frolicking fridays, round 9

Another Friday! Is it just me or do these frolicking Fridays sometimes begin with an errand? We don't mean for it to happen that way, but sometimes it does. This particular Friday involved a funny errand, but one worth mentioning. See, Anthony had an assignment over Christmas break, to paint two oil paintings---specifically copies of Van Gogh and Gauguin. They turned out beautifully---we are thrilled that Anthony and Caleb are painting more and more. Though, this was our first foray into oil paints.

Which means open the door and welcome in turpentine for cleaning, lots of newspapers spread under artwork and ultimately a few near-misses with paint that takes days to dry. (In fact, Caleb painted a beautiful one of a tree, with a ground-cover thick with leaves that is still not dry---a week later). But Anthony's art was due on Friday morning, dry or not. Since bikes are far from ideal for transporting 2 still-wet oil paintings (esp. in the rain), it was up to James and I to deliver.

So we did. We placed Anthony's paintings gingerly in emptied cereal boxes, into plastic bags and under quite-large umbrellas. We walked two miles in the rain and turned in Anthony's homework masterpieces.

But we love to walk, so we weren't complaining. After handing in the paintings, we took our time strolling back home, visiting Piazza Niccolo, checking out dandy little cafes and shops and them aimed for a tour of Santo Spirito Church. We found a painting by Lippi, and enjoyed two more by Allori (one of my new favorite artists---his ability to capture the eyes is magnificent).

We landed at a little cafe right across the Piazza, where we holed up for a cozy lunch. Freshly made pasta and soup, good Chianti and a dense slice of chocolate cake. You would think we are on holiday. We went home after lunch, to put in a few hours of work before the boys came home.

Just so you don't feel like I am cheating you out of trip-relevant articles, if you want to check out what is going on in my Florentine kitchen, check out these recent posts on my Talk of Tomatoes blog:

• an article about Chianti wines and wine-tasting
• this one I am so excited about: how to make polenta
• recent forays with radicchio
• I am loving Mario Batali's cookbook, Molto Italiano; try his chicken in red wine