Dumpling Time

Yes, I know - a week has passed since my last post.
We are super busy here - making things, running around, the usual stuff of life.

Last Sunday I spent most of the day making and cooking Chinese Dumplings:



This includes making and rolling out the wrapper / dough by hand.


The finished product (shot with my iPhone):


I even had left over dough for green onion pies.


Added yumminess!

This sort of thing only happens once a year, so we enjoyed the dumplings while they lasted.....

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Friendship and Honors

I love the friendships I've cultivated through this and my photography blog. And when one of those friends honors me with a blog award, I'm even more grateful for relationships and inspiration found through this medium.

I've known Lee for several years now, and we've met in real life (and will get together later this year - so excited about that!). She's awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award. How cool is that! Backtracking through the other award recipients, I've been linked to some great new blogs - another bonus to the award.

For this award, I am to tell 8 things about myself and then pass the award on to 8 more people.

8 more things about me -

1. I have to sleep with eye shades and ear plugs. And I still wake up when the toilet starts to fill randomly at night.
2. I sing in the car every day on my way to and from work.
3. I love to run in cold weather. Today, it was 32degF and I thought it was perfect. Any temperature between 30 and 50 is ideal.
4. My family calls me the "kitchen nazi" because I am a control freak in the kitchen.
5. I'm currently learning to use Lightroom to process my pictures. So far, I'm liking the process.
6. We've lived in our current house for 8+ years - that's the longest time we've stayed in one place. And we don't expect to move for many years.
7. I don't watch a lot of TV. When I graduated from college and moved into my first apartment, I didn't have a TV for over a year. Now with the internet, I would cancel our satellite TV service (but the other members of the family would certainly balk!).
8. As much as I don't need TV, I need my internet! I think the longest time I was unplugged was 3 days. Big time withdrawal!

Now, this is the part of these awards that I always find so hard - passing on to 8 more people (like I know that many!).

Kyla
Jeanne
Char
Puna
Maggie
Martha
OK, I'm stopping at 6 blogs..... but they are all great, so check them out!

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January 10-19, 2011

It’s already the third week of January, the snow is falling (yet again) and tomorrow the temperatures will drop below zero. Welcome to winter on the prairie. Even the birds have to deal with the snow and ice.


Taken outside the orthodontist office on Monday, January 10th – Brian had a retainer check up (he needs to wear it more, so we’ll have to monitor that a little more).

Later that evening, Sammy got up high above the refrigerator in the kitchen. He and Hannah were playing a bit of “tag”:




Fast forward a couple of days, and we’ve got 6” of fresh snow on the ground, and Scott bought these from the store:

Just what the kids need – caffeine and real sugar!

That night, I made some crepes for Erica:


On Friday, I hosted book club at the house. What a busy day! So busy that I didn’t take pictures, but my friend, Kellie (who is doing her own Project 365 this year) did:


I made rum cake (of course) and we discussed The Happiness Project (my selection).


On Saturday, January 15, I took Erica to the mall – she needed new jeans [the ones she bought in the fall are “too cold” – that’s because they have holes in them – that’s why buying jeans with holes in them is really not the best idea…..].

Apparently, Aeropostale has been surpassed by the America Eagle store:


And later, Sammy decided to snuggle on her lap.


There’s no shortage of cat games tonight:


On Sunday, I decided to take my own advice concerning finding photographic inspiration during the winter months and bought a bouquet of tulips to photograph.


And instead of wasting time playing Angry Birds (seriously, I need a 12 step addiction program), I wasted time photographing stemware:


I promised Erica I would hang her new window blinds today. Out come the power tools – the Makita drill set I bought Scott for Christmas in 2009.


It’s a great drill (not too big) so I quickly completed this project.

Monday morning, Martin Luther King Jr. day, and the kids have the day off. I guess I have the “morning off” too, as I don’t have to drag the kids out of bed and drive them to school. Instead, I leisurely prepared for the day and played around with my iPhone camera and the Hipstamatic app:


Tuesday – kids are back to school. I have violin lessons in the afternoon – starting the 2nd movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto – very pretty. Later that night, Brian and I sweat things out at Cage Fitness Class.

Wednesday morning and I’m still taking photos of the tulips.


The kids persuaded me to get them sandwiches from Panera on Wednesday night. Wow, the Christmas lights are still up in the Olde Farm Shops.


But I have to admit, they are kind of festive….

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327/365 - Happy Thanksgiving

From our house to yours.



We didn't include Rascal in the picture - too much work.

And some of pictures leading up to the whole family:





On this cold, rainy Thanksgiving, we are so thankful for our friends, family, our warm home and so much more.

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295/365 - Hanging On the Couch

I got to snuggle with Sammy this evening. He's in his standard "spot" - the corner of the loveseat. And laying on the "bear blanket" (a bonus, as it is the most sought after blanket in the house, especially in the cooler months).



Such is the life of a kitty cat. Tough, but someone's gotta do it.

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288/365 - The Family Picture for 2010

Long story short, here is the 2010 installment of the family photo.



Taken in the backyard, with the remote shutter release.
Of course, the entire event was fraught with the usual drama and silliness as the kids had to check each picture as it was taken. We really gave our neighbors some comic relief with our shenanigans.
Some of the outtakes:




And then we added in an extra dynamic - pictures with the cats:


This is as good as it gets with three cats who don't really like each other:


Because soon after, one of them always gets away:

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251/365 - The Accessory to Wear This Season

Friday, September 10 -
It's cool enough to break out my newest accessory, the decorative scarf. I see people wear these even in summer, but I just can't. Inspired by Dawn (who bought several in Italy), I bought this one when Erica was shopping at the Aeropostale. I know it's mainstream, (even for my age) because Lands End has them featured on every other page of their Fall Catalog.



And lest anyone think that I own a seamless background / lighting setup, I'll confess that I snapped the picture in the master bathroom, against the drywall. I think it works for this simple picture.

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Back to Italy - Family Properties, July 26, 2010

Note: Parts of this post were originally published on my photography blog.

After our trip up the Clock Tower in Fanano, Giovanni led us to the old property where Dave’s Grandmother grew up. Aunt Eva accompanied us, making for a truly memorable experience. Walking up the hill to the property, Aunt Eva, Dave’s grandmother’s sister, refused any offer of assistance – she is a strong, independent woman. We didn’t understand much of what was said between Eva and Giovanni, but her actions told us the story – that she remembered the large Oak Trees. That she remembered the times growing up by the fruit trees and grapevines. That she could see her sister’s husband reflected in Dave’s face.


We loved the old, rustic touches of this property and learned that Lamborghini makes more than sports cars!




Next, we visited the farmhouse where Dave’s Grandfather once lived, and where we experienced the gracious kindness and hospitality of strangers. A beautiful woman and her grandmother served us a nice snack, even though we were foreigners and were traipsing around their property. All we could do was smile to show our appreciation.




Finally, we bid our goodbyes to Giovanni and Eva. Giovanni set us on our way to navigate the Italian roads alone, but well equipped to find our way to Modena and then to Cinque Terre.

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Back to Italy - Morning Stop in Fanano, July 26, 2010

As time does not belong to me
Although I always tell it,
No certain time is yours, O traveller.

(Fanano Clock Tower, inscription dated October 20th, 1609)

Monday morning comes and we check out of the lovely Gabriella Hotel, but not until we’ve had some breakfast. I opted for a straight up shot of dark, strong espresso to accompany the rolls, muesli and yogurt.



Before leaving, we (Dawn and I) get to check out the hotel’s wine cellar and the other sections of the hotel grounds. I would be happy to stay another day, but we have a full day of travel ahead of us – we will visit the commune of Fanano, head into Modena and drive 3 hours to the west coast – to the Cinque Terre.






It is a beautiful, cool morning in the mountains, and the Hotel Gabriella peeks out at us as we drive away, a ray of yellow through the forest of green.


Giovanni leads us to our first stop in Fanano, where we meet up with Dave’s Aunt Eva. We walk into the town square, quite conscious of our “tourist” appearance (again, no Asians around in these parts). I snapped pictures of some of the local goods before we come to the large clock tower in the far corner of the town.

Eva and a Friend








Some information about the Clock Tower and Palazzo Lardi, taken from a website on Fanano

Standing at the beginning of Via Sabbatini, it was built in 1340 as the headquarters of the Infantry Corps, later served as a gendarmerie with prison, and then became a private residence. In 1433 it housed Cosimo de’ Medici during his exile from Florence, and in 1439 it gave accommodation to Pope Eugene IV on his return from the Council of Ferrara. In the XVI Century the facade was decorated in Tuscan style, with the fine main doorway. In 1607 it was purchased by Pietro Lardi, a nobleman of Ferrara sent to Fanano by the Este family as Commissar; the building is still owned by the Lardi family. The adjoining Clock Tower, which once guarded the gateway to the castle, was raised in 1609 to create space for the mechanism of the clock with bell, the work of a skilled local craftsman. The Tower is still owned by the Municipality and was completely restored during 2005.

Admiring the tall clock tower, we are surprised when Giovanni appears with a set of keys, which he uses to open up a door at the base of the structure. We climb the steep stairs up and up through the structure for our own private tour.




A beautiful view from up top – and then the bell started to chime – it’s 11am.

Looking down at The Church of San Silvestro


It's Loud When the Bell Chimes


Clock Gears



Upon leaving the Bell Tower, Dawn notices the plaque above the doorway we entered through:


Oh, how fortunate we were to have Giovanni as our tour guide in Fanano.

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