04:30 PM October 25, 2006 | Comments (0)
Wow...time flies
Well, I've said it before but I will try to blog more often. I can't believe my last post was in May. This has certainly been a challenging year for me and I never seem to have time to get to everything I want or need to do.
A few highlights…
- In the early part of June my good friend, Tomas, from Germany came for a visit. It was a fun 3 days with us doing very little sightseeing but lots of catching up. I only wish he'd been able to stay longer and that Llywelyn had been able to make the trip as well.
- Both Emma and I missed Tyler so much that it was a mere 2 weeks before I adopted a kitty from the shelter. Even the vet laughed at me when I brought my newbie in for his first checkup. I think his exact quote was, “that didnt' take long.” Anyway…more news on that in an upcoming post.
- For one glorious month this summer I was glued to my TV every evening and weekend watching World Cup soccer. It's always so disappointing when it's over because you get in such a routine of watching games and suddenly there are none. However, this WC, that disappointment was bearable because my Azzurri won! Yes, Italy won WC2006!
- Campioni del Mondo! Have you heard? Italy won the World Cup? :-)
- Dad & I managed a week away in August. We went to the condo in Florida. It wasn't exactly a vacation. The purpose of the trip was to clear out the junk and mom's clothes from the condo so we could put it on the market. We managed that the first 3-4 days and were left with 3-4 days to relax poolside. Dad loves the place so much that he didn't want to sell it afterall. So now we're looking at renting it out for the season so it at least covers the year-round maintenance and real estate taxes.
- When we returned from Florida, I invited my aunts over for Sunday dinner. I love planning menus and cooking so it didn't seem like a big deal to me. Imagine my surprise when they said they felt like they were in a fancy restuarant because I made 2 appetizers (I'll have to remember to post the recipes here since they were new and turned out yummy): Orange infused sauteed shrimp and bacon wrapped artichoke hearts. I also made a salad, potato gnocchi with a red pepper cream sauce, prime rib roast with a cabernet au jus (recipe compliments of Tyler Florence), blanched haricots verts, and for dessert a coconut budino (similar to a custard flan but higher and with coconut in the custard). It was the first time I'd ever cooked for them and I guess I wanted to show the Italian side that this girl can cook.
- Celtic Fest Chicago, held every year in September, is over for 2006. It went well, despite scrambling around 3 days before the festival to find a replacement performer because the Welsh harper I booked as one of our headline acts couldn't make it. Her visa approval process was still pending, despite requesting it in February. Prior to the festival I decided this would be my last one. With everything going on this year, it was such a heavy burden to organize the harp tent and after 3 years, I'd had enough. Then the festival ended and I had so much fun working with the acts that I couldn't wait to do it next year. So, there you go, changed my mind…LOL
- I threw my father a surprise birthday party. He turned 80 in October. I invited a few of his friends and all of his family to Sunday brunch. Dad was surprised and a great time was had by all. A brunch was the perfect venue since there is so much on offer that there's something there for everyone's taste.
I can't believe that we're days away from Halloween and soon it will be Thanksgiving. My cousin invited us over for Thanksgiving. Ever since mom died, dad's family seems to want to keep us from being alone on holidays so Easter was at my Aunt Nancy's and Thanksgiving will be at my cousin Fran's. I think I'll miss our traditional food so I may have to make a mini-Thanksgiving dinner sometime afterward.
Well, that's what's been going on in my world, stay tuned for more on my semi-new kitty.
