Art show at Canvas Ranch: On Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Canvas Ranch (755 Tomales Road, Petaluma) is hosting a casual open house celebrating the completion of artist Tim Schaible's new studio.


Schaible is a well-known painter with galleries in Sonoma, Carmel and Grand Cayman.

His wife, Deborah Walton, runs the farm and its community-supported agriculture program. Together, they have created an inviting oasis of creativity on the edge of Two Rock Valley.

During the open house, Schaible is offering a 50 percent sale on most of the paintings in his studio.

It's a great opportunity to visit a working farm and see the new lambs and earliest signs of spring.

Bonjour encore, Bistro Des Copains: The popular Occidental restaurant Bistro Des Copains (3782 Bohemian Highway) reopens tonight after a three-week vacation, during which time owners Michel Augsburger and Cluney Stagg, chef de cuisine Melissa Gonyea and Julia Kistzi, a server at the restaurant, visited Paris and some of the finest appellations in France, including Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Beaumes-de-Venise, Les Baux and Cassis.

The restaurant will host two wine dinners this month featuring regional French dishes inspired by the recent sojourn.

The first dinner is on Valentine's Day and the second, which will highlight the wines of Marimar Torres Family Vineyard, is Feb. 20.

For menu details and reservations, call 874-2436.

Mood music for your Valentine: The collection of rare vinyl continues to grow at Cafe Saint Rose (465 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa, 546-2459) as word of the tiny restaurant's record player spreads.

A customer recently dropped off a big collection of 78 RPM and 33« RPM records in pristine condition.

On Valentine's Day, chef and owner Mark Malicki is offering a prix fixe menu featuring Dungeness crab, lobster, potatoes, croquette of hen, black truffles, Comte souffle and more for $50.

There is no charge for the music, and if you have old vinyl that needs a home, it will have a lovely life here.

Dinner will be served from 5:30 until 10 p.m., and reservations are essential.

Here kitty, kitty: The 8th annual Paws for Love takes place Saturday night, as nearly 100 original works of art will be sold and auctioned to raise money to help Sonoma County animals in need.

Here's how it works: Artist Ellyn Jaques-Boone works with rescue dogs, cats and the occasional rabbit from local shelters to produce unique paintings, which are then beautifully framed.

The paintings are displayed at Finley Hall at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, where the fete takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday night.

Tickets to Paws for Love are $30 in advance and, if available, $40 at the door.

Willi's Wine Bar, Willi's Seafood & Raw Bar and Monti's Rotisserie & Bar will provide appetizers for the event. Dragonfly Cakes of San Francisco and Costeaux Bakery of Healdsburg are donating desserts.

Mark McDonald provides music for the evening.

For tickets by phone, call Greg Mortensen at 565-7116. For additional information, including ticket locations, visit www.pawsforlove.info. To see the artists in action, click on "art gallery."

And cat lovers, take note: Paintings by feline artists are at a premium -- if you've ever put your cat's paw into a dish of ink, as we confess we have, you understand why -- and often sell out before those by dogs. If you want a painting by a kitty, arrive on time and make your purchase early.

That pinot thing: This weekend, Benziger Family Winery (1883 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen) hosts Pinot Passion, with tastings of pinot noir at the winery's tasting room from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Featured wines include a preview of a 2005 pinot noir and the inaugural release of de Coelo vineyard, near Bodega Bay in the Sonoma Coast appellation. There will be barrel samples, as well.

At nearby Imagery Estate (14335 Highway 12, Glen Ellen), Benziger's sister winery, you can sample the 2006 Pinot Meunier Rosé, Interlude port and yummy little snacks.

Admission to both events is $15 ($10 for wine club members). Tickets can be purchased at either winery throughout the weekend.

Planning for the pig: With the Year of the Boar about a week away, it's a great time to visit an Asian market near you, even if the Lunar New Year has not been part of your family tradition.

It's never too late to learn about it.

The new Asia Gourmet Market and Gift Shop (4100 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa) has launched a colorful newsletter this month; you can stop by the store and sign up for it at the same time you shop for New Year's supplies, such as red envelopes and special candies.

If you're not sure what foods are traditional for the celebration, the pretty little market has recipes, ingredients, cooking utensils and, for the superstitious, Year of the Boar fortunes.

Asia Market is now carrying Hawaiian foods, too, including poi, lau lau, Aloha Shoyu, guava jam and everything you need to make poke.

Getting ready for Mardi Gras: Next Thursday, Santa Rosa-based writer and teacher Terri Pischoff Wuerthner hosts "Facts of Life in a Cajun Kitchen" at the Finley Community Center (2060 West College Ave., Santa Rosa).

The hands-on class will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. and includes instruction on how to prepare the single most important building block of Cajun cooking, roux. Students will learn how to make several types of roux -- from blonde to dark -- and use them to create traditional dishes such as chicken and andouille gumbo.

There will be Cajun music to inspire your cooking, and Wuerthner will offer suggestions for your own Mardi Gras fete, too.

Wuerthner's engaging book "In a Cajun Kitchen: Authentic Cajun Recipes and Stories from a Family Farm on the Bayou" was published last fall.

For more information about cooking and other classes at Finley Community Center, visit www.santarosarec.com. To sign up for classes online you must first register by calling the center at 543-3737.

Contact Michele Anna Jordan via e-mail at michele@

micheleannajordan.com.