Cara Mia why, must I say goodbye...

Ok, so I'm eating marinated artichokes for breakfast and thought I'd try to figure out what they use to make them stay that light creamy tan color in the jar. As I'm reading my "Cara Mia" brand jar (California Style), which I've eaten for years and thought they were Italian, I was speechless. The are made in CHILI. What? Cara Mia means "beloved" in Italian!!! I've been duped, lied to, and now I'm just flabbergasted.

The citric acid must keep them light in color but, but..they aren't Italian! AND, they cost about $4.00 for a 418 grams! My new quest will be finding the perfect Italian marinated artichoke. Any suggestions?

Earthquake !!!

We had an earthquake at 8:05 PM tonight in California. It registered 5.6 on the Richter Scale. It was centered around the Alum Rock area in San Jose.

At first I thought it was my son running through the house. I then realized the lights were swaying casting shadows so I went into the hall to yell for my son who was standing in the doorway looking out over the balcony. He thought it was a 4 or 5 on the scale. I thought it was about a 6 or 7 and that's partly because our house is set on pillars :0 It lasted about 15 seconds with two distinct jolts. Thankfully nothing broke and so far no injuries are reported. Too bad the powers that be didn't plan it for tomorrows Halloween. Other than that it's been quite a boring day.

Barn Trippin

Just thought I'd post a picture of my boo boo from falling a few weeks back in the hay barn. The colorful bruising has gone, all that remains is a sore instep where all the fluids drain when standing on my 12 hour nursing shifts....wah. Between this and the stomach flu it was a pretty miserable week.

Rather Strange Weather We're Having

It's almost midnight here in California and as I look at my blog page the temperature meter in Idaho says 21 deg F. Wow, I don't think the hubby was expecting the temp to be that low up there. Hope he put the deicer in the horse trough. Last time I was there it was starting to hit the 40's at night, but yipes! I think it just might be that cold snowy winter I've heard a few locals talking about. How they know is a mystery.....When bought the ranch back in 2001 it was covered in over four feet of snow and I've never seen that much since.

The house has been tenderly called "The Love Shack" (from the old B52's record) and someday I will post pictures, before and after. Most people are amazed at the renovations we've made but I think anything would have been an improvement from what it was.

We're having a roofer come over to give us an estimate and a time frame tomorrow. I have a feeling we may be waiting till next spring. Oh well, we've waited this long.

La Cucina Italiana- my first !

I subscribed to La Cucina Italian magazine and today I received my first one! So far I'm enjoying it. There's an article on Ragusa, Sicily, along with five other cities in Italy. These cities are the "new" destinations "bursting with palazzi and culinary meccas to see and conquer". There is reference to the Donnafugata castle and scenes from "The Leopard" that was filmed there that starred Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale. A picture of Alba Rugusa, the ancient town, dates back to the 14th century and what a lovely picture they presented. My friend from the Sicily Scene blog lives there, now I see why she loves it!

I like the list of gourmet stores listed in the back of the magazine. There's even two in Idaho,in Ketchum. There is a small store near Sandpoint,Idaho called Pend Oreille Pasta & Wine where I like to buy my port wines and cheese. Ok, back to recipe reading and making a shopping list!

The Sicilian Gentleman's Cookbook

I recently purchased this book for my son, Bobby. Bobby if you're reading this -STOP HERE !

You can scroll down in the link and read the reviews which were all good.

Last time I visited Bobby he made me some German Apple Pancakes- boy were they yummy. It was quite an involved recipe and me made me proud. So, with that in mind I thought he should venture over to his Sicilian side with a little help from Ma.

So, Bobby if you're still reading there's a naked women picture in the Antipasto section... just kiddin, well, there are some pictures on a plate....

The recipes look a bit on the simple side but it's a starter and stories along with some of he recipes are entertaining. I think I will bequeath all my cookbooks to Bobby someday...along with all my other treasures he so loves...HooHa (Mom, the collector of "stuff").

Ok, it's a nice day so outdoors to do some gardening I've neglected since I've been sick and bruised...I'm feeling almost human now!

Captain Budde

Well good news. My son "just" told me he made Captain a few months back and is currently working on his Flight Commander status. I misunderstood him and thought he needed his Flight Commander status before he became a Captain. I guess I'm getting old and discombobulated. This is not suppose to happen....and where's all the pomp and circumstance. Maybe I should ask for all future promotions in writing?

Lazy Blogger...again

No posts lately due to:
1. Nothing exiting to post about.
2. Banged up my leg and couldn't sit at the computer.
3. Forgot my camera cord in Idaho and I'm addicted to adding pictures.

I'll try again later this week.