Okay. Every day I see this woman - she's at least 65, if not 70. She rides everywhere on her scooter. I've never seen her walking. I saw her last night at 11pm and today at 9am. She is always wearing a navy blue windbreaker. I must know who she is although she always seems to be scowling.
Jacqueline and I have had some unexpected magical evenings. Last Monday night she and I went for a walk in our village after we had dinner. We happened to stumble upon a bocce ball tournament (where the throw the balls at a smaller red ball). It was high excitement in our little town. They had a little food court with watermelon, cheese and wine! We enjoyed sitting on the benches and walking the determination of the players. Jacqueline was in her Cinderella dress. All the Italians had to speak with her and she spoke right back with such confidence! They thought it was incredible.
Last night (it's a holiday here this weekend) there was a festival in Dardago. I went up to get our pizza's as Michael was busy with fantasy football. There was a donkey in our square, a photography exhibit and they were hitting pinatas at the school (made out of terracotta pots). The kids had to wear bicycle helmets and all the Italians were yelling very loudly which way to go to find the pot. It was hysterical. Jacqueline and I came back up for a concert in our 700 yr old church. I try to find any excuse to go in it b/c it is breathtaking. A quartet of women were singing. Their voices with the acoustics were mezmerizing. I have really missed music. We just sat in the crowded church with our eyes closed and listened.
Jacqueline and I then headed to the Asilo to see an art exhibit and for her to play on the playground. We always walk by the Asilo and she always wants to play. I haven't figured out why the Italian slides hurl the kids down at such a fast speed, but they DO.
Jacqueline, Julia and I planted sunflowers earlier this summer and they are blooming. Some are 8 feet tall and the heads weigh 5 plus pounds. Our Italian garden looks terrific. I will post pictures soon.
Our landlord was coming over to our house every day at 8:15. He usually needed to get into the house too. Two of the times I am trying to get the girls out of the house to go to the beach. I don't have the language skills to tell him this and rushing an Italian just doesn't occur. He also seemed to know when my house wasn't picked-up. He doesn't have children nor is he married so...
But our a/c is installed and we can sleep at night. Three cheers for a small victory.
I can't belive I almost forgot to write about my adventure last week - all in one day. Do you ever have one of those days? Well, now that I am 40, I have to get a mammogram annually so I went for mine. I knew the tech b/c her daughter had recently pummled Jacqueline at a birthday party. Thankfully, all is well (with myself and Jacqueline). After this, I went to the post office at the other area of the base and none of my credit cards would work. I went to the three ATMs and they were all out of order. Sooo... I went to get money from Michael and, seriously now, right when I drove up, Michael cut his hand open on a piece of glass. I rushed back over to the hospital with him where I had just had my boobs squished. He is fine by the way.
You think the day would end there, but no, it is only 11:30. I pick up Jacqueline from the sitters and all she does is scream for the next 2 hours at me. Your guess is as good as mine.
Finally, Michael gets home and I am off to Linda's for Bible Study. Well, on my way there, I get lollipop'ed. This is when the the Italian military police stop you by holding out a red circle on a stick. I am thinking, "what have I done?" Absolutely nothing. Yes, absolutely nothing.
What do I do next? If you've been reading my blogs, you know.
I walk into the door at Linda's, fall on the floor, and yell: "Prosecco."
Monday, 18 August 2008
Thursday, 10 July 2008
4th of July etc.
We went to Croatia - Porec is the town. It was terrific. The water is truly turquoise. The beaches were rocky so it was a little bit of challenge with kiddos. We spent most of our time in the pool anyway. The food wasn't nearly as good as it was in Slovenia. We took a ferry ride to Porec from our hotel and it was fun being out on the Sea. I threw caution to the wind and wore a bikini.
Most of the people wear them in Europe. When I went to the beach the previous week I was the only person in a one piece. I love how the Europeans just don't care. The 70 yr old women were all in bikinis. The men, needless to say, were all in speedos. Yes, even the 70 yr olds. It was not a pretty picture. The Germans, who rarely see daylight, really really needed more fabric. I didn't see any black socks with sandals thankfully. And much to Michael's chagrin, only a few topless women.
Where did we get so hung up on body image? Celebrity? I don't know.
It finally cooled off this week. On Tuesday, it never got out of the 60's. Whoo hoo. I am still going and bugging the guy at housing to call my landlord to get a/c.
I'm back to my Italian tutoring - acccck. I have homework and all I want to do is play.
We are dog sitting for some friends. Jacqueline keeps walking the dog around the outside of the house. She had to eat lunch outside today with the dog and sleep with the dog on her bed.
4th of July was interesting here. It was like being in a small town. Michael played in a baseball game and then we had a dinner that evening with our Italian counterparts. We missed the fireworks as we drove on to Croatia. The girls looked cute in their 4th of July outfits. We certainly did miss being in the parade back at the lake in Dallas.
I ate lunch at Raffe's this week. One of the best meals I have had. We started with Prosecco. I can just stop there, right? We had her famous bruschetta, she fried zuccini flowers (one of the best things I have ever eaten - like the fried sage leaves), then orchetta pasta with zuccini and alot of garlic, turkey with a caper sauce along with sauted yellow peppers (and something else), and to top it off, homemade tiramisu.
Yes, Cheryl is working on a cookbook with Raffe. And, you must have it. It will be ready by Christmas. Start the drooling now.
Most of the people wear them in Europe. When I went to the beach the previous week I was the only person in a one piece. I love how the Europeans just don't care. The 70 yr old women were all in bikinis. The men, needless to say, were all in speedos. Yes, even the 70 yr olds. It was not a pretty picture. The Germans, who rarely see daylight, really really needed more fabric. I didn't see any black socks with sandals thankfully. And much to Michael's chagrin, only a few topless women.
Where did we get so hung up on body image? Celebrity? I don't know.
It finally cooled off this week. On Tuesday, it never got out of the 60's. Whoo hoo. I am still going and bugging the guy at housing to call my landlord to get a/c.
I'm back to my Italian tutoring - acccck. I have homework and all I want to do is play.
We are dog sitting for some friends. Jacqueline keeps walking the dog around the outside of the house. She had to eat lunch outside today with the dog and sleep with the dog on her bed.
4th of July was interesting here. It was like being in a small town. Michael played in a baseball game and then we had a dinner that evening with our Italian counterparts. We missed the fireworks as we drove on to Croatia. The girls looked cute in their 4th of July outfits. We certainly did miss being in the parade back at the lake in Dallas.
I ate lunch at Raffe's this week. One of the best meals I have had. We started with Prosecco. I can just stop there, right? We had her famous bruschetta, she fried zuccini flowers (one of the best things I have ever eaten - like the fried sage leaves), then orchetta pasta with zuccini and alot of garlic, turkey with a caper sauce along with sauted yellow peppers (and something else), and to top it off, homemade tiramisu.
Yes, Cheryl is working on a cookbook with Raffe. And, you must have it. It will be ready by Christmas. Start the drooling now.
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Summer in Italy
Okay, so things have been busy, but that has come to a halt with our stifling 90+ degree temps. I guess people adapt to having no a/c, but it's hot. And why come to Europe in the summer? I don't get it unless you have school aged children. We sit in our house in the afternoon with all the windows shut including the blinds with the fans blowing on us. We also jump in and out of the pool or the slip n slide. I can't believe it is so hot b/c 2 1/2 weeks ago we still had snow on the mountains and our high was only 60. I had to pull my sweaters back out. One evening I couldn't believe my eyes that I saw snow on the mountains in Slovenia and I mean it was covered. The next morning our landlord confirmed that it had snowed over there (this is mid-June hello) and in Austria!
My partner in crime and her family left a few weeks ago. I miss you - it's too quiet here without you!!! Another friend left today and another will leave in August.
Okay, so in the middle of May we started having friends and family come. We had a terrific visit with a friend of mine from Austin and her new hubby. We did Prosecco Road one day and found a fabulous cantina. The woman was a riot. I took my parents back there. They did Venice and then moved onward.
My parents came in at the same time and we threw them in the car the day after they arrived. We headed to a very rainy Tuscany and then, thankfully, a very sunny Cinque Terre and Genova. Tuscany is incredible. The rain put a little damper on it (and it was very cool). We had one winery where the rain literally stopped when we drove up. The vinters are the 31st generation growing grapes here. Francesco was an excellent tour guide and host. The grandfather maintains the American cemetery in Florence either once a week or once a month. We sat overlooking the vineyard eating salami, olive oil, bread and cheese; and of course, drinking a very fine Chianti. It was just one of those amazing days you have in your life. We also went to Siena, Volterra, Lucca, Montepulciano and some villages in the Chianti region. I ran into a Texas Tech person who was in DC the same time I was! We ran into him again in Cinque Terre. A friend of mine said the light is different in Tuscany. It is true. Add some poppies in with the blossoming grapevines and... whew.
We moved onto Cinque Terre and stayed in a 14th century farmhouse near La Spezia. We headed to Cinque Terre which are 5 towns on the Mediterranean protected by UNESCO as a world heritage site. You can easily walk between the first two towns (along and sometimes over the sea). Breathtaking!!! My daughter decided in one of the villages that she had to swim - she ran in with all of her clothes on and entertained the crowd by jumping up in down in the water. I will add as an aside that we went to a terrific beach on the Adratic last week so JD went swimming in the Adriatic and Med within 5 weeks. Pretty cool! We also visited the aquarium in Genova. It is a huge city especially when driving a Tahoe. It was a great aquarium (of course, not like the one in Atlanta etc.) so we were pleasantly surprised. JD is really missing "museums." We ate dinner in Santa Margaurite Ligure. It is a beautiful town also on the sea. Mom and Dad enjoyed getting their fill of seafood.
The last day we traveled to Portevenere, another seaside town. It was so different than the others, b/c it had some old fort ruins. It definitely wasn't as touristy so I think it ended up being all of our favorites'. We took a boat ride too.
I took mom and dad to Prosecco Road and then Mel and family came in too so we had a house full. We took a short trip to Lake Bled in Slovenia. I highly recommend Slovenia as the food is great and most of the people speak English. Over 55% of the country is forested. The only new drawback is they are making you buy a toll tag to drive on the autostrada for 35 euros (it lasts for 6 months). We took the boat out to the island with the little church on it. The girls all took turns ringing the bell 3 x for good luck. We took a horse drawn carriage up to the castle the following day. It was the only time it was sunny during our whole trip!
We also ventured to Sacile, Trieste, and Venice. Plus we took the girls to the butterfly house in Bordano. This town was destroyed by the 76 earthquake and they rebuilt it. The townspeople built the butterfly house in honor of their town in symbolizim. Many of the houses had butterfly murals painted on them.
I know there is more and I will publish pictures of our terrific trips soon. We are headed to Croatia. YEAH. I'll have to start planning where we go next.
Oh, and yes, this Dallas shopping girl is very excited that the new mall in Pordenone opened. It's terrific (okay, not by Dallas shopping standards) for us.
Michael threw a great surprise 40th celebration for me while we had all the company here. He did a terrific job. I am still in awe that my g'friend, and fellow Texan, had it as her hubby just returned from Iraq the week before. It's that military/Texan combo.
WOW.
It isn't letting me edit the post so please excuse the spelling - I am typing while I have 5 minutes!
My partner in crime and her family left a few weeks ago. I miss you - it's too quiet here without you!!! Another friend left today and another will leave in August.
Okay, so in the middle of May we started having friends and family come. We had a terrific visit with a friend of mine from Austin and her new hubby. We did Prosecco Road one day and found a fabulous cantina. The woman was a riot. I took my parents back there. They did Venice and then moved onward.
My parents came in at the same time and we threw them in the car the day after they arrived. We headed to a very rainy Tuscany and then, thankfully, a very sunny Cinque Terre and Genova. Tuscany is incredible. The rain put a little damper on it (and it was very cool). We had one winery where the rain literally stopped when we drove up. The vinters are the 31st generation growing grapes here. Francesco was an excellent tour guide and host. The grandfather maintains the American cemetery in Florence either once a week or once a month. We sat overlooking the vineyard eating salami, olive oil, bread and cheese; and of course, drinking a very fine Chianti. It was just one of those amazing days you have in your life. We also went to Siena, Volterra, Lucca, Montepulciano and some villages in the Chianti region. I ran into a Texas Tech person who was in DC the same time I was! We ran into him again in Cinque Terre. A friend of mine said the light is different in Tuscany. It is true. Add some poppies in with the blossoming grapevines and... whew.
We moved onto Cinque Terre and stayed in a 14th century farmhouse near La Spezia. We headed to Cinque Terre which are 5 towns on the Mediterranean protected by UNESCO as a world heritage site. You can easily walk between the first two towns (along and sometimes over the sea). Breathtaking!!! My daughter decided in one of the villages that she had to swim - she ran in with all of her clothes on and entertained the crowd by jumping up in down in the water. I will add as an aside that we went to a terrific beach on the Adratic last week so JD went swimming in the Adriatic and Med within 5 weeks. Pretty cool! We also visited the aquarium in Genova. It is a huge city especially when driving a Tahoe. It was a great aquarium (of course, not like the one in Atlanta etc.) so we were pleasantly surprised. JD is really missing "museums." We ate dinner in Santa Margaurite Ligure. It is a beautiful town also on the sea. Mom and Dad enjoyed getting their fill of seafood.
The last day we traveled to Portevenere, another seaside town. It was so different than the others, b/c it had some old fort ruins. It definitely wasn't as touristy so I think it ended up being all of our favorites'. We took a boat ride too.
I took mom and dad to Prosecco Road and then Mel and family came in too so we had a house full. We took a short trip to Lake Bled in Slovenia. I highly recommend Slovenia as the food is great and most of the people speak English. Over 55% of the country is forested. The only new drawback is they are making you buy a toll tag to drive on the autostrada for 35 euros (it lasts for 6 months). We took the boat out to the island with the little church on it. The girls all took turns ringing the bell 3 x for good luck. We took a horse drawn carriage up to the castle the following day. It was the only time it was sunny during our whole trip!
We also ventured to Sacile, Trieste, and Venice. Plus we took the girls to the butterfly house in Bordano. This town was destroyed by the 76 earthquake and they rebuilt it. The townspeople built the butterfly house in honor of their town in symbolizim. Many of the houses had butterfly murals painted on them.
I know there is more and I will publish pictures of our terrific trips soon. We are headed to Croatia. YEAH. I'll have to start planning where we go next.
Oh, and yes, this Dallas shopping girl is very excited that the new mall in Pordenone opened. It's terrific (okay, not by Dallas shopping standards) for us.
Michael threw a great surprise 40th celebration for me while we had all the company here. He did a terrific job. I am still in awe that my g'friend, and fellow Texan, had it as her hubby just returned from Iraq the week before. It's that military/Texan combo.
WOW.
It isn't letting me edit the post so please excuse the spelling - I am typing while I have 5 minutes!
Thursday, 15 May 2008
I will write more later, but you have to see my SCORE at Nove. I got this same platter for 5euros - http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?sku=15251646&mcat=148208&cid=316225&search_params=s+5-p+1-c+316225-r+-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+
It has a very very tiny flaw that isn't noticeable. It does say Tiffany on the back. You know I am a Harvey shopper. Whoo Hoo.
Amy and I went to Nove on Friday so she could get a last few things. We saw a Prosecco sign and immediately had to stop! We went in and for the first time I saw where you go get your bottles filled up. It was a riot watching the guys come in with their gas cans filling them up with wine. I got a fairly big size bottle for 3 euros. It looks like a gas station for wine (about 8 different kinds).
We had a terrific pasta lunch with some more Prosecco.
Mom and Dad arrived today and some friends from Austin arrived the other day. We had a great time again on Prosecco road and ate at a terrific restaurant around the corner from me. I had pork with a red pepper sauce.
Monday, for my 40th, we ate dinner at Raffe's. It was delish! She made a terrific appetizer with eggplant. I am loving eggplant here as they just season it so differently. She made a pork dish with mustard glaze. Yummy.
Amy and I hit the mall in Udine.
It has a very very tiny flaw that isn't noticeable. It does say Tiffany on the back. You know I am a Harvey shopper. Whoo Hoo.
Amy and I went to Nove on Friday so she could get a last few things. We saw a Prosecco sign and immediately had to stop! We went in and for the first time I saw where you go get your bottles filled up. It was a riot watching the guys come in with their gas cans filling them up with wine. I got a fairly big size bottle for 3 euros. It looks like a gas station for wine (about 8 different kinds).
We had a terrific pasta lunch with some more Prosecco.
Mom and Dad arrived today and some friends from Austin arrived the other day. We had a great time again on Prosecco road and ate at a terrific restaurant around the corner from me. I had pork with a red pepper sauce.
Monday, for my 40th, we ate dinner at Raffe's. It was delish! She made a terrific appetizer with eggplant. I am loving eggplant here as they just season it so differently. She made a pork dish with mustard glaze. Yummy.
Amy and I hit the mall in Udine.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
It doesn't stop raining
Rain, Rain, go away, come again some other day. I can't tell you how much it has rained. Even Jacqueline lamented, "I wish it would stop raining." My rain boots, I must say, have been the best shoe purchase I have ever made.
We haven't done much of anything due to the immense amount of rain. Now, I wish I had a rain gauge! I can't even get our playground put together. We did have a few pockets of sunshine. Jacqueline and I planted sunflowers along our fence. You must have sunflowers if you live in Italy, right? We'll see how they do! We did discover the biggest earthworm I have ever seen and can't believe exists. I wish I had taken a picture, but we were so entranced by it. It was at least a foot and a half long and about as wide as two of my fingers.
You also must have geraniums. Supposedly, they repel mosquitoes, but with all this rain, we'll see about that!
We've discovered how superstitious the Italians are. And furthermore, it really isn't superstition, it's just they follow the moon. A friend of mine's husband explained to me, if I get a green tomato, it's b/c it was planted at the wrong time (according to the lunar calendar). You want to plant certain things while the moon is rising, not going down. It is why my neighbor, Angelo, told me not to plant my tomatoes until the 5th of May. You also couldn't put out your geraniums until a certain day. And supposedly, you must bring them in on All Saints Day. I am enjoying learning the rhythms of Italian life and discovering there is a little more reason behind their choices.
I also found out two more interesting factoids. The mountains behind us were all "skinned" not too long ago. It was farmland, but when the farms weren't being productive, they turned the mountain back to itself and it became forested.
I can see the beautiful town lights of Mezzamonte from my bedroom (well, in the winter). I met someone who grew up in this town and he told me the true story (and not the American version). During WWII, the Nazi's were getting raided by a group of people whose name starts with a "P." They would bomb the Nazi's in the flatlands, then run into the mountains. The Nazi's thought the town of Mezzamonte was hiding the people so they went to the town and gathered the people up (Including this friends parents) and took them the cemetery. They had their truck full of guns to execute them, but a lone captain came forward and said that "these people had nothing to do with the group and weren't hiding them." The Nazi's released the people. This event is frescoed on the ceiling of the church. I can't wait to go see it.
As I said, yesterday it did stop raining. We were over at Amy's as the girls didn't go to school. Gabby had slammed her fingers in the car door and Jacqueline didn't want to go to school w/o Gabby. Of course, this has to happen as we are leaving. Jacqueline takes her final run around the house and slams into an open shutter. Their son was a hero yelling for us. She came around the corner bleeding from her head profusely. I just stopped as it looked horrible. Luckily, Amy has been through this a time or two, including the previous day, so she gave me good direction. I seriously got down on my knees for a long time last night thanking God that this happened at her house b/c she called one of their friends who came over to look at it (his daughter went to school with Jacqueline). He took her up to the hospital on base and stitched her up. She was so brave. I would have had to have driven her to Pordenone ER and waited for who knows how long and had to wait for a translator. Plus they wouldn't have stitched it up as well as he did. He was very concerned about it leaving a scar. Guess who gets to take them out? Yes, me.
The poppies are blooming and the tulips are slowly returning back to earth. Irises are everywhere. Spring is beautiful. I will become a convert here and say spring is my favorite season.
We haven't done much of anything due to the immense amount of rain. Now, I wish I had a rain gauge! I can't even get our playground put together. We did have a few pockets of sunshine. Jacqueline and I planted sunflowers along our fence. You must have sunflowers if you live in Italy, right? We'll see how they do! We did discover the biggest earthworm I have ever seen and can't believe exists. I wish I had taken a picture, but we were so entranced by it. It was at least a foot and a half long and about as wide as two of my fingers.
You also must have geraniums. Supposedly, they repel mosquitoes, but with all this rain, we'll see about that!
We've discovered how superstitious the Italians are. And furthermore, it really isn't superstition, it's just they follow the moon. A friend of mine's husband explained to me, if I get a green tomato, it's b/c it was planted at the wrong time (according to the lunar calendar). You want to plant certain things while the moon is rising, not going down. It is why my neighbor, Angelo, told me not to plant my tomatoes until the 5th of May. You also couldn't put out your geraniums until a certain day. And supposedly, you must bring them in on All Saints Day. I am enjoying learning the rhythms of Italian life and discovering there is a little more reason behind their choices.
I also found out two more interesting factoids. The mountains behind us were all "skinned" not too long ago. It was farmland, but when the farms weren't being productive, they turned the mountain back to itself and it became forested.
I can see the beautiful town lights of Mezzamonte from my bedroom (well, in the winter). I met someone who grew up in this town and he told me the true story (and not the American version). During WWII, the Nazi's were getting raided by a group of people whose name starts with a "P." They would bomb the Nazi's in the flatlands, then run into the mountains. The Nazi's thought the town of Mezzamonte was hiding the people so they went to the town and gathered the people up (Including this friends parents) and took them the cemetery. They had their truck full of guns to execute them, but a lone captain came forward and said that "these people had nothing to do with the group and weren't hiding them." The Nazi's released the people. This event is frescoed on the ceiling of the church. I can't wait to go see it.
As I said, yesterday it did stop raining. We were over at Amy's as the girls didn't go to school. Gabby had slammed her fingers in the car door and Jacqueline didn't want to go to school w/o Gabby. Of course, this has to happen as we are leaving. Jacqueline takes her final run around the house and slams into an open shutter. Their son was a hero yelling for us. She came around the corner bleeding from her head profusely. I just stopped as it looked horrible. Luckily, Amy has been through this a time or two, including the previous day, so she gave me good direction. I seriously got down on my knees for a long time last night thanking God that this happened at her house b/c she called one of their friends who came over to look at it (his daughter went to school with Jacqueline). He took her up to the hospital on base and stitched her up. She was so brave. I would have had to have driven her to Pordenone ER and waited for who knows how long and had to wait for a translator. Plus they wouldn't have stitched it up as well as he did. He was very concerned about it leaving a scar. Guess who gets to take them out? Yes, me.
The poppies are blooming and the tulips are slowly returning back to earth. Irises are everywhere. Spring is beautiful. I will become a convert here and say spring is my favorite season.
Friday, 11 April 2008
Rainy weather, gardening and fun
We haven't had the Internet for 10 days, and I was in serious withdrawal. So much has happened and spring has finally sprung here (still with much rain). And no, I still don't speak Italian.
Highlights:
Jacqueline turned 4!!!! I use to pretend cry when she was 3 saying, "you'll be 4 soon." She would say in return, "but I'm not 4 yet so you can't cry." Well, I did my pretend cry the other day about her turning 4, and she said to me, "it's okay, you can cry all you want now."
My college roommate and dear friend, Jennifer, and her husband and 8 yr.-old came to visit for a week. I hate to tell everyone this, but they have set the bar for visitors insurmountably high. Terrific guests - Drew did the majority of the cooking, they learned the important Italian words, game for anything, loads of fun and my house was so much cleaner than it has been, and much much more. We had a ball and discovered a few gems around here. And Drew, remember it's Grappa not Groppo (which is what Italian men do to women). I'll drink a sgropino and think of our visit and your eventual return. They (Jennifer and Drew and Benjamin) will tell you that you are missing out on not coming (and don't fly into Milan and don't bring travelers checks).
The Easter Bunny here doesn't bring toys per se, he brings big chocolate eggs filled with toys. The chocolate was incredible and the eggs so beautiful.
We went to Lake Garda last weekend for JD's birthday. We take her to an amusement park for her birthday so this time it was Gardaland! I have never walked right into an amusement park, but we did this time and on a Saturday too! It was nice and clean, but my heart still belongs to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Next year, we may head to Legoland. We certainly enjoyed a terrific dinner at Lake Garda and tasting the Bardolino wine.
My g'friend is leaving soon, and has depleted her wine cellar, so we went wine tasting on Wednesday in the Collio region of Italy (an hour from here on the Slovenian border) to replenish it. It was a fabulous day with some terrific wine! I did Prosecco road with Jennifer and Drew, which was just beautiful. One of the cantinas/wineries this old Italian woman, straight out of the movies was there assisting us. She took care of Benjamin, giving him juice and crackers then, of course, she had to pinch his cheeks. It was so quintessential Italy.
Oh, and when we went to Prosecco Road, in the Veneto region, their culinary specialty is horse. Yes, we all had a bite of horse for lunch. It was okay, a bit tough. Drew's cheese that was made at the restaurant was spectacular as was the risotto with white asparagus. Wednesday, Amy and I picked up white asparagus that had been picked 2 hours previously. I cooked it that night and it was delish!
I met another neighbor this week. Angelo lives near me and has a terrific vegetable garden. We spoke of the delights of minestrone. The next day, he came over with incredible veggies to make minestrone with! He is 75 and spoke English better than I speak Italian! The men here dress so dapper. Angelo was wearing a hat like my g'father wore with a nice shirt, sweater and pants. You rarely see men in jeans or tennis shoes.
My landlord came over the other day to trim the trees. We had a big pantomime act going on b/c the Italians just lop off the trees on top, on the side, and down below. Sometimes, they don't even resemble trees after this massacre. Can you tell I have a thing about trees? I didn't want him to trim too much as a) it looks bad, in my opinion and b) Julia is very fair skinned so I'd like some shade. I "won" on some of the trees, but not the others. He did, however, plant 5 rose bushes!
Oh, and my funny story of the month is that I made cupcakes for Jacqueline's class the day of her birthday. I put them in the front seat of the car. Now, I am not a baker and this is not my thing, but we as moms make certain sacrifices for the love of our children. As I was saying, I put them in my front seat. Well, Jacqueline is so excited to see Gabby on her birthday that she unbuckles herself and climbs into the seat and proceeds to sit on the cupcakes. Gabby's Mom, who has a wonderful Southern accent, asks me if they are salvageable. As my eyes are turning red, I open the door, and she says, "Oh my, I guess not," since the pan is totally demolished. I had to laugh all the way to school b/c of the way it was said in her accent. I gave them to her class anyway, but didn't know how to tell the teacher that Jacqueline sat on them. Probably a good thing.
Highlights:
Jacqueline turned 4!!!! I use to pretend cry when she was 3 saying, "you'll be 4 soon." She would say in return, "but I'm not 4 yet so you can't cry." Well, I did my pretend cry the other day about her turning 4, and she said to me, "it's okay, you can cry all you want now."
My college roommate and dear friend, Jennifer, and her husband and 8 yr.-old came to visit for a week. I hate to tell everyone this, but they have set the bar for visitors insurmountably high. Terrific guests - Drew did the majority of the cooking, they learned the important Italian words, game for anything, loads of fun and my house was so much cleaner than it has been, and much much more. We had a ball and discovered a few gems around here. And Drew, remember it's Grappa not Groppo (which is what Italian men do to women). I'll drink a sgropino and think of our visit and your eventual return. They (Jennifer and Drew and Benjamin) will tell you that you are missing out on not coming (and don't fly into Milan and don't bring travelers checks).
The Easter Bunny here doesn't bring toys per se, he brings big chocolate eggs filled with toys. The chocolate was incredible and the eggs so beautiful.
We went to Lake Garda last weekend for JD's birthday. We take her to an amusement park for her birthday so this time it was Gardaland! I have never walked right into an amusement park, but we did this time and on a Saturday too! It was nice and clean, but my heart still belongs to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Next year, we may head to Legoland. We certainly enjoyed a terrific dinner at Lake Garda and tasting the Bardolino wine.
My g'friend is leaving soon, and has depleted her wine cellar, so we went wine tasting on Wednesday in the Collio region of Italy (an hour from here on the Slovenian border) to replenish it. It was a fabulous day with some terrific wine! I did Prosecco road with Jennifer and Drew, which was just beautiful. One of the cantinas/wineries this old Italian woman, straight out of the movies was there assisting us. She took care of Benjamin, giving him juice and crackers then, of course, she had to pinch his cheeks. It was so quintessential Italy.
Oh, and when we went to Prosecco Road, in the Veneto region, their culinary specialty is horse. Yes, we all had a bite of horse for lunch. It was okay, a bit tough. Drew's cheese that was made at the restaurant was spectacular as was the risotto with white asparagus. Wednesday, Amy and I picked up white asparagus that had been picked 2 hours previously. I cooked it that night and it was delish!
I met another neighbor this week. Angelo lives near me and has a terrific vegetable garden. We spoke of the delights of minestrone. The next day, he came over with incredible veggies to make minestrone with! He is 75 and spoke English better than I speak Italian! The men here dress so dapper. Angelo was wearing a hat like my g'father wore with a nice shirt, sweater and pants. You rarely see men in jeans or tennis shoes.
My landlord came over the other day to trim the trees. We had a big pantomime act going on b/c the Italians just lop off the trees on top, on the side, and down below. Sometimes, they don't even resemble trees after this massacre. Can you tell I have a thing about trees? I didn't want him to trim too much as a) it looks bad, in my opinion and b) Julia is very fair skinned so I'd like some shade. I "won" on some of the trees, but not the others. He did, however, plant 5 rose bushes!
Oh, and my funny story of the month is that I made cupcakes for Jacqueline's class the day of her birthday. I put them in the front seat of the car. Now, I am not a baker and this is not my thing, but we as moms make certain sacrifices for the love of our children. As I was saying, I put them in my front seat. Well, Jacqueline is so excited to see Gabby on her birthday that she unbuckles herself and climbs into the seat and proceeds to sit on the cupcakes. Gabby's Mom, who has a wonderful Southern accent, asks me if they are salvageable. As my eyes are turning red, I open the door, and she says, "Oh my, I guess not," since the pan is totally demolished. I had to laugh all the way to school b/c of the way it was said in her accent. I gave them to her class anyway, but didn't know how to tell the teacher that Jacqueline sat on them. Probably a good thing.
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