Calling all of you crafty plant lovers! Here is a simple homemade gift idea that you can create for friends and family who may crave a bit of indoor nature on their desk. New York Botanical Garden terrarium designer, Maria Colletti, has a new book titled Terrariums: Gardens Under Glass.
Colletti is a terrarium purist. She likes designs that mimic the natural world—desert, woodland, bog or tropical jungle—and she emphasizes tone, texture and architectural detail. With just the tweak of a leaf or a plant one shade or direction, she argues, a terrarium can come alive. “It’s the little things that bring joy,” Colletti says.
Why a terrarium? “Terrariums are a wonderful way to return to the beautiful world we see around us in parks, gardens, historic estates, seashores, forests and deserts,” Colletti says. “But to do it indoors, as we crave the natural world in our homes and workplaces.”
Though the author doesn’t shy away from complex terrariums (she has a Victorian terrarium in her living room that’s designed to mimic the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine), her book has DIY projects for the novice as well as the expert. She wrote the book for the reader who may be thinking, “I want a new craft. I want a living thing near me that I can see every day. Maybe I need it to take up a very little amount of my free time.” Free time. Yes! I’m not so crafty, so I chose one of her simplest designs, the Soilless Pebble Display with succulents. It came out surprisingly well.
How to make a small tower of succulent and stone:
Materials:
Succulents (pictured here are jade plants—Crassula and Haworthia)
Glass container
Aquarium gravel
River stones
Pea gravel topping
Paper divider
Step 1. Arrange the gravel and river stones on the bottom half of the glass. Use a paper divider to separate materials. (This way if any soil spills down from the plant’s root ball, it will not ruin the layered arrangement.)
Step 2. With a spoon, carefully remove the plants from the potting mix in their original container, working to keep the root ball intact and still in a bit of soil. Gently place each plant into the narrow cylinder.
Step 3. Fill in the top layer with some pea gravel that has a slightly different but natural color.
If possible, place near an east-facing window so it can bathe in the morning sun.
Peer in through the top and around the sides to admire the symmetry, structure and placement of your plants, and adore them.
Maintenance:
“I am one of those people who thinks about plants 24/7,” Colletti admits. “I’m sure everyone does not spend their day obsessed with their plant collection. Well, maybe a few of you do.” Count me in. I’m a horticultural daydreamer. The good news is that there is very little maintenance work to be done. With these succulent terrariums, all you need to do is squirt a few bursts of water into the roots every few weeks. You can achieve this with a spray bottle with a mister setting on the top. Or, if you want to be fancy, Colletti recommends using a long funnel for cylinder-shaped vessels. Trickle the smallest amount of water down the tube of the funnel until it’s at the plant’s roots. One ounce should be plenty of water.
Troubleshooting:
Some signs to look for: Are your plants leaning sideways? Plants receiving light from only one direction will gradually face that way. Stop tormenting your plants! Turn your terrarium occasionally.
Is there a white cottony substance underneath the leaves? Mealybugs especially adore jade plants, and feed on their succulent leaves. Dip a cotton swab into rubbing alcohol and dab the insects to physically remove them. Do this weekly if they become a problem. Then monthly.
Are there yellow, dried, dead or black leaves that have fallen off the plants? Yes, you should feel horribly guilty. Your plants hate you! Actually Coletti is much calmer and says to remove the sad leaves. If the soil is dry around the root ball, mist it. Maybe the terrarium has been baked by the hard sun. Try moving it away from the sun temporarily. Black leaves mean the opposite; too much water and not enough light.
“Some terrariums will live contently without being touched for months,” the author says. “But pay attention! This can be a delicate balance. The ultimate goal is to reach a state of equilibrium; then hands off and enjoy. The other ultimate goal is to experiment, have fun and enjoy for years on end.”
Here’s a fun little fact for you fellow plant geeks: Crafty plant nerd Charles Darwin created terrariums in the 1830s! He sailed around the world on the HMS Beagle from 1832 to 1836, including a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Darwin and his team brought back botanicals that were kept alive on the ship because the explorers transported their findings—from the jungles of faraway continents and back to civilization—in large, enclosed glass jars.
One of the best things about living in Marin is its proximity to so much locally produced food. The ability to buy world-class cheeses, fresh oysters from Tomales Bay and grass-fed beef from Point Reyes Station are just a few of the reasons that I live here. As interest in our food systems continues to grow, more and more folks are trying their hands at producing and selling their own products. With the holidays upon us, here are a handful of locally made beverages that are sure to add a little more cheer to any get-together.
San Anselmo-based Laughing Glass Cocktails follows up their pre-made margaritas with a ruby-hued pomegranate version just in time for the holidays. Made with blanco agave tequila, triple sec and organic agave nectar, the new flavor offers tequila drinkers a festive option. Founders Sydney Rainin-Smith and Carey Clahan bring a genuine enthusiasm to their favorite cocktail and take great pride in sourcing high-quality ingredients, while also keeping the calorie count down. “We like to make grown-up, clean cocktails,” Clahan says. Try it over ice with a squeeze of lime, or as a base for other tequila concoctions—get creative and make your own signature drink this holiday season! laughingglasscocktails.com.
Ironically, ex tech executive Kara Goldin, who began selling her fruit-sweetened water out of her garage, used to drink as many as 10 to 12 Diet Coke’s a day. Now, a decade later, her fruit-sweetened Hint Water (now a $30 million company) is a regular offering at places like Google headquarters, yoga studios, and if all goes according to plan, on college campuses around the country. Though these mildly flavored drinks might seem more like a post-holiday beverage, they are ideal for replacing sugar-laden sodas and helpful for those pacing their alcohol intake during marathon party-going. There are multiple flavors to choose from—seasonal pear, pomegranate and apple—and sparkling and mixed fruit options available. drinkhint.com.
Given the popularity of kombucha—grocery store shelves are overflowing with options—let me make it easy for you: Look for the 16-ounce brown glass bottles of Marin Kombucha, produced locally by Brian Igersheim. His mild flavors include Original Oak, Pinot Sage and Apple Juniper. Igersheim keeps the pH levels of his brews slightly more alkaline than most, which results in a softer, less tangy experience. My personal favorite is the Pinot Sage. marinkombucha.com.
“We are determined to make the world a better place, one cup of coffee at a time,” reads Red Whale Coffee’s website. Chef-turned-coffee-maker/sourcer/roaster extraordinaire Sean Boyd left his restaurant work in New Brunswick, Canada and started a coffee operation in 2012 off of Smith Ranch Road in San Rafael. Recognized as a finalist in the Good Food Awards, Red Whale is developing a devoted following for their seriously good coffee and sincere interest in educating the world about America’s favorite beverage. Visit them at 169 Paul Drive or online at redwhalecoffee.com.
Physician-assisted death is not suicide. The new End of Life Option Act, passed in August and signed by Governor Jerry Brown on September 8, makes it legal for a physician to prescribe a drug to end a patient’s life.
“But it is not suicide,” says Toni Broaddus, California campaign director of Compassion & Choices, the organization that lobbied hardest in favor of the bill, “and it will not say ‘suicide’ on the death certificate.” Physician-assisted suicide is still illegal in California.
“Californians like to have options,” she says. The issue is about choice: choice at the beginning and choice at the end.
The bill allows a patient to choose to end his or her life rather than suffer until its “natural” end. “It’s a relief for people to know that it’s an option,” says Iris Lombard, who facilitates the Elders Salon Sonoma, an aging-issues discussion group.
While a majority of Californians hailed the passage of the controversial bill, advocates for the disabled say the implications are grim.
“Those of us born with visible or severe limitations are frequently told that our lives are not worth living,” writes Adrienne Lauby in the Peace Press, a bimonthly publication of the Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County. “We don’t want our deaths determined by doctors working for HMOs who understand how much cheaper a suicide pill is than health treatments,” says Lauby, who hosts Pushing Limits, KPFA’s disability show.
All California organizations for the disabled opposed the bill.
“Until you’ve spent many years in and out of hospitals, you may not understand how flawed the healthcare system is,” says Lauby. “There are regulations, but mistakes are made and patients are manipulated. You have the basic problem of healthcare being profit-driven … It’s easy to imagine people being given the medicine to save money.”
In the Netherlands, where a similar law has been in place since 2002, “the rate of assisted suicide has gone up many times, and the amount of money for long-term care and medical assistance at the end of life has gone down,” she says.
Dr. Ira Byock, a leader in palliative care in the United States, also cited the Netherlands in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that opposed the law. Instead of letting doctors assist in patients’ deaths, Byock wants to see better palliative care. “Last fall’s Institute of Medicine report Dying in America detailed deficiencies in medical training and practice that contribute to needless suffering,” he wrote. “It also lays out steps that healthcare and long-term care systems, insurers, medical schools and policymakers can take to reliably resolve this crisis.”
In Oregon, the state whose legislation is the model for the California law, the experience has been different. There, less than 1 percent of patients ask for a prescription, and of those, only one-third actually take it.
If not actually pushing people toward suicide, will the new law tend to decrease the amount of time and money allotted to palliative care for people with prolonged terminal illnesses? This is of special concern to poor people who are dependent on state insurance: Will the law push them to take the pill rather than endure prolonged suffering without the comforts of quality palliative care?
And what about the elderly? With a steadily rising population of elders, many of whom are disabled and lack essential services, pressure to expedite their deaths could increase.
But Broaddus believes safeguards in the law protect against such dark outcomes. The process of obtaining the prescription is cumbersome. Patients must be in hospice care and diagnosed with a terminal illness and then interviewed by a mental-health provider to assure mental competence.
Two doctors, seen separately, two weeks apart, must agree that the prescription is warranted. For their protection, patients with terminal dementia are not permitted to request a prescription, another wrinkle in this complicated issue.
The concern is not so much that patients will be routinely forced to choose death by their insurance companies, but that cutbacks in palliative care will push people to choose to die before it’s their time.
For those whose disease cannot be ameliorated, the value of this option is clear. Brittany Maynard moved to Oregon to take her life after she was diagnosed with a virulent form of brain cancer that blocked the effects of pain medication. An unassisted death would have meant unrelieved misery for Maynard, whose right-to-die advocacy started a national conversation about the issue.
For now, most patients aren’t running off to die under the new state law, says Yvonne Baginski, publisher of Born to Age, an annual digest of information for seniors. Baginski has done end-of-life work for three decades and says, “I don’t expect to see a huge onslaught of people seeking this. People are afraid to die. They expect a miracle until the end.”
The air is brisk, the holiday music is playing, the lights are strung—and the options for gifts are overwhelming. Too many loved ones, and too little time. Jumping online is tempting for last-minute shopping, but what fun is that? It’s so much more rewarding to meet and support the local merchants who spend their days making heartfelt products by hand. The North Bay is full of them, and below, we’ve highlighted some places where you’ll find them. Consider the list a treasure map as you discover all that Marin, Sonoma and Napa have to offer this season. Happy exploring, and the best of holidays to you and yours.—Molly Oleson
Heath Ceramics
Since its founding in 1948, Heath Ceramics has been owned by two families, and has expanded from its Sausalito-based factory to showrooms in San Francisco and Los Angeles. But one of the coolest things about shopping locally for the handmade, brightly colored tableware and architectural tile is that you can see exactly how it’s all produced by a team of 40 craftspeople.
Inside the historic 15,000-square-foot factory, nestled among artist studios and designed by Marquis & Stoller, is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how clay is made, and where product shapes are formed, glazed, trimmed and fired.
Check out Heath’s bold, seasonal classical red collection, meant to “bring warmth indoors when it’s cold outside,” and flip through the new Tile Makes the Room, a book featuring the work of the world’s leading designers and architects.
Working tours of the factory are offered on Fridays and Saturdays, and visitors can even score near-perfect dinnerware that’s discounted because it didn’t meet quality standards—evidence that these guys care deeply about their craft. 400 Gate 5 Road, Sausalito; heathceramics.com.—Molly Oleson
Ink.Paper.Plate Studio & Shop
Sirima Sataman’s printmaking shop in downtown Point Reyes Station is more than just that. It’s a gathering space for adults eager to learn something new about printmaking, and maybe jam out a little on some old Townes Van Zandt tunes.
Enter the shop on a typical Saturday afternoon, and Sataman is orchestrating music that’s heavy on the ukulele and cowboy chords as she creates extremely cool linocut prints and teaches people to become
Ink.paper.plate studio & shop offers printmaking classes and workshops. Photo courtesy of Ink.paper.plate studio & shop.
skilled printmakers themselves. Sataman offers a big list of classes and all sorts of personalized teachable moments on a chalkboard menu behind the counter, and she says a number of people have called this holiday season to inquire about Ye Olde Popular Gift Certificates, which she has a-plenty.
The shop is also a great stop-in for stocking stuffers and holiday cards—lots of cool mini art-makers are on offer, such as a wallet-size watercolor palette spread through a shop that’s both a working studio and a retail joint. Sataman only asks that you leave the kids outside or at home. This is an adults-only playground where you can learn to create letterpress greeting cards, set type and make your own dang poster. Sataman can help you transfer screen-print artwork onto fabric—scarves, dishtowels, whatever you’ve got—and also offers a class called Scrappy Little Books, which is all about the art of bookbinding. In the era of Kindle, no less. Classes run Wednesday through Sunday. 11401 Hwy. 1, Point Reyes Station; inkpaperplate.com.—Tom Gogola
47th Annual Industrial Center Building Winter Open Studios
The annual ICB Winter Open Studios, which takes place Dec. 5–6, from 11am to 6pm in the lofts of a historic World War II–era building near the Sausalito waterfront, always provides the opportunity for holiday shoppers to find photography, paintings, sculpture and more by local artists. But this year, the talented community has united to try something new: More than 30 artists will donate pieces of work to benefit Doctors Without Borders.
Taking the theme of migration, the collective effort—envisioned by paper artist Ingrid Butler and organized by oil painter Jennifer Fearon—honors the act of those who leave their homes in search of better lives. The idea came about, Fearon says, to call attention to the international refugee crisis, and to support those currently suffering.
“One of the challenges we have as artists is connecting with larger causes,” Fearon says. “As a group, we have an opportunity to do that. Doctors Without Borders is fantastic because their humanitarian aid is completely independent. They give aid to whoever needs it.”
A colorful installation (directed by Butler, and in collaboration with ICB artists) of more than 4,000 hand-cut butterflies will symbolize a “movement of hope,” and 100 percent of the sales of designated pieces will
ICB Winter Open Studios installation by paper artist Ingrid Butler, in collaboration with ICB artists.
support Doctors Without Borders’ work with refugees and internally displaced people affected by conflict.
Fearon hopes that Open Studios visitors will walk away with a sense that the collaborative ICB artists are aware of, and connected to, the events of the larger world.
“As artists, we have a responsibility to bring awareness of what’s going on,” she says. “And we’re interested in trying to have an impact.” 480 Gate 5 Road, Sausalito; icbartists.com.—M.O.
Northern Light Surf Shop & Bodega Bay Surf Shack
Five years ago, I moved to the North Bay from Santa Cruz, a town with more than its fair share of surf shops (and more than its share of good waves). But when it’s on, the North Coast can be as good as anywhere, yet not so good that surfers are going to come from far away to surf here. And I’ll take the area’s low-key surf scene and friendly locals over Santa Cruz’s crowded lineups and bad vibes any day.
Part of the local surf scene emanates from the year-round stoke served up at Northern Light Surf Shop and Bodega Bay Surf Shack. Bodega and Bodega Bay don’t get the tourist traffic of warmer beach towns, so these shops have to cater to the crusty, cold-water-loving locals. Yes, they sell plenty of T-shirts, hoodies and glass pipes to fill in the gaps during lean months, but these are core surf shops whose stock in trade are boards and wetsuits made for North Coast waves.
Sure, you can buy everything you want online and you might get it cheaper, but when you shop at one of these stores your dollars stay in the community and you’re doing your part to keep the local surf scene alive. Northern Light Surf Shop, 17191 Bodega Hwy., Bodega; 707/876-3032; Bodega Bay Surf Shack, 1400 Hwy. 1, Bodega Bay; 707/340-9404.—Stett Holbrook
Marin Jewelers Guild
Need a special bracelet, necklace or ring for someone who means the world to you? Look no further than the Marin Jewelers Guild, a cooperative of local artists who display their work in a beautiful, inviting gallery on Fourth Street in San Rafael.
Hand-fabricated pieces made of silver, copper, gold and bronze are available, and stones like turquoise, amber and sapphire add splashes of color. The motto of the guild is “Know your jeweler,” and the local community is provided with opportunities to engage with the artisans on a regular basis.
Jewelry made by local artists can be found at the Marin Jewelers Guild.
The gallery’s current window display educates curious shoppers about topaz: “When worn as an amulet,” a yellow sign reads, “topaz was said to drive away sadness, strengthen the intellect, and bestow courage.”
Commission a piece and work in collaboration with your favorite jeweler. Your loved ones will thank you for years to come. 1331 Fourth St., San Rafael; marinjewelersguild.com.—M.O.
Calistoga Depot
Whenever I read The Boxcar Children books as a child, I imagined a life on the tracks, cozy in a railroad car and solving mysteries. Silly, but every time I visit the Calistoga Depot on Lincoln Avenue in downtown Calistoga, that feeling comes back.
Originally built in 1868 by Napa Valley settler Samuel Brannan, one year before the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, the Calistoga Depot train station and designated California Historical Landmark was restored in 1978 by the Calistoga Depot Association, and today houses six railroad cars containing historical exhibits and retail shops.
One such shop is the Calistoga Wine Stop, located inside a former Central Pacific Railroad car. Operated by Tom and Tammy Pelter since 1986, this family business has been helping customers find Napa and Sonoma County wines that are a little off the beaten path. The tasting room, open Thursdays through Mondays, specializes in smaller producers who would not otherwise have their own tasting space. The Wine Stop also has its own family wine, Pelter, a Cabernet Sauvignon that’s available exclusively in the depot.
One of the newer shops in the depot is Flowers & All That Jazz, which opened just this year. By the name, it’s clear that the shop specializes in floral arrangements, and that’s true; but the studio and shop, again cozily packed into another train car, also showcases “jazzy” prints, apparel and jewelry by local artisans that will appeal to all ages. There are even custom gift baskets, and many floral arrangements are available in vintage or repurposed pieces for one-of-a-kind displays. 1458 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga.—Charlie Swanson
Duncans Mills
With the wooden planks creaking underfoot and the old-styled street lamps overhead, the scene in Duncans Mills looks straight out of 1880, complete with classic small-town charm and wonder. If you’ve been meaning to stop there, there’s no better time than now to visit the cluster of shops and cafes along Highway 116 that the former logging outpost now offers.
And, there’s no better way to start a day of shopping in Duncans Mills than grabbing a hearty meal at Cape Fear Cafe, a local favorite that serves straightforward California fare with a Southern twist. It’s also a great place to grab a craft beer before you peruse the shops surrounding the cafe.
Make sure to visit Pig Alley, a retail store that sells handmade crafts, jewelry and décor, including items from well-known designers like Northern California jeweler Holly Yashi. Then poke your head into the colorful Worldly Goods, a shop that imports global items, from African masks to Ecuadorian weavings to reclaimed wood furniture, all made through fair trade and sustainable means.
For the artistically minded gift giver, there are several galleries to choose from. First, check out the Christopher Queen Gallery for classic California art dating from the mid 19th to early 20th century, as well as more contemporary works. Then, make sure to find the Quercia Gallery, where local artists show new works on a regular basis. Owned and operated by plein air painter Ron Quercia and clay sculptor Bobbi Jeanne Quercia since 1990, the gallery also offers hand-finished frames and frame restoration.—C.S.
NapaStyle
I love a kit, and I especially love a kit when you can buy your kit and have a fancy-sounding lunch in Napa at the same time. Enter NapaStyle, which is as much a state of mind as it is a multi-pronged endeavor of goodness and goodies, a catalogue-driven cavalcade of delights that range from hammered-copper jugs to weird chutneys.
One product in particular jumped out as just the sort of all-inclusive kit that is guaranteed to provide at least one night of family pleasure over the holidays, before everyone starts fighting again. Why, it’s the Gourmet Game Night Gift Set! And it sort of embodies the spirit of NapaStyle as a whole. For 99 bucks, it ought to. The kit is centered around the parlor dice game Shut the Box and also includes a couple of bags of “beer-kissed” caramel popcorn, some beer brittle, pistachios dipped in chocolate, all packed in a retro-not-chic wooden crate. It’s sort of like when Blockbuster threw in some microwave popcorn with your rental—remember those days?
And how about that lunch? NapaStyle is kind of amorphously epic when it comes to its output of products, which include a grilled chèvre and strawberry-walnut pesto panini, along with fancy sets of forks and knives on the retail side. The goods are available at the V Marketplace in Yountville, the NapaStyle flagship, which also fields a “paninoteca e insalateria” menu. That’s a fancy way of saying they’ve got some choice sandwiches and salads for you, too. 6525 Washington St., Yountville; 707/945-1229.—T.G.
Favorite Things
Corinne and Patrick Murray have called Sonoma County home for more than 40 years, and have owned the popular Favorite Things store in Santa Rosa for 20. After a dead-end job working in an office, Corrine Murray opened the home and garden store, located on Fourth Street and Talbot Avenue. Despite a lack of previous retail experience, she combined a keen eye for décor and gifts with a neighborly attitude and a willingness to build relationships with regular customers.
Handbags and jewelry, wool scarves and mittens, seasonal gifts and rotating items, bright window displays and a spring garden too—these are a few of the favorite things you’ll find upon entering the store. While the shop keeps the selection fresh year-round, with holiday-inspired offerings for everything from Valentine’s Day to Halloween, it truly transforms into a winter wonderland for Christmas. In addition to a wide array of ornaments, Favorite Things is the place to go for stockings, mantelpieces and both indoor and outdoor holiday décor, like plush Santa dolls and hanging garden lanterns.
The store tripled in size in 2003, and three years ago, Patrick joined the store’s staff after retiring from a career in liquor distribution. Favorite Things carries gift items perfect for any age, like hip canvas canteens and mugs, though the Murrays specialize in contemporary women’s items and accessories that anyone’s mom would adore, as well as hard-to-find items like Annie Sloan’s chalk paint. 1500 Fourth St., Santa Rosa; 707/541-7380.—C.S.
Healdsburg Shed
In the food- and drink-obsessed North Bay, you really can’t do better than the Shed, an impeccably curated store that celebrates a life well lived, be it in the garden, the kitchen or at the table. To be sure, not everything is locally made. There are dowry-worthy garden tools, beekeeping supplies, and what is surely the North Bay’s top spot for Japanese knives, garden tools, rice cookers and donabe (fireproof clay) cookware.
The countertop donabe smoker ($250) is at the top of my wish list. The pantry section of the store is like a museum of the world’s best condiments, spices, oils, vinegar and chocolates. Choose a bottle from the lineup of local olive oils for a great locally grown and made gift.
There’s a small but well-chosen selection of food and drink books, too. Oh, and how about a little cloth bag of locally grown wheat, milled in-house? It pretty much comes in its own stocking. The modern, creekside building (which won a James Beard Award for architectural design) and the superb restaurant are no slouches either. 25 North St., Healdsburg; 707/431-7433.—S.H.
Crafts Fairs Galore
Crafts fairs are plentiful this time of year, and offer some of the most friendly and fun environments for finding unique gifts (don’t forget to treat yourself, too!). Plus, seasonal goodies are usually on
Photo courtesy of the Muir Beach Arts Fair.
hand—homemade latkes, eggnog, yummy pastries, live music, snow slides, crafts demonstrations and visits from Santa.
Below is a roundup of upcoming Marin fairs, where you’ll find plenty of treasures made by local artists. Visit and browse through ceramics, paintings, glasswork, centerpiece decorations, floral note cards, jewelry, antiques and collectibles, fine art, textiles and ornaments. And meet the creative movers and shakers—it doesn’t get more local than that.—Lily O’Brien
44th Annual Dance Palace Holiday Crafts Fair
Friday, Dec. 4, 4pm-9pm, Sat-Sun, Dec. 5-6, 10am-5pm. 503 B Street, Point Reyes, Station. 415/663-1075; dancepalace.org.
Marin JCC Festival of Lights
Sunday, Dec. 6, 11:30am-2:30pm. Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Rd., San Rafael, 415/444-8000, marinjcc.org.
San Geronimo Holiday Arts Faire
Saturday, Dec. 5, 11am-5pm. San Geronimo Community Center, 6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Geronimo, 415/488-8888; sgvcc.org.
Landmarks Holiday Art & Craft Sale
Saturday, Dec. 5, 10am-4pm. Tiburon Art & Garden Center, 841 Tiburon Blvd., Tiburon, 415/435-1853; landmarksociety.com.
BINBA Holiday Gift Show
Saturday, Dec. 5, 12pm-4pm. Brain Injury Network of the Bay Area, 1132 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur, 415/461-6771; binba.org.
Saturday, Dec. 5, 10am-5pm. Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, 415/383-1370; cityofmillvalley.org.
Kentfield Craft Fair
Thursday, Dec. 10, 3pm-7pm. Bacich Community Center, 699 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Kentfield; www.kspta.org.
Advent Festival and Faire
Sunday, Dec. 6, 11am-1pm, First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael, 1510 Fifth Ave., San Rafael; 415-456-6760.
Margaret Todd Senior Center Holiday Craft Faire
Friday, Dec. 4, 6-9pm, Sat., Dec. 5, 10am-4pm. Margaret Todd Senior Center, 1560 Hill Road, Novato, 415/899-8290; sanfranciscobazaar.org.
Marin Indoor Antique Market 31st Annual Christmas Show
Saturday, Dec. 12, 10am-6pm and Sunday, Dec. 13, 10am-5pm. Marin Center Exhibit Hall, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael; 415/388-2252; goldengateshows.com.
Marin Country Club Holiday Boutique
Wednesday, Dec. 9, 11am-2pm, Marin Country Club, 500 Country Club Drive, Novato; www.novatorwf.org. $33, includes lunch.
Muir Beach Holiday Arts Fair
Saturday, Dec. 12, 10am-5pm and Sunday, Dec. 13, 10am-4pm.
Community Center, 19 Seascape Drive, Muir Beach; 415-388-8319; www.muirbeachartsfair.com.
Novato Arts Center Holiday Fair
Sunday, Dec. 6, 11am-4pm, Novato Arts Center, 500 Palm Drive, Novato; www.novatoartscenter.org.
Hawaiian Holiday Craft and Bake Sale
Saturday, Dec. 12, 10am-4pm, St. Patrick’s Parish Center, 409 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur; www.hulaon.org.
Hero: Marin County science teacher and rapper Nick Williams has got it goin’ on. Williams, the science department chair at San Marin High School in Novato, won the national Milken Educator Award, which recognizes classroom heroes and comes with a $25,000 prize. Yo, Mr. Williams. A self-described “accomplished science-themed rapper,” this top teacher uses rap to help students learn. Not only does he write lyrics, he performs them: “If you’ve got a lot of physics force problems, bring ’em to my head, you know that I’ll solve them,” is the beginning of his song about Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion. Williams’ unique methods work. As a teacher in the Advancement Via Individual Determination program, all 30 of his students were accepted to and enrolled in college.
Zero: Usually, we grumble about out-of-control bicyclists, but this time we’re presenting the perspective of Lila, a respectful cyclist who commutes to and from work on her bike via the Mill Valley-Sausalito Path. With shorter days, it’s dark on her way home, so she rides slowly, keeps her front and rear bike lamps on and when necessary, rings her bell and calls out politely to alert others of her presence. Unfortunately, many cyclists and pedestrians don’t use lights, causing some frightening near-misses. This week, two people dressed in black walked abreast on the trail and Lila swerved to avoid hitting the almost invisible duo. In return for her efforts, she received a barrage of barnyard epithets from the Zero couple. C’mon, folks—use lights and civility.
Got a Hero or a Zero? Please send submissions to ni***************@***oo.com.
Q: My new boyfriend is messy. He drops his socks, underwear and clothing on the floor by the bed. He’s not lazy or entitled, just a spacehead. It’s no big deal for me to pick this stuff up, as I feel like I’m showing him love by caretaking. However, he says his ex said she didn’t mind, either, and then was screaming about his socks eight months later. Is that my future?—Worried
A: It was so much easier when we only wore fig leaves and you could just rake next to the bed.
To be human is to be annoying to some other human. Like by doing that weird clicking thing with your tongue or always leaving the kitchen cabinets ajar (very helpful for any dishes prone to claustrophobia).
At first, such behaviors can seem oddly endearing—as does a new boyfriend’s abandoning his socks instead of making that harrowing 62.5-inch trek to the hamper. In time, however, a woman can start having some less-than-constructive ideas. You know, little things, like nailing his socks and underwear to the floor or perhaps lying in wait for him to drop something and then spraying him with a water bottle like a cat on the counter.
But as for your boyfriend’s letting his socks fall to the bedroom rug like snow, do you think he’s all “Ha, I’ll show her!”—or more “Pillow, here I come!”? The air bag against resenting him is love—not love as a mere feeling but love as an activity, an action you choose to take. Assuming that your guy’s basically a good person who loves you, try to behave as if you haven’t forgotten that you love him. Even when you hate him a little.
Unfortunately, change is hard. Behaviors become habits, and the personality traits that contribute to them are biologically driven. However, psychologist Art Markman explains that we can structure our environment to help us reshape our behavior. In Smart Change, he advises building a reminder to do a desired behavior into your environment in a way that it can’t be avoided. Upon repeating a new behavior about 20 times, you create the beginnings of a new habit.
In your situation, this could even be fun. Each night for a few weeks, leave a sheet of paper with a different message on his pillow, maybe starting with a Magic-Markered smiling cartoon hamper saying, “Feed meeee!” (One night, you could even tuck the hamper in under the covers.) Should you fail to amuse him out of his laundry-leaving ways, try to maintain perspective. Consider the idiocy of some people who say they’ll do “anything” for love: Move, quit, give up the British throne (sadly, a moot point for most of us). Their stance only changes once they have love—at which point “anything” involves stopping just short of picking up a small fabric item from the rug. Q: I contributed to the ruin of my marriage with my big mouth, constantly sharing our intimate details with my girlfriends. Well, my wonderful new boyfriend is a pretty private person and has asked that I not share this stuff with my chick circle, and I’ve agreed. However, my friends have gotten used to living vicariously through my drama, and they aren’t liking my new tight-lipped approach. They even seem resentful, like I don’t trust them anymore.—New Boundaries
A: Him: “I think I have psoriasis on my penis.”
You, picking up your phone to text: “Ohh … that’s terr– … can you spell that for me?”
Yes, I’ve heard—privacy is supposedly dead (buried in a shallow grave with a dial-up modem somewhere in Jersey). And yes, many people treat it that way. However, though the private details of our lives—our thoughts, emotions and closed-door doings—aren’t things you can hold (like your “Hooked on Phonics” coffee mug), they are our possessions just like the physical objects we own. In an 1890 Harvard Law Review article, Louis Brandeis and Samuel Warren explain that privacy is a natural human right that comes out of our right to be left alone. Basically, unless you’re a public figure or you’ve done some bad thing that affects the public, the information about your life belongs to you.
Gently inform your girl posse that the info. cookie jar is now closed. Explain that this has nothing to do with them and everything to do with your boyfriend’s right to pick the privacy settings on his life. And no, the fact that you and he are in situations together doesn’t change that. He’s agreed to share his life with you, not your friends, your Twitter followers and three cranky federal agents in the “Heating and Cooling” van outside his house.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “We are torn between nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange,” wrote novelist Carson McCullers. “As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have never known.” I’m guessing that these days you’re feeling that kind of homesickness, Aries. The people and places that usually comfort you don’t have their customary power. The experiences you typically seek out to strengthen your stability just aren’t having that effect. The proper response, in my opinion, is to go in quest of exotic and experimental stimuli. In ways you may not yet be able to imagine, they can provide the grounding you need. They will steady your nerves and bolster your courage.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The Pekingese is a breed of dog that has been around for more than 2,000 years. In ancient China, it was beloved by Buddhist monks and emperors’ families. Here’s the legend of its origin: A tiny marmoset and huge lion fell in love with each other, but the contrast in their sizes made union impossible. Then the gods intervened, using magic to make them the same size. Out of the creatures’ consummated passion, the first Pekingese was born. I think this myth can serve as inspiration for you, Taurus. Amazingly, you may soon find a way to blend and even synergize two elements that are ostensibly quite different. Who knows? You may even get some divine help.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Author Virginia Woolf wrote this message to a dear ally: “I sincerely hope I’ll never fathom you. You’re mystical, serene, intriguing; you enclose such charm within you. The luster of your presence bewitches me … the whole thing is splendid and voluptuous and absurd.” I hope you will have good reason to whisper sweet things like that in the coming weeks, Gemini. You’re in the Season of Togetherness, which is a favorable time to seek and cultivate interesting kinds of intimacy. If there is no one to whom you can sincerely deliver a memo like Woolf’s, search for such a person.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some people are so attached to wearing a favorite ring on one of their fingers that they never take it off. They love the beauty and endearment it evokes. In rare cases, years go by and their ring finger grows thicker. Blood flow is constricted. Discomfort sets in. And they can’t remove their precious jewelry with the lubrication provided by a little olive oil or soap and water. They need the assistance of a jeweler who uses a small saw and a protective sheath to cut away the ring. I suspect this may be an apt metaphor for a certain situation in your life, Cancerian. Is it? Do you wonder if you should free yourself from a pretty or sentimental constriction that you have outgrown? If so, get help.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted,” wrote Leo author Aldous Huxley. That’s the bad news. The good news is that in the coming weeks you are less likely to take things for granted than you have been in a long time. Happily, it’s not because your familiar pleasures and sources of stability are in jeopardy. Rather, it’s because you have become more deeply connected to the core of your life energy. You have a vivid appreciation of what sustains you. Your assignment: Be alert for the eternal as it wells up out of the mundane.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In their quest to collect nectar, honeybees are attuned to the importance of proper timing. Even if flowering plants are abundant, the quality and quantity of the nectar that’s available vary with the weather, season and hour of the day. For example, dandelions may offer their peak blessings at 9am, cornflowers in the late morning and clovers in the mid-afternoon. I urge you to be equally sensitive to the sources where you can obtain nourishment, Virgo. Arrange your schedule so you consistently seek to gather what you need at the right time and place.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Are you willing to dedicate yourself fully to a game whose rules are constantly mutating? Are you resourceful enough to keep playing at a high level even if some of the other players don’t have as much integrity and commitment as you? Do you have confidence in your ability to detect and adjust to ever-shifting alliances? Will the game still engage your interest if you discover that the rewards are different from what you thought they were? If you can answer yes to these questions, by all means jump all the way into the complicated fun!
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I suspect your body has been unusually healthy and vigorous lately. Is that true? If so, figure out why. Have you been taking better care of yourself? Have there been lucky accidents or serendipitous innovations on which you’ve been capitalizing? Make these new trends a permanent part of your routine. Now I’ll make a similar observation about your psychological well-being. It also seems to have been extra strong recently. Why? Has your attitude improved in such a way as to generate more positive emotions? Have there been fluky breakthroughs that unleashed unexpected surges of hope and good cheer? Make these new trends a permanent part of your routine.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): From the dawn of civilization until 1995, humans cataloged about 900 comets in our solar system. But since then, we have expanded that tally by more than 3,000. Most of the recent discoveries have been made not by professional astronomers, but by laypersons, including two 13-year-olds. They have used the Internet to access images from the SOHO satellite placed in orbit by NASA and the European Space Agency. After analyzing the astrological omens, I expect you Sagittarians to enjoy a similar run of amateur success. So trust your rookie instincts. Feed your innocent curiosity. Ride your raw enthusiasm.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Whether or not you are literally a student enrolled in school, I suspect that you will soon be given a final exam. It may not happen in a classroom or require you to write responses to questions. The exam will more likely be administered by life in the course of your daily challenges. The material you’ll be tested on will mostly include the lessons you have been studying since your last birthday. But there will also be at least one section that deals with a subject you’ve been wrestling with since early in your life—and maybe even a riddle from before you were born. Since you have free will, Capricorn, you can refuse to take the exam. But I hope you won’t. The more enthusiastic you are about accepting its challenge, the more likely it is that you’ll do well.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): For $70,000 per night, you can rent the entire country of Liechtenstein for your big party. The price includes the right to rename the streets while you’re there. You can also create a temporary currency with a likeness of you on the bills, have a giant rendition of your favorite image carved into the snow on a mountainside and preside over a festive medieval-style parade. Given your current astrological omens, I suggest you consider the possibility. If that’s too extravagant, I hope you will at least gather your legion of best friends for the Blowout Bash of the Decade. It’s time, in my opinion, to explore the mysteries of vivid and vigorous conviviality.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Are you available to benefit from a thunderbolt healing? Would you consider wading into a maelstrom if you knew it was a breakthrough in disguise? Do you have enough faith to harvest an epiphany that begins as an uproar? Weirdly lucky phenomena like these are on tap if you have the courage to ask for overdue transformations. Your blind spots and sore places are being targeted by life’s fierce tenderness. All you have to do is say, “Yes, I’m ready.”
Homework: Who teaches and helps you? Who sees you for who you really are? Who nudges you in the direction of your fuller destiny? Freewillastrology.com
Trying to reanimate what it considers dead flesh, Max Landis’ script for Victor Frankenstein insists that we’ve heard the story before. Even the big scene, with the lighting bursting and the sparks flying and the monster twitching on his slab, is interrupted by the damned narrator insisting, again, that yes, we know this story. It begins to sound like an apology.
The director is Paul McGuigan, who had great success revivifying Sherlock Holmes for the recent BBC series. Mostly, one sees McGuigan’s handiwork in the way Andrew Scott (the Holmes’ show’s Moriarity) keeps hijacking the film as Inspector Turpin. Turpin smelled trouble ever since dead zoo animal limbs started turning up missing—not every policeman of 1850 or so would have been that acute. Scott’s job is to be the Lionel Atwill of Victor Frankenstein; this story, like Young Frankenstein, has much in common with the 1939 Son of Frankenstein, the film that introduced the original Ygor.
Victor (James McAvoy), like Basil Rathbone’s Wolf von Frankenstein in Son of Frankenstein, is speedy and crack-brained. Igor is a circus hunchback who is actually a brilliant self-trained physician, practicing medicine when he wasn’t wearing greasepaint and staring longingly at the circus’ aerialist Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay).
Victor gives the hunchback a bit of doctoring, some chiropractic manipulation and a corset, and then bestows on him the name Ygor, because that was the name of Victor’s previous roommate. Following this makeover, Ygor is the pretty Daniel Radcliffe whom we all love, with just a little scarring on his shoulder. The two begin collaboration on experiments, commencing by revivifying a rotting chimp who, naturally, wakes up cranky.
Landis must have read the shmoop.com version of Mary Shelley’s novel, and adapted that complete with dusty professorial wisecracks. Someone knew enough of the original that Victor shouts “Prometheus!” as he exposes his monster to the thunderclouds. On Frankenstein’s trail, Scott’s Inspector Turpin succumbs to religious mania, as indicated by closeups of a dangling cross the Inspector carries around.
Victor Frankenstein never rises to Scott’s level. And the movie might have had some impact if they’d emphasized his fears. Frankenstein’s creature may have been around too long to be scary—what really scares an American audience is God-mocking atheists.
Singer, songwriter and Marin County resident Michelle Schmitt is a believer in giving back. Schmitt’s annual holiday concert on the first Thursday of December is a staple of the season, and with the release of her newest holiday album, Another Christmas Story, she’s expanding her charitable efforts and donating 100 percent of album sales and concert tickets to the Marin-based nonprofit ExtraFood. She performs on December 3 at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley.
Schmitt credits her father for introducing her to holiday music. “He was a huge inspiration for me,” she says. “He was kind and patient, and he loved holiday music. We learned every song.”
Born and raised in Detroit, Schmitt also grew up on the rock ’n’ roll of bands like MC5, as well as folk rock like Crosby, Stills & Nash and Joni Mitchell. She has been playing music since she was 12 years old. “I think it just became part of my cellular makeup,” she says.
Schmitt moved to California in 1977 and briefly sang alongside Norton Buffalo and others. She stopped performing to raise two sons. Fast forward 20 years, and Schmitt once again found herself drawn into music in the early 2000s.
“I decided to make a small holiday album as a way to raise funds for St.Vincent’s School for Boys in Marinwood,” she says. The album eventually found its way to music manager Robert Hayes, owner of San Jose’s Sound Management Inc., who offered her a recording contract.
In 2005, Schmitt appeared on a benefit album alongside heavyweight artists like Bonnie Raitt, who would become a friend. Raitt encouraged Schmitt to step out of the studio and perform in front of audiences again.
Schmitt was soon fronting a band that included Raitt’s longtime drummer Ricky Fataar and guitarist George Marinelli.
In 2008, friend and restaurateur Heidi Krahling approached Schmitt to help raise funds for ExtraFood, of which Krahling is a board member. Schmitt came up with the idea of a concert, and every year she plays that show with her ultra-talented band.
“At the end of the day, I want to show my gratitude to the community,” Schmitt says. “This is what the holidays are about for me.”
By Annie Spiegelman, the Dirt Diva
Calling all of you crafty plant lovers! Here is a simple homemade gift idea that you can create for friends and family who may crave a bit of indoor nature on their desk. New York Botanical Garden terrarium designer, Maria Colletti, has a new book titled Terrariums: Gardens Under Glass.
Colletti is a terrarium purist....
By Tanya Henry
One of the best things about living in Marin is its proximity to so much locally produced food. The ability to buy world-class cheeses, fresh oysters from Tomales Bay and grass-fed beef from Point Reyes Station are just a few of the reasons that I live here. As interest in our food systems continues to grow, more...
By Stephanie Hiller
Physician-assisted death is not suicide. The new End of Life Option Act, passed in August and signed by Governor Jerry Brown on September 8, makes it legal for a physician to prescribe a drug to end a patient’s life.
“But it is not suicide,” says Toni Broaddus, California campaign director of Compassion & Choices, the organization that lobbied...
The air is brisk, the holiday music is playing, the lights are strung—and the options for gifts are overwhelming. Too many loved ones, and too little time. Jumping online is tempting for last-minute shopping, but what fun is that? It’s so much more rewarding to meet and support the local merchants who spend their days making heartfelt products by...
By Nikki Silverstein
Hero: Marin County science teacher and rapper Nick Williams has got it goin’ on. Williams, the science department chair at San Marin High School in Novato, won the national Milken Educator Award, which recognizes classroom heroes and comes with a $25,000 prize. Yo, Mr. Williams. A self-described “accomplished science-themed rapper,” this top teacher uses rap to...
By Amy Alkon
Q: My new boyfriend is messy. He drops his socks, underwear and clothing on the floor by the bed. He’s not lazy or entitled, just a spacehead. It’s no big deal for me to pick this stuff up, as I feel like I’m showing him love by caretaking. However, he says his ex said she didn’t mind,...
This week in the Pacific Sun, you'll find our cover story, by Flora Tsapovsky, on giving the gift of experience--memorable times, from a kayaking trip to a massage to a seaplane adventure. On top of that, Tom Gogola writes about what SMART needs to fully realize its vision, Tanya Henry writes about Genuine Grub's flavorful pickled veggies, Charles Brousse...
By Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “We are torn between nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange,” wrote novelist Carson McCullers. “As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have never known.” I'm guessing that these days you’re feeling that kind of homesickness, Aries. The people and places that usually...
By Richard von Busack
Trying to reanimate what it considers dead flesh, Max Landis’ script for Victor Frankenstein insists that we’ve heard the story before. Even the big scene, with the lighting bursting and the sparks flying and the monster twitching on his slab, is interrupted by the damned narrator insisting, again, that yes, we know this story. It begins...
By Charlie Swanson
Singer, songwriter and Marin County resident Michelle Schmitt is a believer in giving back. Schmitt’s annual holiday concert on the first Thursday of December is a staple of the season, and with the release of her newest holiday album, Another Christmas Story, she’s expanding her charitable efforts and donating 100 percent of album sales and concert tickets...
