Monthly Archives: September 2023

…………There is nothing more wonderful than seeing a herd of wild elephants in Africa!!…………You would think in this day and age elephants would be safe from hunting and poachers…….NOTHING is further from the truth! I can’t believe with the numbers of wild elephants on the decline that hunting them and killing them for sport is still allowed!!!! What is the joy in killing these huge majestic beasts!?? It’s like shooting fish in a barrel….They just stand there and allow themselves to be killed…….and as for poachers!……..When I was in Africa two years ago with my nephew Chris, while in our jeep in the bush, we saw police jeeps speeding through the bush after poachers! The poachers are well armed, and we were told they would rather be killed than caught, because if caught they would spend the rest of their lives in prison. It becomes a battle to the death….either the elephant dies or the poachers!……..I know which side I’m on!!!…..We were always on the look out for Rhinos, because they are a rare sighting….Then we were told that five rhinos in the area were caught, and airlifted to a different game reserve many miles away, because poachers were trying to kill them!……As for the hunters….they should be thrown in jail too!……As my nephew and I were sitting in the airport waiting to board out flight home, we happened to be sitting next to these five men. Two were father and son. They were all discussing the hunting safari they were just on! It made me sick. I had to move rather than listen to them boasting about their “kills”……..I have loved elephants since I was a child, and my older brother, Mauro, used to draw them for me……Jac and I adopted two beautiful rescues, Flora and Tara, who live in the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee……..You can google them, and if you like donate any amount of money to help these wonderful animals……..Donating to any Elephant cause would be great!

…………………….The weekend is over and Angela and Chantal have gone home…..The house is definitely quieter…LOL….More memories added to my “book of memories”…..I can’t remember when I started working with the girls, but I started at QVC in 2000! I’m sure they know exactly when they started working with me……Chantal made the most amazing CARROT CAKE, one of my favorites. I still have 3/4 of the cake in the frig!…….The next time they come my Christmas tree will be up! Can’t wait to see them again, but there’s always texts and the phone to keep us close.

………………….After a lovely lazy afternoon by the fire it was time to COOK!!!! Chantal was making her Boccatini, with home made from scratch Puttnasca sauce. While she was preparing this Angela was making her Zucchini and Broccoli Fritters…..I helped stir the sauce of capers, parsley, pitted olives, garlic, red pepper flakes, artichoke hearts, and olive oil. Chantal had brought her fresh tomatoes from her garden, and put them into an Oscar to pulverized them. Then cut up fresh shrimp was added to the simmering olive oil to cook….Then the tomato sauce went in…..The smell was incredible!!!!!! Angela made loose balls out of her mixture which had lots of grated cheddar cheese. They were put on cookie sheets with parchment paper, and into the oven to bake until some what crispy!……The pasta was boiled and drained, and added to the sauce……..Chantal plated three pasta bowls, and it was time to eat!!!!!! It was all DELICIOUS!!!!!, and the best thing is there are leftovers!!!!!!……so I get to eat the pasta all over again. After the clean up….the worst thing about cooking in…….we retired to the gathering room and sat and chatted, drinking wine, until we all decided we needed sleep…..It was the best way to spend an evening, while all the time the storm outside was still raging……but we were cozy and warm!

………………….On the windy day of Angela and Chantal’s arrival……we unpacked the car, and got situated in the bedrooms. We went out to lunch at an outdoor restaurant [no pictures], but we kept getting attacked by yellow jackets, and Chantal was very afraid…..so it was a short lunch, and the last of the good weather. We were still full from the late lunch we had, so instead of dinner we had munchies by the fire…..Salsa, guacamole, chips, cheese and wine….We went to bed early, because we knew we had a full day ahead……………….In the morning I was up early, 6am, and got ready. I let the girls sleep until 7:30 and then I started calling out…..”THE BRITISH ARE COMING….THE BRITISH ARE COMING!!!” IT’S TIME TO GET UP!!” They eventually got up, got ready and we went off to breakfast at  a local diner in Darien. The place was packed….I’ve never seen so many children, 90% blond, in my life…….a real petri dish of germs……..After a delicious breakfast we went up to my studio and went through samples that I still had. We had a fun time going through it all ….the memories!!! It took quite a while going through it all, laughing and telling stories along the way…..Of course we all got a little thirsty with all of this laughter and story telling….so it was time to break out the wine!……..Afterwards we went down stairs where Chantal gave Angela lessons on how to “STRETCH” to relieve lower back pain…….We spent the afternoon lounging on the couches drinking wine….watching the STORM and the waves crashing outside. The girls were mesmerized by the crashing waves. They had never seen a storm before at my house. Somehow they always came when the weather was beautiful……..but we enjoyed it……Chantal and Angela were to cook a delicious meal later for dinner so it was lime to relax after a very busy morning.

………………..QVC has 5 EZ PAYS on EVERYTHING TODAY THOUGH SUNDAY!