Summer hasn't left us yet

Just as I predicted, summer has returned for an encore. This weekend was busy here in the Bay Area and the weather was gorgeous. It is Fleet Week and that means that San Francisco Bay is just brimming with boats and ships of all kinds. It is a marvel to see. My mom and sister did the Memory Walk on Treasure Island on Saturday. It is an amazing walk when the weather is bright like it was. You walk along the edge of the island and it feels like you can reach out and touch San Francisco with your hand. The walk is to raise money for alzheimer's research. It is a lovely way to spend a morning near the bay as well as a way to benefit a very worthy cause.
I didn't walk this year because I went to Petaluma with my daughter, Megan to the Halloween and Vine arts and crafts show. It was great. Well, Petaluma is a great little town, anyway. This annual show is magnificent and so inspiring. Last year we went to Sonoma for the sale and got there around noon. There were plenty of people but it wasn't crowded. This year we got to Petaluma around 9:30 just after the hall opened and it was packed. Folks were three-deep around the tables. BEcuase most of the items are one-of-a-kind I guess people are in a hurry to get the "best" stuff. It's all really good stuff - all Halloween in theme. You couldn't go wrong with anything. I fell in love with some dear ceramics done by Julie Whitmore and of course the dolls that Nicole Sayre makes are absolutely awesome. There were artists from Ohio and Colorado and Michigan among many other places. I bought this cute little necklace - a metal box on a chain that holds a secret inside. Last year I bought the big Halloween corsage that just makes me laugh whenever I see it. Time to get out the black and orange clothes.

I managed to get some crafting in and all but finished the tea cozy I was working on. All that's left to do is to fashion a handle or some thing like one on top. I also made a bunch of felted-wool flowers and another beanie out of the same sweater and I still have alot of scraps left to make more stuff.

Sunday we were just three for dinner but I loved it anyway. I made a white bean and sage dip and served it with pita bread. The dip is from Martha's Hor d'oeuvre book and I make it often because it is soooo easy and so delicious. Then I made tuna with a middle eastern marinade that was out of this world. The fish was marinated for four hours in a lovely mix of cilantro, parsley, garlic, onion, cinnamon, saffron, cumin and a few other spices and then baked with tomatoes, olives, capers and preserved lemon. Wow! I served orchiette (sp?) pasta with broccoli, anchovies and more garlic. Look at this cool broccoli I found at the store. It's called coral broccoli. It tastes exactly like regular broccoli but it looks so bizarre I couldn't resist buying it.

What I loved and what turned out delectably was this cheesecake. It's made with ricotta cheese and flavored with anisette, cinnamon and fresh mint. All of the recipes I found in my Mediterrean, the Beautiful cookbook.

Today has started out very hectically. I hope it isn't a sign of what's in store for the next five days. I got here 15 minutes early and had already dealt with five crises in the first four minutes I was here - lost keys, rock through a window, parking permit for a rental because car didn't start, new substitute needing help, new teacher's aide without a clue as to what to do first. But we got everyone all in their places with nice shiny faces and so I'm going with the hope that all is right in this little world. Rock on!!