Shop Local Saturday sent us into the local hills looking for gifts. We found this great vineyard and winery in Manton, Cedar Crest.
Kim offered us tastes of their fine local wines. Everything we tasted was excellent, but Al’s Field Blend, a big red, really stood out.
There were other gourmet samples, and other local gifts to choose from, like this Lucero Olive oil. Love the Lemon. And the Garlic.
Despite well publicized recent forest fires nearby, Manton is still alive and kicking. There is a Tehama winery trail for you to follow. The fall colors were really spectacular last weekend.
Images from the Cedar Crest grounds. A lovely setting in the Fall. Below, Al’s field vines, enjoying the cool nights and volcanic soil.
Just head up the hill to Shingletown, and turn south on Wilson Hill road. Like any small local business, they could always use a few more friends, so link here to the Cedar Crest Facebook page and give it a Like. Wine country, Manton style.
Last call for B ‘n E’s.
I was surprised to learn the longtime eastside bar Bert & Ernie’s concluded its 20 year run last Saturday.
It always seemed to me to be “in Redding, but not of Redding.” Like a tourist bar. Reviews at Yelp are mixed, but Yelp is always questionable anyway. And some videos on YouTube were pretty damn embarrassing for a bar with a Sesame Street name. No, not linking here.
Still, it had a good run. Bars come and go in Redding, and B’n E’s proved not immune to changing tastes. Our town can be a harsh environment for any small business. The owner says he’ll move into another venue, and we wish him and his staff the best.
Real estate in the other Redding
Ran across this list of recent home sales in Redding. Redding Connecticut. Some fairly high priced homes there, it would appear. Perhaps our ‘sister city’ on the east coast wasn’t once named Poverty Flat. It was an interesting read. They even name the buyers and sellers out there. I do have to say though, the previous comment about some of the housing to be priced on the high side is only in certain areas of CT, it was decided to conduct some research into other locations around Connecticut such as these William Pitt homes for sale within Columbia, that are relatively cheap compared to other areas of CT.
Clicking over to the home page of The Daily Voice, I see that Connecticut is still digging out from Hurricane Sandy. Sister cities, different weather. I read they are concerned over an approaching Thanksgiving Nor’ Easter. Yikes.
Scrolled down under the online articles looking for all the rude comments surely waiting, but didn’t see any. That’s different too. A tale of two cities. Really Redding, Connecticut.
Buy your holiday gifts now at the KIXE auction
Where can you get screaming deals on local items and gifts from the comfort of your livingroom? At the auction held on KIXE TV, starting at 7 pm every evening and running through the 19th. You can score some real bargains, and also help keep our local educational TV station alive and kicking. Plus, it’s just fun to watch. Local presenters ham it up, and you can learn a thing or two about local services and products too. Highly recommended!
Bright lights, big city.
Season’s first frost (almost) gets Redding gardeners picking
Got Karry Picking, anyway. We heard it might be a hard frost last night, but it wasn’t quite. Not taking any chances, Karry went out and picked what remained of the tomatoes and peppers.
Fresh tomatoes in November. That’s Really Redding.
Madness, Apocalypse, and redding.com bloggery
Noticed an interesting juxtaposition at the blog section of redding.com this morning. First, Doug Craig posting about the recent wake-up call represented by Hurricane Sandy. Followed by David Benda wondering which corporate chain would be open first for Black Friday, our cultural celebration of consumer excess.
Midnight Madness indeed. It seems every year somebody is injured or even killed trying to buy some cheap Chinese shit, on the day after Thanksgiving, no less. Thanks for that. Meanwhile, our entire consumer based economy may be dooming the planet to an uncontrolled science experiment with possible lethal results for ours and other species.
Black Friday indeed.
Climate change isn’t on the agenda this political season. Understandable. No pleasant alternatives to the consumer economy come to mind in our current culture. I suppose we are all just going to discover together the results of our present science experiment on this planetary atmosphere. Anyway, thanks redding.com, for the jangling disconnect. I think.
No hurricanes in Redding today
We wish only the best for our east coast readers. Please stay safe in the face of Frankenstorm today.
Just a helpful reminder though, if you’re starting to think you’ve had enough. Redding doesn’t get horrific nor-Easters, or whatever you call these massive super storms that shut you down. We are enjoying 70’s, and blue skies today. if you are thinking relocating to someplace more sane, or at least somewhat less life threatening, please contact us. We know a lot about real estate in Redding. This is a great place to live. Especially if you have a business to run.
Give it some thought. Meanwhile click on this 24 hr timelapse from today in Maryland. Watch the water level on the dock.
Edit: Well, apparently this video clip updates every 24 hrs. Still interesting to watch. The original post saw a gazebo at the end of the dock gradually flooding. Today we see it has vanished entirely. Our hearts go out to all the victims of this terrible storm.
As seen originally:
Redding musician/composer Eric Amantite
I happened upon some tracks by Eric at Soundcloud. Eric is a really prolific Redding composer. Soundcloud has a whole bunch of Eric Amantite’s electronic hip hop and pop flavored tracks for you to enjoy. If you start at the top track, you can just play through them for quite a while, and get your groove well on. Eric can be found on Facebook, so you may want “friend” him so as to keep up with his latest sonic creations. Posted for a taste below is “Peach,” a recent contribution for your listening pleasure.
Another another northstate musician/composer and chillzone citizen cranking out the tunes. That’s Really Redding.
A musical tribute to the Sundial Bridge
Yesterday’s RS editorial mentioned at piece of music composed and to be performed for Redding’s 125th anniversary. Should be nice to see and hear. I was reminded that local composer and recording artist Craig Padilla once wrote and performed a compelling piece to honor the Sundial Bridge in Redding. Reposted below, from a post first published in 2010:
Here’s a live recording of Sundial Bridge by Craig Padilla. It was recorded on the patio of the cafe of the south end of the bridge. It’s about 20 minutes of symphonic electronic music. It starts off quietly, until it begins to soar. I accompanied Craig, and ran audio. There is no mic on the audience, but you do hear our voices briefly at the very end.
Sundial bridge2 by SkipMurphy 
The Sundial Bridge has arguably become the chief symbol of Redding California. The designer of the bridge is a world famous architect named Santiago Calatrava.
The folks at the host Turtle Bay Museum seemed happy to have us play. Playing live there was a tall challenge. The venue was really hot (thermal hot, not swinging hot). The setting at the cafe was not acoustically great for either listeners or players. And for an art museum, the staff seemed thoroughly unimpressed that a world famous musician and recording artist had composed a complete symphonic music composition named after the bridge, just for the occasion. Like, “Yeah, that’s nice.”
Anyway, I came across the recording in the studio, and thought I’d share it with the world again. At least, that part of the world that wasn’t at the event. Like any live recording, it has some issues and flaws, but I think the spirit of the muse comes across intact. See what you think.