first snow of the season

First snow of the year fell yesterday ... 

 

 

 

Winter is here ...

 

... the last of the Christmas gifts are ready to go out!

Christmas cards have all been mailed ... most of the gifts have also gone out.  
It's a nice benefit to DH's deployment ~ many things were done well ahead of schedule. 

Of course, I haven't decorated our home this year ... other than putting out the Advent calendar and our Moravian Star.  

These are the last two gifts to go out ... the two relatives these are going to don't read my blog (and my son already has his gift) ... so I can share this with you.   
 
It's my simple version of this pin:  
  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/571746115165549284/

Was hoping to get a box from the local pizza place ...
 but that's didn't work out (rats!).

Will express-mail them tomorrow when I go grocery shopping ... then I will be done!!

Now I can just relax and enjoy the season
     ... and watch the snow fall....

Holly

Getting a jump start on New Year projects

My dear husband is currently deployed ... so I am home, alone and while I am getting out a bit to enjoy the German Christmas season ... for the most part, I am working on projects and purging out my clutter (and I seem to still have quite a bit even with all the de-cluttering and purging I have done over the last two years).

While roaming around the web today, I ran across this link ...  

 http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/List-Things-Dispose-24575006

A lot of times I don't know quite where to start .. or I have a limited amount of time (15 minutes, half-hour,  maybe even just five) and while I want to do something productive, am stymied how best to spend that time ... this link has a great list of things to toss, purge, donate or otherwise exile from my home so I don't have to try and come up with ideas (if I don't already have "stuff" screaming "let me GO!!").  
 
I will be adding this list into my Home "Flight Control" binder (that is a long-term work in progress ... but I hope it will be finalized by early next year so I can have it printed off.
Yes ... I am old-school enough to prefer a "printed on paper" list of routine, home maintenance tasks and suggestions.  Having a known maintenance cycle of projects and upkeep will let me take care of most things preventatively ... love that concept!!

Here's to chipping away at the clutter and my projects .... would love to hear your ideas for keeping your life in control.  Please share what works for you.

Back into the dimly, dark corners to see what I can find!!   
Holly

Fields of Gold from last summer

At the edge of our village, one farmer was growing sunflowers ... 
and hay of course ... lots of farmers grow hay here .....

DH and I walked past this on one of our longer walks ...

These sunflowers were only about 5-feet tall 

with flowers about six-inches petal tip to petal tip ...

Golden flowers basking in the sunny rays ...

Pretty sight ... one to treasure in my memory now that winter is nearly here.

Holly

gotta love it!!

A friend sent me this on Thanksgiving... just had to share 

(okay... didn't HAVE to ... but I'm going to anyhow)

Don't know who the creator is so I can give him/her credit for this ... 

he/she has a great sense of humor and imagination!

Smiles!!   Enjoy your day ~  Holly

 

Cool hair!!

St Wendel hosted a magician's fest recently ...

lots of magicians circling the church ...

some good, some not so good ...

This gentleman and his partner were fantastic!!

Could have watched the two of them all day long ...

Holly

Pelicans are pink??

DH and I recently visited the zoo in Cologne, Germany (we often visit zoos in our travels ... makes a nice break, we can wander around looking at how other cities put together displays, see some really cool animal shows or see animals we might not otherwise see) .... 

I have seen pelicans lots of times while I was in the military ... 

but I don't think I have ever seen a pink pelican ... love the feather crest he has going down the back of his head ...

What is your favorite animal to see ... anywhere, zoo, in the wild ... your choice.  

Holly

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my friends around the world!

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes & gravy have nary a lump,
May your yams be delicious, may your pies take the prize,
May you remember your blessings and hopes that the rolls will rise.
Wishing you a joyful time with your families this Thanksgiving.
*********Happy Thanksgiving! *********

Holly

Wandering the paths

We've been going out most mornings for walks ... we take a slightly different route each time we go out.  Lots of paths ... if we chose, we could wander our way all over Germany and most of Europe ... starting from the paths by our front door.






A really BIG snail DH found on our walk ... probably six inches long!!
I thought the patterning on the head and neck was pretty cool looking.

Holly

I'm back ... what's new in my life

Seems like I'm making a hobby of disappearing for long periods ... I realized that I was spending way too much time on the Internet and neglecting my life, home and family.  Pinterest (love it ... but ....) especially was a source of hours of mindless wandering ... tracing one idea after another. 

Went nearly cold turkey ... only was on the Internet to take care of our finances and limited Emails.  Amazing how much time I had to invest in my home and family.  Didn't stop using the computer ... just the Web. 

Was able to organize masses of digital photographs which were buried in the hidden recesses of my computer ... no one could enjoy them, they were stashed away.  Gathered them all together ... sorted by month, then event, deleted the duplicates and the "fuzzies" ... next step is to create a photo book (I'm going to do it by year) and have the book printed.  Still tagging and naming some of the photos ... but I've gotten rid of SO many that were just there.  Such a feeling of relief!!

As you may remember - DH and I moved last year up to Germany.  Our home here is quite a bit smaller than our one in Sicily (still miss Sicily ... it's become a second home) ... so I've been purging out a lot of belongings.  Still have more than I want ... but making progress.   Have run into a problem with lack of storage pieces .... gotta have some place to store the extra blankets, jackets, cushions for the patio furniture ... so have to figure out how to resolve that.  Not a lot of room to put the storage units ... but I really do need to figure out how to store what is only used seasonally or irregularly. 

We're still exploring our new area ... lots to see.  DH and I have gotten into the habit of walking most mornings ... lots of walking paths in our village.   Am also been experimenting more in the kitchen ... lots of good food ... some failures. Weather has been changeable ... lots of drizzle, some rain, a bit of sun ... getting cooler ... the leaves are starting to change colors.

Shall we explore Holly Berry's World?

Holly

Apple-Ginger Jam

Taking advantage of all the wonderful apples grown here in the local area

and making apple-ginger jam.

Really easy ....

wash, peel and shred 3-pounds of apples (about 1.5 kg)

add 2 teaspoons ground ginger (the dry spice)

add in the appropriate amount of sugar and pectin

(I'm not providing the amounts in this posting ..

German stores sell the sugar-pectin mixture the recipe I use specifies ...

you can check with your local farm bureau or 

canning advice service to get the recommended amounts .... 

I don't want give you the wrong amounts and

have you end up getting sick ... that would be BAD!!!)

Let apple-ginger-sugar-pectin mixture sit in the refrigerator 24 hours

Pour mixture into a pan and bring to a slow boil

(keep stirring to keep it from burning),

cook for 5-10 minutes until a cooled sample is gelatinous

(I put a small spoon of it on a plate, blow on it to cool it and tilt the plate)

Once it is gelatinous, scoop into canning jars -

Clean off the rims and screw the lids on.

Flip upside down and let cool.

You will hear the lid "Pop" when it seals.

You can keep this on a shelf in a cool area for 3-6 months

(we're doing good if it lasts 2 months).

Don't need to pressure seal or boiling water process this (good deal!!) 

Here's some I made a few days ago (sorry about the fuzzy photo)

We'll be able to enjoy the flavor of fall well into Winter ... Yumm!!

Holly

Feelings about San Diego Wildfires

The more I see of San Diego County fires --- the more I really don't want to ever move back there.  I have a phobia about wildfires... when I was in the Navy, fires onboard ships don't bother me so much ... they can be contained and we were trained to deal with them ... wildfires just keep jumping and expanding.  My fear is rooted from my freshman year of high school.  There was a really big fire in the area just east of where we lived.  That weekend was homecoming weekend for our church; Sunday the sky was all yellowy and a lot of people didn't show up for the homecoming.  The church and our home were close to the edge of the populated areas ... it was a lot of semi-wildness and overgrowth to the east.  At school on Monday, lots of students were missing since they had been evacuated or their parents kept them home.  The district decided to cancel school midway through the day and sent everyone home.  We lived a couple miles from my high school - it was considered within walking distance so I started walking home.  One of my teachers stopped and gave a ride to the corner of our street and dropped me off there.  Walked down the block - no one was home.  Dad was at work and no idea where Mom was.  She didn't leave a note.  I'm pretty uneasy so try to find a neighbor to stay with until Mom comes back.  Knocked on every house on our block --- no one answers other than one son and he was getting ready to leave (on his motorcycle).  Since he didn't have an extra helmet and I wasn't experienced being a passenger on a motorcycle he didn't want to take me with him.  Now I'm really uncomfortable --- so I try to call Dad at work.  One NEVER EVER called my Dad at work .... it had better be a death or an emergency to call him at work.  That didn't work ... the phone lines are out.  I'm now panicking ... so I toss some stuff in a daypack and start walking to my grandparents home in Pacific Beach (about 20 miles away).  Skirted the foot of Mt Helix, got into La Mesa (city) and am chugging away. Probably got close to 8-10 miles on my way when the cops picked me up because it is well after dark, I'm a young girl alone (qbout 13 years old) with a backpack and some of the nearby areas were not the best.  I explained I was on my way to my grandparents because school was closed mid-day due to the fire, none of our neighbors were home and I couldn't reach my parents.  Cops called my grandparents, who came to get me.  Late that night they finally get hold of Mom and tell her I am with them.  Mom comes to get me and she is furious.  I realize now that she was scared since she hadn't known where I was ... but she never seemed to realize just how terrified I was.  When I expressed my fears about the fire over the weekend while several of our neighbors were leaving to stay with friends or relatives ... she discounted my feelings and told me there was nothing to be worried about.  I couldn't understand why she's saying there's nothing to worry about while I'm watching the Boccias, Waterhouses and Mitchells (all adults) pack up and leave the area.  Just didn't make sense.  Then the district cancels school mid-day ... just added to my confusion.  As I said, Mother was furious when she got to my grandparents home.  It was one of the few times that she ever hit me with a belt.  Now I can understand that she lost control because she was so upset over not knowing where I was or what was happening to me.  But -- I was scared and there was no one to ask for help.  Could have gone and stood in the middle of a busy street near the house and begged for rides ... but knew that behavior was completely unacceptable in my family.  Wildfires still terrify me to this very day.   In 2001 (Cedar Fire), had to drive a section of freeway with flames on both sides of the road (and firefighters) to get to work road and another time when DH and I went to check out a car my son wanted to buy - one of the roads we had to drive crossed the path of a wildfire and we saw the fire jump the road.  DH got to see me come completely unglued at that point.    

Nope - the wildfires may outweigh all the wonderful qualities of life in San Diego for me.

interesting movie and musing

DH and I were watching "The Battle of Britain"  (1969 version) this evening on British FreeSat.  Really good movie.  DH enjoyed seeing all the different aircraft used (he ADORES planes and flying) -- according to IMDB, so many planes were used in the production that it was actually the production operated the 35th largest air force in the world at the time and most of the movie budget was spent on acquiring and refurbishing aircraft.

I was enjoying looking at all the locations - we have lived in southern Spain and visited the UK (lots) - so it felt familiar.  

During the final credits, a list was shown of the nationalities involved in the battle ... I was surprised to see that Israel was listed as such ... Israel wasn't created until 1948 and the Battle of Britain happened in 1940.   Oh well ... it's just a matter of phrasing.  

Battle of Britain happened 74 years ago early in WW2.   Lots of areas here in Europe are having commemorations this year of World War I (1914-1918).  

So much has happened in the last hundred years ... wonder what the next hundred will be like.
Holly 

springtime bunnies ...

A bunny in a nearby farmer's field of rapeseed (for rapeseed oil ... lots is grown in the area) .... 

What signs of springtime show up in your area?  Is there a flower patch, a flock of birds or something else that really tells you that Springtime is here?  

Holly

what greeted us ...

DH and I went on holiday recently ... purged out the fridge and the cupboards so there would be no "science experiments" when we came back (we were gone a month for DH's work).  
  
 
This is what greeted us when we came back ...

oops!

Forgot to check the onions in the chicken ~

Glad this was my only  "science experiment" after the trip.

Holly

 


 

saw this in a local market today ...

DH and I saw this in a local grocery today while picking up produce .... surprised me to see it.  
It's made by a German brewery and apparently is quite popular here in Europe.

So glad that Homer is NOT on the packing ... that would cheapen the appearance for me.  

We didn't buy any ... 

Would you have added this to your shopping basket?
I'd love to hear what unique items you have seen in your local shops.


Holly

 

 

Sharing a new self-indulgence!

I found a new self-indulgence the last week at a local market!  DH won't touch it (not something he enjoys in the slightest) ... so it's all mine ... mine....mine!!

The flavor is blood-orange & pomegranate.  It is fabulous!!  And reasonably priced.  I could enjoy it morning, noon and night (I know, cliche to the max) ... but I love the taste and since we left Sicily, there isn't gelato readily found. 

This works!!

What is your favorite indulgence? 
Holly

What's up?? Clearing and Purging ...

Howdy! 

Bet you all thought I fell off the end of the earth!  Sometimes it feels like I did!

Been busy purging out things I should have gotten rid of before our move last year ... and each go-round, I find more and more to get rid of.  DH and I went back to Sicily for a month (him for work and me to play, see friends).... and I brought back a ton of stuff ... most of which I am now looking at and saying "why - why - WHY???"

I forgot my codes to get into this blog -- embarassing, right??  I changed them ,,, and then didn't update my passwords chart ...like a goofball, I probably figured "I'll remember that!"  and promptly forgot.  

The last two months or so, I have working hard on organizing digital photos.  Have gathered up all the CDs, memory cards and sticks, old computers (still have to find a place to E-cycle them after getting them wiped clean) and anything else I can find that I've stashed photos on over the years.  Probably will find more as I continuing purging the excess "stuff" I've collected over the years (shudder to think of the money I've wasted ... but so life goes and learn from the mistake).   Getting rid of the fuzzy photos, labeling and organizing the others.  If I make the effort to take them ... may as well have them accessible so they can be enjoyed.

Plan to move photographs over to an online photo storage company like Flickr or Photobucket or such after I research which one works better for my life and also will go old-school and have some photo albums made of many of them.   Quite a few pins on Pinterest show people having photo albums again and using a company like Snapfish, Shutterfly or whatever makes it easy to put one together and with sales, it can be done fairly reasonably. 

Cleaning out my bookshelves (Son, bet that is something you NEVER thought you would hear your mother say) and have sent many books away using Paperbackswap.com.  Love, love, LOVE this FREE website!!  Been a member for about three years now.  You post your good condition books on the site.  If another member wants one of your books, you print off a mailing label, pay the postage and send it off -- the sender pays the postage and has credit posted to his/her account for the book.  That credit can be used to get other books from other members.  The "requester" doesn't pay a cent for the book ... just a credit from books previously sent out.    Over the last two weeks I have sent away 36 books ... but I've gotten in quite a few as well.  Not many reasonably priced English bookstores over here ... so this works great for me.  You can list books you want and if someone posts that book as being available ... you'll be notified so you can request it.   Makes up for the frustration of buying a book and discovering partway through that the book bores you silly ... put it up on Paperbackswap.com ... may find a new home for it.    Not limited to paperbacks ... there are hard-covers, audio books and more -- there's a sister-site for movies (though I haven't been over there). 
Yup ... I'm "Holly-Berry-Elf" on paperbackswap.com.

Been fighting a cold over the last week .. drinking lots of hot water with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, honey and either ginger, cinnamon or cayenne in it.  Sad part ... I've actually gotten to the point that I LIKE the taste of the stuff !?!

Re-organized our pantry last week.  It was a disaster ... though I think I need one more "canned" shelf in there.  Found (and tossed) a lot of expired stuff and things I have no idea just why I bought them  .. donated the still usable items. 

Before

Before

After 

After

 










Chat with you all soon!   Holly

Thanksgiving - bless us one and all

Some of the men carving the turkey as seen from outside -

The fourth Thursday in November is the American holiday of Thanksgiving ....oddly placed on the calendar to serve as a celebration of the harvest and to give thanks for the blessings of the year.  

To me, the Canadian date for Thanksgiving, the second Monday in October, is more aptly placed on the calendar.  Never the mind.




 Today DH and I celebrated Thanksgiving with a feast with our neighbors and other friends.  It was good to share a wonderful meal and remember all we have been blessed with - family, friends, life ...

Wishing you and yours all the best -

 Holly

Yesterday ...

the colorful leaves are gone ... and ice crystals are the norm.    Have even had a few light snow flurries .. 


One of our neighbors has two puppies, Leo and Lilly, who just don't know what to make of the falling snowflakes.  They dance and bark and chase the flakes .... quite fun to see.

how the road looked at lunchtime .... yup, the weather is changing ....

A month ago ....

everywhere you look, 
     colorful trees and plants ....

Chicken Pitcher

Traditionally, Italian chicken pitchers came about after the Medici family (a very wealthy and powerful family in Renaissance Florence) was saved due to a flock of chickens.

The brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent named Guiliano decided he wanted to hold a large celebration in the village of Gallina (which no longer exists).  The night of the festival (after everyone had drunk their fill of wine, beer and ate all the food they could possibly hold ... and were all soundly asleep) ... assassins hired by the Pazzis - a rival family to the Medici - tried to sneak into Gallina to kill Guiliano.   They might have succeeded except the assassins crossed a yard full of chickens whose cackling and noise awoke both Guiliano and his guards.  

Guiliano was so happy that his life was saved - he threw another party for the village and had artisans create ceramic chicken pitchers to use for wine and gave them as gifts to all the villagers as good luck gifts. 

It is now Italian tradition to give a chicken pitcher to friends and family to protect them from danger or trespassers.  

Found this little guy while up in Naples one weekend ... thought he was so charming I just had to get him.  Not traditional by any stretch of the imagination ... but, I love the tuxedo!

Holly

Finally back .... made a snowman

Bet you all thought I had fallen off the end of the earth .... sometimes, so did I.  Still trying to go through boxes from the move, have gotten most of them dealt with (or tossed ... or given away ...). 

The rooms in our German home mostly flow together ... so I don't want to put a lot of decorations up (plus I REALLY REALLY don't like putting Christmas decorations up before the American holiday of Thanksgiving held on the fourth Thursday of November ... I LIKE being able to enjoy each holiday in its turn).  

For right now ... this is my only decoration ... what do you think?

Holly

Sad Kitty

Poor Indy kitty! 

Found a new vet (really nice one) who gave Indy her annual physical -

wanted  complete blood-work done to check kidney functions
and overall health due to her age. 

Not a happy kitty after her blood draw ...
don't blame her in the slightest ...
I don't like needles either.
Holly
 

I'm Back Again ... in Our New Home

I sure didn't expect to be gone this long!  Moving is such a bear!! 

It is so depressing to leave a place where you have created a life and made friends .. have made memories (lots of memories) and changed a building from just walls, ceiling and floors into a home, welcoming and filled with the treasures that decorate our life.  It was so sad to look at the empty spaces and know that our time there has come to an end ....

DH found a wonderful place in southern Germany ... a bit smaller than our last ... so some things we have acquired over the years are going away to brighten other lives.  Dear Kitty managed to make it up here okay ... though she wasn't too sure about that while we were on the ferry going from Palermo (Sicily) to Genova (northern Italy).  The cat kenneling area was under repair ... and since she was the only cat (and pets are not allowed in the individual cabins ... which I can understand ... fur, "accidents", fleas, other issues) ... she had to spend nearly 24-hours in one of the smaller cages at one end of the dog kennel.  Fortunately there weren't a lot of dogs in the kennel area ... and the staff did put her at one end of the room and the dogs at the other end ... but several of the dogs barked A LOT!!!  Poor kitty.

Since the kennel area was accessible to the passengers the entire trip - I did spend time with her over the trip.  But mostly she just wanted to huddle in her carrier  with her blanket (I left the carrier open and just stuck the whole thing in the kennel cage) and made sure she had water the entire trip ... as well as food once her motion sickness/panic settled down.    I felt bad for her ... I don't even like going into pet stores because I don't like seeing the animals in cages. 

Still have some boxes to go through ... but progress has been made.   Amazing some of the things I am finding packed away .... even though I did quite a bit of purging before we left Sicily (I packed a lot of boxes myself in the weeks before the movers did the final packing and loading) ... there are still things that I have to just shake my head and wonder what on earth I was thinking.

Our new home is brand new ... it was nearly a month and a half after we moved in before the landscapers finished laying the patio and putting in the landscaping.  Lots of dust and dirt during that time period .... ugh!!

Glad to be back ... time to make new memories, create a new home and make new friends. 

 

The moving van on delivery day, the living room (you can see what will become out patio and the slope that is still raw dirt) before the boxes were unloaded .. and the kitchen part way through the unpacking and putting away process.

Moving is just not much fun ...

It has been an incredibly busy month .... but DH, DKitty and I have managed to get through most of the fuss and flurry.

All our furniture (at least all that we kept) is off and on its way to Germany, the apartment has been cleaned and turned back over to Carmela and Giovanni, DH has reported to his new job (and spent much of his "free time" looking for a new place for us to live) ... DKitty  and I will join him soon ... I have a few more days of work left before the two of us will be on our way.

Amazing how much stuff we packed up and shipped out .... gave away or sold quite a bit ... but there was still a lot.  And I am sure that when we unpack all the boxes ... we will wonder just what prompted us to keep some of the things we did.

Am making the last of the farewells, picking up a few last items to mail/take to Germany ... have shed lots of tears ... I really enjoy living in Sicily and in many ways do not want to leave ...I've made friends here and have created a home here.  Tearing up the roots has been surprisingly painful considering that DH and I both spent time in the military and did multiple moves.

Gave Carmela and Giovanni our keys, gave most of my plants to Carmela ... she loves plants and poking in the dirt ... time to head off for a new adventure.... ... now, if I can only convince the cat ...

I'll miss our kitchen and being able to look out over the plains of Catania
to the ocean and our wonderful huge terrace.

Yes ... I really did need all of these keys to get into our apartment ...

Off and on our way to a new adventure ....  Holly

 

Lady Etna is at it again!

For the 13th time this year (according to volcanologists), Etna erupted today.

Lots of smoke and ash this morning while we were running errands ...

Then this evening, a friend caught pictures of the actual eruption.

changes ... changes ... changes

DH was notified a few days ago that he has been selected for a job he applied for just after New Year's  ... so we're cleaning, de-cluttering, donating and trying to get ready to leave Italy.  DH has to be at the new job in less than a month!  Yikes!!

Both looking forward to it (a new area to explore and new friends to met) ... and not (leaving our current friends... though can still keep in touch via Email, cards and Skype ... our wonderful apartment, even more wonderful landlords and the charm of life here in Sicily).  We really do love the pace and joys of life here.

Doubtful I will be working any time soon once we get moved .... so I can devote more time to sharing my world.

See you soon!

Christmas letter 2012

This is one of the two versions of the Christmas letter DH and I sent out with our cards this year ... the family one had a few more personal items listed on it and the "Merry Christmas" and "into 2013" block were both smaller so I could add personal notes.

Not quite what I had originally envisioned , but I like how it came out.

Cuban Picadillo - cheater's style

Had this in a restaurant long ago .... had my doubts while reading the menu ... a main dish that combines beef and cinnamon?  But I gave it a try and it was really good.  
Later I found this recipe in a magazine I read occasionally ... must have been fate!

This tends to be our "emergency meal" for the nights we are both tired from work and didn't start anything before heading off to work.  
Both DH and I really like this ... as you can probably tell from the LARGE jar of olives! 

Cheater's Picadillo


1-lb package of lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped -  about 1 cup
1/2-teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 jar (16-oz) corn and black bean salsa
1/2-cup golden raisins (brown raisins work, but they can look like bugs)
1/4-cup drained pimento-stuffed Spanish olives, stuffed

In a large, non-stick skillet, cook beef and onions over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned and onion is soft.  
Stir in cinnamon so it flavours all the beef.
Add salsa, raisins, olives and 1/2-teaspoon salt.
Cook stirring occasionally until heated through.
Serve over cooked rice or quinoa.
Chopped cilantro can be sprinkled over the top, if you have any. 

I keep mis-placing the recipe ... decided if I saved it here, I could always find it again!
Enjoy!

how does your garden grow?

Part of Giovanni and Carmela's winter garden for this year....
 it just never stops.
One thing gets finished  ... pull it out and put in the next item.
They can .. and do ... grow just about everything!

super-easy chicken wings

It's Superbowl Sunday for American football .... time to settle in and watch the 49ers and the Ravens battle for supremacy.  It is a time to gather with friends, cheer on your team and eat!

This is my go-to recipe for wings...

You will need:
bag of chicken wings
bottle of barbeque sauce (I personally prefer one with molasses)
bottle of hot sauce (tabasco, texas pete, buffalo wing -- whatever)

Boil however many of the wings you want in a pan of water until they are cooked (I usually set them cooking and fix other dishes .. so not a clue how long they generally cook).
Drain off the water.
Mix the bottle of barbeque sauce with however much hot sauce until it has the spiciness you prefer (we like it spicy so we generally use a about half of a large bottle of tabasco sauce).
Pour the sauce mixture over the cooked wings.

You either cook the wings now or let them set for a while ... either way works.

Line a shallow pan with foil (believe me, you don't want to try and clean the pan .... been there, done that ... I ended up tossing the pan) and spread out the wings and the sauce in the pan.

Put n the oven at about 350 - 375 degrees F and let cook until the skin is cooked to your liking.
I like my wings crispier than DH does so we pull out his share and then put the ones for me back in the oven to finish crisping up the skin.

Yum! 

"Cookie Dough" I sent my son for Christmas

A friend of mine sent me a photograph of a variation of this ...
 that one used a deep picture frame to hold the "cookie dough". 

I found this plate (started looking around for one with writing in Italian .. no joy.. oh well, so life goes sometimes) in a euro-store
 and decided I would rather use it to hold the gift.
Modified the wording of the original tag ... not totally satisfied with the wording ... will play with it some more to see what I can come up with.

I think it turned out pretty cute.


Late note:  At some point, it may be a good idea to let the recipant know the money is real ... my son didn't realize that until we talked on the phone some days later.   He thought it was a joke gift until we talked.

a bit out of season ...

Thursday night, DH stopped by our favorite bakery and picked up some bread for dinner...
this was the bag the bread was sent home in ....
a bit out of time ... but I think it's a charming bag.

gifts for the single mechs

At Christmas DH and I give "care packages" to the single mechanics who work with us ...

some soups or chili to keep in the freezer until a day comes when it's too late or much effort to cook  (at least one eats out just about every meal) that they can just pull out and heat up,

some cookies and sweet bread,

a few pieces of fresh fruit from the market

... and this year, we found chocolate "tools"

the pefect sweet ending for a mechanic.

Forgot to share

Our landlord's grandson likes to bake ... here are some of the Christmas cookies he made for us.

more rolls

More rolls she has shaped ... check out the purse on the right side!

Fancy rolls

Fancy rolls being hand shaped by a baker in Monterosso Almo, Ragusa province, here in Sicily.