AN EVENING AT THE PAINTED SKY

A CAMBRIA CULTURAL CENTER

It looks a bit time worn and ramshackle
but the building above is a part of Cambria History.
It's been several things, but most famously the Bucket of Blood Saloon, going back to when cowboys, miners and fishermen were patrons in this Central California coastal enclave. Local lore has it, the last stabbing in town was here.
But its more recent history has made it a cultural center.
For over a decade this has been the Painted Sky recording
studio. The famous and near famous have come here to
lay down track in the acoustic splendor of the old building
near a side street. For as good as it is as a recording studio,
what has enshrined it in the hearts of modern Cambria are
concert nights-an evening at the Painted Sky.

IT'S SHOW TIME

Owner Steve Crimmel and producers
have booked talent, some of whom are working on a disc,

into the intimate, "house concert" like setting of the
enchanted room. Blues, jazz, swing, blue grass, Celtic,
classical, country, cowboy, rock and vocal artists, including
big names and stars, have played here.  

In his low key, no hustle way, Steve
thanks people for supporting live music and
introduces the act. The studio is configured to seat
between 50 and 70 people with everyone having a
perfect seat.

The courtyard is transformed for intermission
cheer and community.

 On this night Ray Bonneville, a master of 
swampy blues and guitar opened.
Ray has played with BB King, Muddy Waters, Robert Cray
among others.

Extraordinary jazz and blues vocalist

Jude Johnstone and her superb band

headlined. Jude's songs have been recorded 
by Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, Trish Yearwood and others.

I've seen live music in a multitude of venues-
from arenas to jazz caverns.  The Painted Sky
is among the all time tops.  The sound of the room is 
exceptional, the intimacy between artist and audience is
legendary, and it is an "only in Cambria" kind of mood
and presence.

From my first visit, before being a resident, when
I read the old Thurber quote in courtyard, and watched and 
listened as people in this village shared an evening with a 
legendary old blues man, I was sure this was indeed a 
cultural center of a unique west coast village
half way between LA and San Francisco.
Unique and beloved indeed.

Thanks to Steve for all the many great evenings.
It appears the building's landlords want to shut the studio
so they can use the building a storage space for 
antiques-left over inventory from a west Hollywood
business they are closing.  
What a shame for such a cultural center and 
historic building.
What a shame for the loss of those special
evenings a the Painted Sky.
Great memories indeed!
See you down the trail.

VINES AND STEEL

A VIEW WITH A ROOM

(Paso Robles Appellation)  Aside from the generally excellent wine, a visit to the Denner Winery is enjoyable because of the excellent view.

Approaching from Vineyard you are taken in by the

interaction of steel, vineyard setting and artistry of

architecture.

When owner Ron Denner built his tasting room, he hired San Luis Obispo Architect John R. Mitchell.
Mitchell created a spectacular building, with equally spectacular views.
Denner is a excellent spot to watch the play between
structure and nature, steel and vines.

Even the skies over the vineyard are framed by

the modern structure.

Cheers!
See you down the trail.

THE PALM-A CLASS OF ITS OWN

A CENTRAL COAST CLASSIC

A favorite logo T-shirt is the Palm. 
I love the design and the theatre.

 On Palm in San Luis Obispo, the Palm Theatre
is locally owned and the first solar powered movie 
theatre in the US.

It is a favorite of long time SLO and Central Coast 
residents and rapidly became ours.  
It features independent, foreign, documentary and quality films.

Like a good art house, it has its own personality 
and cool staff. 
It has "attitude."

You find personal touches that 

lend to its charm.
Ticket prices are great and the 
concession prices have to be the best anywhere.
BTW, the popcorn IS the best.

Dim the lights and lets start the show.

See you down the trail.

THE PICNIC IN A VINEYARD

FRIENDS FEAST IN THE VINEYARD

Moveable Feast # 12

Windward Vineyard 
Our friends dining group THE MOVEABLE FEAST
tried something new.  Instead of an evening meal
at a friends home, we opted for a Picnic in a Vineyard.

Sheltered from the 91 degree temperature

by the shade of the WINDWARD Lathe House the feast friends and guests enjoyed a delicious afternoon.
The challenge was no stove, oven or heating plate
and cooler items only.
It worked!!!

 Fresh bread, thyme & garlic butter

balsamic vinegar & olive oil

calamata olives

 Smokehouse albacore

 Brochettes of melon, prosciutto & mozzarella with fresh basil vinaigrette

 fusili pasta salad

lentil & quiona salad

 mushroom tarte

 tomato tarte

Italian nut tort with cream

Italian Ricotta Cake

 pan forte candy

 anticipation

 Windward Pinot Noir

 wine shepherd Marc Goldberg meets the feasters

 Great food and friendship in the shade of the lathe house
and a beautiful vineyard view.
We even got in a game of boccie.

See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER :)

DIFFERENT STREAMS OF TIME

We are constantly reminded of the almost

schizophrenic tone of our age of communication.

We rely on satellites in more ways that most of us know

yet we can not be sure when or where they may fall.

We love the convenience of social media

but must worry about the implications.

Here's a clip from Reader Supported News

What Facebook Really Wants

Nicholas Thompson, The New Yorker 
Nicholas Thompson writes: "The more our online lives take place on Facebook, the more we depend on the choices of the people who run the company - what they think about privacy, how they think we should be able to organize our friends, what they tell advertisers (and governments) about what we do and what we buy. We'll rely on whom they choose as partners to give us news and music. Real issues are at stake, in other words - not just the size of photos and whether you can poke."
READ MORE

And there is another good weekend read here

in this link to a thoughtful and provocative article by Nat Hentoff.  What freedoms have we lost or are

in danger of loosing when our desire for safety,

security and technology combine?

BUT THEN-

there is the technological reach into the past

that was not imaginable in our youth

when things were more simple.

Or were they?

Thanks to Moto, my "mad archivist" for 

finding this ditty.

Enjoy

See you down the trail.

HEART BREAKING

LOSING EMMY 

 Those of you who follow this blog know
we adopted two kittens after the loss of Ziggy
our black cat of 16 years.
Well, we lost Emmy on Thursday.
We suspected she was not well.  She had been
lethargic and loosing weight.
She had Feline Infectious Peritonitis an
incurable virus with a nasty pathophysiology.
The vet said the most compassionate thing to do
was to put her to sleep.  We bid a tearful farewell to a very sweet little  gal.
Emmy was an extremely affectionate and cuddly kitten.
She' loved to cuddle and purr and felt no compunction
about jumping right up into your lap and crawling to your shoulder or neck.

EMMY WAS EVEN A LEG CLIMBER

The vet said often kittens with
FIP are the most affectionate.
It is as though they want all the cuddling they can
have because they may know their time is short.
FIP hits kittens the hardest.  The suspicion
is she inherited it from her mother and carried it when she was adopted.
Frightening however is the vet's statement that it is
highly contagious.  We worry now for our old Nesta
and our kitten Luke.
We hope for the best.

 Luke is a pretty laid back character

 until he begins to stalk like a jungle ocelot

We hope he remains healthy.
We also worry about all of the other kittens
at the HART shelter.
Keep them in your hearts.
See you down the trail.