A&E

Instructions Not Included

Last week's item about the "Evening in Spain" dinner at Lucy's

Balancing flavors in your holiday meal

Clearly summer has given way to winter and this period of time when everyone and everything has to adjust is upon us. Humans crank up their heaters and put on jackets. Animals take refuge in their expanded winter coats. Some birds fly south and some fish swim upstream. But all life is aware of the changes and adapts accordingly.

The two most significant astrological events this month are Venus turning retrograde on December 21, the same day as the Winter Solstice when the Sun enters Capricorn. The Winter Solstice was celebrated by many ancient cultures as the most important day of the year. It marked the time when the Sun had traveled as far south as it could go, turned around and was heading north. This symbolizes the return of the light; the promise that the growing season was coming back and that life would continue for another year. This could be used as a time to look deeply within, to define what we would like to achieve or accomplish when the warmth and promise of spring are renewed. This is probably the basis for making New Year’s resolutions based on the idea that we will have the time and resources to create new parts of our lives even as we maintain those that continue to have value.

Monsters University

When I was tapped last year to head up the Teen Poetry Slam at the Sonoma County Book Festival, I said yes – but I needed a crash course in slam. Asking around, one name kept popping up. “You need to talk to Brianna Sage.”