Saturday, February 27, 2010

One day and counting!

OK, I know this sounds unAmerican, but I can't wait for the Olympics to end! Really, two weeks, is that necessary?
I used to like watching them, could not wait for Opening Ceremony, certain events, Closing Ceremony, but now, PLEEESE stop.
I don't know why this happened.
I even watched them faithfully after the Munich Tragedy in 1972 where 11 Olympians/Coaches were killed by terrorists. That broke my heart, I was home taking care of my little guy, just 18 months old, a happy time and this happened. The world of sports was changed forever. It seemed until then that no one could violate the trust and sanctity of a sports venue. Parents send their children off thinking that they will be accomplishing their lifetime goals, and instead they are brutally murdered. I could not imagine the grief they felt, and being a new parent, this is what stuck with me.
Wow, where did that come from? I was just going to whine about the Olympics being too long, and being in the minority by not being glued to them.
Well, now I am sorry for complaining, please ignore this crabby old lady-ENJOY the games and spirit of competition.

Step away from the artwork.

I know, I know, you CAN buy too many pieces of artwork, prints, paintings, etc. But listen, it is a picture of the Tuscany area, and I was there, and I loved it, and it represents such a moment in time that was magical for me. A kid from the projects on a tour of Italy with her big, dear SSister#1. We were not challenged to dream as a kid, the schools only wanted these kids to move up and out. And until SS#1 started mentioned a trip, it never occurred to me that I would even put that in my "What if" file, let alone, choose the "Let's go for it" command.

So, please bear with me if I now love everything Italian, and so here it is. Brand spankin' new on my wall:





AAAh, that feels good.

Friday, February 26, 2010

A Cheery Good Morning

When we opened our drapes this morning, we saw that many SBirdees were feeding, including this fellow-Mr. Cardinal.


We very rarely get Cardinals at our feeders, they usually are ground feeders, but the snow has been coming steadily lately, so any seed on the ground has been quickly covered over. This means, if you wanna eat-you gotta go to the source. The woods across the street must be all out of the usual things that the birds eat, so they have increased their bird feeder rounds. I made sure the feeders were filled two days ago when they first started calling for us to get some snow from the latest East Coast storm. And they show they are appreciative by taking us up on the vittles we put there. Some unfortunately are a tad nasty, you can here them saying "hey, get outa my way you little creep, this is my territory" or "wait, wait, stop pecking at me, let me just geta few seeds and I'll be outa here". We enjoy them, they are fed when they need it-win, win.

I hope you see pleasant things when you open your drapes. P.S. sometimes we need to look really hard, but there is always something worth looking at that would give us pleasure. Life is what you invest in it.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Flu Flown

So, it has been a week with no posting, for various reasons. Very busy last week, then Friday through Sunday we went away to a local hotel with a POOL for SSon. He was also invited to go with SDaughter and her family to "Splash Lagoon" in Erie PA, which is just about 1.5 hrs. away on the Thruway. This trip was on Thursday, overnight to Friday, then he came to meet us at the hotel. This means that he swam for 4 days in the winter-can life be any better for him? Well, if the Buffalo Sabres won the Stanley Cup for Hockey, that would be the biggest whoop ever for him. Did I tell you that he grows a beard for Sabre season until the last puck is dropped for the last game? His beard is very dark brown-red with a hint of grey! My SS has grey in his beard-what next? He invited a SFriend who used to work with him at his sheltered workshop for a swim on Saturday. They are both such nice guys, talk radio stations and music all the time, very polite. We picked up pizza, wings and the trimmings for this little party, but a really nice healthy salad also. His SDad and SStepmom also came for a time, but since his SDad had just been discharged from hospital for some surgery, they just stayed a short time, very amazed that they were able to attend at all.
SD and her fam came for swimming Saturday also. AND, SGrandson jumped into the pool for the first time. He can swim, but has been afraid to jump in, once the floodgate was broken, he must have jumped in a zillion times. He likes going underwater and popping up as fast as he can-and he is perfecting a move where he jumps up and spins at the same time. Ah youth.
SHusband liked the food and comfy bed, he rested most of the day actually. I think the trips down for the breakfast and lunch took a lot of his strength. We have always brought a lot to read on trips, so he was all set. We even managed to work on a Historical project on the laptop for him. Can I write this trip off as a business trip now? And I managed to read an entire book. We watched a movie, "The Green Mile", I had read the book and seen the movie before, I really did not think he would like it at all, but while jumping through the channels, he saw it and stopped to watch.
Then Sunday struck. I woke up very tired, thought it was because the scent of chlorine and humidity from pool area messed with my asthma, and that probably was the case for part of this, but the level of exhaustion was just like a sledge hammer. After we checked out, it continued, but needed to stop on the way home for few "fill-in" groceries, you know the things you don't stock up on when you will be gone for a few days-milk, bread, produce. Dragged my coolou through the store for as little as I could get away with. SS bought us peppermint flavored coffee while I was in the store, even that did not jumpstart me. After we dragged everything and me into the house, all had to be sorted and put away. I was so tired, I left the car out in the driveway-did you read that carefully, I LEFT THE CAR OUT? Could not put it in the garage. Here in the winter, if you have a garage, you use it, no questions asked. We can have a storm dropping snow and ice in a blink, so uptight people like me do not leave their cars out-except when we are tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired.
By the next morning, exhaustion continued, but we added a few things to the mix: headache, dizzy, nausea, oh no, this is not looking good. We needed to go to a very important lawyer appointment at noon, so took shower, put on jammies, put on regular clothes, put on coat, and earrings, and away we went.
This was a kind of fog meeting, I knew what was going on, but did not care.
Once home, I spoke with SSister who had gotten my earlier whinning call to ask if she could take SMom for a medical appointment on the next day-she of course said yes, she always says yes, it does not matter if she is not feeling well, she will never tell you, she just puts everyone else first. God broke the mold with this one.
And then the rest of the package of fun was delivered Monday evening-my membership to the bathroom spa was renewed for the next 8 hours. It was an exclusive membership, everyone was on alert that I NEEDED to have control of that room at a moments notice. My guys came through.
So all appointments plans and visits for those two days were null and void. Home it was, and is there nothing worse than feeling so sick that nothing is worth doing? No book has charms, no TV show has interests, all is blah. No even tea tastes good, and forget coffee, the mere thought of it in my stomach makes me almost barf (as in hurl, vomit, etc.).
Today, I am moving over to the side of the living, and glad to be so. Not all symptoms are gone, but the troublemakers are, so that is good enough for me.
So, how was your week? Flu free I hope.
Is this my only post ever without pictures? Guess I am not as great as I thought.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Thank you Julia

So listen, today, I could not find my digital camera. I looked in so many places, in many rooms, I thought I knew where I put it last, but no, not there. I thought I knew where I put it 2nd last, but no, not there. So then, I just checked everywhere that made sense, and few not so much in the making sense category.



I even called SSon on his cell during his lunch break, nope. (But, he of course thought I was calling him to ask why he did not take his lunch that I packed for him, but I did not mention it. Here's the story on that: SS is very rigid, all black or all white, no changes can be adapted-to by him usually, this is part of his disability, it is what it is. This is his last day to work this week-going on a nice swimming overnight with SDaughter and her family tomorrow, and then we are taking him for a long weekend to a local hotel for more swimming-it is close to home, but just a little R&R that SHusband and SI need. So usually on his last day of work in the week, he buys his lunch at a local fast food place, brings it back to the workshop cafeteria. Sometimes, I ask him not to do this when he has had a lot of parties or eating out time, not because I am mean, but because he has a few health concerns that need to limit unhealthy food choices-fat, sugar, you know, all the good stuff. He has a hard time putting limits on these choices, as do we all, but you know if you can spare your kid from health issues getting worse, you try. So anyway, sometimes he plays this "I forgot" game, thinking that we will buy it, but we know that he has the memory capacity of Wikipedia, he forgets nothing. He opened the fridge a zillion times before work this morning, including to grab his water bottle on the same shelf as the lunch bag, so don't try to convince me that he forgot it, I learned his ways over these past 39 years.
So he has had a few parties lately, and will be eating out for the next 4 days, should not eat lunch out today. See where I am going-he was pulling a fast one. We will discuss it when he comes home, this lunch will be lunch tomorrow before he leaves, and he will need to forego eating out next week at work-again, not to be mean, but to help him "Remember", if you get my drift.)

So anyway, he did not have the camera which I thought he may have packed for the upcoming trips.

So I decided to "Look at things from both sides now" (remember that song?), and get down on floor and look under things, and stand as tall as possible-OK, not so tall, but I am real good at streeeeeetching my neck to look over and down.

And guess what-it payed off, I found my camera!!! Bells and whistles, fireworks, good time was had by all. I need to share where it was with you.

First, it was in this corner where my computer area is-see my SGrandma Julia Viviani's picture that is never far from my work area?


Well, now look down:



And do you see that the black camera case on the left opened as it was falling down, and that the wrist strap of the camera caught on the scrolly work of the table? Well, it did not get there by itself, I am thinking my SGV snagged it as it was going down and hung it there for me to find-protecting it from damage. So, Thanks SGV, you are the best!

Disclaimer: any dust you might see in this corner picture is historically significant, and I know my SHusband would want me to preserve it, otherwise, you can be sure that I would have removed it. Do you buy that? Thanks, I knew that you would friend.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Floor cleaning

So listen, I was mopping the floor on Saturday, I don't usually wash the floor every week to be honest, and this is the month of George Washington, the "I can't tell a lie" President (which many have said was never uttered by him), so I don't want to give you a false impression that I am Mrs. Clean. But, I had a lot more traffic on the kitchen floor at SSon's party last week, so I thought I should clean it again this week. OK,OK, some people would have done it sooner than a week later, but..., as we know, I am not the norm.
So, anyway, it reminded me that when I was a kid the ladies in the neighborhood, my family included washed the kitchen floors on Saturday-every Saturday. Then, when it dried, they waxed it, then when it dried, they placed newspapers in a layer along the walking path to protect it-probably so it would look good on Sunday. Now, if you rushed these steps and wait times, not good. The floor would be slippery when you went to put the wax on if it was still wet, and Heaven forbid if you did not wait for the wax to dry completely before you put down the newspaper buffer!! Can you figure it out? Yep, the newspaper would adhere with the floor while it was drying, the newsprint would get embedded in the wax layer and rip when you lifted up the newspaper, and here's the bad part, the newspaper would rip and leave hard-waxed pieces on the floor. So the end product could look worse than the beginning. Sometimes, the process could be repaired, but sometimes it had to be done again. And in those days, no one worth their salt even owned a kitchen mop! It was wooden scrub brushes, soap cake in the bucket,or if you were a hoity-toity, you had some powdered spic and span soap, real wax because no-wax flooring was not invented. And when all was said and done-your hands were also washed and waxed! And all this was done while kids were running everywhere. God Bless the ladies who toiled then! I hope Heaven does not have floors, just clouds that can be blown away when they get dirty!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

VALENTINES DAY

Presents for SHusband:

The heart at top is for hanging outside, it changes shape as it twirls, the CD is classical music with sounds of rain storms mixed in, and some of his favorite candybars. See the musical envelope? "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers, and it is very loud. When I was putting in the card last night, I had to run (OK, walk faster) into the bedroom, cover it partially with a pillow so SH wouldn't hear.
And for SSon:



Did you see the Chocolate Cheerios? He loves his Chocolate, so this is hopefully an everyday treat that is not too bad for him.





We three then did breakfast with SCousins, then dropped off SSon and went to see "Valentine's Day"-the movie. Nice little stories, some surprises at the end, and smuggled in Tim Hortons cookies and Peach Passion Drink for SHusband. We went to local theatre, new owners, nicely cleaned-up now, but, OMG, it is so cold in there. I mean I had to buy a very expensive small cup of coffee to stop the shivering.
I did have a pleasant surprise. Two young women, maybe late teens sat right behind us. They were chattering away before the movie started, and I am like most women-I multitask, talking with SHusband, and using one ear on them. I was concerned that they would start using horrible swear words in a very loud voice like so many other times we have been in this situation. BUT, nice talk, and they stopped as soon as the movie started-good for them, but bad for me, I should not eavesdrop-my bad habit. Hey, it is still February-"I can not tell a lie" factor. See kitchen floor post set to appear tomorrow.
Thanks for the Valentine's Date Movie SHoney.
We finished our heart day with hearty soup-veggie chili which I made a few days ago, -and washed it down with m&m premiums-a gift from SC today.

Here are some of our Valentine's Day decorations, all filled with best Valentine's wishes from me to you-catch them as they fly off the screen to you!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Proposal

Below is a translated version of the proposal that my SHusbands SFather sent to SH's SMother in 1927:

My Dearest Love, After a whole working day-everything went smooth and nice and so I want to share an hour with you.
I have a desire to talk with you from my heart to tell you what's on my heart in writing.
I left something there (in Germany), my footsteps, my dreams, my future, and I am like a ghost forever.
I never have felt like this before, I feel like a lost bird. I am a handsome boy and I am not a bad man, you be the judge.
If you say I am not worthy, or you think I am wearing a mask you should make the decision before it is too late.
Don't judge me from the outside, look to the inside full of love.
If we understand each other, it is like unity. It is so nice to share with someone you love. To share the work.
My dearest Emma, from the first time we met, it's like a blossoming flower on bright sunny days and nights that we were not together are lost.
True love no one can take apart.
My, love, I put in a cup on scales.
My love is so strong, that when you put something in the cup it will bubble before it goes down.
I beg you always, keep in mind that every day I have I want to brighten your days so that every day will be like spring.
I love your graciousness, your love, your strength and that is what keeps me going each day.
This is true love. I want these golden years to live forever. I am asking for your hand. This is the last word. Give me your love and this world is mine.
I am waiting for your quick answer.
I am leaving you with genuine love,
Yours, Anton

This is their engagement picture, taken in Germany, when he went back to pick up his betrothed. They married in the same Church which we were Married in and now attend, and lived all their Married lives in the same house which we now live in.

SH is also very romantic,and able to express it, sending me cards that are as special to me as this letter.

Friday, February 12, 2010

This, this is LOVE

My SHusband has one sister. Her husband, our SBrother-in-law has that horrible disease that robs your mind, bit by bit, Alzheimer's. She is such a sweetheart, takes care of him and says things like "he is so good to me". And she does it all with love, just as if she is only taking care of something like a minor injury or something. That is love, that is dedication, that is sticking to your promises, vows, intents of the heart without ever thinking you are forced to do this. They chose each other well.
She just does it, and as she takes care of him, he looks at her and sometimes he says thank you. He can not do very much for himself, but he can tell her thank you. In late November, we were spending time with him while she was getting her hair done. He, out of the blue started talking about not knowing what to buy his wife for Christmas. Making perfect sense, and showing concern. We mentioned a few things, he knew she is not into jewelry, and said so, rejecting that suggestion. Then we talked about flowers, his eyes lit up and he said "Why, THAT'S IT, tomorrow I will go buy her flowers". Within the next week, he took a turn for the worse, we all had great fears about his prognosis, in and out of the emergency room a few times. All were very concerned. We went to visit him at home, and decided to bring those flowers he spoke of, from him. We had a Christmas Bouquet made, and did a card for him that said "To my Wonderful Wife at Christmas". We arrived, told SSister-in-law the story of his plans for her for Christmas, and gave her the flowers from him. She turned to him and asked if he said that and he said yes, she kissed him and said thank you. I made sure she knew that it was his idea.
As I was leaving that day, I leaned over, kissed his feverish forehead and he said thank you to me. He knew, and his graciousness came through.
He still struggles, some days better than others, some days worse, but all along, nothing is too much for her to do for him, because she wants to, because she needs to. Because she loves him.
This is their wedding Day 54 years ago. This is a picture of LOVE, it is tangible when you look at them today.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

So long, its been good to know ye!












Pretty sad huh! Priscilla opened in a day, lasted a nice week, and then boom, she shriveled and died within 24 hours. The first picture is 2.8.10, and the 2nd picture was taken 2.9.10



She provided SMe with a fun, beautiful little diversion, and her grace was much appreciated.



It was fun, thanks for coming to visit her.



Wonder what our next project will be?

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SSON

Exactly 39 years and 5 hours after he was born, we celebrated SSons birthday this weekend. For a change, it was not snowing like it was the day he was born, and for many of the past 39 years. There were many cars stuck in driveways going out for his birthday activities.

He likes Italian food, really it's all about the pasta and cheese for him. We have just small get-togethers, but he likes it and it always ends with chocolate cake which his SStepmother makes every year now. The joke is "What kind of Chocolate Cake do you want this year Tim?". Now the cake is a low fat and low sugar version, but he doesn't care.
His meal this year was stuffed manicotti (silent i, long o), chicken cacciatore served over whole wheat pasta, ensalate(lettuce salad-I just love saying ensalate-silent e, long a), relish tray, jello with marshmallows, homemade sauce with chicken Italian sausage, lots of Italian bread, cake and Ice Cream. Everyone brought something, so it works out nicely. Help with everything from SSister#1, SBrother-in-law#1, SMom, SSon's SDad and SStepmother, SDaughter, SD'sSigother, SGrandson, SHusband, and of course, SSON. We had many cups of tea and coffee, and we found a "SKINNY" version of carmel macchiato by International Coffee in the dairy dept., we likee very mucheeiato.

Here he is with his SGrandmother and his cake:
I have not made sauce from scratch in way too many years, and this was my first time making chicken cacciatore. The sauce for manicotti was made with tomatoes that I slow-cooked with spices in summer and then peeled and froze. The tomato recipe called for red wine vinegar-I used Carapelli which has only a 7% acid level, and the smell it gave the tomatoes was marvelous with a capital Marve.

The chicken cacciatore recipe calls for chicken with skin and bones, something I have not bought in at least a decade. I needed to cut up larger pieces, way too much anatomy for me. I got through it because a few years ago I bought super-sharp knives, so I carefully made it into a quick project. I don't think I have touched so much raw chicken in many years-I used so much antibacterial handwash liquid that my hands were raw by the time I was done, and then it took a lot of bleach to clean the surfaces. I wonder if those disposable cutting mats work-do they get cut to pieces and put plastic in the food? I think too much.
So listen, the sauce turned out really well, SSister#1 made homemade sauce last month, something she does all the time, but not me and this made me want to try it again. It cooked all day, down to a deep, dark red color and great smell, I even added about another 1/2 cup of that vinegar for some more of that nice smell.
Wait, I almost forgot to mention that I made minestrone soup to start-it really was good-I must have been either brave or stupid to try 3 new recipes with company coming, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. This picture is courtesy of SDaughter who reminded me to take a picture for you before I finished eating it-there was more broth, but it was almost all gone. And that is one of those IKEA bowls from Dollar Tree which I told you about earlier. The best bargain of the year for me.
SS got many audio and video presents, more Sabre stuff, and he always gets shorts and Blue Cheese dressing in his gift bag-he makes a mean list!












And this is a shirt I found online at buffalosportstees.com -thanks to a mention in another blog-can't remember which one unfortunately.







That is his SDand SSM behind him.







The t-shirt refers to the Buffalo Memorial Aud(itorium) which was an icon in the area, and torn down last year. Most of the residents of the area have been in the Aud for either a sports or entertainment event-I even saw Frank Sinatra there in the 1970's-boy, am I old or what!
Tim received many nice cards from thoughtful friends and family-thank you all.

Well anyway, he, we, they, all had a good time, and we are grateful that Tim is in our family. The day he was born it was a difficult birth for his SBirthmother, and he was pretty agitated when it was all said and done. The GYN took SS's SDad and I down the hall, and introduced us, and he was throwing his arms around and wiggling so much that he actually rolled over-towards us. It was an important meaningful moment for me. I felt as though he was turning towards us on purpose, or else God was turning him, affirming the new family.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Frozen Lake Erie

This is a very interesting satellite picture of Lake Erie, and it's frozen areas, taken 3 days ago when there were no clouds. The Bluish area is open water, and the rest of the lake has various degrees of ice. They say that this open area will cut down the effects of what is called LES: LAKE EFFECT SNOW. In layman's terms: "Yikes, this snow is never gonna end". The upper right corner is where Buffalo New York is located. That area is the largest BIG city to us. We live about 25 miles East and slightly south of Buffalo. Ice fishing is popular in the area, with some yo-yos getting stuck on Lake Erie in the spring as a piece of ice breaks away from the mass. Then rescue squads need to come get them before they float up the Niagara River to you know what! NIAGARA FALLS!

So listen, once, I saw a comic routine, whenever a character heard the words "NIAGARA FALLS", he flipped out, turned around and said "NIAGARA FALLS, SLOOOOOWLY I TURNED, STEP BY STEP, INCH BY INCH....." and then he starts beating up whomever is closest to him. WIKI says this is a famous routine from Vaudeville Days, and also done by the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello and The LUCY show. I can remember doing this routine with coworkers loooong ago, or just muttering "NIAGARA FALLS", and we would all breakup. Laughing is good, try it, you'll like it.

This is SHusband and SGrandson in 2000. Just two buddies laughing together.













Saturday, February 6, 2010

Our little Priscilla

Hi all, here she is in all her glory! I have moved her away from the direct sun as the directions say, and have tried her in various parts of the house, trying to avoid her being in the path of the heat vents also. She was kind enough to be open and not die by today's birthday dinner for SSon.


Since I have redish in my living room now, it would be nice to have it there, but no place keeps her out of the heat path, so over here near me is her place for now.











In this picture, you also see a nice print of two people walking and holding hands-it is so lovely-SHusband gave it to me-lucky me, he likes to hold hands.



There is also a picture on the right of SH's SMom. I never met her, but she has two lovely, kind children, so I know she was also a sweetheart. In the left side of the picture is a grouping of pictures of the Man of the Day-SS. He is of course wearing his Buffalo Sabres shirt-so him!

Friday, February 5, 2010

)&(*^$^$&*(*

So there I was, mopping the last 2 square feet of the kitchen floor-which would mark the end of the kitchen cleaning. I had kd Lang "LIVE by request" on the CD player, mentally planning my next few jobs to be done, and splash-the mop handle snagged the bucket handle, pulled it over and since this is a ginormous size pail to accommodate a large sized mop thingy that I use when I do my hardwoods sometimes, it was a looooot of water, and where did it go? Well, I was standing in front of the fridge and stove, yes, UNDER the appliances. (*(^&^^$%$%^$&^*!
So, I grabbed a bunch of towels, pulled out the taller than me and huge side-by-side fridge-freezer and the stove and starting to blot for all I was worth. And since those same appliances were pulled out a mere 5 days ago to clean under them, there I was mopping up dirty water from a sparkling clean floor. What's the chance of that ever happening?
When the worst of the cleanup was finished, I called SSon on the intercom and he was able to push the appliances back for me. My adrenalin rush when it first happened was over, and I could not push them back for nothing! And of course the entire floor had to be rewashed because all the traffic during the cleanup process trashed my before-this clean, finished floors.
Thanks for listening friends, I feel better already, and the floor is dry!

Pre-Birthday

So listen, tomorrow is SSon's 39th. birthday, I am cooking and cleaning, but just a quick post.



Here is a Birthday Banner that I have been hanging up since the SKids were small-it is not a Birthday unless that Banner is hanging, and a few years ago, SDaughter bought one just like it for her house. It was very sweet to see her carry on that tradition. You never know what is important when you are in the moment, but then, years later you can see the results. Like a at Christmas when SD sets a very special, fancy table and makes it a special time.


SS was born on a Saturday, which tomorrow is also, so I told him if he feels like moving and twisting, it is just his body remembering his journey to be born. He looked at me and said "OK?". So, alright, I thought it was a neat thing to say, and it bombed-live and learn.


These are flowers that I bought, just because. Maybe if SS's SBirthmother still lived in the area, I would have given them to her. A cyber thank-you will have to do.

SGrandson's picture from when he was a baby is on the right-this is one of my favorites. Picture from Florence, Italy of SMe and SSister #1 is on the left, and little bowls that I have ready for tomorrow are in the bottom of the picture. I found them at the DOLLAR TREE store, yep, $1.00 each, and when I was washing them and taking off the label-there on the bottom is the IKEA stamp-and I paid next to nothing for them! Sweet! Did I tell you that previously? Sorry, I am still excited to find that bargain.


Goodbye for now, time to "Carry On" as one of my favorite people- Tim Gunn from Project Runway always says.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Murano

Happy February, love is in the air this month, and to decorate my blog, here are some beautiful hearts for you.


The header picture for this month was taken by me at the Glass Factory located on the Island of Murano in the Venice Lagoon. This is the original front wall of the factory. The sign is all done in small tiles.

SHusband and I tend to collect heart images, and this one was taken for SH to see when I returned home. I took over 900 images on my memory cards. I wanted to share the trip with SH since he would never be going, so "Document R US" was the name of the game. I am thinking that if I were to take the trip now, I would be e-mailing him pictures on a daily basis with my new phone. I wonder how long it would take a picture from Italy to NYS via satellite?





If you look very closely, you will see a gold Glass Factory emblem embedded towards the bottom of the right heart.






The trip began in a private boat ride, with a female captain-very rare apparently there in the heart of the male-is-king society.

The factory was started on that Island in the 1200's when the glass factories were moved away from Venice for fear of fire. We had an absolutely gorgeous tour guide-I think he was an owner of the factory. He looked like he stepped out of a Doris Day movie-so typecast. Tall, dark and handsome.









We had a tour which included a glass blowing demonstration by this wonderful artist who has been with the company for over 40 years! He was so kind and seemed like he really enjoyed showing us his work.


I bought myself a teeny tiny pair of glass crystal earrings, but most times I forget to wear them-I must get them out to wear this week. OK, I am back, got out my earrings, took a picture for you, and then the low battery indicator came on, so replaced the batteries, and then put some new extra batteries in camera case-just in case, you never can stop a girl scout wannabe from being prepared!

Here they are, very bright because of the flash, but you can see that they look like a flower with a yellow center. Did you note that the gold logo on the red envelope matches the gold emblem in the glass heart?
Here are some more of their items that they sell:



















I really thought before I went that I would buy a glass chandelier there. Silly me. The cost was so many thousands of dollars-but a lady on our tour did buy one, and the cost to have it shipped home was almost equal to the cost of the item! I still whine every now and then again about not buying one, and my SSister#1 laughs and says "Are you kidding me?". I think the cost of the trip was less than the chandelier!

Can you see this glass tea set is covered in gold, and do you see those nice decanters and vases in the back, they are just beautiful, in so many colors.
This is a gorgeous mirror. I don't know whose house that would be suited for, but you have to admire the beauty and skill.

Hope you enjoyed my trip to the Glass Factory.

So listen, welcome to February, SSon's birthday is this weekend, so February is a special month, hope yours is too.