Exciting news!

After two years of realizing I needed an index for my recipes, it’s finally happened. I was at a loss of where to start and when I went to look for web designers, it was overwhelming! Luckily, my sister Kelley recommended web designer Ray Briant with thinkbigwebsites and he helped me convert my Foodie in Miami WordPress website to GoDaddy, along with all my recipes and blog posts. Apparently, it was quite the project and I could never have done it without his expertise.

Now, if your’e looking for a recipe, all you have to do is search at the top under the little magnifying glass and Voila!- the recipe you’re looking for shows up. The recipes are also listed under categories at the top, as well as Blog Posts, Restaurant Reviews, Food News and Garden pictures, so everything is available, at your fingertips. I hope you enjoy the new and improved Foodie in Miami.

On the Homefront, we have termites! They say if you live in Miami, you definitely have termites and this is the third time we’ve had them in this house. To have the house tented is a big deal, since all the food in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer needs to be removed from the house, as do its occupants. It’s also an expensive project, but it has to be done.

Our pool pump went out last week, so that needs to be fixed unless we want a green pool. We had a leak in the pool about 6 months ago that magically stopped, but now it has started leaking again. Maybe it has something to do with the pool pump? I don’t know. The guy at Tuttle Pool said pool pumps only last about a year, which just doesn’t seem right. Cha ching, cha ching, cha ching. The joys of home ownership.

They say things come in threes- deaths, births and apparently home catastrophes. We’ve still been looking for houses, but nothing has “wowed” us. We found one we liked in Palmetto Bay but it’s too expensive and too far south. Another in the Gables seemed promising, but it had a weird layout and an upstairs bedroom, which we don’t want. Zeke’s broken ankle has convinced us we need a one-story house.

So the more we look, the more I appreciate our house. Even with termites and pool problems.

To add to the deluge, my housekeeper Isa left suddenly last week. I knew she was moving but didn’t know when and suddenly, she returned my key and said too-da-loo! She was a sweet person and I appreciate her working for us all these years.

All travel is suspended as we await the arrival of Emma and Guillermo’s bambina Celine. She is due July 17th, but will probably come earlier, at least if Emma has anything to say about it. They gave her a lovely baby shower at work and she had her last day yesterday. The baby’s nursery is fully decorated and stocked and her hospital bag is ready to go. Now, all that’s left is to sit around and wait.

Like Tom Petty says: “The waiting is the hardest part.”

My friend Leonor is also awaiting the birth of her first two grandchildren- both boys- in July. They say things come in threes and, along with the afternoon rain showers, it’s raining babies here in Miami this July! Another thing to look forward to in July (although not as exciting as a new baby) is Taste of the Gables, which starts today.

It’s similar to Miami Spice (which starts August 1st), but the 50 different restaurants are located in Coral Gables. Lunches are priced between $30 and $35 and dinner is priced at either $45 and $60, depending on the type of restaurant. Several casual restaurants are offering Happy Hour specials and there are some really good restaurants participating, such as Bachour, Eating House, Erba, Zitz Sum and Zucca. There’s also an accompanying Friday night concert series from 8 to 10 p.m. in Giralda Plaza. As always, check the tasteofthegables website to confirm the restaurants, menus and days they are participating.

Up Next: The New and Improved Spaghetti Sunday