Saturday, November 19, 2011

This Week's Blog Post

Peace Sign Earrings!
My 9 year old niece requested neon green peace sign earrings. Sadly I could not find neon green peace sign charms! But I made these adorable earrings and accented them with snowflake obsidian which is a cool black stone with grey markings. She will receive them on Thanksgiving day.

Liver Cancer Awareness Jewelry!
A family member is helping out with an auction for a friend’s family member who is experiencing a very difficult battle in the advanced stages of liver cancer. His story is heart breaking being a husband, father of 4 children and also a grandfather. I made these 2 bracelets and earrings to be donated at an auction/fundraiser for the family. It always feels good to contribute to something that is going to help others.

On Rue Tatin
I just wanted to mention this delightful book I just finished about an American chef who has moved to Louviers in Normandy, France. Susan Herrmann Loomis wrote this book about her career which ultimately brought her and her husband to France and ended up staying their permanently. I have always dreamed about uprooting to another country and immersing myself in another culture. Although this dream can become a reality I am not sure I could just leave my life here!

Reading about Susan’s challenges is very inspiring and entertaining! She and her husband renovated and live in an old convent!!! Of course I had too Google Loomis. She actually holds cooking classes in her house! It sounds like she is living a dream! The neat thing about this book is that she inserts wonderful French recipes that she has learned while living there.

This is Notre Dame in Louviers. Susan mentions that her son goes to school at Notre Dame so I am guessing this is a school as well as a church. So gorgeous!!!

Zucchini Lasagna?
I am not sure what to call this dish. Jim and I had some delicious zucchini rollatini in a restaurant recently and thought it could be fun to recreate. That did not happen. How do chefs get the zucchini thin enough to roll?!? Anyway the slices of zucchini were layered with ricotta cheese, mozzarella and pasta sauce. Then baked. The result was delicious!

Honey Bee After The Frost!
Jim took this photo with his cell phone while sitting in the car waiting for his son to get out of school. It seems strange for a bee be hanging around after we already had 2 snowstorms. Jim tells me bees can freeze and unfreeze no problem. I am not sure if he is making this up for not. LOL. So maybe this bee was frozen already and came back to life. The photo looks funny. …..oddly large in perspective to the rest of the picture. I suppose the windshield distorted it. Either that or the bee was dinosaur sized!


This week I will be getting a couple of estimates on a new furnace. It will be such a relief when this replacement is complete!!!!

I wish all my readers a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate! Have a fantastic week! ~Val

14 comments:

  1. I've dreamed of uprooting myself and traveling abroad too. It's so vivid in my mind, but I know it's just a dream. lol

    Hope you get the furnace fixed in time for the holidays (if at all possible). Well, I better get back to cleaning. Thanksgiving is at my house this year and I have overnight guests, so I'm cleaning everything!

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  2. Ooh, you had me at the zucchini rollatini! You didn't mention pasta of any kind which caught my eye because I'm celiac. Paris and the convent are dreams but a zucchini lasagna without noodles might be do-able!

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  3. YUM! I think they par-boil the zucchini then roll it up, makes it more pliable! This still looks relish though! Have a great Thanksgiving!!

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  4. hello my dear!
    very nice creations for your niece, and I loved the cats! :)
    big hug :)

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  5. I just love those earrings Val, and I'll bet your niece will also! What a wonderful surprise for her. Your zucchini dish looks delicious. About getting the zucchini thin enough? Get it as thin as you can, and then boil it for a minute or two. It softens it, and then you can roll it :-)

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  6. Oh my that picture of the bee looks like a from a movie of giant killer bees!!! Happy Thanksgiving to you too Miss Val!

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  7. Special effects?? LOL

    attack of the Killer Bees! that is a wicked photo there.

    have a great week.

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  8. I love the peace earrings Val!!!

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  9. yum zucchini lasagna! Not sure how to roll zucchini, that's a good question.

    That bee looks awfully big for my taste. *shiver*

    happy Thanksgiving to you too :)

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  10. Zucchini lasagne sounds fab! I am a veggie so yum yum! And what a beautiful pic of Notre Dame, I may have to have a read of that book!

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  11. Your niece will love her earrings :) And your donation set is awesome. I wish the family all the best in their fight against cancer!

    Happy Thanksgiving :)

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  12. Hi there friend!
    thanks for visiting.
    big kiss :)

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  13. Great post. I want to check out that book and eat that food!! :)

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Thank you for stopping by! I love reading visitor comments! ~Val