So I've kind of been in production mode lately.  It occurred to me sometime last week that my folks are coming next week and I will need to have all my christmas jewelry ready to send home with them.  Even after running this little business for like 5 years now I still have a hard time remembering to remember christmas in September.  It really shouldn't be that big of an upset to my annual rhythm...I mean, when I used to teach I constantly thought of (dreamed about, longed for) Christmas is September.

In addition a friend of mine asked if I wouldn't mind doing a little jewelry/knitting/papier mache show for 18 of her closest friends.  That's happening tomorrow.

So last Thursday I put myself on house arrest...I didn't leave the mountain for 5 days straight (yes, this was just before my last post.  That Mette in the comments sure knows me well).  Nothing but work work work, if that's what you want to call playing with beads, yarn, and paint.

Here's a little preview at the maberga designs winter 2012 collection....

 

Um, yeah, ok that last photo isn't part of the collection.  I did make it though, and it's really quite tasty if my must say so myself.  The recipe came from this lady...

 

Her name was Charlotte.  She's my friend Christine's mom.  She used to make it for all neighborhood gatherings, and picnics and stuff like that.  It's called a zucchini pie but you can really put in it whatever you like.  Christine made me one for my birthday, remember?

Here's the recipe if you want to make one too:

Charlotte’s Zucchini Pie

Preheat oven to 200 °C or 400°F.
Grease pie plate with butter or oil.
Ingedients:

• -4 tbls. Oil or butter
• ¾ c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• -1 small onion, chopped.
• -1 small red pepper, chopped.
• -3 to 4 cups diced zucchini
• -1/2 cup oil
• -4 or 5 eggs, beaten
• -1/2 cup of yogurt, Greek or plain, unsweetened. (optional)
• -1/2 cup grated parmesan
• Salt and Pepper

Mix all together. Pour into pie plate. Bake about 40-45 minutes.
Until firm and golden brown on top.

That's about it for now.  I really need a movie and a beer....and maybe a little knitting. 

So, it's sunday.  Sunday is a hunting day.  There are two (legal) hunting days during the season - Wednesday and Sunday.  I really like hunting days because the hunters arrive at 5.30am with their big loud hunting jeeps (actually, just little pandas like mine....but I'm trying to make a point, so let's say they arrive in big jeeps, ok?) and their big firing and banging hunting rifles (do rifles bang?  again for the point, let's say they bang) and their not-so-big hunting dogs wearing cowbells around their necks so they don't get lost (the dogs have the bells on, not the hunters).  Yep, I love that, 'specially on a Sunday.  Why would I want to sleep in on a Sunday when I can get up instead and listen to my dogs barking, and the jeeps, and the rifles, and the cowbells...for the following 12 hours straight?  I love hunting days.  

This morning I woke up at 9.  What's up with that?  Where are the hunters?

Now, I'm not complaining or anything about being able to sleep an extra 3 hours on a Sunday morning. I was just curious.

So, there I was about 10:00 sitting in my patio chair with a french press full of coffee, minus a cup which I had already drunk, my journal and I was in my "clothes" for the day which actually would be pj's for most people passing me and one of my dogs was sitting on my foot stool, whatever, and I shout to passing Gianni...

"ci sono i cacciatori oggi?"  Are there any hunters today?

But here's the thing....the word cacciatori in italian doesn't come naturaly to me. I don't know why, it just doesn't.  Kind of like the words affect and effect for me in english...I always have to pause and give a little think as to which one I want. Whenever I need to find the word for hunter in Italian, I have to first think of chicken cacciatore which is, of course, that tasty Italian dish. And which is actually pollo alla cacciatora in Italian and tastes nothing like chicken cacciatore. Anyway, so I have to think of this Americanized Italian poultry in a red sauce every time I want to say the word hunter in Italian. 

When I did that this morning, asking Gianni where my hunter pals were, I suddenly had this image of literal chicken cacciatore - actual hunting chickens...you know, little chickens dressed in camouflage toting little rifles and following dogs with cowbells.

Just one party after another

So, today is Ruffino's birthday.  Happy 7th, Dude.

To celebrate I took the dogs up to the swimming pool when I got home this evening.  Usually evening swimming is against the rules-- you know, wet dogs, small house, sleeping in my bed, etc etc. But since we had a birthday and all, I bent the rules.  Actually, I didn't bend any rules. Ruffino "accidentally" pushed Q into the water, then shot me a quick glance saying, "well, since she's in anyway...." and dove right in.  That is one clever dude.

Back at the house Ruffino and Q got a big birthday dinner....a big ol' bowl of the same dry shit they get everyday, and I set off to prepare my din.  After a few minutes I noticed that things were a little too quiet.

Ah, yep.

Ain't a party til some one's dug up a grape vine. 

At the risk of letting my tuna surprise get cold, I went out in the dark to attend to the party.

"hey, you guys!  Were you digging?  I mean, I know you were digging, which one of you was it?"

Damn if all that Agatha Christie I watch isn't paying off...I'd say it was Ruff. 

Moving the party inside to mitigate further damage,  I caused more.  Ain't a party til something breaks....or is that spills?  Either way, I got us covered.

I guess it was the excitement of our big festivity that made me think it was a good idea to put a cup and a Thermos of tea on a tray when the tray was like this

 hell, might have worked had the Thermos been on the counter side of that tray. 

Well, after that I turned off the disco ball and cut the music.  Time for a little Poirot and some knitting.  Next year I'm giving Ruffino the keys to the car.  He can go to the top of a mountain alone and contemplate life for his birthday like the rest of us do.

Do I look older?

Yeah, well, that's because I am.  Yesterday was my birthday.  Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

It all started on Friday with this



(More on that in another post.)

And this

(more on that in another post)

And then the next day this

(more on all that in another post)

Ok, and then finally yesterday when

(no more on that in any other posts because you all know about that already.  if not, go here.  well, except for that knitting bit in there.  that will come back in a post some day)

I'm not really older...I'm just more well-celebrated.

next week...

I'll be back to normal blogging...no, wait, I mean regular blogging.  My normal lately hasn't exactly been regular.  Anyway, monday I'm back.    have a great weekend.