As soon as Sam dashes off to Latvia, this lizard pops up. He has been hanging on the ceiling for the past few days. What he lives on, I have no idea, but as long as he stays in the living room he is welcome. The minute he shows up in one of our bedrooms - he gets the sole of my shoe!
Otherwise, it has been a tranquil start to the week. Sam left Sunday and is staying with Ed, Ieva, and little Alise, until Saturday. I keep looking for a post over at Ed's blog, so far, nothing. Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, Friday Sam will be the hot shot director of his own Latvian registered company and can begin his new career.
Me, on the other hand, have been enjoying the peace and quiet of an empty house and been keeping myself plenty busy. Up until today the weather has been warm and sunny. I have been able to, catch up on the housecleaning, go jogging, and yesterday I decided to take a nice long bike ride through town and along the Lungo Entella. Somedays it is so interesting what you see when you step out of the house in Italy. Yesterday, while I was riding on my bike along the Entella (the river that cuts through Chiavari and Lavagna) I saw a man fly fishing in the full get up! Talk about strange. In the middle of two cities, fly fishing, in addition to, a herd of goats, a nativity display of smurfs, basil growing under its protective wraps, and many people walking arm in arm! Though I do wonder if the gentleman flyfishing actually caught anything!? Anyway, he looked darn good in his get up!
The highlight of my week, so far, has been the class I started last night. Joanne invited me to join her in a beginners level sommelier course. For those of you who don't know what that is, a sommelier is one who knows all there is to know about wine. This class is to teach us what a sommelier does, to learn about wine and how it is produced, and how to evauate and judge it. The best part of the class is at the end where they pour the wine to teach how to taste with our senses! We were given 3 glasses in short order!!!! By the time I got to the last one, I was feeling a wee bit light headed. I was delighted to find two other ladies I know from town and the group seems quite nice. The biggest surprise was - my Italian. I actually understood 95% of what was said! I only had to ask Joanne about one thing I missed! I was pretty proud of myself. I guess it helps that the strongest vocabulary I have in Italian, after anything related to the kids, is food and wine. My passions! Those of you who would like to learn more about being a sommelier go here if you read English or here if you read Italian.
Anna this week started drumming lessons and Sarah singing! Me, I am going out and buying myself earplugs....
Arriverderci!
Krista
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Poca Schiuma, Per Favore.
How could I not blog this article?
Italy's arrivederci to cafe culture
Barbara McMahon in Rome
Sunday October 16, 2005
The Observer
Like pizza and ice cream parlours, the coffee bar is sacred in Italy. But the tradition of going for a cappuccino or an espresso is under threat from a new menace - the coffee machine. Thanks to aggressive marketing by manufacturers, who are practically giving them away free in offices, factories, universities and even train stations, self-service coffee is invading Italy and putting in peril the livelihood of many baristas.
New figures show half a million automatic coffee machines have been installed in the past year in public places, serving an estimated two million 'portions' of coffee. As more Italians become accustomed to the machines, a new language is being learnt. 'I'll have a number 64 or a 32' is replacing time-honoured descriptions of coffee such as con schiuma, macchiato, doppio, tiepido, lungo or corretto.
One of the reasons for the change is that Italians are struggling to deal with a faster pace of life, under pressure to do more, earn more and not waste time. An analysis of the crisis in the newspaper La Repubblica points out that it takes four minutes to get a coffee from a machine as opposed to eight minutes to get one in a bar. Cost is also a factor. The price of an automatic coffee is between 30 and 60 centesimi while a freshly prepared one in a bar costs from 70 centesemi to one euro.
The depersonalisation of the coffee rite is sneaking into Italian homes as well. Sales of automatic machines were recently declared in a brides' magazine to be the most sought-after gift of young couples.
Carlo Odello of the Italian National Institute for Espresso in Brescia, which monitors coffee standards, acknowledges the headway that coffee machines are making.
There are an estimated 130,000 establishments serving coffee nationwide and his organisation is concerned with keeping standards high, introducing a certification programme to safeguard and promote the quality of coffee. 'I can understand why automatic machines are creeping in but I do not think they should replace the rite of standing at a bar or sitting and watching the world go by,' he says. 'The skill of a barista cannot be replicated by a machine.'
Mario Spinnato, general manager of the Spinnato Antico Caffé in Palermo, agrees. 'For Italians having a coffee at a bar is a pause in the day. It's irreplaceable.'
Now for the up close and personal take on this story. I take my cappuccino with poca schiuma and I have yet to see one of these infamous machines with a line up of customers. Yes, for sure, most offices have an automatic espresso machine as well as many homes, but, big deal? You go at around 10 in the morning to a bar in any city, even little Chiavari, and you find a line up at the bar for a coffee. Not to mention the quiet competition for the customers during apperitivo hour. Free food reels in everyone. The cafe culture is in no danger of disappearing!
A tardi!
Italy's arrivederci to cafe culture
Barbara McMahon in Rome
Sunday October 16, 2005
The Observer
Like pizza and ice cream parlours, the coffee bar is sacred in Italy. But the tradition of going for a cappuccino or an espresso is under threat from a new menace - the coffee machine. Thanks to aggressive marketing by manufacturers, who are practically giving them away free in offices, factories, universities and even train stations, self-service coffee is invading Italy and putting in peril the livelihood of many baristas.
New figures show half a million automatic coffee machines have been installed in the past year in public places, serving an estimated two million 'portions' of coffee. As more Italians become accustomed to the machines, a new language is being learnt. 'I'll have a number 64 or a 32' is replacing time-honoured descriptions of coffee such as con schiuma, macchiato, doppio, tiepido, lungo or corretto.
One of the reasons for the change is that Italians are struggling to deal with a faster pace of life, under pressure to do more, earn more and not waste time. An analysis of the crisis in the newspaper La Repubblica points out that it takes four minutes to get a coffee from a machine as opposed to eight minutes to get one in a bar. Cost is also a factor. The price of an automatic coffee is between 30 and 60 centesimi while a freshly prepared one in a bar costs from 70 centesemi to one euro.
The depersonalisation of the coffee rite is sneaking into Italian homes as well. Sales of automatic machines were recently declared in a brides' magazine to be the most sought-after gift of young couples.
Carlo Odello of the Italian National Institute for Espresso in Brescia, which monitors coffee standards, acknowledges the headway that coffee machines are making.
There are an estimated 130,000 establishments serving coffee nationwide and his organisation is concerned with keeping standards high, introducing a certification programme to safeguard and promote the quality of coffee. 'I can understand why automatic machines are creeping in but I do not think they should replace the rite of standing at a bar or sitting and watching the world go by,' he says. 'The skill of a barista cannot be replicated by a machine.'
Mario Spinnato, general manager of the Spinnato Antico Caffé in Palermo, agrees. 'For Italians having a coffee at a bar is a pause in the day. It's irreplaceable.'
Now for the up close and personal take on this story. I take my cappuccino with poca schiuma and I have yet to see one of these infamous machines with a line up of customers. Yes, for sure, most offices have an automatic espresso machine as well as many homes, but, big deal? You go at around 10 in the morning to a bar in any city, even little Chiavari, and you find a line up at the bar for a coffee. Not to mention the quiet competition for the customers during apperitivo hour. Free food reels in everyone. The cafe culture is in no danger of disappearing!
A tardi!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Welcome Baby Luca!
In Nicole's Words...This is what having three kids means...
Ciao!
How are you? We are all fine except for the fact that we are tired, tired tired and tired!
Little Luca doesn't sleep at night so we don't either.
But he is so cute and nice and beautiful, he is always in someone's arms.... Bad thing... He will grow up totally spoiled!
How was your speech? I'm sorry I didn't make it to come and listen and see you but the first week after Luca was born I didn't even notice I was alive, I felt like a zombie. A pity it wasn't Halloween, I would have perfectly matched the atmosphere! I also forgot Silvia's birthday.........Today is the first day I feel a person again. I forgot how hard the time after delivery is! Bruno is sleeping behind me on the bed because he's completely exhausted too. We are very lucky that my parents are here for a few weeks, they look after Lisa and Sara and cook for us....
We already used the quilt you made us and everyone says something nice about it, also in the hospital where I took it with me! Thanks a lot again.
Bacioni, Nicole
Ciao!
How are you? We are all fine except for the fact that we are tired, tired tired and tired!
Little Luca doesn't sleep at night so we don't either.
But he is so cute and nice and beautiful, he is always in someone's arms.... Bad thing... He will grow up totally spoiled!
How was your speech? I'm sorry I didn't make it to come and listen and see you but the first week after Luca was born I didn't even notice I was alive, I felt like a zombie. A pity it wasn't Halloween, I would have perfectly matched the atmosphere! I also forgot Silvia's birthday.........Today is the first day I feel a person again. I forgot how hard the time after delivery is! Bruno is sleeping behind me on the bed because he's completely exhausted too. We are very lucky that my parents are here for a few weeks, they look after Lisa and Sara and cook for us....
We already used the quilt you made us and everyone says something nice about it, also in the hospital where I took it with me! Thanks a lot again.
Bacioni, Nicole
Monday, October 10, 2005
Who Was The Big 40 Today?
One last post before I go off and cook dinner for the kiddies.
Happy 40th Birthday to Silvia Deli!!!
Today she turned the big 40! She had a huge do at her home Saturday night, but, Sam and I could not make it, we were partied out, sorry Silvia. Though we did show up for the leftovers Sunday! Click over here to see all the fun. Today Sam and I jumped on our bikes and road over to see Silvia at work at her husband Maurizio's factory in Carasco and to wish her a happy birthday. The ride was great, the day warm and sunny, and the cappuccino we grabbed at the bar fantastic!
Tanti Auguri Silvia!
Oops...one more thing. Nicole finally had her baby one week after her due date. Luca was born Tuesday night! I haven't got all the details yet, but I bet Joanne does, click over to her site and check. But I do know this, all went well and Luca was a healthy 3.7 kilos at birth! Holy guacamole! That was a big baby! Hope to see you soon Nicole. Take care of yourself and your family!
Ciao for now!
Krista
Happy 40th Birthday to Silvia Deli!!!
Today she turned the big 40! She had a huge do at her home Saturday night, but, Sam and I could not make it, we were partied out, sorry Silvia. Though we did show up for the leftovers Sunday! Click over here to see all the fun. Today Sam and I jumped on our bikes and road over to see Silvia at work at her husband Maurizio's factory in Carasco and to wish her a happy birthday. The ride was great, the day warm and sunny, and the cappuccino we grabbed at the bar fantastic!
Tanti Auguri Silvia!
Oops...one more thing. Nicole finally had her baby one week after her due date. Luca was born Tuesday night! I haven't got all the details yet, but I bet Joanne does, click over to her site and check. But I do know this, all went well and Luca was a healthy 3.7 kilos at birth! Holy guacamole! That was a big baby! Hope to see you soon Nicole. Take care of yourself and your family!
Ciao for now!
Krista
Couldn't Resist!
Here are Sam and I the night we arrived in Athens. We hit the ground and the non stop party began. As Sam and I grabbed the first glass of wine at the welcome reception held at the hotel, the photographer grabbed us to take our photo! What I love about this shot is? I have one very similar taken at the Malibu nightclub on Long Island 17 years ago! Sam is grabbing and leaning over me in just the same way, and my smile was just at big. The only difference between the shots I will have to tell you, I will never post the the old photo, we all must agree, the 80's are best forgotten. Sam has less hair, we both now carry a few pounds extra, and our smiles create more laugh lines. Barring those changes, I am just as happy today as I was then to be Sam's leaning post.
To catch you up on the other goings on. I arrived home late Friday night to only have to wake up early Saturday morning to go to my conference on Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia that was held here in Chiavari. It was a long day, but, the conference was very well attended. There were over 100 people in the audience and prominent well informed speakers on the panels. As all conferences go, it had its ups and downs, and most speakers went way over their allotted time. Therefore, my panel being the last, ran late, and was the least attended. About 40 or so attendees remained and I got to tell them about Anna and her struggles in school, my experience here in Italy trying to find answers and solutions to her issues, and mostly about how Special Education works in The United States. Amazingly, people were very interested and quite surprised at the differences between The USA and Italy. I won't bore you those details but will tell you that it was very difficult to speak in public and worse to speak in Italian. Overall, I said what I had to, sparked a discussion, and an exchange of ideas took place. Isn't that what a conference is all about? I enjoyed meeting many teachers, learning specialists, and student teachers wanting to know more about what I now call learning differences. You know what? I was asked at the end of my speech about my experience trying to get answers to what was going on with Anna all those years ago. What I had come up against and would I say overall the experience was negative or was it positive? I thought about it for a moment before I answered. And then I realized. My answer was not really relevant. Yes, it was not easy for any of us, but, it would have been like that anywhere. The time had passed and Anna has come so far. She reads. She learns. She struggles. She was born with her dyslexia and she would have had a hard time in school if we were here in Italy, the US, or anywhere for that matter. Yes, systems for addressing the issues are in place in the US and may be better than Italy. But, what did that matter? The discussion has started in Italy. The information is there for all to see. It is now up to the Italians to make the improvements they need to. And you know what I saw Saturday? Hope. 100 + teachers, speech therapists, and college students turned up in Chiavari to listen and learn more, and some came all the way from Genoa! Imagine? I left the conference Saturday and I felt great!
Arriverderci!
To catch you up on the other goings on. I arrived home late Friday night to only have to wake up early Saturday morning to go to my conference on Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia that was held here in Chiavari. It was a long day, but, the conference was very well attended. There were over 100 people in the audience and prominent well informed speakers on the panels. As all conferences go, it had its ups and downs, and most speakers went way over their allotted time. Therefore, my panel being the last, ran late, and was the least attended. About 40 or so attendees remained and I got to tell them about Anna and her struggles in school, my experience here in Italy trying to find answers and solutions to her issues, and mostly about how Special Education works in The United States. Amazingly, people were very interested and quite surprised at the differences between The USA and Italy. I won't bore you those details but will tell you that it was very difficult to speak in public and worse to speak in Italian. Overall, I said what I had to, sparked a discussion, and an exchange of ideas took place. Isn't that what a conference is all about? I enjoyed meeting many teachers, learning specialists, and student teachers wanting to know more about what I now call learning differences. You know what? I was asked at the end of my speech about my experience trying to get answers to what was going on with Anna all those years ago. What I had come up against and would I say overall the experience was negative or was it positive? I thought about it for a moment before I answered. And then I realized. My answer was not really relevant. Yes, it was not easy for any of us, but, it would have been like that anywhere. The time had passed and Anna has come so far. She reads. She learns. She struggles. She was born with her dyslexia and she would have had a hard time in school if we were here in Italy, the US, or anywhere for that matter. Yes, systems for addressing the issues are in place in the US and may be better than Italy. But, what did that matter? The discussion has started in Italy. The information is there for all to see. It is now up to the Italians to make the improvements they need to. And you know what I saw Saturday? Hope. 100 + teachers, speech therapists, and college students turned up in Chiavari to listen and learn more, and some came all the way from Genoa! Imagine? I left the conference Saturday and I felt great!
Arriverderci!
I Finally Made It!
There I am, at the Acropolis posing as the good tourist. Climbing the steps, recently improved and upgraded, could have been a step back in time, but, the throngs of daytrippers with their tour guides leading the way, well, let us just say, took a bit away from the whole experience. I was lucky in the weather, for the day was beautiful, but, there must have been 5 mega cruise ships in the port of Athens, and they must have all unloaded at the same time! Therefore the crowds climbing to the top took on the feeling of cows going to slaughter. The numbers of people were overwhelming and it got to the point of being ridiculous. The security officers were blowing whistles to control the crowds, the tourguides were fighting for space, and a general carnival atmosphere took over. Top tip. If you really want to travel and go sightseeing, forget about taking a cruise. If you would like to refresh your memory about the Acropolis go here.
The rest of the trip was wonderful. The hotel 5 star all the way and the party non stop. I met some wonderful ladies and caught up with some of my old friends from the fast ferry world. The most interesting thing about the conference was....Sam. He was in high demand seeing that he is now free from his previous employer. Not only were people interested in talking to him about work and offering him various positions, they were actually hunting me down trying to tease me with the possibilities. Life is funny, so much for the sabbatical. Sam's response to all this, "Talk to me in a month, I am on vacation".
I could tell you all about the trip and the sightseeing. But why don't you click on over to the photos yourself right here.
Yiasas!
The rest of the trip was wonderful. The hotel 5 star all the way and the party non stop. I met some wonderful ladies and caught up with some of my old friends from the fast ferry world. The most interesting thing about the conference was....Sam. He was in high demand seeing that he is now free from his previous employer. Not only were people interested in talking to him about work and offering him various positions, they were actually hunting me down trying to tease me with the possibilities. Life is funny, so much for the sabbatical. Sam's response to all this, "Talk to me in a month, I am on vacation".
I could tell you all about the trip and the sightseeing. But why don't you click on over to the photos yourself right here.
Yiasas!
Monday, October 03, 2005
Athens here I come!
I am always on the move. Tomorrow Sam and I are off to Athens, Greece, to attend the Interferry Conference. Fast Ferries are so exciting people have to devote a few days to get together and talk about them, thank god they picked somewhere interesting to visit. Sam is attending the event on the behalf of his former employer. He is on a panel to discuss whatever it is you discuss pertaining to fast ferries. Me, I will be going on the spouses/partners program. Go here, and you can see all the exciting things that await for me. What I am looking forward to the most, finally seeing the Acropolis up close. I have been many times to Athens with Sam on business, never has he had the time to take me to see the ruins. To be fair, they have always been under scaffold, Thursday, I will finally get ring side seats.
So, I will be down from blogging for a couple of days, but, I will be sure to catch you all up upon my return Friday. A big thanks to Joanne for taking in Anna, and Cristina for taking in Sarah. Where would we be without our friends?!
A little business to take care of before I leave you.
Nicole has yet to have her baby. I hope for her, he is born by the time I get back. Hang in there Nicole! And, my brother in law, Edward had quite the surprise today, remember it is his birthday? He got a very special present. His mommy showed up at his door to wish him happy birthday in person. What is the big deal you ask? Well, he, being Edward, lives in Riga, Latvia. She, being Maisa, lives in Helsinki, Finland. Talk about a wake up call! Hope you had a good time Ed, give mommy a big kiss from me!
One last note. Saturday is my big speech! Wish me luck!
A tardi!
Krista
So, I will be down from blogging for a couple of days, but, I will be sure to catch you all up upon my return Friday. A big thanks to Joanne for taking in Anna, and Cristina for taking in Sarah. Where would we be without our friends?!
A little business to take care of before I leave you.
Nicole has yet to have her baby. I hope for her, he is born by the time I get back. Hang in there Nicole! And, my brother in law, Edward had quite the surprise today, remember it is his birthday? He got a very special present. His mommy showed up at his door to wish him happy birthday in person. What is the big deal you ask? Well, he, being Edward, lives in Riga, Latvia. She, being Maisa, lives in Helsinki, Finland. Talk about a wake up call! Hope you had a good time Ed, give mommy a big kiss from me!
One last note. Saturday is my big speech! Wish me luck!
A tardi!
Krista
Happy Birthday Edward!
A quick Happy Birthday to Mr. Crockford. You are now 37 years old, married, a kid, and house payment. So what is next? Disneyland or what?
All kidding aside, and sorry for you brother's post on your blog, have a great day and eat lots of cake!
Cheers,
Krista
All kidding aside, and sorry for you brother's post on your blog, have a great day and eat lots of cake!
Cheers,
Krista
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