Good to be Back Home and an Unexpected Night with Friends...

June 2, 2012

When we landed at the airport and went through customs and were out in the glorious sunshine looking for our car, it felt fabulous to be back in Perugia.  Before driving home, we had to make a stop at the supermarket to get some food as we had not planned on being gone for two weeks, and we were afraid of what we might find in the refrigerator…

By the time we actually made it to the apartment and had all of the luggage upstairs, it was heaven being home again.   We cleaned out the fridge and unpacked.  I thought I would do laundry right away, but I was so tired from lack of sleep that I just had to have a nap.  The kids weren’t tired as they had slept in the car on the drive down to Stansted.  They were so nice and kept extremely quiet so that David and I could have an hour and a half nap.  Just what I needed!

Today is Saturday and I am so excited to do laundry and get everything really clean.  It is tough living out of a suitcase for two weeks, especially when it was a last minute pack.  This means I just threw things in and didn’t worry about it too much because I didn’t think we would be gone that long.

So, it was laundry and cleaning day, and I must say I really enjoyed it because I was HOME and have loads of other clothes to choose from… Yes, I got COMFORTABLE…  What a lovely day. 

The other great thing is that we got a call from our friends, Janie and Thom and they invited us out to dinner… YES, I didn’t have to cook J  Let me digress a little here as I have some pics of them that I never blogged about.  .  We met them through their son, Christopher, who is a friend of Jason’s at the Italian school.  Janie is British and Tom in Italian, so Christopher speaks both English and Italian, which has really helped Jason out at school.  They invited us over to their house when it was really cold out, and they have a lovely HUGE fireplace…  This is Jason with his friend, Christopher...

They provided this incredible meal and Thom cooked some of it on this fire…

Also, Thom made this rifle for Jason for his birthday… it shoots rubber bands…

The kids made a fort out of the patio furniture...

We have been out to dinner with Janie and Thom to Dal Mi Cocco, where David had his birthday dinner.  They are great company…  This was our favorite dish, a mushroom risotto... YUM!

Having a great time...

Outside the restaurant...

Back to this blog for today…  So, we headed over to their house.  Janie and Thom have a lovely house with a beautiful back garden.  The kids have plenty of room to run around. 

  

 They have two dogs as well, so Danika was in heaven.

We spent some time relaxing there before heading out to dinner.

The drive to dinner was beautiful and Thom was telling us about this castle that they almost bought several years ago.  It was the same price as their house.  The only reason they didn’t get it was because the siblings selling it were fighting and couldn’t agree on anything.

Dinner was at this great little pizza place, good food, excellent prices.  They also had a big area outside for the kids to play.  It is actually a private club, so they don’t have to pay taxes.  Apparently it is all in who you know, and knowing the right people means that there won’t be anyone checking up on your private club.  It is a cash only place and looks like it was added onto bit by bit.  Thom said it started out as a fishing pond that the owner stocked.  He had a bar and it just grew into this restaurant.  Really fun time…

During our lovely dinner we sat and chatted for hours while the kids played outside.  We ended up getting home at 11:30 p.m.  Exhausted again, but such a lovely time…

~Mary

Saying Goodbye to Grandma Firth...

May 31, 2012

Today is the day of the funeral for Grandma Firth.  We woke up early and got ready and all seven of us left the house by 9:00 a.m.  It rained the entire half hour drive to Granddad Firth’s place.  Jason said the clouds were crying for Grandma…  When we reached Granddad Firth’s place, we met up with the rest of the family and waited for the hearse to arrive.  It seemed a very somber morning.

When the hearse arrived, we went outside where tears began to fall along with the rain…

Everyone got in their respective cars and waited for the hearse to proceed.  It was interesting because when we first started out, one of the attendants, dressed in tophat and tails, walked in front of the hearse for a short distance before we set off.    When he was a ways down the road, he hopped in the hearse and we proceeded to the crematorium where the services were held.  When we neared the crematorium, the attendant got out of the hearse and walked in front of it the rest of the way.  It was very somber but elegant (actually, it is hard to find just the right words here).

The services were lovely.  David read a poem stoically and Hilary read a beautiful eulogy.  Jason had a really hard time and cried throughout.  He told me he really liked Daddy reading the poem because it calmed him down a bit.  At the end of the services we all went up to the casket to say our last goodbyes.  That is when Danika really broke down.  I think it was a necessary release for all of us.  When we got outside and were waiting to leave, they brought the flowers out and Jason took pictures.  Danika especially liked the diamond pins in the middle of the roses.

After the service we drove to Weetwood Hall where we had a lovely gathering of friends and relatives.  It was classy, just as Joyce would have liked it.  There was coffee, tea, and orange juice, along with a selection of finger sandwiches, carrot cake, chocolate torte, granola wedges, and lovely scones with jam and cream.   It was so nice to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in many years.  Danika and Jason enjoyed it as well…

This is Uncle Duncan (Hilary’s husband) and his mother, Betty… she was just lovely… 

David and his brother Andrew with Gordon and Rosemary, who have known Peter since before David was born.  I had heard so much about them over the years and it was so nice to finally meet them.   I really enjoyed their company.

David with his cousin, Piers.  David hasn't seen Piers in 23 years, at his brother Andrew's wedding.  We are trying to get  Piers to bring his family over to Montana…

After the gathering at Weetwood Hall, the family went over to the bar area and spent another few hours together.

Jason and Danika with Granddad Firth…

  Then Jason took pictures there.  This is Auntie Beryl, cousin Piers, and me in deep conversation…

Granddad Firth with Haley, James, Jim, Vivienne, and Elizabeth…

And last, but certainly not least, David’s dad, Peter…  He help up exceptionally well throughout.

It was a very long day and the kids held up extremely well.  We drove back to Andrew and Julie’s house and got packed and ready to go.  David and I got to bed around 10:30 and woke up at 2:00 a.m. to drive to Stansted airport and our flight back to Perugia.

So very tired…

~Mary

An Unexpected Trip...

May 17, 2012

Late Tuesday evening we received a call from David’s brother, Andrew, telling us that Grandma Firth had come out of surgery and the prognosis was not good.  We decided that we wanted to go as a family and so the search for flights began.   The only flights we could get back to England from Perugia were leaving Thursday morning, landing at Stansted, a 3 hour drive from Leeds.

So, now it is Thursday and we are flying back to England.  Never thought we would see Perugia from the air.  It looks rather flat compared to how steep and hilly it really is.

  

We flew over the Alps, which were gorgeous…

When we landed in Stansted, we rented a car and began our drive up to Leeds.  All of the rapeseed were in bloom, so the scenery was stunning…

  

You can see the scale of things by looking at the bus…

The kids are very worried about their Grandma, and really want to see her…

 We drove straight to the hospital and went right in to see Grandma Firth.  We were very blessed to be able to spend time with Grandma Firth and let her know how we feel about her.  We were all able to say our goodbyes…

This is the view from her room at St. James Hospital…

We sent the kids back to Andrew and Julie’s house with their cousin Leoni while we stayed at the hospital. 

Joyce passed peacefully in the loving arms of her husband, David's dad, Peter in the early hours of Friday morning.  David, Andrew (David's brother), Hilary (David's step-sister) and Vivienne (David's other step-sister) were there too. 

~Mary

Four Firths Cross the Firth of Forth...

May 28, 2012

We checked the weather and it is supposed to be overcast and rainy in Edinburgh today, so we are heading up to St. Andrews in the kingdom of Fife.  The great thing about this is that we get to cross the Firth of Forth.   I overheard some Scotsman explaining it to someone and I thought he said that Firth meant “Rubbery Ashtray”…  I looked at David and said “What???”  I certainly don’t want a name that means rubbery ashtray…  What the guy actually said was “River Estuary” Hahahahaha…  I am still laughing J

We set off for St. Andrews and crossed the Firth of Forth on the Forth Road Bridge, isn’t it lovely???

  

More beautiful drive… we took the coastal route, but you wouldn’t know it from my pictures because I was too busy looking out the window…

  

When we arrived, we parked really close to the 18^th hole at St. Andrew’s… 

We walked through town seeing the sites and had a good laugh at this one…

This is St. Salvator's Chapel (1450) part of St. Salvator's College which is part of St. Andrews university.

And St. Andrew's Castle (12th century) remains…

This is Castle Sands.  The sea here was once called "Witches' Lake" because of all the women and men pushed off the cliff on suspicion of witchcraft.

Then we went to the remains of St. Andrew’s Cathedral…  St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland.  I learned that the white X or cross on the Scottish Flag is to represent the cross that St. Andrew was crucified upon.  He did not think himself worthy of being crucified in the same manner as Jesus, and thus chose this cross.  The remains of the cathedral make it feel like the place was enormous.

After lunch, the weather was so lovely that we decided to spend the remainder of our time there at the beach.  This is the same beach where Chariots of Fire was filmed.  The water was surprisingly warm.

When we drove back to Edinburgh, it was fogged in, overcast and rainy…  Again we feel that we have been so blessed with incredible weather when it is probably the only time I will ever get to visit these places.  Another superb day.

~Mary