The Kaizen Way
Over the past couple of years December has become an important month for me. December is about looking back at the past year and planning for the year to come. As part of all this reflection and planning I decided to read One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Dr. Robert Maurer. It was a very quick read but very interesting. The key point of the book is that by taking small steps you can accomplish big goals.
All changes, even positive ones, are scary. Attempts to reach goals through radical or revolutionary means often fail because they heighten fear. But the small steps of kaizen disarm the brain’s fear response, stimulating rational thought and creative play.
This point really hit home for me. We are often told that only huge, fast, dramatic accomplishments matter, but the truth is most successful people are not “overnight successes”. So far it’s a great start to my month of goals.
Thanksgiving and the Heritage Turkey
As part of our goal towards eating locally we tried to “hit two stones with one bird”. For part of our thanksgiving feast, we purchased a Heritage turkey from Mary’s Turkeys (http://marysturkeys.com/) through a local market Mollie Stones. In doing so we accomplished two goals. First the turkey was raised sustainably in Fresno, California, less than 200 miles away. Second the turkey was a heritage breed of turkey. Which if you think of it, is something like a turkey version of a Heirloom Tomato. (to learn more about heritage turkeys look here: http://www.localharvest.org/features/heritage-turkeys.jsp)
The taste test was quite interesting. My wife and I enjoyed it quite a bit. We both thought that it had a more “gamey” taste to it. Something more akin to pheasant. I think we’d do it again, but next time we might brine it.
Client Party Pictures
Pictures of Cooper James
We finally have some new photos of Cooper James. Now 10 days old.
2007 Client Party
On November 13th, we had our first client appreciation party. It was held at Good Tastes in Campbell, CA. (http://www.goodtastes-wineshop.com/) and went very well. Everyone had a great time and are looking forward to doing it again soon. Pictures to follow shortly.
New Little One.
At 10:55 on Sunday November 4th. We had a new addition to our extended family. Our best friends Kristen and Jay Sanders delivered a new healthy baby boy named Cooper James Sanders. Both mom and baby are doing great and we’ll hopefully have pictures up very soon.
Grapes have been picked
After a full weekend of work we finally got all the grapes picked. We started picking at 8AM on sunday morning and finished around 7PM. It looks like we picked about 4 and a half tons of grapes. Quite a lot really. You can check out last years wine here: http://www.storrswine.com/wines/06SCMCH
Hopefully this year will turn out great. We’ll keep you updated on the progress.
Picking out a new front door
I think we’ve been pondering the idea of replacing our front door since the day we moved into this place. If you live in an old house you know there is no such thing as Low Maintenance. Because our front door faces the west, it gets beat with late afternoon sun, which has caused cracking and a constant need for painting.
Last weekend we went to Viking door in san jose (www.vikingdoor.com) because they were having a parking lot sale. We found some great finds, but of course got upsold on a NEW door. But here’s the issue…apparently, according to my friends, I’ve become quite a “house snob” and am quite opinionated about details of homes. My gut tells me that a proper wood door is the RIGHT door for our home. Not that we have the perfect example of a california bungalow but it just feels right. But there is something to be said about a fiberglass door that never needs paint or upkeep and has a lifetime warranty. I know what your thinking “fiberglass?” You’re envisioning some awful white front door with rediculous floral leaded glass ala Home Depot. But when you see it you might change your mind…I know I did. I’m still having an internal struggle for sure but I may be leaning toward the fiberglass door. Am I crazy. What do you think?
Imagine it without the stained glass. I think it’s a pretty nice door. And of course my real estate mind is kicking in with “…upgrading your front door is the single most effective thing you can do to improve curb appeal…” Maybe I watch too much HGTV.
New Investment in San Luis Obispo
The Fucillo Family recently purchased a Condo in San Luis Obispo as a rental investment. I think it’s a great place. Something I would have been really happy to live in while I was at CalPoly. Only three blocks from downtown and a quick bike ride to school. It made me a little nostalgic for my school days there. I love San Luis….now I just need to figure out how to make money there.
Late Summer in the Vineyard
Things are really picking up in the vineyard. A few weeks ago we put out nets to keep the birds off of the fruit. And talk about fruit – It’s going to be a big year this year. The vines are covered in fruit this year. At the current pace we should be harvesting sometime in the last two weeks of september.
