I'm so proud of my hometown! They decided to salute our Hometown Heroes with banners hung on the streets of downtown. For $200 to cover the cost of the banner, families, friends and/or supporters of our military could have a banner made honoring a member of the military, past or present. These are just a couple shots of the many banners around town. They went up for the 4th of July, and I'm not sure how long they will remain. I think it's a wonderful idea!

We've been on the road most of the month of July and had another great trip in the RV. We spent a couple weeks in Lake Tahoe and another week or so going and coming from San Diego.

This is the first time we took Bentley on an extended trip and he was a peach. However we were with him 24/7 for 22 days, and that's JUST WHAT MAKES HIM HAPPY! Having a dog with us posed limitations, but fortunately Tahoe is a dog-friendly place. Lots of restaurants with outside patios, so dogs were always welcome there.

Had a fun visit with Bob's sister Betty Ann and her husband Bob on the way home. She has moved full time to Apple Valley and is getting settled in. It's a big change for the "beach girl" but I bet she'll map in just fine.

Saw a recipe in an English edition of a home and lifestyle magazine (sorry I forgot the name), and both the picture and the recipe drew me in. So, I made it the other night and I like it. I lightly toast a slice under the broiler and pat on a little butter . . . yum.

Honey, Sultana and Pecan Tea Bread

This is a moist and crumbly tea bread enriched with honey, mixed spice and the aromatic flavors of Earl Grey tea. This cake will become firmer with time and stores well for up to five days in an airtight container. Serves 10

7 oz. golden raisins (sultanas)
200 ml freshly brewed Earl Grey Tea
5 T softened butter, plus extra to grease pan
½ C (generous) packed light brown sugar
2 T honey
2 medium eggs
1 ½ C self-rising flour, sifted
1 level teaspoon allspice
½ C (generous) course chopped pecans

Put the sultanas (golden raisins) in a bowl with the tea and leave to soak overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees; grease and line a 8x4x3 loaf tin* with grease-proof paper.
Whisk together the butter, sugar and honey. Gradually add the eggs, then fold in the flour, allspice, pecans and soaked raisins with any extra tea.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the tin, then slice and serve.

Source: English edition of a home and lifestyle magazine (sorry I forgot the name) citing Fortnum & Mason Earl Grey Tea recipe; I made the unit of measurement conversions as best I could, thus the “generous” notes.
*could use a 9x5x3 and shorten baking time slightly

  

Had a fun day yesterday at the Little Italy Art Walk in downtown San Diego. It's so colorful in Little Italy, and even more so right now with all the trees and flowers in bloom. I especially like this shot of the pastel buildings across the street reflecting onto one of the high-rise apartment buildings, and then the tent canopies of the artists booths below. It was a gorgeous day weather-wise and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Bought myself just a small piece of pottery to hold a few cut flowers from the yard.

My goal is that by next year Bentley will be trained enough to walk easily with me around the 13 blocks of the Art Walk. Lots of people had their dogs with them . . . maybe next year.

We spent three nights and four fun days at Santee Lakes here in the San Diego area. We were able to reserve our most favorite RV spot right by the babbling brook and were lucky enough to have no neighbors on either side, so was especialy spacious for us (and Bentley).

Our friends Christel and Armin joined us for burgers one night. They lavished us with flowers, cheese appetizers, homemade cookies and wine--they're welcome any time! We had some fun conversation around a nice little fire in the evening.

Was a great getaway