Buon Natale.

I can't upload pics and nurse at the same time but i can type. . . a wee bit. Merry Christmas and let the feasting begin!

Santa Lucia

Today was the feast of Santa Lucia, celebrated traditionally with the eldest girl of the home waking everybody to a candlelit breakfast at dawn. Thankfully all went well and Angelica still has a full head of hair.

Advent pics. . . .

FOR ANNIE!!!!

Here are your pictures, Annie! Sorry it took me a while. Lots of julia photos as you requested. The one of everyone was taken after a Sunday trip to the Used Bookstore, in the afternoon. The last is our last minute thanksgiving dinner which I was pretty proud we pulled off since my sister got too sick and we were exposed and we didn't want to expose my dear friend's great aunt (long story) anyway. . . .

In other news Ben fixed our car ALL BY HIMSELF with a part he bought on E-bay!!!! I am so proud of him.. We had to wait longer for the part but it saved us so much money and was wonderful. Angelica had a great time sitting out in the driveway with him watching and she told me all about the belts later. Great free homeschooling.

Advent is probably my favorite liturgical season and so the girls and I have made a big Bethlemhem display on our Mary altar ( Mary is sequestered in our bedroom until after Christmas season. I borrowed and baptized a waldorf idea and am tweaked it so that we are doing one day of the creation story in accordance with each week of Advent. LAst week we laid our a blue silk for the sky on the wall and a brown cloth for the dirt (heavens and the earth) and we put out the rocks. It looked barren but I found it set a good tone for the first week of Advent which starts off somber and the Church gets jollier and more festive the closer we creap towards Christmas. This last sunday we did all our plants (boxwood cuttings) , trees, and mosses, and pine cones, for the next day of creation, NExt week we do all the stable animals and flocks, and last week we will do man, (shepherds, Joseph and Mary, etc). It is fun to have something new to add as we go along and the girls are really enjoying it. I'll try to get photos up.

No fruit, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, NOVEMBER.

Sotto un post in Italiano per i Gravangot!!


The leaves are off the trees now and it really officially looks like november. I just checked out Tasha Tudor's "Around the Year" out of the library and it is always a favorite book. Tasha Tudor, incidentally had just about the most awesome house (pictured above) ever that her son built for her in New England and she was known for not only her beautiful illustrations but also her wonderful gardens---(the woman made compost tea out of rotting stuffs and water). Anyway the page for Novemeber shows a family cheerfully making Christmas preasants because they presumably aren't going to be doing that in Advent. Every year I make it a goal to get things out of the way before the start of December so that Advent can be an internal and quiet month, with varying degrees of sucsess.

I am glad that all the election craziness is over and that quiet interior months of winter are ahead. Angelcia daily prays for snow and Julia has begun to walk just the past few days. Her new favorite thing is this rabbit skin bag that Ben found in his things. I think that she thinks it is a live animal because she gets very exited and carries it around cooing in the same manner she does when she sees the cat. It makes me laugh so hard.

Ciao a tutti in Gravagna. Le bimbe stanno benne. La Giulia ha comminciata caminare questa settimana e adesso e molta contenta stare come la sua sorelle. Oggi ha caminata con una cestina in mano. La sua favorita gioco adesso e una picola pelle di un coniglio che ho trovato nella roba di Ben. Forse lei pensa e un animale avivo perche sempre fa una festa cuando lo vede. La Angelica me ha chiesta oggi "Come il tempo oggi in Gravagna, e freddo o caldo?" Forse adesso un po piu freddo da qua pero qui ha stata tana piogga, pero ci sonno tanti funghi---ma i porcini, no. :( Ciao a tutti!

Via Francegina

Finally I am able to post loads of pictures with fast fast internet. Here are some pics of Ben who went hiking with my one of my favorite of my Dads relatives, Carlo, on a peice of the pilgrim trail that runs from Cantebury, England down to Rome and passes right thru Gravagna. These pictures were taken in the late spring. Ben loved the hike and all the forgotten little shrines, bridges, etc.

Ecco la Giulia.


Well happy election day to all! I wish i could vote for Julia.