For New Years, Rob & I spent the night with our friends Wes & Arlene & their 2 little girls. It was awesome to get out of the house & enjoy a few hours just eating & sitting around the fire visiting with them. They have a 3 story home & we watched at least 15 or so firework shows from across the towns down the mountain from them & even on the mainland. It was beautiful! & the daytime view from their 3-level back yard is gorgeous too. You can see the towns below, the med, & mainland Italy. (sorry I was too lazy to go up to the 3rd floor to get my camera for a shot from the back yard! next time)
The same weekend we met their family again & followed them to a market in Catania near Elephant Square. The buildings, statues, streets are so rich in history (didn't take my camera this time either). There were fishmongers set up all over with tons of raw fish & other animals of the sea..& water splashing everywhere. Rob bought a big hunk of raw tuna & ate it with soy sauce when we got home. There were also vendors with all kinds of fresh produce & cheeses. We got fresh oranges finally!-delish! I have been dying to try them (we drive past orange orchards daily). We also got tomatoes, olives, bananas, etc. After the market we went to Porto de Catania which is a huge mall. We spent most of our time at Auchan (huge grocery/walmart-ish store). We got some Sicilian eggs, milk, soap, wine, cheese, a pot & pan (still waiting on our household goods) & a few other things..But by far the very best purchase of the day was a long fresh loaf of bread & a dark olive oil that Wes recommended..together the 2 are fantastic!!
Pinterest! I love it. It has allowed me to spent countless hours that some would think were wasted..doing very important brain storming, good-idea finding, & thought organizing. It has also allowed me to get a nesty feel & think about fixing up the house when I can’t do much yet & really need to wait on our stuff to arrive before buying or changing things.
I love the thrift store on base! I was looking online for a sewing machine & saved one on amazon that was about $80. I got an older version of the same one for $3! YES!
Friday we started our indoc class. Very informative. Lots of good stuff. but soo long.. & several more days ahead.
We have seen 3 rainbows in the past few days! Apparently there are rainbows near Etna pretty often when it rains..awesome reminder of God's faithfulness
(already posted this one on facebook) Mt. Etna erupted a few days ago. We missed the lava but when we woke up the smoke cloud was still pretty awesome
The video of Etna erupting on this site is awesome!
This pic is from that site:
The eruption was Thursday. Clouds were covering Etna all day Friday. Today snow was covering the mountain again. We decided to drive up a little ways again just for fun.
nice hot chili for dinner to warm us up:)
If it seems like I'm a little obsessed with Mt. Etna..I am. I've never lived right next to a huge volcano before! & most of you know I'm pretty easily amazed with the beauty of the sky/nature/mountains/etc
More random things...
Being resourceful:
This is our state of the art cutting board- its plastic plate with the edges cut off
Rob is currently obsessed with banana pudding
I think that's all my thoughts for now. Missing my sweet family & friends..thinking of you & praying for you often!
ciao :)
We fell in love with Auchan when we were in Rome. The first time we were there, the Auchan was right behind the hotel. We walked there, like, every night. The second time we were there we had to travel to get to one, but still felt like we were at the local Walmart when we got there. :D I had to find my "Coca Cola Light" ... :)
ReplyDeleteLove your posts and pictures. Making my heart ache for Rome and counting my days until I am there.
Melissa (Rorabaugh)