Out and About in the neighborhood
Biking and Burgers
I haven’t been out and about as much as usual in recent months because I’ve been dealing with sciatica. Luckily, I can still ride my bike, and it has been a godsend in order to maintain my exercise regimen. This turned out to be a particular blessing when my biking mentor and pickleball buddy Tom Walsh visited Yountville a few weeks ago from his current digs in Maine. He was able to combine a needed appointment with his long-time St. Helena dentist and a pet-sitting gig for vacationing neighbors Bob and Carol Williams.
Whenever Tom is in town, he has so many friends and activities, it’s hard to get on his “dance card.” But I was fortunate this time to be able to do a couple of bike rides with him and go to lunch at Burgers and Half Bottles with our mutual pickleball friend Carol Carsillo. When we were at lunch, Samantha Holland walked in with someone who looked very familiar. I didn’t mean to stare but could not figure out how I knew him. Turns out, he was my very own dentist, Dr. Boyd Dennington. I usually see him in his office wearing doctors scrubs and barely recognized him in street clothes (looking good)!
Living Vicariously
With my unpredictable back issues. I couldn’t risk volunteering at the Veterans Home Celebrity Lunch this year. But I was able to experience the event vicariously through the eyes of my hubby, Jim McDonald. There’s been a lot of coverage about the 21st annual luncheon so I won’t go into those details here. I just want to give a shout-out to Angelika Wieling for her stellar efforts recruiting volunteers every year. Jim partnered with Gisela Campagne on the meal service and after the veterans were served, enjoyed lunch with fellow volunteers Joel Breitigam, Iren Jenny and Pam Reeves.
Unfortunately, hiking is also off my agenda right now. However, that didn’t stop Jim from participating in a sunset hike organized by Yountville Chamber of Commerce volunteer Chris McAuliffe. I was fortunate enough to take one of Chris’s hikes on the Camino de Vinoseveral months ago, trekking a six-mile stretch through St. Helena with tastings at several wineries along the way. This recent hike was on Rector Ridgeand the group of hikers, besides Chris and Jim, included Patti Connery, Brent Farlie, Richard Mar, Leslie Howard and Laurie Tenny. They got some beautiful sunset photos and enjoyed a glass of port to celebrate their accomplishment.
Chris has another sunset hike planned at Westwood Hills Park in Napa on Dec. 17 followed by happy hour at Hop Creek Pub. Contact Chris to learn more about this and future hikes at [email protected] or stop by the Yountville Welcome Center for more information. All hikes are obviously weather dependent.
Schaer-ing Literature
I hope Ronda Schaer gets a chuckle out of the title of this segment of my column! Ronda and I share a love of books and she loaned me a couple of her recent favorites. “Origin” by Dan Brown is a fascinating novel about religion versus technology, featuring Brown’s protagonist from the “Da Vinci Code,” Robert Langdon. If anyone has been to Bilbao or Barcelona, a lot of the action takes place in those two cities. I also just started “My Friends” by Fredrik Backman, author of “A Man Called Ove.” Ronda and I met for coffee at the Bardessono Hotel for a book discussion and to catch up on what’s going on in town. See if you can check out these books or put them on hold at the Yountville Library.
Also on the literary scene, the poets who participate in Les Deux Magots, the group formed by Marianne Lyon, held a poetry reading to introduce a new chapbook from the group’s poets. It’s always interesting to hear the range of poetry and the personal musings they contain. Yountville local Patricia Reis was one of the poets reading. I also enjoyed talking to Michael Waterson, a former Napa County poet laureate. Hill Family hosted the meeting in their lovely tasting salon on Washington Street.
Grgich Hills Pick-Up Party
I wrote a testimonial recently for the Yountville Chamber of Commerce about how we ended up becoming wine club members of Grgich Hills Estate Winery — it all started with a chamber mixer. The welcoming events and Grgich wines have kept us coming back for more. The latest pick-up party featured a talented saxophone player, Jared Cruz, and an excellent charcuterie buffet catered by Graze Provisions. We especially enjoyed being in the company of CEO Violet Grgich and marketing manager Sherisse Taylor. They both make all the gatherings so personal you feel like you’re in the company of good friends. The special wine of the day was the Grgich 2021 Paradise Cabernet. It is made from a single vineyard and single-vine selection of grapes that grow right here in Yountville around the home owned by the late founder, Mike Grgich.
At the pick-up party with her dad, was a young girl who admired my necklace, and we talked about her gemstone collection. The necklace is one of the many pieces of jewelry I purchased at one of Iren Jenny’s Hope’s Chest pop-ups. Iren has planned another couple of pop-ups for the holidays, the next one at the Hotel Yountville on Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. Join the event and pick up a bauble or two for yourself or someone on your gift list.
Good and Welfare
Wishing Doug Haigh a continued speedy recovery from surgery. Doug told me this was his fifth surgery since retiring. Luckily, without having to go to work, he can rest up at home!
Best of luck to Angelika Wieling and Marilyn Cardone on their re-entry into pickleball. Both were off the courts for a while and are now getting together weekly to get back in the game.
The last Yountville Chamber of Commerce mixer of the year at Baldacci Winery went off without a hitch. Kudos to Andrea Scarpa May for all her hard work on behalf of associate members.
Stop by the Steve Rogers Gallery if you haven’t seen the plein air and still life paintings of Loretta Loy-Adair, closing Nov. 28. Next up: the Youth Art Show opening Dec. 4, followed by the Mustard Celebration Photo Finale on Jan. 22.
It’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving and what we will contribute to our family potluck. Feel free to send me your holiday news at [email protected]. Happy Turkey Day!
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