June Is Italian Heritage Month In Canada

Molto Bene!

ItalianHeritageCanada.com for more info!

I am very proud of my Italian heritage but also at the same time grateful that both my parents who were born in Italy came here to Canada to give us the opportunities they never had and a better life.  The best of both worlds, actually three... America too since I love to visit there so much!  

A message from Prime Minister Trudeau to the Italian community of Canada!
Posted by Panoram Italia Magazine on Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Please Enjoy!

Holiday Road 2016

I never really liked the idea of owning or renting a cottage because you are always going to the same place over and over again.  For a Libra that is not going to wash because we are known for getting bored easily.  No wonder I always have several things constantly going on at once.  It's kind of like juggling, only with everything. lol  So my husband and I decided to go on a 2 week pet friendly road trip with our dachshund to Florida with a couple stops before and after.

We stayed a couple days in Savannah, Georgia and it was gorgeous and so charming.  We booked a big room at the retro and hip Thunderbird Inn.  We then explored and it was so amazing.  I am looking forward to visiting again.  The Shrimp, Greens and Grits at Belford's were beyond incredible.  My husband had the steak with finger length potatoes and rapini.  We ordered fried green tomatoes, muscles and crab cakes too.  Just perfect!  I found the food had an Italian influence.  I did read that there were Italians in the South way back when so that must be why.  It was pet friendly also!!  We were asked if we wanted grilled chicken for my Franco too so of course we agreed to that as well.  When we first got there our hostess and server were so amazing to us and him too.  They even brought him a bowl of water right away.  Real class acts at a real classy place.  We will definitely be back!  Their waterfront was terrific also.  Everyone was so very friendly and kind.  Not only in Georgia but pretty much everywhere we went in the South too.

Then we stopped in Titusvile, Florida so we could spend a day at the Kennedy Space Center!!  They offer all guests a free pet kennel for their loved little furry ones, more details on their website.  We were able to visit our little guy anytime we wanted.  We took them up on that and brought him for a walk and fed and watered him in between also.  We saw actual rockets and even Atlantis too!  Incredible!!  We were also able to touch and interact with some displaces too!  So many wonderful and knowledgeable people.  I was very impressed.  It's amazing what man can do when we all work together to reach a positive goal!!  

We saw so much wildlife in Florida, even a live gator!  We took Franco to a dog beach near Lovers Key and I found a little baby crab that was a tough little son of a b! LOL!  He stood his ground and even started fighting with my finger.  It was so cute!  I just had to show him a bit of respect and take him up on his offer.  What an amazing little force.  I found a gorgeous snail with colorful Fibonacci going on!  Stunning.  I made sure not to disturb the creatures and always put them back after my few pictures of them.  There were so many beach crabs, birds and lizards too.  If you love nature you would definitely love Florida.  Be aware that any beach with mangroves have these tiny biting black bugs that will mess you up when the sun goes down so try to avoid.  I brought coalmine lotion just in case because it really stops the itch if you do get bit.

Florida is a mecca for Canadians and I can see why.  When I went as a teen it was fun but I had no idea how much Florida has to offer.  Did you know that America's oldest city is in Florida., St. Augustine.  We went to the Fountain of Youth and it was truly beautiful and interesting.  

Gorgeous sunsets in Key West and wild chickens & roosters too!  I kid you not.  It's such a terrific and even a bit of a strange place.  I loved it.  Normal is boring.  Miami, however, was a bit crazy when we went.  We arrived on the HWY and a local made a shoot you hand gesture?!  It was probably due to all the traffic that was caused because of a criminal that about 20 police cruisers and officers apprehended immediately!  Thanks to them for that!!  Definitely worth the traffic!  I also noticed that they offered free roadside assistance too.  Really amazing.  Then there was a float fest at South Beach and an idiot shot someone in the hand.  We saw the shooter hours before and noticed he was dressed all in black with a huge gold chain.  He looked angry and serious to me.  Then when we were trying to get Botanical gardens is when it all unfortunately went down.  We made alternative plans because the police again immediately reacted and shut everything down.  I agree with what they did because it prevented anything else from happening in my eyes.  Amazing response time!  Sad that people ruin things for others because of pride and stupidity imho.

I have so many pictures I am starting to post up in my Flickr sets so feel free to check it out!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/annagarastophotography/albums

Cheers, Anna :)

It's A Dachshunds' World!

I'm a proud fur baby mom!

Please meet my Franco.  His Name Is Short for Frankfurtur! lol :D  I am so fortunate to have been able to adopt my little dachshund.  He is the most adorable, intelligent, loyal, protecting and sometimes bold pup ever.

Here he is below when he was a wee little puppy that was featured on his breeder's website.  What an adorable little angel, don't you think?  Sure.  He can be a devil dog sometimes, but I knew what I was getting into when I read up on the breed before I made my final choice.  What do you expect?  They are German Hunting dogs!  I wanted a little cornuto 3:) to be honest. lol

Here he is below protecting me from the birds and squirrels lol.  The other two pics are of when we were at the Harbour Front walking around the lovely Aqua Condo.  He's just so cute that I can't help but always hug him and spoil him!  They say that pets help you live a bit longer because they make you feel happier and I believe it.  

Skating At Toronto City Hall

So a couple weeks ago I really wanted to go skating at Nathan Phillips Square, right by the new city hall and Toronto sign, so we went.  We first had sushi for dinner on Queen Street West and then headed to awesome outdoor rink!  

We parked at City Hall in the White Rabbit section near the old city hall and went to see about lockers and such.  Unfortunately the locker room was closing in about half an hour, per the kind city employee.

We noticed there was a walk up from the parking garage, right by the new part of city hall in the deer section, I believe, and so we decided to just put our skates on then walk up carefully with our skate guards on to the rink and conceal our guards near the sign.  It worked great for us!

Man, what a view!  I have always thought that Toronto was awesome but The Six keeps outdoing itself!!  We have been so fortunate to enjoy other places and events at no charge, however, we do pay for parking and the taxes too, of course.

So on the way back we really had to be even more careful so I went down super slow and held onto the hand rails.  I would not recommend doing this unless you are okay with the possible risk.  We did get someone in passing tell us what a great idea we had for doing that. :)  

Across the street is a Tim Horton's where you could go for some hot cocoa, or hot tea/coffee and treats if you wanted to also. 

 It would be great if we could have the rink all year long but unfortunately it's seasonal.  I hope to get to the Toronto Brickworks outdoor skating trail. We do have indoor rinks that operate all year long across the city that have a small fee or not but that depends.  I noticed that most have free parking.  

Sobey's Retro Stamp Giveaway

I was happy and fortunate to earn 2 Jamie Oliver knives simply by shopping at Sobey's until mid February!  It wasn't hard to be honest.  I mostly shop there or Superstore anyways so it wasn't hard filling up a book and half of another to gain the Utility and Santoku knives.  Actually this isn't the first time we have received free items at Sobey's just for shopping there.  Dishes, cups, fruit, eggs and more were given to us at check out.  In this economy ever little bit counts in my eyes.

Sobey's also gives their customers Air Miles when they shop too.  It's a total win win situation.  I appreciate all the incentives to get us in the door, believe me.  With this crazy inflation thanks to falling oil prices and interest on interest on the country's debt imho the extras every company gives always does help!  Thanks Sobey's!  

I also have a points and card for President's Choice and that has earned me over $280 in free groceries.  We have even more points for another week of free groceries too.  Some people won't give their info for these things because they want total privacy and I do get that but I really don't mind if corps know what I am buying and where I am shopping to be honest as long as they don't hike up the prices because then I will stop using the cards and shop elsewhere.

My Love Of Sewing

I have been sewing since I was a child thanks to my father who was a tailor that trained in Italy in his brother's store that had a tailor shop.  He taught me so much and until this day too.  I remember when I was in grade 8, taking Home Ec (economics), he even showed me this awesome shop called Len's Mill where you could get a lot of great stuff at discounted prices and I still go there now by the way!

I was so fortunate to be given a vintage 70's SINGER 247 zig zag sewing machine with table from my father too!  It's a terrific little machine that I used a lot.

I also found another vintage 70's SINGER but it's a much better model from the UK.  It's the SINGER Stylist 513 sewing machine and table from Little Italy Toronto that was owned by a seamstress for only $45 Canadian this past year.  I couldn't resist because my latest was more solid and cherry and perfect for alterations, crafts and patterns but with a little more zoom!

It was missing those plastic thread holders so I just went to SewingWorld and picked them up and the felt for less than $10.00.  It's a tiny, tiny, wee, little shop but since the SINGER store shut down in Gerrard Square I kinda had to check it out.  It was okay but they don't honor refunds, only credit, so I won't be buying a brand new machine or anything major to be honest.  Walmart has some of those amazing new machines for way less and they have a terrific return policy too.

I especially love to sew miniature patterns for SKIPPER and the great thing is that it fits other 11.5" dolls too.  I found all of them on Ebay for a really great price.  Here is an example of one that I purchased:

I can't tell you how difficult it is to sew at times but I actually enjoy doing it very much and it's getting easier and easier to do so.  I am also in the process of even opening up my own Etsy shop too!

Here are my take on a couple of the Skipper inspired patterns I have made:

If and when my shop is established I might post a link to it.  

Well that's all for now.  Cheers!

A Little Christmas Miracle

I was visiting someone close to me in long term care and they had promised a friend of theirs Christmas lights for their little tree that had none.  I was going to the nearby mall after anyways and picked some up and brought them back the very same day.  I handed them to the recipient of these lights and their face was a bit confused so the person I was visiting said "Merry Christmas"!  Then their face lit up with instant joy and they began to open up the lights.  I had to leave shortly after but when I returned there on Christmas eve I noticed such a bright and lovely tree and it was hard to believe that it was the very same tree that was lacking that luster but was now owning such a warm glow!  I am so proud of the person I am close to for orchestrating this and I am so happy to have played a part in such a little Christmas Miracle!  Look at how beautiful it is!!

I hope everyone kind had such a lovely Christmas or holiday and all the best for the New Year!!