Italian Capers

I have been thinking about a section in the book " Eat, Pray, Love ," where the author writes about the invisible lattice work, formed by your family ties, that places you in the universe...clearly paraphrased early in the morning BC (before coffee). (An aside for Ted....see how the underlined title of the book above is a different color? Click on it and it will take you to the link....voila : ) (As another aside, I almost didn't get past page 100. My sister and I have attempted to initiate a rule to combat our drive to finish even the most hideous of books.....to combat the old "finish what you started" adage. The first of three distinct sections is about the author's journey to Italy. Ironically, I didn't find it very interesting. Anyway, I finished this section- which put me close to the 100 page mark, and I remained uninterested. I almost quit. Then I reasoned that the other sections must be completely different- in India and Indonesia, so I pe

Opening a box is a favorite activity at our house. For my girls, it's just like going to the park, or coloring, or any other activity. I am pretty sure they think there is an endless supply of magical boxes filled with treats in the utility room! Perhaps this will be the one thing they miss when we are back in Ohio...but something tells me they won't even notice! This box was from Grammy and Grampy (thank you sooo much!). It contained a very interesting puzzle. It took us a while to piece it together.....what a thrill for them- they were tickled! A dollar bill was tucked into each card. The first time they "had their own money." The girls posed a lot of questions about their new treasure. We had a conversation about spending money and saving money. Next up- a box from Auntie RoRo. More lovies! Something for Fonzie- what a great Auntie! He has appropriately mauled the toy and lost it under a couch somewhere. Thanks for thinking of us! We love and miss you all!

As we opened the box, I chuckled to myself at the thought that Uncle Crunchy and Aunt Na were still mailing out their Christmas boxes. Historically, they always have their holiday gifts done before the holiday, and their cards arrive early. Hmmm, perhaps they too are coming over to the "late" side of life. As some of you have noticed, I have a more "elastic" view of the holiday time frame. So, imagine my surprise when their box arrived and the gifts were wrapped in holiday paper! I mean, it is almost Easter after all! The girls enjoyed opening all the gifts and the Nutcracker pop up book for H is beautiful and amazing. She and I both love it. The clothes fit well and are adorable, and the kids were so happy to have a little mini-Christmas celebration. Several days later I was chatting with one of my friends. She was lamenting that her mother had sent a box months ago, and it had just arrived. Hmmmm, I wonder if my deduction was false? I went home and du

I like snow as well as any other Ohioan-ette. I must admit, however, I don't miss driving in it, slipping in it, or seeing it turn black from all the road filth. I do miss the clean freshness of a new snowfall, but not the windy frigid cold that accompanies such a delight. Here in Italy, our climate is very mild. I fear we are getting quite spoiled. Even more decadent, the snow is located just a short drive up a steep and twisty road in Piancavallo. Here, we can enjoy the snow until our noses are too cold to continue and then be done with it! The kids LOVED every minute. H, the scientist, had lots of questions about snow, ice, etc. Things like, what would happen if I brought this home? Can I eat this? Armed and ready for a snow fight. Here they discovered the joys of pummeling their Dad with snow, and the sorrows of being on the receiving end of an onslaught. This is Z's "snowman stomping stance." It was my job to build the little fellows and her job to stomp them.

As you can see, it was time for H to head to the dentist. The other little fellow is one of her new friends, the son of one of my new friends. They have fun playing together. For me, it's interesting from the social science aspect- to see the differences in how little boys and girls play. I find it fascinating. But I digress. I dutifully made the appointments weeks in advance. That's how it goes with the military, and it's no problem. While I was making appointments for the girls, I attempted to schedule myself for a check-up. I was told by the receptionist that the facility needed to see 800 more service members before they were going to see any family members. Hmmmm, very interesting bit of information....not sure what to do with it. I was also told that I could go to a dentist downtown. OH MY GOSH- can you just imagine the calamity? No thanks, I'll take my chances with tartar. H did great and the dentist was wonderful. Pediatric dentists...thank goodnes