Ok its whup me with a wet noodle¬†time again¬†…. I forgot my camera ….¬† shame on me because this was so much fun¬†….would have been great to have pictures

Instead I shall describe in detail so your mouth can water…. while I try to take you on a fantabulous feast for the taste buds…..

It all started Sat night the 15th with a group of eight of us … three whom had birthdays in November… one the 4th….one the 6th … one¬†the 18th…(mine) ….¬† yes I kept it a secret… or thought I did….¬† (more on that later)…..

Now……imagine ……what is called a salad bar…. with very little salad…¬† but several different types of cheeses….salmon smoked in alder wood……¬†roasted peppers…. caper berries.(ohhhhh my are they delish)…priscuitto….hearts of palm…. artichoke hearts….¬† goat cheese ….bread… shrimp….¬† asparagus….¬† sushi….¬† lobster bisque….potatoes au gratin….¬†I cant even remember it all…..¬†ok … apparently 50 some odd items of delicious starters before you even get to the good stuff…

It was a progressive dinner…. so once you sit down with your plate loaded with goodies from the salad station…. these gaucho clad carvers¬†…. as they are called …come around with skewers of every kind of meat you can imagine…..¬†that they drop on your plate.. if you want…..sirloin¬† (melts in your mouth)¬† …..¬†filet mingon wrapped in bacon (my fave also)…. filet with garlic… just filet…. chicken wrapped in bacon….parmesean crusted chicken…. lamb chops (my other fave)… leg of lamb….¬† pork ribs… beef short ribs…. brazilian sausages…… pork tenderloin….trust me …….it was All good…..¬†¬† I know I am forgetting something here….. all this for one price….. along with that we had a bottle of their house wine (not included) …. a Brazilian cabernet savignon…¬† lovely….¬† and the waitress wanted us to have some dessert …. uhhhhh yeah right!!…..

The name of this fab place…. Texas De Brazil….¬† http://www.texasdebrazil.com/¬†¬† …..¬† I highly recommend you try it if you find one in your area….. the cuts of meat are all tender… delicious….¬† high end ….. the service delightful….¬† every time a person got up from the table the wait person… would fold your napkin or get you a new one and fold it at the table…… join their e-club to get some great deals … like a free birthday dinner or 50% off¬† coupons…. specials for your anniversary…. you name it ….¬† I know I sound like a commercial…. but it truly was an experience…..

The next day we had brunch at my brothers house….. got very silly¬† …. had a great time….

Then on Tuesday….. the actual day of my brithday…..¬†my daughters and their friends took me out again … for dinner at Bonefish Grille…. Bang Bang shrimp and ahi tuna… a must for me whenever I go there…. a different group …….seven this time…. a good time was had by all….

I got the cutest plant… one of many lovely gifts…. called a money tree…¬† its an asian twisted bonsai tree that gives the owner…. good¬†luck…¬† wealth …….prosperity¬† etc……. its quite unique which is why I mentioned it since I have never seen one before…. see pic below….

Then yesterday I limped on crutches to my mail box to find a package inisde…..¬† I got excited when I saw where it was from …. and tried to “run” across my driveway… doesnt work when you are limping…. to get into the house as quickly as possible in order to see what I might find inside….. again I was thrilled¬†…. a beautiful print¬† …. and a darling scrabble necklace from my dear friend and one of my many favorite artists¬†Gail McCormack ….. http://www.gailmccormack.com/¬†¬† …. ohhh her work is so stunning….

You can see the pendant next to the print ….. below that is a closeup… sorry not so good and I forgot to take a photo of the back of the pendant as its mounted on a scrabble piece…. pretty clever I must say

So for now I will be taking a posting break…¬† will be visiting …. but wish to spend time with family…. get some things together around the house…. keep soaking this foot …. keep hoping I can get shoes on soon but that part isnt looking so good….. and wishing the pain would go away……¬† the cold weather seems to make it worse….

Sometimes we just want it to hurry up and get better…. Patience … A virtue I cant seem to master

WISHING ALL MY DEAR FRIENDS A HAPPY THANKSGIVING…. ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS

HUGS AND CIAO FOR NOW!!

JO

Well …….there was a¬†bit of excitment last election day for me¬† ….¬†but it wasnt about the election ……¬†though a new President was of course important … this was a little different …

¬†See I had a secret¬† …¬† it was a hard¬† one to keep….. I was filled with …..anticipation¬†…anxiety¬† ……¬† the reason¬†??¬† …..¬†you will know shortly….¬†

I also had¬†a blog friend help¬†me with¬†my secrect¬†…..¬† to ¬†add an element of surprise¬†on¬†that particular day¬†……¬† it¬†had to do with New York …. well not really …but sort of….¬† in a round about way….

OK OK OK …. I know …¬†GET!… to the point….¬†

Well I dont know…………… I had to wait a while for all of it to come to fruition¬† ……¬† I think maybe ?¬† you should too….¬†¬† no!!! … you say……¬†¬† Get on with it Jo !!!¬†….hmmmm¬† ……

See …¬† it can be hard when you are waiting ….¬†right ?¬† …..¬†now you know how I felt ….¬† hehehe ..¬† See Bill I had to wait too …

Oh alright….on with it then ……

I am sure a lot of you will recognize the face below.

 

¬†If you dont …..¬† This is Natasha Burns…. www.NatashaBurns.com¬†¬† coming¬†all the way from Australia to the USA for Silver Bella…..¬†

Well here is the thing… she is talking on the phone at a Restaurant in New York…. where my partner in crime and blog buddy…. Barbara¬†¬†¬† www.BarbaraJacksier.blogspot.com ¬†…..presented her with a package…¬† the person on the phone is the person who gave her the package…. this was a little surprise that Natasha had won in a giveaway I had (we wont go there as to how long ago that was) but… in this picture she is finding out who the person is by reading the card …hehehe

Below is the surprise …. well two surprises …. I am the person she is talking to…. I got to talk to Barbara too … what a sweet person she is for helping me out with this … it was planned a few weeks before they¬†hooked up¬†¬†so that I could get a chance to “meet” Natasha ….. though not in person …. it was enjoyable just the same….¬†

Now I am excited because the surprise is the painting ….. I did this beautiful rose painting that she won…..¬† I am pleased¬†……. proud at how lovely it turned out ….especially since I must have¬†re painted it several times….¬†¬† a perfectionist I am….¬†I also wanted it to be special for Natasha…..but this rose was not an easy subject either….

I will be offering prints of the painting in the near future for sale on my website¬† www.NeereAnDearCreations.com¬† … It will be named the Natasha as she is the one and only owner of the original…… this painting was taken from a photo by my friend Cat over at¬† www.ShabbyChicCatsgardencloseups.blogspot.com¬†¬† … Her photos are quite stunning

So the moral of this story is…. sometimes waiting can be worth it ….

Ciao for now

JO

…

There are just some times when we need to laugh ….¬† while not always possible …we do our best to have some type of fun every day…..¬†

Is¬†there an art to laughing?¬†¬† Not sure ….but I think it takes something … an art form of some¬†kind to make you laugh….¬† a sweet gesture from a friend that makes you break into a giggle….¬† a joke that keeps you in stitches until you feel your sides are going to split wide open…¬† sometimes its a silly picture that just cracks you up……

Some have laughter down to a science with such jovial sounds starting way at the bottom of their¬†belly and gurgling upward until they break into a bellow so enjoyable you cant help to laugh with them ….. even when you dont know why or what they are laughing about….

So in¬†honor¬†of those who can belt one out¬†… I have something below that I hope will bring laughter and a bit of joy to your day….

A¬†wolf in sheeps clothing?¬† I think not but are you sure?….

Grandma what¬†BIG eyes you have…..

All the better to see you with my dear….

I know… I know… goofy…. but I must admit if you ever wanted to hear a guffaw that rang round the neighborhood¬† … this was the day….. I turned around to find PJ¬†with my chenille throw over her head…. it was all I could do to run get my camera …. all the while laughing …..and hold it still long enough to snap these photos….¬† silly puppy…

A new surprise is coming soon…¬† plus some Holiday goodies….

Dont forget to sign up for blog updates as my creative spirit fairy came back to see me so I put her in a pretty bottle until I finish things up…then we are both going to enjoy¬†time with our families¬†…. amid visions of sugar plums ….. pixie dust … and fairy tales….

CIAO AND HUGS FOR NOW

JO