Saint Anne Pilgrimage

Today is the feast of Saint Ann. Who is she you may ask? Well, I was Lutheran most of my life so I asked too.

She was Mary's mother, Jesus' grandmother. She is often depicted as an older, gray-haired mother with a young girl (Mary) who is sometimes then shown holding a small Jesus. Many women in Italy feel particularly close to her, as she is the patron saint of women in labor (now I find out!) and miners, as well as such diverse places as Quebec Canada, Puerto Rico, Detroit Michigan, Taos New Mexico and the Philippines.

Not far from where I live is a village called San Guiseppe le Prata (St. Joseph in the field), with a church named Santa Anna. She is the patron saint of this small town too, and today is their feast day, which means several special masses and processions with the church, as well as concerts and fireworks at night.

My girlfriends invited me to come along with them on a pilgrimage, on foot, from our town to Santa Anna , about 5 km away. So, at 5 in the morning I joined about 150 other women from the village (and a handful of men) on a slow two-hour walk to the 7 a.m. mass. While walking the women sang and said the rosary. After the mass we each bought a ciambella and caught rides home.

Ciambella is a local bread which we call the Italian bagel, but it's only similarity is that it's ring-shaped. In some parts of Italy it is a ring-like cake made for Easter, but here it is a very plain braided ring-shaped bread, hard on the outside and somewhat softer and chewy inside, about 10 inches in diameter. You break off a piece and start chewing. It's best when you have something handy to wash it down!

Auguri to any Anna's who may be reading this (as well as women in labor and older mothers)!

I was the canary in the coal mine!

Our flight home on Eurofly was interesting.

Let me begin by saying I didn't feel terrific even before I got on the plane. I had had a bunch of tests in the days before leaving NY, including a CAT scan with IV contrast which I did not properly flush out of my system (meaning I didn't drink tons of water while I was running around doing last minute shopping and packing). My neck was stiff and my left hand seemed a bit swollen. I thought I had sprained it while carrying shopping bags, one on each finger.

In any case, we had a great meal at Pio's brother's house before he took us to the airport. The check-in line was long, but moving and we boarded the airplane on time. We DID sit waiting in line for take-off for about 40 minutes, but since JFK had a few "near misses" recently, I was OK with that.

The food served wasn't good, but we weren't hungry so it wasn't a problem. Then the lights were dimmed and we all tried to get some sleep (it was late). Only problem was, I couldn't get comfortable. I was in a middle seat in the middle section. The person behind me had their reading light on and it was shining in my face. My son's heavy head was in my lap. The person in front of me had their chair all the way back. I think my claustrophobia was kicking in. I felt so hot! I started to feel queasy. I got up and walked up and down the aisle a few times because I suspected my swelling was getting worse (right hand was joining in). Finally, I decided to get up again because I felt nauseous, so I headed for the bathroom.

Well, the nausea subsided, and I decided to walk back to the seat to try and get comfortable again. Suddenly everything spun. The next thing I knew a man was leaning down over me from his aisle seat asking if I was OK and a stewardess had my head in her hands, asking me questions (what happened, was I on any medication). I had fainted!

Well, last time I fainted was in Junior High when they showed a film about the circulatory system that showed a beating heart. Let's just say that was quite a while ago.

I rested in the back of the plane and by the time I ventured back to my seat the A/C air circulation system was on full force. What a difference! Someone said that they had turned it way down to save fuel. All I know is that on that packed plane it was stuffy and HOT. And that contributed to my feeling sick.

Now that I've been home I've also not been that well. I've had swelling in my hands, ankles and knees, in addition to a stiff neck. I've been drinking water like crazy and eating melons and finally I'm beginning to feel better. I've already lost four pounds--of water I'm sure. The mystery of course is why I've been retaining water (and the irony is in NY I saw lots of doctors for lots of exams and was told just about every part of me from head to toe was FINE!).

In any case, I'm settling back in, entertained friends from NY last night, and will be getting back into routines. Oh, and it's downright CHILLY outside (58 degrees, low humidity at 7 a.m.).

Bringing you up to date...

Apologies for not posting more often, but I'm organizationally challenged I guess! I want to include a photo, but where's the cord that connects the camera to the computer? While looking for that I get distracted with packing and unpacking as we went from Nassau County to the Scranton and then the Philly area of Pennsylvania, and finally to our house-sitting destination back in our former NY suburban town. Whew!

On top of all that moving around, Dante made his First Holy Communion yesterday. He was supposed to have made it last year, but we left N.Y. urgently in March. This past year he attended Catechism classes in Italy and we decided that rather than wait another year (in Italy the children typically make their First Communion at the end of 4th grade, but in the USA it's at the end of 2nd grade...Dante just finished 3rd) we spoke to the church we used to attend in N.Y.

Because the children here made their First Communion in May, he was the only celebrant, but Father Ted made it special. Afterwards family and friends had a great brunch together at a nearby restaurant (we started with breakfast items, then progressed to prime rib and pastas for round two), then back to "our house" for a pool party. The kids enjoyed that, even with the overcast weather.

Now it's back to tons of annual Doctor visits. I MUST start changing them to Italy, so my vacation here can truly be a vacation! Except dentists, as I love my dentist in N.Y. and haven't had much luck in Italy...

Knitting and me...

I like doing handiwork and crafts, but have never stuck with any projects long enough to get the professional-looking results I wanted. But with knitting, I am determined that things will be different!
When I was growing up I learned to crochet from my grandmother who had crocheted outfit after outfit for my Barbie doll, as well as lots of decorative items that were sold at church bazaars . Crocheting was fun, but the things I made always looked...well....not very sophisticated I guess you could say. Unlike knitting, where the items always looked a little...less homemade?
I finally noticed one day that there was a knitting store not far from my home on Long Island (and if you live in America you may have one near you too as it seems to be a popular hobby now). She had beautiful, unusual yarns, wools, silks, bamboo, corn, hand dyed, thick and thin (no acrylics)...and lots of sample items she had made, displayed around the store. I was hooked, so I started lessons.
I quickly learned how to knit and purl, increase and decrease while making scarves and shawls(thought they'd come in handy in Italy and they have!) . Then I decided that I had to have a pair of hand-knit socks before I die. So I decided to tackle them next.
Now the method my teacher taught involved knitting on two circular needles instead of a few double-pointed ones, which would be the traditional way. This has the advantage of stitches not falling off when you lay it down or tuck it away to work on another day. I had time to make one sock before heading off to live in Italy.
In Italy I haven't found anyone yet who knows how to knit socks, especially on two circular needles, so when I got stuck while working on sock #2, I decided to start another pair with a different ball of yarn, from the beginning, following a book where the instructions were spelled out line by line. I got up to knitting the heel, but then thought I had dropped a stitch as I saw a hole forming as I was going around, but I couldn't find the stitch to fix it. So I put my knitting away and made plans to visit my knitting teacher as soon as possible when I came to NY on vacation this summer.
I stopped in and she needed about two minutes to get me back on track (let's hear it for competent teachers)! So I finished up the blue sock I had started in Italy, and I'm working on the second orange/beige one to match the one I made in class. I LOVE the yarn which is self-striping and has a little bit of aloe vera imbedded in it to soften your feet as you wear them (imported from Germany).
In July I look forward to taking lessons that seems PERFECT for me...knitting two socks at the same time on the circular needles. Making two cuffs, two heels, two gussets, two toes, etc should reinforce what I'm doing making it easier to learn, but more importantly: when I'm finished knitting, I'll have a pair, ready to wear (yes, it may take me until autumn to finish them, so my timing should be perfect, but even if I get them done quickly, they're small and don't heat up your lap while you're working on them if the temps are high).
So, what handicrafts do you do? Any crocheters, knitters, scrapbookers, embroiderers, etc. out there?

Shopping heaven!

America is shopping heaven. Anything you want you can get, either at a nearby small or large store, or by mailorder. The prices are good too as everything is almost always on sale!



So far I've bought: Buttermilk powder, baking powder, bistro Crocs for a friend who works in a restuarant (1/2 the price I'd pay in Italy), sneakers (also half the price I'd pay in italy), a cookbook I couldn't resist, melodic wind chimes (gregorian chant alto)...socks and underwear for growing son. I'll also pick up some paperback reads as my book club has picked its books through December.

I'm also going for all kinds of check ups. Easy to make the appointment, docs are fitting me in quickly, $18 co-pay, and understanding what the doc says make it all worth while. Eventually I'll start getting them done in Italy (I'll be starting with a mammo this Fall).

Two more mornings of golf camp, then we'll head to Philadelphia for an overnight with my aunt and uncle and a quick visit to the historical center. Saturday morning we'll head back to Long Island. The weather is beautiful, sunny, not too hot (not even warm enough to swim!). We're having fun...

Oh Lucky Day!

OK, we arrived here in New York Saturday evening, and boy were we lucky!

Lucky that we arrived before the big thunderstorms that delayed flights up to six hours

Lucky that we arrived on time (which sounds like a repeat of the first lucky point, but we were flying Eurofly and we could have been delayed even if it were blue skies from start to finish).

Lucky that we had private tv screens, instead of having to crane our necks to see one movie for all.

Lucky they had a movie Dante liked (Horton Hears a Who) which he watched twice

Lucky we were near the rear which had 10 rows of empty seats. Dante and Pio both stretched out and slept for a few hours.

All in all, we had a great flight!

Yesterday I went into Manhattan to see my friend of many years, Lisa. Even though we speak often through Skype, there's nothing like actually seeing each other. We went to the City Grill near 73rd and Amsterdam and I had a chicken quesadilla with guacamole. YUM!

I've also started shopping (see Home on the Prarie post), buying two aquarium books for Dante, a pair of white kitchen Crocs for G (who works in a local restaurant back in Italy) and black "Capri" crocs for me. I also bought a quart of Rose's Lime Juice after reading in another expat blog (which one? did anyone else read it? Please let me know!) about how it's essential for all kinds of summer drinks (and can be added to our fave Gin and Tonic) but impossible to find in Italy (though they supposedly have an Italian distributor, I see on their website).

Lots more to look for...but tomorrow is another day! Actually, tomorrow we start with the doctor visits (annual checkups)and inbetween I hope to fit in a visit to my knitting teacher too (I'm still struggling to knit a pair of socks...somehow I get through the first one but get stuck on the second!)

Little House on the Prairie...in Italy.

Even though I'm in a rural area of Italy, we have stores. Even though gas costs $8 a gallon, I recently got my Italian driver's license. Even though these are the facts, I don't really shop that much.

Sure, we spend more than I'd like on groceries (local Sidis and Conad for the usuals, Panorama super-store when we want to browse around in a store with a larger selection of groceries and housewares and stationary and plants and electronics...). But other than food, I don't go shopping.

First of all, I'm not a shopper. I don't love going through store after store on a hunting expedition. I don't need the perfect pair of shoes to go with the clothes I wear around the house. Secondly, the weak dollar is killing us. Those 100 Euro shoes are $160. Expensive to start with, and just too much after converting the currency! Thirdly, parking is often inconvenient so I just don't bother to stop.

So, I make my list of what to buy while I'm in New York. I write it on the back page of our 2008 Diario so that it doesn't get lost and is always handy to add another thing. I spend little on extras all year while in Italy, but when I go to New York next week, I will buy: cooking ingredients (buttermilk powder and baking powder to make my favorite olive oil cake and buttermilk pancakes among other things, kirsch for my fruit sherbet recipes, Thanksgiving ingredients like cranberry sauce, canned pumpkin and evaporated milk), an indoor/outdoor thermometer with both F and C (so maybe I'll learn Celsius without even trying?) sunscreen, camp supplies for Dante, moisture-retaining beads for outside planters, spices and a good quantity of vanilla beans from Penzey's, tortillas, books, magazines, craft supplies, clothing for us all. The list goes on. While some of these things ARE available in Italy, I don't have the time nor energy to track down exactly WHERE to get them, or when I do I don't like the price/quality/currency conversion ratio. And of course when I try and close the suitcases, then weigh them, some things may get left behind to be retrieved on the next trip. (Hey Dad, don't you still have a big box of my stuff in your garage that I was supposed to bring back to Italy this trip when we'd be allowed six suitcases ? Gulp!)

I imagine myself like the American settlers who lived on the prairie, who once in a great while would head into town to do their shopping. A long period of frugality followed by a shopping spree. Now if only our six medium-size suitcases could hold all that a Conestoga wagon could!

Driving in Italy, LEGALLY NOW!

I've been afraid to say anything specific, but this afternoon I had my driving test...the practical, road test. Over the last few weeks I have taken a total of ten driving lessons. Why, some of you ask, since I've been driving in N.Y. for more than 25 years? Well, first, Italy does not have a reciprocal agreement with N. Y. State, so therefore after one year of residence here and driving on an International Licence, I had to get an Italian license as if I were a brand new driver and then take a road test...on a manual transmission. Why? Because the car in which you take your road test must be dual control and stick shift is the only kind there is around here (I heard a rumor that I could have taken it on an automatic dual control car...in ROME! Talk about CRAZY drivers and traffic, no thanks!!!).

First I had to study for the theory test. I agree this was a good idea as some of the rules and signs here did have me mystified. The theory test consists of ten "situations"...they could be signs, intersections or situations. Each is followed by three statements which you have to mark T/F. They can all be true or all false or any combination, so there are really 30 questions. As a foreigner who "cannot read Italian well" I was eligible to take the test orally (though this is due to change around here on July 1 when it will be offered in several languages and no more oral exams allowed). I found the "who has the right-of-way" questions particularly amusing. Many of them had 5-street intersections, no stop signs, a tram passing through the middle, etc. Quite entertaining figuring out who goes first! In any case there were a couple of good online study sites that really helped (Web Patente and Scuola Guida).

Well, after passing the theory exam I started taking driving lessons. Driving a stick shift terrified me (I was frightened it would stall in an intersection and buck as I drove down the road) but it wasn't all that bad. Once I learned I could "ride the clutch" a bit (and in fact SHOULD when I was taking off in first gear on a hill) I relaxed a bit.

After ten lessons spread out over a month they made an appointment for my driving test. The actual test was soooo easy. I pulled away from the curb (on the only level piece of pavement in the whole town), put the car in second, then third, then pulled over on a straight piece of roadway. OVER. What? No 3-point turns, no parellel parking, no downshifting even? Nope.

15 minutes later I had my Italian license in hand Auguri Diane!! I drank half a bottle of champagne to celebrate, and Pio went down to pay the 650 Euros (approximately $1012. US dollars!) which was what we owed the driving school. Mammamia!

The cost breaks down to 500 Euros for the license and 15 Euros each for 10 driving lessons. The licence cost included all the paperwork, preparing me for the theory exam, accompaning me there, and use of their car for the road test, which is a must. If you don't take the license through a school you must rent a dual-control car and instructor for the test (the examiner rides in the back seat). It's probably money well-spent as they practically guarantee you that you'll pass and there's no waiting on lines (they do that for you)!

Pio's kindergarten picture found

Last year some teachers collaborated with old-timers and local historians to put together a book about the history of our little village. In it were many old photos that people unearthed in dresser drawers and attics. One was Pio's nursery school (asilo) class picture, and now they've given us a copy. Dante found it fascinating that 1) his father was ever little and 2) his father didn't always have gray hair and 3) it was taken in front of the church (window, door recognizable) which still stands (half a century later) on the piazza (of course).

SERPENTE!

So, we had a snake--garden variety?--hanging out near the rear foundation of the house this weekend. A few older Italians suggested we kill it, but why? He was outside, after all, and if he can't live in peace there, where can s/he? Maybe it will keep the mice away until we get a cat. (Our neighbor has a kitten all ready for us when we get back from NY in mid-July. ) This one was about 3 feet (a meter) in length and a little thicker than my thumb.

Peonies in bloom!

This post is a little late, but I hadn't revived the blog yet when we actually did this, last month, and I love the photos!

Dante was off from school on Friday, April 25th (Liberation Day to celebrate the end of WWII in Italy, 1945) so we were looking for something to do. I'd been getting occasional emails from a garden park urging people to visit as they were only open to the public in April and May.

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and Dante's day off (therefore we wouldn't have to hurry to get home by 1 p.m.to pick him up from school) to go to Centro Botanico Moutan outside Viterbo. Viterbo is to the north of Rome, and we're to the south, so it wasn't exactly around the corner...but it was worth it!

The Centro Botanico Moutan is the most important and largest Chinese Peony collection in all the world--and it's privately owned. One well-to-do peony fanatic started it in the late 1980's. It's peony heaven! Unfortunately you're not allowed to wander around just admiring (people were breaking off flowers and pulling plants up by the roots we were told) so you must wait for a small group to gather so that you can take a tour. The tour doesn't take that long, maybe a half hour or so, then there's time to shop at the store which sells peony spa products or the peony plant shed, which is where the tours begin and end.

As much as I was tempted, I didn't buy any, as our garden beds weren't ready and I also thought it would suffer in the hot car while we went to eat lunch and drove home. But I will buy a bare root plant through mail order (yes, mail order in Italy!) which I'll plant this winter. Now to decide which one. I have to say...they were all beautiful! (If you live in Italy, click on the Centro Botanico hyperlink above and request a catalog. Prepare to be wowed.)

Italian Boy Scouts and the Abbey of Trisulti

On Sunday Dante spent the day on a field trip with his Italian Boy Scout group. They usually go out on a "caccia" (hunt--though there's no hunting!) once a month. This time they went to Trisulti.

Trisulti is a Benedictine Abbey about 30 minutes from us, up into the higher mountains. It was built in the 1200's but restructured in the 1700's. One of my favorite things to do there is visit the little store just inside the entrance where they sell their products. The Cistercian monks use traditional methods to make special honey, jams, liqueurs and medicine herbal bitters. I've read that their brandy and Sambuca are produced using recipes that are among the most ancient in all of Italy. I bought their honey and eucalyptus throat lozenges (1 Euro a bag)as I'm sick, but I wish I had bought a bottle of their "imperial drops". It is said that just a couple of drops can cure the flu. Good to keep a bottle in the medicine cabinet I say. Next time, for sure. They also have made a museum of their original pharmacy which is worth a visit, and outside the entrance to the church there's a large sundial on the wall--which really works!

If you should visit and drive up from Frosinone or Veroli, you'll pass a little restaurant on the left, about 5 minutes before you arrive at Trisulti. It's called Ristorante Capofiume (0775-476004). It's a fairly rustic place with a little garden and a short walk down to a beautiful little river. It's often crowded on weekends, so go during the week or call ahead! The food is typical of the area, delicious and reasonably priced.