Buddy fun

I've been quite busy with Buddy last week, it's like having a baby, he takes most of my time and I'm happy.
He's really a cutie pie, very sweet, but still wild and crazy when on the leash, and my walks with him are 10 times better than a fitness club... :)

Here are some pics

And a fun video..... :)

Buddy

At last, my search is over!!!!
Buddy, my furry pal, will arrive to my home next Saturday evening!!!!
He's in Rome at the moment, on a balcony where his owner never gives affection and just throws him his food leftovers since he was gifted him from his daughter 11 months ago.....

Now there's a turn in his life, and in mine........
I am pretty sure this will be a fantastic partnership, lots of love to share... <3

Here he is, he's a beagle. I don't know how "pure" he is, and I don't care. Saving a little life makes me feel proud and alive.
Welcome home, sweet Buddy!!!

These photos where taken by the volunteers who are going to bring me Buddy

I am a sweet tooth......

I really have a passion for sweets, and I try to experiment with unusual combinations whenever I can.
Here is a compilation of jams, they were a success among my friends too!!!!
I usually use a 3:1 ratio, 3 parts fruit 1 part sugar, and pectin to jellify.

This one isn't very appealing to the eye, but the taste is just fab!!!!

I had lots of persimmons and many kiwis, I would have never been able to eat them before they went bad, so I decided to try and put them together. I also added some vanilla seeds.....delicious!!!!!

I am lucky enough to have a small peach tree on the terrace......

and a wonderful big vase of strawberries......I usually pick up the ready ones, freeze them, and when I have enough I can make either marmalade or liquor...







The following one is just that: my strawberries, my peaches, an apple and mint!

I also like making strawberry glaze, perfect for filling cakes and cupcakes....

It's longer to make compared to jams, as you have to squish all the fruit through a sieve, but it's rather beautiful and smooth looking, and oh, so delicious!!!

These were mixed berries: strawberries, blueberries and raspberries with lemon juice








last year I went with my "sister" (she's my best friend so we call each other sis) to a small village up the mountains. There you may find lots and lots of elderberries, they are a gift of nature, and they are free, so we picked up quit a lot of them. getting all the berries off the stems is a bit of work, but the result was great! I mixed them with strawberries

....perfect on scones!!!!










Here I experimented with pineapple and mangoes, with some ginger for a twist!

Absolutely fantastic!!!!!






And here's the one I did a few days ago, pineapple and strawberries with ginger

Spring is coming!!!

Just a few shots I did on my terrace, it seems that winter is fading away at last, and the first signs of spring are in my vases. This puts me in a positive mood and I feel good energy flowing. I thought I'd share with you....

This is the very first flower on my tiny peach tree, love the transparency of the petals and the long harmonious stamens!

This is a pot with mixed crassulacee and muscari

This is another pot with muscari, love them, they are also called the fairies flowers, a pity they just bloom once.....

A close-up, might paint them.....

This "guest" jumped out of the closet where I keep my gardening stuff.....not really fond of it but it's part of the "game",
I've always lived downtown where the moste extreme wildlife form was some ant....it was really hard for me to get used to the variety of insects you may have as guests even inside home......terrifying at times, but must learn to live with it......

This is chives, i really use it a lot in my cooking. At the end of the season I cut it back and freeze it, so I can use it during winter.

My strawberry vase, it always gives me lots of fruit throughout the season, I mostly freeze them and when I have enough, I make some yummy jam :)

The very first violet of the season, they may be white or violet, they are so pretty but they tend to invade all pots, so during summertine I pull out most of the leaves. I had the chance to see how they do their work, if water touches their seed capsules, they just explode like bombs sending seeds everywhere. very interesting!

Melissa in a roses pot, this plant too tends to be invasive, but I keep it under control using the leaves to make a delicious liquor that my friends appreciate so much!

The very first blossom of my Pierre de Ronsard. Usually the first bloom of roses is always destroyed by cetonias (rose-chafers). The only rose that is not affected is the red one, it seems they prefer yellow, pink and white.....









Soon I will be planting the veggies; green beans from seeds and tomatoes give me the best results. Basil, paisley, rosemary, sage, thyme  and marjoran do well, I tried cucumbers but I think that having them in a pot is not good, and eggplants, but I only got 3 of them in all the season.....Salad won't grow, my terrace is facing south so too much sun......carrots vere another negative experiment......will have to think about some more veggies that can do well in pots......

In the meantime....

I'm close to the end of the double portrait, I'm fine tuning, but I wanted to share with you a couple of pics I took this morning, it's sunny again after so much rain, and I feel so happy, I hate having to paint with artificial light!!!!