80 Feet Christmas Tree @ Macy's in Union Square, SFO

We came here last night and had dinner under the moonlight. All photos were taken using available light. Enjoy!

Remembering Pete

The Old Man With A Heart
Pete died on November 29, 2006 at 3 PM. Interment will be on Monday, December 4, 2006 at the Veternas Cemetery in Reno, Nevada.

Pete was a wonderful man who was very much loved by his family and friends.

We will all miss him.

The Authentic Italian Pizza In Thin Crust

We had pizza for dinner tonight, served with pepperoncini and a bottle of ice cold beer!

This is my second attempt to bake this pizza- it's super thin and crunchy, almost like paper thin and has the texture of soda crackers!

The secret? Proofing time is 3 1/2 hours and the yeast used is mild (1 1/2 tsp). This mixture enables the dough to ferment gradually and to develop its flavor to the maxim. Moreover, in this recipe- cake flour is used and not the all-purpose flour! I found this recipe in our North Beach Library's cuisine section where rows of Italian cooking and dessert books are on display! This is a wonderful pizza with a distinct flavor that would make you salivate for more, more and more!



Above: the first yield of the thin crust, pre-baking time...




Above: the second yield of the thin crust, pre-baking time as well...

Below: The baked pizza spiced with fresh onions, tomatoes, button mushroom, bell pepper, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, anchovies, meat balls and my homemade marinara sauce plus the yummy Kalamata olives from Greece!

Autumn Colors

Oakdale, CA- Autumn 2005

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks for all your blessing!Today, we are driving to Sta. Rosa, California for a luncheon date. I baked French buns and Majorcan ensaimadas. I also made the Spanish leche flan- all done in the spirit of thanksgiving!

PACKAGING IDEAS FOR HOME BAKED PASTRIES (French Buns and Majorcan Ensaimadas) AND FLAN (Spanish Custard) by Pizzicatto

I love to play up with materials to wrap my gifts with. Here, I used Reynold's brownie foil pan and covered them each with corrugated board- to protect the flan inside it to move. I inserted A4 computer paper around the "llanera" (oblong flan container) to make it more sturdy. I made this bow myself and tied around the strings to support the foil pans. And as I was working on them, I thought of covering the surrounding areas with Japanese paper. I crumpled it and as I worked through it, my ideas got beter and better and this is the result. For the final touch, I cut off paper lace for cakes to camouflage the corrugated board I used to protect the flan (custard) inside.

From here...(custard gift)



To this...



French buns...also known as French bread shaped into buns


Majorcan Ensaimadas (Spanish sweet rolled bread)



All of the above as best served with freshly brewed coffee- black~ no cream or sugar, to wash away the sweet taste of these dessert!

Ciao!

Coming Home From Golden Gate Park

Photo by JLP

We saw these puppies at our park, Washington Square. Husband asked permission to the mistress of these dogs to have them photographed. She agreed so here they are.
Super cute and adorable!

Charleston Dance Lesson For Free at The Golden Gate Park

We joined the crowd for the group lesson! We had fun and learned a new dance craze!

Visiting de Young Museum at the Golden Gate Park

RUTH ASAWA's Wire Sculpture: A Glimpse of Modern Art- Late 1940s to 2000- Works on Crochet- Wire

BRA SIZE AND CUP SIZE

ARE YOU AN A, B, C, DD or AA?


Traditional measurement method:

Determining your Bra/Band size
(ribcage circumference measurement)

1. Measure around the chest directly under the breast at a constant height with the cloth measuring tape. Add 5 inches to that measurement. This dimension is your bra/band size (If the bra size works out to an ODD number go up one inch to the next EVEN number.) This should equal the circumference around the chest, directly above the breasts/under the arms.

2. Now measure around the chest at the height of the fullest part of the breast. The measuring tape should be held horizontal, flat on your back, and your arms should be down. Make a note of that measurement (only used for comparison) and compare it to the Bra Size from step 1.
Determining your Cup size
(projection of breasts from chest wall)

3. To determine the proper Cup Size, find the difference between step 2 and step 1 (step 2 - step 1.) Use the chart below to determine your Cup Size.


Chart to Determine
Bra Cup Size

Example:
Difference Cup Size

Step 1: Underbust measurement is 37". Add 5 inches. Bra Size is 42.

Step 2: Full bust measurement is 45".

Step 3: 45 - 42 = 3" difference. Cup size is C.

Result: Buy a 42C bra.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Half inch----------------AA cup
One inch-----------------A cup
Two inches---------------B cup
Three inches-------------C cup
Four inches--------------D cup
Five inches--------------DD or E cup
Six inches---------------F cup
Seven inches-------------G cup


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 inch ~= 2.5 centimeters
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks, Adriana!

Great time together! See you on Thanksgiving Day!

HOBBY CORNER: Sewing And Gardening

FROM DENIM SHIRT TO DENIM APRON



I learned how to sew at 4th grade and then discovered the fun of sewing using the sewing machine on my 5th grade. My first exposure to sewing was working on a piece of paper torn from my home economics notebook. My teacher Mrs. Unas said so long as I do well with paper, I'd do great with textile because that was her style to teach young girls like me to develop confidence, dexterity and velocity in using the sewing machine. Even now, I can still vividly remember it. To this day, that memory is indelible to me. I developed this love for sewing and years later, this hobby of needle work using the sewing machine would stay with me for a long time. With this, I have made interesting sewing projects and have made a leap of progress from my adolescent years up to now when I am already a grown up woman with a husband.I made this apron last week, recycled from the IZOD denim long sleeved shirt my husband wore for only 3X. I didn't want to donate this particualr shirt to charity and decided instead to recycle it. Being creative when I am in the mood for some recreational time, I decided to make this into a denim skirt with a combo of two sets of different denim shirts with different tones. Sure, it looked cute as a final skirt project I made but it was bulky and heavy to wear. I seemed to be overweight in it, a'la Basque woman in Spain, selling her ensaimadas at the ripe age of 60- so down it went! No more skirt for me in that fashion!Finally, I opted to cut off some parts, used the baby pink lace I purchased in Ripon in the early summer this year. Et voila, The result: a cute denim apron! Husband thinks it's really smart of me to do so and to be able to come up with an apron.How did I do this? I removed the pocket part of the original shirt and placed them on the front side. The main body of this apron is actually the back part of the shirt. The dividing line is off-centered as I intentionally wanted it to look that way~occult in balance so it won't be so much of a cliche in design style. So far, it went well with my concept of an apron. Now I have a new apron and decided to use this last night while cooking kaopad (a.k.a Thai fried rice).

FROM RIPON TO LITTLE ITALY, MY PLANTS ARE HAPPY


It's a cool and rainy autumn morning here in SFO. My plants are doing great and have acclimatized well as they are much healthier now than when they first migrated here with me in Little Italy in June 2006. I have transplanted much of my umbrella plants and my neighbors just sigh each time they look up at my veranda! They don't have outdoor plants like me! Can't blame them, city life is so different and here in SFO every inch of a space has an equivalent dollar value as the way it is in large cities like Tokyo in Japan. And as of the aesthetic appeal of my plants...one morning,an American lady who works for the advertising agency across our building (whose building can be seen from my veranda) gave a comment as she was walking by and as I was watering my plants:

"I always look at them each time I come to work as it makes me feel good to see GREEN in this alley."

Well, that is some compliment that my green thumb is happy about. Ciao!

Laugh Time

Photo Feature: IRINA

On her wedding day in Romania. She is a professional ballet dancer who toured Europe and Egypt with the opera ensemble.

Photo Remembrances

Sonora, CA- autumn 2004,Bradford Inn



My sister-in-law Glenda, at rest- by the beach, Lincoln City, Oregon- August 2004

Something Old, Something New: Photos Not So Long Ago

Fishing time...photos caught by moi husband, autumn 2004



My miniature collection, spring 2003

Part 4 CASTRO HALLOWEEN 2006 Photo HIGHLIGHTS*

CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE*

Thematic costumes were colorful and eye-catching!

Devil and Angel; Cartoon Heroes



Batman and Robin plus the animal king

Part 3 CASTRO HALLOWEEN 2006 Photo HIGHLIGHTS*

CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE*

Erratum: in my emails to my family and friends, I mentioned that 30,000 people came to party in Castro. Wrong! 300,000 came. Mamamia! Anyhow, read more info below.

Ciao!

YMCA reincarnation & Alcatraz prisoner with the carnival icon


Firemen; cow and milkman couple we saw at the train station


Carnival heroes; Puff the Magic Dragon