More Christmas Pics

We missed you Brandon and Kristin!!!

Christmas 2007

It has been a long time since my last post, but only because life has been full and wonderful. We are now back home and enjoying being back with our friends and family. There is so much to get caught up on--especially enjoying having my children near by. We have been so blessed this Christmas season. We spent the day all together with Terry's Dad and Lora, his sister and her family, and all of my brood. My family was all together in Florida this Christmas. I sure wished I could have been in two places at once!! Our day started with Gabriel running through the newspaper and is just now coming to a close... after one last game of Mad Gab and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? The boys were surprised by Santa with new full size bicycles (they found theirs had shrunk after six months in Italy), board games, and soccer balls. Terry has gifted me with a new Stainless steel gas stove, new couch and loveseat for the den...and a new Kia Sorento ! Our first new car in 25 years. I already knew how blessed I was, now I just feel spoiled. I have promised to find ways to put it all to good use. Making lunch today with four working burners was a true joy!! We talked to Brandon and Kristin today and their first Christmas in Sicily was a good one. Fellow believers shared their holiday with them. We sure did miss having them with us, but we are so proud of their willingness to serve. To my dear friends who still check this blog, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hopefully life will settle down into a nice routine and I can get caught up with my friendships. May God bless you all in the upcoming new year.

Happy Holidays

Last week Terry and I and the boys went into Florence and visited at the IKEA store. We had more fun (meaning I had fun and Terry was patient:).I bought Christmas decorations and ornaments for Brandon and Kristin's first Christmas in Sicily, and some red and white ornaments for our dining room tree (all unbreakables this year in honor of our grandchildren ages almost 1 and 2).I love the simple straw ornaments and the hearts made of red gingham and wool. We also bought two gingerbread house kits to make and some ginger heart cookies to hang on the tree. We , of course, could not leave before eating swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce--a family favorite. Then Saturday we spent the day in downtown Florence, gathering all the last minute things we needed to do an American Thanksgiving here. At Rinascente I found two small wooden and metal ornaments to take home with me...and BEST OF ALL another cookbook by Tessa Kiros! I have her book "Red Apples and Jam" and now "Falling Cloudberries". She lives here in Siena, married to an Italian-mom's finnish, dad's Cypriot, raised in South Africa, cooked in Greece, etc. Our kind of girl!They are great books to read, but better yet, they are full of some of our favorite Greek, Italian, and Scandinavian foods. The first time I opened the book I saw a recipe for meatballs and Lingonberry sauce. I knew I had to buy it (I did recently hear from a friend that theynow sell Lingonberry Sauce at World Market. Thought the price is pretty steep. I'm going to see if they even grow in the States. Anyway, I now have a 10 pound book in my carryon luggage, along with my ceramic lamp I'm carrying on my lap! Happy travels!

Wrapping Things Up

A friend wrote recently asking me why I never wrote on my blog anymore. I assured her I did all the time...and then I went to see the date of my last post. What ever happenned to October??We have been having a wonderful, busy time. To wrap it up in one post we took an overnight ferry to Greece, spent a week in Greece (perfect cool weather, the cruise was relaxing and the waters were calm).We had a wonderful week long visit with Grandpa and Grandma Simpson, taking some day trips to Arezzo, Assisi, and Deruta (to shop for pottery).The day they headed home we left for a few days in Pompeii and Sorrento. We really enjoyed these trips timing because the boys and I have been studying Greek Civilization and then a book on Pompeii. Even the book we had just finished at bedtime "The Cricket in Time Square" fit right in (her husband was from Naples and sang "Return to Sorrento" to her when he proposed, so we listened to that on the music boxes in Sorrento. As we left the hotel the owner presented us with a huge trophy and a bottle of limoncello. The trophy was definitely a first. We must have some really great students! For the 31st we had a Fall Festival party, dressed in costumes, ate chili and carrot cake, drank hot apple cider while carving pumpkins, and had just a wonderful evening. One day recently, while at the grocery, I met an American woman at the meat counter, we exchanged addresses and she invited me over for tea the following week. Kristin joined me for a nice visit at her restored farmhouse-soon-to-be bed and breakfast. They have been here five years. She is a retired designer from California. It turns out she is good friends with a family we came to know two summers ago who were selling Villa Ercolano (our boys had swam with their daughters while we looked at the property). It's such a small world here in the expat community.This week will be busy with Thanksgiving for 50 , followed by our final banquet night on Sunday-followed by final exams. We have shipped our boxes and will be driving to Rome on the 30th and flying home on the 1st. We can't wait to see the girls and their families. And maybe at that point I will update a bit more regularly:)

The Fiorentina Game

Last night all of my men, Terry, Brandon, Jonathan, Jordan and Christian went into Florence to see the Fiorentina vs. Roma Serie A game. It ended in a tie 2-2. They had a great time. 27 years ago, upon losing our son, Christopher, Terry made the comment, "I was looking forward to teaching him how to play soccer.." It made my heart sing to see him heading out the door with these four special boys ( actually, two men and two boys)to see his favorite team play in his favorite city.God has blessed us so much and is always good.I enjoyed the evening alone writing letters, doing laundry and reading some of my favorite blogs. Good times.

Our Medieval Village

We are living in a small, medieval village called Citerna. About 5 minutes away is the hilltown of Monterchi.It is a beautifully maintained little town of 300, with stone streets, window boxes of cascading flowers, a convent, and two churches, one bar, one grocery,a restaurant, pizzeria, and a hairdresser. Everything you could need:)There is a fortress and a panoramic view with benches to sit and pass the time, while eating your gelati. But the very best thing about our little town was discovered yesterday, when , not once, but twice, Jordan and Christian went BY THEMSELVES to the store for me.These same two little boys who won't greet people in the States that they have known for years out of shyness, now headed up to the local grocery and asked for what I needed (eggs and panna) IN ITALIAN!!I offered to write it down for them but they said they would just tell her. They then asked after lunch if they could go to the bar and get an ice cream...I was so surprised I said yes.They then headed out into the woods (our property) with their cape, shield, two wooden swords,and two Knights' helmets to see what they could discover. So far they have found barbed wire (three pairs of torn shorts)and shell casings from hunters. They have missed their home in the States, and their sisters, so it was special to see them really feeling at home.

Arezzo

This morning Terry and I, the boys, and Brandon and Kristin headed on an outing to Arezzo. It is the largest town nearby Citerna, and is about a 30 minute drive. I had only made quick, passing thru visits in the past, and was thrilled to discover a truly wonderful town. It is a mixture of Florence, Siena and San Gimignano...without the crowds and throngs of tourists. We had lunch at a trattoria near the train station. I had homemade tagliatelle with truffle sauce, which this area is known for. It was delicious. There are many antique shops, paper stores, and home decorating shops, along with bookstores and two toy stores that the boys gave thumbs up to. Fortunately for us they were closed for the afternoon rest period.We strolled through an old church, stopping along the way for a gelati. We enjoyed seeing where many of the scenes for the movie "Life is Beautiful" were filmed. We found a poster of the knights dressed in full regalia from the recent jousting event in Arezzo (only 3 euro)to take home and frame for the boys room. I look forward to longer visits in the future.It reminded me of the Florence I loved 20 years ago.