365 Photo Project - Day 122

Taken: May 2, 2010, approx. noon
Healdsburg, Ca

Days like today are why I love living here. The lazy Sunday blue skies, the sun's warmth cut by the loveliness of a stiff breeze (around here they call it "May Winds") -- alone would have made for a fabulous spring-to-summer day. When the temps start climbing into the 90s, the May WInds keep the heat at arm's length and believe me, when it gets hot, you're thankful for them.

Pretty much describes Sunday here. But it also happened to be the 2nd anniversary of Scopa, one of our favorite little restaurants in Healdsburg. It's a fine place for delicious Italian food and even though the San Francisco Chronicle recently named it one of the top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area, we weren't surprised.

Still, what draws me to it is more than food, it's the whole of the place. Like it's part of the community. Stopping in to chat up hilarious and brilliant Chef Ari Rosen is one of the highlights of my day (though I'm not sure it is for him).  Some days my husband and I, in our separate trips around the plaza (usually me to get coffee or to take a walk a think, he to go tot he market or read his paper and have a cold microbrew), will have dropped in at different times to say hello and shoot the breeze.

So much of the way places like these work are integral to small town life and I think Ari and his wife, Dawnelise, really thought about that when they designed this tiny little place.  Goes without saying that the suppliers are local farmers, ranchers, wine makers and even Ari's Dad, Norm, is the pastry chef (and no slouch at it either, as he got a specific mention in the Chronicle's write up).

Those of us who dine ( some of is even help put from time to time) could never put a price on the friendship, camaraderie and welcome of this place, all of which are quite genuine. Like Ari said yesterday at the gathering, it's like a big family.

When I lived in big cities, I always carved a little niche for myself that I considered my community. You have to - especially in a place like L.A. where everything is so spread out. Otherwise, you never get the feeling that you belong anywhere, just one of the millions always moving from here to there and back again. Living in a small town can be scary too -- sometimes you need a break from the familiar -- but if you're lucky and you can find a little community, I find it can have a settling effect on your life.

I'm not trying to route everything I write here back to this project but this one naturally does. Like I've said countless times here, I'm learning to stop and appreciate the here that's out there. It's a lot easier when you don't have to sweat the small stuff because at the end of the day you're part of something you can call home.