Bay area blues

Considering the title and supposed subject of my blog I am not spending too much time over the water in America lately. A mixture of family commitments, work and selling our home in Walnut Creek means that family OTW will not be visiting the bay area until next year a fact that leaves me a most English Englishman curiously homesick! I do however pay attention to all the cultural and political shenanigans of my adopted country and I do have a long term plan (in its early stages more of which later) to buy and perhaps build in California at some point in the not too distant future.Until then I'll just have to do some California dreaming and enjoy the rain here...ha!

Birthdaze

Family OTW celebrated a birthday today in rather better weather than is usual back in a rather rain soaked Britain. We headed up The Napa valley for Breakfast in St.Helena and then visited ager-Martucci winery for an afternoon tasting.The heat combined with a generous pour subdued the various happy Brits and then driven by the designated driver Mrs OTW we headed for Marys pizza shack in Sonoma.This eatery is not exactly a culinary experience on the lines of The French Laundry in Yountville but over the years we have enjoyed the simple and tasty food plus the atmosphere around the square in Sonoma itself.The day ended with fine wine and chocolate cake at The Vino house.....a difficult day I know but somebody had to do it. Friday is the day for bottling the 06 vintage so suitably rested it will be all hands to the pump.......get your orders in now.

Winter woes.

I've never been a lover of January in England..its always wet and windy...windy and wet..take your pick. This January it seems we are having floods again...lets see..build houses on flood plains and....they flood, surprise! Nulabour reckon we need another couple of million houses for our new citizens fresh from foriegn fields...my advice...wear wellies! I could tolerate the weather if we had snow and ice but we never do...just grey grimy days. Meanwhile over the water I took a trip up to Napa and Sonoma again...weather...62 degrees...ha!...global warming,bring it on. I started day with a walk through vineyard with vinodogs major and minor...what a great place to build a house,something I have planned for sometime in the not distant future. In U.K. I would have to jump through hoops just to build a red brick box on a piece of waste ground and yet here I can make plans for a house incorporating anything I can think of...the difference between England's not so closet socialist state and Americas individualist outlook couldn't be better illustrated. In the afternoon a quick trip to Sonoma valley for a tasting at Ledson winery....good wine but an architectural nightmare...way too much money out here and not too much taste I,m afraid. All in all a fine winters day...and not an umbrella in sight!