I loved this bit of yellow on the sidewalk. As a matter of fact, any bit of color in this weather made me giddy.

I also love the way the snow sits on leaves. You know it’s heavy, but somehow the weight gets supported…

The architecture in Boston – especially Dorchester – is very quaint. Almost all the homes are three stories – and depending on what part of the neighborhood you’re in – they range from single family to triplexes.

All of this is sooo much easier to appreciate from afar, but if you’ve never been, Boston is a fantastic place…to visit…during the summer.

Daughter: Mooommmmyyyyyy, Kharl’s bothering me!!!

Me: Kharl, leave Sissy alone. She’s doing her homework.

Son: Okkaayyy!!!

2 minutes later…

Son: Sissy! I have a supwize for yooouuu!!!

Daughter: Kharl, leave me alone! You’re going to get me in trouble!

Son: Sissy lookit! Sissy lookit!

Daugther: Mommie! Kharl is still booothering meeee!!!

Me: Khhaaarrrrlllll!

Son: Mommyyyyyyy! Sissy called you stoooppidd!

Mind you, this all occurs at about 1 billion decibels (I don’t really know how to measure sound, but you get the picture). It’s amazing I’ve yet to go crazy…at least that’s what the voices in my head keep telling me.

I know I didn’t do the step-by-step like a good blogger should, but I really didn’t think it was going to turn out this good.

Following exact recipes have never worked out for me and what I usually do is make tweaks every time I make a dish until it’s exactly how I like it.

Lesson learned from this attempt is to use more liquid (i.e. milk or cream). I like my quiches very moist. In any case, here’s the recipe I used which is an amalgam of different ones I found on the internet:

6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Ground pepper
1 broccoli head sautéed (frozen could be used)
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese

For the dough I used the following:

1 2/3 cups (250g) plain flour
3 tablespoons of sugar
125g unsalted butter, chilled, finely chopped
1 egg, chilled

Directions

Process flour, butter and a pinch of salt in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Whisk egg and 1 tbs chilled water in a bowl until combined, then with food processor motor running, add to flour mixture. Process until mixture begins to form large clumps, stopping machine before mixture forms a ball. Turn pastry out on to a work surface and knead gently to bring together. Form into a disc for a round tart or into a log shape for a rectangular tart. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours. Roll out the dough and place in a springform pan or whatever pan you use to make pies.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Layer the spinach, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set. Cut into 8 wedges.

- They had a group of marketers promoting their location on Margarita Island and they were aggressive. It was the type of marketing ploy where they simply want to “show you how the hotel works” and the whole family had to participate and after an hour you ended up in a room, sitting at a table with a bunch of paperwork in front of you.

- During our entire stay, the Wi-Fi on our floor wasn’t working. To the hotel’s credit, they came and installed a cable connection, but this did nothing for my iPad connection.

- The room – which I think was a double – was on the small side.

- Our last two mornings there, they were running low on hot water (there appeared to be an influx of guests).

With all that said, according to some Venezuelans that I spoke to this is the nicest place to stay in Mérida. So even though I wasn’t all that impressed, I would stay there again if I ever find myself back in Mérida.

The beginning of 2011 I actually started off really well, and had a really good schedule going. I posted about my trips outside of Caracas, and debuted my personal superhero. At one point, it seemed like the world was going berserk (has that changed), and then I tried to make sense of it from the Venezuelan perspective. During the summer, I made a journey – experienced a reawakening of sorts – and my homesickness was cured. Then, stuff went from bad to worse in the Horn of Africa, and the US wasn’t doing so hot, either. In the meantime, I managed to enjoy some of the beautiful outdoor spaces that Caracas has to offer and then some. The end of year was a bit slower on the blog front, but lots of other stuff picked up on the homefront (I completely handed myself over to the domesticity gods over the past month, only to find out again – it ain’t for me).

There you have it good people. This year I have many goals, one of which is to write more (wouldn’t be a blogger if that wasn’t one of them), but my strategy to make this happen is to write down a lot more of what happens to me. I swear the funniest thing will occur and I’ll say to myself, I should write a post about this. But then I start thinking about candy or something and that thought gets put in file 13. I’m also going to include more of my own pictures. Again, I’m such a perfectionist that I want to post only the absolute best and those are few and far between. No more of that. I’m going to share ALL that I feel is worth sharing. If you have any criticisms, feel free to leave them in the comments section

What are your plans for 2012?