What Will You Order?

What a bittersweet thing change is. I've never been skydiving but I image my Italian life is similar. First the preparation, the actual flight to the designated altitude, the jump; a rush of adrenaline, fear, joy, anticipation, confusion, and relief for a safe landing.

We awoke on Sunday around 8:30 even though I found out later that Pat, Alberto, and I didn't get much sleep. I had butterflies in my stomach and despite going to bed at 4 am I still couldn't fall asleep. After breakfast I finished packing and then we loaded the car-thankfully the baggage fit. We had a thirty minute drive to the airport and fortunately the ski was clear so we had a beautiful view of the Alps. We talked a little but there were some long pauses where you could tell we were collecting our thoughts. Several times Alberto turned around to ask me questions (Pat was driving) and I could see tears in his eyes. I could see Pat's eyes in the rearview mirror and they were a bit misty. I kept looking at the boys and also got teary-eyed. Despite all my problems with Fil over these last six months, I'm still gonna miss the little punk. Ruggie, oh man I love this little guy and couldn't help but tear up as I watched him play with the door handle. When we arrived at the airport I checked my bags-the moment of truth-one weighed 28 kilos (the max is 30 kilos or 50lbs) the other, Charlie, weighted in at a whopping 56 kilos!! Because this is Italy, they were relaxed and didn't make me pay. We had time to sit and drink my last Italian cappucino-che buono. The boys went to the restroom so Pat and I had time to talk. She told me that every night Alberto tells her that he has always wanted a daughter and he considers me the daughter he never had. Well my goodness talk about water works. They came back and we walked to the gate. Goodbyes are hard but we managed to stay dry until Ruggie said in perfect English, "Good luck Lindsey." My heart exploded with joy. We parted with tears flowing. When I passed the security the guards (young tall dark and handsome) looked at my passport and started singing the Simpson's theme song. This made me laugh and feel much better. They asked if I was Lisa and I said no "Sono Maggie", they laughed and I headed for the exit to my Italian life.

Upon further review of my earlier posts, I have noticed I mention food a lot. This has made me realize how important food is-not just for obvious reason's (this is the philosophical part of the blog). Food is an international language in itself. Everyone has to have it, they all have there favorite "comfort foods", the mystery meat you won't eat from the cafeteria, and the Great Aunt Millie's fruitcake you are forced to eat. Food reflects your mood and the amount you eat for that matter. Food expresses love and appreciation. For example, a huge meal like Thanksgiving is made with love for your family and friends and you usually bring food or drink to a party as a gift. I will go even further to say that life is a menu full of dishes that are foreign and unfamiliar. It is up to you to decide what to order. Once the dish (whether a main course or appetizer) arrives it is up to you to enjoy and digest it. My parents and grandparents raised me to eat what was placed in front of me (even an Aunt Millie concoction) and finish everything on my plate. I'm trying to use this same advice in my life. My Italian life has really paved the way for me to execute this plan. It has forced me to "eat" outside my comfort zone and enjoy each dish. Now ask yourself what will you order and once it arrives from God's loving kitchen, how will you react and eat it? Boun Appitito.

I would like to thank everyone for reading my thoughts (no matter how scattered they may be) and for sharing my Italian life with me. Until the next course, Arrivederci and Baci Baci-Lindsey

The Final Days

Well the Italy Farewell Tour is about over. This last week has been a blur of activities and little sleep. Kinda reminds me of the last week of college. So busy finishing projects that you forget things like sleep and showering. Don't worry though I took a shower this morning so I won't come back to the states too dirty.

I forgot to post about my pizza lesson on Monday. I went over to my friend, Fabrizio's to have my second lesson in Italian cuisine. Sunday he taught me tiramisu and then on to the main course Monday night. The pizza was very easy to make but didn't quiet turn out like I expected. It was good but I was thinking it would taste like the ones in restaurants. He baked in a pan so it looked more like a cake than a round pizza...despite the apperance it was still good and while it was baking he wrote both recipes down for me. We hung out for several hours after and finally called it a night around 1 am.

Wednesday, Louisa came to pick me up for dinner at 8. We went to a sushi restaurant (it happened to be next to Fabrizio's apartment) but they were all booked so we drove to another place. They were also booked so we called the third and last sushi place Louisa knew of and booked a table. The food was amazing (turns out it was the same place Pat and Alberto took me on my first night back here in August. For dessert we had green tea gelato and I think this is my favorite flavor I've tried.

On Thursday it was like any other day, went to work, got the boys after school, took them to basketball and then fixed dinner for the three of us. Nonna Deana came over in the afternoon and fixed the main course for dinner, beans with pork ribs. It sounds fantastic but really not that amazing. She said her goodbyes to me and we both cried. It was very sad to say goodbye to my Italian grandmother, a woman I probably won't see again until we meet in heaven. This was the first shedding of many tears. When we got home from basket I prepared the table and then called the boys to eat. They were playing with a new lego truck Ruggie got from Louisa the night before. They were so interested in the toy that they wouldn't come to the table. Finally when they arrived they wouldn't eat because they didn't like it. So I made them hot dogs. What would the last meal with them be like without a fight right? Pat came home around 9 and I met Lucy for a coffee downtown. This was great to get to know her better and relax in the cafe.

Friday, last day of work!! Only three hours at that!! Right before I left for work I got a call from Barbara that she wasn't at home cause her little girl had fallen on the way to school and they were still with the doctor. So I worked at home for an hour and then headed over to the office. Her little girl had tripped and scraped her lip and had a knot on her head but was doing well. I started to work and Mathilde arrived at 12:30. We wrapped things up and decided to meet again at 5 to finish discussing my internship. After I took Ruggie to gym I went back to Mathilde's to talk about how the internship went and all the work I had done. When I left I felt really good about the internship and her despite all that has happened between us these last three months. I went home to change and then met Barbara at her house. Mathilde let Barbara borrow the car so we drove downtown to meet Mathilde and her husband Ayoul for dinner. She told us one piazza and so we parked our car and then couldn't find the restaurant. When I called her for the third time she finally told us she told us the wrong piazza so we walked a mile or so to the actual one. We ate at this very authentic, and wonderful place and had really good conversation. After dinner we went to a bar for after dinner drinks...again remember bar is not like the beer joint bar or something like that, but rather a restaurant or appertivo place. They left us there and we met some people and practiced our Italian a little. Finally we called it a night and walked the 3 miles to our car in the freezing cold.

Saturday was very relaxed and while the guys were at the pool I cleaned my room and packed all my bags. They came home and we had lunch all together. Oh how I'm going to miss these moments. After lunch I met Barbara and Andrea and we went downtown to this store that I had seen some hats in earlier in my stay. I picked out a hat and they bought it for me as a going away gift. We stopped for some foccia (kinda like pizza) and then I had to be back to start getting ready for the appertivo party we were having at our house. Pat planned the party from 6-8 and nineteen people came to say goodbye!! I was amazed of the turn out and also felt very blessed to have met so many wonderful people. It was also very bittersweet to say goodbye to some many great people, I really can't imagine what tomorrow at the airport will be like. We had a great time talking and laughing and one of the highlights of the evening was when Pat asked me to show everyone my suitcase I bought last week cause it was so big and most people had never seen one that big. Umm little embarrassing but funny. After everyone left Lucy, Andrea and Barbara stayed with me and the boys. We sat around and talked and then said our goodbyes. It feels weird to have to say goodbye to people you have spent so much time with but I treated it more like normal I'll see tomorrow kind of thing so it would be less painful. Well that's the summary of the last week in Italy. I have one more blog coming that is a wrap of this amazing experience. Please stay tuned for I hope to post it very shortly.

Saved by the Bell

If today were a sandwich it would be an italian sub; messy and jammed packed.
We all had to get up early today because the parents had to go to Milan and make early trains and I had to report to design land by 8:30. The mess started when I got to work. I have a deadline to finish by tomorrow but I am flying the plane blind, so to speak. The captain is in London and the co-pilot, me, doesn't really know what's going on, but I'm trying to keep to flight plan and keep her straight and steady. After a few heated discussions with the captain over the phone, I called it a day a little early. I had to be at Fil's school before 3:15. The English teacher invited me to speak to the class about my family and my favorite school subjects. Yesterday I prepared a short slide show of my family so the kids could see my grandmothers, parents, brothers and sister. I threw in a few pictures of myself when I was younger than five thinking they might get a kick out of it. The school is a little different than American schools and I couldn't help think about how my mom feels everyday she stands in front of kids. Although I have to say that my mother controls her classes much better than Fil's teacher does. The kids were running around and talking to each other while I was trying to speak to them. But most of the time they listened and asked several questions about the people in my pictures. Fil was very attentive and answered lots of questions, I could tell that he enjoyed having me in the class and I enjoyed having the opportunity. I helped the kids learn a Christmas song after I finished my presentation and we sang along to the tape. Saved by the bell...I hurried down the street to Ruggie's school to pick him up and take him to music school. We caught a ride with another mother and I was glad because I wasn't looking forward to carrying my computer on the bus during rush hour. While Ruggie was in music I went to a store nearby and finished my Christmas shopping for the boys and then stopped for a coffee....tried to relax for a brief moment.

When we got home I put Ruggie in the bath and then called my design boss to get further instructions on what I was suppose to finish tonight. Turns out that she wanted me to reinvent the wheel before calling it a night....nessun problema (no problem). Fil and Pat came home while I was on the phone and then I met them in the kitchen to talk about my day at school. Pat and Alberto went out for the night so I made dinner for the boys, baked some muffins for tomorrow's breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, put the boys to bed and then started to redesign the wheel. Despite not succeeding in the last thing on today's list, I'm headed to bed. I hope tomorrow is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; sweet and easy.

GOOOAAALLLL!!

Sunday the day of rest...well not when it's your last Sunday in Italy. It was fast and furious. I went to the open market last week and a lady gave me a flyer for a Christmas church service this Sunday at the international church of Torino. I was excited about going and got up early to get ready. I fixed a big American breakfast because I wasn't sure I would have the chance to eat lunch. I was out the door a little after 10 and got the flyer out to check the address. The paper said that the service started at 10. I was so disappointed, the whole week I thought it was at 10:30. I didn't want to show up 15-20 minutes late so I went to the church I usually go to. It was nice to be back, I talked to the pastor and his wife at the beginning and then the service started. I couldn't stay until the end so snuck out early. I went to Fabrizio's house so he could teach me how to make tiramisu. Yum Yum. The dessert is really easy to make, which is good for this beginner. I will definately be making this in the states. I couldn't stay to taste it, but he was making it for a party that night anyways, because I had to meet up with Andrea and Barbara. We met at the bus station and took the tram to the Olympic Stadium to watch a football (soccer) game!! This was by far one of the best experiences. Barbara is a huge fan of soccer and Andrea likes Juventus. There are two teams in the city, Torino and Juventus. Juve is the much better team by far and four or five of their players played on the world champion team in the last world cup. It reminded me of going to an OU football game, its like you are in a different world cause nothing matters but your team. People were dressed in the official black and white colors, a huge sea of zebras. One of the main players, Pavel Nedved, is from Czech Republic and Barbara really likes him. Yesterday happened to be his 300th game with Juve. The game was interesting for me since I don't know that much about the sport, but it was pretty slow for true fans. With less than 5 minutes to go in the game it was still tied 0-0. Then, as the clocked clicked away the seconds, Nedved came out of nowhere and scored the winning goal!! 1-0 Juve--VIVA JUVE--DOBRY NEDVED (means good Nedved in Czech). We all shouted and high fived people in our section. I felt like a true fan. After the game we took a packed tram back to the center and a short subway ride. The subway opened more stops a few months ago and I hadn't taken it since then so we thought we would give it a try. By far the nicest subway I've ever seen. (well it's only been around since the Olympics) We went for a hot drink because it was so cold outside and then Barbara and I went to her house cause I had to meet with Mathilde about what I'm suppose to do at work for the week cause she will be in London the entire week-yes my last one she will be gone. By the end of Sunday I was worn out and needed to be recharged for my last week in Torino starting Monday.

Beef That's What's For Dinner

This Thursday was a little laid back compared to most. Ruggie went with a friend after school so I was picked Fil up from school. I was going to take him downtown and do something fun before he had to go to basketball. He told me he had homework so I told him we could do it together and then go to the center. There is a huge Nativity scene on display and I thought he would enjoy that. When we got home he said that he was lying and didn't have homework and he just wanted to stay at home. I got really frustrated cause I was trying to be the fun babysitter and he just wanted to be lazy. So I made him do all his homework for the next week. By the time he finished it was time to go to basketball. I dropped him off and then went to Nona Pena's house(the friend of Ruggie's). Ruggie's grandmother, Nona Deana was there so I talked to both of them for awhile. They are so funny and I love spending time with them. They told me that they were my Italian grandmas and that they were going to miss me. This makes me sad and I don't like to think about all the people I will miss. She made homemade sweets and made me taste some...yummy. It was getting late so I packed Ruggie up and we went to pick up Fil. We sang Jingle Bells all the way to the gym...I love these moments with Ruggie cause he is so sweet. When we picked up Fil (we were 5 minutes late) and he started griping me out saying he was waiting for an hour and how I dare I be late. I shrugged these comments off and we went home. After dinner we watched 30 minutes of tv together and then I put them to bed.

On Friday after lunch I laid down with Ruggie and he slept for over an hour. Pat came home for a short time to bring the groceries and then went out again. I took Ruggie to gym and then came home to get ready for dinner. Pat and Alberto picked us up at 7:30 for dinner. We all dressed up and walked to a nice restaraunt in our quarter. The place was really fancy and served us sparkling rose wine to awaken our palate and fondue for an appetizer. The restaraunt is known for its cut of meats so we all order some kind of meat. The parents had New York steaks and I tried Bison. They brought out a hot stone to cook our meat just in case it wasn't cooked as much as we would like. Since my buffalo was about to walk off my plate I stuck it on the stone. After I cooked it it was really good. Real cuts of meat (Texas or American style of meat-yummy) Dinner was wonderful, not just the food but the company. We had a nice family dinner and since Alberto has been working a lot lately we sat together and caught up. When we finally got home we all went to bed.

Today was a whirl wind on my farewell tour. I awoke early and met Barbara at 9:30 to go to the large open air market to buy a suitcase. In the airport when I arrived in August, one of my suitcases broke so I needed to replace it. I found a good deal on one and bought the biggest case I have ever seen. We tried to take a bus home but there were so many people out that we couldn't fit on the bus with the huge thing. So we walked all the way home with suitcase in tow-thats over 3 miles walking. When I got home no one was home so I started my chores. Pat rang to tell me that she had put some things in the elevator and would send them up. I went outside to pick them up and shut the door. Right then I realized I didn't have a key!! I had locked myself out without a phone or coat. I tried to MaGyver my way inside by putting my headband in the lock but that didn't really work. So I was starting to freak out about the time Alberto and Ruggie came home. whew... I finished my chores and then met Christiana for lunch downtown. We had a nice lunch and for desert our friend Ferdanado and his sister came for coffee. We talked with them for awhile and then I met Barbara in the center for some shopping. This wasn't too successful because there were so many people that it was hard to navigate through the shops. At 5:30 I met Christiana and Ferdanado again to go to our other friend's, Fabrizio, house for miranda. He made us chocolate and we had some cake to go with it. I hadn't seen him since July so it was nice to catch up. I am planning on meeting him tomorrow so he can teach me how to make homemade tirimisu. I'm very excited about this cooking lesson. After miranda and met Andrea and Barbara in the center again for pizza. For desert we met up with Lucy, another au pair from Australia. She wanted to meet my friends so that she will know some more people. We went to a very famous cafe and had coffee and sat around and talked for over an hour. Finally the whirl wind day has come to an end but what a wonderful day hanging out with all these amazing friends.
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It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

As the last two weeks are quickly aproaching I am finding it harder to write my blogs on a regular basis. For this I am sorry and will try to do better in the coming days. With that said a lot has happened since my last post...

On Saturday I was free at 2 in the afternoon after another great family meal. I met our cleaning lady, Micheala (finally figured out how to spell it) and Barbara. Micheala works so hard that she never has anytime for you herself so on Saturday I talked her into getting her hair cut. Last week she showed me a picture of a cut she liked but told me she never has time for things like that. She has three jobs during the week and works the morning shift an office on Saturday. But I convenced her, and the three of us went to a salon to get her hair cut and colored. She looked really good and her color turned out darker than expected so now we look a little like sisters. Barbara and I met Andrea at the cinema for a final movie of the film festival. We saw "The Dirty Dozen" (yes the orginal with Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin). Andrea had already seen it but Barbara and I both enjoyed it. I liked the fact that we could watch such an old movie (circa 1967) on the big screen. It reminded me of my dad cause he likes those kind of movies too. After the movie we went for an appertivo-happy hour-at this place that also had a buffet to go with your drink. We sat and talked for a couple of hours and then finished the night off with good old gelato-I am aware that it is winter.

On Sunday morning I was a little lazy and tried to get things done in my room and ready for my big trip at the end of two weeks. The night before we had played the world capital game-which I'm horrible at-but was asked a few capitals of the states and didn't know. I was embarrased so on Sunday I spent some time studying my state capitals. After my study session I met the other two amigos and we went to the cinema museum. Barbara had never been but loved it. This is still my favorite museum I have seen while in Italy. We took the elevator to the top of the Mole-the tallest building in the city. Unfortunately it was cloudy but we still could see some of this beautiful city. We spent over three hours in the museum looking at the incredible displays of info about my favorite hobby. (watching not making). After the museum we went to the bowling ally and played three rounds. Not my best bowling score but I managed to win two out of three. We moved onto table soccer, which I have never been good at. Luckily Barbara was on my team so we scored some. After a night of games we went to a Chinese restaurant and then off to bed for the new week.

On Monday after school, I put Ruggie down for his nap and tried to find something to keep Fil busy with. While we were laying down, the washing machine broke and water flooded the kitchen. It was unfortunate that this happened, however it kept Fil occupied and he was really a big help for Micheala. After Ruggie woke up and the lake was contained to one room in the house, we atempted to put up the Christmas tree. I have a presonal tradition that whenever I decorate the tree I have to listen to Christmas music to get me in the mood. I put on a mix of some of my favorites and read the instructions on how to put together the tree. After several tries I surrendered and Micheala came to the rescue. Once it was up the boys decorated it . Well I should say Fil told Ruggie where to put every ornament and make sure everything was perfect before he would leave the room. I took him to basketball and then we had a nice famly dinner while the tree blinked in the background.

On Tuesday I had a good day at design work and trying to finish a deadline before Thursday...I will let you know how that goes. I picked Ruggie up and we took two buses to get to music class. I look back on the first month I was here and was terrified to take the bus by myself just in case I ended up in Rome or completely lost and now I take kids on the bus during rush hour traffic like it was no big deal. :-) When we got home from music, I had to deal with Fil. For some reason he was a little brat and I was counting the minutes until his parents arrived. Pat came home and finished preparing the meal and her sister, Louisa came over for dinner. The meal of fantastic-pork fillet, potatoes, homemade wine, and spinach. But before dessert I left to hang out with Barbara. We watched Pirates of the Caribean (spelling sorry). We both didn't like it very much but had a good time laughing at it and being kid free.

It still hasn't snowed and was actually very warm yesterday. I woke up this morning and noticed the mountains are covered in snow. This makes it feel a little more like December. Well of to work but have a great day and blog to you soon

10 Items or Less

Last Friday night started the Torino Film Festival. I reported in my last blog that Barbara and I went to a film on Sunday (which I didn't like). I was really excited that I live in a city big enough to command a film festival so i wanted to make the most of it and see more than one film. Barbara also had this idea, so on Tuesday we went to the movie "10 Items or Less". It was about two strangers that meet in the 10 items or less line of a small grocery store (kinda reminded me of Booker grocery). The film follows them through one day and how they get to know each other. We both really enjoyed it and didn't mind that it didn't finish until 12:00 am. On Wednesday night we went to the movies again..come on the movies are in English plus I really wanted to see this movie, "Lars and the Real Girl". This turned out to be my favorite movie of the year!! If you have a chance see this movie. It will make you laugh and cry. I had to work on Thursday night so no movies. On Wednesday before I went to the movies, I made a puppet show for the boys using their stuffed animals. They really enjoyed this and we couldn't stop laughing the show ended in me being burried alive by the animals..boys on top. It's times like this that my job is amazing and then there are times (like after where they started fighting over the animals) that my job is very tiresome. On Thursday when we got home from school, the boys went their seperate ways...Fil went to the sofa and read his book until basketball and Ruggie played with his toys. I was really shocked and thought they must really be tired to just chill...by hey I'm not complaining it was nice. When Fil was getting ready to go to basketball, he showed me there was a hole in his shoe and I broke out in "There's a hole" (a song my dad use to sing to us) which made him smile. After basketball practice we ate dinner just the three of us and then off to bed.
I love Fridays, even if I get the boys at 1 instead of 4. When I went to pick Fil up from school he told me he was eating lunch at a friends house and wouldn't be back until 4:30. So the afternoon was really quiet. Ruggie took a nap and I vegged out on the sofa. I took Ruggie to gymnastics and then Fil helped me write my wish list (in Italian) to Babbo Natale aka Santa Clause. The parents got home and we had a nice family dinner. Pat went to "Lars and the Real Girl" today so we talked mostly about how amazing it was and which parts we cried and laughed at. After dinner Ruggie showed us what he learned at gym and Pat chased the boys around the house until it was time to go to bed. Great family time in the living room while I watched and tried to stay out of the war path.
In the movie "10 Items or Less" they each named 10 items or less that they hated about their lives and what they loved. Since I have two weeks left of my Italian life I thought I would write 10 items or less that i will miss and things I wont miss about Italy (of course I have more than 10 I will miss but the sign says 10 or less so I have to comply with the rules of the lane).
Things I won't miss
1. Getting up at 7:30 everyday (I'm not thinking about future jobs in the states)
2. All movies in Italian
3. Italian driving
4. Boys fighting about EVERYTHING
5. My pillow
6. Radiators
7. Smoking everywhere
8. Paying for water at restaraunts
9. Italian coffee-expresso
Things I will miss
1. My loving family
2. My amazing and funny friends
3. Cappucino
4. Open air markets
5. Italian food-enough said
6. Icecream guy at Crema 42 :-)
7. Telling bed time stories to the boys
8. TV commercials
9. People watching at the park
10. Practicing Italian everyday-especially when Ruggie helps me by speaking really slow

Chill'n with the Queen

After the big dinner on Friday night, I had the weekend to recover from all the cooking and eating. On Saturday morning while the kids were at the swimming pool I slept in and then did my morning chores. The whole family came home for lunch and right before time to eat the boys got in trouble and had to go to their rooms. The three of us ate lunch without them and it was nice just to have grown-up time. We were talking and Pat told me that the whole Itlay was going to miss me not just their family. This was really touching and made me feel a little sad because I'm not trying to think about leaving cause I want to really enjoy my last three weeks here.

After lunch I met Barbara and Andrea for a movie because Friday started the Torino Film Festival, the third largest in Italy. But we arrived a little late so we decided to go to the royal palace of the Queen from the Savoy family. I had been inside before but never to the museum. The museum proved to be one of my favorites in Italy. The collection was really well put together-minus detailed info about the paintings. The exhibits were in the rooms of the palace with orginal features mixed with modern design. I found the lighting to be amazing and really clever at times. Plus the high tech gadgets used were really refreshing and inventive. Even though the art and other artifacts were interesting the design of the museum is what I really enjoyed. Before we left we stopped in the cafe in the palace and had marocino-coffee with chocolate--YUMMY. It was really cool to sit in the royal palace and drink coffee-just chill'n like royality. I had to work at home that night so we came back early and Barbara came over after the boys went to bed so we could watch a movie.

On Sunday I tried to be a little productive. I applied for a job in the states, via internet and updated my blog and pictures and took a shower. At 1 our cleaning lady and my friend, Mekayla, picked Barbara and I up and took us to her house for lunch. This was really good practice cause her and her husband can't speak English, however she had a friend that could so that came in handy. The food was amazing and she fixed a sort of deviled egg that is typical of Romania. I really like it and of course ate way too much. After the lunch we took the car to Superga and watched the sun set. Oh amazing view and it was nice to talk with her and her husband. When we got home Barbara and I went to the film festival and saw a film by Wim Wenders, "An End to Violence". It was released in 1997 so not too recent. I have to say even though it was in English-which was refreshing-I hated the movie. I was glad it finally ended and we could leave. Hopefully we will get to see another movie or two while the festival is still going on. We found a chinese restaraunt after and had a nice meal before we had to go to bed so that we could be fresh for Monday.

The last week of November, can't hardly believe how fast time is flying...

The Little Turkey That Could

Happy Late Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope everyone is recovering from the holiday-get ready cause Christmas is less than a month away!!

This Thanksgiving is my most memorable. One night in October Balbina came over for dinner and we were all talking about Thanksgiving and how we wanted to celebrate it over here. Then in the middle of November, Pat asked me if I was still planning of fixing dinner. I really wanted to even though I had never done anything like that in the states...the only thing I do for Thanksgiving is make the pumpkin and pecan pies under the supervision of Grandma Doogie. Then just last week Pat asked me to start getting the menu together so that we could find everything and translate the ingredients. This was the challenge, not only finding everything but knowing the name in Italian-fyi this is why pictures on boxes are really important. On Wednesday night we sat down and translated all the items I needed but to my dismay they didn't have evaporated milk or shortening for my pie. My mother had sent me a box full of food I might need two weeks before and this was the lifesaver. I went to the supermarket on Thursday and bought all the things but substituted an Italian pastry for my pie crust and a box of cream for my evaporated milk. Pat came home that night excited that she had "booked" the turkey that afternoon and said he would arrive on Friday. I was a little concerned about the bird because she asked me on Monday if I wanted the bird with internal organs and I was praying she didn't bring home a live turkey on a leash or anything. On Friday after the boys and I finished lunch I began to cook the feast. First I made pumpkin bread and then my pie. They both came out looking like they were suppose to so I was hoping the taste would be right too. Then I started on some of the veggies. About that time the bird arrived! Luckily he was dead, featherless and gutted. WHEW. He weighed 13 kilos or 6 pounds and was the largest bird they had ever seen in there house. They kept saying it was huge but it looked like the perfect size to me. I called the turkey hotline (Grandma Doogie) to make sure I was preparing him right. Since he was Italian I covered him with olive oil and fresh rosemary. I then put celery, onions and orange slices inside. I put him in a plastic bag and then in the oven to cook for 3 hours (sorry this sounds like a recipe-feel free to use it for Christmas I guess). While the turkey was cooking I finished the stuffing, veggies, cranberry sauce and prepared the potatoes for the oven when it became available again. By 7 o'clock everything was ready except the potatoes were still cooking. We sat the table using the fine china and when Pat and Alberto came home they found a cleaned kitchen, a fancy table, a cooked bird, a tired chef and a partridge in a pear tree.
The guests, Andrea-he brought a huge assortment of wonderful pastries, Barbara, and Balbina and her friend from Texas, Tyler, arrived at 8. I instructed Alberto of his duties, bring the wine and carve the bird, which he did beautifully. We served the meal American style-or all together with one plate per person instead of several courses like my family is use to. The final menu was Turkey, dressing (stuffing), fresh greenbeans with roasted almonds and lemon sauce, corn on the cob, cheesey potatoes, cranberry sauce pumpkin pie with homemade whipcream and pumpkin bread. We had a wonderful time laughing and talking around the table. Plus I was really glad I could share a wondful American tradition with foreingers and give Tyler and Balbina a meal they might have missed otherwise. I had a great time preparing the meal and was shocked that I, of all people in my familly, fixed the entire meal without any problems. I am so thankful for my wonderful friends and Italian family and the fact I got to share this holiday with them.

PS The Thanksgiving pictures and Venice pictures are now up. It was brought to my attention that the Venice pictures did not show up but I think I fixed the problem. If you still can't see them please email me and I will see what I can do.
Enjoy the last week of November!!

Boats, Trains, and Automobiles

A weekend of traveling, and by several different means. On Monday Barbara, Andrea and I decided to go to Venice. By Thursday we still hadn't booked lodging or train tickets and Andrea decided not to go. So that night I found the two of us a place to stay near the train station and Barbara bought our train tickets Friday morning. We were proud of ourselves that we did everything without any help and at the last minute. Because it is November, going somewhere on the water isn't as popular as going skiing, so we didn't really have to worry about booking things early.

On Saturday, Barbara and I left Torino at 9. Our train was 5 hours so we had time to catch up on the sleep we don't normally get during the week. We arrived in Venice (not really it was far from the center but still considered Venice on the map) and then tried to find our Hostel. It didn't take as long as I thought and when we arrived we couldn't help but laugh. It was very meek and the room was very plain...plus kinda falling apart. The door didn't open all the way unless you hit it like a football tackler and the door to the bathroom was an accordian door and only shut on one side at a time. The wallpaper was also falling off the walls but my favorite part of the room was the fact that the shower contained both the toliet, sink and bidet in a 4' x4' box. But on a more serious note the beds were the best I have slept in in Italy and the pillow was awesome, I definatley slept like a Chevy. After we put our things away, we got a map from the front desk and figured out how to get to the center of Venice. Come to find out our hotel was about a 20 minute bus ride from the center and required an additional 10 minute boat ride to St. Mark's square. We arrived in the center at dusk and watched a beautiful sunset from our boat. The weather had been turning cold all week and by Saturday, Venice was more than a little chilly-we're talking gloves, hat, scarf, the whole nine yards. We got off the boat and opted to walk around rather than having a specific destination in mind. We found a piazza totally abandoned and claimed it as our own personal piazza. We continued to walk around and then decided to see some of the more famous sites. We went to the Rialto bridge and looked at all the shops in the open air market. We took a boat from place to place so we could try to stay warm inside the boat. We decided to eat at this little restaruant tucked away from tourists. The food was good and the owners were very friendly. Even though we were in a very touristy city we still had to use our Italian-unlike Florence where knowing the native language is not necessary. Because the ride home took over 30 minutes we decided to leave the island after dinner and get some sleep so we could start fresh on Sunday-oh yeah we also had to defrost.

On Sunday morning we slept until 8:30-oh so nice-and then went down to checkout. We left our baggage there and went back to the main island. When we arrived we decided to take a boat to the island of Murano-famous for its amazing and expensive glass. I met a nice couple from Kentucky on the boat ride and Barbara was excited because she met a family from Czech so she could also speak in her mother tounge. When we arrived we went to an authentic glass workshop. Although the man was not blowing glass that moment the fires were turned on and we saw some of his latest pieces. Utterly amazing...if ever I decide to change careers I think I will become a "glass artist". The weather was colder than the night before so we had cappucini (cappucinos in Italian) to warm up and then continued to shop around the island, going from one glass store to the next. In one store I found the most beautiful manger set of eight, complete with a horse and cow to keep baby Jesus company. Joseph's robe was a rich red and orange color with flower-looking things on it-Hippy Joseph in his early years I guess. I would have loved to buy it and take it back home but then I remembered that I am only a poor babysitter so I left the store with just a mental picture of the set. We took the boat back to the center of Venice and bought tickets to the Plazzo Ducale-Doge's or mayor Palace. The palace was also used at the senate house and location for all things government back in the day. We saw all the senate rooms and courtrooms complete with art from Titian and Tintoretto. The senate room housed the largest oil painting in the world by Tintoretto-WOW. After seeing the courts we went down to the dungeon where the prison cells were. In order to get to the prison you have to pass over the bridge of sighs-where the prisioners would udder their final public sighs. Casanova made this imfamous walk when we was sentenced. When we escaped from jail we went straight to church....St. Mark's Basilica which is right next to the palace. Everytime I go into an Italian church I try to rank it and see which one is my favorite. This church wins the prize as my favorite church in Italy. The outside has a few glass mosaics at the entrance but the inside is covered!! The ceilings are covered in tiny gold glass and Biblical pictures adorn the walls. There is a cast iron chandiler in the shape of a cross hanging towards the front when you enter. Unfortunately pictures weren't allowed, but I bought postcards to put in my scrapbook. By the time we left the church we had enough time to visit the Rialto bridge again-with daylight-and get a few photos. We went back to the bus stop but had just missed the bus and didn't think we could wait 20 minutes for the next one. So we took a taxi back to our hostel. When we got to the hostel we picked up our bags and talked to the man at the front desk for a few minutes. "Uncle George" told us about living in Greece and showed us a nice place to get a cheap lunch before our train. Unfortunately the cafe didn't have any sandwiches left so we went to the train station and ate a quick lunch there. At 10 after 4 we headed back to Torino. At Padua a man joined our cabin and we talked to him until we got to Torino. We forgot to validate our ticket before we boarded and when the ticket man came by he nicely told us we have to do this EVERYTIME. Oh we felt really bad, but fortunately he was nice and didn't give us the usual 50 euro fine. The man in our cabin turned out to be a policman from Venice but told us not to worry about the ticket-we got off easy. He was really nice and we talked about everything from Venice, politics and sports. When we got to Torino we found a nice CHEAP thai restaraunt close to the station and relaxed for the final time before the grind of the work week started. The trip was a huge success and Venice proves to be my favorite city to visit in Italy-Torino being the number one to live in of course.
PS-The pictures are up on the website.

Old Wild West

Oh the weekend...time for rest and relaxation. This weekend was the exception. I got up at 8:30 and had breakfast by myself while I listened to the parents telling the boys to get ready for the swimming pool. Pat and Alberto had a conference for the weekend and had to leave a little before 10. Pat took the three of us to the swimming pool and then went to the conference. I watched the boys and was amazed by Fil cause he is a terrific swimmer. I had Olympic gold medals in my eyes watching him. I really hope he pursues swimming because it would be a good way to use his built up energy, plus he's not a very good team player so this would be a good sport for him. After swimming we took the tram back to our house. We had a really nice morning together walking around the city. When we got home we had a enough time to get ready for lunch and then we met Nonna Deana for pizza. There was a mother and son, about Fil's age, at the next table and they stared at me the whole time cause I was speaking English. I was trying to speak Italian because Nonna Deana doesn't understand any English. I got nervous, being under the spotlight and was resolved to eat my pizza in silence. When we finished, I gave Ruggie over to his grandma and Fil and I went home until we had to leave again for boy scouts. Once I dropped Fil off for scouts I took a bus to the center to meet Christiana. We went to this really small cafe called Olsens (Real Italian sounding I know) and had coffee and pie. Even though we live in the same building I hadn't talked to her in ages. It was great to catch up. After my 3 hour break, I went back to pick Fil up. I fixed mac and cheese and grilled fish. Barbara came over and we watched half of Peter Pan the Disney version before Fil had to go to bed. Babara and I went back to my room and watched another movie and then talked and laughed until 2 in the morning!

Sunday I still had to keep Fil so I got up again at 8:30 aand ate breakfast with the family and a friend, Monica, from Milan that was in town for the conference. We had a nice visit and then they left for the conference. I was excited that I had a chance to clean my room while Fil listened to music on his mp3 player. At 11:45 his grandmother came to take him for the afternoon...FREEDOM. I made a simple pasta lunch with eggplant sauce and then got ready for the day. I met Barbara and we went to the center to do a little shopping. I returned two books Alberto bought me and then we listened to these two amazing street preformers. One was playing the guitar and singing while the other was playing the drums, tamborine and the harmonica all at the same time!! Really entertaining. We met Andrea at 5 and we went to an art exibition at the old Fiat plant. The show was huge and had pieces from young artists from all over the world. You could also buy the art so it was fasinating for me because I know a lot of designers that go to these kind of things to buy art for their clients. I saw a few pieces I really liked but there was a lot of creepy art...which I have a hard time appreciating. After 2 hours of art we went to the shopping mall next door and ate dinner. We agreed on this awesome looking restaraunt called Old Wild West. It was decorated in the stereotypical western motif: Wagon wheel tables, totem pole doorways, wanted posters on the walls, latern light fixtures and my favorite....cover wagon booths you sit in!! I felt right at home as soon as we sat down (plus they were playing live latin music so it felt just like Booker on Fiesta night :-) I ordered the chicken and was really impressed cause it was thicker than a piece of paper-unlike most meat I've had here. The food was really good and for dessert we each had an American brownie. I had to explain to them what it was before it came out but they both loved it. It reminded me of a Little Debbie brownie but it was ok....it's hard to be Betty Crocker. After dinner we drove to the center to to look at the Christmas lights. A great end to a wonderful child free evening.

As we say in the wild west...I'm gonna hit the hay so talk to ya'll tomorrow!

No candy for you!!

This week has been very stressful at my design work because we had several deadlines and my boss was traveling again to London. I couldn't do anything right on Monday and tried to pull myself together on Tuesday....I was doing things right but anytime anything went wrong I got blamed. On Wednesday she was out of town and I was left with the task of reinventing the wheel but only had 6 hours to complete the task. Some how I managed to finish it, and well I might add. She called me last night about 9 and told me that she printed my drawings and they were perfect so I should be proud of myself. This really was great to hear because I had a long day with the boys and stressed out about finishing the drawings on time. I was planning on going out with some American Au Pairs for burgers but Alberto came home later than expected so I opted to meet Barbara for pizza at our favorite pizzaria close to our house. We both needed to unwind from our hectic jobs.

Today I was a busy beaver completing more deadlines but I had a cup of coffee and finished all of the drawings due...the coffe helped cause I only had three hours this morning and accomplished a lot of work. I was a little late picking up Fil from school cause work was busy but he only waited 5 minutes on me so it didn't kill him. I took them home dreading the afternoon fighting but to my surprise Fil read a book and Ruggie played quietly. I put Ruggie down for a nap and fell asleep with him. When we got up it was time to go to gymnastics. Good timing too cause Fil was in his "demon" mood (my cue to leave). After gym, Ruggie asked for something at the bar so I bought him candy to be nice and gave him two pieces and told him he could give 2 pieces to Fil as a surprise when we got home. Of course he wanted the whole bag and cried all the way home. I gave Fil two pieces and he tried sneeking more with Ruggie screaming in the background. I finally got them calmed down when Alberto arrived. I asked Pat if I could eat in my room cause I need alone time. They came knocking on my door for the candy and when I gave it to them (I asked Pat if I could first of course) they started fighting again....the last time I try to do something nice....I feel like the soup Nazi on Seinfeld...NO SOUP FOR YOU!
I found sanctuary in my room and am not leaving until tomorrow morning. I have to take the boys to the pool tomorrow and have them for lunch. I have to work from 6-to when Fil falls asleep tomorrow and a few hours on Sunday cause the parents have a conference in Torino the whole weekend. But Barbara's coming over tomorrow night for dinner and a movie with me and Fil tomorrow so that should be fun.
By the way I am working on the Florence blog and all my pictures are up on the website and I have added new ones with lots of ppl shots so be sure and check them out.
Buon Weekend

Temporary Insanity

Today didn't go as well as I had hoped. At work I was struggling with doing things right and had to watch my boss redue one of my projects because I did it all wrong. I know that this an internship and I'm suppose to learn but it still is embarrassing to sit and watch while your boss does your work. By the end of the work day (for the first job that is) I was a little frustrated but also excited that I am learning valuable experience in my internship. With that thought I went to pick Ruggie up for school and then take him to music class. We usually go with another mother and her two boys (a 4 yr. old and 1yr. old) Today she came a little late and said that her car was in the shop and she was going to get it. She gave me three choices of what to do and I ultimately made the choice to go to her house and wait for her with the car. I felt bad that she had to take both her boys with her to get the car, so I offered to take the oldest with me. Her house is very far from school so I had to take the boys on the bus. This is the part of the story where I plead temporary insanity. I took TWO small boys on a city bus at rush hour, and to top it all off I wasn't a hundred percent sure where to get off or which line to take. Surprisingly (I thought) I stepped up like an adult, had no trouble picking the right bus, got off at the right stop and no harm to any children or my nerves (that's the amazing part). When we got to the apartment, the mother still wasn't back from the autoshop so we waited with another mother and her two small boys...incase you lost count we are dealing with four boys under the age of 5. The car still was not ready so we all boared another bus and went to music. We arrived 30 minutes late so I only had 30 minutes to recover until we completed the last leg of the trip. Fortunately, the car was fixed so no more buses. When we got home Fil was making clay/paste out of flour and water and he and Ruggie made animals. Ruggie made a porcupine, using toothpicks as the spines (Fil's idea-I know my kids are geinuses). Fil made a mouse and I got to pick up the mess....oh well. For dinner it was just the three of us and we finished off the evening with good old candid camera on tv. As for now I am sane again but it's really only a matter of how long it will last.
Buona Notte

Little Monsters

Happy Halloween to everybody!!
Ever since I was little I have enjoyed Halloween because it is the one day you can be anything/one you want to be. Italy started celebrating this day about five years ago so it hasn't really caught on yet. I wanted to make this a special day for the boys so I planned a "carnival" for them after school. When we got home we dressed in our costumes, the night before I had made Fil's ghost costume out of an old sheet, Ruggie dressed as batman and I was a black cat. (I have posted pictures) I had them come into the kitchen and we made sugar cookies. I found some m&m's in the cabinet and made a batch with them. While we waited for the cookies to bake I had them bobb for apples. Ruggie wouldn't cause he thought you had to eat it and he doesnt like fruit. Fil did it though and finally got one. The night before I had drawn a spider web and 2 spiders and cut them out. After the apples we played pin the spider on the web. They seemed to like this game but it was getting late so we had to go trick or treating before the people had left. We were only suppose to go to three families in the building and they were expecting us so that's why we were on a schedule. When we got back they ate all their candy (despite what I told them to do). The cookies had cooled so we decorated them and before we finished Pat came home. I was really glad because even though we were having fun Ruggie was a little monster dressed as batman. He had thrown things in the kitchen, cracked some eggs in the fridge and just been ugly in the way he talked to me. So I was glad to hand them off to their mother. Pat carved a pumpkin and lit it, it was our center piece for dinner. After our simple dinner I packed my bags for Florence tomorrow!!
This was a great and memorable Halloween...even if I had to deal with a little monster.

Go to the Mattresses

After three consecutive days of rain, Saturday proved to be a beautiful sunny day. During the morning I stayed home and did my chores in peace. Alberto took Fil and a friend to the mountains for a walk and Pat went shopping with friends. Ruggie stayed with me and he played while I finished my chores. Pat came home for lunch and then I was free for the rest of the weekend. I stayed in my room for awhile and rested, but left at 4 to meet Barbara. We took the tram downtown and then walked along the Po River. We crossed the river and walked a couple of miles up to a church overlooking the city. On our way we met a couple that goes to my church so we stopped and talked for awhile. At the church we took lots of pictures because the sun was beginning to set and was just breathtaking (I have posted the pictures on the picture website so check them out). We walked back to the main part of the city and then took a bus back to my apartment. We watched a movie in my room and then went to our favorite restaraunt close to our homes for pizza. Another relaxing day in the city but it was nice to walk around because we are trying to save money for our trip to Florence on Thursday.

Sunday was the laziest day I've had in a long time (like before coming to Italy in May) and I loved every second of it!!. The time changed for us so I slept in until (the new) 9:30. The house was silent cause Ruggie spent the night with his grandma and Fil was at boyscouts for the day. Pat and Alberto went our after breakfast and I hung out at home looking for interior jobs in the US on the internet. I made a wonderful pasta lunch and then got ready for another afternoon with Barbara. Andrea let me borrow the movie, Il Padrino (The Godfather) and since I had never seen it I thought while the house was empty would be a good day to watch on the big tv in the living room. Unfortunately, we didn't finish before the family came home so we stopped it and sat around the living room and talked. Barbara really enjoyed meeting the family and Fil asked to stay for dinner ("leave the gun take the cannoli") so she sayed for homeade lasgna. The parents went out later so Barbara stayed and helped me clean the kitchen. After I put the boys to bed we finished the movie. We then called it a night and "went to the matresses". Nothing like starting another week, "Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday...."
(I kinda liked the movie if you can't tell)

Stick a fork in me I'm done

It's sad to say but I always hate Thursdays because I work all day and have the boys all alone until they go to bed. Most Thursdays are fine but I always dread them like I use to dread Mr. Campbell chemistry tests. This Thursday was fine but the freezing rain for the second day in a row was making it hard to get up and around. Once I got to work I continued to work on this apartment in London. The exciting thing about it though is the library I have been drawing (was designed before I got to Italy) did not get approved by the borrough committee, so we had to purpose the client other options. Five new options to be exact! But the cool thing about redrawing is my boss is actually letting me design the options. We collaborated on the ideas but I still get to give my ideas. This hands on approach is making more excited about the project and we are almost in the phase of picking out all the finishes and furniture so now that I am begining to see what the end result will be I am really hooked and the hours just fly by. I looked at the clock and it was time to eat lunch and when I finished lunch I began to work and before I knew it it was time to pick up the boys. When we got home I put in a movie to keep them calm for an hour before we went to basketball practice...oh how I love you Disney. After bball I fixed a simple dinner and we had chocolate pudding Mekayla made for dessert. I tried to get the boys to bed early cause I wanted to try and watch Greys Anatomy in Italian but by the time I got them to bed I was too frustrated to focus on the fast speech. Not an extremely eventful day but not as bad as I always think Thursdays will be, exactly like those tricky high school science tests.

Today was still raining and cold...three days non stop rain. Fortunately I love rain but it is hard to wake up with no sun like I'm use to. This morning I woke up at 10 till 7 and I guess I shut my alarm off cause I looked at the clock and it was 10 till 8!! I jumped out of bed and hurried to the kitchen just sure I missed breakfast. To my surprise Pat was just starting hers and Fil just got to the table....so we were all late this morning. Work was awesome today. The client approved one of the five options and I have moved on to the fourth floor. I am currently working on a staircase and trying to design it in a partictular way that it is half spiral and half regular. This project is proving to be more difficult everyday trying to figure out weird angles of walls, stair diameters, and trying to master everything using metric system. My boss is really patience and works me through things I don't understand. She also stops at different times of the days and tells me helpful hints I might need to know in the future...general things that will make me a better designer and business woman. Today we designed a shoe cabinet that will hold 100 pairs of shoes!! I told Pat and she said she wanted one too :-) When Ruggie and I got back from Gymnastics we waited for Pat and Fil to get home cause they went to buy food for our special dinner. Fil wanted to do burgenoun (sorry can't spell French..one language at a time) it's like fondue but you dip raw meat in hot oil and wait for it to cook. I always wanted do this but I never imagined doing it with three kids (their eleven year old cousin Marta came over too). We had sausage, pork, chicken, and beef and four different sauces to try. I little tip for you out there that want to do this....it is not a good idea to have five years olds participate. By the time the meal was over I had a headache and wanted to use one of those skinny forks on me. It was a good lesson in patiences though. I didn't get upset I just sat back and watched the chaos. I drank a little red wine and had ice cream for dessert to try to calm my nerves. Stick a fork in me I'm done and going to bed....Yeah it's the weekend

PS I added some photos that I took last weekend so check those out when you have time

Afternoon with Picasso

Monday was a good day even though it is always tough to get back into "babysitter" mode after my relaxing weekends. Ruggie had a play date with his little friend Leonardo in the afternoon so at 4 I took him to the park while we waited so Fil couldn't kill him. Right before we left the house, Fil hit Ruggie and busted his lip, making it bleed...deep sigh....I left the punk at home with Mekayla. Every few minutes Ruggie would ask me when it was time to go to Leo's house and I felt bad that he had to wait an hour and a half but it was better than having both boys couped up in the house. Finally it was time to go to Leo's house! I love that kid...he is three going on 25. Everytime I see him in the park with his nanny he always shouts, "Ciao Lindsey" (and he pronounces my name better than most Italians). I dropped off one kid in time to pick the other one up for Basketball. Alberto said he would pick him up so I went back home and had some alone time while I waited for the family to get home. We had a quiet dinner at home and then I met Barbara in the park. It was her birthday so we decided to go for some gelato and spent over an hour just talking over our amazing desserts. Reluctantly we both went back to our homes to rest for another busy day of child care.

Tuesday
The days are starting to get colder...which I love. I was on a mission to finish my drawings at work and succeded!! I finished all but two rooms of the top floor. Feelings somewhat productive I went home and met Ruggie there. He had gone to the hospital with his mom to get vaccine shots and then he stayed at home until I got off work. We went to his music lesson with another mother and her two sons, they are four and two so needless to say the car ride is a long and loud. While I was waiting for the lesson to finish I went to a store that is sorta like Wal-Mart and looked for ideas for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately they didn't have as many things I was looking for so this Thanksgiving might be lacking a few traditional dishes (depending on what side of the scale you are on that might not be a bad thing). We had another nice family dinner where we discussed current events and daily activities. Even though I don't like cleaning the kitchen after every meal, it is nice when Alberto sits in the kitchen and talks to me while I wash the dishes.

Wednesday
Today was rainy and cold but perfect day for a hat so I was happy I didn't have to fix it. Mathilde came back from London today so we were very busy trying to correct drawings and discussing what she learned from our clients while she was abroad. The day flew by and before I knew it I had to go get the boys. I always carry an umbrella but I took it out two days ago so of course it rained while I walked to their schools. I was a little suruprised when I got to Ruggies school because Alberto's mother was there with Ruggie waiting for me. The sat in the dry warm car while I waited outside for Fil. She gave us a ride home and then stayed for a few minutes. Fil and I were suppose to go to the modern art museum today but he threw this huge fit and would not go. Finally I bribed him to go and his grandmother gave us a ride. There was a special exhibition on collages, and since I have made several with the boys, Pat really wanted me to take Fil. The collections was wonderful. Collage art is some of my favorite (and the only pieces I like by Picasso-in contrast to his cubanist paintings). They had two of his and a whole wall of Matisse. My family has two prints of Matisse so Fil was excited to see something he knows. He really enjoyed the show and we had a nice time, even if we had to walk home in the rain. After dinner I had to work on some more drawings because when I left work today I saved my stuff but when Mathilde opened the folder the work was not there. I checked my files on my computer and the same thing...not drawings!! I was very upset and embarrased to call her and tell her they weren't there. I know I saved though and think it has to to with our server because we have had similar problems in the past-just not whole days of work gone. Surprisingly the second time around didn't take me very long and I think it looks even better than the first drawing did. I enjoy my work and drawing on my computer but I couldn't help to wonder how much fun I would have if I was creating a collage...oh well maybe this weekend I will make one :-)

Now That is COOL

Another busy intense weekend...

On Saturday I slept in and then did my weekend chores. I had to buy bread at the local bakery instead of going to the veggie and fruit market. I am friends with the women that run the bakery and love TRYING to chat with them while I wait for my bread. When the kids got home from the pool we had a simple lunch with the all five of us which hasn't happened on a weekend since the beginning of September! It was nice to eat as a whole "family". After lunch I met Barbara and her two girls and Balbina at OUR park. Parco Valentino is our favorite place to go so we decided to take the girls and let them run around and work out some energy. At 6 we went back to their house and started baking chocolate cake and I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. The only bad thing was the recipe called for a stick of butter and apparently the sticks are bigger here cause the cookies were as flat (and greesy) as pancakes (but still tasted good). Andrea and I went out for pizza so that we could finalize plans for our trip next week. Next Thursday is All Saints' Day and there is a 4 day weekend. Andrea, Barbara and I are going to Florence, Pisa and Sienna. I am really looking forward to it. After dinner we went back to Barbara's and finished watching a movie they were in the middle of and then sat around and talked until almost 2 in the morning.

Sunday was jammed packed. In the morning around 11, Pat and Alberto's friend, Luca, picked me up and we went to an art exihibition of contemporary African art in an old Fiat warehouse. Some pieces I really enjoyed but overall the art was not my taste. Lots of bright colors and surprisingly lots of glitter paint. We also went to the permanent collection which I loved. There were a few Matisse, Picasso, one Manet and one Renior. These painting were much more enjoyable for me than the African art. We ate a quick lunch in the food court and headed to Superga, a little town or suberb of Torino located on a hill overlooking the whole city. We went inside the huge church and walked up the 1000+ stairs to the roof for an amazing view of the city and surrounding areas. I had to get back to the city because I was meeting Barbara and Balbina for a night of fun. We met at the bus station and went to the other side of town to one of the three Olympic Ice Palaces to see a gala ice skating show with the famous skaters and the 2006 men's gold medalist from Russia. He was amazing and the first routine he did was to a Pavaroti song that literally made me cry. Many of the skaters danced to Pavaroti and other Italian opera songs. It was great to actually see some of them in person after I have watched them for so many years on tv. After the show we went to our favorite pizzeria and talked with the owner while we ate. Barbara and I ended our night with gelato even though it has been getting really cold here lately.
A very cool weekend-in more ways than one!

Rough Ride

By Thursday I was still feeling under the weather and decided to stay home from work. The beauty of that decision is that I can work from home because all the files are saved on my computer. However I slept from 9-1 and only worked from 2-3:45 until I had to pick the boys up. After I got the boys home Fil said he wasnt feeling very well either and the boys were very calm at home, reading books and laying on the sofa. I continued to feel bad and as the hours dragged on my dizzy spells became more intense. The parents go to Tango every Thursday so I knew I had to be with the boys all night and was hoping the spells would stop. We didn't go to basketball because Fil was still feeling bad. We had a simple dinner and to my happy surprise Pat came home to help me put them to bed and I decided to work a little on my drawings for my design job. But the spells increased so I went to bed hoping the ride would end when I woke the next morning.

Friday,
Happy to report the ride had changed from the spinning teacups to the carousel. I went to work and tried, in vain, to catch up on my drawings. When I got the boys from school Fil and I had our daily battle on doing homework. The plan is to do homework after lunch while Ruggie takes a nap. I got Ruggie to sleep and Fil started his homework. He finished most but was having a hard time finishing the last, losing attention with each new math problem (I don't really blame the guy he was doing almost 2 hours of homework). At 4:45 I took Ruggie to gymnastics and left Fil at home crying and screaming. Right before we left I told Fil he could play on the computer for 30 minutes until I had to leave for gym and that when I left he had to get off cause he's not allowed to be on without supervision and Mekala was busy cleaning the house. He agreeed but when time came to quit he wouldn't and threw a huge fit. When I got back from gym I was worried that he may never talk to me again, but his second personality kicked in and he was this happy sweet little boy. Friday night the family went to a memorial mass and dinner with their whole family, so I stayed home and fixed an American breakfast for dinner and worked/played on the computer. Friday ended with me completely dizzy free and am hoping it stays that way for the rest of the weekend cause this cowgirl is tired after the rough ride of Thursday and Friday

Bring on the Heat

Monday was the official day that Torino's heat got turned on. Until then though I have been fine at night with one blanket and a light jacket during the day. However, my work is like a icebox and am hoping the heat works before I freeze to death (a slight overreaction). Pat told me on Tuesday though it hasn't really been that cold so we are not turning on our heat out the house. I am just wondering how cold it has to get to have heat. Today was in the 50's and I would have enjoyed some heat while getting ready to go to work.

Today was a fabulous day at work. Mathilde and I went to a potenital client's office to talk about a project he is currently working on (has been working on for over 3 years). He is now at the point for interior designers. The meeting was in English which made me even more excited. The project is extremely exciting and challenging. Because the project is in progress I am not allowed to reveal what exactly it is, all I can say is it is located to the EAST of Italy and is hospitality related. After the meeting we went out for lunch at a nice little cafe. Unfortunately what I ate didn't really make me feel well and by 5 I was feeling really bad. It caused me to have dizzy spells. I wanted off the ride but continued until the late evening. I was feeling better by 8 but the boys started screaming and fighting so I went into a relapse. Pat and Alberto had company over for dinner. The boys and I ate before the guests arrived. When they all (10) showed up I was wishing I was wearing camo so I could just fade away. I don't like being in big crowds when I am suppose to be taking care of the boys and they are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I feel like I'm not doing my job very well and it makes me uncomfortable. I finally got to escape to my "super hero cave". I can't believe the week is almost over but I am ready for this weekend because my friends and I have a few plans in the works but I will blog about those later....so stay tuned.

Just in case you lost count I will be back in Texas 2 months from TODAY!! Yeah!

Quick story:
We were playing hide the thimble last night (we didn't have a thimble so we were hiding a Shrek action figure). Ruggie went first and hid him IN the VCR. It took me 20 minutes to rescue him, but don't worry he is recovering and the VCR still works...crisis averted.

STOMP into the weekend

Friday took awhile to arrive but when it did it went by fast. After work I picked the boys up and we ate lunch that Mekayla fixed and then I put Ruggie down for a nap. I was so tired on Friday that it took everything I had not to fall asleep with him but I had things that needed to get done so I couldn't take a nap with him. Once he was asleep I snuck out and helped Fil on his homework. Pat came home and took Fil to the dentist, while I stayed with Ruggie. For Ruggie's afternoon snack I made peanut butter cookies. He liked them but the rest of the family didn't because they aren't use to peanut butter. At 4:30 we went to Gymnastics. Another American au pair was there with her kids so while they were in class we sat and talked for awhile. When we got home Fil was there with Mekayla but she left at 7. I had both boys for 30 mins and they were absolute terrors!! I'm not sure if they had too much sugar or what but they were bouncing off the walls out of control. Luckily Pat came home and I got ready to go out. Andrea and Barbara and I went to STOMP the broadway play. I had seen the show once in Lubbock during college and was really excited to see it again. Barbara and Andrea both really liked it. It was great to sit in the show and know what was going on without translation. There are no words spoken just the universal sound of music...made by banging on pots and pans. After the show we went to a posh pizzeria and then walked around the center of town.

On saturday I did my chores while the boys and Pat were at the pool. I went to the open air market to get fruits and veggies. I went to a new stand to get fruit and made some new friends. They were really nice and tried to speak English-this consisted of goodbye but hey you have to start somewhere. When they got home we ate a simple lunch and then I was free for the weekend. I met Barbara and Balbina by the bus and we took the tram to Parco di Valentino...my FAVORITE place in the city. Inside the park there is a castle that was built for a world fair in the 1800's and inside there are some shops and displays. Andrea met us there and then we walked to a huge fountain, The twelve months, which has statues of the 12 months around the edges. We stopped at at cafe for a drink and then Andrea dropped us off on his way out of town. We went to my favorite Kebab place and said hello to Nahdeeb. (He remembered) We got some ice cream and then went back to my place and hung out for awhile.

Today Balbina went with me to church. The pastor wasn't there this week but a guy read a scripture and we sang a lot of songs. I'm not sure if she liked it but hopefully she will come back when the pastor is there cause it is different when he preaches. She was having a hard week with homesickness so for lunch I fixed her American mac and cheese and peanutbutter cookies for dessert. For the rest of the day I plan on being lazy and finishing my book.

Best quote of the week:
Me: "You are really hyper"
Ruggie: "But I don't want to be a viper"

The Case of the Mistaken Identity

The day started like all the others, Nancy Drew (aka Lindsey) finished clearing the breakfast dishes and started to prepare the little detectives in training for their "slueth" school. Nancy went to work and had a normal day without any signs of what would happen on the way to basketball practice....

Two weeks ago Nancy's parents invited two friends, Luca and Balbina, over for dinner. At the end of dinner Nancy and Luca exchanged numbers so that they could do something one weekend. Last Friday Luca asked her if she wanted to do something this coming weekend.

Before leaving work today, Nancy made the mental note to contact Luca about this weekend. On the way to basketball practice, Nancy was going over her mental to-do list and remembered to contact Luca. About that time they were passing a familiar face. "Ciao" said Nancy. "Ciao, how are you? said the face. "I'm good, I have been meaning to call you so that we can do something this weekend." Nancy told him. "Really? What are you purposing?" "We should hang out this weekend, which day is better for you?" "Um, Saturday would be better, do you have my number?" "Yes it's saved in my phone." "Okay ciao" the face said. As the three amateur detectives walked down the street, the older boy, Fil asked Nancy who that guy was. Perplexed Nancy answered, "Luca, don't you remember him from the other night?" "Yes I remember Luca but that was not Luca that was another guy!!" "What?!, Who was that then?" During basketball Nancy racked her brain to figure out who that was that she just told that she would hang out with this weekend. Finally it dawned on her that the "face", Remo, was a friend of her friend Christiana, who lives in the apartment above hers. Now that the mystery is solved, LINDSEY has no idea what to do about this weekend!!

Now you know the rest of the story and yes this is a true story. I cannot believe that I mixed up the two guys identities and have never been so embarrassed. Oh well at least the mystery is solved.

DO-RE-ME-FAcile

Doe a deer a female deer... Facile in English means easy.

On Monday things went pretty smooth at my first job but we are getting closer to deadlines so I am working on drawings seems like non stop. The frustrating thing is once I think I have finished a specific room there turns out to be corrections. As I finish a certain floor, Mathilde sends the files to the client and then he signs off on all designs and makes corrections so it is nice to know that I am redoing these drawings for a real person and not a professor like in college.

I took the boys to basketball in the evening and watched Fil learn how to do a reverse dribble. Watching the kids makes me miss playing even more and I hope that I can play sometime soon. Pat called to ask about an adult class but the women practice in a town outside torino. So the only team I can play with are all the men and I haven't decided if I want to do that or not yet.

On Tuesday I was in charge of taking Ruggie to music class. His music school is about 30mins from our house by bus. I was a little worried about it but I am much more confident about riding them than I was in June or July. We took a bus from the college close to our house and it must of been at rush hour because I think the entire student body was on the bus. I felt like sardines. Once we found the school (only had to ask for directions once) I signed Ruggie in and waited for his teacher. The music school in called the DO-RE-ME-FAcile school and teaches kids about rythmns and the basics before they start learning on instruments. They play games and sings songs but when they are a few years older they will begin to play the violin. Ruggie did not want to go inside and started crying while holding on to me in a death grip. I finally got him calmed down and stayed with him until the class was almost finished. We took the sardine can back home with no problems and stopped to play in the park because the weather has been amazing. Fall is my favorite time of year but here in Italy I think Fall is even more gorgeous. The trees are beautiful vibrant colors and the temp. is perfect..."all you need is a light jacket."

Today when I came home from work I picked up the boys and Nonna Deana was waiting for us at home. She was preparing lasagna for the coming week. While she and Mekeala worked in the kitchen, I took the boys to play in the park. For dinner we had homemade crepes from the other grandma. They were filled with ham and tomatoes and cheese. For desert we had nutella crepes...Buono!! So far this week has been uneventful but hopefully I'll have more adventures to blog about soon

Gavi

Balbina and I boarded our train at 8:10 and by 8:25 were flying through beautiful Italian countryside on our way to Novi. An hour later when we arrived at the train station, we met Pedro and Sandra. They picked us up and took us to their house in the small town of Gavi. (only 10 minutes from Novi) The town has a little over 5,000 people and is divided into two sides: the newer side built about 100 years ago and the old side built in medival times or a little after...maybe around 1400's can't remember) When we arrived at there house I nearly fell over when we entered. It was the most inviting warm beautiful space I have ever seen. They have lived in over 10 countries and have traveled to so many places that they have lost count. Their house is a tangible scrapbook of their travels and is amazing to see all the wonderful treasures they have accumulated over 60 years. Once I got my breath back we went for a walk around the town and visited the local church and the city hall because last night they had the grand opening of the new building's renovation. They weren't too happy with the new site because the mayor used the money to improve the city hall but has done nothing for the sewer system or roads....
We stopped at a cafe for a morning cappucino and then finished our walk. Our conversation felt like I had known them all my life. We went back to their house and talked some more over a wonderful glass of sparkling white wine (my favorite). Gavi and surrounding areas are known for their white wine and the countryside is filled with vineyards. We went down to there sun deck for a wonderful lunch Sandra prepared for us. We had spinach pasta with a white mushroom sauce, a typical Peidmont meat dish, salad, gelato with strawberries and almond cookies. After lunch we went for a ride up to the highest point above the city and took some pictures (don't worry I will let you know when they are put on the website). Then we drove through the areas filled with the vineyards. They dropped us off at the largest outlet mall in Europe and we did a little shopping. The trip was a success because I bought a pair of ski pants and matching gloves for an incredible price. The pants are awesome because they have the Torino 2006 winter olympic sign on them and make me look like I was an olympian ("I coulda been a contender"). They picked us up and took us to Novi where we had tappas-Happy hour and then to the train station. Our train was late so Sandra transfered our tickets to another train and we arrived at almost the same time as the first train. Overall this was one incredible trip. They were so warm and friendly and made us feel right at home.
A very relaxing day for the end of a long hard week.

Ain't Got No Bugs On Me

A quick note: for all reading whose mother tongue is not English, the title to my blog is not proper English, merely an old saying...so don't use :-)

This week has been a blur. After the stomach bug hit Ruggie and Pat, I have been eating an orange a day and drinking orange juice for breakfast in an attempt to build up a vitamin c wall to defend against any foreign viruses. So far this tatic has worked and like the title suggests I have not caught a cold or "bug" yet. Pat stayed home from work on Tuesday but by that night she was feeling much better and had her appetite back. On Wednesday I was swamped at my day job and had to bring some work home. After dinner I retreated to the dining room table to work while Alberto worked in his room and Pat went to an apartment building meeting. I still didnt finish all my work that night but made more progress on Thursday. When the boys and I came home from basketball Mekela, the new house cleaner, had prepared dinner and set the table!! It was so nice not to have to prepare dinner. The boys were being great and we had a lot of fun playing. I put them to bed and Ruggie spoke English to me. His favorite question to ask people is "How do you say zucchini or gnocchi in English?" He knows that both words are the same in both languages and he wants to trick people.
Friday was a hard day at the first job because my boss was gone again to London and working alone seems to go slower. However, Fridays are only three hours long so by the time I really get in the groove of things (or the coffee kicks in) it's time to go. I picked the boys up and Mekela had lunch ready for Fil and me. After lunch I layed down with Ruggie until he fell asleep and then checked on Fil while he finished his homework. At 5 I took Ruggie to his gymnastics lesson and watched him learn how to do a cartwheel. The lesson is at the same gym as basketball practice and I love going there because they have it set up like a museum. The building is the oldest gym in Torino and is best known for the Olympic training facility it was first opened to be. The athletes that train there could possibly be olympians in the future (not sure this includes my boys) but some of the older gymnists look as if they compete on a regular basis. When we got home, Mekela had fixed a pizza and put it in the oven. We talked for a little while and we help each other with Italian and English. I really like her and think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Pat was suppose to arrive at 7:30 so we listened to the radio and danced around the kitchen. I put one of the boys' bandannas on and did a little beat boxing. I think they thought their babysitter had lost her mind...but I thought it was off the chain.
Pat finally showed up 10 after 8. The boys got tired of waiting so I let them eat the pizza. When the parents got home we fixed some pasta and had a nice meal just the three of us.
Today I slept in until 9:30!! So wonderful. After breakfast I did my daily chores and then went to the open air market to buy fruits and veggies. I love going because it helps me face my demons and practice my Italian in public. I know the lady I buy from and she always greets me with a smile. The boys and Pat were still at the swimming pool so I had enough time to take a shower and get ready for the day. For lunch Pat fixed fish (the whole thing..eyes and all) in the oven. When I got to the table I was relieved that my piece had been cut up and could not look back at me. After lunch I met Balbina so that we could go to the train station to buy train tickets for tomorrow. We are going to a small town in the South of our region, Gavi. Alberto's cousin lives there and her husband works with Balbina's mother. It is because of this couple that Balbina and I met. We are going to leave early in the morning and spend the whole day. They have something planned for us to do even though we have no idea what that might be. We are both excited to meet them and spend the day. I promise I won't let a whole week go by before I blog about our trip. After we got our tickets we met Barbara downtown and spent the day in the center. We went to the Po River and walked beside it, taking pictures and enjoying the amazing scenery. For dinner we went to a pizzeria Balbina and I discovered a few weeks ago. When we walked in there was one other couple eating. I asked for a table for three (in Italian) and the woman eating with her husband said "Hello how are you?" (in English) so I guess it's pretty obvious I'm not Italian, but I still can pretend. We had a nice conversation and she helped translate with the waitress...even though we didn't really need it cause we all understand Italian for the most part. The food was wonderful and we made friends with the owners. I now have two restaurants I know the owners and plan on going back soon. It started to rain after dinner so we parted ways and called it a night.

I will leave you with the best quote of the week:

Fil "I don't like dogs."
Me "Me either"
Fil "I don't want one for a pet, I want a tiger."
Me "I'm allergic to cats"

The Bug

Today came a little sooner than I would like. The dreary weather is really making it hard to get up in the mornings...not to mention the cold house. Apparently the city turns everyones heat on the 15th of this month....oh spoiled Americans with our heaters and ACs ready to use at the flip of a switch. Work was productive but Monday's are hard cause three hours really fly by. Over the weekend Ruggie got a stomach bug and threw up both days. He stayed home from school and stayed with his grandmother until I got home from work. I spent the day playing board games with the boys and during the afternoon Fil and I practiced English for an hour and he helped me with my Italian. He's a good teacher too. Before Fil had to go to basketball practice we all made collages cutting pictures out of old magazines. They really seemed to like this craft and it kept them calm for over an hour. Our new housekeeper started work today and took Fil to bball. Pat was suppose to pick him up at 7:30 but at 6:45 she came running into the house and straight for the bathroom. She also got the stomach bug and I haven't seen her since 6:45. Alberto came home and fixed dinner for the four of us. We are trying to break the pattern of this bug passing from family members. Knock on wood.
Holy cow it's October 1st....time really flies when you live in a foreign country :-)

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue

On Sunday I met the girls at my house at an early 7:45 in the morning. Our train left for Genova, Chris Columbus' (and Renzo Piano-for all you architecture majors) hometown at 8:20. We got to Genova around 11 and had to get a cappucino to start the trip. The weather was really cloudy and even sprinkled on us for awhile. We walked around the city just stopping when we saw something interesting. After breakfast we looked at an art exhibit outside of Chinese contemporary art. We walked for awhile and asked for directions to Chris' house. The house was tiny but the tour guide said that it was big for the time period even though Chris' family was considered poor. After the house tour we went to the city's duomo (cathedral). It was closed on Sunday but we stayed in the courtyard and listened (and sang) to this guy playing Beatles songs on his guitar. We went to the port and walked around watching street preformers and looking at street vendor treasures. We decided to go to the aquarium-the largest in Europe. Amazing!! I loved it even though it brought back bad memories of Christmas shopping...people everywhere and little kids screaming for gift shop goodies. The exhibits were really interesting and really well organized. Towards the end we were so tired from fighting the crowds that we left and found a nice little cafe on the harbor to eat a terrific lunch. Call me inhumane but I really had a craving for seafood after going to the aquarium so I had pasta with shrimp. For desert we had strawberries with the best vanilla gelato I have ever had in my life. We were regenerated after the break and decided to tour the Royal Palace. For some reason they weren't selling tickets but we managed to get a FREE tour of the palace. This (of course) was my favorite thing in the city. The rooms were incredible and I couldn't help imaging the kings and queens sitting in the rooms. The art was incredible and had some famous pieces that I studied in college so it was nice to see them up close and personal. The tour took over an hour so afterwards we had a little time left to get some gelato-I realize we eat a lot of this stuff but it is out of this world!-and walked down one of the main streets. We went to the train station to wait for our train and bought dinner to picnic on the train. Our train took a little over 2 hours so we got home at 11. It was a great day despite the cold rainy weather. Another weekend finished-back to work.

Queen Pin

Saturday Sept. 29, 2007

Oh to sleep in is a wonderful thing. I was able to sleep until 9 and then fixed myself some breakfast. Pat and the boys went to the swimming pool at 10 and said they would be gone for an hour so I thought I would take advantage and get some things accomplished. I throughly cleaned my room (dusted, vaccumed, new sheets, the whole nine yards), took a shower, cleaned the kitchen and made the boys' beds. I even had time to read my book because it turned out that they didn't get back until 10 till 1 p.m. This was great cause I get off at 2 on Saturdays. We had a nice lunch outside on the patio and then I cleaned the kitchen again. I spent a couple of hours on the computer and then at 4 met Barbara and Balbina for an afternoon of fun. We went to the train station to buy our tickets for Sunday and then went walking around the center. They were having a huge book sale and poster sale. Most of them were antiques and rare books...times like this I wish I could read Italian. We decided to get some gelato and visited the Royal Palace. At 7 we headed back to Balbina's dorm (which is two blocks past my house-very far from the center) We ordered pizzas for dinner and ate them at a picnic table under the stars. After dinner we took the bus to a bowling ally/arcade that was actually really nice and full of games. The bowling company was Brunswick Bowl (which is what Lubbock's lanes are so I felt at home). We started to bowl the first game and I was having a hard time warming up. I hadn't played since my 22nd birthday, but I finally got in my groove and started to take names!! We were bowling next to five guys and two girls and I ended up with a higher score than all of them. Barbara had only bowled once but towards the second game she was getting pretty good and even had one strike. We knew we had to get up early the next day so we decided to go home early-11. I had a good time (not just because I won both games) but the next day my arm was really sore....no pain no gain right?

Whoopsy Daisy

Thursday was a drama filled day. When I woke up it was raining and very cold looking outside. The computer said it was 51 degrees outside so I dressed accordingly. The boys were having a hard time getting ready due to the cold weather so they were late for school and I was almost late for work. My boss came back from London in the late morning so we spent the rest of the day going over what the client had suggested. I left work early so that I could do a few things around the house. I baked the boys banana bread so that they would have a snack after school. When we got home I made Fil do his homework while Ruggie played. The boys were being little nightmares and were giving all kinds of problems. But at 5:30 we went to Basketball practice for Fil. It started to rain again while we were walking and Ruggie was jumping and skipping while hold my hand. He slipped and fell and took me down with him. I fell pretty hard and hurt my wrist and hip (old woman I know) but today it is feeling much better. Ruggie fell down two more times that night but luckily I was holding his hand or I probably would be writing about our trip to the hospital. When we got home I fixed dinner and begged Fil to finish his homework. As a little suprise (I don't know why I wanted to suprised them because they were being horrible) I made them American chocolate pudding. But their mother came home early and spoiled the suprise. The second she walked in the door Fil acted like I was the best person in the whole world....he knew that I would tell his mother otherwise. To end this horrible day I was cleaning the kitchen and dropped a drinking glass, cutting my hand in three places.....Thank goodness that day ended.

The weather was much better on Friday and I was hoping the boys' behavior was too. Come to find out the only thing that was nice WAS the weather. The boys continued to be little monsters but I decided to play the "invisible" card. I ignored them for 2 hours and this actually seemed to calm them down and they were nicer to me. Pat came home at 4 to take Ruggie to gymnastics and Fil stayed at home with me. I let him walk on my back for a massage and we played a little sudok. When Pat got home we started dinner because Balbina and one of Pat and Alberto's friends, Luca, was coming over. We had an amazing roast that tasted more like prime rib because it was cooked very rare. We also had cuscus (spelling I'm not sure) with homemade pesto sauce. The dinner was very nice and it was great to be in a room of adults for more than ten minutes.

Houston We Have a Problem

Last week we were in the park and an older boy (8 yrs old) played with Ruggie and at first the play date was uneventful. Then I guess the boy's sugar level went up and he was super hyper. He started yelling at his Au Pair and was being a total brat. I thought to myself "man I'm glad my boys don't act like that" (well all the time that is :-)
After dinner on Monday night Pat dropped the bomb on me that a friend would be coming over Tuesday night for dinner and I would have THREE boys from 6-8 by myself. All day Tuesday I was trying to prepare myself for the evening. At a little after 6 Lorenzo, THE BOY FROM THE PARK, came over. I guess you better watch you say... Actually the night went pretty well. Pat gave Lorenzo an paper airplane launcher for his birthday and Fil had a ball trying to put it together. The instructions were in English so I was the official translator. These were the most confusing instructions I have ever seen. After over an hour we finally got the launcher essembled but it wouldn't launch the planes. In the directions it showed you how to make a paper airplane but because I'm not a boy (that's my excuse) I could not make a decent aircraft. Fil finally figured it out and tried to get the plane off the ground. Despite the rainy weather outside the 50th launch inside was a sucess!! I fed the boys grilled cheeses and then we waited for Pat to get home.

Today I got a little further in finishing the drawings for one floor of the London flat I am working on. My boss will be back tomorrow so I am sure I will finish the floor plus start on the electrical drawings. When I picked the boys up from school today it was raining and a brisk 58 degrees....felt more like Winter than Autumn. When we got home Nonna Deana came over and I was a little relieved cause they are usually pretty good when she is around. But I guess there is an exception to every rule. That happened to be today. Fil was horrible. He hit Ruggie over the head with a hard folder and then started demolishing the house one room at a time. I asked him to take a shower and he gave the bathroom one instead. When I walked in the room looked like it had been hosed down. Every inch was covered in water. Then he looked at me with his sweet little smile and said "You clean it up!" and ran away. He went into the other bathroom where Ruggie was and picked on him until Ruggie retaliated and splashed him. Now this bathroom was covered in water. After swapping both decks this sailor requested for leave and gave them over to their mother. I went to a kabob place close to our house that I hadn't tried yet. I love kabobs (gyros really) but haven't had a really good one until tonight. It was fantastic and the man working was from Pakistan and could speak English. His name is Nadeeb and was a primary school teacher in Pakistan before coming here three years ago. We had a nice visit and then I came back home to relax until the boys got back with their mother. I told them good night and Fil wrote me I'm sorry card :-)

Hopefully tomorrow there will be clear skys, perfect for a problem free take-off with the boys. Houston this is Italia 1 signing off.