Italian Capers

Uncle Crunchy, Aunt D and Nanny have certainly done that. What a stroke of genius. I am so used to our new set up, that it doesn't even seem that ridiculous at this point! (I am still not sure what the neighbors think, but when did we start worrying about that anyway????) One of the major drawbacks of this place is the complete lack of yard. We longed for a sunny spot to play, snooze in the sun, etc. Look what they did! These are rolls of artificial turf that they found along with fabulous new lawn chairs- the kind in which you can lounge back and really enjoy your afternoon. It's awesome. We have since added a third tarp. Someone should probably stop us from covering the entire gravel parking lot! The kids play outside all the time now, and it's wonderful. One of the best things is that The Fonz doesn't think it's real grass : )

"All roads lead to Rome." I used to think that it was because the Roman Empire was so vast that you couldn't help but end up in the capital city. We have had more than our fair share of challenges in navigating our new country. Sometimes, the map fails us; but more often, it's the signs or lack thereof. There will be a sign and you will be lulled into a false sense of security. You will motor happily along only to realize, hours later, that you are nowhere near your destination. No, they have a point. If you make enough turns, you can get anywhere from anywhere-and you would know that if you had lived here for 100 years. The coup de grace is that there was actually a third sign. This sign also read "Aviano" and had an arrow pointing away from those two signs. I couldn't get all the signs on one pic. Magical.

Once upon a time, we were on a mission to a town called Nove. We knew it was Wednesday afternoon and therefore some stores might be closed. We knew that we didn't have the exact store names. We knew that it would be several hours' drive away. We were on a mission to find beautiful Italian pottery . Some of you may know that My Man is 1/2 Italian. His grandmother did a bit of painting in her time. Sure, she was Italian, and sure she was painting on ceramics, but that isn't exactly what we had in mind . She would buy the white ceramic pieces and then paint them...no we were looking for something more in the line of "art." So, we set off. Aunt D is our trusty navigator- always. It is very difficult to navigate here and she really does a wonderful job. Uncle Crusty was at the wheel- he also does a great job. It's not easy to "just drive" while all the other eyes in the car try and figure out which way to go. As he says, he knows he's in trouble whe...

The four twelve hour days are long for all of us....and the four days off are great!

We have driven past this one restaurant, almost daily, since we arrived. It is a wooden building with a large porch and an inviting curb appeal. We stopped once- when we thought for certain they would be open. They were not. Our timing remains a little off kilter. There is an italian "typical kitchen" on the left side, an Indian restaurant on the right side, and a four-wheeler dirt track to the far left. What more could we ask for, really? (I have only seen the track open once, too.) The sign says "Cucina Tipica, Pizzeria." Sounds great, no? Finally, the chance arrived for me to see what this place was all about. I had gone with the world travellers to Nove- which is a town known for it's pottery (details later). My Man stayed home with the little people as they would have been completely crazed with boredom. I quickly remembered this place when we were in need of some dinner on the way home. It was about 9 p.m.- not too late to grab a bite, we hoped. We walked...

Kids come up with the funniest names....this is "Uncle Crunchy" as H has dubbed him. I call him Uncle Crusty and pretend like I just can't quite remember his new moniker. We went to Barcis, which is a short drive from home. I didn't take too many lake pics as we have been there before. Barcis is that lake that is REALLY blue, kind of in a bizarre way. There may be more photos on Aunt D's camera, which is currently with her on her travels. That could be part of my lack of posting excuse, no, really, it could. The weather has been a bit rainy lately. We packed our lunch and set out anyway. After a short walk around the lake, we sat down to have our picnic. The rain came down. We were under a pine tree and I was getting outright wet. My Man kept insisting that it would "let up." All the while, there was a perfectly good TENT- the kind that covers you, but is open on 4 sides...not too far away. I did realize that we had just sat down AND that it wouldn'...

Our landlord (Perryangelo- PA)has told us to make ourselves at home in their yard. The property is lush and vast. There are fruit trees and grapevines and lots of lawn on which to play. (Not to mention the dirty pond which I am told wouldn't make a good swimming hole for the children- no kidding!) There's a wooded section near the end of the property. It's like a little grove, and it has the sunbathing bench for My Man. A little while back, we headed across the street to see what adventures were waiting for us. PA enthusiastically greeted us and handed us a metal pail, a hook and a ladder and forced, I mean encouraged us to pick some cherries. The girls had a blast and the four-footed-ugly baby had a chance to run willy nilly, leash-free. It was a refreshing and relaxing afternoon, and we got home before the rain. I love this next picture as I think it captures the enthusiasm of the day, although it's a bit blurry. It can be hard to focus on such a whirlwind of fun. I t...