Wake up!

Hi!

Wow...trying to stay awake this afternoon.  I've got plenty of work to keep me busy, just can't keep my eyes open!  We watched the finale of Dancing with the Stars last night....and yay!!  Donald Driver (a Green Bay Packer) WON!  We've been voting for him all season. Now that the show is done for the season I am going to call the cable company and just drop down to very basic cable, just to get local channels and internet.  With summer here we dont need to spend so much time watching TV!

Heron count:

Well, it's funny...since I started my "official" counting on Monday...I've hardly seen any Great Blue Herons!  None on my way home Monday.  None on my drive in Tuesday....although I did see 2 turkeys...and 2 sandhill cranes...and this morning i saw a deer

Herons:
     1 flying north over Halquist Stone Quarry in Pewaukee (5/22 approx 5pm)
     1 flying south over Hwy 16 at Hwy 83 (this is where I have typically seen the most herons over the
        last few years) (5/23 approx 7am)

A friend of mine at work told me about this website, out of Cornell University in Ithaca New York. The have 2 webcams in a Great Blue Heron nest.  I've been checking in off and on over the last several weeks. When I first went on, it was 1 egg...then up to 5...then the hatching of the crazy looking heron babies...and they grow sooo fast...about an inch a day is what I read....now they are looking like a smaller version of the adults, and they are only a couple weeks old!  Very fascinating..and great info from the moderators in the chat!  Check it out if you get a chance...it can be addicting!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2433

Hi!

Just thought I'd check in....not much going on in the way of prepping for our trip yet.  Although I did purchase a couple of audio lessons on speaking Italian.  Will be great to listen to on my drive to and from work everyday!  Need to locate our birth certificates this week so we can apply for our passports.

We have 2 more trips coming up BEFORE our Tuscan trip.  My fabulous daughter bought me an airline ticket to visit her in California...Dave and I will be going from May 31st to June 5th.  Very excited :)

And then in July we will be driving to New York for Dave's niece's graduation party.  They live about an hour south of Buffalo.  Very beautiful there.

I need to start thinking about what clothes/shoes/etc we need for all of these trips.  Too bad I have no money to spend on such things...oh well, just the fact that we can go is pretty awesome :)

I've been slowly trying to get things at home organized....haha...not an easy task for us....on Mother's Day when I went into the garage to try and find my gardening tools and couldnt find...or get to...ANYTHING...I decided right then and there it was time to clean the garage...re-organize...Well, we got about 2/3 of the stuff moved out into the driveway...and were EXHAUSTED...we have been working on it bit by bit since then....probably would have finished this past weekend if the temp hadnt jumped up to 95 degrees (I dont do well in extreme heat!)  But it is definitely looking much better!  I know I'll feel mentally better once everything is organized!

You may or may not know this about me, but I consider the Great Blue Heron my lucky charm...if I had been native american I suppose it would be my totem...I see GBH's flying all the time...everyday they fly across the road/s I am driving...to work, shopping, anywhere...I decided I'm gonna start keeping a tally...just out of curiosity....

This morning I saw 2
     1 was flying west over Hwy 16 on my way out of Oconomowoc
     1 was flying north over Hwy K just east of Hartland

I know I've seen at least 10 in the 3 days before today, I dont ever remember seeing so many!  And in places I havent seen them in previous years...like flying over the park across the street from our house!

:)  Enough babbling for now....

Have a great day!

 P.S.  I took this picture last year at Lac La Belle, near my  house.  I have yet to get a good picture of a flying heron...one of my photography goals for this year!

Top of my bucket list!

How often is someone given a gift that takes them to the number one item on their bucket list?  Well...that's exactly what has happened to me, and Dave.  My aunt is sending us on an all expenses paid Tuscan food and wine tour.  Yes that would be Tuscany...in ITALY!!  We are so very excited.  It is going to be an amazing 11 days.

Here is the itinerary from the tour company:

Air 1: Overnight Flight
Board your overnight flight to the Italian capital of Rome.
Day 2: Rome, Italy - Tour Begins
Meet your fellow travelers in Rome for a welcome dinner in a local restaurant • Join in an interactive and fun presentation on Italy’s wines given by the restaurant’s sommelier • Indulge in a traditional 4-course meal, paired with some of the country’s finest wines.
Today dinner will be included.
Day 3: Rome - Orvieto - Umbria
Depart Rome • Travel to the Etruscan hill town of Orvieto, known for its white wine and Gothic cathedral housing a Signorelli fresco • Take time for a leisurely lunch or explore this town on your own • Spend the next four nights in a palace in a pristine Umbrian hill town. Today breakfast and dinner will be included.
Day 4: Umbria - Spoleto - Cooking Class - Umbria
Embark on a guided walking tour of historic Spoleto • See medieval palaces, the ornate Duomo of Santa Maria Assunta, and the magnificent Ponte delle Torri, an aqueduct dating back to the 13th century • Enjoy free time to peruse the town’s shops and cafes • Pay a visit to a country restaurant housed in a 16th century farm house • The chef here provides a hands-on Umbrian cooking lesson • Indulge in an early dinner in the countryside. Today breakfast and dinner will be included.
Day 5: Umbria - Olive Oil Factory - Norcia - Montefalco - Umbria
Explore Umbria’s specialty food items through a series of tastings • Start the day with a visit to a local olive oil factory in the area of Trevi • Travel to Norcia, where skilled butchers have been handcrafting salumi for centuries • Taste some of their sausages and pecorino cheeses during a guided walking tour • Visit the basilica of St. Benedict • Stop off in Montefalco, nicknamed the Balcony of Umbria • Visit a local enoteca to sip some of this region’s most prized wine, the Sagrantino. Today breakfast will be included.
Day 6: Umbria - Cortona - Home-Hosted Dinner - Umbria
After a leisurely morning you’ll head to Cortona, the Etruscan town made famous in the film Under the Tuscan Sun • Take time for a leisurely lunch or explore this town on your own • This evening, an Umbrian family welcomes you to their country home as they prepare a delicious home-cooked meal. Today breakfast and dinner will be included.
Day 7: Umbria - Winery - Tuscany
Travel from Umbria through southern Tuscany • A winery visit showcases the wine cellar, family estate, vineyards, olive groves and stunning views • The winery’s chef prepares an authentic Tuscan lunch, expertly paired with wines produced on site • Make yourself at home in Tuscany in your restored palazzo for the next four nights. Today breakfast and lunch will be included.
Day 8: Tuscany - Florence - Tuscany
Set out on a short journey to Florence, “cradle of the Italian Renaissance” • Begin your day with a guided walking tour of the city sights, including the cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore, located in the religious center of the Piazza Del Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio • Join your local guide in exploring the unique qualities of the city • Focus on Florence’s local artisans and visit their workshops • Spend some free time shopping and investigating Florence on your own • Return to Montaione. Today breakfast and dinner will be included.
Day 9: Tuscany - Siena - Monteriggioni - Tuscany
Travel to the city of Siena • Enjoy a walking tour and visit the historic piazza famous for the Palio Horse Race • Continue to the walled town of Monteriggioni for a stroll along quaint streets • Take an afternoon break and try some Tuscan pastries before returning to the town of Montaione. Today breakfast will be included.
Day 10: Tuscany - Volterra - San Gimignano - Tuscany
Spend your morning in Volterra, a former Etruscan city which sits high above the Tuscan countryside • Visit one of the most famous Etruscan museums in Italy, the Guarnacci Museum • Travel to San Gimignano, known as the "Medieval Manhattan" • Look for the town's fourteen medieval towers that date back to the 13th century • Enjoy a stroll along Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Cisterna • Enjoy a farewell dinner with your fellow travelers. Today breakfast and dinner will be included.
Day 11: Tuscany - Tour Ends
Your vacation comes to a close in Montaione.
Today breakfast will be included. 

Sounds absolutely fabulous!  And I think Dave and I should both be able to handle the amount of walking.  The trip begins Sept. 28, so the weather should be great!  And it will be close to grape harvest time!

We found out about this last Wednesday, and in that time since then I have checked with work to make sure it is ok that I am gone for 8 work days; we went to the library and checked out several travel guides and movies set in Italy; we went to the shoe store to get an idea of what kind of walking shoes we might want.

This is the beginning of my Tuscan travel blog...hopefully I can keep up with it, let you know how the preparations for trip are progressing!  Come along for the ride!  Ciao :)

It's gonna be a good day...

It's gonna be a good day....love it when the Brownberry bakery/factory is baking bread when i am leaving in the morning...the whole town smells like bread...yummm....plus it is a beautiful sunshiny morning...didnt even need a sweater or jacket this morning (this IS March...isnt it???) AND...i saw a Great Blue Heron flying by this morning (my good luck charm)! it's gonna be a good day!

Baby Steps....

Well...I got one blog post from November...that wasn't a very good start...

I would really like to do this regularly, develop a following, and have fun with it :)

Lately I have been ADDICTED to Pinterest.  There are so many fun and creative things on there.  It actually inspired me to go out and buy a freezer (which I bought from Craigs List for $250, a 17 cubic ft, upright...looks like NEW!)  And Pinterest has also inspired me to try "freezer cooking".  I stocked up on meat at Piggly Wiggly's 1 day meat sale last weekend and am "pinning" lots of recipes to make and freeze.  

The other thing that has me so excited is canning!  I really want to get my veggie garden going again this year, and  hit the farmers markets for "in season" fruits and veggies, to use the new pressure canner I just got!  

Also have been inspired to make bread...havent done it yet, but it's on my "to do list", hopefully I can get to it very soon!

I am feeling quite domestic! 

Men are so easy....

Men are so easy to please when it comes to food!  Yesterday I was thinking about what to make for dinner, picturing what I had on hand at home…noodles…tuna….cream of mushroom soup…peas….hmm…sounds like tuna noodle casserole to me!  I haven't made this in probably 25 years!  But it's a easy one.  I don’t put mine in the oven, I just cook it all on the stove and serve with a side of potato chips! So I threw it all together last night, and my sweet husband says to me…"You are so good at just throwing things together and making them taste SO GOOD!"
All I can say is Thank You My Love ;)