On Saturday, a new kind of festival will make its debut in Napa’s Skyline Wilderness Park.

Rita Moreno doesn’t have time to think about getting old. She’s too busy.

Di Rose Preserve Arts and Nature hosts its First Friday gathering Sept. 7, 7-10 p.m., in the Gatehouse Gallery overlooking Winery Lake. From sunset to starlight,  bring friends to enjoy cocktails, the “3x3” exhibit and music by DJs El Guapo and Pascal.

How long, after the death of a spouse, should one wait before returning to the dating world? And whose business is it to decide that, anyway?

In midlife, it’s common to find yourself standing in the kitchen, with no idea of what you’re doing there. You lose track of the names of books and the titles of movies — and sometimes, of the name of the person standing squarely in front of you. Are you lazy? Self-absorbed?  Probably not:

Education

The theme for September at the Center for Spiritual Living is “Opening Doors.” Services are held on Sundays at 9 and 10:30 a.m., with a youth program following at 10:30 a.m. Choir practice follows the 10:30 service. Classes begin Sept. 11. The following classes will be offered, foundations, self mastery and exploring the roots of science of mind. The center also features a men’s group that meets every other Wednesday at 7 p.m., and a writers’ group that meets the third Monday of every month at 7 p.m.

Ben and Debbie Vigil of Napa sent in this photo of their flourishing tomato garden.

I was fairly sure eating lunch with Cheryl Forberg would be a hair-raising ordeal, even though I was the one who had instigated it. After all, I really, really wanted Forberg to write for the Register, and the ritual of persuading a writer to contemplate contributing to our food or wine pages usually involves sitting down to a leisurely lunch, savoring several courses, sipping wine and maybe splitting dessert and wrapping it all up with a jolt of caffeine to enable one to go back to the office and edit things with some degree of intelligence.

So this was the year you finally got yourself organized enough to plant some herbs, and now the garden is bursting with fragrant greens and blossoms. Now what?

The menu boasts heirloom tomatoes,shelling beans, figs, roasted asparagus, artichokes, basil, summer vegetables of every stripe and peaches, peaches and more peaches.

Napa resident Dennis Martin is a big picture thinker. Actually, he thinks globally. He co-founded and is president of the non-profit organization Carpenters Without Borders.

In a lecture earlier this year updating information about Sudden Oak Death, University of California researcher Matteo Garbelotto said the disease has not slowed down — it is increasing within infested areas.

Everyone is talking about the “green” wave: green building, green energy and green everything else. Around my house we call it greenspeak. Like any other language, greenspeak has its own vocabulary.

Every year around this time, destructive wildfires are burning out of control in western states, once again highlighting facts that we would prefer to ignore.

QUEEN OF THE VALLEY

AQUIRRE — Norma vs. Jimmy, Aug. 24, 2007

Nickname: None

Nickname: Lily

Making tacos began as a hobby for Pablo Chavez.

As the wine business in California has grown, so have all the industries that supply the nearly 2,300 bonded wineries and the hundreds of virtual wineries in the state.

“No matter how you feel about the war (in Iraq), it’s about the kids.”

Sweltering temperatures have hastened the harvesting of the more sensitive varietals. Reds are still maturing, but should be ready for picking in the next few weeks. Overall, quality is excellent, but quantity is below average.

So, you hear that a winery whose zins are known and enjoyed the world over is having an open house — something tit only does once a year — and suddenly it makes sense to pencil a visit to the Storybook Mountain Vineyards onto your “to-do” list.

Cheese pro Janet Fletcher will be at Chimney Rock Winery Saturday, Sept. 8, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to sign copies of her newest book, “Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing and Enjoying”.