Dreaming of Breakfast

This is Ricotta & Dark Chocolate gelati on brioche. This is the Sicilian breakfast. This is my perfect breakfast...a dream breakfast. I will have to keep dreaming until next time I am in Sicilia.

Do you see the sugar crystals topping the brioche?



First bite = Pure BLISS



This is the American Apple Pie I made in Todi.

Isn't she purty?

This is what the table looked like every morning for breakfast.


Usually I had cookies and tea for breakfast, but this particular morning I had apple pie.

YUM!

Welcome Home

There is nothing like being on vacation. Italy has many wonderful things. I would live there in a hot minute. But the beds and the bathrooms...well...the showers are small and the beds are not so good. Traveling for an extended period of time leaves you longing for your own bed and your own shower. My bedroom in Todi was totally cute. Loved it. The twin bed, however, was more of a hammock.

Here is my room.





Small but lovely. And here is my terrace...


It faces the Porta Romana and the Porta Romana faces Roma. The house was just outside the ancient city walls.

And this is the art in my room.



I was definitely in the right place.

But this is about coming home. All good things come to an end and so did my vacation. I was looking forward to seeing all my furry ones. I was missing them.

One Roman taxi, Two AirFrance flights, and one LA taxi later we finally arrive home. YAY HOME! My critters. My own bed. YAY! Where are the kitters? We walk into the bedroom and there was a nice present of poo on top of the bed. Welcome Home! Nothing like a fresh one on the bed to say I love you, I missed you. Wiggs was the culprit. He has a history of bad behavior. And where is the smell of cat piss coming from? Stripped the bed, scowled at the cats, and plopped on the couch. We didn't figure out where the cat piss smell was coming from until five hours later when jet lagged tired we decide to go to bed. Yes...the bed...the cats had been using the bed as a litterbox for who knows how long. There was a two feet in diameter circle of cat pee on the mattress. I am not joking. It was a big ole puddle of cat pee. The mystery of the stench was solved. We spent the first night home on separate couches.

The next morning we bought a brand new tempurpedic bed and it was delivered the same day. Can you believe it?! (If you need a mattress, see Andrew at the Mattress Gallery on Melrose and La Cienaga. He gave us the best customer service. Such a rarity in this day and age. Andrew was awesome and got us our bed the same day.) According to Andrew, they get customers at least once a month due to cats peeing on the bed. Hell hath no fury like a cat and Wiggs is my hellcat. My newest bed accessory is a blue tarp. Yes, the kind you use for camping. We have had no further incidents on our new bed, but Wiggs did pee on the dog bed. Bodhi has had to rough it on the carpet since then. Did I say I missed my critters? I was thinking they might become coyote chow, but we have made a peace. Purrs and snores...We are all sleeping very well on our new bed.

Gelati per Colazione

You scream.
I scream.
We all scream for ice cream!

Imagine a lighter than air, sugar topped, brioche. A thing of perfection in itself. Cut the brioche in half and add a scoop of ricotta gelato and a scoop of dark chocolate gelato inside. You have the best ice cream sandwish you could ever dream up. Italy is the place of dreams and these dreams taste soooo good.

We also enjoyed the best dinner I have ever had in Italy. Exquisite. Our first night in Sicilia was in Ragusa Ibla. Ragusa Ibla is located in the South-East part of the island. We stayed at the Locanda Don Serafina, which was an absolute gem of a hotel. The restaurant is part of the hotel but is located a short walk away through two beautiful piazzas. The restaurant had three tasting menus: for food, for wine, and for olive oil. We weren't feeling really hungry so we didn't opt for any of the tasting menus. But the olive oil they serve for dinner is from Ragusa and has been voted best in the world for 5 years. It was light, fruity, and remarkably bright. A collection of 6 different types of breads were served along side the olive oil.

First the chef sent out a tiny slice of ricotta in a tomato emulsion with a hint of basil and a little peeled cherry tomato. Then I had the most amazing starter. It was grilled vegetables (eggplant, radicchio, potato, zucchini, tomato, and onion) in balsamic vinegar. The vegetables were stacked precisely on top of ricotta cheese and embraced by a parmesan cheese wafer. They called it a waffle in the description but it was thin and crisp and bursting with flavor. If I could eat a vegatable dish this good every night I would be a vegetarian.

Hubby started with a Sicilian specialty, which is spaghetti with cuttle fish ink and clams or something like a clam. He thought it was superb. For me, it is not my cup of tea. I had the pasta with shrimp and salted ricotta and basil. It was very good. The shrimp were so sweet it was closer to lobster in flavor. Hubby also had the involtini of quail with apples and peppers. Very good.

Dessert was heaven. It was ricotta mousse with pralined almonds. WOW! It was the kind of dessert that brings an instant smile to the face and a dreamy sigh. While I had ricotta in every dish for dinner, none of the ricotta was the same in taste or consistency.

To find this type of restaurant in a remote part of Sicily and off the tourist path was very special. The chef came out and introduced himself. He was young and, in my mind, a food genius! After dinner we had a tour of the wine cellar. They have a very extensive wine list and impressive wine cellar. They serve dinner in the cellar. However, it being a beautiful summer night, we ate dinner at a sidewalk table by candle light with ancient walls around us.

An after dinner grappa and off to bed.

CIBO

Where to start? It has been difficult to get on the internet living with two teenage girls in the house. I had to leave Todi and go to Venezia to get on the internet.

Let's talk about food.

You have to love a country that eats cookies (biscotti) for breakfast (colazione). Every morning I had cookies and tea for breakfast. It was the best. Then I walked up a very steep hill to school. I cannot wait to get to Sicilia because for colazione they eat brioche with gelato! Ice cream for breakfast. Some people have really got things figured out.

I stayed with the Ciliani family in Todi. Fiorenza, Riccardo, Miriam, and Daniela. Miriam is 18 and Daniela is 15. They swooned when they heard I live in Hollywood. They wanted to know if I knew Chad Michael Someboy-or-other from One Tree Hill. I don't, but did catch part of an episode in Italian and I can now be on the lookout for Chad. Miriam likes sweets so she asked me if we could make an apple cake. We made an old fashioned American apple pie. I was a little worried because in Italy they do their measurements by weight and not cups. We decided to wing it. Good thing I know my way around the kitchen because I eyeballed the measurements from a coffee mug. They do not have shortening, so we used butter. They also don't have brown sugar, but sugar is sugar, right? It turned out delicious. Riccardo, the papa, loves all apples desserts. We got his approval. The next morning I had a slice of apple pie for breakfast. Um, Um, Good!

I also made mojitos for Riccardo and Fiorenza. They don't have limes until Christmas time. I had to use lemon but they were delicious. Also we had to bust out the ice cube tray to make ice. We don't realize the abundance we live in with ice cube makers and limes all year round. We can enjoy a proper mojito all year long! They really have to wait until Christmas for a proper mojito. But wait...Does mint grow in the winter?

For lunch I ate pizza almost everyday at Pomodoro Rosso with my classmates. We'd chat in Italian and eat our pizza and sometimes do homework. On the walk home I would often stop at Pianegiani for gelato. The best gelato in town. I am partial to Bacio and pistachio. On my last night in town I tried the torrone. Torrone is nougat made with pistachio and almonds. Whoa! It was very good. I never tried the house specialty which was made with pine nuts. I guess I better plan my return trip.

Fiorenza made dinner every night. I ate very well. Always pasta first, then meat with vegatables and salad. This was follwed by fruit for dessert. However, if there was cake or pie, we had fruit first than dessert. I was fed very well every night. Oh and there was usually cheese somewhere in there too. They eat like this every night! When I told them that we didn't eat pasta every day they almost perished at the thought!

Last night we went out to dinner with friends in Venice. I ate pig fat! It was called Lardo somethingini and is a regional specialty. I thought what the hell, I will try it. When the thin strips of white pig fat surrounded by crostini arrived in front of me I was having some doubts about my order. It was very white food. Not very pretty. But it was delicious, people! I am not kidding. I ate every bit of my pig fat and totally enjoyed it. Who would think that pig fat could be so complex in taste?...salty, but smoky and creamy at the same time.

Last night we went to the reputably best gelato in Venice. It had nothing on Pianegiani. Today wandering around the streets we found a cioccolateria. Exquisite chocolates. I was called VizioVirtu. If you are in Venice find this place!

Next stop Sicilia and ice cream for breakfast!

L'arte della commedia

Last night I went to the Teatro Commune (the local theater). This is a beautiful little theater. It has boxes and is painted with gorgeous frescos and gold trim all around. It was a little opera house. Really pretty. I went with Fiorenza ( the mother of the Italian family I am staying with) and her sister Anna Maria.

When we arrived I thought some disaster had happened because there were a lot of Red Cross workers milling around and an ambulance. Come to find out that the concert was sponsored by the local Red Cross. The music was spirituals and gospel. The singers were both from Chicago. They sang a couple of songs from Porgy and Bess and Westside Story and some others. The gospel portion was gospel but the entire show was sung very operatic. No down home, earth shaking, rivers breaking soul happening. They did try and get the audience up and going with a finally rousing finale of "When the Saints go Marching In." The audience seemed confused but started clapping with a little singing. The male singer was fantastic but the women was not as good. I know the words, it was in Enligh for gods sake, but I could not understand anything she was singing. She was singing operatically with marbles in her mouth. The show was nice. It was even better to get out and see the town at night. I am usually home having dinner with the family, doing homework and watching television.

Of course there is always some nut in the theater. After intermission a woman sat down in front of us. She was half humming and half singing all the gospels while conducting her own orchestra. People were turning around in their seats and looking at her. She was that loud, but dirty looks did nothing to quiet her. She was a little crazy. It reminded me of the time I saw the Three Tenors at Dodger Stadium. (Go in Peace Pavorotti! Arrivederci!) The tickets cost a fortune but my hubby then boyfriend got a pair. I think he had to eat macs 'n cheese for the rest of the month. In front of us was a woman who sang every aria. I kid you not. She was drunk and her friend tried to get her to shut up because everyone was getting upset. She became belligerent and kept on singing. So we saw the Three Tenors and a Wino. Last night was Spirituali e Gospel con una pazza. Spirituals and Gospel with one crazy woman. You have got to love the theater. Everyone wants to be in on the act.

There is the most disgusting and hysterical commercial (pubblicita) on television. It is an animated commercial and begins showing a forest fire. Then a cute little squirrel watching the fire from a pine tree. The squirrel springs into action and grabs a pack of gum, takes a piece, and starts chewing. The gum is sooooooo cool and minty that he preceeds to FART enthusiastically ( yes fart) a cool and refreshing mist that creates a shower of snow that covers everything and puts out the forest fire. The commercial makes me laugh but I don't really want to chew a gum that gives me cool and refershing farts with the possibility of shooting snow out my ass.

Ciao a Todi, Italia

Hello from Todi, Italy!

I am in Todi which is in Umbria. I am doing a language immersion for two weeks before my hubby meets up with me and we drive off to Venezia and fly down to Sicilia. I have been here almost a week. I am LOVING it!

Todi is the most beautiful town. It is an ancient town that goes beyond the Romans to the Etruscans. The town is on a hill and still has the medieval walls around it. This is the place where fairytales are written. Beautiful rolling hills with small cities rising out of the tops. Cathedrals and towers reaching for the sky full of puffy white clouds. Spread over the rolling hills are a patchwork of fields full of olives and grapevines. My words do not do justice to the beauty of this place.

Language immersion is difficult but worth it. I keep wondering why I have never done this before. I LOVE it! I had studied Italian as an undergraduate many moons ago. I have not travelled to Italy in 15 years. that should tell you something. I thought I might see some other parts of the world, but my heart resides in Italy. I am rusty to say the least but it is a joy when you can understand what someone is saying and a happiness I can't describe when the words come out of my mouth easily. This does not often happen...yet. Espero. I hope.

I really recommend going somewhere and learning the language. Anywhere. Don't be practical. Really how practical is Italian? It is for the love of the langauge and the sound of the words. Italian is lyrical, like a song. It is interesting to try and express yourself with a limited vocabulary, but I am trying to sing my song! In class today we sang Italian songs. Il Sole Mio, of course, was one of them.

The weather in this part of the country is usually very warm this part of the year but unseasonably cold weather rolled in. I didn't even bring a jacket that's how warm it should be. But it's been raining with a cold wind blowing through. So yesterday I found the shop with the yarn. I did bring the Lady Eleanor (entralac shawl) project with me, but I am using a yarn with linen and silk. I needed some wool and fast! I bought some yarn called Medusa. Love that name. I also learned that a jellyfish is called a medusa. The little old couple in the shop were so nice. Knitting needle is not one of my vocabulary words but I made myself understood. I have learned how to say to knit, which is fare a maglia o lavorare a maglia. This translates to to make a stitch or to work a stitch. As things would happen today was warmer but I will keep on working on my scarf (sciarpa). I am going to a concert tonight. I will bring my knitting but the Italians are serious about their music. I may be required to pay attention.

Oh man...I've got to check on my laundry so I will post more later.
Ciao tutti!

Much Love and Gratitude

The Yogathon is tomorrow and I am very excited.

I want to extend some serious love and thanks to...

Andree - a SnB sister. We have a great group!
Susan & Sudi - my fun friends
Jill & Tyler - My incredibly cute nephew and his incredibly cute mom
Mary - my awesome next door neighbor
Michele & Jeff - great friends who live just a little too far away for everyday play.
and
Carla - one of my great supports in all my hare-brained schemes and plans I lay in this life.

I thank you all for your generosity of heart.
To everyone - You make my spirit soar!

I will do my best to document the yogathon in all my upside downward dog head stand twisting with a camera in hand that I can.

Shanti
Shanti
Shanti

Eat More Cupcakes

It was my friend Jen's birthday and she likes cupcakes. This was my chance to delve into Oneskein by Leigh Radford and whip up a quick cupcake or two. It was fast and easy and turned out so cute. The proto-cupcake is the one with the pink top. In the pattern it says to knit the sides until the piece measures 2 1/4". From the proto-cake I found that this was too high and the proportion was wrong for my cupcake. Too much cake and not enough frosting. Even in a non-edible, I want to know that I have a good ratio of cake to icing. The directions also said to whip-stitch the icing top to the cake bottom. However by doing this I didn't achieve the lovely overhang of icing on my cupcake. My remedy for this was to crochet the top to the bottom.



Here's my second cupcake. It turned out much more yummier than my first one. I also put some lavender in the center of the stuffing so that it smelled just as pretty as it looked. The lavender touch was also special to Jen who just launched her new company Ocean Lavender, which specializes in 100% organic lavender products. Lavender is a natural moth repellent so I keep hinting she needs to make something special for all the yarnoholics out there. I know there are bins and bins of yarn just waiting for a lovely lavender sachet.

For some amazing pictures of edible, yet knitty cupcakes check out this website called Veganyumyum.
Carla sent me the link last night. WOW! That's some impressive cupcaking.

I recently stumbled upon a new place for a sugar fix called Big Sugar Bakeshop. The shop is located on the south side of Ventura Blvd, just west of Laurel Cyn. My hubby and I split an ice cream sandwich. Vanilla ice cream nestled between two chocolate chip cookies. Whoa. They were even nice enough to cut it in half so there was no fighting over who got more yumminess. Remember... we almost came to blows over the strawberry pie at Pie 'n Burger? We are like feral cats when it comes to anything delicious.

We also bought a dozen cupcakes for a father's day bbq at my nephew's house. I got an assortment but only tried one. It was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache swirled on top with a cream filling. It was truly a great cupcake. The cake was rich but not too sweet. So, too, was the cream filling. Light and fluffy as opposed to sugary and heavy. The ganache gave me the right amount of sweet smooth taste to my bite of cake. All around a delightful cupcake.

I want to send a big THANK YOU to Mary Jo for her donation to the yogathon and Habitat for Humanity!


Ooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmm....

Here's the break down of the 24 hours of Yogathon.

Saturday June 30
8-10 am
Asana: Standing Poses & Inversions

10-12 pm
Asana: Arm Balances & Backbends

12-2 pm
Pranayama & Meditation

2-4 pm
Chanting

4-6 pm
Asana: Hip Openers & Forward Bends

6-8 pm
Restorative Yoga

8-10 pm
Partner Thai Yoga

10-12 am
Chanting with Wah! Public Invited. $20 donation. Come on down!!!

Sunday July 1
12-2 am
Restorative Yoga

2-4 am
Pranayama & Meditation

4-6 am
Asana: Sun Salutations

6-8 am
Chanting & Dancing!

8-8:30 am
Go home. Have a snack. Take a shower. Crawl into bed. Sleep.......

8:30 - ???
Do Not Disturb

The Sponsors Keep Rolling In

Thank you Mom!
& Thank you Jean (Mom-in-law)!
I love my family and knowing that they are behind me.

Thank you Jen & Tom and Storky!
Your support and friendship means the world to me.

So far I have 16 sponsors for the yogathon and have raised $750. WOOHOO!

I have met the minumum goal of $500!
I have gotten a sponsor from India - thanks honey and everyone at Inventurus!

City Yoga is having fun prizes for things like the most family member donations, and the donation from the furthest away, and the grand prize will go to the person who collects the largest amount in donations. Fun stuff. So I think I have a good chance for the donation from the furthest away!

It feels good to be involved and helpful and active. It feels good to have the support of loved ones. It feels good to do something for others. I have really enjoyed the experience so far. The yogathon is 10 days away. It's so exciting. I can't wait.

Good Times in Texas

These are my friends Charissa (with Pix and Brat)



and Joe (with Pixie)



They live in College Station, TX




Home of Texas A&M

Yes this is a my branded dinner.
Fan-cy!
Joe is a professor at TXAM. He is one smart cookie!

Fact: The university has a meat sale after they teach slaughter house 101.


Charissa and Joe are the proud parents of Pixie (shown above)
and
Bratwurst

and
Archie


and Folly (shy) and Wyatt (not pictured due to his ninja skills).

They were my first sponsors for the yogathon.
Thank you. You are awesome!!!

On my recent visit, Charissa and I went in search of an alpaca farm


It took us two hours of driving east and west across the great state of Texas before we realized we needed to be driving south. Oops.

We finally arrived and I was promptly spit in the face by Pandora, a very feisty alpaca.


Yes I was there all of three minutes before I took a big alpaca raspberry in the face. Apparently I was very lucky it wasn't a real cudder from deep within the third stomach and I had sunglasses on, but I really smelt of alpaca for the rest of the day. The alpaca aroma is a mix of fresh farm, green and grassy with a hint of musk and dung and a dash of Delmer the dog!

Fact: During hunting season the alpacas have to wear orange hunting vests so as to avoid getting their fuzzy butts shot off.

There is always something fun to do in Texas. Next time I am going to visit the miniature pony farm. I'll be sure to wear long pants in case they are spitters too!

The movies...

The matinee cost $3.50!!!! I almost fell over folks.
Regular admission is only $5.oo!!!!
All I can say is WOW, LA is a distorted place. Knowing the price of admission was so low made watching Spiderman 3 almost bearable.


Here is a funny picture of Pixie and me. She is the newest addition to the family and she is a love bug. She came from the Central Texas Dachshund Rescue. It took every ounce of decency not to smuggle her home with me.

Random Thoughts

Peonies

Trader Joe's has peonies for $6.99.
They are the most gorgeous of flowers and the scent is heavenly. I have bought them for the last two weeks and enjoyed every fragrant moment.


Here's a giftie I whipped up for my good friend Carla for her birthday last month.
It's a needle holder for her embroidery endeavors.





Tito's Tacos. All I can say is it's Ellen's fault for this trip to Tito's.

Yes, they are as good as they look.


Here is a picture of puppy happiness.

This is Pixie and her rawhide chew.
This is one cute doxy.

And last but not least...
Thanks to Ashwini & Sachin - NY, NY
for their donation to H4H & their support.

So far I have had donations from NY, NC, and TX as well as here at home.
My hubby is bringing back rupee donations from India.
Love and support from all over the world. This is absolutely awesome.

Memorable Memorial Fare

Pie 'n Burger
That pretty much says it all. My hubby and I went to check it out over Memorial day weekend. It's located in Pasadena on California at Lake. Let me tell you...it was good! Real good.




This place is old timey with a fabulously long counter to sidle up to. When I ordered my coke it was two squirts of syrup and a shot of soda. Love it! It looks like they make a mean malt too.


In spite of the sign we ordered burgers first.
Look at these burgers. Burger perfection.

and a side of potato salad.

and then...

Fresh Strawberry Pie. YUM!


My hubby and I fought over almost every bite. It was that good. I suggest when you go order your own slice to prevent any brawling at the counter. The burgers were very tasty and did you see that side of potato salad. It was huge. This is a diner well worth discovering.

Yogathon Support & News

I want to extend my thanks for the support for the upcoming yogathon.

Here are a list of new sponsors that generously gave for the yogathon and Habitat for Humanity.

Steve & Caroline - Santa Monica, CA
Steve said he wanted to support anything that was bhavalicious!
Tami & George - Wake Forest, NC
My good friends. Thank you. Miss you.
Tom & Dee - West Hills, CA
Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law
If you need a fantabulous florist in the Valley
check out West Hills Flower Shoppe
Rose & Andre - LA, CA
My sister-in-law & nephew. Grazie mille
Modern Mobile Homes
For all your manufactured home needs!

Many thanks to everyone for your support. It's your donations and good wishes that are going to make this yogathon a smashing success! I am still looking for sponsors and accepting donations until Thursday June 28. Email me for more info.

Here is some more news about the yogathon.

During the yogathon Visitors will be welcome Saturday night June 30
from 10-12am for kirtan/chanting with Wah!
It will be a $20 donation at the door.

What's Kirtan?
Kirtan is call and response chanting to musical ragas tradition that goes back 500 years. It is often accompanied by rhythmic drumming style that transports the chanters to profound spiritual realms. It is said that kirtan is accepted as one of the surest paths to enlightenment. Who isn't looking for a little bit of that?
Try it, you'll like it!

Also Save the Date
Saturday, September 8, 2007
This is the day that City Yoga will participate in a Habitat Home Build!
Yes, you can get your hands dirty!
Who hasn't wanted to help on a build?
This is an awesome way to participate directly with Habitat for Humanity and to see what your generous donations are doing for your community!
I love it!
If you are interested you can sign up at City Yoga.

Mother's Day

My favorite new book is Lotta Jansdotter's Simply Sewing.
It has great easy patterns.

Here is a little something I whipped up for my mom.


Hat & Tote



Close-up


Tote

We went to the Reel Inn for lunch. YUM!
She had Orange Roughy and I had the Sea Bass.
FYI. While standing in line we signed a petition to save the Reel Inn. It seems that developers want to get rid of all the businesses on the corner of Topanga Cyn and PCH. This would be very sad. It's part of the landscape and the food is delicious.



Mom loved her new stuff and we had fun toodling through the canyon in my Miata. Lunch was delicious. On the way home we picked up some strawberries and cherries. It was a great mom and daughter day.

Yogathon

Remember those bygone days of dance-a-thons?
Well welcome to the 21st century...
(drumroll)...
the Yogathon!

I am participating in a 24-hour yogic jam session at City Yoga (Fairfax & Santa Monica). It begins at 8am Saturday June 30 and continues until 8am Sunday July 1st. The yogathon benefits Habitat for Humanity-Los Angeles. Habitat for Humanity is a great non-profit that helps families buy their own homes. City Yoga is trying to raise $100,000.00 because that is the amount of money to build one home. If we reach the goal H4H will designate a home "the house that yoga built". I am looking for sponsors for this fun-tastic event. 100% of the donations goes directly to Habitat for Humanity in Los Angeles.

Last night at SnB, Ellen generously sponsored me!!! WOW! Thanks Ellen. You are the best! Kate was also ready & willing and wrote me a check immediately. Thank you Kate!

I have to admit that it is difficult for me to ask friends for donations. I hate to think I might be imposing on anyone. But if you don't ask then how can anyone help and get involved. We often respond to devastation like Hurricane Katrina and Lord knows they still need a lot of love and attention in those areas that were affected. It's great to do good in the world and an opportunity to help those in our own backyard is even greater.

Here are some fun facts from the last City Yoga Yogathon.

24 bhavalicious hours of yoga

A total of 43 bright inner bodies participated on the mat…
(32 warriors who went the distance and 11 enthusiastic part-time
drop-ins)

The event revealed the radiant leadership of 14 amazing teachers.

Their 12 classes included a total of 324 poses (give or take a down dog)

Collectively, we chanted 108 oms.

The grand total $23,518
…donated by 396 generous sponsors, from LA to Wisconsin to England.

The single largest donation was $1000 (and there were 2 of them)

The single smallest donation was $1 (and there were 6 of them)

The most popular donation was $25 (and there were 63 of them)

A total of 58 people/businesses donated goods and services worth $11,146

In 24 hours, we collectively drank 324 bottles of smartwater (that’s 5,475.6 ounces)

…which means we drank a bottle per pose (see above)

And we ate 2 delicious catered meals: lunch by Jonathon Darr,
Dinner by Dorit Dyke.

Consequently, we went through 11 rolls of toilet paper.

We were the talk of the town, as seen on KCAL 9 Saturday and CBS Sunday.

With a gift of almost $25,000, we built a deserving family ¼ of their dream house!

Our gift to Habitat for Humanity-LA was the largest community-driven gift in 2005.


I will keep you posted.
Om Shanti,
Natalie

Around the World in a Sunday

Chinatown
Empress Pavilion




Dim Sum is all about anticipation and there is no other dining experience like the hustle and bustle of a Dim Sum restaurant. First there is the one hour wait. Oh so hungry and now have to wait an hour which is almost unbearable because the cardinal rule for eating dim sum is to arrive hungry. Finally, after being seated and the pouring of fragrant jasmine tea, you spy a rattling cart heading your way. The cart is piled high with hot, steaming tins filled with surprises wrapped in dough. The woman pulls off the tops to reveal little dumplings of joy and a chicken foot or two. Oh yes, chicken feet. Almost all those tins reveal yummy morsels for the eating. The tricky part about eating dim sum is knowing when to stop piling tins on your table. Inevitably, I eat one too many shrimp har gow and have to be rolled out of the restaurant, but not today.

Italia
Pazzo Gelato
Sunset Blvd. and Hyperion




The great thing about ice creams in general is that no matter how full you are there is room for ice cream. Ice cream melts. It takes no room.
Me: Italian vanilla and pistachio
Hubby: Italian vanilla and espresso pistachio
Perfetto!

Espana
Dinner at home with friends Mitch & Joey

Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain by Penelope Casas came in the mail last week and was the inspiration for our little dinner.



The Menu
Potato Tortilla
Asparagus with Brie
Toast with Ham, Arugula & Strawberry
Andouille sausage (not Spanish, but delicious)
Manchego
Olives
marcona almonds
Bread
Strawberries and Spanish truffle bar

Wines
Marques de la Concordia Crianza 2004 Rioja
Delicious and $10.99 at Whole Foods
Ponzi Tavola 2003 Pinot Noir
The Tavola 2005 Pinot was written up recently in the LA Times
Fabulous winery. Go to Oregon and drink up. It's worth every sip, I promise.

Clean up was a snap after three bottles of wine along with good music.

Rhymes with Orange

This past Tuesday I got the chance to go to American Idol. My good friend Annette is always on some email list regarding AI. We have gone to past result shows together, but this was our first singing show. I was very excited to see all the Idols perform.

In preparation for the show I made a poster. My poster was in response to a poster last week that stated, "Sanjaya is my Papaya."

My poster:



My logic: Nothing rhymes with orange and therefore Melinda is a one of a kind.

Alas, they did not show my poster on TV. And I whooped and hollered and acted a fool while holding my poster proudly over my head during the show. All to no avail. I looked carefully with the assistance of Tivo and my poster and shenanigans did not make the cut. Plus during the commercial breaks on the show the warm-up comedian dude goes around and reads all the posters and riffs about them. He came by me twice but did not mention my poster, to which I could only conclude that he didn't get it. I guess I am too, what? Literate or literary for the AI crowd? Or just Craaazy. I thought I was clever and the art work, well. The navel in the orange is a rhinestone and I mixed micro-glitter into my paint. It was sparkle poster craftiness.

Sadly, aside from my art work not being properly displayed or understood, Sanjaya the papaya was sent home on Wednesday. That Papaya is a cute boy. Totally cut out for Tiger Beat. He just needs one Da Doo Run Run Hit and he is destined for a VH1 "Where are They Now" show in twenty years. Good Luck Sanjaya. Hope to see you soon on the Disney channel.

The first image is from a nothing rhymes with orange t-shirt.
http://threadless.com/product/462/Nothing_Rhymes_With_Orange
Funny t-shirt.

Thanks Annette for taking to me Idol!

The Thrill of the Hunt

I like to think that I am fairly hip and with it. Someone in touch with popular culture. But while watching commercials during American Idol I learned something new. There was some friends list cell phone commercial playing that referred to a woman as an "old Cougar." Well something about it tickled my funny bone and kept playing the line over and over again when my hubby asked me if I knew what an urban cougar was?

I did not.

It's an older woman who hooks up with younger men.

I had never heard of an urban cougar before. My next course of action was to google the term and people there is a whole world of cougars out there. No Kidding.

check out www.urbancougar.com
on this website they define the urban cougar as a sophisticated species of female who seeks the pleasure of younger males.

There is www.gocougar.com, a cougar dating site.

For even more info right from the cougar's mouth check out this clip.
http://www.current.tv/studio/media/9932632

I can only blame my married existence for my lack of cougar knowledge.
Hell if I wasn't married I would definitely be a cougar.
Everyone likes a fresh kill once in a while.
And who doesn't love Mrs. Robinson, the lead huntress in Big Game?



Meow, Mrs. Robinson, Meow!

LOVE monkey

For my Sweet Babu
a LOVE monkey







And for Mama
a LOVE puppy



Yes I have been stuffing all my feelings of love into little creatures. Who knew that out of scraps and socks you could create something so cuddly and fun. Well the doxy isn't that cuddly but when you have a real live cuddle pup who loves to spoon you can't ask for much more.

Fast Knit: Calorimetry

Looking for fast and easy. Jump on the calorimetry bandwagon and knit one up for yourself.





I used Nashua Wooly Stripes, which only has 88 yards, so I ran out of yarn for the bind off row. Luckily I had a little bit of purple Nashua left over from another project. I just have to weave in the ends (BAH!), sew on a button and I will be sporting my new look. Right now I am trying to figure out which is the front and which is the back. I think the purple edge is the back edge. Don't you love the way the stripes knit up? Go to www.knitty.com for the pattern.

Fair Isle Fun

My first foray into fair isle has been sitting in the WIP pile for the last year. It was a Rowan pattern sweater by Lucinda Guy and not knit in the round. I thought it would be fast and easy because it was knit with Big Wool. I thought I would get to play with cables and learn fair isle and intarsia. But I was so wrong. Oh so wrong. For the life of me, I could not figure out how to strand and purl with the two strands of yarn. With frustration it got tossed into the pile of other woebegone projects.

This week I found myself needing a new project. I checked out the WIP pile. I even saw that sweater that gave me so much trouble. Phooey. I needed something fresh.

So a visit to www.knitty.com was in order. The first pattern to pop up was Center Square.
Okay, time to give the fair isle another shot.
Here's how it turned out.




The yarn is Katia Flexi. The fair isle wasn't hard at all in the round. In fact it was down right fun. I think my stranding came out pretty uniform and it took me two days to knit it up. It's a success story. I may have another look at that dastardly sweater that taunts me from the bottom of the basket.

Don't cry over spilt cat food or Get a sense of humor

After getting out of the shower this morning I spilled about 5 pounds of cat all over the bathroom. I filled half of the sink, an entire drawer that was pulled open, and covered most of the floor. I wish I was the sort of person when confronted with a drawer full of cat food to grab the camera and have a laugh. Instead I am the sort of person who is standing naked with a towel wrapped around her head saying “Shit” and thinking I should go back to bed and let the dog clean up the mess on the floor. I am also the same person who is looking at the drawer thinking to myself I was going to cut my toenails but now the clippers are buried under cat crunchies. I was feeling downright defeated and it was only the start of my day. After cleaning up the mess and back to my morning routine, I thought to myself I should have taken a picture because it’s not everyday you see a drawer full of cat food. Next time the unexpected happens I hope I am quicker to smile and grab the camera than to grumble and grab the broom.

Wishing you all a day full of smiles!

Lorenzo Lamas in a Speedo

Star sighting!

Today the pool was packed. After a four day weekend of stuffing myself silly with all the trimmings, me and everyone else dragged themselves to the gym. The pool was unusually busy and people were lined up waiting for others to finish. I vacated my lane and was toweling off when what to my wondering eyes would appear but Lorenzo Lamas in a Speedo!

No kidding!

This is a much younger picture, but he looks about the same with longer hair and leathery skin. It's scary that one can find a picture of him in a speedo in the first place.

Meet my Sock Monkey

Where have I been? What have I been doing? The answer is lots of what I am not supposed to be doing and doing little of what I am supposed to be doing.

Here is the little bit of craftiness that I created this week. Isn't she cute? This was inspired by a Japanese craft book that uses socks and gloves to create cute animals.

I also finished sewing my first dress!! YAY!!! But I don't have a picture of it yet BOO!!! :(

So stay tuned...

I promise it won't be so long next time.

Slaying Dragons in My Bathtub

I get up this morning and head for the shower. I draw back the shower curtain and there, curled up in the bottom of my bathtub laying in wait, is a SCORPIAN!!! EEEewwwww! My hubby and resident bug killer is out of town and I am left to face it...alone. I call my hubby for strategy and moral support as we devise how I am to destroy the three-inch scorpian in my bathtub. The killing of a stinging prehistoric creature with pinchers takes on dramatic proportions as in my pajamas I come face to face with a stinging, nasty, looks dead already, but I know it's just playing possum, dragon that is between me and my taking a shower. Of which I need because I didn't take one yesterday. I wasn't procrastinating I was knitting and how dirty does one really get when when is sitting on the couch knitting all day and night? Started a new knitting project, the Amelie bolero from Rebecca #28. Having a great time with it, but more on that later.

When it comes to dealing with most creatures in the house I am happy to return things back to the wild like baby lizards, moths, and spiders. But this is a SCORPIAN in my bathtub!!! I was dealing with a sneaky, stealthy, stinger that made it through the Animal Defense System (2 dogs and 2 cats). My first thought is to wash it down the shower drain, but my husband tells me it will just crawl back out later. Option number 1 is out and I have to face the dragon.

To get ready for battle I slip on my Ugg boots for protection and grab an ESPN magazine, which has an extra-large format and provides good weight and distance for swatting and killing unwanted creatures. My hubby informs me that if I whack it I have to whack it really good because scorpians don't die very easily. The dragon is in the curve of the bath tub and I don't have a good swatting angle. Swatting is out.

Here's how it went down.

Put down the phone. Face the enemy. Drop the magazine onto the scorpian. Pause for any movement. Stomp. Stomp. Gingerly pick up magazine. Scorpian is crawling around. SCREAM! Drop magazine. Stomp. Stomp. Dead.

Before I can pick up the phone again, I can hear my husband laughing and screaming to his friend. When slaying dragons in your bathtub beware of being mocked. The scorpian was swept out of the tub and into the toilet for a watery goodbye. I proceeded to take a shower and wash the heebie jeebies off of myself all the time wondering when the next fiend was going to pop into my shower and deliver the karmic sting. In conclusion, for the next few days I will be checking my shoes for tiny dragons curled up in the toes. Dragons BEWARE!

Caught in the act

There is nothing like admitting my personal procrastination problem and then posting the date I started to write my post...oh four months ago, to confirm that I truly have a procrastination problem. What can I say. I try to get up everyday and take a shower if nothing else!

I was supposed to align my forces of light this weekend with a yoga tantra sadhana intensive but it was cancelled. Doesn't that sound good...aligning the forces of light. Who couldn't use a good alignment once in a while? I guess I will go it alone on my light aligning. Any suggestions? Rituals? Cleanses? Mantras?

Well, I'll figure it out tomorrow.