OREGON WINE: Some 15 Friends of Bacchus ventured for the first time out of California. The AAUW interest group headed to Oregon's Willamette Valley, which is pinot noir country. The oenophiles spent four days touring, studying the process, tasting and linking appropriate wines with food.
Nancy and Floyd Hobbs organized the trip, assisted by Louise and George Cooper of Cooper-Garrod Winery. This interest section has been in existence 25 years and takes an annual trip together to a wine area. Up until now they've stayed in California.
Others sipping, besides the organizers, included Donna and Ray Muzzy and Kay and Bill Duffy, Saratoga; and Carolyn and George Collins, Virginia and Bob O'Reilly, Barbara and Brad Wyatt and Michele Browne of Los Gatos.
HOMETOWN TREASURE: Hakone Gardens will be honored June 15 at a Black Tie Gala in Washington, D.C., along with 11 other historic treasures. The treasures, one per month, are chosen by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. California Congress members are expected to share the Hakone table.
Home & Garden Television, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Save America's Treasures are sponsoring the gala to celebrate the second year of Restore America: A Salute to Preservation.
Also being honored are John Bryan, former CEO of Sara Lee; Don Henley, co-founder of the Eagles (band), and actress Diane Keaton.
Other treasures selected for 2004 include Eleanor Roosevelt's hideaway Val-Kill in Hyde Park, N.Y.; the Ford/Edison winter estates in Ft. Myers, Fla., and the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee.
BABY SNYDER: One of the most recent arrivals at Community Hospital of Los Gatos was baby Kayla, whose mother is Corina Snyder and whose father is PFC David C. Snyder, now serving in Baghdad.
Though her husband is thousands of miles away in a troubled hotspot, he happened to call her—using a friend's cell phone—during the very time she was in labor. And fortunately the new mother wasn't alone in the hospital: Both grandmothers—Jo Snyder and Carla Castillo—were able to be with her at the birth.
The new parents have not seen each other since January and there's no telling when the new papa will be relieved from duty. He's a mechanic working on a variety of military vehicles.
MUSIC TO HER EARS: So far Saratogan Kerstin Stone has been honored three times for her latest distinction: a master of arts in music with an emphasis on piano pedagogy. Her thesis was Teaching the Preludes of the Well-Tempered Clavier: Book I. Last week she started Book II, which has no deadline.
The degree is being royally celebrated because it went beyond the usual time allotted. The Stone advanced degree began more than seven years ago, delayed by such stumblers as a bout with cancer and running her own piano-teaching studio of some 200 students and eight teachers.
Gatherings at which she has been honored her so far include a pizza party hosted by a Willow Glen piano teacher colleague and a luncheon at Mere Michelle hosted by daughter Ann Stone. Still to come: a tribute from the Monday Group of philosopher/poets.
FOR ACTIVE FATHERS: A Father's Day Family Nature Walk is planned for Skyline Ridge on June 20, 13 p.m., sponsored by the open space district. It's a 2-mile exploration of four ecosystems around Alpine Pond, and the ascent is a .7-mile climb with a 275-foot change in elevation up the Ridge Trail.
Animals, and signs of such, plus native plants used for food and medicine by the Ohlone Indians will all be spotted. The walk ends at the Daniels Nature Center. The reservation number is 650.691.2150.
More strenuous is the 11-mile hike on June 13, from Saratoga Gap to Monte Bello. Docents are Mary Bernstein and Ann Reisenauer. Reservations are required.
POISONED EDEN: "Paradise in Peril" opens at Montalvo June 27. These are lush images by Laurie Hogin of Chicago that depict exotic animals in toxic environments. Hogin's narrative paintings are a devastating critique of mankind's continuing destruction of the environment.
Frenzied deer, crazed monkeys, snarling rabbits, fanged birds-of-paradise—formerly benign creatures—evoke a world gone awry, a paradise imperiled. Hogin's use of color gives a sense of a poisoned Eden, colors used in industrial signs to warn of radioactive material.
The paintings also address the inequities of globalization. The artist parodies art history clichés to draw parallels to current conditions—economic, political and social.
Michele Rowe-Shields, visual arts director at Montalvo, is curator of the show. A reception for the artist will be held from June 27, 35 p.m., and an artist talk is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The exhibit will run through Aug. 29. Hogin is associate professor at the U. of Illinois.
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By Mary Ann Cook