Strange Occurances

I have been seeing some very strange and out of the ordinary things these last few days. A man standing in the middle of a corn field watering with what appeared to be a flower garden watering can. Ducks in a herd on the side of a road when there is no water anywhere near. Weird. Talking to Louissa Sinclair- Louissa calling from Germany to talk to me in Italy when we are both from Northern NY. Very weird.
85 degrees out here. My hydrangea is not doing well. I think perhaps it has a disease. I treated it with something but not sure what since everything is in Italian.

Things are coming along

As you can see, my bulb garden is coming along. I have to admit that I need to work on my planting technique. I don't really have straight rows even though I thought they were straight when planting. There is also a patch where no plants are coming up I think do to hot coals being poured in that area. Oh well. 26 of 30 gladiolas are living. I am waiting on phlox, dahlias, anemones and a few hosta. I have to say that hostas are not big here. I planted the bulbs but I have not been able to locate any small hosta plants.
Besides that garden, life continues are normal. I learned how to play bunco on Friday night and actually won the category- most wins. Saturday night we had a new couple over for dinner. I made homemade hummus for the first time. It turned out pretty good- perhaps a bit too garlicy but that is how Christian likes it. My parents and two of my siblings are in St. Kitts. I am going to be honest- totally jealous. But I think my parents needed a break from the ever present and persistent cold weather.
Finally, Happy Birthday to Ethan. I think if I am doing my numbers right- he is 24 today. Have fun celebrating in the sun!

Am I a casalinga or what?

For those of you who don't speak Italian, Casalinga is what is know as a housewife in the US. It is one of the few words that I know from my 9 months of living here. Perhaps I know a few more but just a few.
Anyway, I feel completely like a casalinga this week simply due to my schedule. After today, I will have attended 3 luncheons in one week. That has to be some sort of record for me. But it has been fun and I have had a chance to meet some new people. I finally joined to the Officer's Wives club. It all seems a bit political for me but it was probably the "right" move to make. It allows me to meet and get to know a whole different group of people from my normal scope, especially since my normal Army circles are very small. We have a new Captain and Wife who just arrived yesterday with their 90lb dog-Drake in tow. Yeah- perhaps a new playmate for ours. We haven't met them yet but are taking a welcome basket over to them later this afternoon. Now, why did they get to name their dog Drake? That was on my list when we were naming Grady but since Drake means male duck and GSPs are bird dogs Christian, to quote Seinfeld said " I hate the Drake". To which I always promptly respond- "I love the Drake". He doesn't really hate the name but it got knocked off early on. The funny thing is this new dog is a Shepherd/wolf mix per the gossip mill. I will have to go directly to the source for complete and total confirmation.
Got to go. Family- have a blast in St. Kitts.

Updates

1. The weather continues to be lovely. It rained last night
2. I feel like a true gardener- 5 of my 68 bulbs that I planted are starting to sprout against all odds-including hot coals being poured on them, dogs walking on them and ants crawling all over. Not too bad. If that is all that come up I will be happy. 5 is better then nothing.
3. Christian is home.
4. My brother Chris has a new dog named Roger. Apparently he doesn't like the snow in April all that much. But I hear he is really cute. I need to see pics.
5. I continue to make progress albeit slow progress on my refinishing projects.
6. I intubated a patient for the first time yesterday at the hospital and was successful on the first attempt. Very exciting for me- nobody else probably really cares.
7. I am going to a volunteer luncheon this morning.
8. In the spirit of growing plants- I am going to try to grow tomatoes. We eat them all the time here and for some reason they are rather expensive in the commissary. So, I guess we will see in a few months.
9. Have to run and shower before leaving.

What's for dinner???????

It is already 7:21pm here in Italy. I am having one of those moments of, where did the day go? And what am I going to have for dinner? Say not left overs again???? That is all I have had since Saturday. But I don't feel like cooking for just me.
Why is it when one is doing enjoyable activities the time just flies by but doesn't when the task at hand is arduous. I feel a bit deep today and contemplative as I am going about doing my various activities. I have come to the conclusion that I do like my life here. I really like my life here when I hear that snow is covering tulips and winter storm warnings are in effect. I am enjoying planting flowers, tending to the yard, doing errands in shorts and a tee shirt, sitting at my kitchen table in the mornings with the windows and door open with the sun radiating down on my face just sipping my coffee and doing my devotions. Weather really does have a profound effect on my attitude at times.
I am not trying to rub it in to those of you still experiencing winter but I am truly happy especially this week. Everything is completely in bloom and the countryside is beautiful. I realized today that the mountains are completely green and lush. I will say that as wonderful as it is now I am a little worried that if it is 78 degrees in April- what is it going to be like in June? Are we going to have a drought? I sure hope not.
Anyway, I am hoping that the winter subsides in the States quickly. Until tomorrow. I think my water is boiling for dinner.
Ciao

The day's activities

I am feeling rather crafty these past few days. My refinishing projects are coming out fabulous and I am just thrilled with the results. Christian was a bit doubtful of the outcome given the previous state of being for several of these pieces of furniture. But he will be pleasantly surprised. I am actually a bit shocked at how much better and improved the pieces are looking. It is above my expectations. I have to admit when I was working on this project yesterday I wondered to myself if I was in over my head. I mean, I didn't even read a book or have any directions. I knew a few tidbits from various people here and there but nothing official on how to do this project. So, this vanity is almost done and another nightstand is in the works. I have a couple of chairs and another large dresser but the dresser will have to wait until Christian comes home. Besides the furniture, I am knitting a new little project in the evenings as I unwind from my days of sanding. I love these new needles my mother-in-law sent me. They are wonderful. I have never knit so fast and so evenly- I guess that is why they are called turbo needles.....

Below are two pics of planters that are in my front yard. Because we live in government housing we were entitled to 24 small plants, 2 bags of soil and 2 bags of those cedar chips to go on top. Now I am not much for the cedar chips but was thrilled to get the flowers and soil. I obviously got a few other plants to spice things up a little. Although in this pic- my double impatient is looking a little like it might tip over. This whole bed consists of pinks and whites- I think. The spiky little guys are unknown to me. The lady couldn't think of the English name. They produce big flowers when in direct sun- perfect!

This is what I would like to call my flowy planter. Lots of plants that are going to become lush and grow over the pot. Petunias are extremely popular I think since they have that drape like effect they are good for planters and window planters. I added a hint of yellow to bring in some more color.

So, the flowers look good but the lawn is going down hill. It is not the dogs I have to admit. There is some sort of something killing the grass from underneath. Besides the moles I think the lawn has a disease. It is getting really patchy, brown and weird looking all over. I have to do some research.

Grady got his second bird late this evening.

We need to work on him catching the fowl but not killing it.

THE BIRTHDAY BOY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE 28. TRIED CALLING BUT GOT THE MACHINE. HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GREAT DAY.

It feels like...

a Monday but the reality of it all is that it is Tuesday and I am up very early. I am off to volunteering again. Hopefully it will be a bit more mentally stimulating. We shall see. Considering it is spring break here I am not sure what to expect.

Christian just left to go to Germany for a few days. I started my furniture refinishing project last night and will move on to the bulk of the piece later on today. I will say, the stuff that I was recommended to use by the hardware store is powerful stuff but boy does it smell NASTY. No worries- I am wearing rubber gloves and commencing this project in the garage- a well ventilated area. It is a blue gel type material and it sure gets the finish off.

The dogs are not on my good side at the moment. The excite that the morning brings to them was a bit over the top this morning and Dyllan's crazy tail caused me to spill my morning coffee all over the place. Not a good way to start the day.

I am off.....

He is Risen...

Praise the Lord.... What a wonderful day to celebrate our Savior's resurrection. I am so thankful for all Jesus did for me. I was rereading the last few chapters in Matthew on Saturday morning and I am always newly amazed at how much He suffered because He was that passionate about mankind.
It has been a busy couple of days for us. As you can see pictured below, although not the greatest quality, is Christian. He was Jesus in the presentation of the living last supper performed on Maudy Thursday at the chapel. He is shy about his acting abilities and didn't want anyone outside Italy to know but he is currently asleep on the couch so all is fair game.
Anyway, he did a great job with his two lines. It was mostly monologues by the disciples about how they came to follow Christ and wondering who it was that was going to betray Jesus.
Friday and Saturday consisted of cleaning, organizing and having a few friends over for Mexican food last night. It was a blast. The only glitch was the coals with the grill gave Christian a bit of a problem initially and one whole batch of smoldering coals ended up in my newly planted garden of bulbs. Maybe the carbon will be good for the growing process?????? I guess I will just have to wait and see......
Today was our first Easter as a married couple. It really didn't seem like that big of a deal but it is another first for us as a couple. It was though my first sunrise service. It was supposed to be up the Mountain but it had been raining all night and was moved last minute to the chapel. I have never been to church at 0630. I definitely went back to bed upon arrival home. We shared an Easter meal with some of our friends from Church. They grilled all sorts of pieces and parts of a lamb and they also served ham. I can remember my Grandma Williamson fixing lamb on Easter and I don't remember not liking it but I am not such a huge fan nowadays. It was nice to have a large group to spend the day with. Upon talking to both of our families tonight, large parties both in Canton and also in Racine. Large get togethers seem to be the norm for both families.
Well, that is about it. We are winding down the day. What a wonderful day to know and celebrate our Savior's love for us.

Glimpses of Spring

So, this is the start of my garden just outside the patio door of our bedroom. It was so much fun to go out and pick stuff out and then plant it. I must say the weeding was not so much fun but a necessary thing to get done. The other side of the sidewalk is all weeded and it appears to be just soil but don't let looks deceive you, there are tons of bulbs under there just waiting for some water to begin to bud. I hope they all come up. I had to call my mom for some bulb advice. So, what we have in this picture are some hydrangeas ( I just love the pink color) and along the edge are inpatients but a different variety then what I am used to in the states. I have heard they are a bit more fragile. The small somewhat wilted flowers in the back of the bed are some type of market variety that I had had in planters and they were not doing so hot so into the ground they went. I hope to be able to save them this way. This is the side of our yard. I love all the colors that are currently in bloom. I think the tree with the white flowers is a dogwood but I could be wrong.

How cute they are- even though they are bird killing savages. After completing my blog yesterday I went outside to find them feasting on the captured prey. I called Christian to see what I should do and he said to just let them have it. Let me tell you, not a feather was left. We were at least hoping for a wing for training purposes. But no such luck- it was just to delicious for them.

Our little boy is.....

growing up.... Today was a day of firsts in the Casa di Skoglund. As I was getting ready to leave for volunteering this morning, I could not find Grady. Dyllan was of course at the door posed, ready to play ball. I called and called to no avail. Where was Grady? Well, he has not tried to escape recently so I figured he was engrossed in something that was in turn completely blocking his hearing ability. Anyway, I went to my bathroom window to check out back and low and behold there he was with his nose buried in some shrubbery. What in the world?????? I say his name again and he looks at me briefly and goes back to whatever has his complete and utter attention. So, I go out back and up he comes with a bird in his mouth. He looks completely bewildered not knowing what the next step is in dealing with this live creature in his mouth. The long and short of it is, he put it down a couple of times and picked it back up. I think the bird was somewhat injured by this experience. I finally had to pick him up and carry him into the house because now I was late. But I was so proud of him. He really does have some hunting instincts and we as the humans didn't show him a thing about hunting, stalking and actually capturing the prey. Now I just wish he would point when he finds a bird. I called to tell Christian immediately- he was so proud......
The other first in my life was my trip to the greenhouse to purchase some plants for around the house. This brought back such fond memories of trips last year time upon time for plants, shrubs, greenery and flowers with my mom. The thing is, I usually went as the helper and not the visionary. The nice thing was the woman spoke English and I was able to get lots of info from her and planting advice. We shall see, I am going out to start my projects here in a few minutes. I do wish my mom was here to help me and guide me. Her gardens are always so amazing and perfect. Hopefully her green thumb is genetic.
To switch subjects now- before planting, I am going to try and kill some moles. Now I know that I have talked about this before but the problem is not getting any better. They have just moved location. I read on the Internet and it was confirmed by my American neighbor that the use of Moth Balls in the tunnels will rid you of the pesky moles. I bought a box at the Bx today in hopes that this simple, $2.49 treatment will work.

Out to the yard.....

PS- I love Cheetos. There is just something about the salty, crunchy cheese taste that really grabs me.

Craziness

If you look closely, you may notice that there are 4 tails a wagging in the picture. We dog sat this weekend for two Beagle mix puppies. They are brother and sister but are completely different in personality. Lets just say that having 4 dogs, 3 being puppies and days of rain did not make for a great combo. The barking and playing was intense and consistent. I will say that each day got progressively better as they all got used to being together. Dyllan is such an old woman. She was not into all the puppy play and put the little ones in their places a few times. But the guest puppies were very well behaved for the most part. We will have to continue to have play dates with them to get all of Grady's energy out.
When all was said and done, Christian looked at me last night and asked- do you still want to run a doggie day care???????? As if they weren't wild enough on their own, we had to though a giant human into the mix.