Things you don't see..

or as Monia put it, Joyce was scandalized. Look closely at the purse. LOL

Shopping for Groceries

I may come back later and tell you about my day, which was great, but right now I just need to say that the day after tomorrow is one month that I have been in Italy. I know this because Massie has made a point to tell me. He has made a point to notice. He says it seems like I just came but also like I have always been here. It's nice!

Bocce

Anna took me to their club to play a few minutes of bocce today while we waited for Nastia's swimming lessons. She and Flavio were champion players in their day. She regrets that the game is seen as something for old people and is dying out. I didn't do too badly, actually. The little boy took the lovely photo of my badside. Thank a million Nicolo. Sat in the square and read in the pomeriggio. This was my view! I don't remember if I told you that the church there was destroyed in that earthquake last year?

Camerata Picena

Just wanted you to see the big picture...of where I am.

Pranzo Oggi

So you soak in salt water overnight, rinse, rinse, rinse. Then saute with a little water until they open, add pomadori (fresh little tomatoes), some salt, olive oil (on EVERYTHING but never any balsamic which was always on the table in the north), cook the spaghetti, add to shell mixture, saute together a few minutes with some pasta water and serve. Suck those little suckers out of their shell and delish! P.S. I am making soup out of the chicken carsasses. 30 Euro-you better bet I will get two meals out of it!

She Picks Sea Shells Down by the Sea Shore

Anna and I went for a walk in the Adriatic questa matina. The water was warm and the sky overcast. Beautiful. As she walked, she began to pick up little clams, so we collected them. When we had more than I could carry in my hands, she pulled out an examination glove and on we went! They are soaking in salt water right now, to get the sand out. Not sure how we prepare them but I will keep you posted.

30 Euro of Chicken

Just FYI, this is what 30 Euro of chicken looks like. Fresh from the butcher, but sheeeeze, food is expensive here. All natural though and it tastes great! Maybe it is worth it? Anna says she would rather eat less that tastes good than more that doesn't. (I am cooking again tonight. Wish me luck on slow roasting the chicken and fast roasting the veggies?)

Happy Birthday Nonna Annamarie

Today is Anna's birthday. I believe she is 74. They don't do that much here for birthdays for older people - maybe go out to eat, but mostly get the family all together for dinner. The 18th birthday is the biggie here, like out 21. We have a party at the swimming pool today so we bought a cake for her birthday, but she made a torte for the pool party. And I helped! Here is the recipe and the process... 400g flour, 200 g (less really) butter, 2 eggs, pinch of salt, cream, lemon flavoring and a tsp or so of baking powder (I think). Make a dam of the flour then the sugar. Put the eggs in the center and smoosh in the somewhat soft butter and then cream and then kneed all of it together gently. Chill a little. Line a shallow baking pan with parchment paper. Flatten the dough. Fill with nutella or a good fruit jam. Roll strips to decorate the top. Brush with milk. Makes 2. Bake 180 C for 10 min or so then lower to 140 and bake until well browned.

Only here do you get this stuff!!!! LOL

Here is where we bought cake for her tonight. The hedgehog cakes are so cute! Not exactly sure which flavor ours has. Also some of the flavors of gelato at our fav gelato store. You get three per cone. The yogurt della alpin - bellisima!!!!

Never Have I Ever

...been in a theater box and when I stepped in I felt like I had stepped back in time. Sooo cool. The local school was having their end of the year program tonight and Anastacia was in it so of course we went!

San Marino

Dreary Sunday morning and the wind blew out the power. Monia was washing her hair so she was a tad pissed. By 3:00 we were ready to leave for the country of San Marino, the third smallest country in Europe. Beautiful and separate from Italy. I looked at leather jackets but nothing was quite right. The tax is really low in this country, so it is a goods place to shop. On the way home, Massie announced that Monia would be cooking crap for supper tonight(somewhere around 9 pm). Of course he was talking about crepes, but it just cracked me up and I couldn't stop laughing. They just looked puzzled. The crap was actually very good. This eve we were planning their USA trip.

Oh I almost forgot. Last night we had pizza with friends and I made gak with Nastia and her friend Camilla. The dads loved it. The girls did too when they got a chance to play with it...This is Bebo,a good friend of theirs, not letting his daughter have the gak to play with.