Dixie Fix

Sierra Starr Winery: Great Place to Spend a Sunday Afternoon

Of course, Sgt. Funky was playing, so the entertainment was fab!! But Phil and Anne's location is just a beautiful setting!! Whether you sat on the grass in the shade, on chairs or beach chairs, or like us at a comfy table, it was just a terrific Sunday afternoon!! It was in the high 70s (perfect!) and breezy.

Sierra Starr would be an ideal wedding location -- beautiful, with lots of parking. They have a band stage and even have a platform with table over a small pond.

I went to high school with Phil (go Whittier Cardinals) and it's fascinating to hear the stories of the work he's doing on the new GV tasting room at Mill and Main streets. He uncovered a rock wall that had been covered up for probably 100 years! I'm going to call some of my old-timer friends and see if they know about the wall and what the building housed in the Gold Rush days. Phil hopes to be open in the old location sometime in August -- visit the tasting room and tell he and Anne hello!

Their dog, Chewy, was quite the greeter and he walked the grounds, sniffing everybody and waiting patiently for pats on the head.

BTW, Sierra Starr's "Jack's Blend" (red, concocted by son Jack) is down to the last case! It is a terrific wine and tastes like it cost much more than $20 a bottle. Act fast, only 12 bottles left!

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Oh, speaking of dogs, I took Jackson (Golden Retriever) to the groomer for a "summer trim." Guess semantics is everything -- he came back shaved and looking like a yellow lab! I guess I should have been a little more specific, huh? Oh well, at least he'll be cooler.

Matteo's Public Holds 'Soft Opening' & More

It was last night, and seemed to be a roaring success. I went with 3 woman friends and we sat at the bar with Judge Tom Anderson and his wife, artist Eileen Blodgett. Everyone pronounced the food "excellent" and we all took turns looking at, and sometimes tasting, our friends' choices. Judge Tom was enamored with the mustard that came with his beer-battered veggies, and it WAS awesome. I asked Matt, the owner, his secret and he said it was a secret (duh!) but that the mustard did contain mango. Yum. I'm going to try to replicate it.

His food is definitely pub food, with fish and chips, chicken wings, etc. but also some real different choices. I had the ale-steamed fresh vegetables served over baby spinach (under $8) and it was delicious.

We were there on the early side (mostly adults then) but when I left Friar Tucks after Bill Holman's 65th Birthday Party, Matteo's was rocking with a zillion kids! Matt had the doors flung open (reminded me of Key West) and after sports practice the families were out in full force.

This is a lively addition to downtown Nevada City and Matt and Michelle have put their heart and soul into this venture. Check it out and support him!!

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Bill's birthday was a kick -- there must have been 30 people there, all having Tuck's Wednesday night Prime Rib special. Instead of a roast, everyone got up and said 1 word that personified Bill. That was fun!

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Meanwhile, just a block away, ball-of-energy Reinette Senum was sworn in as Nevada City's mayor. Lisa Swarthout, Grass Valley's mayor, was there to lend support (you go girls!) as well as former GV Mayor Linda Stevens. There is an excellent profile on Reinette at www.yubanet.com if you want more details about her life.

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I dropped in The Fix (next to the New moon parking lot) to see if the Nevada City raw food eatery was ready to open, but not quite yet. Evan is expected to be ready in about 2 weeks. Stay tuned.

Hollywood Sweets/Grapevine Bistro/Valentina's + Other Stuff

You know the place -- in the center with Longs (opp's, becoming CVS) and Safeway. Anyway a young couple have taken it over and the wife, Valentina -- is Russian. I had lunch there Monday and had a wild salmon salad that was fabulous! It was fairly crowded so I suppose the word is getting out...they still have the oriental Chicken Salad, of course, the choice of my friend Marilyn.

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The news is getting crazier and crazier, isn't it? Nice guy McNair turned out to have a juicy secret or two! And anyone who could make sense of Sarah Palin's press conference deserves a medal. She had another press conference to try to explain the first one this morning, BTW. Last week was a bad week for Sarah, with the negative Vanity Fair story and CBS leaking those e-mails she wrote asking McCain's camp to lie about hubby Todd's membership in a seccessionist group. (They refused.) So is she being investigated? Or just sick of the "mean" media? Time will tell.

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Tonight's the full moon and a group of us will be out on kayaks and boats at Scott's Flat Lake to watch the moon rise. It is a spectacular sight if you haven't seen it -- should take place just before 9:30 p.m. tonight. Everyone's welcome!! Nothing like a beautiful summer evening in a kayak on the lake...Life is good, isn't it?

5 Mile House Re-Opening, Tweet Up..

A local named Robert Smith (witness protection name? just kidding!) purchased the beleagured 5 Mile House out of foreclosure and is re-opening it as a restaurant. I've heard it will be slightly less upscale and a little more roadhouse, which might be a good thing. It takes a brave person to begin a business in this scary economy, so when it opens we should give the new owner a Nevada County welcome! (Am I the only one who sees a frightening similarity between the old 5 Mile House and Dos Banditos? Were the old owners of both separated at birth?)

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Last night's Tweet Up at Broad Street Bistro was a success. When I left to go, my husband asked, "How many people do you think will be there?" I said it will either have about 4 people, or a packed house and the latter was true. Now, Twitter is an "acquired taste" and if it wasn't for Zuri Berry and Aaron Klein (strange bedfellows?) I would never have plunged in, but both convinced me of its merits. In fact, Zuri was the first person to get the news about Lance Armstrong coming here to the bike race, and he broke it on Twitter! And, Twitter has played a huge part in getting out the word about what's really happening in Iran, so it's hard to discount it now. I saw many people I recognized from their Facebook and Twitter photos and met a few new people besides. Also, Zuri was wearing a tie; he was quite nicely dressed. Think back: when have you seen a reporter from the newspaper dressed like that? You're a class act, Zuri! The next Tweet Up will be at BriarPatch, and August will happen at the Miners Foundry -- which has WiFi now.

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It seems as if summer is finally here -- weatherwise, at least. The first day of summer is Monday, June 22nd. And a very happy belated birthday to My Little Pony, who celebrated his 61st by going to a baseball game with Chris Towne, whose birthday is also June 17th (as is local guru/goddess Marilyn Nyborg) Happy Birthday to all!!!!

Evangelizing Husband

I was surprised when my husband said he would go to Weight Watchers with me. I knew he could lose 20 pounds or so, but I didn't think he's commit like I was ready to do. But -- not only did he commit, he has become the de facto spokesman for the wonderfulness of Weight Watchers!

We've only been going for 10 days, so it seems kind of early to be a convert, but he is bringing it up in the strangest places -- like our early morning walking group.

"You should think about joining Weight Watchers," he said to a female neighbor, as I cringed and looked away. He doesn't realize he may as well just stopped her and shouted "You're fat." Men don't think that way.

He brings it up in the grocery store, at meetings, pretty much everywhere he goes. And I guess that's because he feels so good.

We have been "all whole grains" for quite some time, it's more the portion control and other factors, but he feels great. And he's never hungry.

In fact, the first week he felt guilty, because he was eating so much food. "Are you sure this is OK?" he would ask at every meal. I've been doing almost all the cooking and point calculating but he's coming around and is in charge of dinner tonight.

For those of you who don't know, the point system is what WW uses instead of counting calories. You calculate (or look it up in a book) the calories, fat grams and fiber of one serving and get its points value. He can have 34 a day; I get 22.

They've also added  "activity points" so you can eat more food if you exercise. And a feature newer this time is "optional week points" whereby you get 35 extra points a week to splurge if you feel like it. They're really gotten away from the "diet" concept and consider it a new way to live.

And there is really nothing that is taboo. Alcohol? Just add the points. Same with dessert.

My current favorite thing is BBQ'd zucchini. Here is the recipe:

4-5 zucchini, sliced lengthwise (about 4 slices per)

Lowfat salad dressing as marinade (or make your own)

Grill until BBQ'd; turn to cook other side (takes about 10 minutes)

Guess how many points? Zero!

I don't want to brag, but we are both losing weight -- at least we did the first week. He lost 6.8 pounds and I lost 7.8 pounds.

I'll keep you updated.

The Time Has Come....

After 3 months of detoxing from 30+ years of stress-inducing newsrooms, I had an ah-ha moment the other day. I'm happy, I'm relaxed, I need to tackle something hard.

Uh, oh. That's my weight.

If Weight Watchers were a university, I would be a graduate student. I actually have attained the "lifetime member" status (reaching and maintaining your goal weight) but I confess, that was in the 80s. And the problem with the little Lifetime Member card is -- surprise, your weight. If I was at my goal weight, I could go to meetings for free. But I'm not. So the card, at this point is meaningless.

I know why I've gained weight over the years: Happy marriage, lots of cooking together; not being realistic about portion size; giving myself permission to "splurge"; and the worst, deceiving myself that wine, a liquid, doesn't really have calories.

There, I've gotten it all off my chest. If only losing the weight was as easy.

Before Menopause, I could drop 10 pounds if I needed to. After Menopause, I had a better chance of winning the Lottery than losing an ounce.

And while I go to the gym and walk about 12 miles a week, that only produces weight loss if it is combined with a diet, or as they now say, a better way of life.

In 1994 I was diagnosed with cancer twice in the same year! (A lot of awful stuff also happened that year.) I went through chemo, radiation, lost all my hair, etc. Nowadays, chemo makes you GAIN weight (isn't that the ultimate indignity?) So I asked my oncologist, "How can I lose weight?" He just looked at my bald head and overweight body and said "It's easy. Eat less. Exercise more." And I did.

But here were are in 2009 and even though I know that mantra, it's not that easy. I know I need some Weight Watchers matron to weigh me every week and write it down in a book. I know I need to keep a diary of everything I put in my mouth. I know I need that accountability and the camaraderie of other people in the same struggle in those meetings.

So, I'm going to go Tuesday morning. I know a few people in that "class" and it's a convenient time and a good moderator.

Think good thoughts for my journey. I'll keep you posted.

For some reason, the time is finally right.

PS_... weight loss tips, recipes, etc, would be greatly appreciated!

Dining at the Jail...

I had lunch at the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility on Friday. Honest to God, here is the menu: Green salad, asparagus wrapped in bacon, chicken Cordon Bleu, wild rice, cornbread and brownies.

The inmates grow a lot of their own vegetables out back, and the cook makes all the hamburger and hot dog buns from scratch!!

To get to the lunch area we passed a pool table, 2 ping pong tables, a lounge and a library. These are available to the minimum security inmates.

Of course, it is a jail -- and the inmates we saw in maximum security looked pretty scary.

Did you know Sheriff Keith Royal has no budget woes because he houses 55 federal inmates there that generate nearly $2 million a year in revenue? He can do that because it is nowhere near capacity.

Did you know none of the deputies in the jail carry a gun? They have tasers and a nightstick.

Did you know the jail laundry facility runs 24/7 just to keep up?

And guess what? No bars, anywhere.

After 5 Long Years on the Waiting List...

.....can you guess what I'm getting? Pasties from the church ladies at the Grass Valley Methodist Church! Can you believe it??? I did a story on their money making operation 5 years ago and put myself on the waiting list. Isn't that funny? Can't wait to finally try one.

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Kane's has a new special, starting Monday. For $39 for 2, you get filet mignon, (or a few other choices) caesar salad, vegetable, starch, dessert and a bottle of wine. He's keeping his pasta special, but now it's only on Tuesdays, beginning next week.

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Am just now recovered from company! Two days of laundry. John's Lake Party was great and Sgt. Funky was Big Fun.

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The first of our brood of grandkids is graduating high school. Dylan's is this weekend in Taos, New Mexico. Ashton's is in 2 weeks in Kauai. It really seems just like yesterday when they were born.

Are You Shopping For Weekend BBQ's?

Double the time you plan to spend at the grocery store. It is a mob scene out there! Raley's packed, Safeway packed...BTW, when did the whole world get Friday off? Isn't anyone working anymore? I thnk all of Nevada County is stocking up on supplies...it's like the day before a snowstorm!

Showing Off Nevada County...

Two of my journalist friends and their 2 daughters are arriving tonight, late, for Memorial Day Weekend and the Sgt. Funky Concert at John and Sandra Hensley's on Monday. I plan to take them to the Sierra Fest of the Arts on Sunday...any other suggestions? I'm sure we'll hit the shopping in both towns, and my friend from Bainbridge Island is probably starved for sunshine so we might kayak at Scott's Flat. They've both been here before, but, what is your favorite place to take visitors?