Rounding the Bend

As a year comes to a close, I confess this exercise in doing different 365 turned into Doing Different 182.5 - I managed to do a lot of different things throughout the year, more than any year before, but hitting that "different" thing every day became a chore after the first two months. I began petering out in the middle of March and by the spring I was resigned that I would never make my goal. Michael told me it felt a bit like "eating different" and sure, there was a lot of that. I admit that to really "do different" every day for a year, I would have had to spend a lot of time planning, contacting people, and putting a lot of effort forth. It's why Julie (of Julie and Julia) is was in her 20s and so are many of the other bloggers who attempt to stir up interest in their adventures. This stuff takes work and dedication.

Post Thanksgiving, I really just wanted to relax - I knew I was going to go to Napa with mom and had plans for the night prior.

Friday, "the gang" had tickets for a local Rotary event. It was a little fundraiser at a funky location (a car repair place, where they didn't really repair cars there, but they rented the space out to non-profits). We went for cocktails and hors d'hoeuvres where I met a really interesting man - he was CEO of a non-profit that directed funds and doctors and nurses to care for people in Kenya. I thought a lot about my former best friend Amy who would have been all over this guy, but I was also excited to pull Kate out and introduce her to Dr Peter (?) because Kate loves wild and weird places. This would suit her perfectly. After the snacks, we went next door to see a marionette show of Cinderella. It was interesting - well done, and of course, seasonally very festive.

Post Marionettes, we ventured outside to the Art Crawl. I thought it was one of the coolest, hippest events I had been to in a really long time. I felt like I was in New Orleans, or New York. The air had a chill (it wasn't freezing), and people were out, all over the street in different venues, looking at art, drinking, chatting - everyone was friendly and cool. There wasn't a single point in the night where we were walking around the streets where it ever felt dangerous. Frankly, I'm happy to have the moniker of the 8th most deadly city in the US, it keeps the rif-raf away.

Saturday I drove up to Napa and mom and I met at the outlets and shopped. and shopped. and shopped. then we lunched in downtown napa and then we shopped. Unfortunately, a cold starting coming on hard 'n fast and by dinner, I could barely breath. Which was a bit unfortunate - we had reservations at Ubuntu. This is one the Chron's top 100.

Ok - so here's the dining different part - This is a 1 Michelin star restaurant and I honest can't tell you what we ate. So here are four of the $15 each small plates we tried - more or less:

an ubuntu steam bun stuffed w/ burrata and coated with SUNCHOKE dirt

SUNCHOKE tostones, roasted and raw ‘fuyu’ persimmon, smoked GREEN TOMATO

QUINCE soffrito, fermented APPLE, ‘sheep’s’ SORREL, raw ‘purple haze’ CARROTS

goat’s milk ricotta, chanterelle and GREEN TOMATO chow-chow

Yes, the flavors were interesting, but if you walk out of a restaurant and can't describe what you eat, they have done something wrong. Also, for the price, we should have been at least "sated" for $100. That included only one glass of wine and no dessert... so there you have it.

By Sunday, I was wiped out and could barely muster the energy to shop, but we went for an hour and after that it was home, to bed. I was so bad on Monday, that for the first time in years, and I mean, YEARS, I called in sick and pretty much worked most of the day from home. That said, I was able to rest a bit and get in a good 2 1/2 hour nap. That helped so that by Tuesday, I was well enough to return to work. I needed to rest up for the weekend ahead - a weekend chalk full of stuff in ... LA!