Farewell Party

17 August, 2019

I will soon be moving on to my next adventure in Spain. I will be teaching English in Madrid while also enrolled in a Master's program in Bilingual and Multicultural Education at University of Alcala.

Today I was honored to be gifted with a going away party by some of my Santa Barbara friends. I am so blessed to have such an amazing group of supportive and loving women in my life. Not to mention good cooks (best potluck food ever).

We didn't get a photo of the whole group, but I did manage to get a picture with everyone present. 

Thank you all for your support and friendship. I will miss you all.

Smoke and Fire and.... Panettone?

09 December 2017

The Thomas Fire is raging to the south, causing Santa Barbara county residents high levels of anxiety for friends and loved ones. Currently the containment is only at 15% and the winds are still blowing.

Information sites:
http://readyventuracounty.org/
http://countyofsb.org/thomasfire.sbc
http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/1922
http://www.dailynews.com/2017/12/05/this-map-shows-where-the-thomas-fire-is-burning-in-ventura-county/

The air quality is terrible, and particle masks are being distributed for free (for locations, click here).

So with all THAT going on, it's best to stay indoors. To pass the time, I decided to bake. It is the Christmas season, despite everything, and reminders of holiday foods are everywhere.

I am infatuated with panettone after tasting an Italian imported panettone from Galup which a coworker brought to share. Some panettone are dry, but this was soft and delicious, and just slightly sweet.

My first attempt at homemade panettone was using this recipe from the blog Savoring Italy: Bundt Panettone. I followed the recipe exactly, except for the type of dried fruits.

So far, so good. Photo taken just after pouring it into the pan, ready to begin the rising. I let it rise until doubled, just over an hour, before baking.

Here is the finished product. It looks beautiful, and the flavor is spot on, but the texture didn't turn out as I had hoped. The crumb is dense and dry, and it didn't rise further once in the oven.

After reading still more recipes, it seems the general consensus is that a proper panettone takes days to make and requires live yeast and so on and so forth... but I'm not giving up!

#ThomasFire

Birthday Dinner at Opal Restaurant

28 February 2015

Several people recommended Opal Restaurant & Bar to me, so for my birthday dinner with my parents, I decided to give it a try. We arrived around 5:40 or so, and we got the last table that was not reserved (birthday luck).


The menu has so many wonderful things on it that it was very difficult to make a decision, but eventually I decided on the salmon in coconut-banana-Thai red curry sauce. It was delicious, the presentation was beautiful, and the portion size was perfect.

For my birthday dessert, I chose the Dark Chocolate Pecan Tart. Imagine a shortbread crust, filled with a brownie, topped with pecan halves.

AND it came with an edible chocolate and raspberry birthday greeting right on the plate, how awesome is this?

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

SBGAL: Jesusita Trail to Inspiration Point

28 February 2015

Today the Santa Barbara Girlfriends Adventure League hike was up Jesusita Trail from the water treatment plant up to Inspiration Point. The weather was cool and beautiful, and due to the rain we had a couple of weeks ago, there were an amazing variety of native plants in bloom.

Everyone loved the awesome ear warmer Miz D was wearing, very stylish! I just might try making something like this...

 First pause at the picnic tables to regroup. 

 There is a fungus among us! The shapes and colors and patterns are so beautiful, like ocean waves.

In the next two photos, remnants of the fire are quite visible, but it's heartening to see how much has grown back already.

We made it! (In case there was a doubt..)

 Gorgeous view from up here.

 Snack time!

 No wait, make the cell phone time!

 She caught me. Yes, I too was using my cell phone to take photos! It is so much smaller than my camera I have only been carrying it with me.

I love SBGAL! ♥

SBGAL: Baron Ranch Trail

21 February, 2015

Today's Santa Barbara Girlfriends Adventure League hike was up the Baron Ranch Trail, near Gaviota.

Ready, get set....

 Go!

 A pause at the beginning of the loop portion of the trail.

The house ruins. Just a one room house with no windows, but what a beautiful location.

 Finally passed the top and heading down again, what a view. We are hoping these clouds will bring some desperately needed RAIN.

We saw several newts in the woods, cute little naked vulnerable creatures. They are rather hard to spot as they are just the color of the fallen leaves around there; thank heavens we didn't step on any, as we had 17 people in the group.

 Another pause, for a discussion about shoes and socks for hiking. Timely, as I discovered on this hike that apparently my toes have grown, or something, since I last wore these hiking boots regularly some years ago. The tips of my toes are sore and feeling a bit raw. Time for new boots.

 Home by 11:00AM, to have the rest of the day free (after showering off the ticks and poison oak!). Great way to start the weekend!

SBGAL: Franceschi Park Walk

31 January 2015

I am excited to be a new member of Santa Barbara Girlfriends Adventure league, a group of amazing women who get together and brave sunburn, poison oak, blisters, and ticks to spend time together hiking in the Great Outdoors.

Here are some photos I took on the first hike of 2015 and my first hike with them. Have to be quick to take photos or take them while walking, as pauses are infrequent and the pace is fast. I was quickly disabused of the idea that these were leisurely hikes.

Here we are pausing for about 3 minutes at Franceschi Park to admire the view.

 And a gorgeous view of Santa Barbara it was, too. Perfect sunny day.

The "Frog Wall". I would be interested to know how this got started, as it's clearly been there for a while and is a real piece of community collaboration!

Heading back to Rocky Nook Park at the finish.

And that was Day 1... I met so many people, it's a good thing we have name tags. Looking forward to getting to know these fabulous women!