Stoke-On-Trent

British craftsmanship at it's best! From the mid-18th century, Staffordshire became a leading center for mass produced ceramics. From fine bone china and porcelain products of Wedgewood, Minton, Doulton and Spode to the newer designs of Portmeirion and Churchhill, all can be found in a group of six towns known as Stoke-on-Trent. So....AWC bus trip "Here we go!" This was my second trip and I have as much fun socializing on the bus as I do shopping. This time it was a smaller group, about 25, with half of those EY wives....some even arrange to be in London just to make the trip. It is a 7 am to 8-9 pm day with no time to break for coffee or lunch so we usually share goodies and wine on the trip home with prizes going to the person who "spent the most" and to the person who "spent the least"...so far not me!


This was not a big shopping trip for me...still waiting for my Italian pottery to arrive! I picked up a few extra chargers and salad plates from Spode to add to previous purchases ( I'm "into" the brown and green!) and a large "cheese" platter for entertaining...... But my mission this trip was to pick out a Christmas pattern for future shopping trips. I have decided on the "Holly and Ivy" pattern from Portmeirion, not only is the name appropriate but the pattern is more casual and perfect for our holiday meals. My eyes were on the soup tureen and large bowls for our Christmas Eve Shrimp Gumbo dinner and maybe the mugs for Hot Buttered Rum!
If you have any special requests to compliment that Wedgewood or Royal Dalton pattern you picked out for your "wedding china" let me know. I'm sure I recognized a white leaf pattern, strawberry vines, and a woodland pattern form Aunt Robin's and Grandmother's homes. We should be making another trip before the holidays and all the factories ship back to the States!

Proud to be an American!

Today, the day before the Fourth of July, I can't help but remember fun years past when the whole Hall/Mayfield/McGibboney/McMichael family would gather at Perdido Beach anxious to claim our poolside lounge chairs, reserve our umbrella on the beach, and hang our flag decorations from the balcony railing. Whether we were all staying in a 3 bedroom or separate 2 bedrooms our 4th of July meal was the same...A Low Country Boil with corn and new potatoes from the Alabama farmer's market and shrimp right off the boat (they said it was!) and strawberry shortcake-Martha Stewart would be proud of- for dessert. The Zatteran's crab-boil would make everyone's eyes burn and steam up the condo but it was worth it! Then, in our matching t-shirts (my personal favorite, the bright yellow, "Jump for the 4th of July") we would gather on one of the balconies for the fireworks show, up and down the beach, carefully synchronized with the radio playing "Proud to be an American".

The last couple of years tradition changed and we found ourselves looking forward to watching the fireworks display over Boston Harbor from the Smith's sailboat. We would start our dinner cruise with lobster rolls and a toast to "good friends and a slight breeze". The reflection of the light show on the water was breathtaking and Captain Brian always navigated us cautiously in the dark, through the hundreds of boats back to the dock safely.

This year we will spend our 4th of July in London celebrating with new EY friends, no family, no kids!
But that is what this move is about ...new adventures!
Rick and I wish all of you a Happy 4th of July - where ever you may be celebrating it!

June 24

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy 23rd Birthday to you, Christy!
Now, lets eat some homemade strawberry short cake!

On the North River

The tide was perfect and there was a little breeze to keep the "no-seeums" away. Doug and Christy decided to throw in a few lines and see if anything was biting....well, Doug fishes and Christy encourages him!






Tucker is always the first on the boat and leads us downriver, ever watchful for the occasional well-mannered Lab or Seagull which cause him to pace and bark and rock the boat. Captain Rick usually takes it in stride because nothing seems to upset him when he gets to enjoy a day on the water. Our little blue boat still does not have a name because we can't seem to agree on one. Rick suggested "Freeride", I like "Fish &Chips", Christy likes "Southern Comfort" and Haley thinks "3 Gulls & a Crab" best describes our family. Any suggestions?









At the end of the day I head back up the dock to start the grill for hamburgers. Although this is the biggest fish I have ever seen Doug catch off our dock, it's not a "keepah"!

ARRIVEDERCI!

No matter how carefully we pack and choose the most comfortable shoes, a day on cobblestones requires a good foot soak...even if you are young! This is a picture from 2 years ago when we met Christy after her semester in Italy, one of us has gotten a bit broader.



While my tiny washer is running once again so that I can re-pack my bags for Boston I thought I'd post just a few pictures of the countryside as we drove from Florence to Montisi, with a side trip to Sienna. The pictures just don't do justice to the green rolling landscape scattered with poppies but when I close my eyes I can still see Tuscany on a beautiful afternoon. The day we left we could see that the fields were beginning to be harvested and soon would take on the golden color of dried wheat.

Pasta, Pasta, Pasta!

This post is a tribute to PaPa Hall, who knows how much I love Italy but can't quite figure out what I eat when I am there. So here are some great shots of some of our favorite meals!


We usually started our day with a cappuccino, strong coffee with plenty of hot milk, and a sweet pastry or croissant. Lunch could be an antipasto of crostini, pasta, pizza, or a bowl of ribollito - literally meaning 're-boiled' vegetable soup thickened with bread and served the day after it's prepared. Usually before five o'clock wine and cheese we would sample a new flavor of gelato. Dinners were either prepared by our "Master chef" Palma Bella and her husband, Brad"ll do it!" or involved an adventure to a local restaurant with dishes we could not pronounce but eagerly tried and enjoyed.



Not a time to diet!

For my girls!

Aunt Sister and I did some shopping!




"How much? Is that Euros or Dollars?"
Now here are a few affordable, quality Italian designs!
Some purchases have to remain a secret but between our trip to China and this trip to Italy - my bags will be full for my trip back to Boston next week! Can't wait to see you two!