10 OUT OF 2,000...NOT AN EASY TASK!

Palace of Versailles, France

I've been looking over my daughter's Europe pics this week and just had to share a few with you! I wish I could share more, but alas, I am too cheap to upgrade to the premium status with Picnik. Actually, I don't even know how much that costs but won't bother to check it out...so enjoy a few of my FAVORITES!

SHE'S ONE TOUGH COOKIE...

Grandma Flora at Bad Brad's BBQ

My Grandma, that is! We really thought after a fall this spring she wouldn't make it to her 94th birthday. Well, here she is, about 6 months later, hanging in there. Since then she's been moved numerous times between hospital, rehab, and now at a new nursing center. Talk about dealing with change! Our little Walmart and Sonic trips are fewer now, but it was so exciting to get to take her out to lunch with some of our family today! My husband called in the middle of the "Spin Your Wheels" 52 mile bike race today to see if I wanted to meet them after the race for lunch in Yukon. I had planned on seeing Grandma today, and when I arrived she was dressed and getting her hair done at the nursing home beauty shop. I asked her if she felt like going to lunch, (and of course she wanted to) so I surprised my bike crew by showing up at the restaurant with Grandma. It was a fun little spur-of-the-moment party! I had her to tell my kids a story I had just heard from her 5 minutes earlier:

(AS WE ARE DRIVING INTO YUKON) You know, Foster and I used to own a shooting gallery in Yukon. (WHAT???) Yes, it was just a little alley between some buildings and people would come and try to shoot at things. I got really good with that gun! (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) He used to brag on me about how good I was with that gun. Yukon was pretty small back then. 1938, I guess... (NEVER HEARD THAT STORY BEFORE!)

On the way home, she was checking out her surroundings since she is now living in OKC, having moved from Norman. She tells me she saw 2 Sonics on the way to Yukon, so you know what we had to do...stop for her favorite Sonic drink!

NEVER A DULL MOMENT AROUND MY GRANDMA...

HOMECOMING...YOU KNEW IT WAS COMING...

After spending the last 3 months in 9 countries in Europe, our daughter is finally home!!! Needless to say, we are thrilled! The majority of her time was spent studying in Florence, Italy. I found it interesting that her two favorite places she visited were Interlaken, Switzerland, and Dublin, Ireland! I am anxious to hear more about those places, WHEN SHE WAKES UP FROM HER MUCH DESERVED REST!

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM RAVIOLIS...

We finally were able to reproduce the pasta dish that we learned to make in Florence! After looking around for a "ravioli stamp," I was surprised to not be able to find one around here, even at the gourmet stores! Even Williams-Sonoma didn't have one. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, because the first time I'd ever seen one was in Italy. Ended up ordering it from Amazon.com...they have everything, it seems!

Here are the leftovers from the meal! I forgot to take a pic before we ate, since we had invited our neighbors over to be our "guinea pigs."

We didn't have any zucchini flowers, so it wasn't quite as pretty, but here is the recipe:

Zucchini and Peccorinio Ravioli

For the pasta: Any recipe you like to use - we use the one in the book that came with our pasta maker!

For the filling: Heat oil in a frying pan. Add 2 cloves crushed garlic and cook for a nice smell. Add 4-5 small sliced zucchini, dash of salt, pepper and crushed chili pepper and cook until soft. Let cool. Put into a food processor with 1 cup Peccorinio cheese and 1/2 c. bread crumbs. Blend until smooth.

Assemble the ravioli: Lay out a sheet of pasta. In small intervals, place 1 teaspoon of filling on the pasta. Brush the uncovered part of the pasta with a little water. Lay another sheet of pasta on top of this and press it down to the unfilled parts of the first sheet. Use a cutter or stamp the cut out the raviolis. In a pot of boiling salted water cook the raviolis for 2 minutes.

For the sauce: Heat a little olive oil in a large pan and saute 1-2 cloves of garlic. Add 1 onion diced, and cook until translucent. Add 6-8 sliced tomatoes and cook on low for a while. Chop 4-6 zucchini flowers and add just before serving over ravioli.

I HIT THE JACKPOT...

I found the motherlode of pot and pans at the 2nd garage sale I went to this morning!!! I had gotten a little discouraged after not finding much in 10 garage sales last weekend. (I decided the $300 Calphalon set will have to wait for a wedding gift!) Six pieces for $13...not too shabby! My college girl will now be able to make her favorite treat for all her roomies - NO BAKES! (and many more goodies!)

TURNER FALLS WITH 5 TEENAGE BOYS...

Sounds ominous, doesn't it?!

We actually had a lot of fun. I was feeling guilty that my 2 boys had not gotten to go on a trip or do much this summer, and we well, you know, went to Italy...so yeah, I thought a close equivalent would be a trip to Turner Falls for them. NOT. But it's a fun place to go for a few hours and swim, hike, and float down little streams.

I've been away from Turner Falls for about 30 years, I would guess, having been there several times in the 70's with my family. It was almost like stepping back into the 70's - cheesy wooden signs and stuff, still needs to be cleaned up in some areas, and the only difference I noticed was that you cannot swim underneath the falls and let them pound on your head anymore. It's roped off for safety reasons. That was a big thrill back then, being brave enough to swim near the falls and let them give you a headache!
Anyway, still lots of fun, and after being dumped by the three older boys, I hung out with the 15 yr. olds, giving them a little distance...

One of the best parts of the day was eating dinner at the Arbuckle Fried Pie place right off Exit 51 after exiting Turner Falls. I got a Spinach/mushroom/potato and an Apricot pie for dessert. Delicious! Got a discount, too, since we ended up ordering a dozen with my crew!

This is one of my favorites of the day because as I was taking a picture of my oldest going off the slide, my youngest jumped off the diving board (foreground) at the same time! Crazy! I couldn't get that again if I tried!
My boys and their friends!


My two - only picture of them together and it wasn't easy to get!!!

GOURMET GRILLED CHEESES AND MASHED POTATO BAR...

were some of the delicious food we had at a friend's daughter's wedding last weekend! Maybe this is a new trend, or maybe it just reflected the bride and groom's tastes, but whatever it was, it was great. We got in line where a chef was grilling sandwiches and he used fresh spinach, sauteed onions, and tomatoes as add-ons to the basic grilled cheese. Also, in addition to other foods, we ate potatoes out of a martini glass! I had the sweet potato version with pecans and brown sugar. My friend sitting next to me just raved about the regular potatoes with goodies, too. What interesting foods have you had at wedding receptions lately?