Piano, Panini and a Little Italian History

We had a piano* recital for Kyla on Sunday afternoon. Here she is playing her 5 chosen songs. Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Butterfly, MaryAnn, Fourth Grade Band, and Summer Vacation.

Last fall I was trying to find a new piano teacher for Kyla, (her piano teacher moved away :( -sad face) I was having a difficult time finding one near us with time slots that worked for us. Finally I decided to look at the books and see if I couldn't teach her this year myself. It was a little harder to convince her, but I finally did with the promise that we could have a recital with who ever she wanted to invite and then we could have a tea party afterward. That kept her motivated all year long. So I thought I better follow through with my part of the promise...

It turned out to be a great challenge and review for me too.
Thanks Grandma, Grandpa, Dave, Denay, Caitlyn and Auntie Mary for joining us...

For supper we had hot Panini** Sandwiches.

Look for this recipe on Country Kitchen Recipes!

For dessert we had tea and Chocolate Sheet Cake (there is no way to show how wonderful this cake is by a photograph). You'll really have to try it the first excuse you get...you have my permission!

Look for this recipe on Country Kitchen Recipes!

And now I couldn't resist looking up these two Italian sounding words and find out more about them so here is a little Italian History Lesson for those who are interested! Enjoy...

*The invention of the modern piano is credited to Bartolomeo Cristofori of Padua, Italy, who was employed by Prince Ferdinand de Medici as the Keeper of the Instruments. He was an expert harpsichord maker and was well acquainted with the previous body of knowledge on stringed keyboard instruments. It is not known exactly when Cristofori first built a piano. An inventory made by his employers, the Medici family, indicates the existence of a piano by the year 1700; another document of doubtful authenticity indicates a date of 1698.[citation needed] The three Cristofori pianos that survive today date from the 1720s.
-This information comes from Wikopedia

**The word "panino" [pa'ni:no] is Italian (literally meaning small bread roll), with the plural panini. "Panini" is often used in a singular sense by speakers of English and French, as for "salami" (Italian plural for salame), and pluralised solecismically into "paninis". In Italian, panino refers properly to a bread roll and a "panino imbottito" (literally "stuffed panino") to a sandwich; so a paninoteca is a sandwich bar. In Central Italy, there is a popular version of panino which is filled with porchetta, i.e. slices of roasted pork.
-This information comes from Wikopedia