It’s a new year. I feel rejuvenated. I feel – fat. Like most Americans, I did a fine job of eating my way through the holiday season. I managed to sniff out every chocolate truffle in town. That’s the bottom line and it’s sticking to me.

Now it’s time for the mother of all New Year’s resolutions – getting in shape. I’m going cold turkey on the junk food and sitting down with local nutritionist Linda Prout, the only person who can think clearly on these “weighty issues”.

“How are you feeling?” she asked me the other day. “A little bloated,” I admitted, “and my brain is kind of fuzzy.” We talked about breakfast and the way it primes your body for the day ahead. I thought I was doing well, eating a half bagel with a spritz of margarine and a banana. The coffee with chocolate, I felt, was my only vice. Turns out, the sugar in the coffee, bagel and banana are setting me up for sweet cravings all day long and the “buttery” spray has nasty hydrogenated oils. “Not only that, breakfast should be savory and satisfying,” she says. “Something warm with protein, like an egg and meat, fish or beans.”

Prout’s book “Live in the Balance” shows you how to listen to your body’s signals and eat to satisfy them. When you feel chilled and low on energy, like we typically do in winter, eat warming foods like chicken, lamb or beef stew. Cook your vegetables instead of eating them cold or in salads, which can add to abdominal bloating. In my case, I was told to cut out foods with white flour like breads, cereals and pastas. That little “tweak” in my diet will help me increase my energy, decrease my weight and lighten my mood.

Here’s the best advice of all: get rid of any snacks that have poly-unsaturated or partially hydrogenated oils and fats. That’s between 70 and 90% of the cookies, chips, crackers and other stuff on the supermarket shelves. Instead, get nuts. Add nuts and seeds to your diet and your body will thank you with a steady supply of energy.

With much of the country overweight, this is good food for thought. Want more? You can reach Linda Prout at the Claremont Resort and Spa, where she’s the resident nutritionist. Or email her at

Don’t Be Fueled! This is the slogan a Bay Area broadcaster is using for her campaign to get moms out of Minivans and SUVs. Betsy Rosenberg has been on a crusade since she started her environmental radio show, Trash Talk, at KCBS in 1995. First it was recycling – now it’s pollution, and she’s targeting cars as the culprit. “Automobiles are the second leading cause of carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas buildup,” she says “and the heavy reliance on foreign oil puts our country in jeopardy.” The irony, according to Rosenberg, is that women feel they’re doing something good for the family by driving big vehicles. They don’t realize the bad far outweighs the good in terms of their family’s health and safety, not to mention mileage. To heighten awareness, this Marin mom has organized a group of 40 women who call themselves MPG’s or “Moms preferring gas sippers”. Each member drives a Hybrid or electric car. I’m proud that I’ve been asked to join. The goal, here, is not to beat women over the head with this message. It’s a much different approach than the “What would Jesus Drive” campaign that’s getting so much flak today. For more information on this “gasroots” effort, you can log on to

Speaking out: Regarding my recent piece on Mike Lydon, the Oakland neighbor who has voluntarily swept Piedmont Avenue since 1979, there’s this response from Alan C. “If humans weren’t so unaware of the environment around them, there wouldn’t be all that litter and garbage to pick up each day.” Very true, Alan, but until that day comes – people like Mike lead by example.

Recycle This: I hope you’re recycling this column. It makes great fish wrap, or you can do what my neighbor does: put it in the worm composter, where it gets turned into liquid fertilizer. Now here’s another recycling tip. The Post Office in the little town of Canyon is giving out postage paid mailers for your ink jet printer cartridges. Just pop them in the bag and they get mailed to a recycling center in Tennessee. The Postmaster tells me this is an experiment at select branches, nationwide. If it flies – you’ll see more of it.

Remembering Reagan: Thanks to Richard Vannucci for filling me in on the preservation of Ronald Reagan’s former ranch. The Santa Ynez property was part of the original Spanish Land Grant. President Reagan bought it in 1974, and took me on a tour of it (with a handful of other journalists) in 1980. I’ll never forget the pride with which he showed us the house he’d built by hand – the trees he felled for the walls and much of the furniture inside. Today, the ranch is a center for Republican studies, with speakers and retreats held on the grounds. Vannucci is a financial backer, saying it’s his way of supporting Reagan’s legacy. “It helps give him the respect he deserves, especially since the liberal press looks on him as a bumpkin,” Vannucci says. He adds that President Reagan helped bring down the Soviet Union’s “evil empire”, he quieted Libya and he brought pride back to our military.

Savvy Senior: I’m always amazed at how much our seniors do in the hills. Without their volunteer work, we’d have to rely on the government for dozens of programs – and you know what the result would be. Our taxes would go up and we’d get little in return. So it didn’t surprise me when Ruth O’Sullivan said she’d been tapped to do last fall’s campaign spots for a bond measure on senior/disabled bus service. 500 spots ran on Oakland Cable, along with billboards and mailers – all with Ruth’s picture on them. She was even asked to record an automated phone message to voters. The measure passed and Ruth became rich and famous. Well, famous anyway. But as for the payment? Ruth’s been promised a copy of the video and some huge posters with her picture on them. Imagine her excitement.

There’s a fungus among us – and this is a good thing. The big mushroom festival comes to town this weekend at the Oakland Museum. Having hunted mushrooms in the wilds of Mendocino, recently, I’ve developed a fondness for fungus that goes beyond their puffy little caps and stems. A mushroom foray, as one local put it, is the last real treasure hunt. After the rains, the little brown bodies push their way up through the forest floor. Hidden amongst the bark and leaves – the tender shoots thrive in their own little microcosms. In Mendocino County, people take mushrooms seriously, often unwilling to share their secret sites. But every November they hold an incredible 12 day Wine and Mushroom Fest, with guided forays and tastings and talks by experts like Charmoon Richardson, who, as a youth, had an epiphany under a tree and decided to dedicate his life’s work to the fantastical fungi. The whole town comes out for this event. An eclectic mix of Mother Earth’s finest – artists, chefs and hippies. Like a perpetual progressive dinner, they move from elegant Inn to Inn feasting on mushroom pate and Chardonnay. They board the Skunk train and ride deep into the Redwood Forest for an all day symposium, where the smell of grilled Portabellos is enough to drive a sane man wild. Some of the Mendocino mushroom artists will be gathering at the Oakland Museum this weekend. Taylor Lockwood is one of them, a man who’s captured a magical kingdom of mushrooms on film. His photographs are a treasure and make you realize just how entertaining Mother Nature can be. The ultimate artist, she cleverly covers the earth with an endless array of eye candy. Feast your eyes on a thousand different fungi at the Oakland Museum this weekend. And let the rains begin!

Saying goodbye: A Montclair institution has passed away. The man who cut thousands of heads of hair over the last 45 years, succumbed to a stroke last week. Mel Serreira had just turned 76, according to fellow barber Rocky Becker. He worked almost until his death, with a loyal following at Montclair Barbers on Mountain Boulevard. Now that Mel’s gone, Becker says he’ll probably take over the shop. Rocky is great and has his own claims to fame – as the longtime barber for Raiders owner Al Davis. But Mel will be missed. He was, in many ways, Mr. Montclair – with memories of the village that went back decades. Rest in peace, Mel.

Scoring with kids: While the Oakland Raiders are out scoring touchdowns, the wives are quietly racking up points of their own. Oakland mom Kelly Powers tells me the Raider’s Wives Organization brought two SUV’s full of toys to her house last week – for the kids at Hawthorne School in the Fruitvale district. These are 1500 at-risk kids who would otherwise get very little, if anything at all at Christmas. “The last time we brought things to the school, the parents were crying,” Powers says.

Party Time: Glenview’s Mary Miles knows how to spread the holiday spirit. Each December, she has a big holiday party for her day care kids and their families. Hosted by the Dimond Rec Center, the kids get pizza and other goodies as they sit in a circle and sing holiday carols. Mary says a record number of kids came this year, and you could tell by the twinkle in her eyes that she was the “mother” of all of them.

Stage Kids: As many as one hundred children try out each year, but only seventeen get picked for the annual production of The California Revels at the Scottish Rite Theater. Rehearsing for the last two months, the kids (age 7-11) play pilgrims on a journey from France to Galicia, a Celtic town in Northern Spain. It’s a huge time commitment but the kids get wonderful theater instruction and Oakland gets a great holiday show this weekend and next. For more information call 510-893-Yule.

Looking skyward: Stars seem brighter in the cold, dark skies of winter. Spend a night this holiday season at the Chabot Space & Science Center, gazing skyward as you ponder our place in the universe. There are some wonderful planetarium shows this time of year, and holiday concerts that rock the Rotunda. In fact, a membership would make a great holiday gift. Then you get free unlimited admission and other perks. The website is cool, too, at http://www.chabotspace.org.

Have Tummy/Will Travel: Oakland native Dennis Cavagnaro has been playing Santa for the last 15 years, and making a pretty fat paycheck. But what’s a jolly old elf to do – when the economy heads south? “I’ve only got 2 jobs so far this season,” he says, “and I’ve been advertising in Parents Press for 2 months.” Cavagnaro says he looks the part, with a rich red suit and a “tummy like a bowl full of jelly”. He’ll come to your house (not through the chimney) and call your kids by name, just like he does with his reindeer. He’ll even bring in a sack full of presents, if you leave them outside for him. So, if you want to put the Ho Ho Ho back in Christmas, give Dennis a jingle.

A tangerine half moon was ablaze in the sky the night I began my hunt. Winding along a quiet stretch of San Pablo Dam Road into Richmond, my thoughts were focused on a little flame-point Siamese that had just been rescued from the wild. If she proved tame enough, I would take her home to be part of our family.

She wasn’t. The little white and orange kitty cowered in the corner of her cage as the gentle foster mom approached her. “This one needs a little more work,” said the lady from the Feral Cat Foundation. “But I know a woman with Hopalong Animal Rescue who just got a gorgeous little Tonganese kitty.”

We climbed in the car and drove to a place where animals roamed in several rooms of a house. There I found the perfect pet, with a sable coat, Siamese mask and emerald eyes. If Tonka had been abused or abandoned, you wouldn’t know it. She purrs like a finely tuned engine. And if most cats seem arrogant and aloof, rescued cats are grateful, almost indebted to you for your act of kindness.

So it’s Tonka, me and the rest of the family now. Each with our own personality and story to tell. And because she’s Siamese, believe me, she’ll be talking.

See Spot run

See Spot jump. See Spot hump your friend’s leg and keep your neighbors up all night with his barking. This is what many folks face as they try to train the family hound. Because they’re such social animals, dogs do naughty things when they’re left alone for too many hours each day.

That’s where the Oakland SPCA comes in, sending a dog trainer to your house to work with your pooch. At $75 dollars an hour, a goldfish is looking better and better.

‘Round and ’round

If life seems like one big merry go ’round, you might as well flaunt it. On the auction block this weekend at Harvey Clar Auction Gallery on Telegraph Avenue is a 107-year-old carousel. The company’s Jane Alexiadis says the bidding will probably start around $20,000. “That’s $1,000 per horse, and it doesn’t even take into account that there’s a whole carousel attached to it,” she says.

What do you do with a merry go ’round? The last owner, the guy who fully restored it, took it to county fairs and shopping malls — making a pretty penny. And if you really want to penny pinch, it has a hand crank so you don’t even have to run the motor.

Mailbag

N. Davis has a beef with the Jack London Theaters, which are being renovated right now. He says he and his wife got burned when they checked the Sunday paper and made plans around the advertised movie schedule. “Much to our surprise, we arrived to find they were only showing four films, not the published nine,” he writes, adding there were a lot of disappointed patrons. It might be a good idea to call before heading over there.

Steppin’ out

A couple of things are coming up that readers want me to point out: one is the Rita Coolidge concert at the Paramount Theatre on Friday, Sept. 27. I’ve always liked her, and this is a benefit for the Native American Health Center in Oakland. You can call 510-535-4487 for more information on the Strong Medicine Concert. Then on Sunday, Sept. 29, the Oakland Fund for the Arts has its big garden party. There’ll be live jazz and fine wines at the home of Jaleh and George Bisharat, a Piedmont couple with a garden that’s to die for. Log on to http://www.oaklandfundforthearts.org for more on this event.

Village rip-off

Who stole three banners advertising last weekend’s Family Flea Market in Montclair — and why would they do it? Lions Club member Richard Jue says the banners disappeared shortly after they went up along Moraga Avenue, leaving just one of the expensive vinyl signs to advertise the big annual event at Montclair Park. Still, they had a good turnout — making about $2,000 for Oakland Blind Center.

Speech, speech!

Once again, Gary Wong is the toast of the town. The Movie Express owner, who does so much for Montclair, has started a toastmasters group at the Oakland Blind Center.

How is it going over? Reader Rita Schnaidt says there are over 40 members in the group already, and they take turns with public speaking each Friday during lunch.

Shopping secret

Hills hairstylist Tommy Kohl has an eye for fashion and an unusual knack for finding bargains. His secret? He shops at the Goodwill Store in San Leandro. It’s not for every taste, but Tommy finds some incredible deals there, like the top he was wearing last week. A living memorial to the Sept. 11 anniversary, his silky blue shirt had the skyline of New York emblazoned across the front — Twin Towers and all.

I put up my Halloween decorations today. Something in the air told me it’s time. Maybe it was my neighbor’s Japanese maple, suddenly ablaze with color. Or the aspens at Lake Tahoe, throwing gold and silver casts from their shimmering leaves.

In Half Moon Bay and Brentwood, the pumpkins are getting round and ripe on their winding green vines, and you can smell the apple crisp in the local cafes. Fall is in the air, and I’m ready for the change. Break out the flannel jammies and bring on the comfort foods!

Park graffiti

Let’s scribble gang signs and graffiti all over Montclair Park. That’s the message we’re sending to taggers every day we wait to clean up the side of the restrooms near the park’s ballfield. It’s been several weeks since the building was vandalized with spray paint — covering what was left of the duck mural painted by local artist Dan Fontes.

Therein lies the problem. Fontes is suing the city over the last graffiti cleanup, a botched job where workers completely painted over his beloved mural. This time the offending scribble is much worse — and word is there’ll be no clean-up until the suit is settled.

Healing with music

Everyone has his or her own way of coping with the memories of last Sept. 11. At Corpus Christi School on Park Boulevard, there’ll be a special morning mass with school ending early at 12:30 p.m.

Another prominent East Bay church, the one with the big cross on the hill in Castro Valley, is hosting an evening of music. That’s where I’ll be — listening to songs that were written to lift the spirit and soothe the soul. The concert, “An American Requiem,” starts at 8 p.m. at the Neighborhood Church, 20600 John Drive. For directions and information, call 510-537-4690.

Grand gardens

Californians love a good garden, and eight exceptional gardens are being featured in Redwood Heights at the end of the month. Reader Jim Hodgkins says this neighborhood of interesting homes, built from the 1920s through the 50s, has the oldest voluntary homeowner’s association in Oakland. The proceeds from the garden tour go toward neighborhood improvements; for more information, call Jim at 510-637-0356.

Ah, the spa

This gives a whole new meaning to the term “getting stoned.” Hot and cold rock massages are the trendy new spa treatment these days, and you don’t have to travel far to get one.

The Lafayette Park Hotel opens its new spa this month with La Stone Therapy, one of just 100 resorts worldwide with this treatment. Not only do you get a deeper massage with stones, the hot and cold gives pure pleasure to your aching muscles. If you ask me, it beats the traditional massage — hands down!

Skin deep

Stranger than any science fiction film, the IMAX film “The Human Body” at Chabot Space and Science Center is simply amazing. For 43 minutes, you take one strange ride through your inner organs in stunning and graphic detail. See the sludge of a morning breakfast plop into a human stomach and go through digestion. Follow the 100-mile odyssey of a red blood cell through a tangled network of veins, arteries and capillaries. Every school kid should see this film. Even if the reaction is “Oooooh, that’s nasty!” (At least you know they’re paying attention.)

Strange sleepover

A parking lot pajama party didn’t have many takers at Montclair’s Albertsons last week. It was a radio station promotion offering a free Rolling Stones concert ticket to anyone who spent the night in the grocery store’s upper lot. The faithful few like Julie Miller and Rosalie Masada had a great time bedding down with some rather strange bedfellows, I’m sure. And a broken night’s sleep is a small price to pay for a Rolling Stones ticket. But the rest of us boomers? We were busy trying to get the kids to sleep, on the eve of the second day of school in Oakland.

Hot stuff

From the “Thanks for the Warning” file comes this tidbit: A sign warning walkers near the Chabot Space and Science Center that there are meadow muffins on the trail. Editor J. Levaux almost stepped in the pile of fresh horse manure marked only by a sign that said “hot.”

License plate sighting

D. Withers recently spotted these plates on a car in Montclair: QN MRY. No, the car was not one of those big “boats” that seniors sometimes drive but, rather, a lovely sea green Saturn — registered, he guesses, to a driver named Mary.

It’s good to be back home again. Two weeks in the scorching Minnesota heat and I nearly kissed the ground when I landed in San Francisco. “It’s 70 degrees in the city by the bay” the Northwest Airlines pilot announced as he taxied the runway in Minneapolis. Beads of perspiration formed on my brow as I sat, elbow to elbow with my fellow passengers in a space so small – I envisioned the jaws of life being used to extricate me. “Some people pay big money to sit in this kind of heat” my seat mate laughed. That may be true, but I’m usually in the buff in a sauna like this.

Now that I’ve cooled off and can think clearly – I have a little slice of Americana to share with you. It’s a trip to the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota, where I picked up plenty of “tidbits” for my column.

I know what you’re thinking. Do they still make that stuff? Well, not only do they still make it, 435 cans per minute come off the Hormel assembly line and are shipped worldwide! At the SPAM museum, we learned how to slice it, dice it and broil it with ease. Soak it in cognac and whip it with cheese. We listened to jingles and laughed at the jokes, and watched Monty Python serve SPAM up with yolks. We learned the importance of SPAM in the war, how it fed U-S soldiers, our allies and more. This spicy canned ham, this much maligned meat, at least here in Austin – is still quite a treat. And if this isn’t enough to get you to visit, just ask John Madden, who hails from Hormel country and returned home, recently. As a child, his mother would say “John, wake up and smell the bacon.” And all over town – you still can.

Lick this

Just when I was pushing to “stamp out” unsolicited mail, I get this: A strip of 3 cent stamps in a mass mailing from Montclair realtor Rosie Nysaether. I’ve seen calenders, energy saving tips and even maps of the park district in agent’s mailings – but nothing to match the marketing genius of stamps coming just as the price of first class postage goes up to 37 cents. Way to go, Rosie!

Housing news

Huge million dollar homes are springing up all around us – some on steep lots the size of a postage stamp. But in East Oakland, the local firm Mikiten Architecture is making the most of the land in a tough, Bancroft Avenue neighborhood. 61 HUD apartments are going up for very low income seniors. From what I can tell, this complex is a breath of fresh air with a sunny courtyard and rose garden. It’s both neighborly and secure – and the designers should be applauded for their efforts.

Wet and wild

Waterskiing in Berkeley? 15 kids are learning to ski this week at Aquatic Park. That strip of salty bay water along Interstate 80 is a great place to practice a sport that only delta kids take for granted. The 3 day camp is offered for $20 each summer by the City of Berkeley, with the volunteer help of the Berkeley and Marin Waterski clubs. First timers get up with the help of a boom (a metal pole that extends from the side of the boat) and get tips on everything from crossing a wake to slalom skiing. Sign ups are in April and you can call Berkeley Park and Rec. for more information at 644-8623.

Business book

Montclair Village goes “uptown” with its slick new Village Guide coming out this fall. The 16 page color directory lists all the businesses in Montclair and the nearby Village Square and will go out to 100,000 shoppers from the Oakland hills to Berkeley, Alameda and La Morinda. The directory idea is nothing new – but this year the budget for it is about $40,000 fatter, thanks to cash from the newly formed business improvement district in Montclair. Michael Silverman says he still has ad space and you can reach him at 339-8152 by July 19th if you’re interested.

Where’s the wheel?

he wheel of fortune that raised so much cash for disadvantaged kids last summer at the Montclair Noah’s Bagels – is strangely quiet. Several weeks ago the manager was told to get the wheel off the sidewalk, because it was in violation of the city’s C 27 zoning ordinance for the village. The ordinance says you need a permit (costly at about $1200) to put objects on the sidewalk. The Montclair village Association is pushing for revisions but that may take some time. Meanwhile – the wheel is still a good deal (3 spins for a $5 donation and a winner every time) – but you have to go inside to play.

How hot was it?

It was so hot earlier this week, that smoke from a barbecue grill brought more than a half dozen firefighters running to The Hills Swim Club Sunday night. Three engines pulled up outside the Manzanita drive club as nervous crews jumped out to check the fumes. You think they were embarrassed – imagine the guy grilling. It reminds me of that old horror movie “Burnt Offerings.”

Living in the hills, this may come as a surprise to you: I am a girl of the prairie. Born in Eureka, S.D., my ancestors are the farmers who helped turn this land into the wheat capital of the world in the late 1800s.

Today, like many prairie towns, Eureka fights to survive — to generate new blood in an aging population .

I went to Eureka with my daughter this week to show Kara life in a small town and the spiritual connection between the people and the land. It turns out, Eureka’s most famous citizen had the same idea.

Allen Neuharth, founder of USA Today, has moved back here, to the place where he lived until fifth grade. Now 77, Neuharth has purchased his childhood home and the house next door, giving a huge boost in ego (not to mention population) to this tranquil town.

The newspaper mogul and his wife have adopted six young children and want them to experience small-town life in the same way I want my daughter to see it. So they’re coming each summer to swim in the lake, play in the park and, on special occasions, eat at the town’s hot spot — the Luncheonette. Even the menu reflects a rebirth in spirit. The Friday special is now seafood chowder and enchiladas.

Windmill power

Spending the last two weeks in farm country, I’ve seen hundreds of windmills, but none as spectacular as the 200-year-old windmills in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Thankfully, after years of decay, the first steps are being taken this week to save these civic treasures.

Oakland architect Cindy Sterry is part of the restoration project that involves sending the South Windmill’s 40-ton dome to the Netherlands for repair. To see the windmills operating in a colorful Dutch garden with an education center and trails is a grand vision indeed — and a group of people are making it happen. Just one more reason to celebrate life in the Bay Area.

On another note

Thanks to civic leader Ann Wodell for reminding me that the Oakland Municipal Band starts its 91st season of summer concerts on July 14 at the bandstand in Lakeside Park. These are fun, free, old-fashioned concerts the whole family can enjoy while stretching out on a blanket each Sunday afternoon through Aug. 11. Add to that a special Fourth of July concert at the bandshell (1 p.m.), and you have the makings for an all-American celebration. Organizers say flag waving is encouraged.

Getting around

When you’re no longer content to tool around town in a car, see Steve Steinberg. This local guy is “pushing” a new kind of vehicle: the XKate Powerboard motorized skateboard. With a handheld throttle and brakes, this baby can go up to 22 miles per hour. Steve says Olympic skier Johnny Mosely has been riding a board like this across the Golden Gate Bridge from Sausalito to San Francisco. You can be the first one on your block to have one; they’ll be available this fall for just under $600.

Human error

Everyone makes mistakes. But when a columnist makes one, it gets plenty of attention. David and Kelli Bordessa tell me they were quite surprised to read, last week, that they were moving their business, Montclair Fitness. What I meant to write was that Fitness Connection of Montclair was moving (next to Rite Aid). Meanwhile, Montclair Fitness is doing quite well in its location, two doors down from Wells Fargo Bank. That’s especially good news for one of the gym’s clients, who still works out at the age of 85.

E-mail bag

Here’s proof that one person can make a difference. Reader Jill Ellis is working to educate the public on the issue of newborn hearing loss. Turning a deaf ear to this problem, not one hospital in Alameda County screens healthy newborns for hearing problems, she says. Early detection could mean a baby as young as 6 months could be outfitted with hearing aids and given special education. To help, Ellis has founded the Center for the Education of the Infant Deaf. For more information, look on the Web at http://www.ceid.org.

Fun fair

I’ve been to my share of fairs, and the Alameda County Fair gets the blue ribbon. Go through the gates and head straight to the garden exhibits, where the waterfalls and lush landscape offer a cool oasis from the searing heat. The 4H building is another favorite, where a buck gets you a piece of homemade cake or pie. Then top off the day with the free 6 p.m. concert in the outdoor amphitheater. Two Bay Area favorites play the fair this year — Tower of Power (tonight) and father-daughter combo Pete Escovedo and Sheila E (July 7). An East Bay institution for 90 years, the Alameda County Fair is one of the best summertime deals around.