JANUARY 2012
Toast to 2012 Wine, cupcakes & community events (pg. 8 )
Life NORTH
Rodeo District 7 rodeo, cutting events and equine events galore (pg. 10 )
COUNTY
The silver lining: Bits of Silver shimmer & shine
F OOD
Traditional bits, spurs, stirrups with a silver and gold twist Jandy Jones
t 70-years-old, Gordon Hayes has lived a full life and it is getting better with time. He and his wife Colleen own and operate Bits of Silver. The company specializes in custom bits, spurs, stirrups and much more. The pieces are completely crafted by hand and engraved by Hayes. Pieces have been sent all over the world to all types of people and Hayes is humbled by it. SILVER pg. 13
A
Sip light with the perfect grub (pg. 2, 13)
Photo by Jandy Jones
SPARKLY SPURS – Spurs crafted by local business
Bits of Silver. From the exquisit body to the sterling silver detailing, these spurs mix personality, functionality and a shot of cowgirl glam.
FEATURE
Creston author pens bittersweet memoir North County Life
I Courtesy photos
Creston resident Nieves Villamin was inspired to write her first book, “Bittermelons and Mimoasas” after interacting with Cal Poly students and feeling a need to tell the story of how she sought and fought for the American dream.
t’s an inspiring all-American story, and Nieves Catahan Villamin, a former Cal Poly Campus Dining employee and advisor of the Filipino Cultural Exchange club, has written it all down. The Creston local recently published her book, “Bittermelons and Mimosas, a Philippine memoir.” It’s an inspiring account of her life and her journey to America, the land of opportunity. Villamin was inspired to write the book after interacting with students on-campus and seeing the need for a book that tells the story of how one woman sought the American dream. A resident of Creston, Villamin and her husband, Danny, are currently the owners and operators of the small-lot vineyard Eden Canyon. Throughout the book, readers are invited to get a glimpse of the inner workings of a native Filipino family, its struggles, though bitter, and joys, of the sweet kind. The feeling was exactly that – bitter and sweet – said Villamin, when she looks back on her past. "I was thinking about my childhood; we were poor, which was kind of bitter, but because I was around my family all of the time it was bittersweet," Villamin said. Top it all off with a mimosa, and the book title sprang forth. Villamin labored as a farmer and toiled under the harsh conditions that surrounded farming life in the Philippines, a place where tenant farmers were much at the whim of nature. But she strived for something different, an education that would set the path for her future. Villamin strived to get a degree in accounting at the Technological Institute of the Philippines. She later immigrated to the United States to become a farmer again with her husband where she helps manage a local winery. The rich tapestry of works speaking to the Filipinno culture is as much a story about culture and the American Dream as it is an uncensored view at what life was like for early Philipinno immigrants.
Outdoor fun get out there! (pg. 6)
SPORTS
Soccer victory youth make history (pg. 15)
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