Down, Up and Sideways.

(Scroll down for dog story)
250 miles down and 250 miles back up, all in one long day. Throw in a client meeting on a construction site, perched above the pretty valley of  Los Olivos, and a buffet lunch with an interior designer, in an Indian Casino near Santa Ynez, and you'd be surprised we still had energy and an appetite for a late dinner in a restaurant near home, before falling into bed last night. Today we are a bit road-stunned. My knees are stiff from sitting in the same position for hours and I regret that second carafe of wine we shared, but not for one minute the escargot. Any dish that requires one to dip crusty French bread in garlic flavored melted butter is top of my "can I have some more" list.
We hit the road early'ish yesterday morning and passed south, through Steinbeck Country swathed in skeins of mist. Newly furrowed arable land stretched out on either side of the highway. There were richer pockets punctuating the scenery with white post and rail fences and horses, and scrubby bad-lands animated only by the nodding heads of the occasional oil-well pump, watched over by a couple of tanks at the entrance to the National Guard training camp.
The Madonna Inn, garish pink, rococo landmark, marking passage towards Southern California, and all things tasteful (?) flashed by and we were soon driving in sight of the Pacific Ocean. Although the day had warmed to T-shirt weather and the hills were greener than ours, the grape vines covering the rolling landscape were still dormant, holding the hills in place with row after endless row of perfectly spaced brown stitches.
Signs for Santa Maria meant it was time to watch for our turn-off. The infestation of giant toadstools ahead morphed into the rotund silhouettes of citrus trees, as we drew closer. Squat forms, densely packed with glossy green foliage and peppered with day-glow orange orbs.
We like Los Olivos, a small town north of Santa Barbara. There is an affluent community with many who dabble in wine growing and horse breeding and they've been good clients. We were saddened that almost all of the art galleries have been pushed out by wine tasting establishments, attracted by the exposure given in the movie Sideways, and willing to bid higher for rents than more bohemian businesses can afford.
After our construction site meeting, the designer proposed that we go to lunch together. We had planned to treat ourselves to a nice restaurant on our travels and the "all you can eat" buffet in the bowels of an Indian Casino, was not quite what we had in mind. It was interesting, if you like pasty faced retirees indoors on a beautiful afternoon. In a windowless atmosphere, grey with cigarette smoke and churning with the noise of the slot machines, there was certainly no shortage of food. It was cheap too, which may have been her main motivation, although she was very familiar with the molten chocolate brownie dessert.

It wouldn't be right to leave out news of our new foster dog. Emma is a Collie/Labrador  mix who was found running along the side of a busy road. One of the shelter employees sent these sad photos to collie rescue in November and we posted her on the web and all crossed our fingers that she would be adopted. Emma's time was up between Christmas and New Year but they agreed to hold her for us until we could organize transportation. Naturally she was miles from anywhere.

Emma was handed over to me in a Church parking lot two weeks ago. Head shy, stressed and smelly, she cringed when I looked at her and licked my fingers surreptitiously when I turned away. She's estimated to be about eighteen months old. Although still cautious about new things and people, Emma is putting her days in an institution behind her.

Many of the photos I was trying to take were empty as Action-Emma had moved on at the speed of light.

This sweet shot of Emma napping in my office belies the fact that this dog is not inhibited by such things as gravity. My desk is just a hop-up to see out of the window and much of my paperwork is decorated with paw prints. I now stash the computer keyboard when I'm not using it. Emma is a four-paw typist.

Emma has since had her spay stitches removed, she's been vaccinated and tested clear of heart-worm. Bathing her was such a small portion of the work normally involved in grooming her bigger, hairier collie cousins. It was a snap!

This girl is a charming, happy, playful dog. She had a play date yesterday with a neighbor's dog and there was much romping and tearing around the garden. They're thinking about getting a friend to keep their dog company when their daughter leaves for college. It would be great if this works out, but I have to let them think it through. In the meantime, I have a walking partner again.