mates. Shelby, a beagle-pit mix is the Alpha bee-atch, and Montana, a black lab mix has been relegated to “least respected dog” status, at least most of the time. As I write, the three dogs are off romping through the woods with Gideon, who is looking for mushrooms, which is a blog entry for another day.

Shelby (AKA Potamus... check out that POTBELLY!)

Montana (AKA Saucer Eyes, Luv Muffin, etc.)

Josie and her big stick... a common sight on the Hill

I’m BAAAAACK!

Yes, I fell off the face of the blogosphere.

Here’s what happened (it’s not a very good story, but I feel I owe you an explanation, however lame it is): my computer crashed and died. We took it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy—not a promising step, considering that Gideon practically is the Geek Squad and he couldn’t fix it himself. It stayed at Best Buy for over 4 weeks. We lost everything. And I am not one of those responsible people who back up my computer regularly. I’m not even sure if I know how to back up a computer. So, anyway, we lost a bunch of stuff. Gideon broke the news to me while we were out on a hike. That was a good idea because no one could hear my cries of pure distress. Mainly it was the lost photos that bummed me out. Fortunately, our trip photos were not lost since they remain on the photo card in the camera. I also lost my resume, so now I won’t ever get a job since the thing took so freaking long to write and I can’t deal with redoing it. Okay, I can redo it and I will. But you see, this is the emotional affect this crash has had on me. I just threw my hands up at the computer and quit for weeks on end. I was doing so well with my blog too, and I just quit. I didn’t want to see a computer, let alone trust one with my thoughts and feelings. I missed writing, but I was boycotting technology. I’m sorry I left you hanging. I fell off the blog horse and now I have two months worth of stories to catch up on. Don’t worry; I won’t tell them all in this post. But I will get caught up—I’m back on the horse. So there, crummy computer! You can’t keep a good blogger down!

Party Time!!!

To celebrate my step-mom’s 60th birthday and my step-sister’s 40th birthday, we threw a Halloween Ball in Sonoma, California. There’s nothing like a Halloween party to bring out the creative genius that lays dormant in most of us for most of the year. For nearly a year, the “kids” (me, Gideon, my brother Brad, sister-in-law Amy, step-sister Polly, and brother-in-law Aaron) have been planning our costumes. For some inspired reason, we went with a “Wizard of Oz” theme. Each of us pieced together the most outrageous costumes. Amy was Dorothy—the cutest ever, with the highest-heeled homemade ruby slippers you ever did see. Aaron was the Cowardly Lion, who kind of reminded me of a cute, cuddly, overgrown child in fuzzy pajamas. Brad was to be the Scarecrow, but as I mentioned before, was unable to make it out due to a last minute conflict. Boo. Gideon was the most fantastic Tin Man ever with a completely homemade costume made the day of the party—we expected no less from Gideon, of course. Polly was the hottest Wicked Witch of the West in her couture hat, little black dress, and kick-ass witch shoes. I was Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, covered head to toe in pink sparkles and homemade fluff... I was in my element. (By the way, the role of wicked witch for Polly and good witch for me mirrored our childhood roles quite precisely!)

Dad and Sharan did their own thing. Sharan was the classiest witch ever with her retro mini-witch hat, funky green taffeta skirt and fitted jacket. Dad was a refined Dracula in full tux, red satin-lined cape, and prosthetic, fitted fangs. He had a few kids at the party convinced that they were his real teeth—they were that creepy.

The party was held at the Sonoma Women’s Club in downtown Sonoma. The Arts & Craft style of the place was a perfect backdrop for the vintage Halloween decorations gathered and/or created by Sharan. The place was absolutely transformed. Add a rockin’ Deejay, delicious food from Polly’s fabulous restaurant Meritage, 140 homemade cupcakes, 100 enthusiastic guests, and California wine and beer, and a marvelous time was inevitable.

For once, I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking. Enjoy, and happy Halloween!

Tin Man Extraordinaire

Uncle David, as engineer; Aunt Marietta, 50's chick; Glinda

The Egyptian Gods have arrived

Yummies

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Frankenstein and his lovely bride (my favorite costume of the night!)

Used car salesman Vic, and Sharan bustin' a move

Geisha Peggi

Scott waiting for the leaves to fall

The BEST Lucy ever... perhaps better than the real thing!

Dracula Dad after the teeth came out

The party girls

Feelin' it

Oh that Tin Man... what a card!

Getting a bit scary

Baby Ingrid and Sharan

Wizard of Oz girls getting along

5 months pregnant witch, Jody and Sharan

Best shoes, male and female

Vogue, Thriller, or Monster Mash... I'm not sure

Freudian Slip, Lauren

Mother Superior Rosemary and baaaaadddd Polly

Yosemite

Arriving in Yosemite is like coming home for me. I was ten years old when I first visited Yosemite. To say that it made a big impression on me that first visit would be a major understatement. I think it would be more appropriate to say that it changed my life; it helped shape the person I am today. It instilled in me a deep appreciation for beauty and grandeur, as expressed in its mile high granite walls, its timeless sequoias, its ever-changing waterfalls, and its affect on all who enter its valley. When I was twelve years old and then again when I was sixteen, I climbed to the top of Half Dome. It was such an empowering experience for me that I chose to write about it for my college entrance essay. I do think writing the essay was far more torturous for me than the actual climb, but that’s another story.

Yosemite is my “happy place”. When I am in need of an escape from my present circumstances, I escape in my mind to one of a few particular spots in Yosemite. One spot is in a meadow in the valley that stretches out beneath Half Dome. It is a spot where many come to watch the evening light color the face of Half Dome as the sun sets each night.

At my "Happy Place" in 2007

Another spot I find myself escaping to is a pebbly beach at Mirror Lake (or now Mirror Meadow). This is a spot I found with my two best girls, Courtney and Ellen, while in Yosemite a few years ago. We hiked to the meadow, took off our shoes and waded across an icy cold stream to lounge on the sun-soaked pebbles on the beach. We watched deer cross the creek and simply basked in the gloriousness of it all.

At my second "Happy Place" in 2007

Gideon and I arrived in Yosemite on October 12th to meet up with my dad and step-mom (Paul and Sharan), step-sister and her husband (Polly and Aaron), and my brother’s wife (Amy). (Unfortunately, my darling brother Brad could not make the trip due to a last minute change of plans which he was unable to finagle his way out of... We all missed him terribly.) While waiting for the family to show up at our meeting place, Gideon and I had time to explore the BIG TREES at the Mariposa Grove. No matter how many times I see the giant sequoias, they will always take my breath away and slap me with an instant perspective check.


One of the great things about our time in Yosemite was the fact that my dad put us up in old-school cabins in Camp Curry, my favorite “village” in the valley. It’s not that Gideon and I were tired of our tent, it’s just that Yosemite and the surrounding area received many, many inches of rain over the first 36 hours of our visit. At first I was annoyed about the rain. I had become quite spoiled by the streak of luck we’d had weather-wise over the course of our trip. I let the rain slow me down a bit the first day. While Gideon, my dad and Sharan, Amy and Aaron headed out for a hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls in the rain, Polly and I stayed in the warm, dry cabin to play cards and down a few bottles of wine. Personally, I think we made the wiser choice. I tried hard not to laugh at those suckers when they came back to the cabin resembling drowned rats. But they seemed to have enjoyed themselves, despite the pouring rain. So, I think it’s fair to say a good time was had by all that first day.

Ahh, how could I forget? Night one in the cabin should have been great night. A warm bed, a hot shower, the sound of rain on the roof, coziness all around... What we didn’t know was that there was a skunk in residence under the cabin and for some reason, it decided to spray its eau du parfume in the middle of the night. The not-so-air-tight cabin was so seeped in stench, I instantly woke up and could not fall back asleep. All I could do was lie there in a cloud of fumes and feel my brain cells dying off by the millions. My only theory is that the skunk was not a fan of the snoring going on above its den. Too bad it wasn’t me who was the snorer; otherwise his evil plan may have worked.

To everyone’s great surprise, we woke to clearing skies on our second full day in Yosemite. And because of the great amount of rain that had fallen over the previous two days, all of the waterfalls in the valley were running full-tilt as if it were the height of spring. In addition, there were dozens of impromptu waterfalls flowing down the granite walls creating a valley I had never seen before. It didn’t take long for me to change my tune about the rain. I was darn glad we happened to be around for it.

Impromptu Waterfall

While the rest of the family took off to visit the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias, Gideon and I decided to go for a short hike. By the time we got going, it was noon. We decided to do a hike to Columbia Rock, a lookout point about a mile up the Upper Yosemite Falls trail. With a few bottles of water, some snacks and the camera, we took off. We arrived at the lookout less than an hour later. I knew Gideon had really wanted to do a “big” hike in Yosemite, and considering how quickly we had arrived at the lookout, I suggested that we continue on to the top of Yosemite Falls. Gideon was ecstatic and we hiked on. To my surprise, we reached the top of the falls in another hour. We looked over the edge of the falls and decided to continue on to Yosemite Point, a perch about a mile beyond the top of the falls that has incomparable views of Half Dome and the valley below.

Looking over the edge of the falls

Top of Yosemite Falls

It was at Yosemite Point that I had the realization that I have really changed in some big ways over the past few years. I am not the frightened control freak that I used to be. I have accepted the reality that I really have no control over anything other than my own reactions (most of the time). As I watched Gideon bouncing from rock to rock like a mountain goat, mere feet from thousand foot drop-offs, I didn’t have a panic attack; I didn’t scream at him to move away from the edge. I did look away a few times, but all in all, I was not afraid. I felt a resigned sort of peace instead—a “what will be will be” sort of feeling. At one point Gideon was sitting on a high rock pinnacle with his feet hanging over the edge of the cliff.
Instead of swooning, I took a few pictures of him, and then I tried going out there myself. As you will notice, I was not as relaxed as Gideon, but I went out on the edge. I wanted to.
Then I made the mistake of lying on my belly to look over the edge. And then I freaked out a little. I kind of froze for a moment and had to ooch my way off the rock and breathe with my head between my knees for a few moments. But all in all, I was not afraid the way I have been in the past. And for me, that’s a big thing.

(Click to enlarge for a good laugh)

Gideon and I made it back down to the valley by 6pm in time for a big dinner with the family at the buffet in Camp Curry. I was marveling to my dad at how much easier the eight mile round trip hike to Yosemite Falls had been this time around, compared to the last time I hiked it when I was 16. He pointed out to me that I am probably in much better shape now than I was at 16, because as he put it, I “didn’t do anything” when I was sixteen. Um, Dad. I did theater. And it could be highly physical at times. Thank you very much. No respect...

Our time in Yosemite was wonderful. To be there with my family in the rain turned out to be a very unique experience. That’s the great thing about Yosemite; no matter how many times I go, it is always new to me in some way.