My mother was a resident at this facility in November of last year, where she ultimately passed…read moreaway due to dementia and other serious health conditions. During her stay, the quality of care was inconsistent. While a few nurses went above and beyond in caring for my mother, and for that my family is truly grateful, many others appeared unwilling to do more than the bare minimum required of their job duties. Thankfully, my siblings and I were able to step in and help fill the gaps in care that we felt were lacking. Toward the end of my mother's life, there were times when it felt as though she was being ignored rather than compassionately cared for. What was most upsetting was the way our family was treated after my mother passed away. We were not given adequate time, privacy, or respect to grieve before her body was removed from the facility. That experience added unnecessary pain to an already heartbreaking moment for our family. In addition, Deborah, the Director of the facility, was consistently rude, unprofessional, and argumentative in our interactions with her. There was also an incident involving another patient, where decisions were made before the full situation was properly investigated, resulting in my mother being moved to another side of the facility. Based on my family's experience, I would not recommend this facility to others seeking compassionate and respectful care for their loved ones.

I was quite cautious about having my mother go to Napa Valley Care Center after she fell and broke…read moreher pelvis because one of the recent State surveys was not glowing. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. While I always think it is important to have family advocates visiting and interceding for their family members, I found the staff attentive in a myriad of ways. Even though, this is a large facility, all the nursing staff seemed aware of my mother's fears, issues and likes and dislikes and were quite helpful. They genuinely seemed to appreciate her sweet personality. The physical therapy and occupational therapy department worked well with her and got her up to speed quickly. The facility itself has been recently remodeled and is pleasant to the eye. The facility did not smell like a "nursing home". The nursing aids were friendly although pulling extra shifts, due to being short staffed. The social worker and the head of nursing were very approachable. I think the recreational/dining area could use some work, and the food was often on the cold side, but my mother always ate everything and seemed to like it. All and all, my mother healed quickly and was not traumatized by being away from home during the Christmas holidays for a solid month. My family will be forever grateful to Napa Valley Care Center.

In honor of Earth Day, I decided to revisit some of my favorite thrift shops…read more You don't really know a thrift shop unless you visit it multiple times. With each visit, if you find irresistible temptation, the shop has your number and you should run away as fast as possible, while yelping loudly and quickly so that temptation goes away faster. This is exactly what happened to me over three visits. With each visit I had to resist temptation in my favorite collectible areas. The kitchen area threw fabulous cast-iron pans at me. I don't need more cast-iron pans. But these were in such pristine condition. A quick cleanup, a touch of seasoning and they would be good to go. And some of these were clearly vintage pieces. I have a serious weakness for collectible cast-iron, but I literally have no space for hobbies like this. But wait, that was not the end of it. I ran into what looked like an absolutely pristine clay pot. Thank goodness I've run out of space in my kitchen. I just purchased a clay pot for $45. This five dollar clay pot was just killing me, but I had to walk by it. Onward to the clothing section. 100% silk from brands that I would love to be able to afford in department stores. This one with French cuffs where I finally get to use my collection of cufflinks. Ahhh...! Then I was looking for UV protective clothing, which seemed like an odd item except that I kept finding items in almost every category. The only way I was able to resist even more temptation was to skip entire sections. Then there was the furniture section. The first visit, I was tempted by an antique sewing machine. As irresistible as this was, it was so impractical and space thirsty that I was mostly intrigued, but was able to walk by it. This visit was ridiculous. There was this beautiful little adjustable side table. It folded up neatly but could expand to become twice as useful. It was only 10 bucks. Thank goodness it didn't fit in my car. Because it wouldn't fit in my place. The bike looked promising. Alas it was 50 bucks and it needed new tires. Nah. Too much work. I took the time to check out the books thoroughly instead of my usual just skipped to the cooking and gardening sections. There were quite the handful of interesting looking books for a mere two dollars for the hardcovers. Now, my book storage at home has reached earthquake, dangerous levels. I was able to escape temptation by quickly checking my online library and locating electronic versions. Whew! Save by my Earth Day library efforts. Checking out the electronics, I managed to put off backup items from the last visit. Vacillating, I decided to revisit this section. Thank goodness, clearly the store is hopping because the items that I had in mind were just plain gone. Whew! All in all, this thrift has risen in my opinion to dangerously tempting and useful status. It's one of those thrifts where frequent visits are worth it because the inventory changes relatively frequently.

This place is making big money for personal gain. Such a greedy store they do nothing for there…read morenonprofit like they say they do. They will not even allow you to try clothes on and no returns while charging way to much for donated clothing. They need to have a audit for sure..

Rafael (one of the owners) was very personable. I'm sure it helped because I was the only one there…read morebut only because it was early in the morning. I got a honey latte with oat milk. The temperature was perfect. The flavoring was also good. It was nice to support a local coffee spot. I highly recommend the Hero Cafe for a cup of coffee. It is off the beaten path, but not there far off the main road. Give it a try.

It's so beautiful too see young people doing something for the better good of our community. A non…read moreprofit coffee trailer!!!! AND the coffees yummy and the guys are soooo nice and friendly! Thanks hero's!!!!!

We received our dream dog from the Napa County Animal Shelter. You must be patient. I would…read moreperiodically go there. The rules are simple you visit the shelter, you see a dog or cat that you interested in, you put in an application only for that particular animal. You have a meet and greet with put a deposit down. They will contact you once you are approved. Our dog is already chipped and neutered and they sent us away with a little food and a free veterinarian exam. So we have an appointment to establish a local veterinarian. The place is well run, the staff is nice, and the animals are well cared for. I would recommend checking them out. They have stat sheets on all the animals.

I AM CALLING ALL ANIMAL LOVERS!!!!! PLEASE ADOPT THESE ANIMALS AND HELP YOUR COMMUNITY! The service…read moreis great and super nice. I got my cats from this shelter and they are the best but please get them tested for everything as soon as you get them especially for serious conditions like cancer, Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) (Which can lead to FIP I won't get too much into it (because you can do your own research which please do). Anyways please give these animals there forever home. This is a child ( girl) as seen in photos

Working as a caregiver for Home Helpers Home Care has been wonderful. I love the team work. All the…read moreother caregivers I work with are great, I have worked for other agencies and NONE of them being as fun, helpful, respectful as Home Helpers of Napa. What I really like is that you are not thrown around to different people. If you are assigned to a person you are with that person, and you are always teamed up with another caregiver as an back up for you. Their are so many great things about working with Home Helpers Home Care. The Owner Serafina is great personable and caring person..

The head of the Napa office texted my brother condolances before I had the chance to call him…read moremyself. I find this very unprofessional.

In honor of Earth Day, I decided to visit this library. I've been meaning to do this for almost a…read moreyear. I've seen some libraries with some great library of things. Useful items that you usually you only use once or twice. Borrowing instead of buying makes so much sense. But this library things just blew me away with its extensive collection. Pickleball? Sewing machine? Weights for weightlifting? Cookie cutters? They got it. They have day passes for state parks, museums, theaters... You don't need your own fax machine or your own printer. If you're computing needs are light, just come to the library and use their computers. The fees are so much more reasonable than buying equipment that becomes obsolete in 3 to 5 years. This particular library seems to have a fairly large collection of physical books. Of course, I zoomed straight for the cookbook and the gardening books. They have a great selection of cookbooks. I have collected cookbooks in the past. I got up to 65 before I realized: my shelves were about to collapse. I was only using each cookbook at best 3 to 5 recipes. This is when you realize you have got to clean house and use the library instead. But don't limit yourself to the physical books, remember to check the electronic resources. As far as I know, you have access to many libraries in the California system. I have memberships to many of the towns and cities where I have resided, and they have never canceled my electronic memberships. So I have access to at least three major systems. And it's a good thing I have access to online resources because by the time I picked up all the Cook books I knew I had reached my physical limits and it was time to stop. I was sucked in by the gift shop. This particular section had even more outré books. I picked up a book for fountain pen collectors, and I was about to buy a classic book from Harold McGee when I realized it was available online. Thank goodness. This was a bit too much weightlifting for me. A friend of mine once suggested a wonderful gift. For anyone who's into books, go to the library and pick out a selection of books that you would recommend highly. Your friend gets to read some great books without dealing with the space requirements. And if they don't like it, it's easy to get rid of them. Happy earth day! Here's to enriching your life without cluttering it.

This library is an incredible community space that offers so much more than books. It is not always…read morecompletely quiet, but that is part of what makes it special. The library feels alive, welcoming and social, with people learning, collaborating and participating in events throughout the day. There's a wide range of resources available and the staff is amazing. Everyone I have interacted with has been kind, patient and eager to help. I am especially thankful to one staff member, whose name I will add when I remember it, who assisted me in the Memory Lab. With her help I was able to digitize 30 year old VHS tapes of my grandparents who have since passed away. The events, tools and services offered here are truly impressive and accessible to the public. From technology assistance to creative programs the library goes above and beyond to serve its community. I am incredibly grateful for the resources they provide and for the caring staff who make this library such a meaningful place.

It was a joy for our family and friends to have Shay and her LEGO empire at our son's 5th birthday…read moreparty. Time flew and kids of all ages had fun. 10 times better than a jumpy house party for sure!

Shay brought her legos for my son's sixth birthday and it did not disappoint! Kids ranged in age…read morefrom four to fourteen (or fifty) and everyone had a great time.

Free parking and a short hike up a hill will get you a chance to check out this cool statue of the…read moremechanics behind making wine. You'll probably need to head on the grass to get the best snapshots. Plan for tenish minutes if you hit a crowd, otherwise, its a quick fly-by.

Meet the Grape Crusher…read more Many, many years ago, my Girl Scout troop helped at a family vineyard in Florida. Wow. That gave me a lot of respect for all of the labor that goes into harvesting and crushing grapes. The Grape Crusher pays homage to all those who labored to make Napa Valley what it is today. This monumental sculpture is visible from the highway, but you can exit to take a closer look. The vineyard worker wears a wide brimmed hat. He has both hands gripping the handle of the press and one foot braced against the basket. (We were also sweating, but that was because it reached 104 F on a very unseasonably hot day in October... so bonus...we had the park to ourselves.) Beautiful scenic views from the park. Free parking available with an easy inclined paved walkway to the statue. Worth a short stop for a quick photo op.