“Do you have a tummy ache, mommy? How about if I lie on your knees and be super cute? Will that help?”

We go to lots of Giants games. Who wouldn’t. AT&T (née Pac Bell) Park might be the best place to see a sporting event on the planet: retro styling, views of the bay from the upper deck, garlic fries and Anchor Steam beer….

And of course the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants play there. We are even blessed enough to usually afford really good seats, too, which is how I managed to run into Willie Mays himself once on the way to the bathroom, and why you can see my face cringing in pain behind home plate if you watch the infamous Buster Posey collision on YouTube. You could say we are. Huge. Fans.

But what we’ve never done before was go as guests of a big wig, and have a personal tour of the stadium, see the press box and the Tony Bennett Suite, and get to touch the grass. Note in the photo that those terrific tickets were comp’ed. Thank you for that terrific gift, friend.

Oh my god. So awesome.

Also, we saw both Willies this time, leaving the locker room. (Willie Mays and Willie McCovey.) Did you know they both come to almost every game, and visit the team in the locker room before and after the game? My SF Giants are a family, not a team!

We go to lots of Giants games. Who wouldn’t. AT&T (née Pac Bell) Park might be the best place to see a sporting event on the planet: retro styling, views of the bay from the upper deck, garlic fries and Anchor Steam beer….

And of course the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants play there. We are even blessed enough to usually afford really good seats, too, which is how I managed to run into Willie Mays himself once on the way to the bathroom, and why you can see my face cringing in pain behind home plate if you watch the infamous Buster Posey collision on YouTube. You could say we are. Huge. Fans.

But what we’ve never done before was go as guests of a big wig, and have a personal tour of the stadium, see the press box and the Tony Bennett Suite, and get to touch the grass. Note in the photo that those terrific tickets were comp’ed. Thank you for that terrific gift, friend.

Oh my god. So awesome.

Also, we saw both Willies this time, leaving the locker room. (Willie Mays and Willie McCovey.) Did you know they both come to almost every game, and visit the team in the locker room before and after the game? My SF Giants are a family, not a team!

This china is not her wedding china, or anything like that. When I was a little girl, I always admired it particularly, through the glass-front china cabinets in her dining room. So she promised it to me, and told me its’ story. She purchased this set (for 12) to throw a party for a friend of hers. I never knew who the friend was, but even as a girl I used to think, “how southern and old-fashioned, to throw a party like that.”

So I have had the china, packed in boxes, since 2000. Wow, that’s a long time. And finally, I pulled it out, because I do so damn much entertaining these days I figured I need a way to make special dinners for just me and SweetiePie special again…

Another china story: I vividly remember declaring,when I was a teenager, that when I grew up I was going to use that beautiful china all the time because I was going to be important, and I was going to have important people to dinner all the time. Please imagine this statement said in my best Ramona Quimby voice. Well, I don’t know about the important part, but I’m sure setting a lot of tables.

In fact, I unpacked grandma’s china on the same day we brought the official college presidential china in from storage. Setting for 24. Good grief. I had to turn the cabinets in my library into a butler’s pantry!

So back to the sentimental point. I don’t actually think it is the china, or the wedding invites, or the recent facebook friends I’ve made, that is causing my emotional sentimentality. I think it is connected to how incredibly fortunate I am feeling.

A week or so ago, I was at dinner and I said to a woman, “I am just really grateful that I can go to bed at night and know that what I am doing matters.” ( I do feel that way, incidentally, between being an ambassador for the college at this crucial time and writing my book. ) We say that sort of thing to each other all the time, SweetiePie and I do, because we are focused massively on making the college a place that changes student’s lives, and on helping our faculty become effective teachers who make that change happen. We think that matters a lot.

Bu the look the woman gave me in response… It was a combination of total lack of comprehension and a little envy. Her look of incomprehension startled me into this sentimental state of gratitude; she was a successful, prominent and wealthy woman. But she did not really seem to understand doing work that matters.

I realized at that moment that I am really lucky for so many reasons, from my work at the college and in the community, to the gorgeous geography where we live, to being in an epic love affair with my own husband whom I respect and admire.

Given the roller coaster ride life has provided for me so far, I do not take these things for granted, dear readers. I promise.

This china is not her wedding china, or anything like that. When I was a little girl, I always admired it particularly, through the glass-front china cabinets in her dining room. So she promised it to me, and told me its’ story. She purchased this set (for 12) to throw a party for a friend of hers. I never knew who the friend was, but even as a girl I used to think, “how southern and old-fashioned, to throw a party like that.”

So I have had the china, packed in boxes, since 2000. Wow, that’s a long time. And finally, I pulled it out, because I do so damn much entertaining these days I figured I need a way to make special dinners for just me and SweetiePie special again…

Another china story: I vividly remember declaring,when I was a teenager, that when I grew up I was going to use that beautiful china all the time because I was going to be important, and I was going to have important people to dinner all the time. Please imagine this statement said in my best Ramona Quimby voice. Well, I don’t know about the important part, but I’m sure setting a lot of tables.

In fact, I unpacked grandma’s china on the same day we brought the official college presidential china in from storage. Setting for 24. Good grief. I had to turn the cabinets in my library into a butler’s pantry!

So back to the sentimental point. I don’t actually think it is the china, or the wedding invites, or the recent facebook friends I’ve made, that is causing my emotional sentimentality. I think it is connected to how incredibly fortunate I am feeling.

A week or so ago, I was at dinner and I said to a woman, “I am just really grateful that I can go to bed at night and know that what I am doing matters.” ( I do feel that way, incidentally, between being an ambassador for the college at this crucial time and writing my book. ) We say that sort of thing to each other all the time, SweetiePie and I do, because we are focused massively on making the college a place that changes student’s lives, and on helping our faculty become effective teachers who make that change happen. We think that matters a lot.

Bu the look the woman gave me in response… It was a combination of total lack of comprehension and a little envy. Her look of incomprehension startled me into this sentimental state of gratitude; she was a successful, prominent and wealthy woman. But she did not really seem to understand doing work that matters.

I realized at that moment that I am really lucky for so many reasons, from my work at the college and in the community, to the gorgeous geography where we live, to being in an epic love affair with my own husband whom I respect and admire.

Given the roller coaster ride life has provided for me so far, I do not take these things for granted, dear readers. I promise.

Yet, make no mistake about it, the Russian River Valley is, well, right over there. This point was driven home to me today when I walked into the *other* bodega in town (the one I’d never been in before) today. We normally go to the bodega that sells bait, fishing gear, whiskey and kerosene along with gourmet cheese and a small selection of California wine. (Of course.)

But the new one? Keep in mind, this is a BODEGA–a convienience store. This is a photo of aisle three. (The shop has three aisles.)

Please note the Wine Spectator labels on the shelves. No doubt we are in fact in Wine Country–but thankfully NOT in Napa.

Love and crack-your-own,
Sweetrickey

Okay, we’ve had two smallish storms, followed by 65 degree days. Whatever. That doesn’t count. In 2011, we had eight feet of snow piled up on our lawn in Februaury.

Some people may maintain that winter is over, or never came, but I remember the snow on JUNE 1st, a mere nine months ago. So it’s equally possible that winter just missed the train and will be arriving late. I’m not putting the shoes away yet.