Up to her elbows in mounds of washed lettuce and spinach in the parish hall kitchen, Lizzie Christopher assembled large bowls of mixed salad garnished with carrot peels and dotted with sliced radishes. The parish hall would be one of many event spaces serving dinner to the townspeople on First Night, or New Year’s Eve, before the evening concerts, one-act plays, and fireworks.
As frost and fog envelop the Central Valley in the ghostly shroud of winter, thoughts drift inward to the warmth of family, home, and the holidays. But as the Christmas tree is lit and the New Year rung in with loved ones, the season’s longest, darkest nights recall a time when ghost stories and spooky soirees were the otherworldly order of the day.
Libby and Bernie A Little Taste of Heaven. It started mostly as a bakery, but now they also provide take-home dinners and more. That should keep them busy enough, but Bernie has been in contact with relatives they haven’t spoken to in many years. There was an incident, well, two really, of borrowed cars being wrecked. Several incidents of money borrowed but never repaid. That side of the family thrives on chaos and drama.
Lorraine’s head pounded to the beat of the blaring music. What a way to end this horrible year. How had Patsy Duggar convinced her to come to the New Year’s Eve party at Izzie’s? She felt as out of place in the local bar as she would on Mars. Now, she was hiding in the dirty bathroom—how embarrassing! The champagne she drank earlier made the tile floor swirl; the motion, coupled with the wine, made her queasy.
Do not panic KRL has not disappeared we are just on our first ever end of year vacation! We will be back with a full issue again on January 6, 2018 and there will still be some midweek articles before that. In the meantime, this is the perfect time to catch up on any articles you may have missed!
On New Year’s Eve, Lizzie Christopher and Nick Cameron walked up the front walkway of the historic Cooper farmhouse. White lights outlined the tree branches, and a wreath decorated with silver ornaments and blue organza ribbons hung on the front door. “Blue for the new year,” Lizzie said. “My shop staff outdid themselves helping Christina select furniture and draperies for her old family home. I can’t wait to show you how well it turned out.”
Enjoy some wine related mysteries for your New Year's Eve reading-Full Bodied Murder: A Rose Avenue Wine Club Mystery by Christine E. Blum, The Vineyard Victims: A Wine Country Mystery by Ellen Crosby, and A Case of Syrah, Syrah: A Wine Country Mystery by Nancy Parra.
Drawing on a diverse array of music genres for inspiration, Lance Rodriguez began his musical journey at the age of eleven, and has been singing and playing guitar ever since. Kings River Life caught up with the Clovis native to discuss musical muses and the power of performance.
“Don’t ask!” I scream at the radio when that song is played for about the tenth time today.
It’s about 8 p.m. New Year’s Eve and I’m up to my elbows in dirty water, fixing the industrial sink at Carl’s Car Repair Shop. I give the radio a dirty look.
His headlights picked up the pendular sway of her long blonde hair; otherwise he might not have seen her at all. And even as he braked hard and swerved, he had the sinking feeling he would hit her. Throughout, she remained motionless, watching as he skidded toward her as if waiting for the blow, expecting it even.
