Suzanne and Mom picked me up this afternoon and we went to lunch in Sebastopol. We were headed for the Powerhouse Brewery, because it was closed the last time we tried to eat there. It was closed again, and this time we read the sign that said it wasn't open for lunch Monday through Thursday. So we'll try it again on a Friday, I guess.

We ended up at the Café da Vero, which we'd also tried to get into the last time we were in Sebastopol. That time we could see people inside eating, but the sign said it was closed, so we moved on. This time as we drove into the parking lot, there were at least three signs proclaiming the place "open," but just as we got to the door we were met by a fellow who was about to turn all those signs around.

He let us in, and didn't rush us, and we fell in love with the place. Great atmosphere, very soothing décor and friendly but not overly officious wait staff. The prices were reasonable and the food was wonderful. They have daily specials, so Mom and I tried the chicken franchesa, and it was sinfully good. I can't wait to go back and try everything else they make.

Next time we'll go a little earlier, though, because even though they advertise lunch until 2:00, it was 1:30 and they were about to close the door.

We go to Sebastopol for lunch because it's closer to where all three of us live than almost any place in Santa Rosa, and we like the small town atmosphere. It's way more touristy now than it was when I worked years ago in a shoe store on Main Street, but in other ways it's almost a mini-Berkeley. It's the only municipality that I know of in California where the Green Party is in the majority on the town council. I have no idea how this affects the way the town is run, and I wouldn't even know about it if they hadn't made such a big deal out of it after the November election.

While Mom and Suzanne were at my house, I asked them about some of the plants in my yard that I haven't been able to identify. They weren't much help, frankly, but I did get some advice from my sister, who is a dedicated gardener, about trimming back the roses and the wisteria.

After lunch, when they dropped me back at home, I got back to work for awhile, but my heart wasn't in it. I've been working on the big project for so long that I don't have any mental energy left to deal with the dumb little details of keeping the business running.

It wasn't long before I had so much nervous energy that I just couldn't stay inside any longer. I tamped down the stuff in the yard waste container to make more room and went to work on the pruning. I should have taken before and after pictures, but you don't get another chance if you don't think of it in time.

But I ran out of room in the container before I finished what I'd planned to do, so now all I can do is wait until after it gets picked up Friday morning. I got the rose bush done, and one of the wisterias.

The one on the right (duh!) is the result of my fussing around with the clippers today. The one on the left is next in line. I don't know if I did too much or too little today. Maybe I should try different tactics on the other bushes and compare them at the end of the season. That way I'll surely know what to do next year.

My spell-check wants to change "chicken franchesa" to "chicken franchise." I don't know if I spelled it correctly. It wasn't on the menu, and I only heard it once, in heavily accented English. It was swimming in butter, though, I can tell you that much for sure.