Renata and Renzo

It has taken longer than I expected to get settled back in at home since our return from Italy. We had such a wonderful time renewing old friendships. One afternoon we headed out to the countryside, where our former housekeeper has a summer garden. Renata was more than a housekeeper for the villa. She was a grandmother to my children, and a very patient and dear friend to me. When I first met her I was a 26 year old young mother of a 4 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old, and was expecting my fourth in two months. With neither of us speaking the same language, she managed to show her love, care and concern for me at a time when I was greatly in need of reassurance. I was thousands of miles from home, my husband had almost been lost in a fire only 6 weeks before, and I was scared to death to give birth in a foreign country. She was and is so dear to me. Back to the story, on this beautiful summer day we stopped and Terry got out of the car and yelled over the hedge to see if they were there. What a homecoming we received!! They have a little tower that they have turned into a bedroom and kitchen for the hot summer months, chickens, flowers, vegetables growing everywhere, a fountain, outdoor oven, long tables for eating al fresco, etc. It's a bit of paradise. Without ever leaving her garden she served a meal for ten of us. We ate crostini with tomatoes and capers and eggs, mozzarella and tomatoes with fresh basil, proscuitto and salami, cantaloupe, a frittata, Florentine tripe, baked zucchini with cheese and onions, pasta salad, panzanella salad...it was all incredible. They had a TV set up under the portico so that we could watch the World Cup soccer game. We won that night 3-0 and every time Italy scored the men all danced, clicked their wine glasses and blew off the air horn. We ate from 8 until after 11. It was a wonderful night of remembering, catching up on all of our lives, and a thankfulness for the blessings of frienship that God had given us to enjoy.