Il Coccodrillo Come Fa.

Charlie and I would like to share a little Italian with you. Katie got us hooked on this song, and in honor of her upcoming European travels, here it is...Il Coccodrillo Come Fa. (What's the voice of the crocodile? or How does the Crocodile go?)

Stay tuned for our new beginner Cheese series. We've started a "toddler unit" this week, and will be sharing soon. We also noticed some tasty looking grass-fed cow cheese from Ireland, and of course Italian goat cheeses, so if we play a little "Where in the world is TaTa?" I feel that may be a fun time to partake.

~Becky and Charlie

A New Year. Many Exciting Things.

*A reminder for you more technologically challenged, if while viewing this post you left-click on the first picture, it will give you a slideshow view of the pictures so that you can see them better. Then just push the over arrow.

**I do not know how to change picture orientation while on Blogger... I did not load any pictures sideways, but there is no easy way to change it once its on here. Blogger, if you're listening, please make your format more picture friendly, it drives me crazy! I would love to be able to edit pictures while on Blogger.

First off, let's catch up.

Trick -or treating with the Lion and the Gnome (I think Charlie thinks he was Santa Clause. He now puts a bubble beard on at bath time and says, "Ho, ho, ho". I let him see in the hand mirror, and he finds himself quite hilarious. I do not know what Clarence thought, however, he is adorable, and his costume perfectly matched his actual hair color.)

In Grandma's defense, she was set up... she was handed a crying baby, which made the other baby cry.

 

Then there was the visit to go and see Santa Clause. I always think it is a pleasure to also see Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause. Charlie was very prepared to tell Santa that he wanted a tractor for Christmas, walked up and sat in Santa's lap, and then got too shy. But he took it very seriously. Clarence on the other hand, took the opportunity to air a few grievances. (I wonder if Mrs. Clause looks the same in every picture? Man she's good.) Santa Clause did come to our house, and I reassured Charlie that I let him know about his tractor. Thanks to Ya Ya, we had a few cookies to put under the tree, which Charlie checked in the morning, and Santa Clause had eaten them all! There was even one kind Daddy didn't think Santa Clause would like, but it was still gone. Perhaps the reindeer ate it? Next year we should probably leave some homegrown organic carrots, I don't think reindeer should be eating cookies.

And finally, a few goings ons around the house. This is Charlie's way of helping Mommy out... scrubbing the bath tub (I use baby friendly cleaning products), putting pots and pans away (he also took off all of my loose pot lid handles- let's just say most of them were loose. Then Daddy had to get involved, because there's more pieces then you'd think!), decorating Christmas cookies, baking a pie in his new tart pan (baking tools from Ya Ya, kind of fitting), and getting ready to help Daddy organize his gardening supplies. Also, his first haircut picture with Joe the Barber (his first haircut certificate stated that he has now graduated from babyhood, it was a sad and proud day for his parents). 

I didn't even get any pictures when we went to the Viking/Bears game with Kali and Sean. Which I would argue was the best Viking game of the season, and an awesome first game experience for Charlie because of our good seats (my first regular season game, too- I did see a preseason game at Lambeau, which also happened to be Aaron Rodgers first starting game ever). Trav would probably say the best was the Viking/Packer game that enabled their playoff visit. I would say after last night, that win was a high that lasted a mere 6 days. 

Anyways, Merry Christmas!

  

 

 

And Happy and Exciting New Year!

2013 will find us welcoming a new Lingenberry (a firecracker baby, due on my Grandma Z's birthday). My cousin Emily is also having a little one in March, that I will be watching; so between gardening and many, many craft projects I have in my mind, we have a lot to get ready for (and we are so thankful!).

Liz is also going to have a spectacular garden this year (lasagna gardening anyone?), and I would imagine that Clare Bear will be very helpful (I hope he has a pair of bib overalls! And I'll have to check if I have that pair of boots from Helen that will probably fit him this year, or else Mum has them, or maybe you already have them?). She is also working on a living room remodel, and what else? Perhaps Lizzie will blog this year...

Katie will return as the European Traveler, with a couple of months spent in Ireland and Italia. She will be doing some WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), hopefully involving cheese, and I would imagine some regular old galivanting (which can be defined as roaming about in search of pleasure or amusement). She will be in Ireland for St. Patrick's day and Italy for which celebration? ________ (I can't remember, so she will have to fill us in).

And perhaps she will be working on a Dude Ranch in Wyoming this summer (I'm not sure what her pseudonym will be at that time?), and maybe taking Truman out with her for a week?. Truman said that Aunt Carol is familiar with several Dude Ranches out there, so perhaps Katie, you should check with her.

Mum and Dad will be farming and loving on Grandbabies. And gardening and canning. And making cheese and selling Melaluca, in case anyone wants to try it out (http://www.melaleuca.com/). Is that the right website?

Okay, so that sort of catches us up. I think we need to blog this year because we won't be seeing each other as much (especially Katie, and what an easy way to update us a little when you have internet access, even just to tell us you made it somewhere!). I will commit to blogging at least once per week, maybe that could be a goal. We all know how fun it is to check the blog and find that someone has added to it. And remember, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy," (Red Green). (Even if we're not all that interesting, at least we have the same kind of humor :)

XOXO to all! ~Becky

Zia Katerina ... and Charlie with his Pops.

Our little European Traveler has returned. She looks great- really just the same, only now she has pierced ears and cut her own hair. And it was so lovely of her to come meet Charlie right away and cook us some Italian Cuisine (even though she's still recovering from jet lag). She's had loads of adventures, traveling everywhere from Sicily to Norway, Spain, Portugal, to all over Italy and into the Alps. And now she wants to go back in 2011.

Also,
Charlie and his Daddy...

~Becky

San Pietro, and more . . .

Rosanna, Amanda and Ian

leaving the central courtyard of the Church of St. Peter

Down below

The REAL medieval garden, it was through some doors in the church

A 3-headed woman guards the entrance into the chapel

Hello all! Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been quite busy and my internet isn't exactly reliable. Nonetheless, I have been enjoying my first 2 1/2 weeks of Italy. Sadly I'm not a reliable operator of my camera yet, and so I somehow took some pictures that later disappeared. A thousand words will have to suffice.

So, after moving into my chilly apartment (7 hours of heat is not enough when it is sub 40's weather) we took our placement test and began classes. My class includes students (not necessarily my age) from everywhere: Vietnam, Turkey, Indonesia, Japan, England, China, Russia, Germany . . . and they don't necessarily speak english. It is interesting, and they all seem very "simpatici" (easy to get along with/nice), but it is difficult to establish many relationships yet when all of what we know how to saw is quite superficial, i.e. - "Hi! My name is Katie. I'm from Minnesota. It is cold there. I live on a farm. I like to make cheese. . . "

Nevertheless, I have made friends. Most are from the full-immersion group, and I'm sure we will have many adventures to come. We have, in fact, already begun. Last Sunday we went to a farm that is a member of the Slow Food Movement ( an Italian creation begun to contradict fast food). They produce 3 things in particular that exemplify what Slow Food is all about: olives, pigs and beans. The olives they grow are indigenous to the area and more difficult to pick than those one would find in a wholly commercial environment. It's branches tend to grow upwards, meaning when the trees get a bit old the topmost branches are unreachable. The olive oil it produces, however, is absolutely to die for. I'd say it is definitely worth the hard work. Light, delicate, a bit sweet and a bit salty - it kicks the ass out of any oil I've every tasted (but in a quiet, tranquil and subtle fashion I attribute to the people that make the oil and the environment in which it is produced). The beans, fagiolina, are small and must be harvested at a specific time. They were nearly nonexistent on the market before a few farms decided to grow them again. Normal beans, maybe from Brazil for example, are bought for $3 per hundredweight. These beans are bought for $300 per hundredweight! Sadly we didn't get to taste them. The pigs, however, we ate a lot of during the meal following our tour (that lasted over 2 1/2 hours and was followed by a trip to the lake for gelato!) and take about 2X as long to mature, thus their scarcity. They are allowed to root as they wish, thus negating the need to inject iron into them and preventing other diseases. It was, in all, a wonderful day.

Classes and homework and getting to know people take a considerable amount of my time, so little of significance (not to say that it was not enjoyed) happened until this weekend. I was suppose to go to Barcelona with 3 girls: Aubree, Alex and Ruth (who had an eventful time of it without me). Instead, due to class conflicts, I had to change my ticket and forego the adventure. I will instead be going to Norway for a week after my program is finished (May 3 - May 10)! Hopefully some family members can be found and fjords explored.

So, plans for Barcelona extinguished (for now) some other friends (Rosanna, Ian and Amanda) and I decided to explore the city we were in, beautiful Perugia. We walked and talked for a while until we cam across what we thought was a medieval garden (see the 2nd picture below) with a striking monument in front of it (see the 3rd picture below). It was, we later discovered, not the garden we had intended to see, but was pleasant and has great potential for a picnic when the weather warms.

We went next the the enormous, nearby church of San Pietro. We wandered around it for quite some time and Rosanna and I each lit a candle infront of the crucifix. There was artwork - paintings, carvings, sculptures, tapestries . . . you name it - quite literally covering every surface inside the main chapel. Underneath it they were doing some digging and renovation of the space, but weren't very far along (we are in Italy). Pictures can not begin to do justice to the magnificence and the heavy feeling of reverence or holiness or some other indescribable feeling. There was an ominous presence and I felt as if I were performing an sacrilegious act whenever I took a picture or made a sound. (see pictures above and the one immediately below)

A little prayer room off to the side

Next weekend a group of us are planning to go to Naples and see Pompeii, Herculaneum and possibly some nearby islands. It'll be a long ride (via bus, ugh) down and back, but we're trying to go on the cheap as much as possible (projected budget thus far is around 150 Euro for a trip lasting Thursday afternoon to Monday afternoon) and well worth the trip. Many pictures will be taken and much good food eaten (I'm designating myself as the gastronomic coordinator).

Well, aside from these adventures (and the plans for those to come), and other wanderings around the city, I am learning how to speak Italian by shopping, meeting people at the bar (we go out in good sized groups, it is quite fun but a bit expensive so it will be happening from now on much more sparingly), or warding off creepy men in the street (I've already expanded my cache of nasty words). Also, I've been eating far too much nutella. Far too much.

Kurk off!

In Italia!!

Ciao a tutti! I have finally arrived in Italy. After hours of flight and waiting, a bus ride and a night at a hotel, we (Alex and I) moved into our apartment which was also suppose to house Italians, but does not yet that we know. I have include pictures of our small rooms, our small shower, a toilet (and bidet!), and pictures of the view from our bedroom window.

I apologize for the bad formatting - I'll get it eventually. Next time I'll put up pictures of the houses across from us and tell you a funny story about that one. Also, I got some delicious cheese and meat which I will put pictures of on here with a full gastromical description. Ciao!

Getting ready for Italy!!

I had quite the adventure Wednesday trying to get to the Honorary Italian Consulate in St. Paul to have my VISA application gone over. Long story short, I initially went to the wrong address and, after calling the Consulate himself directions (phone number thanks the Tim Blanski - you saved the day), proceeded to walk Becky-while-shopping-style (all of you have experienced this know how fast it truly is) for 2.1 miles. I arrived, late, as usual, got my application signed, and headed back to Grand Ave to explore the new cheese store, get another beer kit, and purchase some delectable truffles. After all the walking it was nice to relax on a bench while enjoying by pastrami and clothbound cheddar on ciabatta sandwich (the St. Paul Cheese Shpo is HIGHLY recommended). The funniest thing about my trip was when I was nearly to Montreal Ave. (and since I don't know this part of St. Paul well I had no idea that I was so near) I saw a road sign for a Rome Avenue. I thought, "I must be near, I just made it to Rome!" Lo and behold, Montreal was the next road. Prophetic perhaps?

I also bought my tickets. SO, I am officially going from Jan. 5 to July 8 - - a long, long time.

Becky, I thought you might enjoy these new found Italian words:

lavorare a maglia - to knit

un diritto, un rovescio - knit one, purl one

See you all at Giorno di Ringraziamento (Thanksgiving)!!!!

Love, Katie