It is not easy keeping up on a blog

It

is

quite

a

challenge

to

keep

my

blog- readers

interested

in

reading

this

blog

(Jenny- I think I need a picture of Reggie the Randy Rover cruising across the screen with Toulouse)

I do have some

recipes

to share...

or

I could share

my

Happy Anniversary with John

pictures

with you

or

I

can

go out and take

pictures

of

the

extraordinarily

beautiful

emerald green hills

and

wildflowers

around

SLO

with

you

or

I could

tell

you

about

our

killer wines

for

April

.......

but

today I choose

to share

some

happy

videos

of

Petit Soleil

with you:

#1

by

a

creative

guest

#2

by our

amazingly

talented

and

dear friend,

Jenny

of

Live Artfully Productions

#3

our

Joyeux Noel

TV

greeting

#4

breakfast at Petit Soleil

by

Molly

(for a Cal Poly Senior project)

or

Spring is springing!

There's a cloud
There's a cloud
A blue sky darkening
That veils the light of the sun
And foretells the rain
But there's a bird
There are birds
And some are singing

To greet every new day that may come
Like the first of spring

It is cold
It is cold
I've had the feeling
At the heart and in the core
The roots of all things
But there's a bud there's a bulb
It will be blooming
To greet every new day that may come
Like the first of spring

Tracy Chapman

Today

is the

first day

of

Spring!

Don't

you

just

love

Spring?

Everything

is

all

SO

new

again!

.....

We

had

a wicked rain

last

night

in SLO -

like

four inches

in

24 hours!

(that's a lot for us!!!)

but

the

rain,

even the wicked rain

makes

fresh air

and

happy

flowers

cheery

Johnny Jump ups

pansies

kale

daisies

so happy!!!

A

few days

ago

John

planted

my

old bird cages

full of

flowers

I think

he

quietly

remarked

that

my idea to

plant flowers

in the

old

cages

was

a

REALLY

good one

since

we

have

had

numerous

canaries and finches

that

literally "flew the coop" when I was cleaning the cage

(oooops)

Last

night

I woke up

in

a

scary

panic,

or was it a hot flash?

during

the

wicked

rain storm

worrying

that

my happily planted

bird cages

might

blow over

and

be

T O A S T

joyfully

they

were

P E R F E C T !!

sadly,

though,

the wicked

four inches

of rain

caused

a

about

four inches

of

flood

water

in

Petit's

kitchen

.......not so fun

the

old

bicycle was

upright

and it's flowers

happy

"But there's a bird
There are birds
And some are singing"

on

the

first

day

of

Spring!

Hotcha! that's some a'spicy biscotti!

I always

love

an

easy

fun

and

tasty

nibble!

we serve

this

biscotti

with

a salami roll,

apple slices

and

lovely and bold red wine

(maybe Tolosa Syrah, or Ortman Eddie's Cuvee or Hitching Post Generation Red YUM!)

the recipe

calls for

black pepper

red pepper

cumin

and

sharp

cheddar cheese

flour

cornmeal

butter

egg and water

Mix

and form

two logs

The are baked

as logs

then

sliced

and baked again

thus

BI scotti

easy

and

a

bit addicting

1 tsp black pepper

2 c. flour

2 Tbs. cornmeal

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp red pepper

mix dry ingredients

1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

add cheese to dry ingredients

1/4 c. melted butter

1/4 c. water

1 large egg, beaten

mix wet ingredients together

and stir into dry.

Knead four or five times on floured surface

Divide dough in half

and

form

halves into logs.

Place logs on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes.

Cool log 10 minutes and cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices.

Bake 15 minutes - turn and bake another 10 minutes.

These would be yummy

served with a

roasted tomato soup!

350 degrees

The Leprechaun of Tao

Holds oneness in her heart

And her world is at peace

Does not try to please

And therefore shines

Does not seek attention

And therefore excels

Does not justify herself

And is therefore trusted

Does not intimidate others

And is therefore herself

Does not compete (well?.....uh, yeah she does)

And therefore

No one in the world can surpass her

Tao 22

yeah

yeah

yeah!

I

Know!!!

bragging

about

your children

can

make

a

parent

really

obnoxious

but,

I am

really proud

of this gal

and

March 2011

is

her

MONTH!

Annie:

1. ran the Napa Marathon in 3 hours 31 minutes

2. finished her last class at the University of California, Santa Cruz

and is officially an alumni

3. will turn 22 on St. Patrick's Day

(that isn't really an accomplishment - just a treat!)

click off

now

if you

hate

bragging parents

In my tummy,

Annie

was

a kicker

and a wiggler

and

on

March 17th

1989

I

got to finally

hold

my little

wiggle worm

my

tiny leprechaun

6lb 7oz

..my treasure

when she

was

good

she was

very very good

and when

she wasn't

she

screamed

Annie thought

the

sun

rose and set

over

her

big brother,

Andrew

Disneyland

1993

Dresses?

not so often

I did

beg

her

to wear a dress

to be

my

maid of honor

on

March 28, 1998

this is Annie dancing with John

Chuck t's

softball cleats,

roller blades,

any

and

all

sport activities

walk a thons

jr. life guards

track

and soccer

That's

my

Annie!

a runner

(she took first in her age bracket in the 2006 Nike Half Marathon)

ooops

was

I bragging?

mmmmmhmmmmm

and

Annie is

a

most

amazing

woman,

determined to save the world

intelligent

thoughtful

kind

loving

and my best friend

LA Marathon 2010

Napa Marathon 2011

Congratulations

of your graduation from

UCSC,

Dottie,

and

may all

your

birthday wishes

come true!

I love you!

Benjamin Franklin - brilliant!

Ben

was brilliant!

I bet

he

was a

hoot

at

dinner parties...

take a quick

minute

to

read

a few of

Ben's ramblings

in

Poor Richard's Almanac

We spent

last weekend

in

Napa -

a

really

nice

getaway!

famished

and

needing wine

as

Wine is living proof that God loves us

and wants us to be happy

love that

Ben!

we

stumbled on

Redd Restaurant

in

in Yountville

fabulous!

I highly

recommend it

to foodies

and beyond!

To start.

Joseph George SAUVIGNON BLANC Yountville Napa Valley 2008

AND

Lewis CHARDONNAY Napa Valley 2008

"When Wine enters, out goes

the Truth."

Perfect

calamari

Crispy calamari, cayenne salt, tamarind sauce, vietnamese dressing

then

Warm goat cheese, hazelnuts, beets, greens, sherry vinaigrette

AND

Caramelized diver scallops, cauliflower purée, almonds, balsamic reduction

Wine (and good food)

made our day

easier,

less hurried.

with fewer tensions

and

we

were

infinitely

more tolerant!

Redd Restaurant

Yountville

Local Resort and Spas

If

you read

my blog

or if you scoot back a few blogs ago

you can

read about

Tigerlily Salon

and

the

most

amazing

experience

I

had

with

Micaela

and my first

facial.

(my face is still as smooth as a baby's behind)

To be

pampered

is

the

B E S T

In all fairness

I

must

recommend

another

very

special

"pampering"

spa retreat

that we

indulged

in

for our

three besties

a quite

inexpensive

indulgence,

really..

John and I

thought

that

we should treat

our

favorite little dogs

to

A Spa Weekend

(so we could

take

a weekend

off and

head to Napa

and

not worry about

them)

Thousand Hills

Pet Resort

is

Doggie Heaven

It

is

located

in

Edna Valley

yes,

the

Wine Appellation

EDNA VALLEY

We checked in

Huck, Nottie and Phinn

Friday morning

(with their beds, food and chewies)

You can

see

the so cute

little cottages

..

("Boarding" means "hotel guests")

Huckleberry was ready!

Phinn

close behind.

Nottie

had

"SPA" already

on her mind

and was on her way

Spa

options

are

so great

at

Thousand Hills Pet Resort

One

can choose

a

play day

or

spa day

a weekend stay

a week stay

or

just

a few hours

to

play

and

catch some

needed

Vitamin D

Off

on

Spa leases

and collars

we

bid

adieu

to our little friends

and off they went

to thie

little

Spa cottage

On the way out

I snapped

a few

pictures

of the charming

surroundings

of this

wonderful Canine Retreat

(birdies were obviously welcome, too)

The fresh air

and countryside

was

breathtaking!

Two days later

we

arrived

back to

Thousand Hills Pet Resort

and found

Nottie

coiffed

(and happy)

Huckleberry

so

confident,

clean

and groomed

And

Phinn

perfectly content

clean

and happy to

be going home

We

were

thrilled

to have

this

option

for

our dogs.

They came

home

beautifully groomed

happy

and

tired.

The staff

were

all

so accomodating

and

they obviously

LOVE

dogs.

The perfect

SPA

and

"doggie- sitting"

retreat

for

your

canine

BFFs

Friday in Morro Bay.

Remember this little ditty?

...

Today is Monday
Monday -- string beans
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Tuesday
Tuesday -- spaghetti
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Wednesday
Wednesday -- soup
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Thursday
Thursday -- roast beef
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Friday
Friday -- fresh fish

Friday

in the Central Coast.

You

must

zip over

to Morro Bay...

often

foggy

sometimes breezy,

salty

but

ALWAYS

boasting

Fresh Fish..

I

read

on

Facebook

that

Giovanni's Fish Market

had

Sea Bass

I mean

FRESH

Sea Bass

right off

the boat

Not much better

than

fresh Sea Bass

first

though,

we

snacked

on

delicious

fish tacos

We

bought

a

pound

of

Sea Bass

For dinner:

We

sauteed

sliced leeks

sliced carrots

sliced celery

in lemon olive oil

until soft

added

the

fresh Sea Bass

seasoned

the whole happy group

with

Old Bay Seasoning_

a splash of

dry white wine

popped the

top on the pan

...

12 minutes

Oh, Baby!

delicious...

All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

next time more pictures....