Petaluma life

Bonjour

Interesting, my son’s homework this week was about ” What would you change in your school or the world to make it better”?.
He chose the School Lunch Program. He had to explain why and give some ideas on how to make it better. One suggestion was to use as much of our local food…

Today in my email box, I received from “Google Alert, California” this article from the “LA Times”:

L.A. Unified will offer substitute items after discovering that a supplier butchered weak and ill cattle.
By Ashraf Khalil, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 1, 2008
The California Department of Education on Thursday urged school districts throughout the state to stop serving all but a few beef products after allegations that a Chino-based meat supplier butchered and distributed weak or ill cattle.

In an alert issued Thursday afternoon, the California Department of Education’s Nutrition Services Division advised agencies not to use beef products from Westland Meat Co. — a National School Lunch Program supplier — until further notice.

“In addition, we recommend that agencies not use any processed end-products containing beef pending further instructions,” the alert said. Such beef products would include uncooked ground beef used in hamburgers, meatballs and “teriyaki dippers,” officials said.

The recommendation, however, does not include items such as breakfast burritos that are cooked and packaged before being delivered to schools.

On Thursday, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School District said cafeterias will temporarily remove most beef products from their menus as a precaution.

The actions follow news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating Westland after the release of a video showing slaughterhouse workers using forklifts and water hoses to move or rouse weak and sick cows before slaughter.

The video was recorded by the Humane Society of the United States at Hallmark Meat Packing. Meat processed there is distributed by Westland Meat Co.

Federal and California laws prohibit the slaughter of “downer” cattle — those that cannot stand or walk — for human food supply to prevent animal cruelty and the consumption of meat from unhealthy animals.

The meatpacking company issued a statement Wednesday saying that it had taken immediate action to terminate two employees recorded in the video and had suspended their supervisor.

Susan Cox, a spokeswoman for L.A. Unified, said new items would be substituted for beef beginning today. “They just want to be safe,” she said.

Items such as meatballs and hamburger patties will be temporarily eliminated until the district can conduct an inventory on how much of its beef originates from Westlake.

“We want to make sure that we’re protecting the health of our young children,” said Dennis Barrett, the district’s director of food services. “It’s certainly not going to cripple us. There will still be good nutritious meals every day.”

State education officials said they reacted as soon as they heard of the USDA investigation.

“I am very saddened to hear about the allegations of animal abuse at Westland,” California Supt. of Public Education Jack O’Connell said in a statement. “I want to assure every parent . . . that the California Department of Education will not tolerate anything that threatens the safety of food given to their children.”

I’ ll let you think about it…

Au revoir…

Bonjour!

It’s time to relax, to enjoy our freedom, to explore our world…

That’s exactly what we did on this sunny Sunday. We went for a walk thru the unbeaten path of Petaluma. Starting where the railroad tracks cross the Petaluma river between the “Stornetta Milk Factory” and the “Hunt & Behrens” hay and grain factory, a very representative structure of Petaluma farming heritage. ( I guess I’ll have to document this with pictures some other time).

Walking on the tracks, we crossed the bridge in direction of the 101 freeway, first we ran across two vulturs , perch on a fence spreading their wings wide open, they seemed undisturbed by our presence.

Continuing, we passed by a yard where Big metal sculptures were standing, some finished, others waiting for the crane to lift them up.

Further up we crossed over Payran street still following the tracks, that’s also where some kind of a trail begins, which will take you to a trestle , above, what looks like a creek meeting with the Petaluma river.

Cutting across an empty field between the freeway and the river, quite muddy this time of year… we finally closed the loop by getting back on “Payran street”

Here is a series of images taken by Rosemarie ( my wife).

Bonjour

Here is a slideshow reflecting the hollydays in a neighborhood of Petaluma.

HAPPY NEW YEAR PETALUMA!

PETALUMA, Calif.—The City Council has rejected a water conservation plan that would have required home sellers to pay for plumbing inspections, appliance upgrades and expensive repairs.

Among other things, the plan would have limited landscape irrigation, continued rebates for toilet and shower head retrofitting, and forced new homes to be built with special water-efficient dishwashers and washing machines.

I guess the ” Local economy” is based on real estate speculation… hmmm…
Have you seen the latest development they build near Putnam Park, ( this park is gonna choke one day…) Ugly! I say, no style, just big boxes, very unfriendly.
More of that Ugly type of houses on the way? Please be creative, give us some good looking houses, something with character, OK!

Bonjour
It’s been a while since the last post, so today I’m going to give you something to chew on… A slideshow of the REAL Swim Meet in Napa, my son is part of the TVA swim team here in Petaluma and it was his first meet, he was nervous but did great.

All Images were shot by Rosemarie and I from Lionphotography.com Enjoy !

Gerard

Bonjour

Some news for wine drinkers…

LONDON (Reuters) - Not all wines are created equal and some may be better than others at reducing the risk of heart disease, scientists said on Wednesday.

For the most health benefits, wines from southwestern France and Sardinia could be the best of all because they contain high levels of procyanidins — compounds in grape seeds that are good for the heart.

“There is a tremendous variability between levels in different types of wine,” said Professor Roger Corder of Queen Mary, University of London.

“Perhaps we should be looking more at the type of wines we drink in the future if we want to try and derive some benefit from their consumption,” he told Reuters.

Corder and his team earlier identified a mechanism to explain the French paradox — how a country renowned for its love of cheese, rich sauces and foie gras has a low rate of heart disease — when they found red wine was rich in polyphenols, which block the production of a protein linked to heart disease.

In new research published in the journal Nature, they purified the most biologically active polyphenols and identified them as procyanidins.

TRADITIONAL PRODUCTION METHODS

The researchers also discovered that wines from southwestern France, which has the highest proportion of 75-year-old men in the country, and Sardinia with more than its fair share of centenarians, are rich in procyanidins.

The surprising feature of their wines is they have very high levels of procyanidins and this seems to be due mainly to the grapes growing in that area,” said Corder.

“This may explain the strong association between consumption of traditional tannic wines with overall wellbeing, reflected in greater longevity,” he added.

The Tannat grape is a particularly rich source of procyanidins.

Vineyards in southwestern France and Sardinia also use traditional production methods that insure procyanidins are efficiently extracted from the grape seeds, according to the researchers.

The key is the length of time the seeds and skin of the grapes are in contact with the fermenting juice. Some traditional vineyards have a 21-day fermentation process compared to much shorter times for other wines.

“Modern-style wine will be red and will be alcoholic but it won’t have these components. It has to be fermented longer in contact with the pips (seeds),” Corder said.

In addition to red wine, procyanidins are also found in some fruits and in dark chocolate.

“A combination of both would be a healthy strategy,” Corder added.

It’s been a while…

I just happen to witness some strange occurence few weeks ago…

I was in the garden, picking up some parsley for our diner. On my way back, I was looking towards our neighbour’s house, when all of a sudden! something came straight down from the sky smashing onto the roof and making a thumping sound with a splash.

I looked at what it could be… It was Ice, you could see it melting on the hot roof. I looked up , the sky was blue, not a cloud, no airplanes, nothing that could explain where it came from?

Our neighbor finally came out, wondering what was that noise, I pointed the location on his roof, where you could still see the ice melting, explaining also what I had just witnessed.

We both agreed , that was strange…

Is there an explanation? let me know if you have one…

Good day

Public Schools Perform Near Private Ones in Study - New York Times

WASHINGTON, July 14 — The Education Department reported on Friday that children in public schools generally performed as well or better in reading and mathematics than comparable children in private schools. The exception was in eighth-grade reading, where the private school counterparts fared better.

Bonjour!

Yesterday we talked about getting your bike ready for a spin.

So hop on and let’s go!

Take D street going west towards “Point Reyes Station”, it’s slightly going up, so stay in the lower gear, spinning is better for you to built up your cardiovascular, and it’s less demanding on your leg muscles.

As we pass the last and more recent housing development in West Petaluma ( they seem so out of place… personnal opinion:>) we finally get out of town. Enjoy the scenery, everything is green, the cows are happy, Spring is here!

Keep on riding until you find “San antonio road” on your left. It’ll take you on a gentle roller coaster country road with small farms here and there. Keep going until you see “I Street” on your left. You could stay on “San Antonio” which will take you all the way to highway 101 ( it’s still a nice ride) so you will have to turn back .

“I street”, will take you back almost where you started, close to Downtown Petaluma. I don’t really know how many miles is this ride , it takes approximately one hour to complete.

Enjoy!

Next time I’ll take you on a ride and a hike at the same time.

Bonjour!

Do you have a Bicycle in the garage, ready to be taken for a ride? hmmm…

I know it’s been raining a lot and riding in Petaluma is not the safest. It could use more bike lanes, and you have to watch for those famous “Potholes” which can really make you fly off your bike…

But if you manage to get out of town with the bike, you’re in for a pretty nice ride.

But first , is your bicycle ready to go? After all when was the last time you took it for a spin? Don’t forget to clean the chain and the “derailleur” that’s the part that move the chain up or down the “sprockets” (wheel with teeth), then grease it lightly, too much grease will attract dirt.

Check the air pressure of the tires, 90 to 100 psi for a road bike, for a mountain bike it’s probably lower, look on the side of the tire it will tell you.

Next, the repair kit, make sure you have one with glue, patches and levers to remove the tube. Take a spare tube also.

You’re almost ready to go, don’t forget to fill up the water bottle, grab some energy bars, something to munch et voila!

Oh yes! what should I wear? you will asked…
You don’t really need the latest cycling outfit, but some shorts with padding will make your ride more comfortable, and a shirt or Jersey with back pockets will help to carry your snacks, some gloves with padding to avoid numbness in your hands , sunglasses to stop the glare and to protect from flying objects, bugs and who knows what the road can throw at you.

The shoes? hmmm… they can get pretty technical, it all depend what kind of pedals you’re using on your bike, cleats for performance, regular pedals for casual riding, it’s up to you. All I know, it’s better if your shoes have a stiff sole.

And finally, for safety, a helmet. I’ve crashed few times , road rash, broken clavicul, but the head is not as forgiving, protect it!.

Well, we’re ready to go… tomorow I will take you on bike tour around Petaluma and give few tips on riding efficiently.

See you then.