il blog di maddy- cavalli

just recently, my friend Alisha had her birthday party at Da Gianni,(Gianni's place). Gianni's place is where we go horse back riding,my favorite horses are Collin and Keno. this time i rode Collin and Alisha rode Tyson,like Mike Tyson. i've gone horse back riding 6 times and i can already trot by myself.at Da Gianni, there is a new horse it's so cute, but it's mom is very protective so we don't get to see it for long.

I LOVE HORSES!!!i also like horse back riding!!!

giornata tipica di Tina, pommeriggio

...12:30-1:30 a civilized pranzo means that food is hot, probably two courses, and may come with a glass of wine and a little espresso afterwards. Honestly, eating like this most days is going to be hard to give up. And it’s not just the food itself, it’s the pace. On Tuesdays and Fridays Maddy and Gus have a half day for school and they come home for Pranzo. We have taken to eating together and then leaving homework until at least 2- we all get to eat and rest. It’s very humane.

1:30-3:45 On days when the kids have a full day of school, this is usually my time to bake and or cook. I bake bread, pizza dough, cookies (Italian or American) most weeks. Our landlady lent us a bread machine for the year and it gets lots of exercise. Many of the other moms from school and sports have one and there was a flurry of recipe exchanges revolving around this handy 'eletrodomestico' a few months back. Part of the reason bread machines are so popular now is that bread has gotten expensive relative to salaries (especially for retired people), and Italians are looking for ways to keep eating the way they have without spending more and more for it. Among the mamme, there was a debate about which reason to have a breadmachine was the most compelling: saving money, using the highest quality flour but for a reasonable price, or having that lovely fresh-bread small in your house. I think cheapest bread won.

On days the kids come home early from school, this time (2:00-dinnertime, even) is for homework- especially Tuesdays. There is a basic expectation that school is short two days a week and that you get one day off from school entirely (Saturdays, that is. Sunday is THE day of rest and family time) so that you can do homework. This is true to a smaller degree even for 1st graders. I think the idea is that in high school and at the university this is the way things are, so the earlier you get kids trained to be 'serious students,' the better. I find myself asking often if I'm the only one who has a hard time getting her kids to study independently for 4-10 hours as week (I'd estimate 4 hours is Gus' work load and 10 is Maddy's). Among the mamme there are three common responses to this persistent question: 1) You have a stay-at-home parent who's part time job it is to supervise hours of homework, painful or not, reasonable or not, because school success is important, 2) you decide the teachers have exaggerated expectations and you require your children to do, say, 2 out of 10 pages of homework, or 3) you do (or mostly do, spending sometimes a few hours a week) your children's homework with and even for them. In fact, most mamme I know do all three to varying degrees. We have a retired teacher friend who gives Gus private tutoring, I asked her what the homework situation was like from the teacher's point of view. She said some students did it all, some did none, and that you'd never see everyone truly on the same page. We get periodic reports from the teachers about our children's classes and the two most common complaints are about classroom behavior and homework completion. As far as I can tell, there is incessant complaining on both sides, but nothing I would call progress.

4:45-8:00 three days a week this is sports time. The actual hours vary for Gus and Maddy, they each have about 3 hours of sports divided into two evenings. Monday Maddy has pallavolo (volleyball) from 6:30-8, Tuesday Gus has pallacanestro from 5:45-7, Thursday is pallavolo for Maddy from 5-6:30 and pallacanestro for Gus from 5:45-7. If you're a parent, you probably noticed something there- managing two kid sports overlapping is not easy. I was worried at first, but it turns out the two gyms are about two blocks apart, and Maddy can walk over and meet me at pallacanestro when pallavolo is over. I love this part of living in a small town- nothing is ever more than a seven minute drive away. Ahhh!

On a good day, I'm at my casalinga (housewife) best and I have pre-prepared dinner to just shy of done during homework, so that when we get back from sports I can serve things up quickly. Many of you know that Gibbs is not only a great cook, but also a willing one. At the beginning of the year, he usually made dinner while we were at sports. He still does sometimes, I just don't mention it to the mamme anymore. Let's just say, there aren't many men like Gibbs here, and as my parents used to say, "don't shout and wave it about..."

8:00-9:00, on average, is our dinnertime. We have fallen into the typical Italian pattern of eating pasta nearly every day in some form, however, I'd say we eat less at a time than we used to. We sometimes have two courses, the second one usually includes meat (again, smaller quantities than before). Our new favorite dessert is fruit and cheese. Some nights we are not in the mood to cook anything fancy, so it's left-overs or snacky dinner (equally unpopular among Italians, generally speaking...) A typical dinner for a busy Italian family is minestrone made with chicken or beef stock (or both), boiled cheese rinds (you don't eat them, but they do add a nice flavor and thicken it a little), beans and loads of veggies.

9-ish- bedtime for the kids. Sometimes we have the chance to listen to Gibbs read a little Harry Potter in Italian (we are in the middle of book 2). Our kids go to bed earlier than most of Maddy and Gus' classmates, but a full hour later than they used to at home. I don't know how the others avoid serious sleep-deprivation.

9:30-11:30 Gibbs and I hang out, sometimes chatting, sometimes watching movies or shows (american, mostly) on TV. We only get 1 channel well, so options are limited (one of the difficulties of living in the hills).

primavera arriva

Spring may not be fully here, but there are a preponderance of signs that would suggest it's on the way:

1- there are some flowers in the garden
2- the grass throughout the countryside is FLORESCENT green
3- the birds are back and making a distracting racket
4- we can hear the frogs croaking again
5- the gelateria is open for business
6- sometimes the locals go out without their down coats
7- Gibbs spotted an snail out on the go
8- the lizards have come out to sun themselves occasionally
9- we have gone more than a day without lighting a fire
10- there are hopeful buds on most of the trees

giornate tipiche?

There hasn't been a typical day here since about mid-february. Before I resume telling you about typical days, I'll take a minute to update everyone listening on our exceptional month and a half:

It started in London, where we visited our dear friends Jackie and John. Highlights included a wonderfully guided tour of the House of Commons and House of Lords (incredible!!! unfortunately you can't take photos), a fabulous dinner with Jackie and John (in an Italian restaurant, no less), a relaxing evening with cousin Theo back at the apartment, and weather actually better than in Italy. (ps: thanks a million for the apartment J&J!)

Next Uncle Al and Aunt Karen arrived. We enjoyed many meals together and loved hearing their stories of using phrasebook Italian, pointing and smiling to get around the countryside. Uncle Al was the first to brave 'Advanced Italian Shopping' (an entry on this topic forthcoming) at the butcher and green grocer's- and he felt all the warmth of a bolognese welcome.

Then Papa Paul and Vicki came for two exciting weeks- the first of which was full of day trips to local UNESCO world heritage sites (we had no idea there were so many!). Gibbs, Maddy and Gus took turns playing guide and Italian interpreter in places like Venice, Urbino, Mantua, and Ravenna. We all headed south for a gorgeous day in Siena. In the ceturies-old rivalry between Florence and Siena, I think we all agree we are now rooting for Siena.

It was during this week that we had our biggest adventure yet in Italian community living. In an on-going 'who can bug whom more' war, Gus poked another kid at school with a pencil. The pencil broke the skin and between doctors, police, absentee principals, and hot-blooded Italian teachers and parents, drama ensued in several forms. Things have calmed down now, and most importantly Gus seems well, even a little more grown-up. And you know what they say about a friend in need, well we discovered we have many wonderful friends here who were eager to both remind us that Gus is great (one parent who said, joking, she was ready to testify to the police that she spent a whole weekend with Gus and no one got hurt!) and that we're not negligent parents (one mamma even came by with a rose for me and a few kind words: 'I thought you could use a hug- mothers of boys, especially, need to be strong and tough and smile occasionally')

Our friends the Gantriis' arrived next- Pete, Kathryn, Jasper and Rasmus. We squeezed in one great big dinner with all 10 of us down the hill at the local restaurant before some of us headed west. As I understand it- Maddy and Gus had a blast through out the week sharing a little bit of our lives here in Monterenzio with Jasper and Razzy and Gibbs enjoyed cooking some of our new culinary reperetoire for our friends.

During this week, Paul, Vicki and I headed into and all around France, stopping at Salon de Provence, Arles, Biarrtiz, Anglet, St Jean Pied de Port, Bordeaux, Tours and just outside Paris. Our mission was ostensibly to find and secure a slip in a port in Southwestern France for their boat in 2011. In the process we not only got them on a port waiting list, but we also encountered and experienced the beauty of Basque Country and culture- a people who still speak a dialect from the pre-Roman Greeks who inhabitied the area centuries ago. Next was Bordeaux and an evening dining in a restaurant on many food connoisseurs' top ten in the world list- Tupina. We swung by Tours to spend the afternoon with Mathilde, enjoy a delicious lunch and pick up her mother Odile (my traveling companion for the drive home to Bologna). Thanks to Odile and her wonderful family, we also had a comfortable place to stay near the Charles de Gaulle Airport at the home of Mathilde's sister Camille where we enjoyed another lovely home-cooked meal and an excellent night's sleep.

The last week to recount in this long tale began when Odile and I said goodbye to Paul and Vicki and set off to Bologna via the Alps. Near Annecy we stayed two delightful days with Odile's niece Sophie and her family. By the end of our stay I truly felt like part of the family- perhaps due to the warm reception, our exceptional capatability, and a short afternoon with another gem of the family, Mathilde's grandmother (who is pictured in a rehab center here because she recently broke her leg... skiing! in the photo you may also note she has the feet of a young girl). Making our way to Bologna we braved the tunnel de Mont Blanc, and made it home safely. Odile enjoyed our Italian daily life and a few day trips. She even braved the crowd of Italian mamme at the coffee shop twice, discovering that she understands lots of Italian and (just as delightful) they understand her when she speaks French! A highlight of our time with Odile was cooking seafood from a hard-to-spot fish market in Comacchio- Gus is now a certified shrimp peeler.

From staying at home to traveling near and far, the last six weeks have been nothing less than a daring adventure all the while. Thanks to all of you who shared these moments with us!

photos:
1- Jackie and Maddy in London
2- The Maynors at Westminster Palace
3- Marco and Gus are friends again
4- Rose from Cinzia
5- Maynors on top of torre in Siena
6- Dinner for 10 at Idice 95- Gantriis', Grandparents, and Maynors
7- Paul & Vicki on 'their' (??!?) beach in Biarritz
8- Marina @ Anglet- Paul & Vicki's future home?
9- Paul, Vicki & Mathilde
10- Odile & Mathilde
11- Camille & Willie
12- Sophie, Christian, Pauline & Florence
13- Mathilde's Grandmother, Odile documenting young feet
14- Just before Mt Blanc in the Alps
15- Odile & Gus prepare yummy shrimp

giornata tipica di Tina, mattina

There is no doubt that I have become a casalinga (Italian housewife). Here is a typical day in my week: 6:30- alarm goes off
7:00- actually up, get kids out of bed
7-7:30- pilates or shower
7:30- Italian breakfast: kids have hot chocolate and biscotti (basic Italian breakfast cookies), plus yogurt (sometimes) or homemade brioche, I have a soy/orzo cappuccino (here decaf is relatively unheard-of, instead, people who don’t care about the caffeine or who prefer something more gentle drink toasted barley- it’s delicious with soymilk and one sugar cube :)
7:50- 7:55 must be out the door for school, hop in blue Fiat and run down the hill
8:00- arrive at school, goodbye bacini (little kisses) in car (my kids don’t do mom-kissing in public, most Italian Moms insist…)
8:00-8:20- catch other Mamme and chat, topics include last night’s homework, any interesting personal events, weather predictions, occasionally school politics, today’s chores… we leave when invitations for coffee start to go around, either you’re in, or you have other plans and will see everyone again when school is out. I usually say I’ll head over to the bar (read: coffee shop) after a couple of errands.
8:20-8:25- stop in bakery just a block from school, pick up two small ‘ciabatte’ and usually one ‘pane arabo’.
8:25-8:30- drive to end of town to get milk from organic raw milk machine- 1€ per liter
8:30-8:40- stop in at green grocer, where I pick up 2 big bags full of fresh (all Italian) produce for about 10€, it lasts most of the week and I always forget something critical…
8:40- arrive at Lelli (the bar, coffee shop, bakery, salami shop, convenience store), make eye contact with barista, say hi, find friends. After a couple of minutes I hear my name and pick up my soy cappuccino. Chatting at Lelli is my favorite way to start the day. The mamme and I check in, console anyone who’s not having a good day, hear about people’s upcoming plans, discuss the kids and school, or make moms-only plans for our emotional or physical health.
9:15- morning coffee breaks-up and I pay my €1,30, goodbyes in the parking lot.
9:10-12:30- this part varies, but a completely typical way for me to spend this time it processing laundry. Everything here is line-dried which means you have to plan carefully 2 days ahead in the winter if you want clean clothes. I have a drying rack in the house set up next to the wood-burning stove- things take a good 24 hours to dry. Once they are dry many things require ironing. I don’t mind the chore, it’s satisfying and reminds me of my grandma who taught me to iron using handkerchiefs. The down side is it dries your hands out terribly. I sometimes watch Italian daytime TV while I iron, mostly talk shows, some news, and soaps. Other things I might do during this time include running with my Bellarussian friend, taking a walk, running other errands (like Ipercoop), or baking.
Around 12:30- take out leftovers and heat up a civilized pranzo for me and Gibbs.

photos above: some of the mamme at Lelli (just after Obama's Inauguration Day), the ironing, ironing and Italian daytime TV.

to be continued...

il blog di gus- Londra

One day we went to London for six days and ‘giovedì’ (Thursday) we went and saw some buskers at Covent Garden. There were acrobats and comedians and here are some pictures of how talented they were:

Ipercoop, no 5

last question in the quiz- if you've been grocery shopping in Italy even once, you'll probably get it right away:

Q. How do you choose and purchase produce in an Italian grocery store?

A. If you said grab a bag off the roll and put the fruit or veggies of you choice inside then throw it into your cart, one of two bad things will happen to you: 1) you will get dirty looks from your fellow shoppers because you just touched that produce with YOUR BARE HANDS, and 2) you will be send back to the produce department to weigh all your purchases and get price stickers while the whole line of customers waits, rolling their eyes. All over Italy you must first put on a plastic glove (available right next to the plastic bags) before touching any produce unless you are a fully trained and authorized greengrocer. In France, right next door, using all these plastic gloves would be considered wasteful and polluting, but here they are an essential part of self-serve produce. There are signs at greengrocers that say- Do Not Touch! Weighing your fruits and veggies is becoming more common even in the states, but at one local supermarket you choose on the screen if you are weighing a fruit or vegetable first and then you can select the item- FYI: tomatoes are vegetables and avocados are fruits.

sorry for the photo quality- one is of an official Italian produce-handling glove, the other is of a weighing station