Interviews

I have been to some amazing homes and met a wide array of interesting people during this interview process since I have been back in Cali. Working through a very good agency offers a new perspective on how different the realities of life can be. Yesterday took me winding over Petrified Forest Road down through Calistoga and on into St. Helena where an interview family lived. Even though I am from this valley too, I rarely venture over the mountain east (always opting to go west toward the ocean), so yesterday I felt like I was on vacation.  Oh how I wished I had brought my swimsuit with the plan of soaking in a mineral pool for a few hours when I was done.   A trial week is being set up through the agency and when that is in place I will tuck my bathing suit into my purse first thing!

 

The Napa/Sonoma Valley is Majestic.  That is my word for it.  After my 3 PM interview (which went very well) I strolled through downtown Calistoga, stopped into a deli for a sandwich and then another little shop for an ice cream cone.  It was 85 degrees and the cottonwoods were shedding and filling the sunny, breezy air with white fluffs. 

I think I'd like very much to work for this family.  They are winery owners with a staffed household and one baby.  But I liked that he made reference to a daily meal they serve to all employees of the vineyard/winery where they all sat together for rest and food.  Everyone employed at the winery.  No hierarchy tables.  It was "a family meal".  I liked that they shared that they lived by a pitch in attitude about life. No work "was above or below" them.   I liked that their gardener has been with them for 22 years and their housekeeper for 15.  I liked that we had comfortable conversation and easy laughter. I liked them.

So I will keep you posted on the job front.  Today I have a housekeeping job....my house.  My bedroom to be more specific.  Clothes strewn all about as I tried things on and flung them off again and again trying to find just the right thing to wear to my interviews.  And standing here with hand on hip, I look around and notice, I wear an awful lot of black since I've let my hair go silver.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that their speciality is Chardonnay.  So is mine.

Comments

[jaykaym]

Sounds like a perfect position for you with good people who understand the importance of the people who work for them.

I, too, was in a black rut. I've had silver hair since I was 30. When I was young, black was dramatic with my hair. As I aged into my hair it just made me look like a 'vieja'. As you age, Marianne, you'll be beautiful. I realized yesterday while watching a movie that as you age you will look like Dame Judi Dench, beautiful and aristocratic.

[Vickie]

LOVE the new photo and I love black - can you have too much?
The new family sounds very nice and the Napa Valley?? What a great place to work. Good luck!!

[Carolyn]

Oh my oh my what a lovely day. Seems like magic is in the air. Thanks for spreading it all around!

[Rebekah]

My computer crashed a while ago and it has taken me some time to recollect my favorite blogs. So, I know this is old, and I know this job didn't work out but I still love that you got to walk around one of my very favorite towns in the whole world, Calistoga. My parents have been going there for 25+ years and my husband and I and now our 3 boys join them every summer for a week. That valley is our little piece of heaven. We'll be sitting in one of those mineral pools under the sun and at night under the stars, in just over a month from now. I can't wait.