Wednesday, February 24, 2016

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON AND PRESTON!!

February 22nd is a pretty special day in our family, thanks to these two guys! One of the best Sons-in-law ever and a very manly and awesome grandson! 

Jason is very helpful in the kitchen...

And Preston is good at impressing the women. ;-)


Happy 41st Birthday Jason!!!
Husband of Shiloh, manly man and father of the year to Emily, Jonas, Adrianna, Preston, Lydia, Adam, Maggie, Micah and Benny! Runner, cyclist, tri-athlete, scouter, dancer, kilt wearer, and oh so much more. We love you Jason!






And this handsome guy is 11yrs old! Happy Birthday to our Handsome, funny, fast, fabulous son, grandson, brother, cousin, Scout, runner, jokester and all around great Kid! Sure do love you Preston! 




We love you two and don't know what we would ever do without you. You always keep us smiling. Don't ever change. 
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo


Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Valentines for my Valentines and Valentina

I did not have the computer connectivity to post this blog on Valentines Day - so here it is a couple days late. 
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Valentines Day has always been a fun holiday for me. As a child my mother would give us a small heart shaped box of chocolates or a box of Conversation Hearts each February 14th. My Grandmother Eppert would send cute Valentines Day cards for my children.  It is a family tradition I am happy to carry on.  Sometimes I would make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast or color their lunch bags with hearts and arrows. And I tried to always have a small box of Chocolates for them every Valentines Day - February 14th.
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These last two years I have been out of the country on Valentines Day and haven't been able to deliver any "Candy Love" or Valentines cards to my children and grandchildren. This Valentines Day we were in the "Chocolate Capital of Argentina", the town of Bariloche. They had literally dozens of Chocolate shops, factories, etc. Since I was not able to send Chocolates or Valentines Cards, I thought they would like to see what I would have given them if they were here with me.
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For my youngest grandchildren... -
I loved the little chocolate animals. Circus animals, teddy bears, forest animals and snowmen.


For the older grandkids and teenagers there's the much sought after chocolate cell phone and a chocolate camera.


Or if they prefer, the Chocolate Monkey -



For my beautiful daughters and daughter-in-law, what could be better than some new chocolate shoes filled with delicious truffles - or, counters and counters of scrumptious chocolates.





For my handsome son and sons-in-law, more chocolate than they could eat in a year.. a chocolate train going up to a mountain village!



For my sweet husband Darryl, thank you for taking me to such a wonderful 'chocolaty' place for this Valentines Day.


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And for all of you
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And..... yesterday I had the privilege of sitting next to this young lady on our flight home from Puerto Montt. It was her first ever flight and she was so sweet. I think it was appropriate to include her in this post since her name is Valentina and she is such a sweetheart!


Happy Belated Valentines Day to you all!
I love you!

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Perusing Pottery in Pomaire'

When looking for something to do on our days off, it is fun to find the tourist places where the locals  like to go. Pomaire', Chile is such a place. Pomaire' is a small town about 40 miles southwest of Santiago. 

We ate a late morning snack at a huge restaurant that could seat well over 200 people. It was 10:30 in the morning and we were the first people there. 


Pomaire' is famous for two things, the pottery they make here from very dark, almost coffee colored clay, and the great food!

In the large dining hall in the back they have a bandstand and a dance floor. I guess they expect more people than just Darryl and me.


It was quite an eclectic place with antiques and other decorations which looked out of place next to the dirt floor of the large dining area. 

The Los Naranjos Restaurant. The food was delicious.

At ten-thirty in the morning the town was pretty deserted with shopkeepers just starting to open up their shops and set out their wares.



The artisans of Pomaire' have been making pottery from this dark clay they call Gruda, since 1771. There are also some other fine Chilean souvenirs you can buy. Traditional men's wide brimmed hats and woven baskets and wicker.

It was a bright sunny day and around 11:30 the town really started to get busy. This is a favorite place for Chileanos to come.

Pottery and plants..

And food, good food, everywhere. These are the wood fire ovens where they cook the empanadas. 

The interesting architecture of this shop caught my eye.

Nico's Restaurant had a huge palm tree growing right up through the middle of the roof.

The store with the interesting architecture had lots of wool, pottery, jewelry and also some normal Chinese made souvenirs, but the thing that caught my eye was the woven wicker bicycle, motorcycle and scooter.


These are amazing and when we asked we were told they are made by a local artisan.


A pretty little house we saw on a side street.

It is really a lovely little town.


Above is the hand made pottery of bowls, cups, ladels, pots, pans, figurines, etc. of Victor Silva Vera - Alfarero. His family has been making pottery here in Pomaire' for 4 generations. His shop is on a side street. He also teaches pottery classes.

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At 2:00 we decided to get some lunch. We went to the San Antonio Restaurant. We had walked by it at 1:00 and it was nearly empty. By 2:00 it was almost full.


Again, it was a huge restaurant with seating for hundreds and live music. But do you want to know  the best part?

The food was delicious and you don't walk away hungry! We had a traditional Chilean grill for 2. The several different types of grilled meat, pork, beef, chicken, sausage, etc. were kept warm in a dish sitting on top of hot coals in a domed pot. 
We loaded up the leftovers to take home. We had some chicken for supper that night and finished off the rest for dinner on Sunday. All in all, our day in Pomaire' was wonderful. If you ever find yourself Santiago, make sure you save a day to go to Pomaire'.