Madrone

Feeling the need to thank Jim for the hours and hours he's spent on our inherited stereo system wee went to a restaurant called Spinster Sisters last night. In a word--wonderful! However we did overdo it when we ordered, after days of also overdoing it, so we're now trying to get back to a simple way of life.

We began today by taking Ozzie to a new venue for his morning walk, a regional park near Glen Ellen. The drive there through the Valley of the Moon was lovely, especially this time of year when the leaves on the vines covering the hills are changing colors. Rows of red and yellow bounded by trees which are also changing color made for a beautiful drive.

The park is crossed by lots of trails and the remains of last week's rain in the creeks which run down the hillsides. There are oaks dripping with Spanish moss and madrones with their spectacular smooth red bark. When we reached the top of the ridge we had a lovely pastoral view down over the valley, dotted with farms here and there. There were lots of places where we could let Ozzie off his lead to run around like crazy.

The mystery of the Nespresso pods was solved when a neighbor several houses away brought them to us with apologies for taking so long. We wouldn't have had to go without coffee here in the land of coffee shops, but it's nice to know that we will once again be able to drink espresso in our pajamas! And we met a neighbor.

Her visit was followed by a surprise visit from friends. Martha used to own the house across the street from us on Magnolia Street. She sold it to Chris when she moved to a bigger house down the street. Chris moved to Santa Rosa fifteen years ago but we have kept in touch sporadically over the years. Today Chris and her partner, Jen and Martha all dropped by to say hello and tour the new digs. As we were reviewing wrapping up the Magnolia Sr gossip, Dana and Jim arrived through the back gate for another shot at the home stereo system and the remaining boxes in our TV room. We now have what Jim refers to as "surround soundish".

A busy day on Wildwood Trail...