A Family Dinner

I just love it when Auntie Irene and Uncle David come into town.

They have a favorite place to stay now~~The Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake.

The rooms are comfortable and luxurious. Everything I would want my family to experience when they come to visit. The staff welcomes them by their first names and treats them as family members that have been away for just awhile.

We had dinner in the Blue Wing Cafe tonight. Our waitress, Melanie, treated us as friends of the family returning for a casual family dinner. We had a delicious meal and just enjoyed being together, catching up on family news while watching the Giants and St. Louis on TV.

My Aunt Irene and I discussed the many traditions of growing up in an Italian family (I'm studying Cultural Anthropology) while the other members of the family cheered the Giants on through full mouths of ribs, calamari and salad.

After dinner, we toured the grounds and visited their room. Each room is tastefully decorated with the goal of comfort of each guest.

The dining room is set for breakfast just as if we were welcoming our most loved family member or favored visitor.

Oh What A Night!!

Artisan Bread

My friend Susan told me about this easy, foolproof method for delicious bread. I had a gift certificate from Amazon.com so I decided to buy the book.

I made my dough yesterday (really, super-easy) and baked my first loaf today.

Wow~~good bread, yummy crust and a very pretty loaf overall.

I hear it gets tastier with every batch. I will cut down on the salt just a bit. Overall, good book, good bread and easy--very easy!

Random Thoughts

The 100* plus weather has caused me to have very random thoughts.

I really like to have a bowl of Special K cereal with chocolate chips as a "bedtime snack" We are all out of this yummy stuff so, I'm tempted to have something else to satisfy my craving.
Trouble is, I'm so used to low fat, high fiber, nothing else will do :-( Another random thought. I keep reading about Moms making their own laundry detergent. The claims are that this stuff is cheaper, and as efficient~~ and more environmentally friendly as the store bought "stuff". You know you are Eco-friendly when you have all the ingredients ready and available to whip up a batch of this stuff. Anyone want to borrow my Birkenstocks?

Last random thought. I really want to have some authentic salt water taffy.

You know the stuff. Sweet little confections wrapped in waxed paper. The "real" stuff can only be bought in a coastside gift store. It is really over priced and oh so really delicious.

Just in case you want to run right out there and buy some for me, here is my shopping list:

root beer

licorice

cinnamon

neopolitan (for Tyler)

and any other flavor you think I would love (sorry, no fruit flavors)

So there you have it...Random thoughts 101

Catching Up

Wow, so much to keep up with...end of school for Ty and Jordan~~Yay!

Emy's new job in the wine industry ~~double Yay!!

so on and so forth...I won't bore you.

The flowers are to celebrate each day and each new event.

We look forward to more as Summer unfolds..........

More Friends

My sweet friend Stephanie came for a visit today with her adorable children.

This is baby Luke who was born 10 weeks ago (at home!)
Big sister Anna had a swim party today and ballet practice after school.
Don't let the skirt fool you. She was outside playing dodge ball with the big boys and can really hold her own!

And then we have Nicholas. He just loves cars, especially my Dad's.

We pretended he was driving to Taco Bell to pick up food for us.

He promised he'd come back this summer!

Friends

My little friend Ashley came over tonight to show me her new puppy Gigi. Gigi is nine weeks old and is a little bundle of fur. Ashley will be finishing first grade in a few days. She used to be in my after school program at Konocti Christian Academy. Since going on to Lakeport Elementary she has advanced to the 2nd Grade reading class and has just opened up and become very friendly and helpful to all her classmates.

Good Job Ashley, I love you!

Resting

Tomorrow marks one year that Daddy left us to go to Heaven. The stains on his shirt were from a food fight that Daddy and his roommate Ray had in protest to dying.
Here he is with Jenny just soaking up the love. He left us in the early morning hours of June 8, 2008.

My friend Becky brought us this rose to ease our pain. It just bloomed again after a long winter.

We miss you Daddy.

Mon Amie

Our friend Jean brought his father over for a visit today.
There is no language barrier among friends!

Finally, after many tries, I was able to pick up my co-op box tonight!

It is chock full of yummy fruits and veggies. I will be taking most of it to Deerwood

where my Mom lives. If you aren't up to date ~~ Deerwood is a retirement care facility for the elderly. Mom is very happy there for the most part. What she misses most is fresh procuce.

We grew up on fresh produce. Sometimes I didn't even know the name of what I was eating but according to Mom -- "It's good for you!"

So, Mom~~ when you have a green or orange lump of something on your plate...

Just remember ~~ It's good for you!

Happy Birthday Lizzie!

Today is your Birthday!

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

I remember the day you were born so vividly. It was you and I and a very rude doctor telling the nurses I needed to shut up! Oh happy days. I was going to nickname you Beth. Ha ha! You were Lizzie right from the start. Only Lizzie would do all the adventurous things you have done in your life. And can you see a Beth getting underneath a car to fix it?

Beth doesn't climb mountains and drive cross country. Beth can decorate a room but not with the flair that Lizzie does. Beth can be a single mom of a preemie but only Lizzie can carry it off with spark and determination.

Yes, you were Lizzie right from the start and I am so glad.

Happy Birthday Lizzie! I love you!