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
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
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"
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"
Monday, October 1, 2007
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 :-)
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?
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?
Saturday, September 29, 2007
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.
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.
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