Saturday, September 29, 2007

Cinque Anni In Sicilia

It was five years ago today that we moved to Sicily. We celebrated our survival with a giant Sicilian lunch in Aci Trezza, a small fishing village with a quaint marina dotted with colorful boats.
We had the typical three course meal at Ristorante "Il Cove Marino" and somehow still had room for a small gelato from a gelateria on the stroll back to the car. Our bellies were bursting!

Friday, September 28, 2007

911 What Is Your Emergency?

I was pretty fussy in the car seat the other day so Mom handed me her cellphone to shut me up keep me occupied while she was driving home from base. Wait a minute, let me back up... she actually has a "loaner" cellphone from Motorola while "her" cellphone is being fixed because the last time she let me play with her cellphone I smashed the face plate. You would think she would have learned her lesson not to let me play with a cellphone, but no. This time I managed to get into the phonebook and dial 911. Mom was clandestinely impressed. The Sigonella 911 operator, however, was not!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Finger Painting

This went nothing like Mom had planned. No masterpiece created... just a massive mess!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

"Ciao Bimbo!"

There's a little boy, Stefano, who lives in the apartment complex across from ours. Our balconies overlook each other. When we eat dinner on our balcony, Stefano shouts down, “Ciao Bimbo!” Stefano is not calling my Mom a floozy; he’s talking to me. “Bimbo” means baby or child in Italian.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Festa di Compleanno

The boy who lives upstairs from us, Alessandro, turned three years old today so his parents rented a little hall in Motta for the celebration. There were about 20 kids, snacks, pizza, cake, loud music, 100 balloons and lots of plastic balls= a blast for me and a headache for my parents! This was our first time at an Italian child's birthday party. We were completely surprised that all of the gifts that Alessandro joyfully opened were clothes. We were the only ones to get him a toy... a John Deere tractor. We think he liked the American tradition better!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

It's Hilarious...

when I spray my mom in the face with the shower head, but when she does it to me...
it's not so hilarious.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

In The Dog House—Literally!

It got eerily quiet in the house so my parents assumed I was up to no good in the other room but they just found me hanging out in Paolo's house having a little drinkie.

Friday, September 07, 2007

"No" and Other Favorite Words

In the past month my vocabulary has exploded and it seems like everyday I spit out a new word that amazes my parents. My all time favorite word is "no". I even put my hands on my hips, flash the evil eye and say it just as sternly as Mom. A few other words I like to say are: ball, book, dog, hot, cookie, go, cat, clock, duck, truck, car, balloon, and apple. I also speak a little Italian: no, si, grazie, cane, pallone, pesce, acqua, e ballo.

I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I also know a little sign language. As a matter of fact just this morning I signed for "more" by screaming at the top of my lungs and hitting my mother on the back of her legs with a spatula. I guess she didn't understand that translates to "give me another pickle" because I didn’t get another pickle; I got the evil eye and the cold shoulder!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Say Cheese!

Doesn't this look like one of those aweful pictures of a terrified hostage holding a newspaper to prove his existence on a certain date? I'm proving my existence with this provolone cheese packaged on September 6th 2007. My captors love cheese.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Our Favorite Gelato

Sometimes after dinner we take a walk to a gelateria for a gelato. Gelato is Italian ice cream and it's one of the many things we will miss about Sicily.
Our favorite flavor is Zuppa Inglese which translates to "English Soup" and we're not sure what the heck that is all about, but it tastes like frozen eggnog with chocolate chips—so divine!

Yesterday She Was Very Angry But Today...

she couldn't be lovelier. Apparently we missed the BIG eruption last night. Our very talented friend, Nicole, got some fantastic shots of the show. Check out the spectacular images of Mt Etna erupting on her website.

Monday, September 03, 2007

Happy Labor Day!

Santo Stefano Di Camastra and Cefalu

Yesterday we drove to Santo Stefano Di Camastra to do a little ceramic shopping. The town is known mostly for the production of bright red ceramics, but we were on a mission for something else...
Mom finally got that antique terra cotta pot she's been eyeing.
After a morning of shopping (BORING!), we headed to Cefalu for a seafood lunch along the waterfront. To avoid the pesky paparazzi, I tried going incognito with big sunglasses but that crazy woman with the camera follows me around everywhere I go!
After lunch we sat on the rocks and let the waves crash over us.

Shopping In Taormina

Last weekend we went to Taormina to buy a couple of pieces of artwork from Nenad Babic. Babic is originally from Sokolac, Yugoslavia and now lives and works in Florence, Italy. His work is colorful, unique and a little bizarre. We love it! He spends his summers in Taormina, Sicily selling his artwork in the main piazza. Every summer for the past five years we have bought several pieces of his artwork. I guess you could say we are collectors.
Mom and Dad almost bought me one of these Sicilian puppets until they realized that their swords are actually little knives!

Adding To My Resume...

* Hardly leaves fingerprints when tasting cupcakes.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Wish You Were Here!

I'm having so much fun I peed my pants!