tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81852460123045968212024-02-19T09:23:10.908+01:00Under an Olive Tree...I sit when I get a spare moment!
I have lots of trees to choose from here in rural Italy, about 80 miles South East of Rome.Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-6005590359950510072011-12-16T06:20:00.003+01:002011-12-16T06:26:51.431+01:00What makes me cry...in 1158 words.Yesterday there were parent-teacher conferences at my son's Middle School. We had been up there for something similar just about five weeks ago, but this time they were showing us a "little" report card. What this means is that it's a pre-report card, an idea of how you're doing, as the real, mid-year report card, the grades which "count" are discussed at the end of January(I can't even say given out, because you take nothing home until end of June).<br />
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One teacher, the home-room teacher we could say, has the grades for all the subjects. You wait on a line outside a classroom door, inching up towards the front, waiting your turn. Once you enter, the home-room teacher gives you a little piece of paper with all the subjects listed and then reads off the grades, asking the student to write them down. This is a great improvement, and not all the teachers do this, but rather some people walk around writing down the grades on the edge of a newspaper or a store receipt. Yea for progress!<br />
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After at least 30 minutes of waiting on line I'm already beginning a slow boil as I ask whoever will listen to me...why can't they make appointments? "How would they do that?" my son, who is more accepting of the Italian ways, asks. "THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE, OF COURSE!" I say, which is a big joke because, of course, there is none. Organization and efficiency are not virtues here in Italy, so everyone sees hanging out at the school for two hours to talk to a teacher or two, for ten minutes total, as OK...or at least the way it's always been.<br />
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My son's homeroom teacher is the English teacher, so of course he does well in that subject, in fact a 9 out of 10. He finally has an English teacher who recognizes how well he is able to speak (he is madrelingua, after all!) because she herself speaks well and converses in English with him often. Previous English teachers hadn't a clue and would use the standard tactique of grading him medium well at mid-year and then higher at the end, to show he had progressed. Rubbish. He knew the colors and numbers in English in September and he knew them in June. <br />
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While he passed most of his classes at a Satisfactory level, he only squeaked-by in French. Dante was tutored twice a week for months in order to catch up with his class. The tutor helped him with all his homework and prepared him for the quizzes. They also did all the textbook Units that he missed from last year. But still...how would it look if he had a decent grade? Like the teacher's efforts last year with the class had little value. So what happened? She had to give him a low grade to show that, of course, he's struggling. Rubbish again. She even told him NOT to do a section on the one and only test this semester because she thought it would be too hard for him...and then gave him a barely passing grade (but higher still than his pre- report card grade). In fact, if you add up the scores he's gotten in French this year and average them, they are considerably higher than his pre-report card grade.<br />
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Dante's Math and Science teacher was out the first two months of the school year. The substitute did little to no work with the class. When she returned it was BAM, right into difficult problems from almost the back of the text! He's not a whiz in Math, but attended tutoring for that also. OK, I'll accept his grade, but Science is Dante's passion and even before the teacher lectures he can answer all the questions. When he had his "oral interrogation" on the skeleton, he got two bones in the forearm confused, but another 50 questions correct. Unfortunately, he got the same, barely-passing grade.<br />
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In fact ALL his grades were the same except for English and Behavior, which were 9 out of 10. Yes, I was told, the teachers give their grades while looking at what the other teachers give. Teachers even made comments that you can't be "Bravo" in only one subject if you weren't "Bravo" in the others (so they doubt their own independent assessments?). WHAT!! Of course you can be great in one subject and stink in another. What about Einstein? What about learning strengths and weaknesses?<br />
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In fact, the grades are totally subjective. There is nothing qualitative that a parent can be shown to support the grade that was given ("That is private information" a mother was told!). I'm sorry to say that I think the teachers give whatever grade they feel like giving. The parents who regularly bring cookies for the faculty room, or who come in to fix the school's antenna, or are the local bigwigs have children whose report cards show terrific grades even if they work little (there are many example of this for evidence). Since not everyone can have terrific grades, the rest of the kids muddle by with mediocre grades across the board which don't reflect or encourage their passions, interests or take into account any learning difficulties they may have. Foreigners--and this includes Dante even though his father was born in this town--must work harder even still.<br />
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Part of the problem with the school here is that my son is shy and in a classroom situation he isn't the first to aggressively answer questions. So much of what they grade the kids on is "oral interrogation". This is perhaps the first mismatch between my son's learning style and the teaching methodology here. What about having a variety of assessment methods for different learning styles? Unheard of!<br />
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I wanted to talk to his Math/ Science teacher, but after waiting in line for 45 minutes to see her, she told me that I had to wait until she had spoken to all the parents of her homeroom students first. I admit I lost my temper at this point and stormed out of there, sarcastically saying, "Grazie" after explaining we had been waiting so long, the other teacher had told us to come, etc. etc. I have a real fear now that she will "take revenge" for my reaction on my son's grades this year.<br />
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So, I continue to find the education here in this little village appalling and I'm back at the point I was 18 months ago when I asked what are our alternatives. Then I decided to do a year of home-schooling with an American curriculum, but for that we had to leave Italy.<br />
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I've been offered an English teaching position in the after-school program in my son's Middle School starting in January. Maybe I'll start my own undercover guerrilla warfare plan. Cookies in the faculty room, anyone? Just to get us through the end of Middle School, June 2013! Not that I think local High Schools are much better...<br />
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If anyone has any suggestions that don't include $30,000 a year International School in Rome, I'd love to hear them!! <br />
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And for anyone who's gotten this far...thanks for allowing me to vent.Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-63745067487795751622011-12-15T09:13:00.000+01:002011-12-15T09:13:50.534+01:00What makes me sing, in 400 words, exactly.Following a prompt I saw in several places in my early-morning web browsing, I decided to write my own list of what makes me happy, in exactly 400 words. I hope you enjoy it, and then take 30 minutes to write your own. <br />
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My first cup of hot tea, milk, no sugar, in the morning. Eaten with toast spread with peanut butter and home-made jam. <br />
Making home-made fig jam (and prune, and apricot, etc.) in spring and summer to enjoy in the winter.<br />
Walking my four dogs up the hill, then back down through the fields. <br />
Watching the new puppy find her place in the "pack of four".<br />
Going upstairs to my office and sitting down to do yoga, meditate and write. <br />
Being alone and being with others, in balance.<br />
Being in the countryside and being in Rome, in balance.<br />
Trying new recipes, finding one we all love and making it often.<br />
Doing word games and jigsaw puzzles.<br />
Discovering a new blog where the writing and content are both terrific.<br />
Online courses, tutorials, youtube and Kindle books. <br />
Amazon.uk.co and .it<br />
TED.org<br />
Book club with an international group of women and books I'd never have discovered on my own.<br />
Long, easy conversations in English. Speaking in Italian, and being understood! <br />
Traveling, with trusted house sitters. <br />
Finding some money squirreled away in a pocket that I had forgotten about. <br />
Being a mother, being married. Having hear-to-hearts with both. Eating nearly all our meals together.<br />
Discovering new music and ITunes music downloads.<br />
Radio over the internet.<br />
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<b>Winter:</b> The fireplace, knitting and a great movie. Hot soup. Cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, spinach and broccoletti, brussel sprouts. Reading a book while snuggled under three blankets. The reflections the Christmas tree lights make on the wall and ceiling when they are the only lights in the room. My son's presepio, with figures from Naples and painted cardboard boxes. Baking cookies...and licking the beaters. Then eating the warm cookies. With a cup of tea, milk, no sugar. <br />
<b>Spring:</b> The promise of planting seeds indoors while it's still cold outside. The pruned olive tree branches dancing in the wind. Bulbs blooming, and roses too.<br />
<b>Summer:</b> Digging in the warm earth to plant seeds, bulbs, seedlings, trees. Picking a vegetable or fruit from the garden and eating it within minutes. <br />
Shooting stars. Italian beaches...lounge chairs, umbrellas, snack bars and the Mediterranean Sea. Thinking: OK, in that direction is Greece, in that direction is Africa. Artisanal gelato. Home-grown tomato sandwich with mayo on white. Salads and BBQs.<br />
<b>Autumn:</b> Berries, wildflowers,and mushrooms. The smell of burning wood. New oil bruschetta. New wine.<br />
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Being retired so I can notice and appreciate this all more easily!Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-73034677817599428412011-05-23T08:54:00.001+02:002011-05-23T08:58:49.562+02:00Ghosts for Breakfast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjndzFakKX4ocirrvTON2nP6FZX5N0MR3p2thKto9_lOlCjfSTaWxTnnF0hc_I8675PzAPn7pDHSRmpL3lu0Es6e6IL-NchgMQfxZNNMrMS7VnwedLcjKtKCFln_s8w-XNW5ybEOxLWZPc/s1600/ghost+lab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjndzFakKX4ocirrvTON2nP6FZX5N0MR3p2thKto9_lOlCjfSTaWxTnnF0hc_I8675PzAPn7pDHSRmpL3lu0Es6e6IL-NchgMQfxZNNMrMS7VnwedLcjKtKCFln_s8w-XNW5ybEOxLWZPc/s400/ghost+lab.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>An intriguing thought full of possibilities, isn't it? I'm afraid the reality is more pedestrian. I realized that somehow my son is now watching <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/ghost-lab/">Ghost Lab</a> on the Discovery Channel here in rural Italy, with a panoramic view of the Apennines, while he eats his breakfast every day. Once he goes back into school in September, he won't because he'll be leaving the house earlier. But in these relaxed, sweet, homeschooling days, our mornings are more leisurely and that's his "must watch" show. He likes it because it takes a scientific look at paranormal activities. He's intrigued by the equipment they use. But he is suspect of the fact that they ALWAYS find something (an image, a voice, a story). But, as I explained to him, without that, there's no show! I'm surprised that in the USA it was on late at night (2 a.m. at one point). Partly because it didn't have enough viewers I suppose, to warrant a more prime-time slot; but honestly, it seems more aimed at the young- adult market than at adults with insomnia.Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-85797425745566028882011-05-21T16:40:00.007+02:002011-05-23T08:57:37.037+02:00More gardening...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBtdDQJv9jgzCMYIDx_ZNg7FG4lPfOQYih-FsaBwEmtFGlFw13CvLChA3Yq9hrpK8t24-6RiEYmN5CZaBh4Wh7TlEABaD3iMB-tfxUbZipKUr0y_Ni-griTSrTPfn29sgpJtp1eGBjws/s1600/DSCN2642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBtdDQJv9jgzCMYIDx_ZNg7FG4lPfOQYih-FsaBwEmtFGlFw13CvLChA3Yq9hrpK8t24-6RiEYmN5CZaBh4Wh7TlEABaD3iMB-tfxUbZipKUr0y_Ni-griTSrTPfn29sgpJtp1eGBjws/s320/DSCN2642.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Another picture, from last summer, since I can't seem to access any of my new ones.<br />
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This is an active time of year (thank goodness it will get too hot soon to do all this work outside!) and we've been busy.<br />
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We're preparing a new rose and lilac bed, and we've had to remove so many rocks that we were able to make a fence for it. We bought "dirt" to put in this bed (since once we removed the rocks there was little left) and it turns out to be composted manure. I'll need to mix it with regular dirt, so we need to spend more money and wait in order to finish this job. Eventually I'll plant seven rose bushes which will hang down over the retaining wall, and four lilacs in the back row, doing their thing in early spring and hopefully providing me with some early bouquets.<br />
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The vegetable garden is planted with close to 40 tomatoes (and Pio said he only wanted a handful this year!), lettuce, spinach, arugula, cucumbers, pumpkins, string beans, celery and...that's about it. We may tuck a few other things into the rose bed as after all this year they'll be some space (zucchini maybe?, melons?) Now if we can just keep the water flowing (sometimes my pump that's in the rainwater cisterns overheats) we'll be OK. Over at the other house we have some potatoes in and we'll use these mostly to make gnocchi ,which we'll freeze and eat throughout the year (did you know that Thursdays are gnocchi day over here? Yup, all the fresh pasta places have them on Thursdays).<br />
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We also planted 17 star jasmines, aka Confederate Jasmine (Gelsomino here) earlier this week which will climb up and cover a stone cliff we have in the back yard. We planted one every 10 feet, so they should join together and really be nice rather quickly. They're covered with fragrant little star-shaped flowers for months every year, stay green even in the winter, and don't require much water. Can't ask for more than that!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSheoD1FtN9PHyhWdujl2MYqHhqBQmHp1wGbBVs5ZQhZHe-NofK_jWjOx3Q3ajpv06XKsAW7oPUenBcbW0y2o3d2nxKuAH2FPJyR1B7HpBZXZWa5miAKCvaojLkONhMxJYaFK0FShcyI/s1600/Confederate_Jasmine%252C_Star_Jasmine_%2528Trachelospermum_jasminoides%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihSheoD1FtN9PHyhWdujl2MYqHhqBQmHp1wGbBVs5ZQhZHe-NofK_jWjOx3Q3ajpv06XKsAW7oPUenBcbW0y2o3d2nxKuAH2FPJyR1B7HpBZXZWa5miAKCvaojLkONhMxJYaFK0FShcyI/s400/Confederate_Jasmine%252C_Star_Jasmine_%2528Trachelospermum_jasminoides%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Up on that same retaining wall we have some fruit trees and planted a new lemon to replace one that died in the big freeze they had this past winter here (the orange and tangerines survived). Rather than two lemon trees (there had been two), we put in a pomegranate also. I love pomegranates!<br />
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Today we had three seminarians (student priests) from Rome over for lunch. They were coming to town for a Confirmation and a meeting with the local priest, all in the afternoon, so they came early and joined us for lunch. Pio knows them from when he drove them around to bless all the houses for Easter. It was a chance to show off the casareccia food we eat here... gnocchi, sauce, lamb, wine, salad, cookies, all homemade (not all in my home however!). It was delcious, I must say. The sheep came through to mow the lawn while they were here, and one (priest, not sheep) had a great time playing ping pong on xbox live kinnect with Dante. They're really young (21, 22, 28), two from the USA and one from Mexico. Nice fellows.<br />
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</div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-84403657469317462542011-05-20T09:05:00.000+02:002011-05-20T09:05:30.954+02:00Gardening in my Italian yard...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik30o7Hr2z_DeH0vCRdvBZZ2_KRdEsqPT9Z_74vsM-L7ufcvelHSpngUTtK0R-aaFYqOuvvSH6QHghKRCUL09Gsd4LDQoZSic3wCfH0MRoSSSjLwWvjbryUJBxSkuclbGE-itvikOyxUA/s1600/DSCN2651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik30o7Hr2z_DeH0vCRdvBZZ2_KRdEsqPT9Z_74vsM-L7ufcvelHSpngUTtK0R-aaFYqOuvvSH6QHghKRCUL09Gsd4LDQoZSic3wCfH0MRoSSSjLwWvjbryUJBxSkuclbGE-itvikOyxUA/s200/DSCN2651.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSokfv4oKVnVPAum-oFZneKzwihGvjZbKqAsAtuTIqh2vT9MCpPAtAZVOPHAESWAj69mVBeNnWaqcUQyTleXLEVar-sHEkGXkncINqMvHdrLEkUyz4cmRFUJ7Tsz_SVBQpqC0BA1IqBk/s1600/DSCN2649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSokfv4oKVnVPAum-oFZneKzwihGvjZbKqAsAtuTIqh2vT9MCpPAtAZVOPHAESWAj69mVBeNnWaqcUQyTleXLEVar-sHEkGXkncINqMvHdrLEkUyz4cmRFUJ7Tsz_SVBQpqC0BA1IqBk/s200/DSCN2649.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My absolute favorite flowers in my garden here in Italy (and I do grow quite a few!) are these three beauties, taken last summer. I love the blue of traditional morning glories, the boldness of the sunflowers (I grow tall and short, yellow and burgundy, multi-flowered and one huge flower above a giant stem...I love 'em all) and roses. Roses do particularly well here in Italy, they must like the soil or something. This year I have black spot on some of them--I guess it's been wetter than usual, but the flowers are beautiful just the same. If I had my camera/ computer connection working, I'd show you the bouquet I picked yesterday...red, pink and white roses! Such an elegant sight, really, the combination works so well. My other fav, not pictured here (now where is last year's picture?) are portulacas. I love portulacas! They grow with almost no water (they are succulents after all) and have the prettiest little miniature rose-like flowers in the most beautiful colors...if I can get my camera/computer connection working, I'll definitely make a post! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtpch2NEKQm6xtbDR0HH-Q9tsLl4iubrdZexg91BRRG3C5i9eJTjX2VydfybbfnINvkizmu9SIVt0wmnYX4jGgDHrvaMvgU1w_KNAsAv8mDblMlTM585a5NptfzLO66DvomF8qWHziMc/s1600/IMG_1860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtpch2NEKQm6xtbDR0HH-Q9tsLl4iubrdZexg91BRRG3C5i9eJTjX2VydfybbfnINvkizmu9SIVt0wmnYX4jGgDHrvaMvgU1w_KNAsAv8mDblMlTM585a5NptfzLO66DvomF8qWHziMc/s200/IMG_1860.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-23850259886720818492011-05-04T08:35:00.000+02:002011-05-04T08:35:10.159+02:00Excuses and a little something new...I've been major-ly frustrated these last couple of weeks as I can't get my photos onto the computer.... on my old e-machine it says there's not enough memory left (it IS almost 10 years old so surely I can delete some things?) and my laptop doesn't even recognize that I'm trying to transfer photos into Picasso. Dante's laptop is in for repairs (I FINALLY found his original disks, but we couldn't re-install them, so we called in an expert). I need to devote some time to this soon. I hate to post without a picture!<br />
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However, in the meantime, I've tagged all my previous posts and put the LABELS up top. Now, it's easy to find all my posts about one particular topic without scrolling through pages and pages. Minor thing and I'm not that happy that I wrote some of them with a capital letter and some of them lower case (anyone know if there's an easy way to changes tags without going to each post?), but it's a start. Want to re-commit to writing here (now, we've heard that about 10 times before!) but I need to get this picture thing straightened out. In the meantime, the garden is growing (I've got some pics!) and I'm still planting, and digging, and homeschooling too (10 more weeks worth of lessons--which we hope to finish in about 6 or 7 weeks with extra hard work, six days a week!). ...Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-87272308319694483302011-03-14T06:37:00.002+01:002011-05-04T08:18:35.746+02:00Flowers and showers...I was all set to do a post, with pictures, of all the signs of spring's approach I've seen--the apricot and peach trees in bloom, the grape hyacinths popping up on the hills, even the wild asparagus that we've collected for our frittata. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the spanish lavender which is an early bloomer too..but alas, the March rains have returned and it promises to be wet all week (at least it's not snow!). If the sun peaks out later I'll take some pics, my camera is at the ready. Have a good "last week of winter" everyone!Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-50233729492654567202011-02-24T15:32:00.003+01:002011-05-04T08:37:47.549+02:00My four-month blogging hiatus!OK, I am a slacker, but the last four months plus have been an adventure.<br />
First, when we left Charleston we decided to drive up to NY. We wanted to change our airline tickets with US Airways, but the change fee cost more than the tickets had (!) so we took less money and rented a car one way. We didn't have to worry about luggage this way, and it gave us the ability to stop in Washington DC for a couple of nights and visits the museums and monuments.<br />
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Pio was feeling out of breath most of the time as we walked around and I was glad we had called ahead and made an appointment with the cardiologist he had when we lived in NY We were thinking he'd schedule him for a stress test. Wrong!<br />
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The cardiologist said that with Pio's symptoms (they were predictable, repeatable, etc.) he needed to go straight in for the cardiac cath. OK, then we started thinking that Pio might need a stent because he was often out of breath with little exertion--and it no longer seemed obvious that it was his asthma acting up.<br />
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Long story short--the catheterization showed four blockages--including one in the main descending artery (the "widow maker"--60% blocked) and he was scheduled for a bypass operation the following day, November 18. I must say the surgeon made it all sound easy and routine (for him!) and predicted that within one month he'd be able to fly home.<br />
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Well, Pio was an exception to the rule and has had a rough recovery. He spent 3.5 weeks post-op in intensive care because of respiratory distress brought on by a "strong inflammatory response". As they weaned him quickly off the steroids his lungs filled up with nearly two quarts of fluid--which required another 5-day intensive care hospitalization, leading us right up to Christmas Eve.<br />
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In mid-January he started cardiac rehabilitation while we lived with my sister in Pennsylvania. He has felt better quickly, building up stamina and muscle tone after having lost 40 pounds while in the hospital! He's put back on about 7 of those pounds and he is actually at his ideal weight now. (Let me say that some of what he lost, I managed to find.)<br />
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In any case, we're thrilled that we've finally been given the go ahead to go home to Italy. Pio is still on steroids, though at slowly-reducing levels, he needs his lungs x-rayed every two weeks to see if the fluid is returning, and he needs about six more weeks of rehab. We're confident we can get this all arranged in Italy.<br />
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Our six months in the States have been trying, scary and exhausting (4 weeks+ in intensive care, homeschool teaching) but also fun (Charleston, Washing DC, staying with family). It's been great to see family and be able to say, "We'll see you tomorrow"...or "in two weeks"...or "at the birthday party". It's been great to NOT have Dante in school six days a week, but rather make our own flexible schedule (getting him to write all the curriculum-required essays in English, however, is another story!!). <br />
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Living in Italy we are isolated from sisters and brothers and my father and cousins,nieces, nephews, kids and grandchildren. Being local to them all once again has been great. It's also been fun to catch up with friends over a cup of tea or a glass of wine...or even on the phone where the time-zone change is more easily managed if it exists at all. Here in America it's standard operating procedure to go out with girlfriends...but I've not been able to duplicate that in Italy and I miss it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvGkI7qJF8XEv2P87okyZByQNiGdozh_8KLm2SUhKZLbkiQVtSc64xTu7POGxY6J8bTCN-kDCrx7jCtJP6GS9U-j18Kg9ak-QYROiJJH5eMh6WlCM-y5w_MQyOQtzPbjGPzwYSX9WkbY/s1600/embroidery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvGkI7qJF8XEv2P87okyZByQNiGdozh_8KLm2SUhKZLbkiQVtSc64xTu7POGxY6J8bTCN-kDCrx7jCtJP6GS9U-j18Kg9ak-QYROiJJH5eMh6WlCM-y5w_MQyOQtzPbjGPzwYSX9WkbY/s200/embroidery.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The horrible snowy weather has had a silver lining. Without guilt, I've sat down and watched netflix galore, while embroidering pillowcases as a gift for my friend who's been holding down the fort in Italy for us. I'm also enjoying easily buying all kinds of stuff (a new little Kindle, consignment shop clothing, for example) that are so easy to do here, but a full-days' adventure if done in Italy (and usually more costly too).<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And our poor Blackie--how she's suffered in our absence!! Seriously, we'll be glad to get back to the Italian relatives, friends, garden and our pets! There's no place like home!</div><div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgjXYpO5Y-hd8P205Bu0ak6fh7n1eQSfMvaYnUBnJa06xd95j78AlJRoWzkX08yizNdDWELX6vfYPFdOIAcQmBOypuJwyxm3HdB13hkbtn43iYE5VISIjWLgzoveN-ROHI9cgf1Bbsa0/s1600/blackie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgjXYpO5Y-hd8P205Bu0ak6fh7n1eQSfMvaYnUBnJa06xd95j78AlJRoWzkX08yizNdDWELX6vfYPFdOIAcQmBOypuJwyxm3HdB13hkbtn43iYE5VISIjWLgzoveN-ROHI9cgf1Bbsa0/s400/blackie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgjXYpO5Y-hd8P205Bu0ak6fh7n1eQSfMvaYnUBnJa06xd95j78AlJRoWzkX08yizNdDWELX6vfYPFdOIAcQmBOypuJwyxm3HdB13hkbtn43iYE5VISIjWLgzoveN-ROHI9cgf1Bbsa0/s1600/blackie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>This picture was taken last month by our house sitters :).</div><br />
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How goes the homeschooling you ask...and will it continue once we return to Italy? Stay tuned for another post--soon!Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-82549645114751145132010-10-27T00:55:00.003+02:002011-05-04T08:19:35.751+02:00Charleston Cooks!...and now I can too!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBWDYxEgWaRCWztnJ7haLRdYaoNbGQ9SYsNooMKCEcMF9nG7orC7RmSCrr2MI7snKOBf6Gb7frbXry7jHO79EWBRf1VLniy0-AYD015CchhFT0I-BL-HdT6a3zcAXyEZznOHNnrN0R0o/s1600/kitchen-stadium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBWDYxEgWaRCWztnJ7haLRdYaoNbGQ9SYsNooMKCEcMF9nG7orC7RmSCrr2MI7snKOBf6Gb7frbXry7jHO79EWBRf1VLniy0-AYD015CchhFT0I-BL-HdT6a3zcAXyEZznOHNnrN0R0o/s320/kitchen-stadium.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Last week I took my first ever cooking class at <a href="http://www.mavericksouthernkitchens.com/cooks/">Charleston Cooks!</a> , a demo lesson: "Taste of the Lowcountry" . As I've learned, the "lowcountry" is the area of the USA coast between just south of Myrtle Beach all the way down to Savannah, Georgia. It's about 4 hours long by car and is characterized by the melding of cultures (Indian, African, Spanish and French) and what was available locally--corn for grits, rice from the plantations and shrimp and other seafood found in the marshy waters between the mainland and the barrier beaches. <br />
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The class I attended taught us how to make a chocolate version of the southern favorite, Chess Pie ( the name perhaps comes from a woman, responding to a compliment, saying, oh, this is "jus' pie" which in the local accent, sounds like Chess pie), a butternut squash pirlau (risotto dish with Carolina Gold rice), and "blackened" catfish fillets, which are really all in the somewhat spicy seasoning used to coat the fish before frying. It was great fun! The kitchen set up was great, with overhead cameras showing us what was happening on the stove and at the end, we each had a small plate of the food, a mini Chess Pie and a glass of wine.<br />
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It was interesting to get some general cooking tips The first one was how to make piecrust (not necessary to cut-in all those pea-shaped pieces of butter until of equal, small size--it's actually betterr if they're not all tiny!) and how to ensure it's flaky, flaky, flaky (make a rectangle, cut it into thirds and stack them up...press down into another rectangle and repeat several times until the butter gets too sticky to continue...this ensures lots of layers!).<br />
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Pumpkins and squashes have intimidated me in the kitchen, starting from how hard they are to peel. Tip number two taught me to no longer be scared! Quarter them, oil, and bake the pieces in the oven until soft. Scoop the pulp out and pass it through a rice or food mill. In the class we added it to the risotto right before it was finished and mixed it in. Wow, was that good (I LOVE winter squash and all those A vitamins!).<br />
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The blackened catfish couldn't be easier...fry in a good quantity of canola oil (no, not just 1 Tablespoon!) after they have been thoroughly coated with the cajun spices. Good and simple!<br />
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The $25 fee was fair as it included a small meal...but of course, I did spend a wee bit in the store afterwards, which is probably the hope of the teacher! I think I might go to another before I leave, it was that much fun...maybe a participation class next time and/or an author's class (Pam Anderson will be there in a couple of weeks).Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-67513864711793898522010-10-15T12:24:00.002+02:002011-05-04T07:16:53.810+02:00Apple Store...we love you!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTh8DSROjwsUirI09aHB8owos3of9IUi27E5kiTgvsTI80OLc5oisGFd8NnayvUde0wAa1KyzXY8_V35tW1JEpGNNdZeHij3UPyYnPO0GozvE0-c204_zBMrwzwPo9XgIx3zXmdIg92rQ/s1600/iMac+computer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTh8DSROjwsUirI09aHB8owos3of9IUi27E5kiTgvsTI80OLc5oisGFd8NnayvUde0wAa1KyzXY8_V35tW1JEpGNNdZeHij3UPyYnPO0GozvE0-c204_zBMrwzwPo9XgIx3zXmdIg92rQ/s320/iMac+computer.png" width="320" /></a></div>We joined up with a local home schoolers' group and one of the moms organized a class for our students at the downtown Charleston Apple Store (I think her husband is the manager). Now the Apple Store is our most-frequented destination when we go into the city and improving his techie knowledge is one of my goals for our time in the USA, so he was immediately signed up.<br />
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They quickly taught the kids to use iMovie and each group of three (he was partnered up with 11-year-old boy-girl twins) was to make a crazy commercial for a household item on the table. They had a pair of wooden tongs which the boy twin quickly decided would make a great "puller of sister's hair". They collaborated and made a cute commercial with lots of bells and whistle effects. We hope to get a hard copy in the mail soon. <br />
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iMovie is really a great program...and now, of course, we all want an Apple iMac 21.5 inch desktop computer (it's so cool...no tower, wireless keyboard and mouse tablet, what graphics).! I was eyeballing it to see if the monitor could fit in our carry on....then we could just nonchalantly walk through customs in Rome...right? Guess those free workshops are accomplishing what they set out to do...sell more Apples! And I bet they're soooo expensive in Italy! No fair!!Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-54392691887749320222010-09-27T12:35:00.001+02:002011-05-04T07:17:30.553+02:00We went yard-sale-ing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgHCMoiXqekWbxXaqx4eZrdxfq_cw_54He8XQV4S98G9NC-qqYitoLKgsGGaOi_p3GI9lcw6qE8PalBH4_nvP6MWhmeFYMpCzqgd11Y3CQy_c_r1yC2IK6KjNuekRTOcRa3RL541Cvgs/s1600/yardsale2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgHCMoiXqekWbxXaqx4eZrdxfq_cw_54He8XQV4S98G9NC-qqYitoLKgsGGaOi_p3GI9lcw6qE8PalBH4_nvP6MWhmeFYMpCzqgd11Y3CQy_c_r1yC2IK6KjNuekRTOcRa3RL541Cvgs/s320/yardsale2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>One of the joys of Saturday mornings in America--if you're in the mood-- are the ubiquitous yard sales (where one man's junk is another man's treasure), and this weekend we decided to venture forth. Of course, we can't really buy much with the strict weight restrictions on suitcases these days, but we thought perhaps there would be a few small things at prices to match.<br />
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The neighborhood where we are living had they bi-annual yard sale starting at 7 a.m and nearby Daniel Island had theirs on Saturday too. Pio got a set of golf clubs for his golf buddy in Italy and two golf bags--one beautiful leather, and one hard for airline travel--for himself. One of the clubs was identical to one he had bought for himself several years ago for $120...and he paid $20 for all. Because golf clubs are very expensive in Italy, even with the shipping costs his friend will be way ahead. <br />
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I got a nice light green leather 9West bag for myself ($1), a green bottle vase for a friend (25 cents) and an embroidered duvet cover for my king size bed that had just been dry cleaned (for more than the $5 I paid). Dante was out looking for some video games or consoles, but only found a free Rubric's cube (to drive us all crazy) and some more shorts--it's been quite hot and I only brought two pair with us. <br />
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Yard sales, at least in my area of Italy, are unknown. Maybe because:<br />
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A. they are illegal (because sales taxes can't be collected),<br />
B .they are unpopular (because Italians don't like the idea of buying "used items" from strangers)...or<br />
C. Italians just do not have a lot of extra stuff laying around they need to get rid of.<br />
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I suspect it's "all of the above"! Though there are some markets where used things are sold, I've never seen things placed out in front of a person's home (well, maybe eggs or honey or a used car for sale, but that's different).<br />
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Anyway, this was the way we spent our recent Saturday morning, American-style.Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-30289191016511834852010-09-24T13:07:00.004+02:002011-05-04T07:12:13.178+02:00Charleston, first impressions...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcU703RwMSMQyNpHL6gzVDxErfA_xGeXMIANo-rpHdKemv3Np1TQkxXmI7BB7TxXeBGfp9wGN5JKMqGXo7xY2xfjP8G14vbQjoyeQh-XrqmyAXtXgE9mTEcRHVkNjnWs2p8sBKxXF7d74/s1600/IMG_1945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcU703RwMSMQyNpHL6gzVDxErfA_xGeXMIANo-rpHdKemv3Np1TQkxXmI7BB7TxXeBGfp9wGN5JKMqGXo7xY2xfjP8G14vbQjoyeQh-XrqmyAXtXgE9mTEcRHVkNjnWs2p8sBKxXF7d74/s320/IMG_1945.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Well, less than a month ago we were eating bangers and mash--now it's grits (shown here with eggs and bacon for breakfast), washed down with sweet tea!<br />
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We've been in Charleston for about 10 days now, adjusting to life in the deep south and homeschooling.<br />
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So far we've seen dophins in the harbor, walked around downtown, ate some good meals (<a href="http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=346">Jestine's Kitchen</a> and <a href="http://www.poestavern.com/gallery.cfm">Poe's Tavern</a> are tied for first place in our book), spent a day at a <a href="http://www.middletonplace.org/">plantation</a> (where the guide-tour-in-training was a retired Bellport High School principal!) and briefly visited a few hot, but beautiful beaches. Pio loves the golfing but has pulled a muscle so is out of commision for the time being. Dante loves the Apple store, a generic version of which can be found is most cities (he dreams about owning an i-touch) and all the fried food. As for me, I'm a sucker for the Spanish Moss which drapes from many of the trees and the different shore birds found here in the marshy low country we are surrounded by.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5OnuWEugKGxCVpPd1xeQNrCSE7BF3cSfzWk2JPUwlh3UH4u0g6qNFRcLNnCxYcncuuM14NWHUym0LGxUV5G6YSSNRlYgEyEiA6YUslfGJYpgTnV_VPWqndlOD9z6c9lysjZQDZl2-UZY/s1600/IMG_1963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5OnuWEugKGxCVpPd1xeQNrCSE7BF3cSfzWk2JPUwlh3UH4u0g6qNFRcLNnCxYcncuuM14NWHUym0LGxUV5G6YSSNRlYgEyEiA6YUslfGJYpgTnV_VPWqndlOD9z6c9lysjZQDZl2-UZY/s320/IMG_1963.JPG" width="320" /></a>.Homeschooling is our other big adventure. I think it's going well, but still it's hard not to have some self-doubts about the decision, especially if we are looking to re-enroll him in Italian schools in September 2011. So far, I'm happy with our curriculum, and our supervising teacher (to whom we must send all work every two weeks for grading). We'll get a report card and transcript as he's technically enrolled in long-distance learning program at a private school in Vermont. Dante is cooperating nicely.<br />
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It's just a little difficult to find "ME" time as we do school most mornings and find the afternoons too hot to do anything outside. The neighborhood kids Dante has befriended don't get home from school until 4 pm so there a boredom gap for Dante. He's spending his time using Skype to contact his friends in Italy and find out what's new there. He wishes he had his xbox 360 here to help fill some time in the afternoons. He is enrolled in a Monday evening cartooning class and next week we meet other homeschooled kids at a roller skating party.<br />
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This coming week brings the <a href="http://www.mojafestival.com/home/">MOJA arts festival </a> and we've got tickets to two events that are billed as "fun for the entire family" Tonight there's the kick-off Caribbean Street Parade and Reggae block party downtown, and we'll go for a while, then find a bite to eat. Saturday there's a neighborhood yard sale (haven't been to one of them in a long while!), then the farmer's market in Charleston which I'd like to check out and maybe a wine tour/tasting in the afternoon (yes, Charleston has <a href="http://www.charlestonwine.com/">a winery</a>). Maybe Pio will feel a little less homesick?Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-21198084449559469852010-09-05T14:58:00.001+02:002011-05-04T07:14:44.120+02:00Liverpool was Fab, Mates!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErXUxP3QbKQ_mNgrCp-3jYg2o3Sm_qgMbuqvKcd6_9Jts2x4wo29nr3_ovhzpC2aicgnM3lyLjPmSlDPLM3cakd1pKu9frlwrlRxHVxb-yzqOQf99sEthcO3A74QKiYik2rdH6ddlqrs/s1600/DSCN2775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErXUxP3QbKQ_mNgrCp-3jYg2o3Sm_qgMbuqvKcd6_9Jts2x4wo29nr3_ovhzpC2aicgnM3lyLjPmSlDPLM3cakd1pKu9frlwrlRxHVxb-yzqOQf99sEthcO3A74QKiYik2rdH6ddlqrs/s320/DSCN2775.JPG" /></a></div>We're back from Liverpool and had a wonderful time. Dante especially loved the bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) and peas, mushy or otherwise, were the only other vegetable, aside from potatoes, we found in the restaurants. Pio loved the draft beer, which, when they added the malt at the end, left sudsy bubbles spilling over the rim of the glass. The Scousers were more than friendly and, with eyes closed, every male sounded like you were talking to Paul, John, Ringo or George! <br />
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We originally chose Liverpool to visit Dante's homework tutor who is now aupair-ing there and had the week off to show us around (thanks F!) The Bootleg Beatles and the Matthew Street Festival were a lot of fun and Wicked (which we saw on a day-trip by train to London) was outstanding. Pio can't stop talking about the <a href="http://www.formbyhallgolfresort.co.uk/golf/courses-and-driving-range/pga-9-hole-golf/">golf course</a> he had the chance to play twice, thanks to a very nice neighbor. Our home-exchangers loved our dogs and took excellent care of them, which allowed us to really enjoy ourselves. Oh, and we really couldn't get the hang of driving on the "wrong side" (and stick shift too!) so we went everywhere by train, bus or taxi and that was fine too. Cheers Looove!Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-54976593522543922242010-08-24T08:07:00.001+02:002011-05-04T07:15:58.111+02:00Liverpool--here we come!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1s_AiJezcwSmZdNLtGUgc8OnPHH2KY3ymsRXX21-3ePmXD8z6LKhxzdJ_e2t6gKQQYlmz2kajr2KsD9zNJrNnQh8oFKhLjmYgBH-mpk5eLGtPeukZEhGx_E6m36LrzMJk-4PpSUtzSDA/s1600/Liverpool+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1s_AiJezcwSmZdNLtGUgc8OnPHH2KY3ymsRXX21-3ePmXD8z6LKhxzdJ_e2t6gKQQYlmz2kajr2KsD9zNJrNnQh8oFKhLjmYgBH-mpk5eLGtPeukZEhGx_E6m36LrzMJk-4PpSUtzSDA/s320/Liverpool+map.jpg" /></a></div>Our home-exchangers from Liverpool arrived yesterday to settle into our house, meet the dogs and spend a little time with us over some good food and wine. This morning they caught the 7:20 train to Naples and then will head onto one night in lovely, lemony Sorrento, with perhaps a few hours in Positano. They'll return tomorrow night. On Thursday morning...early!... we head to Ciampino, Rome's "low-cost airline" airport to fly to their home in Liverpool. <br />
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The weather in Liverpool appears to have been wet and cool lately, but we have our fingers crossed for some sunny days ahead. On Saturday night we'll see the <a href="http://www.bootlegbeatles.com/">"Bootleg Beatles"</a> in the Liverpool Philharmonic, and on Sunday/Monday there's the <a href="http://www.mathewstreetfestival.org/">Mathew Street Festival</a>. On Wednesday September 1st we'll head to London (which is a 3hour trip each way) in order to see <a href="http://www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/">"Wicked"</a> which everyone says is phenomenal. In between, Pio hopes to at least see a few golf courses (Liverpool is on England's "<a href="http://www.englandsgolfcoast.com/site/courses">Golf Coast"</a>) but he's afraid his game isn't good enough for the challenging courses he's seen on the internet. It's been recommended we also see the Lakes District and perhaps even northern Wales which isn't that far away. Of course, we first have to feel comfortable driving on the LEFT side of the road!! Perhaps we'll stick to the trains?Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-56861619557444409532010-08-22T09:48:00.002+02:002011-05-04T07:18:04.696+02:00Our upcoming Homeschool Adventure! Why...and How?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEw-P1XX8BC_IqQRy3ClQPb90spFAagWRIiNCEZc17zCo1WKGxNPjlRdCuRb4VLsLAdTtBtx66MDKb1IejmTEHdqLq0e7o6gDq6Ypc8jdPFnU8-jgjvoHgLSfTD80OpbCM0VTmBLEpIig/s1600/homeschool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEw-P1XX8BC_IqQRy3ClQPb90spFAagWRIiNCEZc17zCo1WKGxNPjlRdCuRb4VLsLAdTtBtx66MDKb1IejmTEHdqLq0e7o6gDq6Ypc8jdPFnU8-jgjvoHgLSfTD80OpbCM0VTmBLEpIig/s200/homeschool.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
This September we'll start home schooling Dante (and home exchanging while we're at it--since we're both retired, why not?). Despite the fact that I've got several teaching certifications from New York State and taught for years there, it's a somewhat scary leap into the unknown.<br />
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The decision to home school took a while to evolve. It wasn't a decision we took lightly. There's little support out here in the Italian countryside where "scuola familiare" is almost unheard of (though legal--read <a href="http://homeschoolinitaly.blogspot.com/">http://homeschoolinitaly.blogspot.com</a> for a British woman's experiences). As we began to mention it here and there people shook their heads, didn't understand, encouraged us to look at other options--like other local public and private schools. To tell the truth, when we looked, they didn't look all that different from our village school, from which we desperately needed a change. <br />
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What I was looking for was something more creative, innovative, flexible--all things which don't come easily in public schools anywhere. Also, five days a week (instead of the six we've been living with) and homework that makes sense and doesn't last all night would be nice. Unfortunately, the most promising local school was no longer accepting Middle School students and the international schools in Rome cost a fortune for tuition and on top of that we'd need a small apartment since Rome is just too far for a daily school run.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTqiEo9GpO_EXS3cXNx1SQXSd0n3bF0r-PeIj1TzVnd-Mz7g197bdAdKzYk5keJAGF6RSVL9QC94lXsrlc0folXgkrCQBjoBRf7OKXYWr6q5wha3f06JnoPz5ykWiWLgw6X9XRfrnVX4/s1600/confusing+road+signs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTqiEo9GpO_EXS3cXNx1SQXSd0n3bF0r-PeIj1TzVnd-Mz7g197bdAdKzYk5keJAGF6RSVL9QC94lXsrlc0folXgkrCQBjoBRf7OKXYWr6q5wha3f06JnoPz5ykWiWLgw6X9XRfrnVX4/s320/confusing+road+signs.jpg" /></a></div>Slowly the idea of homeschooling came into focus. It would be much cheaper than an international school, and as creative and flexible as designed. So I started researching.<br />
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There is an overabundance of information and initially it was confusing. The spectrum runs from unschooling to school-in-a-box, buy your own prepackaged materials or piece it together here and there, spend a lot, buy on ebay, or join a charter school which will give you the online curriculum for free, but attach strings--like restricting traveling. <br />
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There's <a href="http://homeschool.calvertschool.org/">secular</a> and <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/">Christian</a> curricula--and even a <a href="http://www.goddessmooncirclesacademy.org/index.html">site for pagan homeschooling families</a>. On <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Top-Homeschool-Books-List/lm/R355WBKRIOEO98/ref=cm_lmt_DYNA_f_1_russss0?pf_rd_p=496997231&pf_rd_s=listmania-center&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0609805851&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1KKHFVGHJYNWE9CH87R3">Amazon</a> you can find lots of homeschooling books and there are State-wide association which offer support and field trips for home schoolers <a href="http://www.carolinahomeschooler.com/index.htm">(such as this support group in South Carolina </a> which we'll be using when we home-exchange there for three months this fall), <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2010/08/five-different-approaches-to-homeschooling/">blogs</a> and <a href="http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp">homeschool laws</a> which differ from state to state (but what if you're not a resident of any state?). For a while my head spun round and round!<br />
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After researching for several months, we decided to take the plunge and enroll in <a href="http://www.oakmeadow.com/">Oak Meadow</a>, a long-distance private homeschool --with teacher support, grading and transcript (in case we decide to return to Italian public school next year ) and creative options when it comes to assignments. By mixing 6th and 7th grade materials and adding in some library books, I can almost match what he would have been studying here in Italy. I'll supplement also with piano lessons, Spanish and keyboarding--and find a native Italian to tutor him once a week to keep him up with his Italian literature and grammar. For socialization (the first thing that most people ask about) we've joined two homeschool groups near where we'll be exchanging and Dante has a wealth of options--to start he'll be taking art and music classes with other kids. <br />
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If it works out I'd love to continue homeschooling at least through Middle School, mixing his education and family travel through <a href="http://www.homeexchange.com/">home exchange</a>.... OK, one step at a time! Right now we're very excited and looking forward to beginning our grand adventure!!Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-11703529776978680802010-08-04T09:33:00.003+02:002011-05-04T07:18:37.048+02:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbBGoTFR4SjnmqwGkII1tb8cvk17e07O_UWI0aySMMGB3CKojLWu9l3nlMyrUkjy5mxIQ6azu6EPbtxcZtimLtj8cQoNGOjQNqGAO8MHk808iliEApF6Ou7fEdkB-qdff7wE-E7FDyv4/s1600/IMG_1889.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501455290294008018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbBGoTFR4SjnmqwGkII1tb8cvk17e07O_UWI0aySMMGB3CKojLWu9l3nlMyrUkjy5mxIQ6azu6EPbtxcZtimLtj8cQoNGOjQNqGAO8MHk808iliEApF6Ou7fEdkB-qdff7wE-E7FDyv4/s320/IMG_1889.JPG" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<div>You know you're an Italian woman from the countryside when you explain your less-than-spotless house and clothing by saying, "We did the tomatoes today!". And so that was yesterday's excuse for my home's "lived-in" look (breakfast dishes still around come lunchtime) and the very casual, red-splotched old shirt and shorts I was wearing. </div><div></div><div>We only did 27 jars (instead of our usual 100+) first, because we won't be here all of next year (they'll be another post on that), secondly because we used only our organic, home-grown tomatoes (usually we buy a couple of bushels--but the flavor and quality doesn't compare) and thirdly because doing 100+ jars all at once means it's A LOT of work for several people (washing, rewashing, cutting, putting some through the food mill, filling the jars, sealing them, boiling them--etc.). Every year we'd loose about 15% because they didn't seal properly. Probably because the huge container in which we boil them was overfull. 27 jars was almost ... easy! And a great excuse, even if it only explains one day's dust.</div><div></div><div>P.S. If you look very closely to the left of the tomato jars you can see a little "Buddha's hand" lemon tree. They are still green, but are the STRANGEST looking fruit I've ever seen! They look like five small, skinny lemons growing in a bunch, like bananas. Can't wait to see how they taste this winter!</div><div></div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-89376548969483665822010-06-02T09:40:00.009+02:002011-05-04T07:19:00.445+02:00Early June flower pictures...<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66rXDu15VkDjv1gO_u89lVrzhTNmVsSopg48oBeZEE4Upzy3TwJkkcxRt28TFr_mFM-idq3zqcWCOPJVzN0-M_JZkPVnhugOqK95x_yWtyej_7twIyAH3Hn5aH3aX_FEdxPN6l91Snaw/s1600/IMG_1851.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478079450398309554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66rXDu15VkDjv1gO_u89lVrzhTNmVsSopg48oBeZEE4Upzy3TwJkkcxRt28TFr_mFM-idq3zqcWCOPJVzN0-M_JZkPVnhugOqK95x_yWtyej_7twIyAH3Hn5aH3aX_FEdxPN6l91Snaw/s200/IMG_1851.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 150px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBA9jJHloeKpGP-NJZ1SS9YRlw85Bb9BehdvgEpJaxrbi-IOFeBnNve5eBsmZuU24BfXzEbWQpUHUOJ-r2bzPuAogBKvST17jfkLEu_dGN3pHnKpyjOBlBUpa5V_jhEtYBBH4ySg9joKs/s1600/IMG_1855.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478078638968981170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBA9jJHloeKpGP-NJZ1SS9YRlw85Bb9BehdvgEpJaxrbi-IOFeBnNve5eBsmZuU24BfXzEbWQpUHUOJ-r2bzPuAogBKvST17jfkLEu_dGN3pHnKpyjOBlBUpa5V_jhEtYBBH4ySg9joKs/s320/IMG_1855.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
I've seen some beautiful cactus blooms this spring, have a new geranium with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">burgundy</span>/green leaves and tiny orange flowers (what was mother nature thinking?) and my favorite blue of all time--the morning glory --is beginning to circle the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">orto</span> fence.<br />
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</div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-83868968799270670382010-02-05T18:07:00.006+01:002010-02-05T18:31:04.252+01:00Been back a while...We returned from our three-week New York holiday almost a month ago! My how time flies. I've been thinking lately about what it is exactly we miss about <strong><em>there</em></strong> when we are <strong><em>here.</em></strong> Aside from the obvious "family and friends" (which we'd <strong><em>really</em></strong> like to see more of!) I miss familiarity, a vague word that covers a lot but really does sum it up succintly! More specifically, I miss: big, free libraries with books, audiobooks, music CDs, computers, newspapers, magazines, a children's section, movies, etc. etc; flagels, especially those that have sesame or poppy seeds on BOTH sides of the flattened bagel; diners, which often have kitschy themes (try little octopus lamps hanging over the booths and electronicly projected fish tanks on the walls!); listening to NPR radio while I'm commuting to work; knitting classes, teachers and space with HELP! when I get stuck; anything and everything in English :); yoga class and gyms that open at 6 am; BIG cups of 7-11 tea (which I can brew as long as I like and add as much milk as I want); stores with reasonable return policies (here it's a rarity). OK, in Italy the weather, scenery and food is better than what I got in New York, so I guess that's why, for now, we're still here (oh, and yea, we've got a house, a dog, a cat, two turtles and two aquariums here-- and none back there!).Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-33513162994041495332009-11-29T12:12:00.005+01:002011-05-04T07:19:32.062+02:00Thanksgiving Dinner catastrophe (almost)!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGe9gB3wJFgLBDcHYFxtwSYCixzpHs9I9i3JUP0EsUWWZeKCE45K79es5FGZ6uRTIXiWraQh7HEgNEGHV7iIO0sEsHvvR2RjYrIwzBLTzoACW2p6dJ2rD4A0oriqP4FVOK42ay9s7pUkc/s1600/IMG_0915.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409541153579203090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGe9gB3wJFgLBDcHYFxtwSYCixzpHs9I9i3JUP0EsUWWZeKCE45K79es5FGZ6uRTIXiWraQh7HEgNEGHV7iIO0sEsHvvR2RjYrIwzBLTzoACW2p6dJ2rD4A0oriqP4FVOK42ay9s7pUkc/s320/IMG_0915.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
All I wanted was a small fresh turkey, to be picked up on Friday so I could brine it overnight, then cook it on Saturday for our belated Thanksgiving celebration. Not too much to ask...right?<br />
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</div><div>Well, on Friday the butcher said the turkey would arrive Saturday at 10 a.m. OK, forget the brining. Then the truck that was bringing my butcher his meat delivery was stopped by the police at a random truck inspection, failed and was impounded. "Not a problem," said the butcher, who drove off to meet it about 30 minutes away. "No way!" said the police who wouldn't let said butcher remove anything from the truck. "OK, get a large chicken" I told my husband on his cellphone at the butcher shop. "What about a couple of turkey drumsticks and half a turkey breast?" my husband relayed from the butcher. OK, we'll make it work (goodbye to stuffing cooked inside the bird).</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, my husband gets home with two 5 lb drumsticks (10 pounds of dark meat from two turkey legs!) and a 3 lb. half-breast. OK, not bad. I brined it for a few hours, then threw it in the oven. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I sweated making a piecrust earlier in the morning for my pumpkin cheese pie (recipe thanks to Betty Crocker, 1968 cookbook) but it was a piece of cake (figuratively speaking). The gravy was another story.</div><div><br />
</div><div>OK, so I hate to make gravy. My mother and grandmother could take a couple of tablespoons of turkey drippings and make a gallon of gravy. And so they always made the gravy. And I've always had a mental block. So....my nephew brought me too envelopes of cheat-gravy, you know, just add water. So I dutifully followed the directions and it wasn't half bad (stirred it and all and cooked it for three minutes!). Then I decided to flavor it up with the turkey drippings...then I decided to thicken it up (now that I had watered it down) and added some "cornstarch" in a bit of cold water. INSTANT VOLCANO! What!?!? Didn't expect that reaction. I took at better look at the "cornstarch" container and saw that it was BAKING SODA! Oh no. Ruined, way too salty tasting gravy. Well, that's the best part of the meal for me so I was majorly disappointed.</div><div><br />
</div><div>OK, I decided how hard could making gravy be? I got out my "Gravy 1,2,3" recipe and thought I'd give it a try. I didn't let the fear of lumps cause too much anxiety (I have a strainer after all and that's what they're for, right?) and collected the rest of the pan drippings. OK, Nanny always started with some onions. I sautéed onions in the drippings. Added some chicken fat I had in the refrigerator. Added a tablespoon of flour, stirred, added water, more flour, more water, etc. Strained it and...it was GREAT! OK, gravy isn't really that hard, it just is last minute.</div><div><br />
</div><div>OK, so the mashed potatoes were a great hit with the Italian guests, as was the gravy and the pumpkin pie. The turkey and dressing too. The only thing that didn't get rave reviews was the apple crumble desert, which was way too sweet for them (well, that crumble topping was made out of mostly sugar ...and if they knew how much butter they would have fainted!). All in all, a nice evening. Today we eat leftovers (hurray!!).</div><div><br />
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</div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-57292859204702639282009-11-25T17:12:00.002+01:002011-05-04T07:20:03.773+02:00Funghi Fantasy...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWk6DVGNIEAP47ZkfUkzqvi5ttX758BzjQpnN1eNabBYw1yCGe9rvqRtoMyHbq-LX1FCl-7WljAVx_QmgL3Id4A4QR4_ajFY_9iFaF2B1KsIIHervfpYeknJ5-E0gLp1RVkEHrk2juY/s1600/IMG_0913.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nWk6DVGNIEAP47ZkfUkzqvi5ttX758BzjQpnN1eNabBYw1yCGe9rvqRtoMyHbq-LX1FCl-7WljAVx_QmgL3Id4A4QR4_ajFY_9iFaF2B1KsIIHervfpYeknJ5-E0gLp1RVkEHrk2juY/s320/IMG_0913.JPG" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> I came home from work today to find this mound of mushrooms sitting on a large platter on the kitchen counter. Obviously someone...a neighbor perhaps....was out picking early this morning. The porcini mushrooms ended a few weeks ago (still have about a kilo frozen however) but now other mushrooms (these have very long stems) have come into season. Surprised to see them as it hasn't rained in weeks, but perhaps it has rained recently up the mountains where most people go mushrooming. You need a license to pick mushrooms (and to have passed a test regarding poisononous and non) so I'm quite certain these beauties are safe. YUM!<br />
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</div><div>OOPS! I stand corrected by hubby. You only need a license to pick porcini mushrooms. In any case, we fried up a pan full of these last night and ate them...and I'm still here to write about it in the morning. They were delicious!! <br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: LEFT;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div></div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-9316209035351415742009-11-20T16:30:00.001+01:002011-05-04T07:20:24.512+02:00Yes, that's Tuscan Kale...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3n9uTDMXinVT2Kvcx_YwSciBmpzT2UGTHtWZguis2oolDYiQ59LIu8ctiPRvSTBnn1xq2VCud0Yoz7-YJBm4jK4yTwqA_NzKQhR86-qO7e-b0f4eNVbiqssXIKUk-onE5c4lSIn7iNVU/s1600/IMG_0910.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3n9uTDMXinVT2Kvcx_YwSciBmpzT2UGTHtWZguis2oolDYiQ59LIu8ctiPRvSTBnn1xq2VCud0Yoz7-YJBm4jK4yTwqA_NzKQhR86-qO7e-b0f4eNVbiqssXIKUk-onE5c4lSIn7iNVU/s320/IMG_0910.JPG" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> surrounded by some pansies. Usually I enjoy Tuscan Kale on my dinner plate and pansies in the spring, but I was inspired by two, yes TWO different gardening magazine articles I saw this month where Tuscan Kale was featured as an ornamental. OK, I wasn't about to dig out a 4' x 6' bed (especially after being sick all week with the flu!), so I settled for this. I dug the kale out of the garden (hope it takes!) and bought about six white pansies (small flower type) to plant around the edge. I like it. It was nice to finally get out into some of this sunny, 70F weather we've been having.<br />
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I've got to start thinking about Turkey Day. We'll celebrate it with some neighbors and relatives coming over a couple of days later (no one could make it Thursday, including me, as I have to work). Still need to order the turkey (and NO, I don't want a 40 pounder like last time!!!) and see if I can find sweet potatoes without going into Rome...but I've got the apple and pumpkin pie recipes dusted off and ready to go this time next week. We'll probably have some Tuscan Kale too, mashed potatoes, corn...umm, I'm getting hungry!<br />
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!<br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: LEFT;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-37575284792531060122009-09-13T16:53:00.005+02:002011-05-04T07:20:47.898+02:00Ischia, sweet Ischia!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bPPBPWMLeTSc2NdcyzXZNpcrn9Y8I2nSBQXldb6IDi4JviZ6PeMIuILO2GIigl-ompJWHYdnZx51XMNkMKITUhd0xmMz10GB49wrTDPtci2FC0AETvsi2QxqA6L_r4YfJgK31KLtCkA/s1600-h/DSCN2954.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bPPBPWMLeTSc2NdcyzXZNpcrn9Y8I2nSBQXldb6IDi4JviZ6PeMIuILO2GIigl-ompJWHYdnZx51XMNkMKITUhd0xmMz10GB49wrTDPtci2FC0AETvsi2QxqA6L_r4YfJgK31KLtCkA/s320/DSCN2954.JPG" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a> Do warm baths relax you? Could you stay in one all day, especially if it never cooled off? You'd love Ischia!<br />
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Ischia is an island off the coast of Naples, not that far from Capri in nautical miles, but much less known, and therefore, in my book, much better.<br />
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Back in late August my friend Janice from California visited me for a few days. She wanted to see where I lived, and then go someplace nice for a couple of nights. She left it totally up to me.<br />
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Well, I wanted to find a place we could get to by public transportation. Someplace where she could get seafood and someplace that wouldn't be crawling with tourists the 21st and 22nd of August--still part of the famous ferragosta vacation period when nearly all Italians head to the coast or the mountains.<br />
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I also wanted to go someplace that I hadn't been before but that wasn't more than a few hours away.<br />
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The only place that seemed to fit the bill was Ischia. I reserved us a room at a quiet hotel with water view near Panza We took the train from Frosinone to Naples (2 hours), negotiated with a cab driver to take us from the train station to the ferry terminal (15 Euros) and took the ferry over to the island (about 1 hour). From the ferry terminal we took the local bus around the island until we got to Panza, then called the hotel and they came to pick us up. <br />
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</div><div>We were exhausted when we first arrived, so we ate a lunch at the hotel, looking out at the sea, then went down to enjoy the pool. Later we napped, then walked down the road to visit the "Baia di Sorget0", a natural hot springs beach. There are wide stairs winding down to this little cove and a snack bar which was just closing up when we arrived. I've read that it's possible to actually cook food by burying it in the sand in aluminum foil, but when the snack bar is open it's prohibited to bring in your own food.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The water is literally boiling as you step off the sand (well, ok, 194 degrees F). You need to use these little bridges which take you out a bit further where the cooler sea water mixes with the hot springs to varying degrees of tolerable and heavenly. Wow! We only stuck our feet in as we weren't wearing our suits, but it was nice and a place I'd love to return to.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The next day we headed out early for <a href="http://www.negombo.it/negombo-terme.html">Negombo</a>, one of two big hot spring parks on the island (there are numerous other, smaller parks, and hotels with pools too). We spent all day there, enjoying the sun, dipping in and out of every pool there, most more than once, eating a tasty lunch and we both had a fantastic reflexology session at the health center. It was highly relaxing.</div><div><br />
</div><div>When we left we walked toward Lacco Ameno, a pretty town, full of little shops (I got a great light blue linen sun dress for only 15 Euros) a large flower-filled piazza, fancy and picturesque hotels and restaurants. We tried to get a good pizza (Janice was dying for a Neopolitan pizza ever since reading that book about a woman's search for self in Italy, Bali and India...what was it called?). I say we tried to get a good pizza because we kept asking for them with Bufala mozzarella and I think it was just too wet to give us a crispy crust. But in any case, Janice had two that night...one at a restaurant right near the beach in Lacco Ameno, then one later at a pizzeria our hotel recommended to us (ultimately, she liked best the ones she had right across the street from our house in Giglio). After eating, we wanted to take a taxi back to our hotel, but they wanted 30 Euros. Way overpriced! We took the bus for 1 Euro each and then called the hotel from Panza once again (after we had gotten that pizza that is).</div><div><br />
</div><div>On our last morning on Ischia we headed out with our suitcases (again on the bus) to <a href="http://www.lamortella.org/">Giardini La Mortella</a>. Janice isn't that much into gardens anymore, but nevertheless she liked it well enough and I kept wishing I had a way to visit the garden store next to it and bring home some stuff for my empty garden beds... They were kind enough to hold our suitcases at the entrance for us and we spent all morning walking around and sipping exotic teas in the pergola-covered snack bar. Very nice despite the high humidity.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Finally, we splurged on a taxi to take us and our suitcases back to the ferry terminal and the start of our trip back home.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I'm already thinking about when I can get back there! Though next time I'd probably stay longer, visit more of the island (we only saw about half of it), and stay at a more central hotel since the buses are crowded and the taxis expensive. </div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-23282505781727838872009-07-12T23:10:00.004+02:002011-05-04T07:21:20.107+02:00Back from Sorrento and a quick drive on the Amalfi coastWe spent a quick two nights in Sorrento with Pio's son, daughter-in-law and grandson. They went to Pompeii one day, we mostly hung out by the pool (which at the Hilton Sorrento Palace was easy to do, with six of them, connected by small waterfalls!) We always ate well, but our last evening was memorable.<br />
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Pio saw a little tin sign on a stone wall near our hotel. He decided then and there that we weren't going to eat at a "recommended restaurant" again as we had our first evening, (I check <a href="http://www.slowtalk.com/">Slowtalk</a>, of course!) but instead at this little "hole-in-the-wall" place that was near our hotel.<br />
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Well, we followed a very narrow road up and up, turning here, then there, always following the signs. We envisioned a cheap, home-cooked authentic meal awaited us around every bend. Then we thought maybe the lady closed up shop, went out of business. Where was this restaurant? We continued on after a local lady assured us it was up ahead and the food was good.<br />
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Finally--we arrived, only to find that <a href="http://www.ristorantedonnasofia.com/en/index.php">DONNA SOFIA's </a>wasn't a cheap, home-cooking place, but rather a rather well-known place with high prices, fancy dishes and tiny portions. We persevered. The food was quite good. The prices too high (8 Euros for a tiny, tiny plate of penne with tomato sauce for Dante...in fact, he easily ate two of them for 16Euros. )<br />
If you're a foodie and have a special ocassion to celebrate while in Sorrento (or money is no object) than the restaurant, dedicated to Sofia Loren, is worth it. The owner will also pick you up and/or drop you off back at your hotel for free, because in the dark it would be hard to find your way.<br />
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</div><div>The next morning we decided to take the long way home, driving along the Amalfi coast. The road was crowded with cars and buses, but I noticed they now have people with 2-way radios communicating ahead if a bus is coming--cars are stopped so that buses can negotiate the hairpin curves with a little more ease. That was a definite improvement! I'd love to stay in Positano or one of the other small towns clinging to the cliffs, but I'm not sure how relaxing it would be with all that traffic! Would I ever leave the hotel? How would I get there and leave?</div><div><br />
</div><div>In fact, the 2-way radio system isn't perfect and we had to stop on one downhill, hairpin curve so that a bus could negotiate it from the opposite direction (I won't mention all the cars that were parked on both sides, willy nilly). Suddenly a man on a racing bike slammed into the back of our car! OK, maybe slammed is too stong a word, but he hit us. We, of course, were concerned about how he was, but he picked himself up and said he was fine. Luckily his friends were ahead, just around the bend, already putting their bikes on the car to head home and were heading back to help him. No doubt he had some aches, pains and bruises that night. </div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-50681214255599465952009-06-11T07:35:00.003+02:002011-05-04T07:52:30.074+02:00Ice Tea came to visitNo, not the rapper Ice-T, but my cyper-friend and blogging buddy from Arizona! She's been on an exciting European vacation, including time in Italy, time in France, and a cruise from Basel to Amsterdam (Linda, correct me on the details!). All of this with her parents. Then, her parents continued on to Norway to visit as-yet-unmet relatives and she came back to Italy for another six days. We picked her up at FCO and she squeezed in a side trip to my little out-of-the-way home in Veroli for one night. Then she was off to Sorrento for a few days and eventually a flight to Venice and home. Whew!<br />
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</div><div>It was nice meeting her in person and we found a lot to talk about. She was so kind as to bring me a little bottle of original cologne from Cologne, a bar of artisanal chocolate (yum yum) and .... a box of THIN MINT Girl Scout cookies! How did she know? Now they are a special treat for us all. Thank you, again, Linda and hope you are enjoying your last few days in Europe!</div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8185246012304596821.post-66546651702777772672009-05-16T11:50:00.010+02:002011-05-04T07:44:24.170+02:00Of Cactus and London and this 'n that...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwLBK16Fgs-tOHUFaOznd0S1Y9zeQavdBLyFI8AhaJgpZL5iOIyypmB1ZczgslcabWYZ0hgeSRz7XO_mBZSd7bSpdgt7s88P4Oqcormqk8aq5ruQbuAZCH69DQWXpQ_Kgxr9PUAWBn8A/s1600-h/DSCN2300.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336681844011501090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwLBK16Fgs-tOHUFaOznd0S1Y9zeQavdBLyFI8AhaJgpZL5iOIyypmB1ZczgslcabWYZ0hgeSRz7XO_mBZSd7bSpdgt7s88P4Oqcormqk8aq5ruQbuAZCH69DQWXpQ_Kgxr9PUAWBn8A/s320/DSCN2300.JPG" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 243px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 272px;" /></a><br />
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<div>Haven't written here in ages, but people are still visiting (and even linking to me--thanks!) so I guess I'd better start writing again! </div><br />
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<div>With the spring life has gotten very busy. We've been having work done to finish up the outside...brick and stone work on the front of the house, a cement driveway (and it's a long one), finishing up/off the upstairs... and because we use people who have other jobs, that work gets done almost exclusively on Saturdays only...so it's been a long drawn out process and is still not finished. </div><br />
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<div>Gardening fever has also struck and I've got supina (hanging) petunias in my long front flower box (aout ten plants) and tons of perenial daisies along the wall of our upper driveway (OK, 30 plants total!) and we planted 44, yes 44 cyprus trees! They're babies, only about 18 inches tall, but one day, watch out Tuscany! We have two vegetable gardings going too, full of lettuce, eggplants, tomatoes, peas, beans, potatoes and herbs. I want to put in some brussel sprouts and black-leaf dinosaur kale too, but I think we'll wait until July so they can grow in the cooler fall months. Oh, and my cactus had three blooms at the same time! It's only about a foot tall, but it sits above a retaining wall that I have at the upper entrance to my driveway. Another cactus nearby promises to be a blooming spectacle soon (note all the buds!).</div><br />
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<div>I'm still working three full days a week, and my students are busy preparing for a Cambridge Business English exam in early June. It's not easy and they are working hard (though many of them would prefer to forget the exam and just have conversation!). I'm working hard to keep all the photocopies organized, practice tests scored and remembering which class is which! </div><br />
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<div>The menagerie here slowly grows, with our platy tank having two new members (2 sunset plattys) which brings the number in that tank to 10 fish, which includes two babies who have survived. We have another pregnant female (a mickey mouse platty) and hope at least one of her babies will survive too (they seem to be irrisistible snacks when tiny, even to their mom!).</div><br />
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<div>At Easter we went to London and had a grand ole' time. Absolutely loved it. Dante was a little low-energy for the first couple of days as he initially didn't sleep well in the hotel, but once he got into the swing of things, he loved it too. My favorite thing (aside from finally meeting Big Ben in person) was Lion King in the theatre ("on Broadway" I would say if this were in NY, so what do I say when I see a show in London?). The theatre was beautiful, we laughed, ate ice cream in our seats during intermission, went to the martini bar across the street afterwards (and had typical roast beef with yorkshire pudding next door beforehand) and shopped in Coventry Gardens both before and after. Reminded me of the States in some ways, only waaaaaay closer. Yea! (See pictures on facebook.)</div><br />
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<div>Got to run. I'm in an organizing, cleaning, moving furniture around mood (yes, Pio, things have changed a little in the week you've been in NY). I want to accomplish a lot today as tomorrow it will be back to working on the gardens, then Tuesday back to work. Whew! Have a good one, and thanks for reading, Diane</div></div></div>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05713828380482820298noreply@blogger.com0