Footprints

Some people

come into our lives

and

quickly go.

Others

stay a while,

leave footprints

on our souls

and

we will never, ever be the same.

-R. Hoskins

This is a difficult post,

but

one that I feel

the need to share.

I have

posted

a

few

really

special

"Petit Soleil"

serendipitous

moments

with you,

and

have

shared

a

few

very

special

Petit Soleil

guests

with you

but

this

story

left

a

footprint

on

my

soul

Cal Poly's

2011 Freshman,

and their families

are beginning

to arrive

into town

for

orientation

and

school tours.

The

excitement

is

contagious.

Three years ago we felt this same excitement as a young man from Austin TX,

Carson,

and his family

were

touring

Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo

and

were

making

the final decision

for Carson

to become a

Cal Poly

Mustang.

Tall,

lean

an obvious athlete,

with

charm

and

a

Texas size smile,

Carson

won over our hearts

(and the hearts of

all the

young Cal Poly girls

that work at Petit, as well)

Carson's family,

equally

as

warm and charming,

shared in the

excitement

of

his future

of

architecture,

mountain bicycle adventures,

and

hopeful dreams

The dreams changed.

Carson

died

of

alcohol poisoning

at

a

Fraternity

initiation

party

December 2, 2008

...

hazing was

the

alleged crime

Time stopped

for

his family,

friends,

and

everyone else that he touched

was

started

by

Carson's family

to honor

his

legacy

...

to educate

children, young adults

and their families

about

hazing,

bullying

and

alcohol poisoning

...

Cal Poly

honored

Carson

last week

with

the dedication of

a bicycle rack

in

an

emotional

ceremony

Carson's family

along with

Cal Poly

want

to ensure,

through education,

a

safe

transition

for kids

into

adulthood

The

day was perfect

warm

and breezy

young

people

sang

and many

just

listened,

cried

or

quietly remembered

Carson

Carson's

roommates

and

closest friends

gathered

with

his

parents

With Carson

will

be

honoring

Carson's

memory

Please read the

Cal Poly

bike dedication

page

Parents!

educate yourselves

and educate your children

Young People!!!

Never

Ever

let anyone

bully

you

...

never

become

a

bully

Please read

about

Carson Starkey

here

after knowing him

I will

never

ever

be

the same

Happiness is....

IMG_0708, originally uploaded by TTT with Toulouse.

I believe that kids are like boomerangs!
Whoooosh.....you send them off to college and they spin and twirl and whoosh..
back to you they come!
Secretly, I am thrilled to have them back in SLO; chatting it up with the guests at Petit, eating up leftovers at home, filling up our DVR with hundreds of "Sex in the City" episodes and ESPN programs and whipping our butts (mine and John's) at Cranium, Catch Phrase, Rummikub and Yahtzee. I love their energy and their ability to always keep us guessing.
I did find this plaque - on FACEBOOK,( believe it or not), while I was stalking pictures of the newest arrivals at a charming little shop in Paso Robles called The Cottage. I sent Sandy a message to hold one for me.
John permanently adhered the plaque right in between the doors of Annie and Andrew's rooms (always their rooms whether they live here of not).
I hope they remember what they read here:

Happiness is not a destination it is a way of life.

(I know I appreciate the daily reminder, too)

It is not easy keeping up on a blog

It

is

quite

a

challenge

to

keep

my

blog- readers

interested

in

reading

this

blog

(Jenny- I think I need a picture of Reggie the Randy Rover cruising across the screen with Toulouse)

I do have some

recipes

to share...

or

I could share

my

Happy Anniversary with John

pictures

with you

or

I

can

go out and take

pictures

of

the

extraordinarily

beautiful

emerald green hills

and

wildflowers

around

SLO

with

you

or

I could

tell

you

about

our

killer wines

for

April

.......

but

today I choose

to share

some

happy

videos

of

Petit Soleil

with you:

#1

by

a

creative

guest

#2

by our

amazingly

talented

and

dear friend,

Jenny

of

Live Artfully Productions

#3

our

Joyeux Noel

TV

greeting

#4

breakfast at Petit Soleil

by

Molly

(for a Cal Poly Senior project)

or

Spring is springing!

There's a cloud
There's a cloud
A blue sky darkening
That veils the light of the sun
And foretells the rain
But there's a bird
There are birds
And some are singing

To greet every new day that may come
Like the first of spring

It is cold
It is cold
I've had the feeling
At the heart and in the core
The roots of all things
But there's a bud there's a bulb
It will be blooming
To greet every new day that may come
Like the first of spring

Tracy Chapman

Today

is the

first day

of

Spring!

Don't

you

just

love

Spring?

Everything

is

all

SO

new

again!

.....

We

had

a wicked rain

last

night

in SLO -

like

four inches

in

24 hours!

(that's a lot for us!!!)

but

the

rain,

even the wicked rain

makes

fresh air

and

happy

flowers

cheery

Johnny Jump ups

pansies

kale

daisies

so happy!!!

A

few days

ago

John

planted

my

old bird cages

full of

flowers

I think

he

quietly

remarked

that

my idea to

plant flowers

in the

old

cages

was

a

REALLY

good one

since

we

have

had

numerous

canaries and finches

that

literally "flew the coop" when I was cleaning the cage

(oooops)

Last

night

I woke up

in

a

scary

panic,

or was it a hot flash?

during

the

wicked

rain storm

worrying

that

my happily planted

bird cages

might

blow over

and

be

T O A S T

joyfully

they

were

P E R F E C T !!

sadly,

though,

the wicked

four inches

of rain

caused

a

about

four inches

of

flood

water

in

Petit's

kitchen

.......not so fun

the

old

bicycle was

upright

and it's flowers

happy

"But there's a bird
There are birds
And some are singing"

on

the

first

day

of

Spring!

Hotcha! that's some a'spicy biscotti!

I always

love

an

easy

fun

and

tasty

nibble!

we serve

this

biscotti

with

a salami roll,

apple slices

and

lovely and bold red wine

(maybe Tolosa Syrah, or Ortman Eddie's Cuvee or Hitching Post Generation Red YUM!)

the recipe

calls for

black pepper

red pepper

cumin

and

sharp

cheddar cheese

flour

cornmeal

butter

egg and water

Mix

and form

two logs

The are baked

as logs

then

sliced

and baked again

thus

BI scotti

easy

and

a

bit addicting

1 tsp black pepper

2 c. flour

2 Tbs. cornmeal

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp red pepper

mix dry ingredients

1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

add cheese to dry ingredients

1/4 c. melted butter

1/4 c. water

1 large egg, beaten

mix wet ingredients together

and stir into dry.

Knead four or five times on floured surface

Divide dough in half

and

form

halves into logs.

Place logs on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes.

Cool log 10 minutes and cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices.

Bake 15 minutes - turn and bake another 10 minutes.

These would be yummy

served with a

roasted tomato soup!

350 degrees

The Leprechaun of Tao

Holds oneness in her heart

And her world is at peace

Does not try to please

And therefore shines

Does not seek attention

And therefore excels

Does not justify herself

And is therefore trusted

Does not intimidate others

And is therefore herself

Does not compete (well?.....uh, yeah she does)

And therefore

No one in the world can surpass her

Tao 22

yeah

yeah

yeah!

I

Know!!!

bragging

about

your children

can

make

a

parent

really

obnoxious

but,

I am

really proud

of this gal

and

March 2011

is

her

MONTH!

Annie:

1. ran the Napa Marathon in 3 hours 31 minutes

2. finished her last class at the University of California, Santa Cruz

and is officially an alumni

3. will turn 22 on St. Patrick's Day

(that isn't really an accomplishment - just a treat!)

click off

now

if you

hate

bragging parents

In my tummy,

Annie

was

a kicker

and a wiggler

and

on

March 17th

1989

I

got to finally

hold

my little

wiggle worm

my

tiny leprechaun

6lb 7oz

..my treasure

when she

was

good

she was

very very good

and when

she wasn't

she

screamed

Annie thought

the

sun

rose and set

over

her

big brother,

Andrew

Disneyland

1993

Dresses?

not so often

I did

beg

her

to wear a dress

to be

my

maid of honor

on

March 28, 1998

this is Annie dancing with John

Chuck t's

softball cleats,

roller blades,

any

and

all

sport activities

walk a thons

jr. life guards

track

and soccer

That's

my

Annie!

a runner

(she took first in her age bracket in the 2006 Nike Half Marathon)

ooops

was

I bragging?

mmmmmhmmmmm

and

Annie is

a

most

amazing

woman,

determined to save the world

intelligent

thoughtful

kind

loving

and my best friend

LA Marathon 2010

Napa Marathon 2011

Congratulations

of your graduation from

UCSC,

Dottie,

and

may all

your

birthday wishes

come true!

I love you!

Benjamin Franklin - brilliant!

Ben

was brilliant!

I bet

he

was a

hoot

at

dinner parties...

take a quick

minute

to

read

a few of

Ben's ramblings

in

Poor Richard's Almanac

We spent

last weekend

in

Napa -

a

really

nice

getaway!

famished

and

needing wine

as

Wine is living proof that God loves us

and wants us to be happy

love that

Ben!

we

stumbled on

Redd Restaurant

in

in Yountville

fabulous!

I highly

recommend it

to foodies

and beyond!

To start.

Joseph George SAUVIGNON BLANC Yountville Napa Valley 2008

AND

Lewis CHARDONNAY Napa Valley 2008

"When Wine enters, out goes

the Truth."

Perfect

calamari

Crispy calamari, cayenne salt, tamarind sauce, vietnamese dressing

then

Warm goat cheese, hazelnuts, beets, greens, sherry vinaigrette

AND

Caramelized diver scallops, cauliflower purée, almonds, balsamic reduction

Wine (and good food)

made our day

easier,

less hurried.

with fewer tensions

and

we

were

infinitely

more tolerant!

Redd Restaurant

Yountville