This year was the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon's "discovery" of Florida. Jeanne and Harry discovered Florida 12 years ago when Pat and Bill invited us down for Thanksgiving. We have come every year since staying with them in their Sarasota home. Pat and Bill take fashion seriously as you can see by their Thanksgiving dinner attire.
We went to two museums in nearby Tampa; the Salvador Dali and the Chihuly glass museum.
This photo was taken at the entrance to the Dali in front of a small fountain claiming to be the infamous fountain of youth Ponce was looking for but never found. ( He died in Cuba from a nasty wound delivered by one of the Floridian natives.) I sent this photo to a good friend of all of us and he commented that the water didn't seem to have the desired effect.
Chihuly is an amazing glass artist from Washington state who does large glass installations in natural settings like parks and botanical gardens all over the world. He works with large teams of people to create and display his art.
And I thought my Fiat 500 was small! We had lunch in Tampa at an Italian market/deli after seeing the museums. Parked outside was this adorable old Fiat. The green color of old, now considered retro, is the same color of my Fiat.
We tried a turkey recipe published in the NY Times this year. The turkey first had to sit in the fridge for three days after experiencing a dry rub of kosher salt, pepper and lemon zest. Stuffed inside the bird were a lemon and some herbs. Lastly, you pour cider and white wine in the bottom of the pan as the turkey roasts. Simple but very good!
Harry and I made Chicago- and St. Louis-style pizzas for a group of Pat and Bill's friends on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I encouraged Harry to have a cocktail after we finished making the pizzas. We all drank good wine with the pizza and immediately after dinner Harry quickly disappeared. He tries, but he just cannot drink like his wife. The rest of of continued to drink and Harry had a nice long nap.
