Annie's Breakfast Cookies
Healthy, delicious, fast, freezable, and MY KIDS LIKE THEM.
(Adapted from Ellie Krieger's recipe on Food Network -- because my kids won't eat raisins, and because whole wheat pancake mix is incredibly convenient and perfectly leavened.)
In Stand Mixer cream together:
5 Tbsp Butter/Margerine
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Add and whip in:
1 Egg
1 jar of Babyfood Carrots
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix in:
1 3/4 cups Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Pancake Mix
Add:
1/2 cup Oats
1/2 cup Bran Flakes Cereal
6 oz Mini Chocolate Chips
Place cookies on cookie sheet. Flatten them a little because they won't spread much.
Bake at 350* for 12 minutes. Makes 16 large cookies.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Misfortunes of Bone: Neapolitan Driving
Before moving here to Naples, I was told about the crazy driving. The wife
of a good friend of mine in Bremerton said, "Driving in Naples is dangerous.
If you're not careful, you will die." Of course, just like everybody else,
all I had to do was Google, "crazy driving in Napoli" and peruse the videos.
Since being here, my favorite thing to watch are people backing up on
highways because they missed their exit, or backing off an exit because they
realized they took the wrong one.
Before I ventured out onto the streets here for the first time, my
supervisor at work gave me two pieces of advice: 1) all you have to do is
protect your front bumper and let everybody else worry about the rest of
you; 2) just realize that all the other drivers don't care. At the time,
neither of those made any sense.
Before telling about the first time on the road, I need to explain a couple
of other rules that I found out the hard way since then. First is that all
traffic signals, signs and lines are mere suggestions. For example, when
approaching a red light, you just check that nobody is coming and, if not,
you just keep going (notice, I didn't say anything about slowing down). The
flip side is that you treat a green light the same way. You approach a
green light, make sure nobody is running the red and, if not, you just keep
going. This rule especially applies to stop signs. Nope, nobody cares.
Speed limit signs are completely disregarded. I was told that when you are
passing somebody to keep an eye in your review mirror for flashing
headlights. Flashing headlights means somebody is coming up fast and
they're not going to slow down, so get over. But, what I wasn't told was
that there is always somebody going insanely slow in the right lane. For
example, my little Chevy Aveo sits real comfortable when I'm driving about
70 miles per hour (I haven't yet trained my brain to be thinking in metric).
I'll be passing vehicles and I see the flashing lights in the review mirror.
I have no idea how fast they're going, but by the time I get over, they pass
me like I'm at the front row of a NASCAR race (except the car is a wrecked
1990 Italian Punto). Then I have to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting
a car doing only 30. The true test to the speed limits came when I was
driving comfortable with a bunch of cars and passing several others. I
wasn't really paying attention to how fast we were all going until after I
realized that I had just passed an ambulance with its flashing blue lights.
They obviously don't care.
They also have 'anti' signs. For example when the speed-limit changes,
there are two signs; one with the new speed limit and one with the old speed
limit with a red line through it. The funniest one I've seen is on my way
to work; a blue sign on the side of the road says 'Napoli.' Ok, that makes
sense as it is a road that will take you into Naples. However, just below
this sign is another one that says 'Caserta' with a red line through it.
Caserta is a large town that is about 20 miles in the other direction and is
not anywhere along this highway. It's so random that I often consider the
scenarios that may have taken place that required the sign to be placed
there. Maybe they just had an extra Caserta sign and thought it might be
good to let people know that this road would not get you to Caserta. I'm
starting to think that they just don't care.
Lines on the road have less importance than signs do. If you are moving
slower than traffic, you are expected to drive on the shoulder. If you are
moving faster than the slowest cars but slower than the faster cars, it's ok
to straddle the dashed, center line in a two lane highway. If you are in
the right lane of a two lane highway and you are being passed on the left
just as a car enters the highway on your right, you are expected to move to
the middle of the road to make room for all three of you until somebody
decides who is faster (slowing down apparently is not an option). If you
are driving on a two way street and another car coming at you is being
passed by a third car (putting the passing car in your lane coming at you),
then you are the one that is expected to pull over and make room. They
don't care.
The Round-about is the last rule I'll cover here. This rule is closely
related to the line rule. There is a round-about at practically every
intersection and they have managed to even use the round-about in their
highway design (i.e. the off ramp leads you down onto a round-about that
goes under all the intersecting highways and you take the exit to whatever
highway you desire. Or, you can stay on the round-bout until you make up
your mind). I've decided that I really like these things as it practically
does away with turn signals. When entering the round-about, everybody is
entering the same direction, therefore no need to signal. Leaving the
round-about doesn't affect any other car coming on or the car behind you and
so there is no need to signal. There's no need to care.
The interesting thing about a typical intersection is that you'll have two
lanes enter a three lane round-about. Again, the locals disregard the
lanes. If you are in the right lane on the street entering a round-about
and your goal is to get off on the road that is directly on the other side,
you are expected to drive straight through the round-about. This
essentially has you cut straight across the three lanes in the round-about
to the inner circle, and then straight back across the same three lanes to
enter the right hand lane of the road you are exiting onto (see my picture).
Again, they don't care.
My first time on the road was leaving work. The first thing I come to is a
round-about in front of the airport. Sometimes it is packed and other times
it's 'not-so-packed.' This time, it was packed. I pulled up to the
round-about and stopped to wait patiently for an opening. The majority of
the traffic is moving left to right and from right to left, in and out of
the airport (remember they're cutting straight across the lanes through the
intersection). Of course, the cars behind me gave me a couple of short
beeps of their horns. Holding my breath and letting out the clutch, I stick
my front bumper right between two cars going perpendicular to the direction
I was going. Every orifice in my body puckered as I waited for the
inevitable bump on the left side of my car. It never came, just another
polite honk from the car I just cut off telling me not to stop. With more
confidence, I stuck my bumper between two other cars going in the other
direction as I made my way through the round-about. Then, I realized, that
my supervisor's first rule held true - protect your front bumper and
everyone else will worry about the rest of you. If you cut them off, they
don't care.
Even though the driving is crazy, there are just some things that nobody can
prepare you for. Last Friday I was driving into work and I noticed a car
pulled into the triangle between an off ramp and the highway. As I got
closer, a man was getting out of the car and walked right to the white line
of the highway, turned around with his back to the road and put his hands on
his knees. I thought he was going to vomit or something. But, just as I
passed by, I realized that his pants were dropped down to his mid thigh. He
stayed in this position until he disappeared in my rear view mirror. I can
honestly say that I have no idea what he was doing, but the imagination can
probably do a good job of providing several possibilities. All I can say is
that he obviously didn't care.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Latest Mischeif With the Bonners
We have moved into the villa in Castel Volturno. As we have been moving since April, it is awesome to be home at last. We have lots of boxes to open. It's great to assess all of our possessions and decide what goes where and maybe trim off the excess if possible. We're feeling ridiculously wealthy. A house this big and this full of marble will tend to do that to you.
Every day we go driving hither or thither, and we look out at the amazing countryside, and we say to each other "Can you believe this?"
Last week Peter, Steven and Sam took part in a children's theatre workshop presented on the Navy base by Missoula Children's Theatre. (This is the same program that Evergreen Children's Theatre has been sponsoring in Bremerton for over a decade.) It was an excellent experience for the boys. They put on a production of "King Arthur's Quest" on Friday. It was adorable, and I think the children who participated will never forget being in it. I think process was very empowering for all of them. When I get it uploaded, you can watch a little video of the show here.
Yesterday we visited the amphitheatre in Capua where the gladiator Sparticus made a name for himself before being sent up to Rome. We live quite close to Capua. The amphitheatre is an amazing structure. It was really, really awesome to see and walk around in something that was built over 2000 years ago. (If you come visit us here, we are definitely taking you there.) I'm sorry not to have taken our camera with us, but you can see lots of pictures if you click here. This amphitheatre predates the one in Rome by 100 years. The cool thing about this one is that it's not on the main tourist routes. Because of this, while Rome's amphitheatre is crowded all summer long, this one is usually pretty deserted. (It certainly was yesterday.)
Friday night Anna and Paulo took us out with their family to a nice restuarant for pizza and spaghetti. The food was typically OUTSTANDING. (We never ate real pizza in USA, and there is no such thing as real mozzerella in the states. I'm sorry, but it's true.) But what was hilarious was how Bone pushed and pushed and pushed me to go sing a little karaoke. After I got up there, Anna decided that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. She dragged Bone up there and made him sing Sinatra's "I Did it My Way". I enjoyed that way more than I should have.
Bone will be playing and singing at Mario's bar pretty soon. He's looking forward to that. (Mario is Anna and Paulo's son-in-law. He's super-nice. This is such an awesome family.)
It really did feel good to sing, even though the DJ forced me to sing that song from "Titanic". But he redeemed himself when he let me sing "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
I keep thinking about starting an a capella choir on the Navy base. I crave music and singing. I think I'm ready to learn to direct a group. But we won't know unless we try...
Ciao for now. We miss you.
--Annie
Every day we go driving hither or thither, and we look out at the amazing countryside, and we say to each other "Can you believe this?"
Last week Peter, Steven and Sam took part in a children's theatre workshop presented on the Navy base by Missoula Children's Theatre. (This is the same program that Evergreen Children's Theatre has been sponsoring in Bremerton for over a decade.) It was an excellent experience for the boys. They put on a production of "King Arthur's Quest" on Friday. It was adorable, and I think the children who participated will never forget being in it. I think process was very empowering for all of them. When I get it uploaded, you can watch a little video of the show here.
Yesterday we visited the amphitheatre in Capua where the gladiator Sparticus made a name for himself before being sent up to Rome. We live quite close to Capua. The amphitheatre is an amazing structure. It was really, really awesome to see and walk around in something that was built over 2000 years ago. (If you come visit us here, we are definitely taking you there.) I'm sorry not to have taken our camera with us, but you can see lots of pictures if you click here. This amphitheatre predates the one in Rome by 100 years. The cool thing about this one is that it's not on the main tourist routes. Because of this, while Rome's amphitheatre is crowded all summer long, this one is usually pretty deserted. (It certainly was yesterday.)
Friday night Anna and Paulo took us out with their family to a nice restuarant for pizza and spaghetti. The food was typically OUTSTANDING. (We never ate real pizza in USA, and there is no such thing as real mozzerella in the states. I'm sorry, but it's true.) But what was hilarious was how Bone pushed and pushed and pushed me to go sing a little karaoke. After I got up there, Anna decided that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. She dragged Bone up there and made him sing Sinatra's "I Did it My Way". I enjoyed that way more than I should have.
Bone will be playing and singing at Mario's bar pretty soon. He's looking forward to that. (Mario is Anna and Paulo's son-in-law. He's super-nice. This is such an awesome family.)
It really did feel good to sing, even though the DJ forced me to sing that song from "Titanic". But he redeemed himself when he let me sing "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
I keep thinking about starting an a capella choir on the Navy base. I crave music and singing. I think I'm ready to learn to direct a group. But we won't know unless we try...
Ciao for now. We miss you.
--Annie
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Independence Day Fun at Carney Park
We had a fun musical challenge this week. I got to sing the Italian National Anthem at a big US Independence Day celebration in Carney Park here in Napoli. Had to learn the song fast. Best thing about it was that our new friends made a big deal out of being there. That's amazing and awesome and I just want to kiss them... :)
Yes, Bone got video of the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAu-NVdtk7s
I enjoyed the event, and Bone got to judge a "Battle of the Bands" that night, but for the kids the best thing about the night was the carnival rides:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysu98gepmTU
We move into the villa in Castel Volturno on Wednesday: hooray!
Yes, Bone got video of the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAu-NVdtk7s
I enjoyed the event, and Bone got to judge a "Battle of the Bands" that night, but for the kids the best thing about the night was the carnival rides:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysu98gepmTU
We move into the villa in Castel Volturno on Wednesday: hooray!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Mini-Videos: Casertavecchia and Caserta
Casertavecchia Video Clip 1
Casertavecchia Video Clip 2
Casertavecchia Video Clip 3
Casertavecchia Video Clip 4
We got caught in a flood in the city of Caserta:
Caserta Flood Clip 1
Caserta Flood Clip 2
(These videos come to you with special thanks to the AWESOME Josh Lizon -- who generously gifted us this amazing camera.)
Thursday, June 9, 2011
The Misfortunes of Bone: Pizza
Ok - I'm being coerced into typing my first entry in this thing.
Last night was my very first encounter with real italian dining. A popular pizza place in a concrete jungle to the south of Mt. Vesuvius. But first, I have to start from the beginning.
Our leader here in the church that we attend, is an American and a teacher here at the base school. He has been here a long while, married to a beautiful Italian and speaks the language fluently. Great guy. He called me yesterday afternoon and asked if I would help him get his car to a dealer in downtown Naples. No problem.
So, I follow him down - now keep in mind I'm driving an unfamiliar vehicle in an unfamiliar area that has a reputations for having the craziest drivers... In other words, everybody drives like me - it's kind of scary, especially with how comfortable I am with it. After dropping off his car, I'm riding back with him when he realized that he was supposed to be at a meeting that night. He apologized but was going to continue to take me home. Being the generous person that I am (cough cough) I told him he should just go and I'll keep myself busy until he was done. His response was, "Great, in return I'll take you out to have some of the most amazing pizza you've ever had."
Due to the 'so called traffic,' we were late to the meeting that was supposed to start at 6:15 - However, I'm learning the Italians take start times as a mere suggestion. At 6:45 the meeting finally starts - it's about Family History, so I am invited sit in and listen. Listening is really the only way to describe what I did - Everything was in Italian. It's interesting listening to a language that you have no idea what they're saying. All I really got out of it was that Italian is a very rhythmic language.
When the hour long meeting finished (at 9:00), I realized that 8 others were also going out for pizza. We all started to squeeze into one Fiat when we realized we wouldn't all fit, and finally settled on taking four cars to find the pizza place. Now, notice that I used the words 'so called traffic' for the reason for being late - that was nothing compared to what I saw next. There's nothing like trying to tail another car through the streets of Naples while being cut off by a produce truck (I mean, come one - who is driving a produce truck through a major metropolitan street at 9:30 in the evening?) with a Fiat Mini on your right, another vehicle passing in the oncoming traffic on your left and a scooter squeezing in between all of you like it was a four lane highway. Apparently real Napoli traffic occurs after the sun sets.
After losing the car in front of us - we stopped at an intersection that had 40 street signs in every direction (you think I'm exaggerating?) - The driver is on the phone with the guy in the car we just lost and he's reading all the street signs to him. It took me a couple of minutes but I finally figured out what was going on. There were no signs that said what street we were on, only signs that pointed to other places - by reading all the signs (Pompeii is to our right, Napoli is behind us...) they were hoping that the other driver could triangulate where we were and how to get there.
At 10:00, we were pulling into the Pizzaria with promises to me of nirvana. Their proof was all the cars that were parked practically on top of each other. However, I think the drivers to all those cars were ages 10 and under because when we walked into the place, I had flashbacks to taking my boys to Chuck-E-Cheese. This is 10:00 at night and this place was just crawling with kids.
Thus began the window war.
We found a table that was big enough just outside of the pizzaria and had just sat down. My back was to a window. This window had two panes that would slide side to side. After we sat down, a couple of young boys opened the window and poked the guy sitting two seats down from me on the back. The guy reached back and slid the window shut. That must have been the reaction the boys wanted because they did it again. This time the guy next to me reached back and slid the window shut. Everybody at our table was in deep conversation (in Italian) and so I thought I would have a little fun. By putting my left arm into the track of the window, I was able to effectively wedge my elbow against the sliding window behind me and use my hand to provide enough friction to keep the other window from sliding open in the other direction. Clever me.
This became the ultimate challenge to all the little gladiators inside. There is now a bruise on the back side of my left elbow. Out of the corner of my eye (I tried to act as if I didn't know that I was ruining their fun) I could see that they had put five kids at each window to push. This went on for about a half an hour. Finally I could feel the pressure release and I thought I had won. Not in the slightest, they regrouped and put all ten kids on the window behind me. I knew this was going to be painful, so just when they were going to put in their maximum effort, I casually dropped my arm from the window. The stack of kids tottered briefly, paused like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and then crashed to the floor. (heheh)
Now, the whole time I had to ask myself - where are the parents? I just can't imagine parents sending their six year old kids down to the local pizzaria in their volvo's with explicit instructions to pick on guys from Wyoming.
Well, I ended up paying for that little stunt for the rest of the night. Not only did I have the continuous rhythm of Italian at the dinner table, but I had three or four of those kids giving me the whatfor (I think they took shifts). At first I thought they were just playing with each other - but their language included raspberries which is clear in any language (the tongue flavored kind). I really wondered what would happen if I were to turn around, wrinkle my brow and start angrily quoting Robert Frosts, The Road Not Taken - but, I didn't have the guts. I think I would have been the only one who would have enjoyed the joke. The war finally ended when one of the boys picked up a plastic knife and threw it at me - only then did I hear a mother get after the boy. At least I think it was a mother.
At 10:15 we were told we could go pick up our pizza. I decided to help with this and maybe calm the locals. two other guys and I walked through dining area, out the front door, across the street to another building where there was a line of people picking up pizzas.
Why is it that out of everybody in line, I was the only one that other Italians came to to ask questions? I thought that maybe the kids put a sign on my back that said "Ask me where the bathroom is."
It was at this point that I decided to call Annie and let her know that I would be late. (Hey, no making fun, I called her first.)
After the amazing view of Mt. Vesuvius in the moonlight, the nightly fireworks display - I finally got a taste of some real Italian Pizza. Yes, it is different than what we have in the states. At 12:30 in the morning, I dragged myself into my apartment.
But... that pizza was worth it.
Last night was my very first encounter with real italian dining. A popular pizza place in a concrete jungle to the south of Mt. Vesuvius. But first, I have to start from the beginning.
Our leader here in the church that we attend, is an American and a teacher here at the base school. He has been here a long while, married to a beautiful Italian and speaks the language fluently. Great guy. He called me yesterday afternoon and asked if I would help him get his car to a dealer in downtown Naples. No problem.
So, I follow him down - now keep in mind I'm driving an unfamiliar vehicle in an unfamiliar area that has a reputations for having the craziest drivers... In other words, everybody drives like me - it's kind of scary, especially with how comfortable I am with it. After dropping off his car, I'm riding back with him when he realized that he was supposed to be at a meeting that night. He apologized but was going to continue to take me home. Being the generous person that I am (cough cough) I told him he should just go and I'll keep myself busy until he was done. His response was, "Great, in return I'll take you out to have some of the most amazing pizza you've ever had."
Due to the 'so called traffic,' we were late to the meeting that was supposed to start at 6:15 - However, I'm learning the Italians take start times as a mere suggestion. At 6:45 the meeting finally starts - it's about Family History, so I am invited sit in and listen. Listening is really the only way to describe what I did - Everything was in Italian. It's interesting listening to a language that you have no idea what they're saying. All I really got out of it was that Italian is a very rhythmic language.
When the hour long meeting finished (at 9:00), I realized that 8 others were also going out for pizza. We all started to squeeze into one Fiat when we realized we wouldn't all fit, and finally settled on taking four cars to find the pizza place. Now, notice that I used the words 'so called traffic' for the reason for being late - that was nothing compared to what I saw next. There's nothing like trying to tail another car through the streets of Naples while being cut off by a produce truck (I mean, come one - who is driving a produce truck through a major metropolitan street at 9:30 in the evening?) with a Fiat Mini on your right, another vehicle passing in the oncoming traffic on your left and a scooter squeezing in between all of you like it was a four lane highway. Apparently real Napoli traffic occurs after the sun sets.
After losing the car in front of us - we stopped at an intersection that had 40 street signs in every direction (you think I'm exaggerating?) - The driver is on the phone with the guy in the car we just lost and he's reading all the street signs to him. It took me a couple of minutes but I finally figured out what was going on. There were no signs that said what street we were on, only signs that pointed to other places - by reading all the signs (Pompeii is to our right, Napoli is behind us...) they were hoping that the other driver could triangulate where we were and how to get there.
At 10:00, we were pulling into the Pizzaria with promises to me of nirvana. Their proof was all the cars that were parked practically on top of each other. However, I think the drivers to all those cars were ages 10 and under because when we walked into the place, I had flashbacks to taking my boys to Chuck-E-Cheese. This is 10:00 at night and this place was just crawling with kids.
Thus began the window war.
We found a table that was big enough just outside of the pizzaria and had just sat down. My back was to a window. This window had two panes that would slide side to side. After we sat down, a couple of young boys opened the window and poked the guy sitting two seats down from me on the back. The guy reached back and slid the window shut. That must have been the reaction the boys wanted because they did it again. This time the guy next to me reached back and slid the window shut. Everybody at our table was in deep conversation (in Italian) and so I thought I would have a little fun. By putting my left arm into the track of the window, I was able to effectively wedge my elbow against the sliding window behind me and use my hand to provide enough friction to keep the other window from sliding open in the other direction. Clever me.
This became the ultimate challenge to all the little gladiators inside. There is now a bruise on the back side of my left elbow. Out of the corner of my eye (I tried to act as if I didn't know that I was ruining their fun) I could see that they had put five kids at each window to push. This went on for about a half an hour. Finally I could feel the pressure release and I thought I had won. Not in the slightest, they regrouped and put all ten kids on the window behind me. I knew this was going to be painful, so just when they were going to put in their maximum effort, I casually dropped my arm from the window. The stack of kids tottered briefly, paused like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and then crashed to the floor. (heheh)
Now, the whole time I had to ask myself - where are the parents? I just can't imagine parents sending their six year old kids down to the local pizzaria in their volvo's with explicit instructions to pick on guys from Wyoming.
Well, I ended up paying for that little stunt for the rest of the night. Not only did I have the continuous rhythm of Italian at the dinner table, but I had three or four of those kids giving me the whatfor (I think they took shifts). At first I thought they were just playing with each other - but their language included raspberries which is clear in any language (the tongue flavored kind). I really wondered what would happen if I were to turn around, wrinkle my brow and start angrily quoting Robert Frosts, The Road Not Taken - but, I didn't have the guts. I think I would have been the only one who would have enjoyed the joke. The war finally ended when one of the boys picked up a plastic knife and threw it at me - only then did I hear a mother get after the boy. At least I think it was a mother.
At 10:15 we were told we could go pick up our pizza. I decided to help with this and maybe calm the locals. two other guys and I walked through dining area, out the front door, across the street to another building where there was a line of people picking up pizzas.
Why is it that out of everybody in line, I was the only one that other Italians came to to ask questions? I thought that maybe the kids put a sign on my back that said "Ask me where the bathroom is."
It was at this point that I decided to call Annie and let her know that I would be late. (Hey, no making fun, I called her first.)
After the amazing view of Mt. Vesuvius in the moonlight, the nightly fireworks display - I finally got a taste of some real Italian Pizza. Yes, it is different than what we have in the states. At 12:30 in the morning, I dragged myself into my apartment.
But... that pizza was worth it.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Aparently There is Such a Thing as Love at First Sight
This will be brief -- just a quick update.
We have a new van! Well, new to us. :) It's a 2009 Dodge Caravan. It's shiny and black and all of the doors open and close themselves with the push of a buton. Oooohhhh: robotic! It's uber comfortable. We feel so grateful for it! Now when we buy drinking water and food, we don't have to carry them a sort of long distance to get them home.
Speaking of groceries, here at the Commissary, if you want to get a shopping cart, you need to have a Euro coin. After five weeks I finally figured out how to get Euro coins on the base!
There are so many little details that it would be helpful to know. I'm thinking about compiling them on a website.
We might have had the van a week or two sooner, but just before we made the transaction the window was smashed by a thief who stole some of Matt (the previous owner)'s belongings. Tough luck! The officials here warn us that we must never leave anything at all in our cars. I guess we better go ahead and follow that advice...
It's midnight and the fireworks are going off. Happens almost every night. Not a problem -- they're distant and they only last a minute. Just interesting culturally, you know?
We are meeting so many beautiful families and making friends with some really neat people. It's just like kindergarten -- it feels so very awesome when someone decides they like you and want to be friends! It happens so easily among the people here. Maybe it's because we're all in (or have been in) transition?
We have made the decision to live in the beautiful villa in Castel Volturno where Mark and Donna Lunsford have been residing (see earlier post). We saw many beautiful homes, but this one continues to sing to us. It was the first house we saw! But the shopping around was necessary and good for us: it got us familiar with the area, and helped us to come to understand what we really wanted. Today we made it official at the housing office, in a meeting with Anna and Paulo, our future landlords. We expect to move in a few weeks -- around the end of June.
Living in Castel Volturno, we'll be attending church services on the coast in Pozzuoli. We've been attending the Casserta Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm sad that we won't be staying with the Casserta Branch because I really like the people there. But I am sure we will love the folks in Pozzuoli, too.
Church here is really fascinating. The Casserta Branch has fully bi-lingual services. People translate for each other so that everone understands what is being said. The missionaries and others use radio devices to transmit translations to everyone during group meetings. Everyone who speaks only one language holds a device, and when a person speaks in one language, it is immediately translated into the other. In smaller meetings, someone sits nearby and translates for you. (I really appreciate the kindness in that.) Hymns are sung in both languages simultaneously. The sacrament is blessed first in one language, and then in the other, before it is passed. There is always a need for willing hands to help with the work of the church, as there are only about 20 families in the branch. So yes, we already have been given some assignments, even though they know we'll probably be in the other branch before long. People have been so generous! Trish met us at the airport and saw to it we had some food and water in the house when we were too exhausted to get some for ourselves. She's been looking after us now and again. So kind! And Sara watched our children the first full day we were here. She is amazing, and I am so thankful for her friewndship. Pina made sure I had someone to sit by in church and then cooked us yummy italian brownies. They've made sure we had rides to church. Awesome, generous people.
OK, it's late. Enough for now! Good night!
We have a new van! Well, new to us. :) It's a 2009 Dodge Caravan. It's shiny and black and all of the doors open and close themselves with the push of a buton. Oooohhhh: robotic! It's uber comfortable. We feel so grateful for it! Now when we buy drinking water and food, we don't have to carry them a sort of long distance to get them home.
Speaking of groceries, here at the Commissary, if you want to get a shopping cart, you need to have a Euro coin. After five weeks I finally figured out how to get Euro coins on the base!
There are so many little details that it would be helpful to know. I'm thinking about compiling them on a website.
We might have had the van a week or two sooner, but just before we made the transaction the window was smashed by a thief who stole some of Matt (the previous owner)'s belongings. Tough luck! The officials here warn us that we must never leave anything at all in our cars. I guess we better go ahead and follow that advice...
It's midnight and the fireworks are going off. Happens almost every night. Not a problem -- they're distant and they only last a minute. Just interesting culturally, you know?
We are meeting so many beautiful families and making friends with some really neat people. It's just like kindergarten -- it feels so very awesome when someone decides they like you and want to be friends! It happens so easily among the people here. Maybe it's because we're all in (or have been in) transition?
We have made the decision to live in the beautiful villa in Castel Volturno where Mark and Donna Lunsford have been residing (see earlier post). We saw many beautiful homes, but this one continues to sing to us. It was the first house we saw! But the shopping around was necessary and good for us: it got us familiar with the area, and helped us to come to understand what we really wanted. Today we made it official at the housing office, in a meeting with Anna and Paulo, our future landlords. We expect to move in a few weeks -- around the end of June.
Living in Castel Volturno, we'll be attending church services on the coast in Pozzuoli. We've been attending the Casserta Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm sad that we won't be staying with the Casserta Branch because I really like the people there. But I am sure we will love the folks in Pozzuoli, too.
Church here is really fascinating. The Casserta Branch has fully bi-lingual services. People translate for each other so that everone understands what is being said. The missionaries and others use radio devices to transmit translations to everyone during group meetings. Everyone who speaks only one language holds a device, and when a person speaks in one language, it is immediately translated into the other. In smaller meetings, someone sits nearby and translates for you. (I really appreciate the kindness in that.) Hymns are sung in both languages simultaneously. The sacrament is blessed first in one language, and then in the other, before it is passed. There is always a need for willing hands to help with the work of the church, as there are only about 20 families in the branch. So yes, we already have been given some assignments, even though they know we'll probably be in the other branch before long. People have been so generous! Trish met us at the airport and saw to it we had some food and water in the house when we were too exhausted to get some for ourselves. She's been looking after us now and again. So kind! And Sara watched our children the first full day we were here. She is amazing, and I am so thankful for her friewndship. Pina made sure I had someone to sit by in church and then cooked us yummy italian brownies. They've made sure we had rides to church. Awesome, generous people.
OK, it's late. Enough for now! Good night!
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