Auburn Ghost Tours

Auburn has an amazing history and we want to preserve all of it for all generations, including that of our dearly departed souls who have stayed on in our little town. Every year we all can’t wait for October! One of our good friends Melany Hall was born and raised in Auburn, she left when she became an officer in the US Army, she traveled the world and came back to Auburn where she is raising her family. She started the Auburn Ghost Tours to share Auburn's rich, spooky history. This year, Dave and I got to participate by telling another part of Adolph Webber's story and I helped by sharing some of the spooky stories of more present day oddities in one particular building in Old Town Auburn. If you are going to be in our neck of the woods in October, try to get tickets and do the tour, it's incredibly interesting and so fun. Even more fun, Mason helped do makeup this year! I so love our little town!

The "Kids Can Cook" Cooking Stage

The Gold Country Fair was a wild success! The “Kids Can Cook” Cooking Stage was a big hit and all the kids followed through and did their cooking demos. Abby, who is just 6 years old didn’t back out and my oldest newbie Blake, did a great job, too! Ryan and Dylan who are normally shy kids, did their demos and though they were on the quiet side, they followed through and served up some yummy bites for the audience to taste. 

I wanted to do the kids cooking stage because so many people tell me how extraordinary Mason is, and to some degree, I agree. I also believe that Mason has excelled because of the opportunities he’s had and I wanted to give other kids an opportunity, too. What I learned last weekend is that yes, there are other kids who can cook, but I also learned that Mason is extraordinary. He has a gift and he puts on a show (even from his very first demo) that the other kids lack. Yes, he’s gifted, in the kitchen and as a young entertainer and I couldn’t be more proud of him.

Now we have a little lull before the next big push on the cooking stage with the upcoming Auburn Home Show (Sept 30 - Oct 2) and then we go right into developing recipes for the Mandarin Festival (Nov 18-20). Dave is getting a new job with the Guard so his scheduled is in more flux than usual so it’s hard to know what he will be doing with us. I’m hoping he won’t have to be gone as much in December with the new position, but that remains to be seen.

Mason will be a celebrity judge at the Hot Chili Cool Cars event this Saturday in Rocklin and then we are looking at another opportunity with a television show. I’ll keep you posted here, but it you want up to date info as it comes out, be sure to like his Facebook page, that’s where updates are posted first. Have great week with lots of love! Kathy

Hi Friends,

Last week was hectic and I failed to share with you the magical night we had in the Festival of Lights Parade. It was suppose to be the previous weekend but the crazy storm that came through postponed it to the following Saturday. In any case, we worked with the team at Sierra Brokers and entered a float with the theme, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" supporting our troops. It was a 6 X 12 foot trailer that we divided in two; the front 6 feet were a living room with a Christmas tree in the center and the back 6 feet were set with army trunks and duffel bags. The idea was that Dave was home with Mason and I for Christmas while his comrades were still deployed eating cookies from a care package and reading letters from home. I have never worked on a parade float before and I have to say, we did an amazing job! The float really communicated what we wanted to say and people stood up and cheered along the parade route. If you don't usually visit my blog, this would be a good time to pop in and see the photos, it really was a special night.

So here we are, a week before Christmas and I am as ready as I am going to be. I have all my cookies decorated and packaged, my cakes and pies baked, and I mailed packages today. I need to wrap gifts and deliver some more local goodie baskets, all in all, I'm in good shape. Today is my birthday and I was showered with wonderful birthday wishes via phone calls, e-mail, cards in the mail, and Facebook. The local newspaper was out yesterday to interview Mason about the cooking demos he's been doing and at the same time, a local news station called and wants to book a cooking segment with him as well. They say things happen in threes, so it is no surprise that I got an e-mail asking Mason to do a cooking demo at the Strawberry Festival coming this spring in Roseville. He seems to really be digging all this cooking & baking, especially the developing of recipes to demonstrate - the performing part is what is exciting to him. Today we shot a few of his ideas about kids planning for holiday parties, making snacks and in true Mason form, he included a kid cocktail. Shooting videos with him today and now watching the classic White Christmas with Dave is the perfect way to spend my birthday.

Next week is Christmas Eve and time to look ahead to the New Year. It is becoming clear to me that there is lots of exciting opportunities on my horizon, but they are not necessarily the things I thought might be coming - but alas, isn't that the way it goes? Indeed, indeed it is. With love to you and yours this Christmastime.

Lazy River Saturday in Monte Rio, CA

Happy Monday! It's a beautiful day to start a new week. School is back in and that makes weekends feel special. Do you know what I mean? When the kids are out of school, all the days run together even though work doesn't give us the summer off, the weekends don't "pop" like they do when school is in session.

Saturday we got up early and headed to Monte Rio, CA to play on the Russian River for Diana's birthday. Steve and Ro rented a few kayaks and canoes for all of us to play with and as you can imagine, the pot luck lunch was great! Fresh salsa, caprice salad, deli sandwiches and plenty of fresh summer fruit. Dave and I had Mason and my nieces two kids with us and those extra smiles (well, mostly!) made for a fun family dynamic. We left the river about 3 PM and tootled through Calistoga stopping to buy a treat in the Snack Car, a candy store in a passenger train car. From there, we made our way around Lake Berryessa and had dinner in Winters. It was fun sharing the stories of my childhood camping at Markley's Cove, riding my bike with friends to the lake (yes we did!), and how much we loved to stop at the dam and look over at the spillway. We got home much later than we planned but it was a really fun family day.

Sunday we all did our own thing. I met my friend Deb at the river to color rocks and Dave stayed home to watch the race he taped from the day before. Mason and Dante split their time between driving Dave crazy and then coming to the river to bug me! Not really, just boys being boys. Dave made a delicious chili for dinner and that got me thinking how I can feel fall approaching. The smells are shifting from sweet summer scents to savory fall fragrances. The days are getting shorter and the nights are surely cooler. I can feel my energy start to vibrate in a way it only does this time of year. I love, love, love the fall season! This feeling I get as the summer season ends and fall begins makes me wonder if there is some kind of scientific connection to who we are as beings and the time of year that resonates most with us. Do you know?

So now it's back to school and work, laundry, dishes, grocery shopping and more. I hope you are well and enjoying your weekends, too. I want to leave you with a quote my friend Joel posted on facebook. Having all the kids this weekend and seeing how different they are, it's easy to focus in on what bugs us or what we feel they can improve on. This quote comes to me at the perfect time as a reminded to find their magic and foster it, nurture it, and help them grow it. Have a great week genius friends!

"Everybody is a genius. And if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."
~Albert Einstein