Sneak peek into our house

Per request of a dear friend, here is a quick look into our house... more to come later.

Rocking weekend

It is the last week of school, and things are falling into the Summer vortex rapidly. End of the year parties abound, Nick and his band played at their party yesterday. The thing is that they needed a place to practice before the event, and we decided it was our turn to rock the house (no neighborhood consulting involved.) So on Friday afternoon kids and instruments were delivered to the house, and the FUN began. They take their music seriously, these five, so there were many hours filled with music, with a little break in there to make room for a water fight. FUN I said.


What is a mom to do? Well, cook, of course! I found cilantro in Italy, which inspired me to go Mexican. I made a delicious Pico de Gallo salsa, a luscious guacamole, and of course I had to do with your packaged taco kit for the tortillas. Well, after seeing food disappear from the table at a steady pace, I have come to the conclusion that music makes 12 year olds hungry. Very hungry! They were raving about the food, as it was the first time for a couple of them trying Mexican and a special treat to the others.

After dinner the kids practiced a little more, then they "settled" for the night with a pillow fight, a funny movie, some midnight hide and seek, and finally some sleep.

Saturday morning I made my signature pancake breakfast (I am famous for it!) with all kinds of toppings (nutella, maple syrup, fresh fruit, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, etc.) Just enough sugar to keep them going all morning long. Then they had to take apart the drum set so that we could fit it in the car, and off they went to get ready for the Sunday concert.


Sunday we celebrated father's day with an early call, a fine gift of coupons from Nick to dad, including a private concert coupon, a mowing the lawn coupon, a cleaning your car coupon, and several hugs, kisses, and massage coupons. We also gave dad his very own Weber grill. Now we are going to BBQ the right way people! No more gas at the ready, we are moving towards the "slow food" movement! Yes!


A glorious day allowed the kids to have a great party, full of food, music, and lots and lots of water balloons. The concert was a success, and I made sure I embarrassed my poor son by screaming, and clapping, and jumping like the groupie that I am. He will need a shrink to erase these life time memories I am helping to create. He couldn't help but smile when he said that I was a little over the top in my show of affection. The pains of an only child...

I am doing

Trying to find my green thumb, as my sunflowers are dying and my herb garden is looking sad... It is hot here.
Reading "Demasiados Héroes" by Colombian writer Laura Restrepo. I loved her previous novel "Delirio", but her latest is leaving me unsatisfied.
Starting "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte, I am ready to fall for it. So ready!
Listening over and over again to Radiolab. I highly recommend this particular addiction...
Listening to Federico Aubele. Dreamy.
Planning our anniversary trip to Spain, and looking forward to our hotel, and the food we'll eat.
Crossing items of my list. #38 Perfect my mojito recipe. DONE! Did I mention is is hot here? So, as a token of my appreciation to you my faithful readers, here is my very own (tried and tested) mojito:

BEATRIZ' MOJITO:


Fresh mint leaves (about 6 or 7 per glass)
Lime (juice of half a lime per glass)
Simple sugar syrup (1 oz per glass) recipe bellow.
White rum (2 oz per glass)
Crushed ice
Club soda

Muddle the mint leaves together with the lime juice. Be careful not to destroy the leaves, just break them slightly to release their flavor.
Add the simple syrup and rum. Stir.
Add ice up to 2/3 of the glass.
Add the club soda to top it off. Stir again.
ENJOY!

Simple sugar syrup:
1 Cup water
1 Cup sugar

In a small pan, bring water and sugar to a low boil. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until sugar disolves. Cool down and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep up to 2 weeks.

Love has kept me away

I come to you with a full heart and a smile on my face. Not only did I see my wonderful friends in Barcelona, but we were lucky to have my mom and mother in law visit for three weeks. They left on Wednesday, and I am a little saddened by their absence.

The ever present dichotomy of the expat. I find myself broken into little pieces, some have been left behind across the ocean, some are taking roots here in the fertile grounds of Italy. But every so often, the pieces come together and mend themselves into a new whole. These moments of looking at my past and my present together in my friends and family bring such happiness that I find myself without words.

What are we but the sum of such moments? My heart is a malleable mass, shaped by the love of those close and far.

Reconnecting with friends

My cyber life has taken a backseat to my real life. I am leaving in a few hours to Barcelona, where I will meet with FOUR childhood friends. We are coming from different corners of the world to see each other. I expect to have many a story to tell when I come back. There are so many things I want to write about, but where does the time go?

I am posting at 1:30 in the wee hours of the morning. Just a quick note to say good bye, and see you soon.

Photo of Gaudí's Sagrada Familia by the talented Wolfgang Staudt

Mom

You are an inspiration. You are the strongest woman I know. You chose life instead of death, happiness when sadness seemed the only option, perseverance when everyone else wanted to give up, love when most needed.

I see glimpses of you in my reflection, and I smile with your smile at this.

I love you and I am so proud to be your daughter. You are everything.

Outdoors

YES! We have been spending a lot of our time outdoors. The weather is at its best; the rain has finally left, leaving behind a beautiful carpet of green and flowers everywhere. Our little yard is getting spruced, the table, the chairs, the canopy ready for the long afternoons. On earth day we planted some flowers, geraniums on the balcony, bright colorful flowers by the kitchen window, and I got my long awaited sunflowers too! I get to cross # 17 from the list!


We also splurged on two lounge chairs for the garden. Now we do as the Italians do, we sunbathe every chance we have and clearly we are getting a little bit of our Californian color back. I was fading away to snow colored whiteness... winters are long around here... But Spring is here to stay, unlike last year when everybody was talking about having an early winter- or Dutch weather- when it did not stop raining for the whole month of May, and then it kept on raining for the whole month of June... Not something I want to remember.

The chairs are placed facing our gorgeous view of the Swiss Alps, which can be a bewitching scene. I am making mojitos to celebrate the weather (#38), so far I am buying the mint at the market, but come the new moon, we will be planting our herb garden (#34) to keep us stocked for a while. I only wish I had an ice dispenser in my fridge... HA! Keep on dreaming, she says!

Reading Sense and Sensibility, and wondering how things are going to work out for all involved. Listening to Macaco and loving it. Getting ready for my trip to Barcelona where I will meet with four of my childhood friends. Loving life and running.