September 2010

LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

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September 2010

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Man with a Mission

Mendoza Infuses Gardens with Passion for California Mission Style

ARTIS T PROFILE Pickens, Cuellar

Conversing Through Art, on the Links and in the Studio

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Letter from the Executive Editor Business Cents Word Play Performances Fashion Summer Fun Happenings

CULINARY Seeking Greek

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HUMANITARIAN Haiti: The Needs are Great and so is the Love

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LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

ON THE COVER and ABOVE: The grounds of the Mendoza home near River Island pay tribute to California Mission Style, with do-it-yourself design and stone work whose worth is measured in sweat equity.

SEPTEMBER 2010 PUBLISHED BY DMI Agency 801 W. Main St. Visalia, CA 93291 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT MALkASIAN ACCOUNTANCY LLP GARY MALkASIAN CPA JEFFREY MALkASIAN EA Bookkeeper MARILYN HARRIS Office Administrator MARIA GASTON EDITORIAL Executive Editor kAREN TELLALIAN Copy Editor DARA FISk-EkANGER Calendar MARIA GASTON Asistant Editor TAYLOR VAUGHN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AARON COLLINS DIANE SLOCUM SHARON MOSLEY CHERYL DIETER ELAINE DEkASSION RANDY TELLALIAN IRENE MORSE ART & PRODUCTION Creative Director DAVID JONES ADVERTISING SALES Advertising Director BRIDGET ELMORE DARLENE MAYFIELD 559.738.0907 SALES OFFICE 801 W. Main St. Visalia, CA 93291 559.738.0907 • Fax 559.738.0909 E-mail: lifestyle@dmiagency.com

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Borders Books Music & Cafè DMI Agency Evolutions Fitness Center, Tulare Party City Tazzaria Coffee & Tea The Lifestyle Center Visalia Chamber of Commerce Visalia Coffee Company Visalia Convention Center COUNTERTOP LOCATIONS

210 Cafe Advanced Laser Clinics Bravo Farms Cheese Factory Creekside Day Spa & Wellness Center Downtown Visalians Exeter Chamber of Commerce Exeter Golf Course Holiday Inn kaplan Financial Services kaweah Delta Hospital Red Carpet Car Wash Richard Rumery, Attorney at Law Sequoia Laser Aesthetics Smiles by Sullivan Tazzaria Coffee & Tea Tiffany’s Luxury Medispa Tulare Chamber of Commerce Tulare County Library V Medical Spa Visalia Community Bank-Downtown Visalia Convention Center Visalia Eye Center Visalia Imaging & Open MRI Visalia Marriott Visalia Medical Clinic Wildflower Cafe-Exeter Dr. keith Williams Williams, Jordan, Brodersen & Pritchett, Attorneys at Law Windows Plus, Inc.

See us online at VisaliaLifestyle.com

Visalia Lifestyle Magazine is published monthly and is distributed via direct mail to nearly 13,000 homes in the upper-middle and high-income neighborhoods in Visalia and Exeter. An additional 2,000 copies are distributed at various distribution points around both communities. Views expressed in columns are those of the columnist and not necessarily those of Direct Media, Inc. or its advertisers.

Circulation of this issue: 15,000 © 2010 DMI Agency

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LEFT: Stone paths were laid by homeowner Fred Mendoza with the help of an amigo, a labor of love over the course of years. A high school architecture instructor, Mendoza also designed the River Island-area home he shares with wife Lorraine.

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LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

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EDITOR NOTE

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Photo by Becca Chavez | Hair and Make-up provided by Velvet Sky

t the moment, we have no children living at home. It’s strangely quiet now, not necessarily in a bad way; it’s just not the same as it was only a short time ago. The youngest – now navigating his way to independence – came home for a short visit last week; and after hearing about his financially inspired diet of packaged noodles and one good meal every-other-day, I let my heart lead me to the nearest grocery store to fill his car with what should have been enough food for at least a month. I mean, isn’t that what all mothers do? After thinking about this some more, it struck me that he’s the one living at the beach, in 65 degree weather, in one of the most beautiful parts of California; and suddenly a mother’s guilt, about her youngest child living off of bagels and peanut butter, began to fade.

But the fact that not every child has a home or family to which they can return is not lost on us at Lifestyle. We have many such children in our own community, and although we are able to support many of them through organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs and CASA, it’s hard not to feel an extra burden for the hundreds of thousands of children left orphaned in Haiti.

Ironically, one of the things I’ve always liked most about our Lifestyle features is the travel article, and we can always count on our local writers to flush out the most interesting places on earth. They always seem to bump into the native “characters” and wander into adventures, both planned and unplanned. So when it was time to review the possibilities for this issue, one stood out, but not for the typical reasons. Sure there were beaches, sand and sun, and local “characters”; but this time, no happy ending.

Instead, the trip tugged hard on the compassionate hearts of two friends as they traveled to impoverished Haiti to aid the vast numbers left orphaned by the January earthquake. Photographer Peter Amend and fellow Samaritan Jerrod Turner tell of their experience and sorrow at the work left undone, starting on page 42.

As always, we take pride in the features we bring to your homes every month, and are grateful for the inspiring glimpses into your lives. Whether your favorite is the magnificent Mendoza Mission Style Home Tour found on page 24, or the recipe for Spanikopita on page 34 of Culinary, or the informative Business Cents starting on page 10, we hope you enjoy this complimentary issue. It would be great if everyone who reads this month’s issue found themselves inspired to make a donation – in lieu of what a subscription might cost – to any of the charitable organizations in our community. If the urge to help is something you just can’t shake, just tell them Lifestyle sent you.

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kAREN TELLALIAN, EXECUTIVE EDITOR For more information or to submit a story idea email Karen@dmiagency.com or call (559) 739-1747 or fax (559) 738-0909.

LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

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LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

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BUSINESS

BUSINESS CENTS W One Simple Question …Countless Complicated Answers

Text By Randy Tell alian

hen people discover that the person they are talking with is in the mortgage industry, invariably, the first question that comes to their mind is, “What are interest rates?”

When a person in the mortgage industry is asked, “What are interest rates?” he/she immediately starts running down the list of variables in their head that could only start to answer such a seemingly benign inquiry. Over the past three years, as the mortgage industry has undergone significant adjustments, perhaps the one that most affects borrowers is the one made by the two Government Supported Agencies (GSAs), more commonly known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The adjustment created a pricing structure that impacts the cost of obtaining the loan based on various characteristics of each loan. These characteristics result in the litany of questions that must be asked to answer the interest-rate question in an honest and accurate manner. Below are the questions and reasoning for each question and how it impacts the mortgage interest rate: When asked, “What are interest rates?” the clarifying questions should always be: 1. For purchase or refinance?

If the loan is a refinance, there are price adjustments for the cash-out variety (see #5 below), but it’s even more important to determine if the loan is even eligible to re-finance. The property must have been owned for a minimum length of time and proper documentation of the purchase or acquisition could be required.

If the next door neighbor deeded the house to you to avoid a lien or a judgment, then the loan would require documentation of the borrower’s “equitable interest” to be eligible. There are other potential issues to address as well, but they are less common than the circumstances and timing of the acquisition.

2. What is the purchase price or estimated value of the property if refinancing?

The “loan-to-value” is computed for every secured loan by taking the percentage of the loan amount in relation to the purchase price or appraised value. In a purchase transaction, the lower of the purchase price vs. the appraised value is used. In a refinance transaction, the appraised value is provided by an independent appraiser. The higher the LTV, the higher the risk in case of default. So, of course, the price adjustments would be higher as the LTV goes higher. Generally, any LTV at 60 percent or lower would not have any price adjustments (yes, that’s right … 60

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percent), so even though the general population thinks it’s great when a homeowner has any equity at all, mortgage lenders think much differently.

3. What are your three credit scores?

There are three major credit bureaus which provide their unique credit score for you based on their unique credit scoring models.

Each borrower has their own three scores and the lender MUST use the middle value (not the middle score). If your scores are 800/801/690, then 800 is the score that would be used. If there is a co-borrower, the same rule applies, but on conventional loans, the lower of the two middle scores would determine the credit score for not only pricing, but program eligibility as well. If the co-borrower has scores of 480/580/680 (I would check to see why the big difference), then the 580 score would be used, which eliminates qualification for conventional loans in 99.9 percent of the applications.

On conventional loans, it is possible to remove the co-borrower, but of course, other considerations come into play.

For the purpose of pricing, the higher the score, the better the borrower’s credit, the lower the credit risk, the better the pricing for the borrower.

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BUSINESS

4. What is the loan amount?

Certain loan sizes indicate a higher or lower propensity for default (think income to qualify for a certain sized loan). With a lower loan amount, generally speaking, the risk of default would be higher due to greater exposure to economic changes in the household. The higher loan amounts are also worth more to the lenders since the amount of effort servicing the loan remains the same, regardless of the loan size. If the loan size is higher, then the actual cash return on the loan is higher and there is no additional work in servicing the loan once it’s made. The savings on the economies of scale are partially passed on to the borrower who hits one of the higher loan amount tiers.

5. If refinancing, are you taking cash out of the property?

If you need to take cash out of the equity of your property, then you must not have money already for what you need. If that’s the case, then of course there is a higher risk that you will take the money out and then walk away from the house and mortgage.

While rare (especially for one to deliberately use this scheme), it does happen and the mortgages are priced accordingly to reflect that small, but present, higher risk.

6. Is the property owner-occupied or an investment (rental) property?

If the borrower gets into financial trouble, which house is most likely to be abandoned: the house they live in or an investment property (rental)? While it is in violation of the terms of the Trust Deed, many current landlords are collecting rent and NOT paying their mortgage, yet the rent has been assigned to the mortgage lender (they have the first rights to the rent). Of course, investment property is riskier and price adjustments would apply.

7. How many units (1–4)?

The result to this question is really based on the assumption that should the lender foreclose, the property will be much more difficult to sell if it is 2-4 units. The price adjustments apply here to reflect that additional risk. The risk is really realized on re-sale of the foreclosed property since there are far fewer buyers looking for an investment property than those looking for their own primary residence to live in.

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8. Is the property a detached single family residence or a condo?

Again, the price adjustment results from a type of property (condo) that fewer buyers would want to purchase so the pricing becomes a little higher to reflect the carrying cost of the potentially foreclosed property.

9. Is there or will there be a second Trust Deed on the property?

This question tends to be overlooked in this market since there are “slim to none” seconds available in today’s market. This could be a factor where the borrower has an existing second that is being retained through a refinance or in the case of the seller carrying back a second trust deed on a purchase. With a second mortgage, the cost of the loan is higher since the actual combined LTV is higher than just the first trust deed’s LTV. Lenders will look at the overall risk of the LTV, not just the risk in relation to their own loan.

10. What loan term (30-, 20-, 15-, or 10-year fixed rate or a 3/1, 5/1, 7/1 or 10/1 Adjustable Rate Mortgage ((ARM))?

Time value is the basic determination of pricing mortgages that are based on the time values of the underlying cost of funds to the lenders (Treasuries for example). The shorter the time span of the loan, the shorter the period of risk exposure. Also, on the shorter term mortgages, the principal is reduced faster which results in a higher equity position than the longer-term mortgages.

This creates added protection against default as the loan is paid down. Adjustable rate mortgages are still available which provide a much lower initial interest rate and monthly payment. The premise is that as the mortgages adjust, they would adjust at a higher future rate, but if you look at the past 5-7 years, you’ll see that this isn’t always the case. Some ARMS are adjusting to lower rates than the initial start rate, but this only happens in periods of prolonged low rates.

This just about covers the initial factors that need to be addressed every time the question is asked about interest rates. If you’re tired of reading this, then think about the mortgage lender who must address each of these characteristics every time they are asked, “What are interest rates?”

And you thought you were just being polite in making conversation.

LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

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ARTIST PROFILE

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he evidence continues to mount for the growing theory that Los Angeles has supplanted New York as the artistic capital of the United States. Among the proof is the emergence of numerous significant art movements in Southern California over the past four decades.

Along with Light and Space, Finish Fetish and various other additions to visual art’s expanding lexicon, L.A. can count another wildly popular contribution: Lowbrow Art, the proverbial finger in the eye of an art world resistant to its intentions and origins, and hence, slow to acknowledge the movement’s legitimacy.

With roots that precede the term, Lowbrow’s lack of critical acceptance comes as little surprise. While not labeled as such, the genre is prefigured in numerous late ’50s and ’60s kitsch art by such “luminaries” as Keane’s big-eyed waifs, cartoonist Big Daddy Ed Roth’s hot rod-driving monsters like Rat Fink (and SoCal’s Kustom Kulture in general), tiki art, and a host of other disreputable, commercially oriented illustrative styles.

But more than just a thorn in the art world’s side, Lowbrow has found market acceptance, with art sales and increasingly exorbitant prices in many cases continuing to eclipse the record of contemporary art (a Mark Ryden painting goes for $800,000; not bad for the work of any living artist, no matter his station as insider or outsider).

Text By A aron Collins

Visalia’s own progenitor of the genre, Bryan Pickens, 35, is featured in a two-person show of contemporary portraits at Arts Visalia along with Visalia-based ceramics artist Antonio “Evaristo” Cuellar. The exhibition will offer a glimpse into one sub-genre of the movement known as Pop Surrealism (some prefer this term in lieu of – or interchangeably with – Lowbrow).

Pickens’ female portraits are derived from models he knows, some are hand drawn while others are composites of eight or nine different models, he said, the latter being the more current strategy.

While Cuellar’s work is more indebted to established mainstream ceramics artists like his mentor, the notable Paul Soldner, or the late Peter Voulkos, his new works are departures from his earlier architectural pieces. The new pieces represent a direct dialogue with Pickens in that they incorporate some of the formal, if not conceptual, features of Pickens’ work, the product of an ongoing conversation between friends who are just as likely to chat on the golf course as in their respective art studios.

“Bryan and I became friends about four years ago through art. We had other interests and passions we share like golf – a sport of which he excels in – and music, family, things that take us from our isolation and independent tasks, such as the making of art [does],” Cuellar said. “The dialogue, as far as the show, works well. We are both working on the female figure and our appreciation for the magnitude of Venus and the brilliance all women share. Bryan’s impeccable attention to detail, his knowledge of color and line quality have brought this new body of work a rich explanation of his soul and mind.”

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RIGHT: Fixate, by Bryan Pickens (2010; acrylic on birch panel; 23” x 40”), among the portraits to be included in the two-person show at Arts Visalia entitled Figurative Narration, along with golf buddy and fellow Visalia artist Antonio Cuellar (September 29-October 29, 2010).

ARTIST PROFILE

LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

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ARTIST PROFILE

Pickens, better known as a commercial designer before throwing his hat into the fine art ring, arrives a latecomer to the Lowbrow game, but says he wanted to be a fine artist all along. However, practical career concerns drove him into the graphic design field with a degree from Cal State Chico. “The genre fits better than prior work in my recent shows like the large-scale musical instruments and wine-themed paintings I did, which were commercially successful but artistically less satisfying,” he said.

In some of the new works, Pickens has introduced physical layers, rendering them either sculptural paintings or painted sculptures. “I have always wanted to incorporate more dimension into my paintings,” he said of the new process.

“Switching from canvas to a more organic structure like the birch panels has allowed me the freedom to do so. With the sculptural paintings a lot more planning is involved. I have to really sit down and plan out the piece, thinking about what form or shape I am going to layer or cut out.

Every shape is cut out by hand with a jigsaw, then painted in acrylic piece-by-piece until finished. Then I assemble it. In the sculptural paintings new things appear, like natural shadows that change with directional lighting.

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“I am utilizing every possible influence I have to produce the new work. My background in graphic design is noticeable in the work with the shapes and forms along with the use of color theory. Also, my love for abstraction, tattoo art, pin-striping, stenciling and sculpture reveal themselves in the work. Pop Surrealism is just that; use the tools and influences around you … and just make art,” Pickens said.

The new paintings also harken back to earlier artists such as the once-highly collected ’80s litho artist Patrick Nagel, whose stylized female subject matter, like Keene, was not categorized as Lowbrow per se, but probably fits the bill. Akin to Nagel’s slick works that were synonymous with ’80s fashion, Pickens mostly drops his earlier more painterly approach and opts for a more graphic treatment. The stylistic gambit offers a distancing effect from any graphic quality (in the other, lurid sense of the term) that one might expect from the modern nude as subject matter.

Given the demands on his time from his freelance design work as well as his own painstaking painting process, Pickens typically only produces a limited number of paintings per year.

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LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

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ARTIST PROFILE

Perhaps Pickens is most distinguishable from other Lowbrow artists in that he really isn’t radically opposed to the mainstream art world’s defining characteristics that originally sidelined Lowbrow. Despite the nude as subject, he’s not confrontive. One senses he isn’t even necessarily interested in tweaking social mores or delicate social sensibilities. His work reflects a sincere love of the physical painting medium; the love of purely visual, visceral impact; the formal pleasures of color and pattern and texture.

Notably, Pickens’ work has affinities with – but seems to leave to – other Lowbrow artists the task of puncturing the high-minded values and sacred cows of the mainstream fine art critical establishment through a preoccupation with style over concept; fascination with kitsch over cool; desire for mass appeal over esoterica; insistence on tight craftsmanship over slapdash technique; a concern with figuration over abstraction; and above all, an indulgence in the excesses of irony, outrageous camp or just outright bad taste, among the genre’s de facto indictments against the pomposities of the mainstream art world.

Naturally those outré characteristics ensure Lowbrow’s place as the refusnik art form of the moment and perhaps into the foreseeable future, and along with that, a comfortable perch for amigos Pickens and Cuellar to indulge their love of form and craft.

PREVIOUS PAGE: Visalia artist Bryan Pickens at work in his home studio on Solace (2010; acrylic on birch panel; 40” x 65”), a piece that will be included in the upcoming two-person show at Arts Visalia entitled Figurative Narration, which will also feature fellow Visalia artist and friend Anthony “Evaristo” Cuellar, who will show recent ceramic works.

TOP LEFT: Antonio “Evaristo” Cuellar and Bryan Pickens, both Visalia-based artists, enjoy an ongoing dialogue about art and life both in the studio and on the golf course.

ABOVE: Recent vessels by Antonio “Evaristo” Cuellar include Vase with Red Spirals, Vase with Green Spirals, and Vase with Triangle (all works 2010; raku ceramic), which will be on view in the Arts Visalia exhibition entitled Figurative Narration.

RIGHT: Bab’s Pot (2010, ceramic wood and steel), by Antonio “Evaristo” Cuellar, represents a departure from earlier works, a shift stemming from a direct visual dialogue with fellow artist Bryan Pickens. The show opens with an artist reception open to the public, Friday, October 1, 2010.

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WORD PLAY

NEWS ON WRITING, BOOKS AND THE WORLD OF PUBLISHING Text by Diane Slocum

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alifornia turned 160 years old this month and a Mother Lode of books offers a golden opportunity for reading about this country’s 31st state.

Fresno native William B. Secrest, Sr., has written a bookshelf’s worth of histories of frontier California.

His latest is Showdown!: Lionhearted Lawmen of Old California (Linden Publishing, October publication date). While this book features the good guys (though some may have switched hats at some point), several of his earlier books chronicle the desperados, bad men and robbers.

Vanishing Los Angeles County by Cory and Sarah Stargel (Arcadia Publishing, August 2010) is the latest in the Postcard History Series.

These books show pictures of bygone eras as they were recorded on postcards of the day. The text gives historical background and updates on the attractions depicted. The Stargels have authored other postcard books on L.A., while Fresno’s William B. Secrest, Jr., got into the act as well with Greetings from Fresno, California: Vintage Postcards from California’s Heartland, (Linden Publishing, 2007) displaying over 200 scenes from old Fresno and surrounding areas.

Yosemite historian Leroy Radanovich published yet another postcard book, Yosemite Railroad (Linden, August 2010).

More Valley Writers Delano urologist Dr. Anthony Horan wrote about the validity of the PSA test for prostate cancer and other aspects of typical treatments in his book The Big Scare: the Business of Prostate Cancer (Sterlinghouse Books, August 2009). Horan tries to separate what is best for the patient from what is best for the business interests involved.

Contests Hurry up and think haunting thoughts. The “Scare the Dickens Out of Us” short story contest deadline is Oct.1. First prize for this “Friends of the Dr. Eugene Clark Library” contest is $1,000. The competition includes a junior contest for 12 to 18-year-olds with a $250 prize. The entry fee for the 5,000-word maximum ghost stories is $20 (junior fee $5). The contest is in conjunction with “A Dickens Christmas in Lockhart” in Texas. Details: http://clarklibraryfriends. com.

Short story collections, novellas and novels are eligible for the Ronald Sukenick American Book Review Innovative Fiction Prize.

Deadline is Nov. 1 and the entry fee is $25. The prize is $1,000 and publication by the University of Alabama Press. Details at http://fc2. org/sukenick.aspx.

Dennis Doberneck of Paso Robles took runner-up in the purple prose section of the 2010 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest with a jab at Bakersfield’s dust-choked sky. Molly Ringle of Seattle won the contest by comparing a kissing couple to a water bottle and a thirsty gerbil.

Read the best of this year’s entries at www.bulwer-lytton.com/2010. htm. Submissions for next year’s contest to write the worst opening sentence for a novel should be in by sometime in April or May (as described at www.bulwer-lytton.com)

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Conferences The San Francisco Writing for Change Conference is scheduled for Nov. 13-14. The conference theme is “Changing the world one book at a time.” Keynote speakers are John Robbins (The Food Revolution – How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World) and Dan Millman (The Peaceful Warrior). Details: www.sfwritingforchange.org.

The La Jolla Writers Conference is for writers of all levels. James Frey, Linwood Barclay (Never Look Away) and John Lescroart (Treasure Hunt) are the featured speakers. The three-day event will be held Nov. 5-7 at the Paradise Point Resort and Spa. Details at www.lajollawritersconference.com.

Publishing The Huffington Post added a travel section to further its goal of being considered an Internet newspaper. In addition to its front page news, it now has section heads for politics, media, entertainment, sports, comedy, tech, world, college, impact, books, arts, religion, business, living, style, green and food. Huffington intends to expand its local outlets which now include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver. No Central Valley page, though.

The New Michigan Press is a small publisher of chapbooks and broadsides. They will accept queries, but most of their material comes through their annual spring contest. They usually publish two to five first-time authors each year. Go to http://thediagram.com/nmp for details.

Read the Book The movie The Town is based on the novel by Chuck Hogan which was originally titled Prince of Thieves when it was released in hardcover in August 2004. The paperback released this August now has the same title as the movie. The story concerns a trio of thieves who rob a bank and take the manager hostage. One of the masked robbers falls for the manager and tries to woo her later on, while she doesn’t know he is the same person.

The Last Word “People … saw themselves … hauling over chunks of ore and returning home weighed down with them … Five years at most was to be given to rifling California of her treasures … No one talked then of going out ‘to build up the glorious State of California.’”—Prentice Mulford (1834-1891), Life by Land and Sea

L I F E SL ITFYELSET Y | LS EE P| TME A MRBCE H R 2010

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HEALTH & SAFETY

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HEALTH & SAFETY

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HOME TOUR

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LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

HOME HOME TOUR TOUR

L I F EL SI FT EYSLTE Y|L SE E|P AT U EM GU B ES RT 2 0 1 0

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HOME TOUR

W

hen Fred and Lorraine Mendoza purchased their River Island-area lot on a sloping, mostly barren Springville hillside in the ’70s, their homesite’s big idea hadn’t yet occurred to them. It was a pretty big blank slate.

Mr. Mendoza – then a high school architectural drafting teacher – knew how to draw a plan. The home’s eventual design was largely his, along with input from Lorraine. They completed the structure in the mid ’70s.

But more than two decades would pass following completion of the modest contemporary-style home before Fred would be gripped by a vision for the sizeable grounds, an ambitious vision that, in many ways, now exceeds that for the structure itself.

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ON THE SPREAD: “All the missions we visited had peaceful and serene grounds with aged water fountains, crosses, statutes, weathered bells, cacti, flowers and fruit trees,” Fred Mendoza recalls. And that is what he and wife Lorraine set out to recreate at their home east of Porterville, designed and built by the Mendozas in the 1970s.

ABOVE: A palapa was constructed where more formal structured grounds give way to the indigenous semi-arid Sierra Foothills acreage surrounding the home of Fred and Lorraine Mendoza of Springville.

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Resulting from the couple’s many travels to California’s missions in the 1990s, the Mendozas became intrigued with the history of the simple but massive Spanish Mission outposts erected in stone, adobe and wood. But it was Fred who became gripped with an idea expressed less through planning, and more via an organically unfolding landscape design and building process for what would become elaborate terraced hillside California Missionstyle grounds.

Beginning in March 2001, the project took years to complete, sustained by those initial tourist excursions which triggered a consuming passion to recreate the feel and features common to the bygone era’s originals. For historical comparison, the missions were begun throughout Coastal California in the latter half of the 1700s at the same time revolutionary unrest with England was forming in the original thirteen U.S. colonies.

Out of those violent times, a peaceful vision emerged, at least where the inner grounds of a mission were concerned. That was what drew the Mendozas, who were fully aware of the chaotic times and consequences for the Native Americans.

“All the missions we visited had peaceful and serene grounds with aged water fountains, crosses, statutes, weathered bells, cacti, flowers and fruit trees,” Fred recalled. “The settings elicited the essence of antiquity,” he said, the same character that now takes visitors to the Mendoza home back in time, perhaps notwithstanding the disease and hunger and thankfully with reduced threat of wild beasts (although a few of these are still afoot in the Springville area).

In the mid-18th century, the Spanish settlers ventured only briefly into California’s hot interior populated by Natives and more than a few now-vanished species from the Valley floor, such as grizzlies and cougars. These Spaniards opted instead for the more moderate coastal climate. However, thanks to modern glories like electricity and air conditioning, the Mendozas have succeeded in further establishing a Mission-style foothold in the semi-arid San Joaquin Valley where Father Serra perhaps never dared.

After beginning with just a few original plantings from the late 1980s, a few pines along with some olives trees and cacti, lush grounds began to take shape in spring of 2001. And the laborious effort was conducted without the aid of Native American slaves, the back-breaking labors of whom were enjoyed by the Spanish colonizers. The primary laborers were Fred, Lorraine and a good friend (“Compa Sam” as Fred calls him, compa as in compadre).

Entering the property, a few authentic Mission features anticipate those to be found later. A rustic palapa offers a parched visitor a spot of shade on a hot summer day. A hanging bell nearby looks very much like those which the Fransciscan padres once used during the period to beckon workers to meals, to mass, or to signal the rare visitors – or occasionally, intruders.

LEFT: Rustic furnishings, Mexican objects and rock work approximate quarters that were typically found among California’s Spanish missions from the mid-1700s.

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Further up a rock path is a shaded pond that incorporates boulders from the site, an unexpectedly cool and shaded grottolike environment amid the parched tan foothills of the Sierra Nevada. “This is where I learned not to build a pond without a liner,” Fred recounted of the educational aspects familiar to any doit-yourselfer.

The home itself incorporates ample use of stone, artifacts from the era of Spanish and Mexican rule, all mixed in with modern conveniences and what Fred says are many rounds of interior renovations. Despite the modern conveniences, the home retains the feel of Old Mexico with the lingering spirit of the Spaniards who came before them. The place is packed with numerous objects of interest, crosses, centuries-old wagon wheels, and numerous other artifacts that trace decades spent together traveling the West and points south of the border.

Further up the hill from the Mendoza home is where the rocklaying team launched in, unaided by a drawing, opting instead for an impromptu approach to landscaping. Taking on one terraced garden at a time, the crew ascended the hillside to create new levels over the years as new ideas formed – until the property ran out.

Eventually, the gardens became tributes to beloved saints, complete with commemorative educational plaques installed that are dedicated to the early California history of the missions, the oldest remaining European-derived relics in the state.

Fred Mendoza may have been an architecture teacher, but evidence is seen throughout the gardens where he freely indulged his inner history professor. He set about researching and etching California’s early history onto granite markers placed along the paths, demonstrating a love of his subjects as well as his love for teaching.

Along one winding indigenous rock pathway can be found a large-scale stone statue of Father Junipero Serra, founder of the missions, a replica of his likeness commissioned by the Mendozas based upon an original found at Mission San Juan Capistrano. The piece was created by artisans in Mexico. Another notable carving in wood depicts a man on his knees: a Conquistador confessing to terrible treatment of natives in Peru, circa 1535.

Serra’s charge was to Christianize and civilize the Native Americans for the benefit of the Spanish Empire: to teach them to pray, worship, work building the Spanish settlements, and generally conform to the Spanish way of life. And, oh yes, a mere aside, of course; to claim a little resource-rich land for Spain, territory over which Russia and England were beginning to lick their chops.

LEFT: Fred and Lorraine Mendoza commissioned Mexican artisans to create this large-scale replica of a statue of Father Junipero Serra, whose original inspiration is found at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

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A gazebo features stoves modeled on those found in the kitchen at Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel, where Father Serra died in 1784. A statue of Mexico’s beloved Virgen de Guadalupe is positioned between two massive boulders from which a waterfall gushes, which “adds a mystical touch to the garden,” said the Mendozas of the water-from-stone effect.

Perhaps the most transformational outcome after years of all that hard work is the refuge it has now become. “Walk into our garden and sit awhile and you’ll hear nothing of our modern world,” said Fred of the rural location between Porterville to the west and Springville just east. “No sound of town life, not many voices or pulsating movement of traffic on a freeway full of people going somewhere fast. Listen and you’ll hear the birds and cascading waters in the garden.”

No matter one’s faith, true peace can be found here on any given day, any given season, with the ancient Sierra Nevada looming and blue just ahead, reminding one of the magnificence of the earth, and our human role as artists in perfecting our little corner of it. Even if Father Serra found his promised land, here at the Mendozas he might wonder if he missed the boat.

ABOVE: The Mendoza home near Springville exudes the Mendozas’ mix of humble character and pride of personal workmanship found throughout their California Missionthemed home.

RIGHT: While the Mendoza home has many rustic features, the recently-remodeled kitchen exhibits a polish and modern conveniences that would have led the California Missions’ padres to the sin of envy. The earthy palette helps integrate the rough-hewn esthetic and stone with the more refined living spaces.

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Recipes by El aine Dekassian of El aine’s Table | Photos by Forrest C avale of Third Element Studios

M

y father grew up on the coast of Athens.

When I was small, I loved the festivals with bouzouki music playing, and the line of dancers with my dad at the helm holding the handkerchief yelling “Opaa!!”

I am not sure that I fully appreciated the foods when I was young, but in later years when I would visit my father, I starting loving the wrinkled, odd-looking black olives and pungent feta cheese, which was always on the table with a bottle of retsina and crunchy loaf of bread. I started understanding the flavor of cloves and cinnamon in my pasta. I got it, and have enjoyed cooking Greek cuisine for people whenever they have asked me to.

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Years later I would actually have the thrill of going back, and if you have ever been lucky enough to travel to Greece and the Greek islands, then you will know exactly what I am talking about. This is home to some of the most intriguing foods in the world. The markets are abundant with vibrant colors. The dishes are simple in their preparation and rely on the bold flavors of the ingredients with the subtle nuances of Italian and eastern touches. It is uncomplicated, yet sophisticated at the same time.

Enjoy these recipes and let loose when you flame the Saganaki …

OPAA!!!!!

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Spanikopita (Phyllo triangles stuffed with spinach) Phyllo sheets from the frozen food section of the market, thawed in the refrigerator overnight 2 sticks melted butter parchment paper Ingredients: 2 (10 oz.) boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 1 medium sized shallot, chopped and sautĂŠed to translucent 1 tsp. chopped dill 1 tsp. chopped parsley 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1 egg 6 oz. crumbled feta cheese Preparation: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place spinach in bowl with shallot, dill, parsley, nutmeg, egg and feta. Mix well to incorporate.

Lay out 20 to 24 phyllo sheets and cover with plastic wrap and dampened dish towel (the plastic will keep the towel from sticking to the delicate sheets).

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Take one sheet and lay out on surface or board, brush with melted butter. Continue with three more sheets, each brushed with butter, to make a stack of four. Keep remaining sheets covered.

With a knife or pizza cutter, divide the sheets into three long strips.

Place about 2 T of filling in the corner of the first strip; fold over to make a triangle. Then pick up the bottom left corner and fold upward, then fold over toward the right, then back up again as if folding a flag until the pastry strip is completely used. Brush well with butter and place on baking sheet with parchment paper.

Continue with remaining sheets to produce about 15. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

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Lamb and Rigatoni with Burned Butter Ingredients: 3-4 lamb shoulder steaks 2-3 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2-3 whole cloves 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 can stewed tomatoes (14-1/2 ounces) 1 can beef stock 1 T dried oregano 1 pound rigatoni 6 T unsalted butter freshly grated Parmesan Preparation: Brown lamb in a Dutch oven completely on both sides in olive oil. Remove lamb from pan and place on platter. In the same pan with drippings, brown the onions for 3-4 minutes, being careful not to burn. Add garlic and sautĂŠ one minute longer. Add cloves, cinnamon, tomatoes, stock and oregano and bring to a boil. Add lamb back into the pot, cover and place in a 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours and braise until tender.

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In the meantime, boil water and cook the rigatoni according to package instructions. Drain and place on large platter to serve family style.

Remove meat from oven and let sit while the butter is finished in the final step.

In a small heavy-bottomed sautĂŠ or saucepan, place butter and turn heat to high to boil. Let the butter foam. I actually can hear it come to the point I want it; it actually sizzles and then foams to the point that it is quiet. That is when I pull it from the heat and pour it directly over the pasta and toss. I then place lamb around the platter and spoon the tomato sauce over liberally. Garnish with Parmesan and serve.

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Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Soup) Serves 6-8 Ingredients: 1 (3-4 pound) chicken, quartered, plus three pounds chicken backs, necks and/or wings 1 large onion, halved 2 medium carrots, peeled and quartered 2 bay leaves 2 T salt 10-12 whole peppercorns 2 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1/2 C chopped fresh dill 2/3 C medium grain rice, such as Arborio 2 large eggs 4-6 T freshly squeezed lemon juice salt and freshly ground black pepper Preparation: Place the chicken and chicken parts in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam and reduce the heat to low. Add the onion, carrots, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns. Cover and simmer for two hours, adding a little more water as needed, until the chicken starts to fall from the bones.

Transfer the chicken quarters to a large plate. Remove the meat and cut half into bite-sized pieces; cover and refrigerate. Strain the stock, discarding the solids and refrigerate it for a few hours or until the fat congeals on top. Remove and discard the fat.

In a large pot heat the oil and sauté the chopped onion over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until soft. Add 1/2 cup dill and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, 4 T lemon juice and 2 T water. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 3 cups of hot stock mixture into the eggs. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the pot, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling. Add the chicken. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper and the additional 2 T lemon juice if you prefer a little more “pucker” in the flavor. Simmer for 2-3 more minutes; do not boil.

This recipe is from my father. When I went to his house for special occasions, he would always ask me what I would like to have and this was the dish I asked for, time and again. My daughter now does the same with me. He would be very happy about that as these foods are steeped in tradition.

Saganaki (Flaming Cheese) Ingredients: 1 egg 1/3 cup milk 4 ounces Kasseri cheese cut into 1/2 inch thick squares 1/2 cup flour Vegetable oil 2 lemons, cut into wedges Cognac Preparation: Beat egg until slightly foaming and light yellow. Add milk and continue beating. Dip cheese in egg mixture, then in four (both sides) pressing the cheese so that the flour will stick to the cheese.

Heat oil in a saute pan. You want it to sizzle. Fry cheese on both sides until golden brown. Remove from heat, splash with Cognac.

Serve with warmed pita cut into triangles.

Note: For best results, make sure the cheese is refrigerated for at least one hour or more before frying. Also use enough vegetable oil to cover cheese while frying.

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HUMANITARIAN

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HUMANITARIAN

Text by Cheryl L. Dieter | Photos by Peter Amend

E

veryone loves a happy ending, but sometimes there just aren’t many to be found. For the people of Haiti, after years of revolution and grinding poverty, New Year’s 2010 was greeted with optimism. But on January 12 a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck, killing an estimated 300,000 people, leaving over 50,000 orphans and most of the country living in tent cities that sprouted from the barren earth like weeds.

Several months later the rainy season began, only to be followed by multiple hurricanes. It was into this chaos that members of Visalia’s Radiant Church and Livermore’s Cornerstone Church found themselves immersed this July – after spending months selling T-shirts and giving concerts to raise funds to make the trip.

Both Visalia’s Peter Amend and Jerrod Turner had visited several “third-world” countries prior to their Haiti trip. Both thought they were ready for what they would find. But they weren’t. No one on the team was. Turner described his time in Haiti as being in a “fourth-world” country unlike anything he had ever experienced.

“Like many third-world countries there is a lack of readily accessible food and water, lots of people in small spaces and no trash disposal or other governmental services. But unlike other places I have been, what is going on in Haiti now is not a re-building of a country, for it has never truly been built,” said Turner.

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“In Haiti it just feels like there is not enough time or money to do what needs to be done to change mindsets. The Haitian people are born into a survival mode and that is all anyone has really ever known. Because of this, people live day-to-day instead of planning for the future.”

The team left with preconceived ideas of what was needed and what they would do. Initially assigned to the capital city of Port-au-Prince, the group quickly learned to adapt when they found themselves in the back of a truck headed to the rural town of Leogane instead. Their mission had changed entirely. Now they would be working with the orphans at The Dezman Fleury Foundation (www.fleuryfoundation.org) and building a new roof that had been destroyed three weeks before during a hurricane.

Prior to the earthquake, the non-profit Florida-based foundation had built the orphanage for girls, a medical clinic, school and a bakery that taught the girls skills needed to earn a living wage. Everything that they knew and loved was destroyed during the quake. But perhaps for the girls the most devastating loss was that of their housemother who lost her life on that day.

For Jerrod and Peter it was hard to fathom the many ways in which one day changed so many lives. But as they traveled to Leogane, the team was stunned into silence as the shock and horror of the catastrophe was rapidly revealed.

Mile after mile of rubble, the remnants of destroyed buildings and the lives they once contained lay where they had fallen after the quake. Hills of trash lined the streets. Good nutritious food and sparkling clean water were the exception, not the rule. And then there were the people, some with both broken spirits and limbs, living out in the open or in tents made of pieces of scrap plastic.

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Children were quickly losing their childhoods to the overwhelming demands of adulthood. Trapped in a child’s body with adult concerns on their minds, some were forced into lives of exploitation and deprivation.

“Frankly, when we first got there, nothing was going as we had planned and it rattled us,” explained Amend. “We had all these ideas of what we were going to do and what needed to be done and here we were building a roof, yet, none of us had any building experience. I think the most important thing we learned was that we needed to take care of the kids’ physical and emotional needs through action; actions in which they could see love working firsthand through our love of Jesus and his love for us. In the end, it was all about relationships and showing love while doing basic things like playing with kids.”

OPENING SPREAD: Monica, one of the little girls from the orphanage destroyed by the earthquake.

ABOVE: Petionville Tent City, once an 18-hole golf course, where Sean Penn now runs a city housing 50,000 people living in rudimentary tarp shelters.

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HUMANITARIAN

TOP OF PAGE: One of the team members, J.R. Robertson, plays with some of the boys from the orphanage.

ABOVE: An older girl from the orphanage gets water from the well to cook, wash, and drink with.

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As the team played with the children they found that instead of being the teachers they were being taught. The average age of the children was between seven and nine, yet many were fearless and gifted with boundless energy and enthusiasm. The older children took over the job of being both mother and father to the younger ones. They worked in a spirit of community that allowed each child to bring forth their special gifts and talents that benefitted the group as a whole.

Needless to say, team members found themselves drawn to “their own” child who “taught” them what they needed to learn about themselves and others. One special child, Monica, inspired all the team members. After the disaster she became a mother to her little brother, and tears were shed by the adults as she shared that on the day of the quake, as she ran, she looked back only to witness the collapse of her home resulting in the death of 11 family members.

“If there is one thing I learned, it was a little more about humility. Sarah, one of our team members, lost her father the second day we were there. Imagine being so far from home and there is nothing you can do for the ones you love. Sarah showed us what bravery was. There were also anxiety attacks, physical discomforts and feelings of sadness and being overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. So many needs, yet not enough time or money was available for all the problems,” explained Amend.

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“Here in the states we have so much emotional poverty in contrast to Haiti where there is so much monetary poverty. And yet these little kids who were versed in both forms of poverty were teaching us how to respond with love in the midst of their own personal tragedies. Humility knocked us over the head and I developed a true inkling of all the things that humility encompasses that I had not considered before.”

After spending eight days surrounded by kids, both men returned home believing that the best way to help the children of Haiti was not necessarily for Americans to adopt them but to provide support in the form of shelter, food and an education. If this is done, both Amend and Turner believe that the country’s future leaders can be developed from within, which will lead to a stable and promising future for a nation whose prospects have always seemed dim compared to the vital and enthusiastic people who live within its borders.

“We are so used to being able to fix what is wrong and wrap it up with a nice tidy little bow, and yet here was a place that could not be done,” said Turner. “Here were these kids not complaining about food or clothes or even basic choices that we are used to – ones we think we are entitled to. Those kids taught us that life is messy, but within all this mess there is still love, we all need each other, and everyone is valuable.”

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Both men hope to return to Haiti in December with more church/team members where they believe that longterm monetary and emotional investment is needed. Peter, a professional photographer, hopes to use his photographic images to inspire individuals to give of their time, money or talents to help meet the incredible needs of a people decimated by natural disasters. To view Peter’s photos, go to: www.facebook.com/ LifestyleMag. Information about joining or giving to the Visalia and Cornerstone teams can be found at www.haitireliefvisalia. blogspot.com.

“The needs of Haiti are great and there is plenty that people can do. But just as exciting to me is to see what will evolve from what the citizens of Haiti have taught us and what God has shown us. I am looking forward to seeing what our experiences in Haiti can do to touch people here in Visalia,” said Turner.

ABOVE: The team with the kids from the orphanage (Jerrod Turner, far left; Peter Amend, far right).

RIGHT: An earthquake survivor takes care of the family cow.

HUMANITARIAN

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Text By Marsha Peltzer

PERFORMANCES

M

usic Director Bruce Kiesling has the amazing opportunity to direct the music for the Reprise Theater Company presentation of the Tony Nominated Best Musical comedy “They’re Playing Our Song,” starring Jason Alexander.

The show will run Sept. 28-Oct. 10 at the Freud Playhouse at UCLA, and Kiesling will be working with Marvin Hamlisch.

Because these dates conflict with the October TCS concert, Kiesling has engaged his friend and colleague Chelsea Tipton II as guest conduct for the concert.

The Tulare County Symphony will kick off the 51st Classics Season on Saturday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox Theatre and will take us on some musical “American Journeys.” As the title implies, the concert will feature American composers and their music will be infused with wonderfully rich “stories” that evolved as a result of travels of the mind and body.

Mr. Tipton is no stranger to Visalia. He appeared as Guest Conductor during the 2009 season and was very well accepted. In his sixth season as Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Tipton won over audience and critics alike with his vibrant musicality, accessibility and versatility. As a soughtafter guest conductor, Tipton has appeared with major orchestras in the U.S. including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to name a few. He led the Boston Pops Orchestra on their annual Gospel Night Concert that the Boston Globe called an “impressive debut.” In 2009 Tipton accepted a position as Music Director of Symphony of Southeast Texas in Beaumont.

Opening the concert will be George Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture,” written during a period of intense activity. Firmly established as one of America’s most versatile composers, the 1931-32 season was to include the premieres of the musical “Of Thee I Sing” and the movie “Delicious” (for which Gershwin wrote the soundtrack) as well as the first performance of the “Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra” – all extremely ambitious undertakings.

By February of that year, Gershwin felt that he needed a break, spending two weeks with friends in Havana, Cuba. Gershwin described it as “two hysterical weeks of clubbing and dancing during which no sleep was had” but it also bore some artistic fruit. When he returned to New York, Gershwin brought with him four Cuban percussion instruments (claves, bongos, maracas and a gourd) and an idea for a new concert work that would capture the vitality of the island. Much of what makes the piece so appealing seems to stem from the elements we most readily associate with Gershwin’s music; the Overture’s rhythmic vitality, harmonic color and melodic fluency all reflect his particular compositional genius.

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The centerpiece of the concert, “A Lincoln Portrait” is a classical orchestral work written by the American composer Aaron Copland. The work involves a full orchestra, with particular emphasis on the brass section at climactic moments. When asked to write a musical portrait of an “eminent American” by the conductor Andre Kostelanetz, Copland had wanted to portray Walt Whitman, but it was decided that a political figure was needed. From this moment Lincoln seemed inevitable.

Copland used material from speeches and letters of Lincoln and quoted original folk songs of the period, including “Camptown Races” and “Springfield Mountain.” Copland finished Lincoln Portrait in April 1942 and it was first performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on May 14, 1942. It is scored for a narrator and an orchestra. Some famous narrators have included Walter Cronkite, Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, and Barack Obama.

This concert will be graced by the wonderful voice of Milt Morrison, local educator and community advocate.

Last but not least, an exciting Symphony by American composer Howard Hanson (1986-1981) will bring to mind Ridley Scott’s 1979 iconic movie “Alien.” Excerpts from Hanson’s Symphony #2 can still be found on most DVD versions of the film. Howard Harold Hanson was a composer, conductor, educator, music theorist and champion of American classical music. Director for 40 years of the prestigious Eastman School of Music, he built a high quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music. He won a Pulitzer Prize for one of his compositions and received numerous other awards for his voluminous body of works.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Hanson’s Symphony No. 2, the “Romantic,” and premiered it on November 28, 1930. This work was to become Hanson’s best known. Now known as the “Interlochen Theme,” it is conducted by a student concertmaster after the featured conductor has left the stage. Traditionally, no applause follows.

This is an evening not to be missed. Help celebrate another season premiere concert with the Tulare County Symphony!

PERFORMANCES

LIFESTYLE | SEPTEMBER 2010

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FASHION

Text By SHARON MOSLEY

L

ions and tigers and bears, oh my! Throw in a few leaping leopards, pulsing pythons and zippy zebras, and you’ve got an animal menagerie that is creating a fashion jungle out there this fall.

Here are a few ways to get your fall wardrobe roaring with chic animal prints: Dress it up.

Yes, this may be the ultimate style statement – head to toe animal prints in a chic dress. But you can get away with it, especially for evening occasions when you’ve got your claws out, ready to scratch your way out of the little black dress crowd.

Jackets required.

Another way to do animal prints big time. Top off jeans and a white T-shirt with a cropped animal-print jacket, and you’ve got a winning combination. Or dress up in a satin version and you’ve got elegant cocktail attire ready for any party.

Skirting the issue.

This fall, the perfect foil to the classic black turtleneck is the animal-print pencil skirt. Pair it with black tights and ankle boots for an instant trend boost.

Power plays.

Even the suit gets a lift from animal prints this season. When you want to look powerful, suit up in a spotted leopard-print jacket, belted, and worn over a matching skirt.

Faux fur.

The cat fur was flying off the runways, especially in coats and jackets, but vests are one of the newest ways to get the feline fashion growling in your wardrobe. Vests are easy to wear and layer over T-shirts and turtlenecks or even sweatshirts – and another way to dress up jeans or leggings.

Topping it off.

Want something new to wear with those trusty black trousers to work? How about an animal-print bow blouse? Or a belted animal-print tunic top? It’s the perfect way to perk up basic black or camel basics.

Catty accessories.

You may not want to dress up like Cat Woman in that suit or cocktail dress, but you can at least purr over a furry wraparound muffler or an animal-print tote bag or a spotted leopard belt.

There are plenty of shoes and boots in a wide range of prices that will give you even more meow pow.

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SUMMER FUN

Text by Irene Morse

B

randon brought the favorite beach toy this year.

Maddie held the honor for two years before that.

For many years, our family has been gathering to spend a week together at a house near the beach.

Like so many family traditions, this one was the result of a good idea that turned out to be great – and a smidgen of happenstance.

My husband, Gary, and I had changed our family’s Christmas tradition two or three years earlier; we rent a house in Shaver Lake instead of buying toys for our grandchildren. This allows them to accumulate great memories instead of more “stuff” and to play in the snow with their cousins. That idea had turned out to be such a good one that we were wondering one year why we were still buying shirts, sweaters or George Foreman grills for our grown children at Christmas … and the beach house was born.

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We tried out rentals in Cayucos in various locations until we found the perfect house for our burgeoning family. The beach is only a staircase away from the front door, one whole wall is windows facing the ocean and dolphins make their way back and forth twice a day for our viewing pleasure. Sometimes the sun just slides down behind the hills surrounding Estero Bay but, once in a while, the sunset is killer.

When the grandchildren were younger, their parents would take them down to play on the beach or frolic in the ocean and I spent my days watching out the windows, counting little bobbing heads and asking, Where’s Hannah? Where’s Sammi? Where’s Danny?

Well, Hannah followed her heart to Montana, Sammi’s studying at San Francisco State, and Danny has a full-time job. I still sometimes find myself counting little bobbing heads before I realize none of them are ours.

SUMMER FUN

M E D I C A L

P R O F I L E

Visalia Imaging & Open MRI J. Aguet, MD; R. Anderson, MD; T. Bouit, MD; M. Bowers, MD; S. Griswold, MD; D. Hightower, MD; F. McCully, MD; C. McElroy, MD

A

fter your recent doctor’s visit, an MRI was ordered to diagnose your problem. What exactly is Magnetic Resonance Imaging? It is one of the most sensitive radiological tools. This amazing technology can visualize tumors, infections, torn ligaments, tendonitis, herniated spinal disks and indications of a stroke – just a few of the many reasons to perform an MRI scan.

Visalia Imaging & Open MRI, an independent radiology center, has the only open MRI machine in the area. By design the unit is shaped somewhat like a donut with a table that slides into the hole, enabling the patient to have visualization of the surroundings. This is especially beneficial to those patients who have trouble with closed-in spaces.

MRI technology uses very powerful magnets to produce images and does not require ionizing radiation as in other imaging studies. A major advantage of MRI is the ability to image any plane. For example, CT scanning uses the axial plane (how a loaf of bread is sliced). MRI’s can additionally create sagitall planes (slicing bread side-to-side lengthwise) and coronally (from the head down, visualize the layers of a cake).

Amazingly no movement is required by the patient. The multiple slices allow the system to produce precise images of the targeted body part. On occasion, contrast materials may be injected through a vein for better visualization of certain organs.

One drawback to this technology is that patients with internal metallic iron devices such as pacemakers or orthopedic hardware cannot undergo an MRI because the metal would cause severe distortions of the images. CT scans are routinely suggested for these patients.

Visalia Imaging & Open MRI and the women’s suite – Visalia Women’s Imaging Specialists – perform most types of radiological studies. Please visit the Web site for an overview (www.visaliaopenmri.com). Contact: Brooke Mack at 734-5674.

1700 S. Court St., Visalia. (559) 734-5674.

Pictured left to right: J. Jacques, MRI Technologist, D. Hightower, MD, Interventional Radiologist

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SUMMER FUN

It doesn’t take much for my reverie to carry me back, however, to building sand castles that were monuments to beach architecture (and drew quite an appreciative crowd before the tide came in), beach volley ball, boogey-boarding, kite flying, board games, exploring amazing tide-pool creatures, and of course reexamining the photo albums with pictures of swimwear, hairstyles and sunburns from summers past.

Some things rarely change and some things are new each year. Daughter-in-law Kathy has taken up knitting and this year knitted her brother-in-law Bob a “koozie” to keep his beer cold. Next thing you know, everyone will want one. Some of our family like to run on the beach and you can be sure our daughter, Melissa, will run from Cayucos pier to Morro rock and back at least once. Our son, Bill, will always have a ball to play with – inside the house or out. I always pack a first-aid kit for the grandchildren’s injuries but mostly for Daredevil Derek.

We rent the house for a week on or near the Fourth of July and, like the winter cabin, we never know exactly who will be there or when. In 2005, Gary and I announced that we wouldn’t have the beach house in 2006 because we were taking the whole family on a special trip to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

We didn’t tell them where we were going but told them they would need passports and sent out clues to our destination every couple of weeks. In April 2006, we took our family – all 24 of us – to Costa Rica for nine days … the subject of another article.

To our surprise, our children got together and rented the beach house for us that year. They even entered us into the Fourth of July parade which is a big deal in Cayucos and a wonderful combination of kitsch and home-spun patriotic Americana.

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Bill brought over a flat-bed truck and two or three dozen bags of blasting sand. Others brought blow-up palm trees, animals, tropical flowers. We recreated Costa Rica on the back of that truck and won the Founders’ Trophy!

At the end of the parade, Bill made a wrong turn and we ended up on the freeway. There we were, all in our “Benjamin/ Morse spending-the-inheritance family trip to Costa Rica” T-shirts, holding on to plastic toys for dear life – a son-in-law on one running board and a grandson-in-law on the other – flying down Highway 1 and praying we weren’t sand-blasting the cars behind us.

SUMMER FUN

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orest Hill Manor ~ It’s like living at a fine resort! Friendly residents, gourmet dining, exciting activities and the benefits of living at Monterey Peninsula’s premier continuing care retirement community. You and your family will have peace of mind knowing that assisted living and skilled nursing services are available in NEW facilities when and if needed. Choice of estate-friendly Entrance Fee Options! Great values and choice of accommodations from studio to two bedroom plus den apartments, many with panoramic views of the ocean! Call for more information (831) 657-5700 or toll free 866 657-4900. Come for a visit, plan for your future!

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SUMMER FUN

Without planning, some years seem to have “themes.” One year it was “French Braid Year” and those who knew how coiffed all our hair every morning. One year it was kites. The beach was filled with little kids racing back and forth trying to launch colorful flying toys and begging dads to retrieve them from roof-tops.

This year several of the women and girls in the family decided to get new ear piercings. Not wanting to be outdone I, too, found my way to the local tattoo and piercing “studio.” I was accompanied by a daughter and a couple of daughters-in-law who stood at the ready to offer comfort should I begin to cry like a baby. Jeremiah is a very capable, multi-pierced young man whose body, what I could see of it, is covered in colorful artwork. He carefully added a brand new hole in each ear which I will soon fill with pretty bobbles – I did not cry like a baby.

Gary has promised that next year he is getting a tattoo. He will, of course, be accompanied by some of the men and boys to offer comfort should he begin to cry like a baby.

The grandchildren bring new toys to the beach each year.

The best ones, though, came with Maddie and Brandon. In 2008, Maddie and her Daniel brought our first great-grandchild, McKenzie, to the beach for us to play with. This year Brandon and his Robin brought beautiful little Thomas. Our family and our joy seem to be growing with each passing year and we are all making amazing memories at the summer cabin.

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SUMMER FUN

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Bristol Palin will be the guest speaker at Tulare-Kings Right to Life’s 15th Annual Banquet. Tickets: $65 each; $495 Table Sponsorships includes 8 tickets and VIP reception with Bristol Palin before the banquet.

When: Tuesday, September 28, 7p Where: Visalia Convention Center, 303 E. Acequia Ave., Visalia Contact: Jessica or April 732-5000 or www.TKRL.org

THE ATE RPERFORMANCESMUSIC S E P T Greater Tuna A hilarious comedy about Texas’ third smallest town, where the Lion’s Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies. The eclectic band of citizens that make up the town, offer up a delightful satire on life in rural America. Tickets: $12 adults, $6 students – group rates and special performances available.

When: September 18, 24 & 25 at 7:30p; September 19 & 26 at 2:00p Where: Ice House Theatre, Race and Sante Fe, Visalia Contact: Reservations 734-3900

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S E P T Zach Brown Band Country rock sensations come to the Central Valley. Nominated “Entertainer of the Year” and “Top Vocal Group of the Year” at the 45th Academy of Country Music Awards, they are known for hits like “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” “Toes,” and “Jolene.”

Tickets: $29.50-$39.50 When: Thursday, September 23, 7:30p Where: Save Mart Center, 2650 E. Shaw Ave., Fresno Contact: Ticketmaster.com 800-745-3000 or Save Mart Box Office 347-3400

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S E P T Ralphie May – Comedian Known for his “relatable comic genius,” May was voted one of Variety’s “10 Comics to Watch in 2008, and has recorded three separate Comedy Central Specials.

Tickets: $24-$28 When: Friday, September 24, 8p Where: Fox Theater, 300 W. Main St., Visalia Contact: 625-1369 or www.foxvisalia.com

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O C T Blues, Brews & BBQ – Loose Gravel Blues Band Come listen to free live blues music, and enjoy yummy summertime barbeque, and refreshing beverages available for purchase.

When: Friday, October 1, 6p-10p Where: Garden Street Plaza, 300 E. Main St., Visalia Contact: 732-7737 or www. bluesbrewsandbbq.net

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O C T Tulare County Symphony The season opens with a spectacular All-American program featuring two classics: Copland’s moving “Lincoln Portrait” narrated by Milt Morrison, and Grofe’s, “The Grand Canyon Suite”.

When: Saturday, October 2, 7p Where: Visalia Fox Theater, 300 W. Main St., Visalia Contact: 732-8600 or tcsymph@sbcglobal.net

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HAPPENINGS

DESIGN (PROOF) Client: Visalia Imaging Designed by: Cribbsproject - New Media Design Project: Ad for Lifestyle Magazine Size: Half Page Date: 8.23.10

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Participants are invited to walk from restaurant to restaurant savoring the many mouth-watering samples. Wine/beer tasting ends at 8 p.m. Tickets: $35/person – on sale in September - sellout fast.

When: Tuesday, October 5, 5p-9p Where: Downtown Visalia Contact: Order by phone 732-7737 (Visa | MasterCard). Information www.downtownvisalia.com

F UNDRAISINGAR T EXHIBITSDIVERSIONS S E P T Dog Daze Parade & Carnival Benefiting TailWaggers, Guide Dogs for the Blind, PuppyRaisers and Valley Oak SPCA. Prizes for best costumes, raffle table, food, vendors and demonstrations, and more.

When: Registration is Saturday, September 25, Parade at 9:30a, Carnival 10a-2p Where: Parade on Main Street & Carnival at Recreation Park, Visalia Contact: www.visaliadogdaze.com

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O C T 4th Annual Denim and Diamonds Happy Trails Therapeutic Riding Academy proudly hosts this annual benefit, which includes an evening filled with delicious food along with a live and silent auction.

When: Saturday, October 9, 6p Where: HTTRA Ranch, 2773 East Oakdale Ave. Tulare Contact: Melissa Ellis, 799-1003 or happytrailsridingacademy@ yahoo.com

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S E P T “Different Expressions” Three women with distinct approaches to art will come together for a new exhibit. Featuring the watercolor work of LaVone Sterling, photography of Lezlie Sterling, and pastel and charcoal works of Ellen Milinich.

When: Exhibit July – September, gallery hours Saturday-Sunday, 10a-4p Where: Courthouse Gallery of the Arts, 125 So. B Street, Exeter Contact: Chris Brewer 592-2020 or www. exeterhistoricalmuseum.com

O C T Photography Contest - “How do you view your landscape?”

Contest sponsored by Sequoia Riverlands Trust, with prizes awarded in five categories in two age brackets. Winners will appear at Arts Visalia gallery in November. Send an email to receive a full list of contest details, rules and prizes.

When: Monday, October 4 entry deadline Contact: Email photocontest@ sequoiariverlands.org or visit http://tinyurl.com/ SRTPhotoContest

O C T 1st Saturday in Three Rivers Enjoy the AUTUMN LEAVES as you follow the purple flags to art galleries, studios, and gift shops. For discounts and participants visit website.

When: Saturday, October 2, 11a – 5p Where: Maps at Anne Lang’s Emporium, 41651 Sierra Dr. (CA 198), Three Rivers Contact: Nadi Spencer, 561-4373 or www.1stSaturdayTR.com

O C T Oktoberfest 2010 – Beer & Brats at the Ballpark Come celebrate the fall season with excellent food, wine and beer from local restaurants, a little business to business networking, and live entertainment by Merle Jagger.

Tickets: $20 concert/vendors or $35/ VIP - includes food, beer & wine tasting, special VIP hour, 4p-5p, in the Hall of Fame Club.

When: Friday, October 8, 5p-9p Where: Recreation Park, 300 N. Giddings, Visalia (Home of the Visalia Rawhides) Contact: Visalia Chamber of Commerce, 734-5876

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HAPPENINGS

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D IV E RS IO NSEXCU RSIONS

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

C HILDHOODD ISTRACTIO NS

Exeter’s Fall Festival The Exeter Chamber of Commerce sponsors this family friendly festival.

Includes arts & crafts, food booths, live entertainment, parade (10a-11a), car show, and 10k run and 2-mile walk.

When: Saturday & Sunday, October 9-10, 8a-4p Where: Exeter City Park-Chestnut and D Street Contact: Exeter Chamber of Commerce, 592-2919 or www.exeterchamber.com

Art Classes for Adults & Children Visit Arts Visalia’s website for summer art classes for children and yearround classes for adults.

When: Summer 2010 Where: Arts Visalia, 214 E. Oak Ave., Visalia, CA Contact: (559) 739-0905, email info@artsvisalia.org or www.artsvisalia.org

Imagine U Interactive Children’s Museum Imagine U offers a variety of weekly interactive exhibits, events, and activities designed to entertain and engage your preschool child. Cost: $4 ages 2 & up When: Wednesday-Friday, 10a-4p & Saturday, 12p-4p Where: 700 E. Main St., Visalia Contact: 733-5975 or www.imagineumuseum.org

O C T 30th Annual Springville Apple Festival Family oriented event with over 200 craft booths selling hand made arts, crafts, and food. Free entertainment consists of clowns, music, kid’s rides, a Pie Eating Contest, and Apple Baking Contest, and more. Plus Apple Run 5K, 10K, and Kid’s runs, plus the 2-mile walk on Saturday morning, and the Annual Fat Tire Classic mountain bike race on Sunday morning.

When: Saturday & Sunday, October 16-17, 9a-5p Where: Downtown Springville, CA (Take Highway 65 South to Highway 190 East) Contact: 539-0619 or www.springville. ca.us/applefest

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Visalia Farmers’ Market Harvest of the Valley Weekly event open to the public featuring free live music, kids activities, cooking demonstrations and local, fresh produce available for purchase.

When: Thursdays, 5p-8p, Downtown Visalia; Saturdays, 8a-11:30a, Sequoia Mall, Sears parking lot Contact: 967-6722 or www. visaliafarmersmarket.com

If you would like to have your event considered for a free listing in our “Happenings” section, please email your submission to lifestyle@dmiagency.com or fax to 738-0909, Attention Happenings.

Please note, we do not guarantee listing of any submission.

Submissions are due 6 weeks prior to publication.

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CASA Volunteer Orientations When: Mondays - 5:30p & Thursdays, 12p-1p Where: CASA office, 1146 N. Chinowth, Visalia Contact: Sid Loveless at 625-4007

WRITERS & READERS Tulare County Library Baby/Toddler Time (Tues. 10a), Preschool Storytime (Wed. 10a), When: Call or visit website to confirm times.

Where: Tulare County Library, 200 W. Oak Ave., Visalia Contact: Children’s desk at 733-6954 ext. 209 or www. tularecountylibrary.org

Agventures at Heritage Complex Agricultural Learning Center and Farm Equipment Museum with nearly 15 professionally designed interactive displays When: Monday-Friday, 9a-4p Where: International Agri-Center, 4450 S. Laspina Street, Tulare Contact: 688-1751 or www.heritagecomplex.com/ AgVentures The Boys & Girls Club of Tulare County offers a variety of youth development activities and classes for children of all ages. Annual Fee $10 When: Monday-Friday, 12p-8p Where: 215 W. Tulare Ave., Visalia Contact: 625-4422 or www.bgclubtc.org The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sequoias Offering children ages 6-18 development and training in computer technology, life skills, sports, art, music and homework assistance.

Annual fee $15.

When: Monday-Friday, 2p-6p Where: Exeter – Farmersville – Porterville Contact: 592-2711 or www.bgcsequoias.org

HAPPENINGS

Created by artisans, this beautiful Mediterranean home has been crafted to perfection. The home is placed at the east end of the cul-de-sac in prestigious Riggin Ranch. The gracious Great Room has surround sound and Bose speakers, with soaring ceilings, structured columns, and automated window treatments throughout. The fabulous Master Suite has great views of the pool and backyard. The Master Bath has separate vanities, a whirlpool tub and spa shower with dual heads, and an adjoining workout room with great views to the front of the home. All four bedrooms have walk-in closets, and top-of-the-line ceiling fans. Large outdoor kitchen and surround sound patio.

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