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The flu season is fast approaching—the other day while at a stoplight I was sandwiched in between two people who were coughing incessantly—but fortunately science has given us ways to get through the winter months with fewer sick days. In terms of preventing the flu, getting a flu shot—surprise—is a must-do.

I was anxious to see Janu and Jason Goelz’s brand new tasting room, inside The Stomping Ground, an ambitious and exciting venture between the Goelz’ and Tim Slater, owner of Sarah’s Vineyard. A three-year plan for the venue includes several other boutique wineries, a brewery and a distillery—along with upscale eateries. I passed through a courtyard with tables and a water feature as I made my way into the eclectic tasting room.Instead of the usual adjectives to describe each wine, the extensive menu only lists the percentages of the various grapes contained in each wine. Bill Corneth, pouring wines that day, explained, “We don’t try to tell you what you’re going to taste because we don’t want you to feel like you’ve done something wrong if you don’t taste what you think you should.” Bill poured the first wine, a Pixalated Rose, a blend of grenache, mourvedre and pinot noir grapes. It is a dry rose, with a creamy mouthfeel—a pretty aperitif for the holidays.  The 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a juicy bing cherry of a wine with a long, smooth finish. It’s 80 percent cabernet—blended along with four other varietals. Thoughts of pairing this wine with a rib eye steak drizzled with melted blue cheese crossed my mind.I tend to like wines with a little age on them so really enjoyed the 2011 Estate Merlot. This is a rich, full-bodied wine with complex flavors of dark fruits and well-structured tannins, making it an age-worthy wine. Purchasing two bottles before I left, I’ll have one bottle at this year’s holiday and save the other for next year.

Holiday CheerGet into the spirit of the holidays with decorated floats, roaring fire trucks and dancing horses in the downtowns of Gilroy and Morgan Hill during their holiday parade and tree lighting on Saturday, Dec. 3. Gilroy starts with a Doggie Dress Up contest, vendors and entertainment beginning at 2:30 p.m. on Monterey Street at Fifth Street. Parade begins at 5:30 p.m. and runs from Fourth to Seventh Streets. For Morgan Hill, get your chairs set up along Monterey Rd. between First and Fifth Streets and experience the spirit of the holidays with their traditional Lights Parade beginning at 5:30 p.m. Don’t miss Santa’s Magic Ship as it leads the crowd to the ceremonial tree lighting. For more information visit gilroywelcomecenter.org or morganhillkiwanis.org.Honoring VetsVolunteers across the country come together in all 50 states to remember our fallen, honor those who serve and teach our children the value of freedom. You can participate by volunteering to help place wreaths on our Veterans final resting sites or sponsor a wreath at a cemetery near you. Ceremonies will be held in Hollister and Gilroy on Saturday, Dec. 17 beginning at 9 a.m. To learn how to donate a wreath and find listings of participating cemeteries visit sanbenitocountychamber.com or gilroy.org. For more information regarding the organization founding this national event go to wreathsacrossamerica.org.GILROYOmelet and Pancake SupperIt’s time to break all the rules and pamper your palate with an Omelet and Pancake Supper prepared especially for you by self-trained, madcap Gilroy Lion cooks. Enjoy custom-made omelets using ingredients such as ham, sausage, cheese, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms. Get your stack-on with golden, fluffy all-you-can-eat pancakes. You can treat yourself knowing that you are supporting the Lions’ sight conservation project. Come together on Friday, Dec. 2 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Gilroy Presbyterian Fellowship Hall on 6000 Miller Ave, Gilroy. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for kids. For tickets contact Bill at (408) 310-2915.LuminationDon’t miss the final month of ‘Lumination: Chinese Culture Celebrated in a Whole New Light,’ Gilroy Garden’s extraordinary light display representing over 2,000 years of Chinese history and culture, shown with brightly lit sculptures of iconic structures such as the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, and Terracotta Warriors, each artistically woven into the park’s 26 acres of natural beauty. ‘Lumination’ extended through Jan. 8, 2017. Visit Gilroy Gardens Friday, Saturday or Sunday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets are $30, or $20 when buying four or more. Parking is $14. Save $5 by buying online. Daytime park admission is $34 online. For additional information go to luminationgilroy.org/index.LOS GATOSFantasy of LightsThe South Valley has been waiting for Vasona Park’s transformation into a winter wonderland with its annual Fantasy of Lights. You can enjoy this unique light display in the comfort of a vehicle or on foot as you, the kids or someone special stroll through the park at night. Enjoy the magical sights, sounds and flavors of the holidays including, carolers, holiday music and hot cocoa. Bring the kids and visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The fantasy begins on Friday, Nov. 25 through Saturday, Dec. 31 for the drive through version, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly. The walk-through is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 3 or Sunday, Dec. 4 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Vasona Lake County Park, on 333 Blossom Hill Rd. Advanced tickets only. $10 for 13 years and up, $5 ages 4 to 12. Call (408) 355-2201 or visit losgatos.com. MORGAN HILL Guglielmo Holiday FaireGuglielmo Winery’s Annual Holiday Faire is definitely worth gathering friends together and making a day for upgrading your holiday décor or finding a unique gift for that special someone. As you peruse the wonderful display of decorations, ornaments, stocking stuffers and home decor items and gifts you can sample a great selection of wines and enjoy tastings of gourmet morsels. If that is not enough you can always visit the Gift Shop during the week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, Dec. 23. Come out and shop ‘til you drop on Saturday, Dec. 3 and 10 or Sunday, Dec 4 and 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1480 East Main Ave, Morgan Hill. Visit guglielmowinery.com.Art walkValle del Sur Art Guild of Morgan Hill presents First Friday Art Walk. Enjoy a self-guided tour through downtown restaurants and shops to see the latest art exhibits. New artists every other month. This event makes the perfect date night. Stop by just one or two spots or visit them all. Stroll through downtown shops, get a bite to eat, stop for drinks, and enjoy art from local artists along the way. Venues are free and open to the public. If you see something you like, the artwork is for sale too. Begin your walk anywhere, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Meet the artists at a reception at GVA Cafe from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information morganhillartgallery.comTHE VALLEYCalifornia ChoraleSymphony Silicon Valley Chorale presents the 12th Annual ‘Carols in the California,’ a delightful holiday concert directed by Elena Sharkova. Experience the tradition of unusual holiday pieces from many cultures and new arrangements of familiar pieces. Join in on the traditional sing-along of favorite carols including the return of “12 Days of Silicon Valley Christmas.” Delight in both the familiar and the new at this exciting, festive event on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in the warm glow of the California Theatre on 345 South First St, San Jose. Tickets are $36 for adults and $26 for juniors (under 26) and can be purchased online at symphonysiliconvalley.org.

While some are interested in building walls, one group in the South Valley community is building bridges and working to create a more peaceful, tolerant world. Made up of 16 different faith organizations, the Interfaith Community of South County (ICSC) gathered for a special service on Thanksgiving Eve.Although the ICSC is still in its first year, the group’s facilitator, Susan Meyers, says the group began as a response to increased hostilities, “not just in our area, but all over the country—around people who are Muslim.”Meyers, a board member at Congregation Emeth in Morgan Hill, says things in the South Valley became particularly heated in the last decade after the South Valley Islamic Community approached the planning commission with their proposal to build the Cordoba Center, a 15-acre parcel in San Martin that would serve as a site of worship, a community center, as well as a cemetery and open space. Not all of the community responded as positively as local faith-based organizations did.“It brought out people’s concerns and prejudices and also the support of the community,” says Meyers.She says that Rabbi Debbie Israel of Congregation Emeth in Morgan Hill was one of the principals who started the interfaith clergy group. “They did an interfaith Thanksgiving service last year and then they were going to do an interfaith event for the Martin Luther King Day.”Pastor Lee Tyler of Advent Lutheran in Morgan Hill recalls their congregation would regularly hold Thanksgiving Day services.“Well last year we decided—more than Christians are celebrating Thanksgiving,” Tyler says. “Americans do. So we invited the rabbi and the imam and their congregations to join us and that’s where it began.”After the Thanksgiving service at Advent Lutheran, Meyers invited others interested in forming an interfaith lay group to get involved. The ICSC chose three areas of focus: education, service and social activity. Meyers says they decided to celebrate four major American holidays together.“First of all—we are all Americans. First thing we did was to march in the Fourth of July parade.”As part of their educational emphasis, the ICSC has held a series of lectures called “Faith of Our Neighbors.” Inviting people to come and learn about different faiths. So far the group has held two (of four) sessions; they were on Islam and Mormonism.“When we had our Muslim group speak there were 250 people who came to the event and the Mormons had about that same number. The idea is to bring the community together,” Meyers says.The last two educational lectures in the series will be on Judaism and Lutheranism.“We move around to one another’s ‘churches,’” says Meyers. “Part of the idea is to feel comfortable in one another’s religious homes.”Following the election of Donald Trump, tensions are increasing across the country and hate crimes are on the rise. The need for an interfaith community is even more important now, says Pastor Lee.“We need to care for our brothers and sisters in faith and that's not just Christian faith,” she says. “And it’s a little frightening right now, what our Jewish and Muslim friends are suffering is scary.”“We should have learned something by now.” says Lee. “I find it deeply depressing. That’s why I’m wearing a safety pin.”“The safety pin [a symbol that came out of the response to Britain's recent Brexit vote] is a sign that you are a safe person and anyone that’s being harassed or bullied can turn to you for assistance and you will stand with them,” she says.“I think it’s a great idea we’ve got to stand up and say this is not ok—you can’t hurt people like this.”Nadi Akhter, part of the South Valley Islamic Community and an active member in the ICSC says the relationship goes back to the start of the Cordoba Center. “We faced some opposition from some community members and at that point some of the congregations, especially the Jewish community, Father Rubio from St. Mary’s—these are the people who came for our support and told us ‘You guys are not alone.’”“It has made a big difference in my individual thinking and with the community as a whole,” Akhter says. “I do get emails of support from other members of this interfaith community and even passersby sometimes.”A woman recently approached Akhter at Walmart to apologize, saying “‘I want you to know that whatever Trump says is not the feeling of every American,’” says Akhter.“Those other people—we acknowledge they are bad guys,” she continues. “We condemn them. That's not right. Our faith doesn’t allow it. They are hijacking our faith.”Akhter points out South Valley Muslims’ commitment to the community, noting that the Muslims who make a home here are professionals and law-abiding citizens.“We bring a lot to this economy,” says Akhter, who is also an engineer by trade and adds half-jokingly, “The iPhone that everyone else is using—I don’t know how many Muslims wrote code on it.”But more work must be done to build bridges. “On social media every other day I am looking at one of the hate crimes,” says Akhter.Recent examples include a 19 year-old Muslim student at San Jose State who was attacked in a university parking garage when someone pulled on her hijab.“That’s not OK. In this civilized society this kind of makes me sad,” she says.Because the Muslim community is small, they rely on other faith-based groups to take opportunities to be of service. Akhter says it’s not enough to sit down at the table; she believes in action and was regularly involved in the community before the Cordoba Center.“If I’m out there with my headscarf on and helping the community, that’s going to make a statement and that’s what I believe in.”If there’s one thing each of the participants agrees, which Akhter sums up: “We have to look at people one on one. Treat them like humans—treat them like friends and do it this way.”The Interfaith Community of South County (ICSC) will celebrate their one year anniversary with a special Martin Luther King Day service, Monday Jan. 16, 2017 at St. Mary’s Parish, 11 First St, Gilroy. For more information about the ICSC, contact [email protected]. 

The harvest of summer vegetables is over, but that doesn’t mean the garden has to be put to bed. The days are still warm enough to get some hearty, cool season vegetables in the ground. This is the time of year for root vegetables—beets, radishes, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, carrots—all which can be started from seed. Leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, kale, swiss chard can also thrive throughout the winter months. In this area, garlic is grown year-round but the best time for home gardeners to plant it is right now for bigger, better bulbs. Water regularly and mulch around all vegetables to protect roots and to keep the soil moist.

Credit scores are by now a well-used and determining factor in a family getting credit of any kind. Never before have they been so important when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage loan.

My brother is one of those enviable souls who lives in Napa and pours wine on the weekend for one of the wineries there. So when I visit, he likes to take me around to any one of the 400 or so wineries in the area. I enjoy the great wines and beautiful scenery of Napa, but I believe that our wine region has so much more to offer. Here are my top 10 reasons why our wineries are superior:

City staff and a top national residential developer will spend the next 60 days negotiating a project that could accomplish a number of the council’s long-term planning goals for Morgan Hill’s downtown, including improving traffic flow, bringing more residential units to the neighborhood and moving an industrial property to a less quiet part of town.At the Nov. 16 Morgan Hill City Council meeting, the council voted 4-0 to allow the city manager to negotiate exclusively with Brookfield Residential Properties to redevelop a portion of the Community and Cultural Center parking lot. If the negotiations go the way the city hopes, the project will realign Depot Street at Church Street where the two roadways intersect with East Dunne Avenue, build about 56 new townhomes where Depot Street is now and add more parking for CCC patrons and visitors, according to city staff reports.The project is at the heart of the site of the annual Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras, which brings tens of thousands of visitors to downtown Morgan Hill for Memorial Day Weekend every year. Bob Benevento, member of the board of directors for the nonprofit MMG, noted that maintaining adequate parking for the two-day festival—as well as other events on the CCC grounds such as the Chamber’s Friday Night Music Series—is a key consideration.“The change of the geography of the area (due to this project) will impact the festival, and we need to work with the city or we could be out of business in a couple years,” Benevento said.Conceptual plans, produced by Brookfield, show Depot Street would be realigned with the existing traffic light at Church and East Dunne, where a main entrance to the CCC parking lot is located. This entrance would be transformed into a continuation of Church Street into Depot Street.The existing stretch of Depot Street—approximately from the southern end of the Caltrain lot to East Dunne—as well a southeastern portion of the existing CCC parking lot, would be redeveloped with new housing, according to the city staff report. Conceptual plans also include a two-story parking structure with about 145 spaces at the northern end of the CCC parking lot.The Hammond family, which owns Hale Lumber, entered into contract negotiations with Brookfield in the summer of 2016, according to city staff.“One of the most exciting things is (the project) would allow us to move an industrial use out of the downtown, that in previous times would only have been done with Redevelopment Agency assistance,” Morgan Hill Economic Development Manager Edith Ramirez told the council Nov. 16. The state of California closed the RDA in 2012.Ramirez also hinted that some financial challenges for the city could remain even after negotiations are scheduled to end in January 2017. These include the costs associated with the Depot Street alignment itself, which the city might have to bear on its own, Ramirez said. Another cost challenge will be financing replacement parking spots for those lost to the residential construction and street upgrades.Councilman Gordon Siebert said during the negotiations, city staff should consider asking Brookfield to share some of the profits they plan to make on the residential units with the city by paying for a portion of the Depot Street realignment costs.Brookfield is the fifth largest residential developer in North America and specializes in “infill” development on properties located near transit centers, which Ramirez noted is an apt description of the CCC/Depot Street site.The realignment of Depot to Church Street has been “envisioned” by city planning documents—including the Downtown Specific Plan, the Infrastructure Master Plan and the General Plan 2035 update—for several years, according to a city staff report which comments on the currently awkward street alignment.If the city and Bookfield come to agreeable terms all around, they could have a development agreement by January 2017, according to city staff.

Most objects can perform a function or purpose, but only a rare few can serve as a portal into the past. What if a piece of fabric could take you back in time?