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I have to make a confession and I'm somewhat embarrassed...I've become a TWIHARD. About 2 weeks ago, my daughter Sandy came down from Illinois by train to visit us and pick up her 4x4 home. She'd dropped it at our house after she and her husband moved north from Oklahoma because she was having to drive his truck and he was driving a rental van. But I digress....she carried with her on the train trip down a lethal combination of the 2 Twilight Series movies.

"Mom!" she says, "you've got to sit down and watch these DVDs with me!!!" And why is that I asked her. I don't like horror or gore and any of that stuff. I've NEVER and never will watch any of the Freddie Kreuger movies or Jason...you know the kind of stuff I mean. Sandy insisted, and I, who don't get to visit with her often, gave in. Oh, my goodness!!!! What a fire of emotions I have had lit. What I loooooove about the plots is that although they become deeply engrossed with each other and they touch and hug and kiss, there's no crossing a tasteful line. I think it's mostly because of "Edward Cullen" and his old-fashioned manners. I love the thought of it.

I'm on the last 1/4 of the fourth book I'm reading...I've had to read them out of order because I requested them from the library and read them as they've come in. I've cried over the way the music makes me feel, the storyline makes me cry because it's so beautiful.

Trekking in Italy

Being there was lovely.  The architecture and people are just lovely.  I tried to speak my Spitalian--I also did like I do in Spanish.  Speak English and Spanish in the same sentence, only in Italian.  The folks understood me and the more I spoke, the more I learned.  I loved that aspect of it.  My husband, Mario, is completely fluent.  He's really talented in languages--5 (count 'em, 5) :)  Portuguese, English (of course, after almost 40 years in this land), and French (his weakest).

The food was scrumptious because it was all fresh and healthy...yum, only olive oil (well, and butter in the various brioche I ate in my breakfasts.)  Last time I was there was 11 and a half years ago and I didn't like the food because it all tasted like the refrigerator odors it absorbed.  Yuk!  

Too many tourists of all nationalities and fat, I mean fat ones (myself included) and their busses.  However overweight one might be, one doesn't have to dress as if they've just cleaned out their basement or garage.  I was embarrassed to see them at the airports and at the various cultural places and some eateries. 

My husband, his daughter (Titi), and I took the train from Averso (near where she lives) and went to Florence for a few hours where we walked around in the humidity before taking the train in the evening to Rome.  Once in Rome, we walked about a mile dodging traffic, breathing pollution, drinking water, etc. to get to our hotel, which is on the 3rd floor of a former palazzo.  On the 4th floor was another hotel, whose name I never got.  The rooms were nothing special, just clean and comfortable.  We had a double bed for me and the hubby and a single for Titi.  In the bathroom was a toilet, a bidet, and a shower.  Clean towels and linen (for the bidet) but no FACECLOTHS!!!! 

Still, in the morning, we had a very nice, fresh, continental breakfast.  We left our luggage at the hotel and went out to do the sights in Rome.  Mario and I didn't want to see the ones we saw on our last trip so we went to the Basilica of  St. Paul's outside the walls of Rome, which is where the sarcophagus of St. Paul has been found.  Very interesting. There was a gift shop run by the Benedictine nuns, where of course I bought souvenirs.  One of the nuns was from Chile originally.  We went to the Colisseum and admired it from outside.  I know well from all the movies, books, and documentaries I've seen, so why pay to see it inside? 

We went to see the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius (look it up in Wiki) which is the only one in Rome that serves as a tomb.  Pyramids as an architectural novelty gained popularity in Rome around the time of Cleopatra and Antony.  This was news to me, and something I found interesting. 

But the best part of all the trip for me was a visit to Babington's Tea Rooms at the foot of the Spanish Steps!!!!!!  

Hurray!!!! I finally got to go there!  But that's a story for another time.  

Marge:)

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Blogger Buzz: Show off your favorite blogs with a Blog List

Another descendant

About three weeks ago, I received a new great-grandchild. Her name is Lexi and she is the most precious little thing. She's beautiful!!!! Looks just like me!  That's my sweet and lovely granddaughter, Jessie, holding her daughter.

This little girl is the 8th female in a direct line.  If we took a DNA test, we would directly link through our mitochondrial DNA to my grandmother's grandmother, Miss Couser.  BTW, here's a genealogical nugget of information--ALL the Cousers of Northern Ireland are related to each other.

Farewell to the Land of the Rising Sun

My granddaughter, Konnichiwow, has relocated from Japan to our Nation's capitol. She's going to be a BIG Sister to soon-to-arrive, Arrigato. These are my nicknames for them. I originally called Konnichiwow "Konnichiwa" because she greeted her parents with a big WAAAAH! and seeing as she was born in Japan, it seemed fitting to call her that. However, now that she's talking, per se, and saying "Wow!" frequently, I have changed her nickname to Konnichiwow! When my husband and I found out that we were going to be grandparents again and that he is a boy, it seemed logical to call him a Japanese name...too bad he won't be born in Japan after all. Still, why break with tradition?:)

Japan

In September of last year my husband and I had an unexpected opportunity to go to Japan. I had always enjoyed reading about Japan and its culture and admired the beautiful crafts made there. My step-daughter and her husband are stationed there and they had just had a baby 2 weeks earlier, so who was I to turn down this chance to (1) see my new granddaughter and her parents and (2) visit the land of the Rising Sun?

Podcast debut.

This is my first attempt at participating in a podcast. I recorded my role and this recording has to be edited in to others' dialogues. Hope you enjoy the entire piece when it's complete!

The Big Enchilada

We often use analogies to describe things we want to say.