Rainbow

It seems that finally this week we're having something that could seem fall
Today is the third day in a row of rain which is much welcomed here. Actually it's the third storm day, which is even better since i love thunders and lightnings and powerful wind, it makes me feel better and full of energy. Anyways ... the other day, i guess maybe tuesday, after we've been hit by the Nth storm ( or is it always the same calming down and roaring again ? Dunno .... ) Gaia informed me that there was a wonderful rainbow outside and that from our place you could see the end of it! Of course i HAD to take a couple of pics, never ever saw the end ( well or beginning ) of rainbow, usually it is just in the sky ... wonder if someone found the gold there ...





That's wild isn't it. Breakfast time now. There's school strike and the kids are home today,so let's the show begin now :)

MamaF's 'art'

I thought i'll share some of my 'wannabe art' little by little.





In the second one, around april fool's day Milla called me and i found her totally naked in the living room with her clothes lying on the floor 'taking a sun bath' she had such a wicked smile on her face she was way fun !

Please if someone bumps here just drop me a comment and tell me what do you think about them !

Another week is over

So another week went by and as usual i didn't have the time to get close enough to the computer to write anything. This week brought many things with it. On monday we put the house on sell. So by next summer we'll be moving again, for the FOURTH time in less then 3 years .... the interesting thing at this point is that we still don't know where we're heading. My wild guess is a place on this planet, but if in Italy or outside .... anyways we have some plan we're working we'll see if they'll be ripe at the right time ...

Yesterday has been another cooking day as usual, i'll share some pic of my efforts, i'll also share a pic of Milla sometime during the week when she welcomed a new little friend of hers ... she is a funny little girl when it comes to friends ...



The last chestnuts left from those we picked while boiling in sugar syrup to make Marron Glacè. They have to boil for 3 days, today being the third, hopefully they'll be worth the time and effort



Here how it looked the kitchen stove after my cooking session was over. In the tallest pots there is broth for today, i made it with vegetables and meat so for today's lunch we'll eat them and for dinner some soup. The smaller pot is the chestnut's one then you can see the chocolate plum-cake done by Gaia and the vanilla cake i did.



Here aome Pita Bread, kids love it, it's soft and so easy to fill with whatever you want, but very good even 'empty'



And here the usual vanilla bisquits, a must here, kids never have enough of them :)
On top of all this, also 7 jars of homemade yougurt were done, and all this in the morning, so i could spend the afternoon embroidering and crotcheting and the then we went out to karaoke night my brother in law has every saturday.
We had so much fun ther even if we don't sing.

Ah ! As promised here also a pic of Milla meeting her new friend, now happily living some where in the rosmery's bush



Come here little one !



Look mom ! I got a new friend !



Pleas mom, a close up of my friend so we can see his face (!!!)
Of course dear ! (YUK ! )

Have a good sunday !

The simple woman daybook

Hello all lovely ladies, i'm joining the daybook again after i missed it last week. For whoever might read this for the first time, please join the fun and read the other entries in Peggy's blog http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com
FOR TODAY 20 october 2008
Outside My Window...It's a warm and sunny afternoon, it doesn't seem fall at all
I am thinking...in 20 minutes my boys will be finally home after their full day in school ( for the boys is on monday, for Gaia on thursday )
I am thankful for...My family, my wonderful beloved family
From the kitchen...Lentils leftovers from lunch
I am wearing...Black long skirt, green shirt, red gym shoes
I am creating...another pink crocheted curtain :)
I am going... to wait for the schoolbus in few minutes
I am reading... Terry Brooks latest novel
I am hoping... to see a BIG project of papaF and yours truly come true
I am hearing... my youngest doughter Milla eating a little snack while painting
Around the house... Clothes to fold, and clothes to wash and to fold and to wash .....
One of my favorite things...Lemon black tea
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:Straighten the house, start writing down my kitchen book, keep up with the sewing\crotcheting\embroidering\quilting
Here is picture thought I am sharing...



A loaf of homemade bread, just out of the oven. I love making bread :)

Have a lovely week everybody !

A special Sunday

Today Leo and Seba have been invited to the first birthday party of first grade. A young lady is turning 6 out there and my boys went there with a pinker then pink Winx and a Barbie-something. So for a couple of hours since all the men of the household are gone it's just me and the girls, so we held a 'tea' complete with the best china we have and homemade chocolate cake :) Here a pic of the boys before going and of the girls sipping their tea







I really hope that everybody out there had a lovely sunday too !

The simple woman daybook

Hello all lovely ladies, i'm joining the daybook again after i missed it last week. For whoever might read this for the first time, please join the fun and read the other entries in Peggy's blog http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

FOR TODAY...13 october 2008, monday
Outside My Window...It's dark and quite, this side of the worl is falling asleep since it's already 8:55 PM
I am thinking...What a busy day we had, kids quite nervous, lots of things to do, but anyways ( see the next point ... )
I am thankful for...but anyways i can't help but being absolutely amazed at the thought of how blessed i am. I hug and kiss my kids and my eyes get teary thinking what a big big honour i have to be the witness of their lives, and to have the chance to nurture them, and love them and hopefully lead them on the right path, and i'm thankful for my husband, for trusting me during these years of changes, from a secular career day-care woman to this simple and loving and attached mother i am now.
From the kitchen...The smell of the cookies i baked in the afternoon : cinnamon cookies, lemon cookies, chocolate cookies and vanilla cookies.
I am wearing...I'm already in my night gown
I am creating...A blanket made out of coloured knitted square. My mother knitted the squares and i'm crocheting them together. I'm also finishing my firt ever quilt ( ok mini quilt :) )
I am going... Sleeping very soon...
I am reading...'Three cups of tea' the amazing story of Greg Mortenson
I am hoping...For some rain in the next days, i'm longing for autumn
I am hearing...The kids chit-chatting before sleeping, what a sweet sweet sound
Around the house...Chestnuts everywhere from our trip in Tuscany's woods
One of my favorite things...The smell of my kids head
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Try to slow the pace of this household, i'm having such hard time to slow the kids down to a more 'fallish' and 'winterish' mood, they keep being super active as in the summer, while i'm in need of some slow days to savour.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

A detail of the finally finished pink curtains for the girls room. As you can see i didn't crocheted all the curtain in the end, i found this silk-like pink fabric i used for some fairy carnival dress and i thought it would have looked better. Also my oldest doughter Gaia agreed with me and this was the result. I don't want to sound too full of myself, but i love it:)

I wish all of you a wonderful and blessed week !

Weekend in Tuscany

Last friday we left for this small village in Tuscany up on the Amiata mountain. I used to go there for holidays as an infant, and basically kept going there for all my life, i moved several times in my life, but amazingly the constant thing has been this small medieval village that my kids have already learned to love. We went there to attend this 'autumn festival' they held the first 2 weekend of october. We could eat roasted chestnuts in the streets, taste the wonderful baked goods while walking among the ancient buildings and visit the wonderful medieval Abbey. We ate grilled sausages in the Abbey square, a sort of heart for this handfull of houses on the side of this impressive mountain. The yesterday, before leaving to come back, we went in the woods picking chestnuts ... 3 kilos of them !!!!!!!!! I need to find the recipe for the chestnut jam !!! Following some pics of the weekend, unfortunately not many of them, since our camera had a small incident ( fell in the water ! ) and needed sometime to recover ( we had to let it dry perfectly ).


Autumn leaves on the asphalt, past and present, nature and artificial






Autumn goodies displayed in the streets



A pic of this beautiful balcony, i can remember admiring this for all my life.



Here the tree kilos chestnuts we picked. Not bad if you think we only stayed in the woods for less then one hour. Can't wait to taste them .... mmmm roasted chestnuts and milk tea should be a good snack for the afternoon yum !

I wouldn't mind at all to move there for good. I love the simple life you lead in such a small place, the slow pace, the mountain, 4 distinct seasons ...

Leo's tooth

Exactly one week ago, last monday, our little Leo lost his first tooth.
He was so happy and proud about it and so excited for the coins the 'teeth mouse' ( in our household we don't have a tooth fairy, but a tooth mouse heheheheh )left on his bedside table while he was sleeping.
Here a couple of close-ups of his 'window'





My kids are really growing. It's so so amazing. Now Sebastiano ( Leo'stwin brother )is waiting for one of HIS teeth falling, but so far they're all firmly attched :)

New week & Juke Box revival

Oh my! Ages without updating here. Very busy days indeed .
So let's start from where i left, my husband's juke boxes :)
I have some pics of him and the kids working on the last one, i'm very proud of him he is getting always better and better and he is learning more everyday and for the kids, especially the boys, it's such an amazing example.

Here Leo and Milla helping papa giving the last touches to the machine

Here a wonderful close up of my sweet doughter Gaia carefully watching her dear papa at work


Watching all these fill my heart of joy, i'm so so lucky to have my family.

Busy week ....

We're at the end of a busy week. Emotionally more then practically but still ...
We've proceeded to make a first evaluation of our house with a real estate agent since we'll put it on the market quite soon. Exciting and scaring at the same time, since 2006 we already moved 3 times, 2 of them internationally and in only 5 months. It has been hard indeed.But still we made it and it's sure now we're much more close to each other then ever. Being 'on the road' so to say, makes you realize who are the people always at your side and for whom is worth work your fingers to the bone even if you're already tired dead. For me it's my dear husband and my precious and lovely kids.
Then we struggled so much because of our twin boys relationship with the just started first grade. For them is such a problem, Seba is great with the formal learning, he is ready to start writing and reading and do all the 'table job' but absolutely he is not ready to be away from me for long hours. Every morning he cries his heart out and it breaks my heart in pieces to let my husband litterally pass him to the schoolbus aid and drag him to his seat. I'm always to the verge of tears myself. On the other side Leo has fun going to school, but he is not ready at all for formal learning, writing and reading, he cries over his homework and already started to say he is 'stupid' and he hates school and finds reading and writing useless and boring. Thank you public school system. So i'm studying if ever possible for me to homeschool them even if basically unheard of in Italy and the school system is totally against it, with school sending police right away to check what's going on even if it's only a matter of changing school or going abroad.
On a lighter and happier note, yesterday my husband sent out his latest working effort, a vintage juke-box he restored and fixed for over a month and today he is traveling to Firenze ( Florence ) to bring another one he fixed during the summer.
I'm praying for a safe trip for him, since he wants to come back right away and i'm a bit worried for him driving alone for all day and part of the night.
It's weird being parted for so long and being home alone since in the last months he has always worked at home.
Have a blessed day, whoever might read this !