Apple Pie

Daughter L made this apple pie based on Gloria's recipe at my request. It has a buttery shortbread kind of crust which she found difficult to work with but she improvised with the top crust and it was a delicious pie! It was a seemingly simple recipe but then again, I am not a pastry maker!

Paint Party Friday - The Silver Shoe

Welcome to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday! This piece is called 'The Silver Shoe'. I saw this pretty shoe on a shelf in a store at the mall and took a photo of it. Then I painted it for you in silver acrylic and permanent markers on red cardstock (6" x 6"). The outlines are done with a black PITT waterproof artist pen.

This photo below may show more of the shimmer than the above scan.

Daughter's trip to Italy - Part 5

Here is the final post for daughter L's Italy trip.

Adam had been concerned about visiting a country where they might not speak English.  L said English was not a problem in Florence, however in the small towns it would be more of a problem.  However the people in the small towns are incredibly courteous and friendly.  They remember asking for directions to a restaurant in a small town, the man was just entering his house.  Well he got back into his car and told them to follow him, as he showed them the short way to the restaurant!

These are the items L brought home, the shopping, gifts, and souvenirs from Italy.

L had eaten this pasta dish at some point and loved it.

cooked pasta

So she decided to buy a pack of it to try at home.

pasta

At her cooking course in Italy, they used these long rolling pins and we thought it was a good idea to bring one home!  It may be difficult to get a board to match.  L also brought us some Italian coffee.

rolling pin and coffee

This soft almond biscotti was so delicious.

soft biscotti

Son K was thrilled with these authentic Ferrari driving gloves.

Ferrari gloves

I loved this little Tower of Pisa souvenir.

souvenir

And lastly, for your entertainment ( L only took a photo she did not bring this one home)!

penis pasta

Scribble Picnic - Radio

Welcome to Michael's Scribble Picnic. This week's theme is 'Radio'. I decided to draw my old boombox which I still use to play CDs.  It also has a radio and a cassette player built in.  My piece is done on heavy white paper (8 1/2" x 11") using my blendable permanent markers. I outlined my boombox with a fine point black marker. Do you remember these old boom boxes?.  The younger generation may not even know what a cassette player is!

Daughter's trip to Italy - Part 4

Continuing daughter L's trip to Italy, please see my parts 1 to 3 posts earlier.

It so happened that my sister and her husband from California would be arriving in Florence on vacation the day before L was leaving so it was fortuitous that they were able to meet for dinner that night.  My sister had gotten a fantastic restaurant recommendation from a friend and it did not disappoint.  The party of 5 were introduced to this tagliatelli dish that was flambed in a cheese wheel and topped with shaved truffles.  I've never had truffles myself but it is an expensive mushroom.  They had great conversation and it was so great to meetup with family in an exotic location.  Afterward they walked to a delicious gelato bar near their airbnb accommodations.

Stay tuned for part 5, the final post in this series!

Daughter's trip to Italy - Part 3

This post continues daughter L's recent trip to Italy from the previous days' posts.

The girls took an inexpensive tour which included a visit to the town of Pisa with the leaning tower one day.  L did not enjoy that crowded tour with 62 people stuffed into a bus.  They were shuttled from place to place with maybe an hour per stop and were exhausted.

Next they took a long day trip tour to Cinque Terre. It is pronounced 'chink-weh ter-reh' who knew? Here is a link which shows how it is pronounced. It is a string of 5 seaside towns. Although it was beautiful and included a delicious seafood meal, it was terribly crowded with tourists and they didn't enjoy that part.  L says they sat on a beach chair and a man approached them demanding 16 euros so they got up and were content to just dip their feet into the water for a bit.

seafood lunch

seafood lunch continued

Stay tuned for part 4!

Daughter's Trip to Italy - Part 2

This continues Daughter L's trip to Italy from yesterday's post.

L and her girlfriend had reserved an Airbnb 2 bedroom townhouse in central Florence for the week.  They were very happy with it being steps from the Duomo and all the major galleries.  There was also a  fantastic gelato ice cream bar nearby.

The girls downloaded Rick Steve's free audio tours of the galleries and sites they visited and said it added a wealth of information to their experience.  Here is Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Gallery.

David

Here is Botticelli's famous 'Birth of Venus' at the Uffizi Gallery:

Birth of Venus

Stay tuned for Part 3 tomorrow!

My daughter's trip to Italy

Daughter L went on a 2 week vacation to Italy recently with one of her very best girlfriends.  This girlfriend had suggested this trip as a part of her goal to do some of the things on her bucket list now rather than later, with life being so short and unpredictable.  They both are foodies and decided to do a one week cooking course at a resort outside of Bologna in the Tuscan hills.  They would spend their 2nd week in Florence doing sightseeing out of that city.  Both girls carefully planned their holiday in detail and it was a resounding success in large part because of that.  L shared her photos with me and I thought you would enjoy hearing about her experiences over my next few posts (as I did vicariously).

The girls rented a car to get to the cooking school/resort and to get around the small town outside of Bologna that week.  They were very happy with their accommodations which included a large swimming pool and beautiful mountain views.  They were provided with a traditional bolognese dinner at the start of the course:

traditional Bolognese dinner

On the first day of cooking the class of 5 made their own tagliatelli pasta using large rolling pins. Daughter L said the Italian recipes are all very simple. Pasta is made from just flour and egg, two ingredients.

tagliatelli

Here is their tagliatelli with the bolognese meat sauce they also made:

bolognese meat sauce

For dessert they baked a simple custard:

Simple Custard

On the 2nd day, they learned to fold and make these tortolonis:

Tortoloni

Here are the tortolonis with a simple sage/butter sauce:

Sage/butter sauce

They had made a couple of  friends, 2 girls of about the same age from the Netherlands.  They had all spent a day in Medieval Bologna on one of the free days, had dinners together most nights and all too soon it was time for L and her friend to say goodbye and return their rental car and depart for their week in Florence where they would not need a car.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this trip!

Paint Party Friday - Peeking Through

For Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday I did a piece on cardstock (4 1/2 x 6 1/2") using acrylic paint and permanent markers. It's a 'Peeking Through' piece using a photo I took as a reference.

Fall begins at 4.02 pm EST did you know?  In what is becoming a fall tradition, I swap out my summer artificial flowers with my fall ones, about 5 pieces.

Three Ducks

My sister who lives in Florida says these 3 ducks stayed under the back of her minivan during the hurricane. She thought that was so smart and funny. Her power was restored about a week after the hurricane.

Scribble Picnic - Watch Out!

Welcome to Michael's Scribble Picnic! This week's theme is 'Watch Out!' I thought of doing a 'Duck Crossing', my piece is done in acrylic on red cardstock (6" x 6").

A healthy snack

I was inspired to have a healthy snack the other day. I remembered I had a tub of plain Greek yogurt in the fridge and an old bag of dried cranberries so I came up with this :

Plain Greek yogurt with honey, salted pistachios and dried cranberries infused with pomegranate juice. The yogurt was silky smooth. The nuts and cranberries added a wonderful texture.  The honey contributed added sweetness as did the cranberries.

I should have this more often.  It is quite filling and that's a bonus.  Do you like Greek yogurt?

Fair Trade Soap

I have been buying this Alaffia fair trade 'Good Soap' with shea butter and coconut oil from Whole Foods. It seems to last twice as long as the commercial soaps. It also supports fair trade.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies the other day and was very happy with them.  Natalia's recipe  called for only 1/3 cup of sugar which is a good thing. I added a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the recipe, using brown sugar and unsalted butter. Wouldn't you know, I forgot to flatten the walnut sized balls before baking but maybe you don't have to, the cookies were crumbly and delicious. Unsalted butter makes a difference as opposed to margarine.

Coffee Talk

neighbourhood tree

Friend S and I were having coffee at McDonald's the other day. We sat next to an older lady who joined in on our conversation. We were talking about the merits of frugality and the lady thought it was good to be somewhere in the middle when it comes to all the saving. At some point you have to try to enjoy your money. She thought of her parents who were frugal due to growing up in wartime. She said they were surprised at how much money they left behind. Her dad just had a regular job at General Motors all his life.

The lady said she was 70 years old now, retired and trying to eat well although her weakness is sweets and muffins. She spoke of this fasting diet which has worked for her in the past but she isn't on it anymore. This diet recommends eating for 6 to 8 hours a day and after say 6 pm, you fast until the next day.

It was a pleasant conversation with a nice lady.

Paint Party Friday - Pear on the Sidewalk

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I did a 'pear on the sidewalk' using a photo I took as a reference. It is a greeting card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") using my permanent markers. It's a harbinger of fall.

Hope They Fit

 neighbourhood flowers

Some weeks ago I was in the lineup at the cash at Walmart. A young man stood behind me holding a lot of clothes. I couldn't resist asking if it was someone's birthday. He said no, in fact he was trying to buy some clothes for his wife. She was expecting their second child very soon and had nothing to wear, nothing fit and she was in no condition to shop for herself at the moment. He said in frustration that it was so difficult doing this kind of shopping and he was hoping some of the clothes would fit. He had no idea what she would like. I told him that kids grow up so fast and he should enjoy these moments. He agreed, already seeing how much the first child had grown in so little time. I wished him all the best before I had to move on.

Scribble Picnic - Black and White

Welcome to Scribble Picnic's 'Black and White' theme! My piece is done on heavy white paper
 (8 1/2" x 11") in blendable permanent marker and washi tape.  I have this one roll of washi tape that I've been using for years and it comes in handy from time to time!

Harbinger of Fall

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' turns pink in the fall and will darken in the coming months. It's a common plant around here and nice to see at this time of year.

One of my sisters lives in Miami, my 'travelling' sister, I will sometimes post her photos of exotic destinations she has visited.  They lost power during the storm but survived.  They have electricity from a generator but no cell or wifi.  The back fence of their house is gone, but the front fence is fine.  Apparently many trees in south Miami are down and the roads were blocked yesterday.  I hope the power can be restored soon.

On Goldenrod

Golden rod plants grow as weeds in North America. They are prized plants in
Europe and have become an invasive species in other parts of the world. The young leaves are edible. I took the photos above near a walkway where they were growing wild.

The gift of corn

I was outside weeding in the front yard the other day and a neighbour walked by. She is a Chinese grandma from across the street. The irony is that she can't be more than 5 or 10 years older than me and I am calling her a 'grandma' which she is. She often tells me (indicates to me) that she wishes she could speak English. She was carrying a bag of corn in one hand and offered it to me, perhaps for my 'hard work'. So I thanked her and accepted it. I noticed she had a knapsack behind her full of more corn. I wonder what I could offer her in return?

Surprising

I've had these 'lily of the valley' plants growing in my backyard for awhile. With all the rain this summer I noticed they bore these orange fruit. Then I did some research and discovered these are invasive poisonous plants. I was really surprised to learn this.

Paint Party Friday - Sunflower

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I have a sunflower for you today done on heavy white paper (5" x 7") with my permanent markers.

That fall time of year

I was walking on the weekend and came across this pear on the ground, which led to this pear tree further along the path. It's that fall time of year or at least it's really close.

I misplaced my house keys yesterday and ruined my morning as I couldn't stop worrying about it.  Usually I am careful where I place important things. They showed up later on in an unlikely spot and all was good again.

Scribble Picnic - Tie it Up

Welcome to Michael's Scribble Picnic. The theme this week is 'Tie It Up'.  I had the idea to hang one of my son's ties on a nearby chair and create this vignette for you.  His real tie was actually purple.  My piece is done on cardstock (4 1/2" x  6 1/2") coloured with permanent markers.  It will be interesting to see how the other participants interpreted this theme!

Salad substitution

All day breakfast at McDonald's restaurants has proven to be very popular here. Husband M discovered that he could substitute the hashbrown that comes with the Egg McMuffin meal for a salad for 20c extra. This is a good thing!  He chose the caesar dressing over the sweet balsamic dressing as he has to watch his sugar intake.  Do you go to McDonald's often?  They have a coupon booklet event on for the next month or so.

Chocolate favour

chocolate favour

Table arrangement

Daughter L went to a fancy wedding recently. They gave out these delicious chocolate favours from Succulent chocolates and sweets. It was hand painted and disappeared quickly.

L also brought home one of the wedding table arrangements for my enjoyment.