This is one of those weeks that whirl past, full of so much social activity and fun that you just want to grab it by its colorful tail and pull it up short, to slow it down and examine it, to fully savor its variety and fun. One way is to record, by camera and word, the wonderful events. We jumped into the fracas on Thursday, with Barb's birthday. I took the day off and we tootled off to Napa, for a lovely fall luncheon at the clubby Rutherford Grill. This restaurant, on the outside, looks like the generic Napa eatery, a bungalow-style building landscaped with rosemary bushes and lavendar. But once inside, you get the feeling that you are in some smokey speak easy, or an Italian-owned club from the 30s with red leather booths and dark wooden beams. We sat at the bar and watched the big flat screen monitor that hangs over the kitchen like a piece of art. The little closed-circuit cameras installed on the ceilings around the place put up shots of the chefs at work, the orders being placed on the counter, a bowl of lemons or artichokes.

After lunch, we went to Villagio, a very fancy hotel in the area, for a pedacure in their luxurious spa. Spas have become quite the thing, haven't they? There we met Robin, who worked in the spa, and who became quite friendly with us as we discussed families, politics and culture. She had a back back, and shouldn't be working on people's feet! But she did a great job and we walked out with twinkle toes.

We had some time to drive around Napa and Sonoma, enjoying the beauty of a fall afternoon. The trees are looking more rustic than tired, now that a few leaves have turned color here and there. The vineyards had a softness to them, from the slanting light and the distant mist of fog at the coast.

Friday night, the rehearsal dinner for Eve & Steve's wedding. We met Marilyn, a lovely person from Long Island who was high-school friends with Eve. Saturday, the wedding was probably one of the most fun parties I've been to all year. Barb officiated at the wedding, and had written a beautiful ceremony. The children were wonderfully cute and perfect in every way (aunties are allowed to say so).

And just when we thought we would never eat or drink again, we went out to dinner last night, for Barb's birthday celebration at the San Francisco Ferry Building's MarketBar.

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