Weekend of joy!

After market day in Varese, stopping in to see the puppies in the local pet shop and caffe to keep us going, we arrived in Stresa!  Our intent was to do a little shopping at our favorite wine/balsamic vinegar shop, have lunch and check out some of the stores.  The wine shop was unexpectedly closed- with a little handwritten sign on the door that said they had left for their mother’s house.  Possibly a family emergency.  So that was off the list.  Will have to check back in December before we head home for Christmas!  We ate lunch at a great little restaurant called Mamma mia’s- You might think it interesting that Italians say “Mamma Mia!” often- it is a phrase that you hear all the time, and now I am saying it too!

We waited around until some of the shops opened again after lunch (yes, they close during lunch, and then reopen an hour and a half or so later!)  Did a little Christmas shopping- I won’t tell what we bought!  Ate a scoop of gelato in the chilly fall weather, and sat by a fountain in a park by the lake and relaxed.  Nice day! Good company! Fun shopping for family! Nice drive! 

We did not park where these big ducks were sleeping.  They have reserved this space.

Funny story!  When we stopped into the caffe bar (coffee shop called a bar) for an espresso, an older (and visibly poor) gentleman said something to us as we entered.  I thought he was begging, so I said, No,grazie.  He followed us into the bar, said something I didn’t pay attention to,and we ordered our caffe- due caffe e uno brioche.  The lady behind the bar gave one caffe to Billy and one to the gentleman!  I asked for two, not one, and she explained that the gentleman said I was buying him a coffee!    I smiled and ordered another coffee!  Creative way to get what you need!  He was very thankful and said thankyou many times!  Good story, huh?  Jesus says in Matthew 26:11 – for you will always have the poor with you…a good reminder for those of us who have so much to give.  A cup of coffee? No problem.

This is a little blurry, but the picture is what driving is like in Italia!  Motorcycles everywhere on both sides!  This has been a little hard to get used to, but you learn to look on both sides of your car all the time.  They drive fast and weave in and out of traffic.  The first few times were intense and made me nervous, but now we are used to this.  They are usually good drivers.  The disturbing part is when you see someone get hit- accidents here are not too frequent, but when they happen, they are horrible.  Worse than I have ever seen.  We pray for our safety driving.

The last pictures are a reminder for us of St. Louis!  We have great memories of raking tons of leaves at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Creve Coeur- and the money the kids earned picking up bags of “gumballs” for Grandpa!  These are sweet memories- and seeing the gorgeous trees in the parking lot of Leroy Merlin was worth a picture!

Love from Italia- Jen and Billy

 

 

 

 

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Ephesians 5:15-21

Overload!

The past two weeks have been a test for me!  I have had many opportunities to speak Italian, two cooking lessons with my Italian language teacher’s mother (and my friend Susan), repairman in the house fixing the boiler, some random delivery guy that stopped by, people at the grocery store chatting with me….singing in Italian at church on Sunday!  Uffa! (that means whew) My brain is taxed, my head is swimming with words and now I am having trouble remembering english words…..this is odd!

Last weekend we were intending to go to Venezia for the day, but heard from friends that it was flooded- and it was raining.  So instead we got our driving tours of Northern Italy book out and chose a route around Lago Lugano in Switzerland.( Thanks Cindy for the book~!)  We ended up spending the day driving through tiny villages and stopping to check out various sights, eat lunch and walk around.  It was really relaxing and the lake was beautiful.

We were walking up 400 steps to get to this church- it was quite a long way.  On our way back down we saw this sweet nonna on her way up to place flowers on a grave in the cemetary-

The cemetaries are really interesting in Italy- this one was old and very ornate. 

Sunday night was a baptism service in an evangelical Baptist church outside of Milano- it was wonderful to hear the testimonies of two young women and to witness their obedience to the Lord in baptism.  There were many new people who came- which is always fun!  We even sang a couple of worship songs in Italian! 

My friend Susan and I have gone over to our Italian teacher’s mothers home twice now for cooking and conversation.  Enrica is so gracious, as is her husband Samuele.  We enjoy tea, biscotti and cooking~  She is patient with us, speaks slowly and teaches us well!  Last week it was a veal roast, this week it was a beef roast with vegetables and polenta- They had asked us what we would serve with the roast and we said maybe a salad- NO!  That was the response~    So Samuele went out to the store, and they made us a HUGE pot of polenta- I think it weighed 10 pounds!  Billy and I ate at Sam and Susan’s house last night and enjoyed the yummy roast with polenta- there is so much left over, we are bringing it to the men’s bible study tonight.

 

Have a great week~!  Love from Italia, Jen and Billy~

Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me. Psalm 66:16

Broccoli! Orta and olives.

You know it is fall when the broccoli arrives in the grocery store.  In the United states, this is not a big deal.  Here in Italia, it is a big deal!  (well, at least for me)  The vegetables and fruits are seasonal.  What a concept!  Not only are they seasonal, they are fresh and full of flavor- which is very different from the states.  I also like how the vegetables and fruit smell here- like many things in Italia, there is a fragrance that goes along with it- sometimes good sometimes bad….  But, as far as the food goes, there is nothing better than fresh food that has very recently been brought in from the fields where it is grown.  The fruits and vegetables have to be washed really well- there is dirt on everything!  No wax on the apples, no melons in the dead of winter, no sweet potatoes before it is time and no broccoli until fall.  You know that the simple pleasures are really simple when you get excited about vegetables- even to the point of taking a photo of the first bunch of seasonal broccoli!  Cooking and planning menus is a bit more challenging here- since you must go and see what they have first, then decide what you will cook.  I still think we are very spoiled in the US- Did you know that you cannot buy canned pumpkin here?  You actually have to purchase and cook a pumpkin- I have yet to try that! 

This time of year seems to be busy.  The days are getting shorter, the sun is setting earlier, and the cool weather has caused us to turn the boiler on and heat the villa.  The leaves are starting to fall, but the colors are not as dramatic here.  The mountain tops are covered in snow, but not as much as last year if I remember correctly.  The time will change here this weekend- and we get an extra hour of sleep!  Last weekend we drove over to Lago d’Orta (about an hour away) and walked around the little village and had dinner there- it was really relaxing- except when Billy stepped in a huge pile of dog poop and we had to go down to the lake to wash his shoe off!  I posted some pictures on Facebook, but here is one of us!

We enjoy the little side trips more than the big sightseeing trips.  We are sad that Billy’s sister and brother in law cannot come to Italia this fall- Linda had a major surgery this past week and I think is now home recuperating-  It seems that many people we know and love are suffering with illness, surgeries, waiting for serious test results and going through trials in their lives.  I know life is full of this- God says we will have trouble in our lives.  We have spent a lot of time praying for many people we know and some we don’t know- and we are trusting the Lord with their lives and circumstances.  We often feel a little separated from what is going on at home, but we are thankful for email, Skype and our phone!  We hardly ever watch the news- strange, huh?

It looks like we will be home in St. Louis for Thanksgiving- so I will be cooking this year~  I love Thanksgiving.  I love cooking for my family!  And I am looking forward to a relaxing week at home- jet lagged and surrounded by family!  I don’t plan on calling many people, because our time is very brief, but I will be home for an extended time starting at Christmas- and will take the time to reconnect with friends.  If you read this, don’t be offended!  It is not a personal thing.

The olive tree in the front yard is heavy with ripening olives- a friend of mine stopped by the other day and picked one off and took a bite, thinking it would be just like a black olive out of the jar.  Wrong.  Bitter and yucky.  She was surprised- I remembered from last year not to try them!  We leave them for the birds to eat.   We will have to trim the branches way back again in order for the tree to produce olives- it is more like an overgrown bush at times.

Recently read a good little book that I would recommend- titled- Just Do Something.  by Kevin DeYoung- a book about finding God’s will in your life.  Interesting and applicable.

Contentment says,”God has me here for a reason, and if He never does anything different, Ill still serve and praise Him.”

Kevin DeYoung

Serving and praising the Lord here in Italia- Jen and Billy