and a water buffalo

city doldrums
after a weekend in the country, it feels very confining to be in an office again. and see cement everywhere
our camping trip friday was cancelled, so we went to bed around midnight and got up the next morning to drive to boonville (which is between geyserville and mendocino, on a long long windy road)
we got up there around 2 - but had to stop at one winery so i could pee & buy a bottle of wine for our hosts. the little yard at the winery had a 24 hour old lamb. HOUR ! bleating and laying in a little pile of wool in the corner of the yard. i went to give him some pets and he bleated and tried to stand up but his legs were so wobbly he didn't do a very good job of it. he was all spindle legs and tiny body and head. giant knobby knees. so damn cute, i wanted to take him home.

our hosts have a very cute little cottage with a yard covered in fall colored leaves.. the back yard has a pear tree, some grape arbor, tomatoes.. a little guest shack.. a fire pit...

we spent the weekend doing the following:
wine tasting, driving through windy mountain roads to orr hot springs to soak (ari had left for work by this time, so it was just we other 3).. oh orr was lovely. surrounded by redwoods and bamboo (which didn't really belong but looked great anyway). shaded and green. we first sat in little private rooms in clawfoot tubs where you get clean before the main baths. monk and i sat facing each other in our own tub.. misha was in another room.
we then moved from the main redwood tub .. very hot, surrounded by stained glass windows and redwood. and the cooler hot tub, which was shallow and had natural rocks built into it..
we took a dip in the sulfury cold pool which was a temperate pondy experience. the steam room. more cold pool . more hot soaks.
i'd love to stay there sometime. charming little cabins, a communal kitchen where you cook your own meals. sigh. so good
we drove back to boonville and ate dinner at the boonville hotel , where ari is currently a chef.
delicious meal, delicious wine. (mm, the fig, gorgonzola and red onion pizza!)
misha monk and i left and went to the boonville halloween party. now you must understand, boonville is like 1/2 mile long. it's a tiny little town. so this was a small locals type affair. but we heard there would be costumes (we had none) and karaoke!
when we got there the singing wasn't happening, but there was loud music. beer. people we'd seen working in wineries.. and many a great costume.
monk got up to sing We Belong (pat benatar) and ended up being asked if he was a professional back in the city, had drink offers, and from there on the party was started. the karaoke had begun. it didn't stop for the rest of hte night. (i got up and sang diana ross with two local girls, i was bad, they didn't really know the song. good fun)
we returned to the cottage and had a late night til 3:30 am dance party of four. wine, loud music, and a fire in the back ayrd. we talked and danced around the fire (ari and monk dancing together. i just about wanted to pop. so cute).
monk came away with a limited edition Samantha Fox record. score.
woke up in the morning and walked to a little breakfast .. then drove to The Apple Farm. part of me wishes i'd known about this place before ew booked our wedding venue but there are only about 80 beds in all of hte anderson valley, so it wouldn't really have been feasible. but still. beautiful and charming.
and we pet some pigs, sheep, bunnies, and goats
and tried to pet horses but they were having none of it. they'd snort loudly and walk off into the trees.
we bought some cider and tasted slices of apple.
then stopped by the winery where ari works to taste with him, buy a little olive oil and sauvignon blanc.
then it was time to take misha home and head back to urban life.

we're still set on moving to the country .. i think we've got another 5 years before we'd be ready, but i really want to make sure we make it happen. i don't want to just talk about it. it's something that's important to us both.

i fell in love with the land on the comptche ukiah road. i'd love to build a house there. already found all kinds of land for sale! some day.

anyway, they have a nice little set up up there, a & m do. very cozy, very charmign and small and they just need a herd of goats and some chickens ..
and bunnies and horses and a water buffalo.

[ previous� �|� � next ]

�

�