Cruise and Car Show season

My game plan for today was to do a post about some of the Patriotic creations we have in

 Cozy Expressions.

But instead, as I sit here looking at my bulletin board, I see a Car Show flyer that we want to attend.

So a little background on my "baby"   For those that do not know, I am the original owner of "her"

Yup, a 1969 numbers matching Camaro !  The body has been restored, but the interior, engine and drivetrain are all original.  She purrs with 86,000 miles.  I have all the original documentation for her too.

Shortly, she will be uncovered, powered up and dusted off for the upcoming season.  I prefer car cruises, where you just drive up, park, take out your chair and sit.   No competition, no judging, just relaxation.   Meeting wonderful people and making new friends.

I purchased her in January 1970 as a leftover for......wait for it........$2800.00 !!   My car payments were $63.00/ month for 3 years......can you believe that?   LOL 

Dad took me car shopping.......I knew wanted a 69 Camaro, no other car would do.  It had to be an automatic on the floor, I loved the shifter look but could not drive stick at that point.    I looked at the Indy Pace car, which was a convertible,  automatic and had a 350......Dad said NO, it's a convertible and will sit out in the weather.  So......on to the next dealer....

There I found this green metallic Camaro.  No engine markings on it, automatic....on the column (yuk) and had this really weird stripe going along the side that said YENKO on it.   Okay, I could get used to that stripe but NOT the automatic on the column.....Dad talked to the salesperson and said....."you will kill yourself in this".   Was I confused with that comment?  YES !  only to find out years later, it would be worth a small fortune right now as it came through with a high performance engine in it.

NEXT dealer............and there is where I fell in love with "her".  3 days later, I drove her home and we have been together ever since.

Pasta with Pecorino and Pepper

This is really good, especially for those that love pasta.  

Simple and easy to make and full of flavor

Pasta with Pecorino and Pepper

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

Kosher salt

1/2 pound dried italian egg pasta 

1 cup freshly grated aged Pecorino cheese (4 ounces), plus extra for serving

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Place peppercorns in a  mortar and pestle and crush them until you have a mixture of coarse and fine bits.   Set aside

Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package until al dente.

   Ladle 1 cup of the pasta cooking water into a glass measuring cup and reserve it.   

Drain the pasta quickly in a colander and return the pasta to the pot with a lot of the pasta water still dripping.

Working quickly, with the heat on very low, toss the pasta with 1/2 cup of the grated Pecorino, the crushed peppercorns, cream, butter, parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt, tossing constantly.   If the pasta seems dry, add some of the reserved cooking water.   

Off the heat. toss in the remaining 1/2 cup Pecorino.   Serve immediately with the extra grated cheese for sprinkling.

**Notes**

If you are not a pepper lover, use only half of the peppercorns.

I used Fettuccine pasta.

I also halved some grape tomatoes and mixed them in right before serving.

Enjoy!

An eye opening experience

I consider any day a good day, if I learn something new.

Some, I am not sure how many, are aware that we sell on a few internet venues.

One very large and well known company opened up a Handmade section last year.   

We were honored to be one of the first to be accepted into Handmade @ Amazon.   We are thrilled with the results.

Yesterday while reading the FB groups on H@A I discovered there was an issue.  There are 2 specific Marketplaces I will chat about today....Sears Marketplace AND DesertCart.ae

Apparently these 2 Marketplace's had programs written that could link to our (and other's) Amazon listings and show them on their sites for sale.   YES.....they actually stole our photographs and our descriptions and increased the prices !  To purchase on Desert Cart,  you had to live in UAE !!

Unfortunately 29 of our items were found DesertCart, non on Sears.  All this was reported to H@A and they have apparently stepped in to correct this issue.  As of this morning our items had been removed.  DesertCart has a Facebook business page and I have to say, it was bombarded yesterday with nothing but negative comments from those that they had stolen from.   

I was raised to be an honest person,  do not cheat anyone because it WILL come back to bite you in the *ss.   Confused, disheartened as to why people do this kind of thing.   Steal from honest working people?  WHY?????  If you would like to carry some of our products contact us, do not STEAL it.

 I am appreciative of all my artist friends that have stepped up and contacted the necessary people to get this straightened out.  H@A legal, H@A IT if this was cleared up because of the steps you had taken, Thank you!  

I have learned a lot yesterday and mostly I learned how the artistic community sticks together to protect and watch out for each other.

I AM blessed to be a part of it. 

Companion Gardening

Something that I have been considering this year for my vegetable garden is Companion Gardening.  If you have not heard of it as yet, it is interesting and there is proof behind it too.

Here are 2 charts for you to view and consider when planting this year.