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!