Quick Wine Pickup Trip

We belong to two wine clubs in Napa so we have an excuse to go every 3-4 months! Good thinking eh? hahaha!! But, seriously, it is kind of like living in Merced with Yosemite in your backyard and you never get a chance to go!! We are only an hour from Napa - the GREATEST spot in the WORLD for wine and we feel we need to 'take advantage' of our proximity.

We grabbed our other two AMIGOS (David and Vasi) and made the drive. Our good friend and wine specialist, Gary, was also heading over to take a group of his friends on a tour of the wine country. Their first stop was at Biale, where we needed to pick up our wine! Perfect timing! You've gotta know Gary to understand his 'tours'.....he is extremely passionate about wine and excited to get others appreciating the science/art of it too. He has lots of connections so we joined them to receive a personal tour of the CRUSH going on at Biale. Yes, the air was FULL of wine, the vineyards had lots of fall color and we had a great time experiencing it all.

Dick (and a little bit of Gary) tasting the Zinfindel grapes,

fresh off the vine. YUMMY! We wanted some for our yogurt!

Dick is very serious when it comes to tasting grapes! haha!! ;-)

Kevin, the man in the hat in the back of the photo flies in from Wales each harvest to assist. He is an instructor in wine science and LOVES to teach! We were able to taste the juice from the grapes at different levels of the process. This was also very good, natural juices!
I always walk away with a deeper appreciation for the bottle of wine we just open and pour. So much love, dedication, science, art are really what is being poured in each glass we drink.
Tasting the barrel of their famous Black Chicken. It was being emptied from the oak barrels on this particular day and placed into the big steel containers for the last months before it will be bottled and sold.

We had lunch at our favorite spot for lunch -Gott's Roadside, formerly known as Taylor's Refresher. We picked up one more shipment of wine at Provenance then checked into our hotel to take a nap!

Vasi and David

Me and Dickie

We tried HotWire for the first time on a hotel room and were very satisfied with the results! We ended up getting the Best Western Premier Ivy Hotel Napa, in a great location, right off Hwy 29! It was very comfortable, had a FREE tasty breakfast, very modern, updated rooms and VERY affordable!! We could have easily just driven back home in time for dinner..... but why? :-0

Part of the room.

We had a few hours of, much needed, down time then went out for dinner to a new spot - Oenotri - located in downtown Napa, where we do not usually frequent. The downtown area was ADORABLE and very very nice!! We enjoyed the dinner - Italian, very cozy and relaxed. The wine list was grossly overpriced and the $30 section were either Italian or French - an unknown market to us - so we brought in a bottle from the trunk of our car - which I would suggest doing - $15 corkage. We had the most fun at our table! The restaurant was decorated with many different types of squash and gords for the Fall atmosphere and we found a lot of humor in them!

A 'Swan squash' - with a straight neck! Makes you laugh?

After dinner we enjoyed some window shopping and ended up at the Avia Hotel, across the street from Oenotri. At the bar they were offering a Spiced Apple Sparkling Wine. HUH? Well, they use a very rich, natural apple juice, cinnamon stick and pour the Chandon Sparkling wine over it in a Martini glass. YUM!! It was so delicious and hit the spot on this crisp October evening. Yes, I'll be making these!!

We departed around 10 a.m. to head back home since Taylor gets out of school early on Wednesdays. As we were driving home, Dick said, "Back to reality". My answer was, "thankfully..... 'reality' ain't that bad!!" So true!! Thank you God!!

I picked Gabby up in Daly City - Vasi's son Brad was 'babysitting'. It has been absolutely beautiful in SF these past days so we had to stop and put our toes in the water. Gabby is not a big fan of water but LOVED running on the beach. Yes, we all must STOP and 'smell the roses' in life!

It's a big big world out there!

A 13 year old, Fire Boat Cruise and Our 58th!

Yes, Taylor turned 13 years old on October 21! We started the celebration the last day of being 12 with his requested dinner of Rotisserie Chicken, rice and cooked carrots - followed by Birthday Cake and presents!!

All smiles saying Good-bye to his old Mickey Mouse, child's size Large bathrobe... Hello to Stanford Bathrobe - Adult one size fits all!

When he woke up and entered his bathroom in the morning.....turning 13 wasn't so bad after all!!

Decorated by the birthday fairy....Orange and Black - favorite team colors!! ;-)

Our friends Deb and Wes invited us to join them and some of their friends for a very special ride on the bay in a Fire Boat!! According to a website, and confirmed by one of the fire fighters on board with us....."The Phoenix pumped continuously with 10 lines working for 15 hours with two pumps wide open - at 6400 GPM (over 5.5 million gallons of water). This fireboat saved the Marina!!" Pretty special to ride such a vessel that saved our neighborhood!!

It resides at the Fire House on Pier 22 1/2, near the Bay Bridge. It was a beautiful day, seriously, a PERFECT day to be on the water!

THEN, they turned on the pumps and let the water flow!!!

We were told we had free reign to walk anywhere on the boat - accept the aft (back of the boat)....so we did!

One of the nozzles and The City!

Fireman Dickie!!

MANY nozzles to connect to hoses to aide in putting out the fires! The water comes from the bay!

Alcatraz, Bay Bridge and The City! Seriously, the prettiest day EVER!!

So we started by the Bay Bridge, out to the Golden Gate, turned around toward Alcatraz, under the Bay Bridge, McCovey Cove and the ball park (Cal Bears vs Utah game scheduled), out to Mission Bay and home again.

A ship was actually in the dry dock too!!

WHEW! What a ride! Wes took more photos than I did, hopefully I'll be able to add a few more at a later date.....We continued our evening bringing in some dinner and watching the World Series. The guys were nodding off before the end of the game - boating wears a guy out!! hahah!!

In the morning we went on a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood (yes, from my 'Stairway Walks' book - one of our usual favorites up in Pacific Heights followed by the Lyon Street steps.)

Deb and Wes departed while Dick and I made a visit to a high school Open House in Marin....if you wanna know more details on that, call me! ;-)

Before Deb left she gave me my 'Birthday Broom'!! She has a talent in customizing broomsticks for all of her lady friends! hahaha!!! Now, I have a broom and I know how to use it!! hhaha!!

Being that it was our 58th month wedding anniversary, we went to dinner at one of our favorite spots - The Buckeye Roadhouse. I had the lamb shank and had tabbouleh for the FIRST TIME! YUM! I was in heaven!! Dick had RIBS! We were happy campers!!

As we were returning, the sun was setting and since we've had such beautiful days, we actually had a sunset!!! This is a very rare occasion!! Usually the fog rolls in and we never get to enjoy a sunset!! We had to pull over enjoy the moments.

"Seize the day. Seize whatever you can, cause life slips away just like hourglass sand.

Seize the day. Pray for grace from God's hand that nothin' will stand in your way. Seize the day."

I often wake up in the morning singing that one from Carolyn Arends!! Amazing JOY comes after feeling God's hand when the day is done and still singing that song!

70 degrees, fully bellies, happy hearts, Life is GOOD!

Where do I begin?

Well, I cannot possibly go backwards and begin where I left off back in July with this blog, perhaps throughout the blog in the weeks to come, I'll post some of the pics......Right now, I'll just begin where we are today.....

Life was moving along, quite nicely I may add back in July. Then, slowly, things started shifting in the middle of this past summer....parents began to fail quickly and time seemed to be running out. Dick and I found ourselves, many times, driving to Visalia to check in on his parents. To make a very long story short.....and to acknowledge two amazing people in our lives, and to post just for the record....Dick's father William Penn Nash, 90, passed on July 27, 2011 and his mother, Jane Higgins Nash passed on September 30, 2011 - 65 days apart.

A tribute to them both with their obituaries:

William Penn Nash, Jr. was born on September 13, 1920 in San Francisco, CA and at the age of 2, moved to Visalia and resided here 88 years until he passed away peacefully on July 27, 2011. Bill was a graduate of Visalia Union High School class of 1937, Visalia Junior College and received his B.A from Stanford University in 1942. During his years at Stanford Bill was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and served as team manager for the ’42 Stanford basketball team that won the NCAA National Championship. After graduation from Stanford Bill served as a purser pharmacists mate in the Merchant Marines during World War II. After the war Bill returned to Visalia and formed a partnership with M.R. Siglie in a general insurance agency, which began a 40-year career.

In 1950, Bill married Jane Higgins and began a love affair that endured 60+ years. In addition to being survived by his wife, Bill left behind his sister Marilyn Hadley and family, two sons David and Richard, daughters in law Morri and Barbara, and grandchildren Lindsay and husband Jeff Schuil, Piper, and Taylor.

Bill loved Visalia and was always active in the community. He enjoyed helping people and served as past president of the Visalia 20-30 Club, Visalia Rotary Club, Tulare–Kings Civic Music Association, Tulare Counties Association of Independent Insurance Agents, the Visalia HEAR Foundation and Visalia Lodge #128 of Free and Accepted Masons. He also served as a member of numerous organizations including the Visalia Junior Chamber of Commerce, the City of Visalia Recreation & Parks Department Board, the Visalia Dancing Club, the Visalia Country Club and the First Presbyterian Church.

After retirement, Bill’s greatest pleasure came from serving 26 years as a tutor for the Visalia Adult School. His contribution to the Adult school along with his many other contributions led to Bill’s honor as being selected Visalia’s “Man of the Year” in 2008.

Bill’s love for his family, friends and for Visalia will be missed but his humor and antics will be remembered by everyone that knew him.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Visalia, the 210 Center or the charity of their choice.

Jane Higgins Nash, recently widowed wife of William P. Nash, Jr., has died unexpectantly from a brain hemorrhage on Sept. 30, 2011 at age 83. Jane, the only child of Decatur Higgins and Mabel Green Higgins, was a loving, caring, devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Jane was born in Visalia on December 19, 1927 and enjoyed her early youth on North Willis St. in the company of friends and families of "old Visalia". She was adored by her parents, particularly her father, and was always to be Daddy's Girl. Visalia was her playground and a wonderful community in which to grow.

Elementary years were at Highland School, then Visalia Union High, and onto Holmby College in Los Angeles prior to finishing her college education at UCLA, with a degree in Art History. While at UCLA, she joined the Alpha Phi sorority and served as house president her senior year. Jane's love of art, architecture and landscape gardening stayed with her throughout her entire life. Sunset magazine, House Beautiful and Better Homes & Garden magazines were always on the coffee table. She was also blessed with a flair for flower arranging and her greatest pleasure came from gardening in her yard. Her sense of style with fashion remained unchanged throughout her life: gloves, a hat, and/or a scarf were part of most every outfit. She was schooled on appropriate "Emily Post" conduct for young women by her mother. Jane gifted her sons and grandchildren with these "wisdoms" during their upbringing.

Jane Higgins and Bill Nash, Jr. married Aug. 23, 1950 and began a 60 year partnership of love and respect, fun, family and world travel. Their togetherness fostered two sons: David (1951) and Richard (1955). Jane was the ideal 1950's and 60's mom: P.T.A., Cub Scouts den mother, Indian Guide, Little League, Y Summer Camp, etc. She was a fabulous cook and enjoyed entertaining and hosting others in their home.

Jane was also an astute businesswoman. Her parents left her numerous properties, which she and Bill later developed. Later on, after her boys had grown, Jane's love of architecture and interior design propelled her into the residential real estate business. Her love of Visalia and helping others find the perfect home was a great combination that led to a wonderful career for over 20 years. Jane's lifetime love affair with Visalia fostered an ongoing passion for historical preservation and she was an active member of the Visalia Heritage.

Jane was also recognized as a noted historian. Civic minded, Jane was a member of many organizations including P.E.O. sisterhood, Panhellenic, and the Las Madrinas Guild. Jane was involved with many charities and provided financial support to many organizations. Jane was a lifelong member of the Visalia First Presbyterian Church. Always making sacrifices for others, Jane's Christian faith was best demonstrated through her loving heart, giving nature, and daily prayers said for family, friends, community and country.

Jane was surrounded by her family when she departed this life to join her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She now resides again with her husband Bill and all of her family and friends that passed on before her. Mourning her loss, she leaves behind sons David and Richard, daughters-in-law Morri and Barbara, grandchildren Lindsay and husband Jeff Schuil, Piper, and Taylor, and sister-in- law Marilyn Hadley and her loving family. The family will hold a private service. On Friday, November 11th at 11:30 am there will be a "Celebration of Life" reception held at the Visalia Country Club in Jane's honor. It is the family's hope that everyone that knew Jane would come and share with us at that time.

Lastly, the family requests that any donations in Jane's memory be made to the Visalia Heritage Inc.: PO Box 216, Visalia, CA 93279. Arrangements by Miller Memorial Chapel, Visalia, CA.

Words cannot possibly describe what our hearts are feeling. But, we keep coming back to: We just know they were always meant to be together. Dick likes to think, "After two months in heaven, Bill was being soooooo annoying to God that God finally said, "OK, I've had it with this guy! The only one that can get him under control is his wife of 60 years!"....and called Janey home.

Here are a few of our favorite recent photos:

Hawaii 2007

We were playing 'Password' after dinner. Us against Them. Here is Jane, whispering her word.

In Carmel, August 2010, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Morri, Jane and I.

Taylor giving his grandmother a kiss at Pismo Beach.

Teaching Taylor about the Orange Grove.

Poopa, always the 'HAM'!

They were going to a party, all dressed up! What a pair!

See, always the HAM! hahaha!! A morning at our house. They loved our house, and they loved Gabby too. Poopa would say, "This is not a dog, she is a human!!" hahaha

We'll forever carry what they've taught and gave to us in our hearts and Thank God for their lives. We smile a GREAT BIG smile when we think of them both, in heaven, with young, healthy bodies, celebrating with Jesus for all eternity.

Birthday Weekend....getting closer!

It was a Taylor weekend so the guys gave me an early bday gift - yup, a RARE Brian Wilson shirt!! There is a shop on Chestnut and a shop in Beverly Hills that are 'allowed' to carry this shirt - this is what the shop owner told Dick and Taylor anyway. Amy calls it my 'Obama - HOPE' shirt! hahaha! I LOVE it and will wear it proudly. Maybe get him to sign it along the blue section! :-0 LOL!!

Our good friend Cindy is moving back to New York so we had dinner and spent the evening catching up with her on Saturday night. She's known Taylor since he's been about 3 years old. She has always been so good with Taylor and by the look on his face, he felt her love! We are going to miss Cindy, but we know she will be happier in NY, starting a new chapter. See ya in NY Cindy!!

My BILIB (Brother-In-Law-In-Blue aka Dodgers fan aka Dick's brother) and my Outlaw (Sister-In-Law Morri) sent me a 'Giant's pillow' that also folds into a panda for my birthday. Gabby doesn't seem to like it much!

On Sunday, it was Vasi's birthday - the 17th - and the LAST day of being 47 for me - so the four of us headed to Napa! Our first stop was to pick up some wine at Provenance, check into our rooms at the Silverado Resort and get ready for dinner at Bistro Don Giovanni - one of our favorite spots. None of us were really hungry for a MEAL so we tried the pizza for the first time. WOWZA! It was amazing - very fresh, light and perfect with a delicious salad.

The next morning, my BIRTHDAY DAY, Dick went for a run and the three of us went on a walk, spent time hanging around the pool, reading the paper, relaxing, and pondering ANOTHER YEAR OLDER? Which made me think.....I'll be 49 in one year, then 50? Kind of crazy to think back when I was a child, we'd think about the year 2013 and turning 50 and how ODD that sounds! For me, I am so thankful to have another healthy, blessed year added to my life. It is ONLY a number! I definitely don't FEEL 48 on most days. But, in the back of my mind, I feel like celebrating turning 49 MORE than celebrating 50. I am just so funny that way. I also like to celebrate the day BEFORE my birthday, rather than celebrating the actual day. Yea, the name 'Barbara' means 'strange one', I guess it fits. I just like to spin a twist on things when I can. Amy is turning 29 in September and 30 next year and I think celebrating THAT is more of an occasion. I'll have a daughter 30 years old?

After lounging around, Vasi and I enjoyed a facial at the spa and David had a massage while Dick waited patiently in the lobby, playing 'Words with Friends' on the iPhone! haha!! We cleaned up and headed to another favorite - Biale Winery - for a taste.

Awesome Hubs on the Biale porch.

Sister Vasi and Brother David. Growing older with these folks is a KICK in the pants!! The four of us have already grown closer, learned so much, and have a mutual respect and appreciation for each other.
We really enjoyed our time on the porch, talking with Austin, the tasting room manager. We were all sooooo hungry since we passed on lunch that when we arrived at 5:30 to another favorite Mustard's Restaurant. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the food is always a treat!

BIRTHDAY girls in the sunset!!

After dinner we drove back to SF with happy hearts, full bellies and a trunk full of wine!

Truly, if I must turn another year older, this was the best way for me to enjoy the ride! Always feeling so blessed, loved and enjoyed! Thank you God for blessing me so beyond my prayers. It is only because of Him, well, and my faith and trust in Him, for my happiness. Hey, but it is STILL my birthday month!! In two days we leave for a 4 day weekend in Paso Robles!!! Headin' out to MORE warm weather, concerts and friends!!

Nightmare in my Birthday Month?

Gabby and I were on our way to her job. I pulled straight into a parking spot on the street. A fire hydrant was on the corner so I had to creep slowly up to the van in front to squeeze inside the red painted curb. I got really nice and close. Got out of the car to check for the red curb when a crazy woman started screaming at me that I crashed into her car! I explained I did not crash, I am very close to her car but I did not crash into it. She was yelling that I "owe her a new bumper"! What? Seriously? I did not touch her car! I got so mad that I started yelling, "If I have to get YOU a new bumper, you have to get ME a new bumper!" Being that she did not speak or understand English very well, my statement escalated the problem and she began cursing me that she is NOT buying me a new bumper! Oh my. This was not good. I took photos.

There were so many marks on her bumper. She is NOT claiming the large dent above the bumper, that was already present. I asked her which mark did I make but she could never point to any area. She could only yell at me that I need to 'buy her a new bumper.' I wrote my information on a card, tried to give it to her and exchange information but was unsuccessful. She said she was calling the police. The police arrived and she continue to scream at the officer. The officer was not impressed with her attitude and demanded that she get back in her car, that HE was the one running the show now.

We finally exchanged information while I apologized to the officer for having to come out to such a trivial situation when I was sure he had other things to attend. I was not aware of 'accident protocol', so he explained that her insurance company will be contacting me. After investigating the 'damage', (which was NOTHING) he thought, more than likely the case will be dropped.

I received a phone call from her insurance company, explained what happened and the woman laughed. She asked, "Are you claiming SHE should buy YOU a new bumper?" I replied, "Absolutely NOT!" I explained that I yelled that at her because I felt it was ABSURD she was threatening ME with buying HER a new bumper! She explained, now that I am not wanting a new bumper, the case may be dropped, she would get back to me.

I have not heard anything for about 10 days so I am praying that it all just gets dropped.

Seriously, there are CRAZY people out there! It makes me nervous to drive! Having to give my personal information to this person was very uncomfortable too! Not sure THAT is such a great idea. I know it is the law, but if someone wanted revenge.....not cool.

What a nightmare.

Some BODY knew it was my Birthday MONTH!!

Yup, July arrived in SF. This is a typical day at the bridge, taken on our morning run. UGH! Again, if you know me, you know how much I enjoy SUN SHINE!!! To me, this HURTS!

I didn't take any photos - BAD Barbara.... but we met up with David and Vasi's cousin from MN - Timmy and Ragani - and enjoyed a few special meals together.....one at their home and Dick BBQ'd some tri-tip at our home on another occasion. People outside of California are not familiar with tri-tip and they really enjoyed it. Also, I discovered that I can FINALLY make a yummy dessert - Peach Cobbler - from SCRATCH! Everyone seemed to enjoy it with vanilla ice cream on top! YUM! Timmy and Ragani are beautiful, peaceful, funny people that love God, United States and family. They have a similar story as David and Vasi where they left South Africa in the late 80's for MN to have a better life for their family. This was their FIRST one week vacation they had EVER taken from their jobs since arriving! Hard working people!!

We took a quick trip to Visalia to check in on Dick's parents. They seem to be adjusting well to their convalescent home. They are in the same room, which is large, high ceiling, bright space. The food could be improved so we take them In and Out Burgers and Root Beer Floats when we are in town. Dick's Dad hasn't been eating but the float disappeared quickly. Gabby also enjoys the visit. She has been doing a lot of work at this location. The patients see us and ask for Gabby! She loves giving love!

When we came back to SF, we were taking Gabby for her morning walk and met up with one of our FAVORITE Giant's team members! Hey, It's my BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!!

Yes, Brian Wilson, the infamous closer. Yes, I am dressed like it is WINTER!! It is quite a story how we met, we'll have to tell it to you LIVE one of these times. Just trust, it is UNFORGETTABLE!! We talked for a good 15 minutes right around the block from our house!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!