Pickle Pampering Kona

Flash Mob with a Twist!

I know, I know, I can be a bit of a geek sometimes....(or so I've been told)...I was sent a link to this video and I LOVED it!

I think it would be such a blast to be a part of something like this, but I have zero dance talent, and even less singing talent, so both a flash dance mob, or singing such as this would be totally out of my realm of reality....but maybe something down the line...with a golden or two, or three hundred...hmmm, that's something to think about!

A quick explanation:
On Saturday, April 24, 2010, over 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and principal cast members from their upcoming production of La Traviata converged on the Reading Terminal Market Italian Festival in Philly. Wearing street clothes and blending in with the crowd, the artists swung into action after the first orchestral strains of the famed " Brindisi " were piped through the market, giving a rousing, surprise performance for hundreds of delighted onlookers who were there to enjoy the Italian delicacies that the Market has to offer.
The four-minute piece won a thunderous ovation that included both laughter and tears from the audience.

Watch and enjoy! I love the first singer, and how he gives "eyes" to the lady he is singing to.

A-Z Mondays- the foodie version, "Z" is for Zucchini bread!

Ah, here we are...at the end of the A-Z Monday's Food game. What a delightful 26 weeks it's been!

For the letter "Z" I have picked Zucchini Bread. YUM! My Mom makes the best zucchini bread ever! I'm not sure what all she puts into it, I just know that it's great!

It's amazing to me that you can take something that looks like this....

mix it with some pretty basic ingredients, and come up with a delicious dessert (or breakfast, as the case may be...).

One of my favorite things to do with a nice fresh zucchini is to slice it up and mix it with the yellow squash I talked about last Monday...sauted in a bit of butter, some salt and pepper, a little garlic salt, and a slice or two of onion...oh my!

My friend Lori recently sent me a new recipe which I have yet to try, but sounds delightful. It's for "Zucchini Cakes" (along the lines of crab cakes...not chocolate cake!)

Zucchini Cakes
Makes 12—14 (or more)

4 cups grated zucchini—washed, trimmed & grated
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups whole-grain bread crumbs (Trader Joe’s Whole-Wheat Sourdough bread works well)
sea salt & pepper
¼ teaspoon powdered cloves
¾ cup crispy almonds—ground to a powder (Trader Joe’s Almond Meal also works—just brown it in a pan)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (I double this amount)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


Mix zucchini with salt & let stand (at least) ½ hour. Rinse well with (filtered) water & squeeze dry in a tea towel. Mix with eggs, onion, bread crumbs, cheese, cayenne pepper, cloves & season to taste (with salt & pepper). Form into cakes & sauté a few at a time in butter & olive oil. Extra (if there are any) cakes can be frozen (after cooking).

Give it a try and let me know how it is!

If you'd like to see what other bloggers are drooling over for this last week of A-Z Mondays, be sure to check out Jen's blog here.

I hope you had a great weekend! Ours was busy, busy (what's new?) and I've got fun pictures to share....but I've got errands to run first!

A question for Jack

A Lovely Day with the Seniors in Poway

Kona and I had our once a month visit this morning with the seniors citizens at the assisted living facility we visit in Poway. These were the three teams that visited today....Me and Kona, Linda and Happy, and Jennifer and Ike.
Needless to say, there were smiles all around!

Kona loves a good chin rub!

I love his expression in this picture. I think it captures his goofy puppy look just perfectly!

A "Mini" Surprise

Ok, so you know how sometimes you don't really plan things, and they just happen? Well...hubby and I were driving home from someplace on Sunday and happen to drive by the BMW dealer. We saw this adorable little Mini Cooper.We'd never really given much thought to getting a Mini, especially considering we already have a Smart car...but our friends Shirley and Ed recently got a Mini and love it. A Mini has a bit more room than our Smart, which is strictly for 2 people only. The Mini has four seats, and although it probably wouldn't be comfortable for a cross-country trip for four people, they could certainly fit for short jaunts here and there. It would also be more comfortable for driving around with a pup or two than the Smart car is....so....we stopped and took a look at it.

On Monday we took it for a test drive.

We already have 4 cars in our family of 5, which sounds like plenty, but with all 5 of us driving now, it also means that there are times when all 5 of us are going in different directions. All of the kids are working now, Bear is still working full time at the salon, and both AJ and Pickle have part time summer jobs. Hubby has been going on job interviews, and I've got my therapy visits to do with Kona, gold parties, etc. We are a pretty busy family...

The test drive went great. We liked that it had all of the bells and whistles on it, it has the upgraded leather package, the upgraded stero system, the heated seats, double moonroof, 6 disc CD player, etc...and we also liked that it is a manual 6 speed. All of our other cars are automatic, and Hubby and I both enjoy driving a stick..We came home to think about it....and we flat out lied to the kids and told them that we weren't getting itThen we bought it. Simple as that. We had "Lowjack" installed on it, and a couple of other small things taken care of, and we picked it up this evening...all without the kids having a clue. It was a LOT of fun keeping the secret from them, and surprising them once everyone was home this evening.

Big thanks to Val for helping us pull off the surprise by letting us keep the car in her garage for a while, and even BIGGER thanks to my Mom and Dad for helping us do this for the kids!

Cute commercial!

Take a minute and watch this...it's really cute! (It made me think of some of the older folks Kona and I visit with!)