The Healdsburg Jazz festival is one of the best small jazz festivals in the country. It is spread out over different venues with different types of jazz artists. 

Like Jazz with your dinner?  No problem, there will be jazz at the Dry Creek Kitchen.  Like your Jazz free in the park.  No problem?  Want to see Jazz all stars? They have that too.

For times and venues and more information check out

http://www.healdsburgjazzfestival.org/wordpress/#

There is nothing like a rose.  A nice fat garden rose. Scents can range from a true rose scent to a violet or citrus smell.  No other flower has such a color or fragrance range.  No other flowers elicits such love as a rose.   

According to fossils the rose is 35 million years old.   Over the years it has evolved through both nature and science to survive most climates and soils.  Roses will grow almost anywhere. There are over 30,000 varieties of Roses.

Roses have a long history of being sought after and loved.   In the seventeenth century roses were in such high demand that roses and rose water were considered as legal tender. In this capacity they were used as barter in the markets as well as for any payments the common people had to make to royalty.  Imagine today if we could make payments with rosewater. Hmm…

In Healdsburg we have the ultimate Rose lovers dream, The Russian River Rose company.      They are open to the public on certain weekends.  They have a demonstration garden as well as a nursery.  One of my favorite spots in the scent bench.  It is basically a bench surrounded by the most fragrant of the roses.  It is a fantastic place to sit, relax and inhale. 

I like to take my son to the garden at least once a year.  We go flower by flower smelling each one and talking about what it smells like.  Very few roses smell like a traditional rose.  Some smell like cinnamon or chocolate or lemons.  There is quite a wide range.  It has helped him identify notes in wine much better (he just smells it).  They have over 600 rose varieties so needless to say it is at least a few hour excursion. 

They also make perfume at the Russian River rose company.  You can actually do a perfume experience where you make your own perfume from the roses.

If you are a rose enthusiast this is the place to go.  I have bought many roses from them over the years and they are the roses I have that do the best.  If you like climber they have one called fairy which is amazing.  I planted one 3 years ago and it has climbed into the redwood next to it over 60 feet and is trailing into our neighbors yard as well as ours.  Luckily we both love roses.

The peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek godof medicine and healing. Asclepius became jealous of his pupil; Zeussaved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower.

The peony flower smells like a spicy old rose.  I mean a rose of antique varietal.  The cost of growing your own peonies can be as small as $10 to $1000+.  They are certain varieties that are very rare and thus very costly.  Personally, I do not think they are easy to grow.  The bud attracts ants therefore you have to be super diligent or else the ant will get to the bud before you can. The pink ones I bought at the farmers market for $7. I got 6 flowers for that price.

The Peony is used in eastern medicine for everything from curing bad dreams to relieving gall stones. There is speculation that compounds found in the peony will be used in modern medicine to treat some of our most serious diseases.  The peonies grown for medicinal use today come almost exclusively from China, Korea and Taiwan.

In Feng Shui the Peony is a cure for love and romance. It is considered metaphor for female beauty. It is often said that two peony in a single woman’s home will attract a mate.  It is crucial to have at least 2.  They also say that peonies in the bedroom of an older couple will bring an affair.  If you are married just keep them out of the bedroom just in case.  They look perfectly beautiful on the kitchen table.

(peony buds below)

You will need:

1 cup of chocolate chips.  I like semi sweet but you can do whatever you like.  Always feel free to add more than one cup:)

1 1/2 cups of flour

2 tablespoons of baking soda

2 pinches of salt

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 to 1 1/2 cup of milk

Mix all the dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) together and then add in the wet ingredients, adding the milk last.  With the milk it is really not an exact science you just want it to be a decent pancake consistency. Stir in chocolate chips

Cook on griddle like a normal pancake.  Once done slather in whipped cream and give to delighted eaters. Yes, adding a little chocolate sauce on top is a nice touch.

Enjoy:)

1)      www.gazelle.com  Gazelle is a company that will buy your old cell phones, laptops etc…  It is super easy you go to the website and  follow the prompts for the item you would like to sell.  They then ship you a box with a prepaid envelope. You put your item in the box, ship it and get a check or paid via paypal a few weeks later.  I recently did this with my old Blackberry and got $56. 

2)      www.groupon.com Groupon is a company that offers specials for services and items in cites across the US.  They have a new special every day and the savings are huge! For my sister’s Birthday this year I searched Groupon where she lived and found Trapeze lessons at a respected Trapeze institute near her for half off!  It was something she always wanted to do and I got a great price.  Win,  Win.

3)      www.upromise.com  Upromise is a company I have used for a long time.  Anyone who has a child,  or a child in their life (niece, nephew, etc..) should sign up with Upromise ASAP. Basically a certain % of the money you spend goes towards a 529 plan for your chosen  child.  Anytime I order flowers I go to Upromise and then link to FTD or one of the other flower companies on the site.  They donate, on average, 10% of what I purchase in my son’s 529 account.  It may not seem like much but you would be surprised how quickly all the little things add up. There are tons of stores who participate (Nordstroms, Target, Shutterfly, drugstore.com, Macy’s, etc..)  Free money towards education is a good thing. 

• Turbo Tax is offering a 6% incentive  and H&R Block 8% through Upromise.

This was a real dilemma for me because I despise regular coffee and I am extremely uncoordinated when it comes to anything in the kitchen. How could I get my flavored lattes without the guilt? 

After quite a bit of web research I ordered the Bosch Tassimo.  It is a coffee maker where you insert discs and it makes the coffee just like a pro; but no mess and no coordination required.  I bought the Tassimo because it had the Starbucks latte discs. 

It is pretty fantastic. I put in a milk disc and push a button and 1 min later have perfectly frothed milk.  I next pop in an espresso disc and 1 min later my latte is done.  Even cooler one of my fellow ex diehard Starbucks buddies told me about Torlani flavoring.  It is flavoring you add to your coffee.  It is also the same flavoring used at coffee shops and in Italian sodas.  If you really just want Starbucks flavoring, Starbucks actually sells some of there flavorings online.  I now can do a pumpkin spice latte, cinnamon dolce latte ,peppermint mocha etc… I have figured the cost is roughly $1.25 per drink instead of $4+

I actually just bought another one for our office and our clients love it.  Money saved and everyone happy.  Win win

I suggest coming prior to 5:30 so that you can ensure parking and a good viewing spot. Bringing a chair and a snack is suggested.

They also make rose perfume and have a perfume class that you can go to, to learn how to harvest roses to make perfume and yes, the perfume smells delicous.  If you like roses this is the place to go.  Make sure you stop to smell the roses and take a few home so that you can enjoy the beauty from your window too:)

http://russian-river-rose.com/