March 1, 2009

• Weekends Are Good!

   It was a lovely weekend. The weather was just perfect, sunny and in the 70s. The wild flowers are starting to bloom, hills which are dry and brown most of the year are lovely shades of greens. The girls were with their father this weekend, so I suggested to Joe that we do a day trip to San Juan Capistrano on Saturday. I have driven by the town a million times, but never actually visited.

  We took the Porcshe, with the top down. A perfect drive along the coast with traffic not too heavy to enjoy. We arrived in time for lunch and got directions from the information booth on how to get to Mozart's Cafe, a place I had found on the web that does German and Austrian food. Joe was very keen to get some real German food, since it is not exactly easy to find in Southern California. Unfortunately, the dish he wanted was not ready. It was a type of beef marinated in vinegar and the slow roasted and the cook had forgotten to start the cooking the night before. So instead, he had the Black Forest Platter with traditional German meat, cheeses, and bread. He was happy about it all, except the Black Forest ham. It looked like the real thing (which is NOT what you get at a deli in America), it was very thin cut, smoked, etc. But when he tasted it, the seasoning were wrong, it was a smoked Spanish ham instead. Bummer! Oh well! We both enjoyed the rest of the meal, sitting out doors in the lovely weather.

  We then walked down the main street and found a wonderful antique shop with lots and lots of goodies to look at. I could  have spent hours there! Joe was really sweet and let me buy a treasure I found: 1940's era spice rack. It is just so cool and cute!

  

  The decal is an art deco woman, tending a little herb garden. I have seen larger canisters around, with this design, but I don't know who made them. I just loved the graphics!

  Then we went down to the mission and walked around. It was so pretty. Some of the flowers were already blooming, but I suspect it will really be amazing in a few weeks, at the peak of bloom. I can see why the mission San Juan Capistrano is called the gem of the California missions. I took lots of pictures and Joe was very patient while I stopped over and over to get photos. He is such a good guy! I will try to post some of the best pictures in my next blog.

  So today has been catching up on chores. I cleaned the tub up, after the new installation and tiles. The guys were really messy with the grout and silicone seal, so there was a long session with a razor blade. But in the end, it was great, and I scrubbed it down and made it into a working bathroom again. They are about 2/3 done with Becca's bathroom and then I can clean that room and all the dust both jobs made all over the house!

  I also made a nice batch of stew beef for dinner tonight (and leftovers later in the week) and a batch of brownies for the girl's lunches.

  I mixed them in an antique mixing bowl that I found at a garage sale in the early 90s for only $1.75! Somehow, anything baked using something with so much love and history, has to yield the most delicious results, don't you think? I am probably freaking out all the purists that thing antiques should only be seen and not used!

  

  Anyhow, that is all the news for now. Thank you to all the folks who said the are going to get a copy of my brother-in-law's new book. I hope you will not be disappointed. I look forward to reading it, myself!

  • 7:45 pm
  • 2 Comments