New Christmas Craft

Craft - Christmas Napkins

It is a cold and rainy Monday, so it was the perfect day for crafting! My latest project - napkins decorated with fabric paint. I used little patterns that I cut out and then traced them with a stich like edge. Then I added little x's and o's around the edge. Simple little project that turned out pretty cute. Now I need to make little matching napkin rings.


Desperate Houswives is on Rai Due tonight. It is the first season, episode 9 I think. I missed the first 6. It seems to be a pretty good show. I wish I would have seen the beginning. I know it is very popular in the states. I love Teri Hatcher - especially since she called herself a has been.

I love this little cheese grater/salsa maker/nutchopper thingy. I had one that I got as a gift, but I broke it, and so I bought a new one. It is very handy. I miss my little mini cuisinart, but this is almost as good. One of the best features is that it is small, so it is easy to store!

Have a great Monday, I am off to watch Desperate Housewives. Ciao!

PUFF COOKIES

Ever since I was a kid, these cookies have been known to me as "Puff Cookies", they were always made for special occasions by my Mom and Aunt Eileen. These cookies are seen in almost every Italian Bakery in my neck of the woods. I'm sure you might recognize them by a different name, such as Crescents, or Butter Balls, Italian, and Mexican Wedding cookies and Russian Tea cakes. I'm sure there are many other names, but to me they will always be... Puff Cookies! Like little puffs of snow, they just melt in your mouth upon impact, they are truly one of my favorites!!!

We never made the Crescent shape, ours were always rolled into a ball, placed on an ungreased cookie sheet, and pressed in the middle with your thumb print. This creates a nice indention for all the powdered sugar to fall into. But this must be done right out of the oven, nice and hot so all the sugar sticks to them.

See how the powdered sugar sticks in the indentions? When you take a bite they instantly melt in your mouth!! Oh, they're so good, you have to try them!

Here's the recipe****

This makes quite a bit, but I'm sure you could cut everything in half. But why would you? You could always share them with your family and friends.

1lb. of unsalted butter at room temperature (very important)

4cups of un-bleached flour

2 teaspoons of good vanilla

8 teaspoons of granulated sugar ( that's right, just 8)

3/4 cup of ground pecans which are totally optional, I've had them without and I like them just as much

A bowl filled with powdered sugar
Cream butter, add sugar and mix till light and fluffy. Next, add the flour and mix till all incorporated. Roll in balls and place on cookie sheet, and make a thumb print in each one.

Bake at 350 degreesF. for 20 min. Immediately roll into powdered sugar while hot, then let them cool on racks.

Enjoy!!

five days to go funny

I can't believe Christmas is in five days! I finally wrapped our presents and put them under the tree. It is looking pretty festive around here now. (Usually I am very prepared, make my own Christmas cards, and have shopped all year long. I was a slacker this year.)

Yesterday I went to my sister in laws house for the twins birthday party. I made them some presents, and we made them some dvds, and I also bought them some toys for learning english. I was mobbed when I walked in the house. They were so funny, pulling at my bags of presents. They turned two, and they already get the whole present thing! haha

I made a bunch of my Christmas gifts this year. I made Christmas Cards for my in-laws, using a picture of their cabins in the moutains, all covered in snow. It turned out very cute. I also made posters and t-shirts for my Seattle niece and nephew, that I loved. I am posting the pics now, since they already opened the package! I said to wait! hehe I changed Zo's bike to green, to match the Grave Digger Monster truck.
Online photo shops, like Kodak, make it really easy to make gifts for people. You jsut have to upload your photos, and pic the type of gift you want, and they do it. Fast and easy! I made my dad a calendar too. And a photo book for my FIL with pics of his cabin that he built.

Here are the silly toys I made for the twins - I ran out of time, so I had to improvise a toy for Greta. The little octopus is actually a small hat that I had already made, and I just stuffed it, and put eyes and a bow on it. Came out kind of cute. The beauty of two year olds is that they are not that picky. haha The little catepillar thingy was super easy to make. The kids all liked that one.
In other news....Italy news has been talking about America, saying that everyone is giving up on Christmas. The news said that spending is way down, charitable donations are way down, and so are decorations and parties, and everything. I haven't read anything about that in the US news. What is going on? I think people are in a funk from the war, the soldiers away from home, all the Bush controversy, the mortgage crisis, China toys being poisonous, etc. However, the news keeps reporting that the economy is growing and doing great, that the war is improving, etc. I think the proof is in the people.

Anyway...off to start dinner.
peace!

Beware the Jellyfish attack

It may be prime time for Italians to be hitting the beaches, but that doesn't mean that the water is welcoming. The summer of 2014 may be remembered as the summer of the jellyfish on the Mediterranean. Researchers say some 30,000 swimmers in Spain, Sicily and Northern Africa have been bitten by jellyfish so far this season. Scientists blame a combination of global warming and overfishing for the invasion of the stinging creatures.

Jellyfish not withstanding, Sicily is a fantastic destination. Read more in Dream of Italy's Special Report: Sicily

July/August Issue: Special Report: The Lakes

Anxious to find out the best places to shop on Lake Como?
Want to know which restaurant offers a cooking lesson before dinner -- and will even send a staff member to pick you up at your hotel?Did you know that one Italy's most unusual museums is in the Lakes region and not to be missed?Wondering how to stay at a vineyard hotel on the shores of Lake Garda for as little as 50 euros per night?Would you like to know the name of the historic island restaurant where George Clooney took guests Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt?
The answers to these questions and more are in the July/August 2006 issue of Dream of Italy - Special Report: The Lakes. Here are the articles paid subscribers will be reading (mail subscribers will receive their issues early next week):

• Redemption on Lake Maggiore: The Borromeo Islands
• The Gems of Central Lake Como ~ Tremezzo, Cadenabbia, Bellagio, Varenna and Torno
• Lake Garda: The Largest Lake Offers Sun and Surprises
• An Aristocratic Stay at Lake Como's Grand Hotel Tremezzo Palace

**Want to buy a single copy of this issue/special report? Click here.**
**Planning to visit Italy in the near future? Paid subscribers receive 10 issues per year PLUS online access to our archive of over 34 back issues of Dream of Italy. That's over 44 issues for the price of a one-year subscription! Less than $2 an issue! What more do you need to plan a once-in-a-lifetime Italian adventure? Click here to read about more subscriber benefits and to join!**

Saturday - Lago di Como

We had beautiful warm weather for our drive to Lake Como. We started our day in Como, and then headed to Laglio, in search of George Clooney. We found his villa, but no sight of George. Oh well... we got to see his villa and his gate. Brenda and I took a self portrait in the mirror on the street by his house.





After Laglio, we took the ferry to Bellagio and had our favorite pizza with brie, walnuts and pear. YUM!


After dinner we took the ferry over to the other side of the lake and then headed home. Touristing is very tiring! hehe

Why I Live in Ischia? this is answer

I'm really into numbered lists lately, so here's another one. My days at work exist among these scenes so one can imagine why it's hard to leave...

(If you'd like to see Why I Live in Ischia #1 scroll down to to the post entitled, RRRRRICCI!)

If you need any clarification, please feel free to come and visit :)

Sunday - Fiesta della on Madonna della Gamba

Sunday - Festa della Madonna della Gamba

There is a church very near our house that has a festa every year (for the last 540+ years) to celebrate the appearance of the Madonna to heal the leg of a young girl. For nine days before the 9th of October, the church bells ring - constantly. (poor Brenda) On the day of the miracle, there is a big carnival type celebration, a procession and fireworks. We spent the afternoon enjoying the celebration, and then watched the spectacular fireworks show at night. They also decorate the church with lights.

New Scarflet Project 2014

New Scarflet Project - Scarflet Pattern for Knitting Loom - For personal use only please

I was watching a video on msnbc.com yesterday called *Baby It's Cold Outside* and they were showing the "latest hot trends in fun winter wear". They had lots of cute things, but the thing that really caught my eye was Kaia' Mini Scarflet Snuggles, a "chic, short style scarf clasped with a crystal brooch, that will definitely turn heads while guarding against frigid cold".

Well, I want to be chic and turn heads! hehe So, when I saw these I thought, "I can do that!" So I spent last night and today trying to recreate the look. I think for my first finished project, I came pretty darn close!

Here are some examples of the ones for sale on the web site. I love the pink and the green ones. The brooches are beautiful.












Here is my version. I need to find some brooches and yarn that match now. I had this yarn already, and also the pins. I think the little pin looks better then the large one. (The large one was my grandmothers. It was a gift from my uncle to her, when he was about 10 years old. He is 75 now.)

The recreate the look, I used two skeins of yarn - one baby virgin wool and one mohair. I used my red knitting loom. The finished piece should be about 15-17"" x 3.5 to 5", depending on how wide you want it and how big/small around your neck is. I did a 1/2 cast on, with a 1/2 knit.
To start, wrap 7 pegs, three times, knit 1/2 to cast on. Add on two rows buy wrapping a new peg (3x) on each end of work. Wrap the pegs in the middle and knit row. Add two more pegs by wrapping a peg on each side of work (3x) and wrap the other 9 and knit row, then knit back (always doing 2/1). You should now have 11 total pegs (if you want a thicker scarflet add two more, total 13 rows).
Once you have increased your pegs to 11 rows, knit 2/1 until your work is 14-15" (or as long as you need for your measurement - the beginning/increasing section is about 1" long, so you will have about 1" to decrease at the end).
Once you are about 1" shy of your desired length, begin to decrease pegs (basically a reversal of the beginning of the project). You do this by lifting the yarn from the outter most two pegs, and adding to the inner one beside it. (If you are using two skeins of yarn, you will have 8 loops pf yarn, or 4 sets on the outter two pegs - knit 4/4 on those pegs, and the usual 2/1 on the rest) Then lift the outter two again, onto the inner pegs, and wrap the other pegs, and knit. Now you will be on 7 pegs. Knit row again, without wrapping, so you are left with one set of yarn per peg. Use the flat removal method, for a flat pice (using your crochet hook). Hide your ends, find a brooch and Wa-la!
I hope this makes sense, it is my first attept at pattern writing too. :OS