Category Writing

San Diego: Ships, Horatio Hornblower…

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When I was in San Diego I saw these two ships. I immediately wanted to climb aboard and stand at the helm like Horatio Hornblower OR Errol Flynn as the pirate. If you haven’t seen the Horatio Hornblower series (1998 – 2003), I highly recommend it. While it’s an older show, it’s not outdated. You will be engaged the entire time.

Take a look:

Here was another ship I saw. I didn’t have enough time; otherwise, I would have signed up for the tour.

It’s amazing to see these ships up close. A few years ago when I was in Sardinia there was a tour ship that was on the horizon. It looked BEAUTIFUL, I longed to see it up close there is such a mystery around these ships. In San Diego, I got my chance, they are a work of art. Intricate with all the details. I did not see a plank.

I hope you enjoy these ships as I did.

LAND AHOY!!

San Diego: “Save the Kiss”

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I came to San Diego for a few days. It’s quiet here, not so many people because of COVID. Also, the weather is cool and cloudy.

This is an amazing picture and a bit deceiving. It looks like real people. That’s the beauty of this statue, it looks real. As you can see it’s gigantic, I was amazed to see it.

Here is the description:

As I was walking, ZOLTAR spoke to me in a deep voice, asking to read my fortune. So funny. I almost put a $1 in to see what he would say, but I didn’t have the proper change.

I’m an Aquarius, I read somewhere that it is my Emerald year. I wish I could remember where I read that. Somehow the planets are aligning for it to be the year of Aquarius. When I think of emerald, I think of the Wizard of Oz, and going to meet the all powerful wizard.

After our crazy COVID year, I’d like to hear what the powerful wizard would tell me.

ZOLTAR – I might just find that $1 and hear what you have to say…. just for chuckles!

You’ve got to read this book, see the title…

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A week ago, I was bored with what I was reading. Good books, but they weren’t catching my attention. I’m sure you’ve been there. When we keep reading the same paragraph over and over, it just won’t sink in. I even fast forwarded to the middle of the book to read a few paragraphs – NOPE, my interest in the story was not going to improve.

So, I went to the online library and started browsing. This book by Jack Canfield / Gay Hendricks, You’ve Got to Read This Book!, came up. The title alone got me hooked.

I’m half way through, and I gotta say, it’s a good title, good book. Great stories of people’s lives, some hardships and/ or how they got where they are. Somehow, this book has my attention. I think I like the short story aspect and learning about different people.

Time to head to a bookstore…

Spring / Summer — going to the beach, longing for a book to actually hold and read. Miss hardcover books, too much online reading.

Here’s to exploring the bookstore and buying a new book!

ART NEWS – SOLD – World’s Largest Painting, $62M, Dubai Auction

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When I say, “world’s largest painting,” I mean Guinness World Record. Imagine 17,000 sq ft equivalent to 2 football fields or 4 basketball courts of art. That’s a lot of work. “The Journey of Humanity” consists of 70 art panels.

This is a fabulous story of Sacha Jafri, British Artist, who took advantage of COVID lockdown in Dubai to create a painting that would raise money for charity (disadvantaged children specifically). What is really wonderful and inspiring is that he included children’s art from around the world into his painting. His goal was to raise $30 million, he doubled that raising $62 million.

Crypto businessman Andre Abdoune from France purchased the entire painting. Abdoune plans to build a museum for this painting. So happy to hear this, because the painting as a whole tells a story of COVID, lockdown, children suffering, etc. It should be seen as “one” piece.

I’m not an art expert, so glad by chance I came upon this article. I wish the media would share MORE stories like this. It proves there is more LOVE than hate in this world. Do away with the negative media and our world would start to work together and flourish.

I look forward to hearing more about Sacha Jafri in the future!

IKEA – New Cookbook -> The ScrapsBook; Recipes using scraps / leftovers…

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The weekend is coming, maybe you have some leftovers from the week and don’t know what to do with them. I think you’ll enjoy this new cookbook from IKEA, The ScrapsBook. Different Chefs from North America create recipes out of kitchen scraps and leftovers. Enjoyed seeing some fresh recipe ideas.

They actually fry banana peels, they look like bacon. Trying to wrap my head around whether they would be tasty, they say they are. There are some interesting recipes in this e-book.

Oh, I loved the veggie pancakes they made with leftover stems from different vegetables.

HAPPY COOKING!

Quinoa Macaroni – really good!

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I came across these quinoa noodles and thought I would try them. I like quinoa, so in a noodle form they should be good, right. I made a mistake though. I didn’t read the cooking instructions. Thinking they were like normal pasta, I let them cook for over 6 minutes.

BIG MISTAKE! They went from al dente to super inflated and mushy. I looked at directions – 4 minutes for al dente. WOW – that’s fast cooking time, but it made sense, because normal quinoa cooks in 5 minutes. I would not have known they were quinoa noodles, very good.

They are really healthy, free of eggs, nuts, gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts and GMO. The GoGo Quinoa brand is Canadian. On their website they have other quinoa products.

On a side note, I also found Banza chickpea pasta. Have not tried them yet. One new pasta at a time. If my Italian grandmother was alive, I wonder if she would embrace these new pastas.

Pizza in a MUG? Breakfast Burrito in a MUG? Cooking just got easier.

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Recently, I was doing a search for mug cakes. I found this site by Irish Chef & Baker Gemma Stafford, Bigger Bolder Baking, that had a pizza in a mug recipe. I watched the video of her making the mug pizza, it sure was quick and easy. I admit, I would never have thought of that. In fact, she has 100 different mug recipes. So many creative ideas.

She had one video where she was making pancakes with her husband. He was doing the video taping. She’s definitely a perfectionist and was bossing him around, that was funny. The pancakes looked yummy too.

So, if you are still stuck at home and need some fresh cooking/baking ideas, mosey on over to Bigger Bolder Baking. Chef Gemma will dazzle you with healthy exciting spins on old recipes. Also, she just started a Knead to Know podcast. When I go walking, I’ll listen to that.

Happy cooking! (Isn’t that what Chef Pepin says. He has good videos too.)

Italy – The Uffizi Gallery prepares for overtourism in Florence…

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Yesterday, I read an article in CNN’s Travel section, Italy has a new way to combat overtourism, by Julia Buckley. My mother was born and raised in Florence, so I immediately stopped what I was doing to read the latest news. This article is specific to Florence and The Uffizi Gallery.

Before COVID, anyone who had traveled to Italy experienced first hand overtourism. In Florence, it was impossible to walk on the streets. So many tourists, we were elbow to elbow with them. It was not an enjoyable, add to that making sure you were not pick pocketed, due to the crowds.

This article talks about a new project, Uffizi Diffusi, which means “scattered Uffizi.” Eike Schmidt, Director of the Uffizi, came up with the idea of multiple (100) exhibition spaces for art from the Uffizi to be displayed all over Tuscany. This does two things, it shares the tourism burden and also allows locals to visit exhibits in their area.

COVID has allowed Florence to take a breath from the fast paced tourism. To think, plan and re-invent tourism for the future. My mother’s relatives are out in the country, it’s nice, no tourists. Selfishly, I hope it stays that way.

If you have been to Florence or have planned to go, you can read the article for more details.

World Travel: Walking / Hiking Tours

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I don’t know about you, but I‘ve definitely got Spring fever. I’d really like to travel somewhere. While that is not possible with COVID right now, we can research and plan.

Look what came to my inbox, information on walking/hiking tours. This Country Walkers site looks interesting. They have tours all over the world. They’ve been around for 40 years, located out of Vermont. I was happy to see they offer different types of tours, i.e. guided, self-guided and partially guided. Do you opt for flight in package or not, lots of things to consider price-wise.

It’s never too early to start planning. One day soon, we will have the green light to travel Internationally, I’ll be ready!