A perfect day in Kentucky!

Well I have had a great week visiting with my hubby, stepdaughter Christina and my grandson Liam.  Today was nonetheless. We started out getting up and ready to head out on the town. We shopped all over town, had lunch and came home exhausted.  Liam is a real trooper. He loves to shop and like to listen to music and watch colors!  What a handsom little man he is growing into!  Of course I love to spoil him as well!…cant’t you tell.

Well, I hate to leave my other home in Kentucky….but we still have the weekend! Tomorrow we will head over to Louisville til Monday morning when I fly home at 6:30am.  Then back to reality….work and life.  Time does fly when I’m at home instead of work. But I can’t complain it has been a great week.

Tonight we are making homemade pizza for dinner…..lots of toppings on homemade crust. Yumm oh!  We have cooked home every night this week except for one. Grilled ribs, buffalo wings, pizza dip on bruschetta.  It has been great having Christina home with me this week. She indeed is a great daughter and a great little mom she has turned to be.  When I return home I’ll be anxious to see my new greatniece and Nichole.  I love having my babies in my life.  Even though I don’t have any bio-babies I have many other kids in my life….that I am grateful for.

Don and I went to dinner the other night at the Harbor View with Steve and Marcia our tavel buddies.  We indeed had a great meal and good planning conversations about our trip.  They are extremely excited to experience Italy for the first time with us as their private tour guides.  I anticipate that this trip will be a huge success…..for them as well as us! Ciao for now! 

Read Full Post »

A new camera…a great husband

On Saturday while getting ready for Don’s surprise party I realized that my Sony camera was not working. I could not see out of the LCD screen or the viewfinder. I had a new grandson and no camera!  I was devastated!  So while I plotted to get my husband and brother-in-law out of the house, little did I know that he would purchase me another camera that day. I was shocked when he returned that afternoon with a new Sony alpha 100 DSLR.  Wow what a camera.   The first thing our of my mouth was “that is way too expensive” and his reply was “happy birthday hone”. My birthday isn’t til June.

Well it turns out when we returned home I did some research on the internet to find out that there is a class action lawsuit against Sony for my camera that was broken. Evidently they discovered a bad sensor had been installed in the camera. Some we informed Sony and they emailed us a packing slip and label to print and send the camera in for repairs!  I still can’t beleive that my husband went out on HIS birthday and bought ME a new camera!!!    His justification: you have to be ready for Italy this year!  Mi amore……

Read Full Post »

The Time Change

Has anyone besides me had a difficult week dealing with the time change? It seems as though, for what ever reason, I have had a very difficult time dealing with my missing hour of sleep. Iwake up feeling sluggish and go to bed even more tired….what’s up with that? I think I need some sun therapy! Some 70 degree temps and sunny days should brighten things up a bit…….hmmmmmmmmmm I wonder what the weather will be in Kentucky this weekend?

So here’s the scoop, I’ll get to spend the next week with my family. I will get lots of hug time with my grandson Liam. I’ll get to actually be able to be domestic partner for a week. I’ll get to cook for my beloved husband for a week. We don’t have any major plans for the week, except getting to together with our new travel friends and go over the itinerary I have planned for Italy 2007! I hope Steve and Marcia know what the are getting themselves into! hehehehe I am a task master by nature, when it comes to travel. I have out interary planned for the time we are in Italy. Florence, San Gimi, Venice, Bolzano, Lerici, Rimini, the Dolomites…sounds good so far! The only problem is….we won’t be able to rent our Smart Car this year….we have had to opt for something a bit larger…I think it is a Fiat…… zoom, zoom, zoom!

Read Full Post »

That’s Amore

I’d like to dedicate this to my dolci husband!

Read Full Post »

The Magic of Travel

Travel can be magical! Indeed most our travels have been magical. When I read back through last years travel notes I spied an entry from Sunday June 18th 2006 when we travelled to Rimini Italy. We did not know what was in store for us that day.

After spending what seemed like hours drviing on the worst, most windy road I have ever encountered we came across what appeared to be a deserted town…..But boy I was wrong! Everyone in Rimini and that region of Italy were at the beach. Rimini is a coastal town that acutally encompases many small villages and resort areas on the Adriatic Sea. After riding around for over 30 minutes we finally found a place to park our Smart Car. We were starving as always in Italy, so we made our way to a local trattoria for soem seafood and pasta for Don. We did not expect to find what we did! Indeed a local gem….the people were great, the food and service were impeccable. I had my favorite dish spaghetti vongole and fritto misto – the best ever! Don had tortellini bolongese and pizza diavolo. Then the owner insisted on bringing us a plate of dolci and some house limoncello…..yummy! We had made new friend while eaiting and plan to go back this June.

After filling our selves on this delicious lunch we headed back to the dreaded windy road while I was trying to not to recall all of the limoncello I had consumed…..Don was driving around the curves like a motor speed race and I had my head buried in my lap most of the way back to Florence….

When we travel we are followed home by our great memories indeed!!!! We will create more and relive some of the old ones in June 2007!

Read Full Post »

Ten Favorites of Mine!

Here in Cyber world I find myself looking to be uninhibited in sharing info about myself!  So today’s post will be to share Ten Things about myself people aren’t likely to know!  Here they are in no particular order or relevance!

1.  I like my sheets on my bed COLD, but my blankets warm!

2.  I like sunny days and cool nights.

3.  I dislike lazy, irresponsible people, that want everything done for them.

4.  I like to SMILE, as it is less effort than to frown.

5.  I like large families.

6.  I like children and grandchildren.

7.  I love to travel and experience new cultures and to learn from others.

8.  I love to eat ice cream no matter how COLD it is outside…brrrrr!

9.  I love to walk barefoot in the warm sand.

10.  I love to switch my career to be a Chef and a food critic!

Hmmmmmm, and you thought you knew everything about me? Stay tuned for more! Ciao…..for now

 

Read Full Post »

Bizarre Foods….second edition

Last night I watched Andrew Zimmern once more on his outrageous outtake…on Bizarre Foods.  It reminded me of our first visit to the Mercato Centrale in Firenze…… Not a place for the faint of heart!  At first entry into this famous place, one experiences fabulous views of cheeses, pasta, meat, frest fruit and veggies.  But upon closer examination, the smells and sights can soon overcome the senses.  Once weaken by the aroma of flesh and slightly overpowering cheeses….the smell is difficult to escape.

The vivid images that come to mind after leaving the building are of animal carcasses drying in the meat counters, flesh that is often thrown out in this country is consumed without a second thought in Italy. We are indeed spoiled to the luxuries we have known to us in America!

Passion for foods can only be truly experienced in the true culture from what it arises from.  Pasta, pizza, and risotto  from Italy.  The freshest seafood within 100 miles from the coast. Fruit and veggies and have been recently harvested from the local vines. Vinos from the local vineyards…….and people wonder why we venture back to Italy…..I’ll have to think about it!

Read Full Post »

Another week closer……

Buon giorno!  Well the weather has cleared once again….and I am so looking forward to spring.  Here in Maine the weather is very unpredictable, so sometimes spring never comes….we rush right into summer!  Or blackfly season I should say.

When we travel to Italy I expect to see no insects….wrong!  at night the mosquitos are uncontrollable in many locations.  I know in Florence near the Arno River the mosquitos are so big, they’ll carry one away!  So even thought we like to fall asleep with the sounds of vespas, church bells, and birds…..we are often awaken to the buzzzzzzzzzzzzzing of mosquitos in the room!  These mosquitos are not just any mosquitos…they are HUGE 

I guess when one travels they can expect to experience the good, the bad, and the ugly!  So as we plan for this years vacation, we are also planning for the mosquitos!  Perhaps I need to bring the repellant. I keep telling myself, that this year I’m going to pack lighter….but somehow that does not happen….although I do have myself down to only two pair of shoes……a good pair of walking shoes(sneakers) and a comfortable pair of sandals.  Shoes were the first item to leave my luggage. After the first couple for trips to Europe I soon realized that bringing them were more of a nuisancethan anything else.  I could bring an entire suitcase full of them….and not wear them at all.  Afterall I do have a shoe fetish….so I prefer to purchase a new pair from one of our travel destinations…….I am anxiously awaiting the markets of Firenze!

Read Full Post »

Today’s winter weather!

…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING…

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING.

EXPECT 12 TO 18 INCHES OF SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS TO 6 TO 12 INCHES IN SOUTHERN AREAS. A MIX WITH OR CHANGE TO RAIN…FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET IN SOUTHWEST MAINE COULD KEEP SNOW TOTALS TO AROUND 6 INCHES.

STRONG WINDS WILL BRING REDUCED VISIBILITIES FROM BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. THE WINDS COULD ALSO CAUSE SOME COASTAL SPLASHOVER OR BEACH EROSION AT TIME OF HIGH TIDE TONIGHT.

Well that’s the local weather forecast for today and tonight…..I thought that spring was on it’s way. Not here….I can’t wait to go south in a couple of weeks back to Kentucky. Spring will have almost sprung there as opposed to there winter weather still looming around here. 

I am waiting for the results fo yesterday’s CT scan to determine what the status of my pneumonia is. I have certainly been plagues with more than my share of illness this winter.  One can only dream of beautiful weather in June in Italy, France and Switzerland.   I can’t wait to being sitting in a quaint piazza watching the evening passegiata, while sipping a local vino and eating a fantastic meal. Ahhhhhhh, suddenly I’m feeling much better!

Read Full Post »

Pneumonia is out to get me! *cough, cough*

Well the saga continues…..pneumonia once again. You see I had this for a month in November/December and thought that everyhting had cleared up fine after being on 4 different Rx of antibiotics…….now it is back. I started coughing uncontrollably again last week. After a miserable weekend I saw my doctor on Monday afternnon, who told me that my lungs were horrible and I was wheezing…dah?

So off to the lab I went to have someone stick me three times to draw my blood…..ouch! I large bruise later….I returned to the doctor’s office tobe told that I have been scheduled for a chest CT scan and PFT tests. So today is the the CT scan. I am very nervous…because I am too young to have medical problems. So I am hoping that me test are ok and I don’t have soem dreaded disease like SARS or something…..is that prevalent in Italy? I hope not!

Read Full Post »