Me at 5:30 a.m. This is the most recent picture of me. I am smiling and my eyes are open, so I thought I'd go for it. I made chorizo and eggs for breakfast this day...yum, more Mexican nostalgia food. 

more prehunting. ed and max. 

hunting, pre-hunting. 

My godson, Joseph. 

Amy, Ivan and Lisa at Clydes's house. 

not afraid of the couch, but afraid of the camera. this is the best picture I was able to get of my uncle, Clyde. Amy, forgive me for posting this one : )  

Kevin, dynamo, Klyse 

my dynamic favorite people 

49ers v Cardinals...GO NINERS.....well, they almost won....it was a beautiful day. Clyde gave Tony tickets and he invited me, mom, Brett, and Reese. Mike drove and I saw parts of San Francisco that day that I didn't even know existed......I don't think I'd even be able to find my way back to some of the places we passed through. 

too cool tony martino 

thanksgiving pumpkin pie...this pumpkin was a gift to Ed from North Dakota. I made three pies out of it. 

back to Arizona. these are animal tracks left at the water tank...how many can you see? lately, the water is frozen in the mornings. the dogs chew their water. 

The first couple of Terra Madre. This is my bragging picture. The FF picnic was a beautiful event this year thanks to all of the work and organization of my Russian River convivium buddies. Perhaps also because I received many kisses from Carlo, the big cheese. Speaking of cheese the cheese was beautiful! The food was beautiful, even the orchestra...was beautiful. Wait a minute, I'm stuck in a movie, there was no orchestra. Life is a caberet : )

Ahhh...back when it was warm. Here are Lisa and Mike at the SF Fast Food Picnic in October : )  

uh oh, it's come to FOOD PORN

My latest discovery: http://foodpornwatch.arrr.net/ Check it out. It has a list (long list) of food related blogs and sites. Most of these make my little blog look pitifully unsophisticated by comparison. But then, I like to think I'm spending my time doing exciting and challenging things out here in Arizona (heehaw) and therefore, do not have the time to indulge in such techie madness.
Would someone write to me!!?? Sorry, feeling a little out of touch. Hard to tell if anyone looks at this anymore, probably not so much, as I haven't updated it as often as I'd like.
I just spent some time up in northwestern Arizona with Ed and his BF, Max, and Max's son on an Elk hunting expedition. I spent my time cooking and feeling cozy. The little house we stayed in belongs to Max's parents and it reminded me a lot of grandma right down to the afghans made from the ends of yarn skeins. There was a cute selection of catholic wall decorations, crucifixes, madonnas, angels, even a sacred heart wall hanging in the dressing room. I haven't been in a little Mexican house like that in a while. Even her cooking utensils reminded me of grandma and grandpa. I made cinnamon tea like grandma used to and albondigas for dinner with homemade tortillas. Cried while I read the end of Gone With the Wind by the fireplace. Actually, I had an enjoyable crying day. I haven't cried in quite a while and I used to so much.
Above (or maybe below) are some recent photos. I did a quickie trip to California last week to see Stefano and everyone after Thanksgiving. I even went to a party at Ali's house! I tried to make some panettone for the party, but all of the yeast, egg yolks and butter couldn't help these panettone. They tasted good, but they didn't rise well the second time and turned out heavy and weapon-like. This caused me to lose some of my queenlike cooking confidence : ( I'm almost over it, I think.
So....I have taken the BIG step and sent in the big bucks to le Banc National de Paris for school in the Spring. Whew. I found an Alliance Francaise in Scottsdale and I plan to take a French course or two there before I depart. If I lose my patience, which happens sometimes, I think I'll do the Champs d'Elysee CD/magazine course. This even costs less than the AF. We'll see. From now on everyone is required to e-mail me en francais s'il vous plait...just kidding...just e-mail me and I'll be happy.