Half Moon Bay chapter of Business Network International. Photo courtesy of Dianne Passen.

Spring is approaching — a time for renewed energy and growth. As the days get longer, gather up your energy and focus your marketing effort so that your business can grow, too.

If you run a small business, finding time for marketing can be a big challenge. When there is paying work to do, it seems like the marketing can wait. In actuality, your marketing effort needs to be consistent; otherwise, your business will go through up and down cycles. This “feast or famine” syndrome results in periods of plentiful work, followed by periods where suddenly the work dries up. So what happens when the work dries up? We once again engage in sales and marketing activities, which results in plenty of work — and the stressful cycle repeats.

There is only one solution: Implement a well-thought-out, ongoing marketing plan. Every week, you need to dedicate time to marketing. But you need to strike a balance when figuring out how much of your time to spend on marketing. Too little marketing and your business becomes invisible. Too much marketing and the marketing  becomes your primary activity. Try to spend about 20 percent of your week taking care of your marketing activities; make adjustments to fit your specific business.

Start by creating a marketing plan, which outlines your strategy — or review your existing plan. Take time to identify your ideal customers. Understand why these customers would use your product or service, where they shop, and how they make decisions. Knowing who you are trying to reach will help you successfully target your marketing efforts.

Decide on the mix of activities that you will use to promote your business. No matter what your marketing mix includes, make sure that you develop a clear strategy for each method. The strategy will help you clarify the purpose of your marketing campaign.

Will you use traditional advertising such as print ads, flyers, newsletters, mailers, brochures and coupons? How about hosting events that bring people together and provide opportunities to educate potential clients about your services? Spending one-to-one time with customers and business colleagues is still very powerful, because it builds personal relationships. Networking groups like Business Network International also provide opportunities to create a referral network.

My favorite approach by far is leveraging online media, because of its incredible reach and very cost-effective pricing.

There are many tools available to market your business on the Internet, including search engine optimization, paid advertising, social networking, e-mail marketing, online magazines, promotional applications and blogging. Use the tools that are appropriate for your business to spread your message. Include a call to action. Be consistent. The people in your target audience  may need to hear your message dozens of times before they take action.

Finally, determine the metrics that you are going to use to determine the success of your campaign. You must  be able to measure your efforts if you are going to tune them, thereby improving your marketing.

Monique Hodgkinson is the founder of Screen Caffeen, specializing in Internet strategy development, social media marketing, SEO and web design. Screen Caffeen will wake up your online presence. Contact Hodgkinson if you would like help developing your marketing plan. Visit screencaffeen.com, send e-mail to Monique@screencaffeen.com, call 650-740-1491, or follow @stablesolutions on Twitter.

“Stop nagging me!”

“But it’s still not done.”

Gender differences in communication can make it difficult to understand each other, causing conflict. Sometimes, when I’m in a conversation with a man, I ask myself, “Are we understanding each other?”

While each person is an individual, and no generalization applies to all men or all women, there are some basic differences in how men and women tend to communicate. There’s no right or wrong. We just need to understand these differences, so there will be less disappointment, less arguing, better communication, and more intimate relationships.

Men usually talk about something   related to their accomplishments, something they are proud of — women usually talk about something related to acceptance — something that helps in making connections and having close  relationships.

If you’re a woman and know that women communicate on a more emotional level than men, there’s no reason for you to get upset when you don’t get an emotional response from a man. And if you’re a man, there’s no reason for you to get upset when a woman becomes emotional.

I bristle when a man calls a woman a “nag.” It is disrespectful and unproductive when trying to resolve something. There’s only one reason a woman asks a man the same thing over and over: her request remains unfulfilled. If a woman remembers that a man might think of her as a nag or a complainer, she can gently remind him that if he did what  he said he would do, the “constant nagging” would end. If you’re a man in this situation, take the words “nag” and “complain” out of your vocabulary. Replace them with, “I’m sorry. I should’ve done this weeks ago.”

When a woman tells a man about a problem, the man usually wants to fix that problem; the woman usually wants to be listened to, comforted and supported. So, if you’re a woman, tell the man specifically what you need from him at the outset. And if you’re a man listening to a woman, you probably won’t have to do anything else. If you try to solve her problem or offer advice, you run the risk of making her feel less worthy and undervalued. If you’re unsure how to react, ask her what she needs from you.

Bear in mind that women and men listen differently. Women tend to listen to everything, paying attention to details; men tend to listen to what they think is important — the bullet points.

Research shows we’re not born with gender differences in communication; these differences are taught, starting with actions taken before a child is born.

If you’re having a girl, everything will be pink; a boy, everything will be blue. When talking to your baby girl — in or out of the womb — your tone of voice will be cutesy; when talking to a baby boy, your voice will be stronger. You might give your daughter a truck   to play with, but would you give your son a doll? Boys are taught to compete; girls are taught to be social.

Alas, it’s still a man’s world. Women are continually thought of as second-class citizens in many parts of the world: walking behind men, wearing veils and clothes to hide their faces and bodies, being left without resources when divorced or widowed. Women are often  afforded the same assistance and aid as minority groups, and are grouped as such  — “minorities and women.”

If we can understand each other,  and learn to take the best from one another, we can work together more effectively to bring about positive change and resolution, maybe even ending wars.

Dena Reiner is a mediator who  resides in Half Moon Bay. She has over 10 years’ experience mediating disputes and is a member of the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California. She can be reached at 650-712-9821 or by e-mail at msmediator@att.net.

Up In the Air

In 2002, director Jason Reitman read Walter Kirn’s novel about a charming man who constantly traveled to fire employees of companies that were downsizing. Reitman was sure the story would make a great movie and began a screenplay adaptation. Other projects intervened, but the script for Up in the Air was finally finished and filmed in 2008. Sheldon Turner was the co-writer.

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, who, in addition to his job handling layoffs, is a motivational speaker! In a great performance, Clooney reveals intriguing characteristics of a shallow man being transformed. At the start, we see Ryan being grateful that his life is not cluttered with people and things. His one goal is to earn 10 million frequent flyer miles. He likes the anonymity of constant travel — until he meets another frequent flyer, gorgeous Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga). Coincidently, they are staying in the same hotel. At the hotel bar, they relax over drinks and chat as corporate travelers; but their gestures and eyes become intimate. After dinner they share a room.

Returning to his company office, Ryan finds that a brilliant co-worker, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), has talked their boss (Jason Bateman) into cutting costs by conducting lay-offs over the Internet. Ryan objects.

While Ryan and Natalie are on a business trip together, Natalie gets bad news; her fiancé has dumped her. Alex arrives on the scene and suggests they take Natalie to a high-tech dance party in the hotel to cheer her up; it works.

Ryan invites Alex to his sister’s wedding. When they arrive, they are told the groom, Jim Miller (Danny R. McBride), has confessed he doesn’t want to wed — ever! Ryan is asked to talk with Jim. I loved the sensitive way Ryan counsels Jim, suspending his own lifestyle preferences and focusing on Jim’s need to marry and become a father. Because of Ryan, the marriage takes place. When Alex leaves, Ryan has many mixed emotions. He decides to fly to her city and go to her house. What happens when he knocks on her door?

Rated R. 109 minutes.

The Music Instinct: Science and Song

I agree with the critics, musicians and scientists who laud the PBS program The Music Instinct as “a ground-breaking exploration of how music affects the brain and different parts of the body.” We see X-rays of brains, videos of dancing people around the world, unfamiliar instruments being played in exotic venues and beautiful singers performing in many languages. Their fantastic sounds transport us beyond the earth!

I especially enjoyed the costumed Asian and African musicians playing together using evocative quarter tones, with Bobby McFerrin tapping out his own syncopated rhythms. American guitarists happily join in with improvising melodies. Among the various drums are those played by Evelyn Glennie, a famous deaf woman drummer who plays music by sensing sound through her bare feet. Yo-Yo Ma, cellist, calms us with a spiritual performance of a Bach Saraband. Other features are Daniel Barenboin on Sound, and Olivier Sacks on The Musical Brain, Music and Education, and Music as Medicine. This disc is a treasure!

120 minutes. Available on DVD.

Francine Hardaway, founder of Tech Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Karoli Kuns.

The messages go out on Twitter and on the Coastsider Web site, reminding people that the first Tuesday of each month is Tech Tuesday in Half Moon Bay. The events are the brainchild of Francine Hardaway of Stealthmode Partners, an accelerator for technology companies. Hardaway said she started Tech Tuesday back in September 2009 “because the geeks on the coast needed a place to meet and share information locally without having to drive over the hill.”

And now each month, that’s just what happens. In February, the conversation was half technical, half not. On the technical side, topics included Flash versus HTML5, eBay data mining, the  future of MySQL now that Oracle has bought Sun, and Facebook’s release of HipHop for PHP. Not quite that techie? There was also an extended discussion about Twitter etiquette, and both smart phones and social media in various forms are common topics. Jobs in technology is another common theme.

On the non-technical side, there were discussions about sailing, kids and pets — with the pets ranging from English mastiffs to a tiny kitten.

Monique Hodgkinson, an Internet strategist and Web designer, came to Tech Tuesday for the first time in February, re-arranging her schedule so she could attend. “I really enjoy talking to other people who share my interest in technology,” she said. “This is a great group of very interesting, enthusiastic local tech people.”

That’s a common reaction. “I’m always interested in comparing notes with other techies about new platforms and applications,” said Sunshine Mugrabi, a Montara-based social media and PR consultant. She also noted that Tech Tuesday makes her “feel more connected to the local community.”

Ask people why they come to Tech Tuesday, and you’ll hear a lot about making connections. “I own a small recruiting and human resources consulting company, and for the most part I work out of my home office,” said Kathleen Nelson Troyer. “I look forward to getting out and connecting with folks at Tech Tuesday. We talk about all sorts of things: jobs, phones, software and local politics. I usually come home having been introduced to someone interesting and something new in the tech world. And the pizza is good, too.”

The meetings are informal, with people buying their own beers or other drinks. Usually someone orders a pizza for the group to share. On warm, clear evenings, the group meets on the patio; on cold or stormy nights, the gathering moves indoors.

Many participants first “met” each other online, and appreciate the chance to now meet face-to-face. “Meeting the people behind the tweets … translates into better online interaction,” said Debbie Wolfe, a semi-retired freelance technology project manager.

Ian McGee, co-founder of Expresso Fitness and a social gaming consultant, echoed what others have said. “Tech Tuesday gets me out of my home office. Online is great, but it’s nice to mix in non-video face time as well.” McGee also said he met several Coastsiders that he already knew through Twitter — but never realized they were locals.

If you haven’t yet attended a Tech Tuesday get-together, and if you have any interest in technology, come join what Hardaway called a “meet-and-greet for geeks.”

As John Troyer, who works at VMware, said, “Communities are built   by neighbors coming together — in civic groups, in church fellowship, and even with the regulars at the coffee shop. Tech Tuesday is an example of an old-fashioned community group being built with new tools like Twitter. It’s great to be able to meet neighbors and turn them into friends, and it’s important to create   those connections in our small-town  community here on the coast.”

Or, as Martin Stein summarized on Twitter: “TechTues — share, tell stories, pizza, beer. Networking. Bliss.”

Acupuncture, one of the measures Scott tried to ease her pain.

In March of 2003, ironically right in the midst of Endometriosis Awareness Month, I started to feel the mysterious pain deep in my belly. I shrugged it off at first — probably it was just a bad-period-pain month. But March slid into April and the pain kept getting worse. In May I was diagnosed with an infection and given antibiotics, which seemed to help for a little while.

That August I collapsed at work.

Walking from my desk to the cafeteria and back had caused so much pain that my legs gave way under me and I grayed out. My boss found me outside of her cubicle, curled into a ball and unable to get up or walk on my own.

After that humiliating and sobering little escapade, I went on partial disability and worked from home part-time. I spent endless hours in clinics and hospitals, undergoing blood tests, urine tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, a CT scan, a colonoscopy and a shiny new pelvic exam at least once each week.

Finally, in November I underwent an exploratory laparoscopic surgery and got the diagnosis no one wants: endometriosis.

Endometriosis (end-oh-mee-tree-oh-sis) is an under-reported and hard-to-pronounce condition that affects millions of women, causing infertility, mild to severe chronic pain, and even organ damage. Endometrium — the tissue that lines a woman’s uterus — grows outside of the uterus, creating lesions on organs. The lesions follow the menstrual cycle: growing, bleeding and growing again.

For some women, like me, the lesions irritate nerves, creating crippling chronic pain. Other women’s lesions grow into their ovaries and fallopian tubes, hindering fertility and creating heartbreak. In the endo community, women joke that endometriosis is not a death sentence — it is a “life sentence.” Endometriosis is not fatal, but no one knows what causes the disease, there is no cure, and treatments often fail to relieve symptoms.

I began the most typical treatment offered to women with endometriosis — hormonal birth control. Over the years I’ve been on the pill, the patch, and the ring. Like about half of endo patients, birth control gave little relief from my pain. Kicking it up a notch, my gynecologist put me into “chemical menopause” using a drug that halts the menstrual cycle. My pain did not abate, the hot flashes grew monstrous, and my fingernails flaked off. My docs removed me from the drug and, the gynecological options nearly exhausted, referred me to a pain management clinic. The pain managers tried all sorts of things, from off-label prescriptions for antidepressants to steroid injections into my back.

In the meantime, I returned to work — entirely from home. Unlike many luckless victims of this disease, I work as a writer and editor, which permitted me to do my work while sitting on a couch with my feet up, my back propped with pillows to keep the bulk of my body weight off my inflamed and aching pelvic organs.

Liz Scott.

Because the Bay Area is rich in alternative medical options, I began making appointments with different kinds of practitioners. Acupuncture took the edge off the pain, but my wimpy white-girl skin never did get comfortable with needles being pushed into it. The Chinese herbal teas I was given did little more than make my kitchen smell awful. Western-style herbal supplements worked a little bit better — at least they took the edge off the side effects of the drugs I took daily, in ever-increasing variety and quantity. Guided meditation helped me push off the pain temporarily, too.

Many women with endo find that switching to a dairy-free diet helps diminish their symptoms. While it didn’t help me — my intake of milk, butter, cheese and sour cream helps keep the California dairy industry in business — I did find that eating a healthier diet rich in organic vegetables and fruits eased my pain just a little bit.

What helped me more was physical therapy. A combination of stretching, gentle exercise, and specialized massage releases the knots in muscles that clamped down around inflamed lesions. Although physical therapy can’t cure endometriosis, it can diminish the pain that plagues patients.

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place when my physical therapist referred me to a psychologist. I didn’t warm to the idea at first. I was in pain, physically sick with a debilitating incurable disease — why did I need therapy? It turned out that psychotherapy can help with the depression that often comes from dealing with a debilitating, incurable disease. Camaraderie helps, too — I was offered access to traditional support groups, but as a dedicated ’Net geek I found friends with endo on LiveJournal, Facebook, and Yahoo Groups.

The stories of my sisters in endometriosis sound bleak, but we have not been beaten. Top Chef star host Padma Lakshmi announced her first pregnancy in late summer of 2009 — doubly wonderful news for her as   she disclosed her struggle with endometriosis-based infertility. Her willingness to tell the press about her condition gave us all hope. The more awareness we raise, the more studies will be done to determine the cause and ultimately the cure for endometriosis. Then those of us with “life sentences” might get a chance at early parole and better lives.

Pain from endometriosis has been dismissed for generations as “drama” by women experiencing normal menstrual cramps. Normal menstrual pain is mild to moderate, and almost always goes away with a small dose of an over-the-counter pain reliever. Normal menstrual pain does not lead to nausea, vomiting, dizziness or fainting.

If you, your wife, your daughter, or a friend have this abnormal kind of menstrual pain, or pelvic pain at another time of the month, make an appointment with your gynecologist for a thorough exam.

Claudia Marshall, owner of The Wine Bar, stands in front of paintings by Rebecca Holland. Musicians are The Lighthouse String Band with Raymund Sung. Photos: Whitney Merrill.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I am sitting in the Shoppes at Harbor Village — also known as the “new mall” — in Princeton Harbor, sipping a Santa Cruz Mountain chardonnay. I’m at The Wine Bar, a new addition to the mall, talking with owner Claudia Marshall as she serves customers lunch amidst this month’s featured local artist’s paintings. Marshall tells me that her goal is to blend local wine, local artists and local musicians into a unique venue, saying “There is positive energy with people that love all three.” As she tells me the story of how she came to be here, I learn that Marshall has done this kind of “artistic blending” before, sharing her own positive energy with others along the way.

One of Marshall’s earlier creations was as a mother, artist and software executive; she developed an early-childhood software program to improve musical literacy for children. First beta-tested at the Woodside Elementary School, the program is still in use by schools across the country. Foretelling her future move to Miramar in Half Moon Bay, one of her favorite modules featured “Disney-quality” images of clams, with varying pitch and tone that could be synchronized to beat with the waves via the space bar.

As her children grew older, Marshall turned next to portrait painting. Why portraits? Marshall said, “I found that I was good at it; it was easy for me. Also, I loved the look on parents’ faces when I would unveil a portrait. The ‘whoa!’ was the best part!”

Marshall’s next passion was wine; she was inspired by her former husband, a wine collector who educated her palate with California and European wines. Again reaching out into her community, Marshall became familiar with a number of the wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains that she now features in her establishment.

Claudia Marshall, owner.

The impetus for The Wine Bar came when she moved to Half Moon Bay from Woodside about two years ago. Facing a bit of “empty house syndrome,” Marshall looked for a way to combine a few of her passions in a unique new creation. “I was thinking about this for about a year,” she said, acknowledging that it took some vision with the mall not being fully occupied.

Leveraging her business background, Marshall formed a partnership with the Oceano Hotel, providing catering service and an additional venue for events, including wedding parties and rehearsal dinners. As I spoke to her she was in the process of preparing for a post-wedding brunch for her own daughter, a recent University of California, Davis graduate, with an upcoming wedding at the Oceano Hotel. She speaks warmly about the support that she has received from the mall and notes that business has been strong; she’s optimistic about the future, projecting that “within six months this mall will be totally full.”

Marshall continues her exploration of the synthesis of wine, food, art and music at The Wine Bar. Events scheduled for March include an artists’ reception; a movie night, called Catch the Waves at the Wine Bar; a Zinfandel tasting with wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains and Lodi; and Irish folk music on the evening of Saint Patrick’s Day. The Wine Bar also features local musicians every Saturday night; a new addition is Coast Comedy Nights on Fridays, with the best of local comedians.

Paintings by Daniel Goldberg.

Creative people are unique in that they somehow find a way to continually integrate their passions with the current focus of their lives in order to renew and rejuvenate themselves. Claudia Marshall has found a way to do this again at The Wine Bar, providing us with a unique blend, served up with a warm smile and open heart. And I know that she’ll be looking for the “whoa!” from you as you enjoy one of her unique creations in the near future; she got it from me.

Danny Cortazzo oversees an activity featuring “Spiderman” at Ride a Wave beach camp in Santa Cruz. Photo courtesy of Debra Z. Dixon, www.seadebris.com

What’s your definition of a hero? A person of distinguished ability, noble qualities and visionary ideals?

Meet Danny Cortazzo.

Firefighter, paramedic, lifeguard, former champion tandem surfer and the   recipient of numerous awards for his outstanding community service, Cortazzo is the founder of the Ride a Wave Foundation, a non-profit based in Santa Cruz.

Since 1998, Ride a Wave has provided children with special needs the chance to experience a day at the beach.

Ride a Wave offers one-day camps from April to September at Cowell’s Beach in Santa Cruz and at beaches in Southern California. Activities include tandem surfing, bodyboarding, swimming and kayaking. Warm-ups with “Spiderman” and beach games are included. Children also watch demonstrations on lifesaving techniques and learn about marine biology. Snacks and hot lunches are donated by the likes of Newman’s Own Organics and Trader Joe’s.

At day’s end is an awards ceremony, where each child receives a Ride a Wave t-shirt and prizes for accomplishment.

Thus far, nearly 3,000 children facing physical challenges such as quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, blindness, autism, burns and cancer have been served — and delighted and inspired — by Ride a Wave. Children from low-income or at-risk home environments are also welcomed to the program.

Danny Cortazzo, tandem surfing with a Ride a Wave camper. Photo courtesy of Debra Z. Dixon, www.seadebris.com.

“We’re 100 percent volunteer-run,” Cortazzo says. “No one gets a stipend  or salary; no child has to pay to participate. We’re here simply to give these kids — some who’ve never seen the ocean before — a fun day on the waves.”

One of the reasons for the program’s success is its careful attention to everyone’s well-being. In its 12 years of existence, Ride a Wave has had no beach injuries whatsoever.

“Safety is — absolutely — our No. 1 concern,” Cortazzo says.

And he means it.

Lifeguards, paramedics and EMTs  are at every event, with radio contact to emergency facilities. Every child is outfitted with a wetsuit, life vest and helmet, and is accompanied in the water by trained sportspeople and rescue personnel. Children with even the most limited physical mobility get to surf with specially-designed equipment.

“Yes, safety is No. 1,” Cortazzo continues. “Our No. 2 concern is joy — and that comes from everyone involved in the program: participants and volunteers. … As I’ve said many times: I can describe the program, but actually seeing the kids’ faces and their parents’ faces says it all.”

The faces of the volunteers say it all, too.

Ride a Wave participant and volunteers share a moment of triumph. Photo courtesy of Debra Z. Dixon, www.seadebris.com.

“Our volunteers are outstanding!” Cortazzo says. “We have professional athletes, doctors, students, marine biologists, grade school children, seniors — all wanting to help out, in the water or on the beach. Everyone is dedicated to making the program work. Our sponsors and donors are just awesome, too! Everything is donated, from wetsuits and equipment to food and emergency medical supplies. Their generosity is so humbling, really — a great gift to our program.”

It’s a gift to the community, too. Accordingly, Ride a Wave has earned glowing media attention and has been wonderfully supported by a host of private donors and corporate sponsorships.

So, how did Ride a Wave begin?

A dedicated waterman, Cortazzo was one of two Americans from the national lifeguard team selected to work in Australia. While cycling to work one day in 1990, he was struck by a car in a horrific accident that left him with several broken bones and a serious back injury.

“That accident put everything into perspective,” Cortazzo says. “I was unable to get into the water for two or three months … wasn’t sure if I’d emerge with all my motor skills intact. The force and power of my helplessness in that situation … somehow made me cognizant of how many people never get the chance to experience the ocean.”

Cortazzo continues: “I grew up surfing or swimming every day, or just walking on the beach. … It’s a beautiful thing to be out on the water. You start enjoying the smaller details: watching the birds, feeling the way the water moves. … I wanted to share all of this with people who didn’t have the opportunities I had.”

A day at the beach with Ride a Wave includes activities, snacks, hot lunches, and first class attention to safety issues and rescue procedures. Photo courtesy of Debra Z. Dixon, www.seadebris.com

And so, Ride a Wave was born. It has inspired similar programs such as the Best Day Foundation, created by two long-time Ride a Wave volunteers. Best Day invites children to enjoy the snow, as well as the waves.

Testimonials on the Ride a Wave Web site are filled with the gratitude of parents and others who’ve seen wonder and happiness and self-confidence on the faces of their children participating in the program.

“The transformation you see in these kids is amazing,” Cortazzo says. After a few hours of water activity, children who were initially ocean-shy are loath to come out and dry off. Cortazzo says, “It erases their disability.”

Cortazzo adds: “All the children, their families and our volunteers are the heroes. I just consider it a great honor to help them enjoy the ocean.”

]]> http://coastviewsmag.com/ride-a-wave-danny-cortazzo%e2%80%99s-gift-to-children-with-special-needs/feed 0 http://coastviewsmag.com/garden-tips-from-the-coastside http://coastviewsmag.com/garden-tips-from-the-coastside#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:00:18 +0000 coastviews http://coastviewsmag.com/?p=3301 by Jack McKinnon

I watch a lot of movies. I get them through the mail, watch them and mail them back. I love it. Mostly, I watch documentaries, history, nature and biographies.

Most recently I watched Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, about the composer Philip Glass. Several ideas expressed in the movie reminded me of gardening. This month’s tips will visit some of these ideas.

1. Allen Ginsberg told Philip Glass “first idea, best idea.” The theory goes that if you have an idea, it  is good to go with it. How does this apply to gardening? In the garden there are a thousand decisions to make. What do I plant? Do I prune now? Which do I cut first? What do I fertilize with? Try using the first idea that comes to mind. It will save time and it may very well be the best choice.

2. When he was composing and playing in lofts in SoHo, New York, Glass often had 25-30 percent of his audiences walk out. Did he stop composing? No, he kept on with the work he was doing and suggested they find their own favorite music. Do this in your garden, too. Your  garden is your living art and what others think is irrelevant. The important thing is to keep gardening.

3. Be a little “nudge.” Glass’s sister called him “a little nudge” when he was a young boy. A nudge is a bother, a bit of a pain. If you are a bit of a bother in your garden, it will show better results. Be picky; don’t put up with just any design or planting scheme. Be a nudge.

4. Do something completely  different. Glass said, “If you don’t need a new technique, then what you’re saying probably isn’t new.” In gardening, the techniques we use are those of design, planting, cultivating, pruning, watering, fertilizing and harvesting. Think about how you can do these differently to get different results. Ask yourself if you can change one thing to make a big difference.

© Sdenness | Dreamstime.com

5. Gardening is art, and art is different than farming or golf course maintenance. Art uses the part of your brain that knows what it likes without thinking about it. Art speaks from and to the heart. You can hear this in music composed by great composers like Philip Glass. Try to look at your garden with heart. Think of what plant would make you happy to see every day. Then find a way to get and grow that plant.

Good Gardening!

Jack McKinnon worked in the Sunset gardens for 12 years and is now a garden coach. He can be reached at 650-879-3261, on his cell phone at 650-455-0687, or by e-mail at jack@jackthegardencoach.com.

]]> http://coastviewsmag.com/garden-tips-from-the-coastside/feed 0 http://coastviewsmag.com/pacifica-winemaker-wins-awards-and-hearts http://coastviewsmag.com/pacifica-winemaker-wins-awards-and-hearts#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:00:17 +0000 coastviews http://coastviewsmag.com/?p=3290 by Dyane Hendricks

Evelyn Reyes-Umana and her husband Victor Reyes-Umana, at their Pacifica home, proudly displaying some of their wines. Photo: Dyane Hendricks.

The 2009 winner of the Women-Owned Businesses Award is not quite sure why she is. A winner, that is.

Evelyn Reyes-Umana said that she was surprised when she was nominated for the prize, and then shocked when the Women’s Initative for Self-Employment announced last year that she was a winner. The nomination process is anonymous and when she received a call asking her to write an essay, she was honored but too busy handling family  issues, running the Bogeda Del Sur Winery in Murphys that she co-owns with her husband and operates by herself, and volunteering for women’s shelters. So when she learned that she had actually won the award, she was flabbergasted.

But even a cursory look at this Renaissance woman — mother of two, wife, winemaker and volunteer who is passionate about women’s issues — clearly demonstrates a winner.

At the age of 10, she immigrated with her mother to San Francisco from war-torn El Salvador. With no English-speaking skills, but armed with needle and thread, the seamstress created a business for herself, all the while helping other single mothers and teaching her daughter to do the same. Her mother-in-law, also from El Salvador, had her own business and was committed to women’s concerns as well.

The opening of the Bogeda Del Sur Winery is the fulfillment of her husband’s dream but the beginning of her nightmare, she said with a laugh. “He wanted to retire in the wine business,” she said. For several years the Pacifica couple traveled to Spain, Chile and, of course, Northern California, visiting wineries. Victor Reyes-Umana told his wife that he wanted to open a winery. “I would joke and tell him that he’s Don Quixote,” she said. “And I’m not even Dulcinea. I’m really Sancho Panza!”

Each year the Camesi wines are named after different women with part of the proceeds going to women’s shelters. Photos courtesy of the Bodega Del Sur Winery.

When a winery became available for sale in Murphys, a community  located in Sierra foothills, he told her what a wonderful opportunity they had. But with the economic downturn, thoughts of Victor retiring were put aside. He continues working in Silicon Valley while Evelyn splits her time between Murphys and her beloved community of Pacifica, where she and Victor moved 30 years ago, just after they married.

Reyes-Umana said she does everything at the winery including managing the tasting room, marketing, and overseeing the vineyard. But she manages to continue with her passion of community service, and she is also a mom to her 13-year-old son, Luis. Using Skype, webcams and, of course, the telephone, she remains in touch with Luis daily, asking how his day went, helping with homework and just being a mom. Her eldest son, Victor, 21, is a student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She returns home on the weekends, or her husband and son trek to the Sierra Foothills if the winery is having a particularly busy weekend.

“People wonder where the heck is Murphys,” Reyes-Umana said. “But the Pacifica community has been wonderful.”

She holds events in Pacifica as well as the entire Bay Area to help non-profit organizations and service groups, as well as to promote the winery. “As far as I’m concerned, my office is in Pacifica and I bring my wine to Pacifica,” she said.

Her commitment has won her a loyal fan base among Pacifica residents. Many take the 2 ½-hour drive to explore Murphys and enjoy the award-winning wine to be found in the Bogeda Del Sur Winery tasting room.

Reyes-Umana is committed to serving the Sierra Foothills community as well. The winery also donates $2 from the sale of the winery’s Carmesi wines to benefit the San Joaquin and Calaveras women’s shelters. Each year the Carmesi wine is dedicated to a different woman.

As a true Renaissance woman, Reyes-Umana designed the label for the Bogeda Del Sur winery. The woman with a luxuriant coiffe represented is her late friend Denise, who was mad when she lost her hair to chemotherapy. “Denise” is the feminine name of Dionysus, the god of wine. “Now she will always have her beautiful hair and she always watches over my wine,” Reyes-Umana said. For the back of the label, she designed Don Quixote on his horse, getting ready to tilt at windmills.

The Bodega Del Sur Winery is located in Murphys at the base of the Sierra Foothill.

Bodega Del Sur Winery tasting room.

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