Our First Care Package

March 30, 2012

Wow, MaryAnn Thomson is my personal hero at the moment...  We received our very first care package today, and it was with much excitement...

MaryAnn spent her entire life savings on the postage alone.

With great anticipation, we sliced open the packaging.  Everything was hidden (as well as nicely padded) by these wonderful kitchen towels!  I was telling her how much I missed decent kitchen towels, and she sent me about ten of them!!!  Fantabulous J

Next, we came upon  two GIANT packs of marshmallows, a pack of graham crackers, and two GIANT Hershey bars...  Danika screamed out, "S'mores!"

I know I have been doing a lot of complaining,  and I really shouldn't, but now MaryAnn has rewarded all of my bad behavior by sending me things like decent sized chocolate chips so I can make good cookies here!  She sent a HUGE back of chocolate ones and then even included some Ghirardelli  white chocolate chips.

The fun didn't stop there either.  When the Nutella came out, I laughed because I should be the one sending HER Nutella as it is Italian, and a basic staple of the Italian diet, much like peanut butter is for us, but even more so as it is used for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert, even gelato...  

Danika grabbed the Jelly Bellies before I even had a chance to see them...  The enormous bag of MnM's didn't make it far though.  And, who can resist Oreo Cookies with a glass of milk???  I think I am in Heaven...  At the very least I'm on a sugar high J

So MaryAnn, I truly do owe you one.  I'm just not sure if I can fit that single Italian Wine Merchant into my suitcase on the way home...here's a picture of him, just in case your interest is piqued...

~Mary

Come Run with Me in Perugia...

March 26, 2012

First of all, I want to wish a very happy birthday to my sister, Cassie Gilmore J   We just want her to know that we are thinking of her on her special day and celebrating with her in spirit.


So, it has taken me a long time to finally do running blog.  I have been really wanting to do a post on running and dedicate it to several people.  First of all, my very first running coach, Michael Kershner, who sadistically pushed me up cardiac hill at 4:30 in the morning more than twenty five years ago.  Second of all, to Jo Ruby, my current running coach, who is the only other person in the world besides Kershner that has been able to motivate me to run.  You see, I really don't like running.  I also promised my friends, Theresa Strauch and Leigh Gillett, that I would continue to run while I was in Italy.


Of course that was before I realized two things.  One, I had no idea it would SNOW while I was here, and two, I had no idea how hilly it was here... I don't like running, and I REALLY don't like running hills.  You see, in Missoula, I run on the flat, and walk up the hills J If you don't believe me, you can ask Theresa and Leigh as they have both been with me when I walk up the hill and run down the other side.


So, I had to wait until the snow and ice cleared before I went for a run.  Then, I had to find a flat place to run.  When the snow and ice cleared, I was walking up in the center of town looking out at the beautiful view below when I spotted this track... If you look closely, you can see the track in the distance...

Imagine my surprise, a flat place to run in Perugia.  I just had to go there.  When I finally decided to go for a run, I went to the track only to find out that it cost 1.75 Euro, and I didn't really have money with me.  So, I went in search of another place to run that wasn't too hilly.  


The following run is what I have finally ended up with.  It is a 3 mile run. 


It begins just outside my apartment (after going down the 52 stairs to get to the street) with a slight uphill... then through a few arches...

After that, the first half mile is mostly downhill...

Through lots of traffic at the roundabout...

By the train station...

And a school...

until I get to a fairly flat run on a dirt path that goes for a half mile. 

It only crosses a few streets...

And the views are fantastic...

Everything is in bloom right now, so the scent in the air is intoxicating... I just love spring ...

 This is near the end of the half mile dirt path.  As you can see, all roads lead to Roma in Italy...really, there is a sign to Roma at almost every single intersection in Italy.

This is just after the turn around...

 I do that half mile and back twice to make two miles.  I tripped on a rock just as I was about to do the last one of these.  Actually, it was really a pebble, but a rock sounds better.  I ended up with a skinned knee and gravel embedded in my hands...   I thought that wasn't supposed to happen to you after you were about twelve years old...

The views on the way back are just as nice...

Back by the train station again...

And then I have to do the half mile uphill on the way home. 

This is just before I turn to go down the "road" to our church...

And on to my apartment...

 I finish with a walk around the block to cool down.  

Thanks for joining me J
~Mary

Jason's Birthday...

March 24, 2012

Nine years ago today, Jason Durnin Firth was born, and what a blessing our family was given.  So,  today, we celebrated his birthday Italian style J

First of all, when we  woke up and got  ready for school (yes, he has school on Saturdays here), we were checking email, and he received an amazing email from his teacher, Bobby Bevington, his third  grade teacher at Paxson Elementary School in Missoula.  She sent Jason lots of birthday wishes along with a little video of the class singing Happy Birthday to him.  We can’t believe she even remembered that it was his birthday.  What a special lady she is…

Then it was off to drop the kids off at school.

David and I went shopping for some chocolate candy to take to school so Jason could hand it out to all of the kids in his class.  When we went to the school to drop it off, Jason was right there in the office to do some photocopying, so we were able to surprise him with it.  He had a great day and even was given some presents from his classmates here.

When we picked him up from school, we went out to lunch at a kebab place and then went and sat in the Piazza IV Novembre in the sun. 

Then we came home and Jason opened his gifts...

 and we had my funny-looking homemade cake.

For dinner, we let Jason pick where he wanted to eat his birthday meal.  He chose Coco-kebab…

 

Being terrible parents, we let him go there.  It was basically having dessert for dinner.  They  shave chocolate off of the rotisserie instead of meat.  

Then it is placed in a crepe with other ingredients like coconut, carament, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, etc.

So, basically we had dessert for dinner.  

A valuable lesson was learned here as the kids say they wouldn’t do it again as we all really wanted some REAL dinner when we got home…

~Mary