Churches in Venice

Now that I know what a meme is (thanks Marta and Softdrink!), I think I'll do one.

This is from softdrink's blog and here are the rules:

Rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Okay, I'm using the book I finished last night. It's here on my desk at work, and I'm getting ready to return it to the co-worker who loaned it to me.

Bill Buford's Heat (An Amateur's Adventure as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany)

"You recheck your basket: the tortelloni are floating. You go back to the pan and swirl it again - almost ready, looking like a custard. But three more orders come in, you deal with them, and by the time you get back to the pan, just thirty seconds later, the liquid is mottled: still a sauce but a diseased one, very ugly, not something you want to eat."

On another note, I'm really enjoying reading everyone's blogs during this February challenge. I was just blown away by Andasamo's grandmother's paintings - they are so interesting and beautiful.

The February issue of The Costco Connection has a short article by "travel guru" Rick Steves that’s all about "how travel can help bring the world together." He sounds like a Slow Traveler when he advises people to engage in "thoughtful travel" where you become a "temporary local."

But there's one part that really surprises me - he says that 80 percent of Americans don't even have a passport. I never would have guessed that the number was that high. Hard to believe that there are so few of us traveling outside the USA.

Total Eclipse of the Moon Tonight

"A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the night of Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire event is visible from South America and most of North America (on Feb. 20) as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia (on Feb. 21). During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon's disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray." - NASA website

It starts around 10 pm for those of us on the East Coast. A friend emailed me the following instructions: When you see it, make three wishes... one for your own wisdom and growth... one for the wellbeing of a loved one... and one for the world!

Update: it's 9:15 and it's already started here, so scratch the 10 pm start time!

Update #2: Check out Marta's blog for some amazing photos!

It was partly cloudy here so visibility wasn't perfect, but the clouds were blowing by fast and the eclipse kept coming in and out of view - very cool. The moon looked kind of pinkish/red during the totality phase.

These are my boyfriend's photos of the eclipse - the clouds caused some kind of rainbow/reflection/shadow thing that looks pretty cool.

I thought I’d share a few links to some of my favorite websites – some Venice-related and some not.

A Lover of Venice

A beautiful website filled with lots of off-the-beaten-path photos and info about you-know-where. I love the Madonna della Misericordia (Our Lady of Mercy) page which shows her locations all over Venice on a map, and the locations make the shape of her cloak – so very cool. The “Hidden Corners” section has great tours by sestiere –I’m looking forward to seeing the three yet to come.

Venice Daily Photo

Gorgeous photos and a great place to get a Venice fix when you need it.

Campiello-Venise

Six walks around Venice in 900 photos and 22 maps. In both French and English. Lots to look at here!

A Year in the Kitchen

The chef at one of my favorite local restaurants has started a blog. Bill Smith is a excellent chef and writer and also an all-around great guy. Love reading this one. The current entry about putting butter and salt on Girl Scout cookies is funny. High recommendations for his cookbook (Seasoned in the South) too.

The Splendid Table

I love the radio show and also the recipes on the website. I tend to get overwhelmed on sites like Epicurious that have zillions of recipes – Splendid Table has less to plow through, and every one that I’ve tried has been excellent. I love to take the Stuffed Piquillo Peppers to a party – quick, easy, delicious, and people go nuts for them.

Free Rice

A fun vocabulary game. For every word you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.

National Zoo Panda Cam

This is my “go-to” website when things get too harried at the office. Watching the pandas for a few minutes calms me right down and puts me in a better mood. They don’t do much, just eat, sleep, and play, but they are such beautiful and soulful creatures. I’m trying to write about them without using the “c” word but I can’t stand it…they are cute beyond words!

The photos below are from my October 2006 trip to D.C to see the baby panda, Tai Shan, and his parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.

At that time, Tai was 15 months old and weighed 70 pounds. Today he’s two-and-a-half years old and weighs 157 pounds. His father weighs 275, so Tai’s got some more growing to do. He was supposed to be sent to China at age two, but there’s been a panda baby boom and the Chinese are letting him stay here for two more years.

Well, the February Blog Challenge has been a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and I loved seeing all those red dates on my February calendar! But what really made it fun was doing it together with all the other Slow Trav bloggers. I’ve truly enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs, and it’s been so much fun to click from blog to blog every day and see what this interesting and diverse group of folks has to say. Here’s a recap:

Things I’ve learned: how to wash dishes correctly and that the best way to clean kids is to hose them off, from Chiocciola! I’d never heard of digital scrapbooking before Leslie’s blog – I’ve enjoyed seeing her beautiful work. I didn’t know what a meme was and I’d never met Flat Stan. I now have a crush on him too (thanks Jill!). I never knew that wearing your pajamas inside out and backwards would make it snow (thanks Kim!).

Places I’d like to go: St. Louis, thanks to Deborah (I really want to see the mosaics in that cathedral!); Norway, thanks to Chiocciola (the more I read her blog, the more I think that Norwegians are just very wise and sane people); Santa Barbara (I’d love to see the rat on a cat on a dog, thanks to Krista); Rome (reading Sandra’s blog has me thinking about returning there); Nova Scotia (to see the folk art, thanks to Jerry and Anne).

I’ve enjoyed the vicarious trip planning with Sandra, Girasoli, Deborah, Leslie, and Jerry and can’t wait to read about your trips.

Other things I’d like to do: learn to tango, thanks to Angie. I want to start keeping a book list like Jill and learn how to take photographs like Marta. I’m going to restart my bird list and add dates like Kim does. I want to do the James Lipton meme. I need to make a better and more specific plan for what I’m going to do when I win the lottery.

Food for thought: One of the most thought-provoking entries was Kim’s essay about Valentine’s Day. I’d never made the connections between food, love, candy, weight, and our cultural craziness connected to all of the above. I’m still thinking about that one. And I loved reading about Anne’s church, her thoughts on faith, and her female (!) minister Valerie.

Living the Good Life: I think that Palma and Jerry should start a magazine - I would definitely subscribe to it! I’ve got several recipes in my “want to try” folder: Palma’s scallops with lime, Jerry’s steak with blue cheese crust, and Krista’s coffee bean cookies. Actually, Krista and Marta could do the gardening section of that magazine.

Beautiful things I saw for the first time this month: Angie’s paintings, that gorgeous bark from the Rainbow Eucalyptus tree (thanks Girasoli); Anne’s grandmother’s paintings, Marta’s photographs (all of them!), Krista’s Valentine to Venice.

Thanks to everyone and especially to Angie for jump-starting us. I’m in the blogging groove now and look forward to reading more from all you guys. Happy March!

PhotoHunt

Girasoli and Leslie introduced me to Photo Hunt, and I decided to join in the fun since I had a couple of photos for this week’s theme: “unique/funny signs.”

First up: I wish I knew the story behind this one but I don’t. I saw it on the side of someone’s van in a parking lot at an art show. It reminds me of that old ‘70’s song by Five Man Electrical Band:

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that. Can't you read the signs?

And I love this one below which is from the door of the church of San Moise in Venice.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is “Share any photo” and I decided to share this one that I took of my friend’s collection of tops. What great toys they are! I do a lot of toy shopping these days for my nephews, and it’s hard to find toys that don’t need batteries or a degree in engineering to put together. This photo makes me nostalgic!

I didn't think that I had anything for this week's PhotoHunt theme (candy), but as I was looking through my photos from my December trip to Venice, I saw this one and it popped right in my head.

"Melts in your mouth, not in your hand"

False advertising, by the way. If you hold them long enough, they WILL melt.

The photo is from the scuola next to the church of San Marcuola in Cannaregio. Have a good weekend and happy hunting!

The last PhotoHunt in May.

My hair, my hand, and my new kitten, Maria! Photo by Stan.

Happy Weekend!

Today's PhotoHunt theme is "Bad Hair." This collection is going to fun to look at, I think!

Here's mine....amazing how much fun you can have with a Carolina Blue wig! I think my nephew looks like Thing One and/or Thing Two from Dr. Suess.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "Emotion(s)." I'm going with fear.

Ever wonder why we say "I'm chicken" when we're afraid to do something?

I was walking along and saw this guy out of the corner of my eye. At first, I thought it was a yard sculpture but then he moved, so I got out my camera and he kindly posed. He wasn't scared of me at all! And as I walked away, he cock-a-doodle-do'd.

There's another phrase used to describe someone experiencing fear - "scaredy cat." That one makes no sense...my cats aren't afraid of anything!

Happy weekend!

This week's PhotoHunt theme is water, so here are a couple that I took in Venice this past December.

Reflections in a canal

A water door. You can see the range of the tide levels on this building.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "bright." This angel on the corner of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice looks like she is averting her eyes from the sunlight.

Have a nice weekend!

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "pointed" so I'm going with these two obelisks on the roof of the enormous Palazzo Balbi on the Grand Canal in Venice.

Obelisks were first seen on ancient Egyptian temples, where they were always in a pair just like these. Obelisk comes from a Greek word meaning "needle."

Have a nice weekend!

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "support." In this case, I'm not talking about the shrine (though that could work too) but rather that big staple-shaped metal thing above it. You see these all over the buildings of Venice - I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I think it's some kind of support to help hold those old buildings up. I imagine someone with a very large stapler walking around Venice!

Happy weekend!

This week's PhotoHunt theme is "What IS that?"

What do you think? Continue reading for one theory...