Daffodils 2020

I wondered how many diffferent daffodils we have.  Since I don't have a great visual memory, I thought I would record them here.  The first pictures are from April 27, 2020.  The daffodils are at peak.

There is the traditional large trumpet yellow daffodil.  It's what everyone thinks of when you say daffodil!

Then there is the white with a flat trumpet.  This has a large, yellow flat trumpet.

The trumpet fades to pale yellow as the flower matures.

Here's an orange flat trumpet in a yellow daffodil.

There are two mutated trumpets.  

I don't know what to call them.  Do you?

The white/pink on the left is ???
The white/yellow on the right is ??

white/yellow is White Lion.

4/28/20 - another double opened - it's yellow/yellow

Here are two that are sold by Netherland Bulb Company.  We bought a mixture from them, so we assume . . .
white yellow is "White Lion"

White/white is "Obdam".

We are pleased with anything we

bought from Netherland Bulb Company. 

The bulbs were exceptionally large.

That's what we have as of April 27, 2020.

Now that it's May, 2020, we have a few more and different ones.

This one has a normal ruff and normal trumpet, but the trumpet is filled with petals.

We are definitely enjoying our bouquets.

The flower below, at 7 o'clock, is the same filled trumpet shown in the previous picture.

Such a cheerful flower!

Isn't this white with a pink trumpet just lovely?

Here it is growing in the garden.

After the woodchuck helped himself to a bunch of tulips, we had to fence the garden.

This flower is called "tête-à-tête".  

This is an ultra close-up shot.

Each flower is smaller than a quarter!

This has been an exceptionally cold and damp spring, and the daffodils love it.  We were surprised to note that we dead-headed the first daffodil on May 2.  That's very late for here.

Hermès Scarf - Luna Park

This scarf is so dramatic!  It's a lovely black damask fabric with carousel, horses, ribbons.



The designer, Joachim Metz has captured the romance and excitement of Luna Park, an amusement park on Coney Island, NY.  It was very popular when it opened in 1903 and eventually the park developer opened 44 Luna Parks all around the world.  There were lots of electric lights, which was something new at the time, and on weekends there were fireworks.

This scarf shows a carousel with white horses.

The artist's signature, J. Metz, is in the ribbon above the horse's head.

There are a trio of horses in each corner.

 Along one side is the Luna Park title.  Hermès Paris is on one of the pennants.

The copyright mark, © HERMÈS , is in the red ribbon.

You can see the fireworks in the jacquard fabric.

I liked this scarf so much that when a red one became available . . . . 

Other than color, the scarves are the same.

The fireworks are shown in the jacquard fireworks design of the scarf.

These scarves drape beautifully and give lots of options for tying and displaying.

In case you were  wondering about the poor quality of the photos,  my old camera is an antique Canon A620 (Amazon tells me: You purchased this item on March 4, 2006.)  My iPhone 6X+ (from 2015 is doing a lousy job of photos. I have learned that the stabilizer is the culprit, and a magnet applied to the case helps somewhat (if you need more info on that, let me know).  Maybe Santa will bring me a new phone in the fall.

A Quick and Easy Soup - Variation on Phở

WHAT is Phở?
Phở is a Vietnamese soup, usually made with beef bone broth and rice noodles, with thin sliced beef added at the last minute.  It is usually accompanied, on the side, with a selection of bean sprouts, basil, peppers, to be added in the quantities you wish.

HOW do you pronounce Phở?
It looks like it should rhyme with go, pro, no, but that would be wrong!  It is pronounced "FUH", kind of like the first part of that word. . . 

So what can you do at home?
Well, the essential part, to me, is the rice noodles and some kind of broth, and I use what ever suits my fancy and take advantage of what is in the fridge and cupboard.

For the stock, if I don't have homemade, I use Minor's.  I'll use either the Chicken Base or the Beef Base.

If Minor's is not in your store, you can get it online.  Great to have in the fridge.

Then I add anything. . . Today was mushrooms, celery, and the bits of chicken that I cut off when making chicken cutlets for dinner.  When I'm satisfied with the broth, it's time for the noodles.

I like Saifun noodles.  I wish I could remember where I got these!

Maybe Wegmans?

These white noodles are like slivered guitar picks in texture.

They go into boiling liquid for 20 minutes.

Until they have absorbed some liquid, they cannot be cut very easily.

After a few minutes in the broth, I use a kitchen scissors to cut into more manageable lengths.

And I usually miss some, making this great fun to eat!

I'll add a bit more broth, and it's ready to enjoy!

Ăn ngon nhé

La Promenade de Longchamps - Hermès Scarf

La Promenade de Longchamps was first issued in 1965, but it has been reissued numerous times, with the last reissue in 2002.

It was created by Philippe Ledoux depicting the parade of carriages on the way to the race track at Longchamps in the Bois de Boulogne.  The race track was begun in the 1830s and continues today.
Philippe Ledoux, working from 1958 to the mid '70s, also made the wonderful Napoleon scarf (1963).

Hermès scarves are created with silk-screens.  There is one per color.  This scarf does not look like many screens are needed, but there are actually 25 different screens to create this scarf.  This is described as "red with browns".

In case you were wondering how to pronounce some of these words:

• Hermès - Air Meszz - the final s is heard because of the accent grave (Ax Sahnt Grahve)
• Longchamps - Lown Shahn
• Phillippe  Ledoux - Fill EEP lu DOO
• promenade  Pro mah nahde

The title is below the central image.  The artist's signature,  LEDOUX is above and to the right of the title.

Copyright appears is different places in various reissues.
In this scarf  © HERMES is on a stem in the top right corner.  This indicates post 1980 reissue.

The Hermès signature is in the bottom-center.  It is HERMÈS.PARIS

The care tag is three lines in French and in English.  There are three stitches holding it in place.

I wonder what the A signifies.  I have seen A on a couple of scarves.

If you know, please tell me!

This scarf, like the others, drapes beautifully.

In 2019, Queen Elizabeth wore this scarf to the Royal Windsor Horse Show. 

Lasagna Rolls - Stuffed Pasta, Part III

Those of you who have been following along have noticed my travails with stuffed pasta.    It began when I splurged on a lovely All-Clad lasagna pan.  Then I ran into a sale of Barilla pasta (my favorite) lasagna noodles and jumbo shells.  Kismet!  So I made lasagna.

It was delicious, but it was not at all attractive.

Then I made stuffed shells.  What a pain to make.  Again, delicious, but, again, not attractive.

Then it was Betsy to the rescue!  I hope everyone has a Betsy in their life.  If it happens in the kitchen, Betsy has probably done it.  If an attempt fails, Betsy can usually identify why.  If I don't know what to do next, Betsy has an idea.  It was Betsy who suggested lasagna rolls.

So I cooked a complete package of lasagna noodles, boiling them for about 10 minutes.  I use a huge steamer pot.  And by inserting the noodles one at a time, they don't stick together.  When they are done, replace the cooking water with cool water and leave them until you are ready to assemble.

The filling is 32 ounces of ricotta, two eggs, 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella, about 1/3 cup of freshly grated locatelli, lots of parsley, some basil, black pepper, and nutmeg.

 Work on a cookie sheet (to avoid messing up too much of the kitchen!). Lay out 6 noodles (there are around 18 in a box).  Put on some cheese, then add tomato sauce (mine is made with sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, chopped tomatoes and our own tomatoes, herbs, spices, cheese, garlic).

Put some sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Then roll each noodle and place in the pan.

When they are all in the pan, add some more sauce, and bake, covered, at 400º for about an hour.

Then uncover, add more sauce, and mozzarella and bake for 10 minutes more until the cheese is melted.

Thanks, Betsy, for the suggestion that I try this.  It's much neater and more attractive. As my sister pointed out, it helps with portion control.   Also, you can serve it right out of the oven for those who like it hot.  With regular lasagna, you have to wait or it will go slip, sliding.  This holds its shape even when it's hot.  And with the same ingredients, it is delicious.  

Hermès Scarf - 1789 Liberté Égalité Fraternité

  

1789 Liberté Égalité Fraternité

This scarf was designed by Joachim Metz for Hermès in 1989 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Republic of France.

On the right the Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen is being written.  The figure is Marianne, a symbol of the République, who represents liberty, freedom, brotherhood.

These are the Rights of Man and the People.

Here's a contemporary painting showing the rights.  These became important in the history of the United States.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, painted by Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier  in 1879.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens was set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, and 200 years later, this scarf was designed to commemorate the event.

The Declaration was written by Abbé Sieyès, and the Marquis de Lafayette, with help from Thomas Jefferson.  Many of the rights in this declaration will be found in the United States Constitution and its amendments, especially the Bill of Rights.

On the left, Marianne holds the scales of justice:

The top of the scarf (shown here upside down) says "République Française".

The scarf is identified as Hermès in one corner.

The care tag is still attached.

Joachim Metz, the artist, is identified on the red/white/blue ribbon.

 The Hermès copyright is written vertically on the end of this bundle.

This is a very striking scarf.