A Dispute Between the Moon and The Sun

"The moon is up, and yet it is not night, 
The sun as yet disputes the day with her." Lord Byron

Summer Fling

“Sweet, sweet burn of sun and summer wind, and you my friend, my new fun thing, my summer fling.”-k.d. Lang

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Here's an easy delicious summer fruit pie recipe that my friend Marion gave me.

1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup)
3 Tblsp. strawberry jello (one small package)
3 Tblsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. red food coloring (opt.)
1 1/2 cup water
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries (I used three 16 oz. containers. I saved some whole strawberries for the top of the pie and cut the rest in halves for the main part of the pie. I dipped the cut strawberries first in the glaze and then dipped the whole strawberries last).
9 inch baked pie crust-cooled.


 Directions:
Bake your pie crust according to your own recipe and cool. 
Mix sugar, jello dry from box, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil stirring constantly until clear.  Add coloring if desired, and cool to lukewarm.  Gently stir in berries.  Pour into cooked pie shell, top with the whole berries that have been dipped in glaze and chill. Top with whipped cream.  This is also a good fruit pie recipe for peaches or raspberries. Just substitute jello flavor to match fruit.

Shopping at Marukai in Gardena California

I had an interesting day with my friend Pam.  We first met for lunch at Bob's Hawaiian Restaurant in Gardena.

      Barb and Pam (good friends since the days we worked together at UCLA in the 1970's)

After lunch Pam took me to the Japanese Market "Marukai" in Gardena.  This is a specialty market selling homegoods (everything you can imagine for the kitchen, gifts, groceries and even a food court with Asian food). 

 This is a very large market. Don't forget to check upstairs as well. The  upstairs section selling Japanese furniture and home decorations, and additional floor space downstairs for various Japanese non-food items like stationary, rice cookers, Hello Kitty stuffed dolls.

Marukai  has several locations in the Southern California area. This one is at
1740 W. Artesia Blvd.
Gardena, Ca.

• Mon: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Tue: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Wed: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Thu: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Fri: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Sat: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Sun: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm

A Sunday Kind of Love

On Sunday July 26, 2015 my friends Cindy and Bob hosted a lovely afternoon gathering of friends to come and meet their first grandchild, baby Gracelyn.  It was wonderful to finally meet "Gracie" and to hold her and welcome her to our world.  She is a perfect little doll. Here's a little slideshow of our afternoon together.

 

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A Summer Italian Group Meet-up

My Italian language group does not meet during the summer months but we manage to get together every so often. This past Friday a few of us met for lunch at Angelo's Deli on 2nd Street in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach.  Angelo's Deli has recently expanded to the storefront on the corner of 2nd and La Verne.  We enjoyed meeting our friends for a nice summer outing.

Mitra and Isa

Always wonderful to be with my great friends and fellow italian language lovers

                                                               Marion, Barb and Judy

A great day out with " le mie amiche italiane"!

A Lazy Mid July Day Italian Style With The Tre Stagioni

My friends Mitra and Marion and I spent a lazy, hazy mid July day having lunch together and then watched two wonderful italian movies: "Pranzo di Ferragosto" (Mid August Lunch), and "Pane e Tulipani" (Bread and Tulips). 
Nothing easier or more relaxing on a hot summer afternoon, than to be with good friends

eating good food, 

 drinking wine,

and watching good movies 

Plenty of time for rest and relaxation equals a perfect summer afternoon with friends.

Barb, Marion and Mitra are  the "Tre Stagioni"