Just Being

This was one of those fabulous Italian weekends where the weather is perfect and where you makes plans weeks in advance and then everything falls through due to some unplanned event.  It sound terrible, right?

It wasn't. As much as I would have liked to hang out in Florence with our wonderful friends traveling to Italy from America, our family just really NEEDED a break from LIFE.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated and we were able to spend some time outside before the weather turns nasty for winter. (It really, really does rain almost every day from October through May) The kids played outside, we took a Sunday afternoon drive (that really happened on Saturday), we washed a ton of clothes and hung them on the clothesline and on the clothes racks, and I shared wine and conversation with a new friend in one of my favorite tiny villages here in Italy. Living here in Europe is such an amazing opportunity, but it can be hard to just take a week off to let normal life happen. You feel as if you always have to go go go and see the sites and visit the places before moving back home to America.  The clock is always ticking--except for us, it's not our biological clock it's our travel clock! It felt nice to just "BE" this weekend....

Here are some "random life" shots from this weekend.

And Summer Turns to Fall...

One of the many things I love about living in Northern Italy is that Mother Nature provides us with the opportunity to experience all four distinct and wonderful seasons here. As summer slowly shifts into fall, I'm reminded of all the things that make fall my favorite season: College Football, Back to School, cooler nights with still-warm days, Halloween, breezy days and falling leaves, chunky sweaters....

Just to name a few. 

I love fall. And fall in Northern Italy is equally easy to love. The vines are full of grapes just waiting to be picked, town sagras are in full swing, and my neighborhood farmers are busy harvesting. I love it all. 

Except the flies.

 If you grew up in a farming community, then you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, but if you didn't or haven't ever lived in one, let me explain.

When the farmers start to harvest their fields, the flies arrive in throngs to feast on the dead foliage.  It's really quite gross...and don't even get me started on what happens when they lay the fertilizer here...because they use "natural" fertilizer here, and that's just gross.

The first year we lived here, I was convinced that the fly infestation was the result of my missing neighbor's decaying body--it wasn't by the way, at least I don't *think* it was, since he's still missing. But after talking to my other neighbors, we've come to the realization that the flies are just part of the landscape around here, at least in the fall...

We've asked almost every Italian we know how they combat the flies, and they all say the same thing...keep your windows shut.  Don't go outside, because they come inside when you open the doors.

Somehow, I don't think "Fly Infestation" is an excused absence from school, so we'll be going with the suggestion of another one of our Italian friends: The Fly Stick!

I stuck it in the corner of our window down by the bottom of the screen ON THE INSIDE OF THE WINDOW and this is how many we caught in just ONE day.

WARNING:  This is GROSS!!  Be prepared!!

I know, right?!?! GROSS!! I'm seriously considering keeping it as a centerpiece on the kitchen table--as   a warning to the other flies!

I'd love your vote!

Wordless Wednesday--Springtime in Italy

And the Babysitter of the Year Award Goes to....

NOT Steve!  This is post number 2 for today, so if you haven't read the other "main post" click here.   I had to run to the market this evening to pick up something for dinner.  When I arrived home, this is what I saw:

The back end of our backyard had flooded at little and the kids had dragged their toys over to that end. It had become their own little adventure water theme park.

Then they were nice enough to use the towels that I had JUST washed and JUST hung out on the clothes line to dry off with... Steve's excuse: By the time he noticed what they were up to, they were already wet, so he just let them have at it... At least they had fun! Sorry so many of the pictures are so blurry...I forgot to switch my camera to "action shot" apparently!

AMAZING Lightening After Friday's Storm

 If you haven't read the other posts about the flooding we've been dealing with over the past couple of days, start here and then here and finally back to this post. Be sure to click that little momma picture to the right over there...that's all you need to do is click on it one time...each day...for the rest of your life...

Kidding...

Kind of... But I would appreciate your vote :)

You'll also find her at the end of each post.  Tell your friends...

After dinner on Friday night, we had one of those crazy thunder storms that was over quickly but really produced some wind and rain.  After it was all said and done, the lighting outside was unlike anything I've EVER seen.  Both Steve and my friend Amara, who lives down the street, called to tell me about it.  Keep in mind, NOT ONE of these photos are retouched or enhanced in any way.  They are amazing! I'm so glad I was home, with camera charged and in hand to capture these!

Yep, another rainbow.  We saw three last night in a span of two hours.

This is looking down Via Fontanelle.  My tiny drive way is between those two buildings.  See the last flower pot ON THE LEFT...my tiny driveway is right there.

Walking up here, I could already tell the color and lighting was amazing!

Luigi checking out the river.  He lives down the street...it's his bicycle that was in the earlier photo. 

 Look at how the sky was reflecting on the water!

Even with the CRAZY weather and FREAKISH flooding, today turned out to be an "I love Italy" kind of day.