The week is flying by once again. It's funny how it starts slow then suddenly it’s almost the weekend. I’m still behind on my visits ‘cos I’ve been busy organizing our mini vacation… while eating chocolate!

I wish I could give you one! They are so yummy, filled with strawberry, lemon or orange sorbet. You have to keep them in the fridge for the smoothness; trust me, they are very refreshing.

Anyway, I will tell you more about our vacation tomorrow. By then I hope to have everything planned. Luckily for me, Zeno is great at planning trip itinerary and he has already done the most of the job, I just need to take care of minor details.

Today has been both sunny and rainy, at frequent intervals. This morning it poured and poured for hours and I tried to catch the rain on camera with really poor results.

Before saying goodbye and start making “insalata di riso” (rice salad) for dinner, I want to show you something new that arrived today. This duck is a cutie, isn’t it?

“A home is built of peace and love,
and not of wood and stone.
A place where happiness, lives and memories are sewn.”

Ready for another sky watching post? Since we moved here, we have seen the prettiest, puffiest clouds, beautiful dawns, colorful rainbows and romantic sunsets. This morning it has been a pleasure getting up and seeing a beautiful sunrise.

The photo above has been taken at 5:38 AM, and after a couple of minutes Zeno took this other shot….

Days are getting shorter (sunrise: 5:16 AM; sunset: 9:33 PM), but it’s still pleasant to go out for a walk after dinner. We still are under the impression of having long days. It’s funny to see how relative it can be the perception of time. Jaana feels autumn in the air, whereas for us it is summer till the middle of September, since that was when we used to go back to school.

I have hardly seen any butterflies this summer. They are so beautiful and delicate, but it’s not easy to take a picture of them. They are very lively. They are always on the go, not like me, LOL! Well, almost always! While in Dublin hubby and I spot this one at the train station. It was almost still, on the platform, not far from the people standing, but luckily no one stepped it over.

Hi, enchanting little creature! What are you doing so far away from a beautiful flower?

It has been so kind to stay still just the time for a couple of shots before flying away. If you want to see a bigger shot, have a look at “Flora&Fauna” in our Photo Album.

My sweetheart got home from work around 7 PM and since none of us was in the mood for cooking we decided to go out and have a not-very-healthy but sweet and delicious dinner. Zeno had a slice of white chocolate cheesecake with pistachio and raspberry sauce…

…while I opted for a slice of lukewarm apple cake. 

Both cakes were scrumptious! I washed mine down with a black coffee and hubby with a cappuccino. Predictable, huh?

When we got home this fluffy pink cloud was waiting to welcome us.

A few of you already know from my whiny e-mails that the “monthly womenly pleasure” (as Jaana called it) gave me a hard time yesterday and kept me away from blogland. I spent most of the day in bed with horrible cramps that three painkillers didn’t ease. The joy of being a girl?! Yah, sure! Ugh! It feels like I’ve lost and entire day. Yuck!

I’m feeling a lot better today, but very sleepy. Hopefully, I’ll be a little busy bee tomorrow, LOL!

At 9:05 PM the annoying rain that kept us company almost all day stopped for just a few minutes and a pale but lovely (and very high!) rainbow appeared to say hello.

No, I don’t want ice in my beverage. I like my drink to be cold (a diet coke served at room temperature is not really appealing), but I don’t want ice in my glass.

Even in the most touristy areas of Italy, your beverage won't come with ice in the glass - but you can ask for it, of course. Anyway, I don’t see the need of it when all the bottles and cans come usually from a cooler. What I found strange is that both here and in the USA I have to go through some discussion to get it right. I always request: “With no ice, please”, but regularly my drink comes in a glass full of ice cubes. I don’t get it… during winter I usually just come in from outdoors and I'm freezing, so the last thing I want is ice. During summer, air conditioning is often so strong that I'm freezing indoors, so again, I don’t see the need for an ice cold drink. But I do understand that many vendors use a lot of ice cubes to reduce the amount of beverage and make more money. The ice is not used to cool beverages down, but to take up space in the glass…

Another thing you won’t get when you order a soft drink in Italy is a straw. Well, this unless you are a little kid... and it’s not unusual to hear moms telling their kids: “You are big enough to hold a glass to your mouth, you know?!”.

And yes: love is beyond doubt in the air…

My turn to post while my sweet wife is talking on the phone with her parents.

This shot was taken 5 minutes past midnight. The sky is not totally dark yet and the pink clouds are there to wish us goodnight.

It seems that love is in the air here.

These two young foxes were chasing each other near the train station while Kia and I were watching amazed and amused from our bedroom window.

Unfortunately, the quality of these shots is not great since it was dark and we were far away, and we did not even have a tripod. Since Kia and I saw the first fox last year we’ve been trying to get a nice shot of one, but we didn’t have any luck so far. We can see foxes near the garbage bins from time to time, but they are shy and walk away as soon as they see people getting close.

Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections and enjoy the little things in life…

Warning: grab some tea or coffee and sit in a comfy chair. It’s gonna be a long post.

Another rainy day here…

… and the weather forecast guy said the weather will be overcast till the weekend. Yuck!

Zeno will have a few more days off work in August and he’d like to visit Isle of Barra (Outer Hebrides). Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be able to go there this summer. We had a look at the flights and hotels prices and 4 days there would probably cost us around 800-1000 pounds. Quite too expensive, no doubt! 140 pounds a day for a double room and breakfast sounds unreasonable to me.

Plus, I admit I don’t like the idea of flying again so soon. Especially now that everyone is acting crazy ‘cos of the swine flu. I can understand if people are scared, but the decision of British Airways and Virgin of forbidding the boarding to those who show flu symptoms is a bit too much. If you simply have an allergy or hay fever, red eyes due to the wind, a sweating forehead due to the heat, that’s enough for keeping you from catching a flight. That means, refrain from blowing your nose if you have hay fever, avoid coughing just to clear your voice. Then you read that many doctors’ offices in the UK aren’t even testing for the swine flu anymore because the demand is too high. How can they be sure it is swine flu and not a common flu, then?! Huh? Isn’t it better try to repeat and stress about how to prevent it?

Stress attacks our immune system, weakening our defenses against viruses like swine flu, so it is essential that we do all we can to keep our anxiety levels at a minimum. We have to make sure we get plenty of sleep, maybe have a massage, socialize with friends or try anything else that helps us to unwind. We should eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, fish and seafood… it’s important to follow a healthy, balanced diet. The NHS advises: cover your mouth when you sneeze and cough, sneeze into a tissue and dispose of them carefully, wash your hands regularly with soap and water and frequently clean any hard surfaces such as door handles and kitchen worktops in your home. These are all things we should already do to keep any regular flu from spreading, but if you walk around you may notice that most people (both kids and adults) ignore these basic rules.

Our holiday in Ireland was not a “perfect” one, but anyway interesting and happy. Not a single 100% dry day, but we succeeded in keeping us fairly dry by entering museums and bars when it started pouring a lot. You will notice how dull was the weather when you look at our photos. Today we added to our Photo Album a few shots we took in Dublin, but more of the city and the coast will come soon.

The two places we liked the most in Dublin are the National Gallery of Ireland and the Chester Beatty Library. The former displays paintings (and a few sculptures) by many European artists and we really enjoyed the artworks of Tiziano, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Veronese, Mantegna, Perugino, Goya, Sisley, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Modigliani, Signac, Procaccini, Rubens, Tissot, Velázquez, Canaletto, Tiepolo, Bellotto, Claesz and Canova. The latter displays many ancient books, manuscripts and scrolls from Europe, Middle East and Asia, explaining the different techniques used for printing and binding, with a magnificent section dedicated to religious texts (ancient papyri, some of the very earliest Gospels dating to circa 200 AD, Qur’an manuscripts). It is not possible to take pictures inside, but on the official website there is a nice gallery of selected images.

I better stop here for today. Oh, one last thing. My sweetheart and I also noticed that people in Ireland are more dressed than here in Scotland… at least dressed according to the weather! LOL! No ladies with flip flops and mini tops with just 12°C/53°F outside and pouring rain.

40 years ago today, the Apollo 11 lunar module landed on the Sea of Tranquillity, where Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon. I wasn’t even a twinkle in my parents eyes yet. If you were already born: what do you remember about that special day? Do you remember what you were doing? 

I have always liked to look up at the deep blue sky. The Moon and the stars (la Luna e le stelle) can be reassuring. When I am far away from my family and friends, knowing that we are all looking at the same Moon makes the distance seem more bearable.

When I was little “la notte di San Lorenzo” (the night of St. Lawrence, August 10^th) was one of my favorite summer days because it meant watching shooting starts.

The Big Dipper is one of my favorite constellations. I can also recognise Cygnus, Bootes, Cassiopeia, Orion, Taurus (only the head), Lyra (with Vega), Corona Borealis and the Pleiades. I can recognise them in “my” sky, in Piedmont. Here they are not in the exact same positions and I have only seen Cygnus and Orion so far, also because of all the lights and the often dull Scottish weather.

Good evening y’all. Before we even begin, we’d like to wish a very happy birthday to Kia’s Mom and Zeno’s granny! Too bad we couldn't celebrate with them and have a slice of cake. We also want to say thank you so much for all the visits and comments and best wishes for our trip. We will try to share a few photos with you soon.

Yikes, it’s freezing here, misty, rainy and very grey. For some reasons we have not been able to get ourselves going this weekend. We started doing some cleaning, then some laundry, then we watched “Ugly Betty”. We also baked a tray of banana nut muffins, so we could nibble something sweet while looking at the photos we took in Ireland… and… and… to sum it up, we started many things but were not able to finish any of them. The dull weather didn’t help to motivate us. We need light, sun and warmth, isn’t it supposed to be summer?!

This is the best way to start the day… ah!

We are back home, still knackered and sleepy but happy for the nice trip we had the chance to enjoy. We have seen some nice things in Dublin, but the city as a whole was not so appealing for us. On the other hand, we really enjoyed the surrounding areas like the small towns on the coast both north and south of Dublin.

Tomorrow we’ll go through the tons of photos we have taken (more than 800 in just 4 days), for now we will just enjoy a lazy day with lots of coffee and maybe later a movie.

“Life's a journey, not a destination.”
.:: The Beatles ::.

The blog world is very quiet this days. Many of our on-line friends don’t post as often as before. Many are enjoying various games on Facebook, others are busy enjoying the sunny warm days of summer (and how could one disagree?! LOL!). The positive aspect is that, having less to read, I spend a wee bit less time on the Net myself. 

My darling and I are enjoying our new camera and have been spending a lot of time getting pleasure in observing all the beauty nature gives us. We have been bird-watching… 

… and sky-watching.

Zeno and I really like this shot with both the Moon and Venus!

Everyone loves a vacation and we are included in that group! My sweetheart and I leave tomorrow morning for a 4-day trip to Dublin, Ireland. Hooray! I can’t wait! The weather forecast has predicted a very “wet” week, but we sure hope it’s wrong. Fingers crossed for a “dry” trip. 

Zeno has been working for days to thoroughly plan our itinerary, so that we can see as many things as possible… if my feet allow! Lately they have been annoying me way before I’m tired. I haven’t found comfortable shoes here yet, so I must go everywhere with band-aid. 

Let’s add a bit of holiday-related “Italian Sayings and Expressions”: 

andare in ferie = to go on holidays
chiuso per ferie = closed for holidays
albergo per famiglie = residential hotel
ostello della gioventù = youth hostel
albergo a gestione familiare = family-run hotel (Bed&Breakfast) 

Hum… talking about hotels, one of my fave expressions is “Questa casa non è un albergo!” that means “This house is not a hotel!”. It’s a very common complaint of mothers with children that are constantly coming and going at every time of the day (and night!) and think their mothers are just their maids. 

I don’t know how to add a poll to my blog, but I’d like to know what your opinion is about the new Ryanair’s idea: passengers can fly for free if they stand up for their journey. You can read about it HERE. Would you do it? I don’t think I would…

What a busy day, and it’s not over yet! Hubby and I still have a few things to do before hugging our pillows. We had many errands to do and luckily it was a sunny and warm day so we could check out from our to-do list all the things to do outdoors.

What follows is what I was going to post yesterday evening, but I couldn’t due to a sudden problem with our FTP program. My precious hubby was able to resolve the problem tonight, yay!

I am sure the dandelion (“dente di leone” - meaning "lion's tooth", referring to the coarsely toothed leaves - or “tarassaco”, in Italian) is one of the most recognizable weeds. Dandelions grow anywhere this time of the year and many people who have plenty of them in their yards find them annoying.

I like their cheerful color and I just love blowing on them when they get all puffy!

A dandelion clock is a ball full of wishes! When I was a kid, my cousin and I used to call them “mamma-soffia” (mama-blow) because he always asked my aunt to blow all the seeds away. We say that if you blow away all the seeds at once you’ll have your wish come true. I must say that in many areas of Italy, when the flower is at the parachute ball stage, it is called “soffione” (blowing). 

The leaves (called dandelion greens) can be eaten cooked or raw in various forms, such as in soups or salads. I grew up eating this salad. It’s not my fave because even the tender leaves are a bit too bitter for my taste. 

This is a medicinal herb, it has diuretic properties, it is purifying, perfect to purify the organism from toxic elements. And it’s also high in vitamins, calcium and iron, so if you have never tried it, you should do it, at least once.

In Piedmont, my region of Italy, it’s tradition to eat this salad with hard boiled eggs during pic-nics. Or you can boil the leaves and dress with extra-virgin olive oil and (optional) lemon juice. Or also you can flip them in a pan with garlic and diced pancetta o bacon.

We also call them “piscialetto” (piss in bed) referring to its diuretic properties, or in other Italian regions, like Veneto, “pìsacàn” (dog piss) referring to … well, you have already guessed, LOL!

Ground roasted dandelion root may be used as a coffee substitute; it seems to be a good tonic for the liver.

Zeno and I blew tons of them last month. What about you? Hope all your wishes will come true!

It's such a pleasure to see a wee bit of sun again and feel its heat on my face! I'm sure you all know by now how it can brighten my day and improve my mood! LOL! I've been out and about today, visited the library for more books, went grocery shopping for fresh veggies and fruit and now I must hurry and get ready. Zeno and I are going out with his colleagues. We'll have a goodbye-dinner at “Sa Marina”, one of my favorite restaurants in Glasgow.

But first… my sweetheart and I came across this funny video on YouTube. We both like “Star Wars” and we had a laugh! Click HERE to enjoy Grocery Store Wars. It's a nice way to tell people to choose organic food.

UPDATE: We had a blast! The food was dee-licious (as always) and we all had a great time. We want to wish Giorgia and her husband Alan the best of luck on their new life in Australia.

... smile you make and hi say to wanted just we that out find you when irritating very it find may you… Confused?? Now read it backwards.

Remember to spoil your inner child every now and again!

We had a nice weather this weekend, even though it was partly cloudy, so we’ve been outside almost all the time, starting from Friday night. In fact, after dinner, Kia and I decided to take advantage of the good weather and we had a long walk of nearly 2 hours together with a neighbor of ours.

Saturday morning we woke up at 4:30 AM and took a few photos of the sunrise…

… then back to bed and we woke up again at 8 AM and went out for a walk before breakfast. We went on one of the hills here in Paisley to enjoy a panoramic view and we also had the chance to take some pictures of airplanes leaving from Glasgow Airport.

Coming down from the hill we passed by the Paisley Museum and we decided to get in for a quick tour, just to check if there was something new from last time we were there.

Around lunch time we decided to have a seat in a coffee shop and have an espresso/cappuccino with a slice of chocolate cake. After that, we walked around a little bit more since we had a few errands to do. On the way back home we had the chance to see the Sma’ Shot Day parade.

This is one of the oldest workers festivals in the country (celebrated on the first Saturday of July). It is a celebration of the weavers triumph over their employers. The workers were paid per piece of colorful thread in their yarn, with the Sma’ Shot being the cotton which bound the others together. As it was not visible in the finished garment, Victorian mill bosses refused to pay for the cloth. After a long political battle the workers won and renamed the traditional July holiday, Sma’ Shot Day.

On Sunday morning the sun was shining bright in the sky so we planned a visit at the Botanic Garden in Glasgow with some friends in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the afternoon was cloudy again, but we had a good time anyway. We’ve seen some new flowers in the greenhouse.

More flower photos will be shortly added to our Photo Album.

Afterwards, we went to a place where we had been told we could try a yummy orange chocolate cheesecake. The cheesecake was really good, soft and creamy like a mousse. Since we missed the last metro (because on Sunday, as absurd as it may seem, the last metro leaves at 6 PM), we decided to walk all the way from the West End to the city centre, then we took the train back to Paisley. Once at home, we took some time to relax on the sofa. Later on, we noticed some beautiful colors in the sky so we rushed downstairs to take some pics.

After looking at my photos, a couple of on-line friends asked me if the ring on my thumb is my wedding band.

Yes, you are right, ladies. The plain one is my wedding ring (fede or vera, in Italian), the other one is my grandma’s. It’s a bit smaller and tighter than my wedding ring and I use it to block mine. It’s quite strange ‘cos when Zeno and I got married 8 years ago, I was about 30 kg lighter and my wedding ring wasn’t loose. And now it is?

In Italy, the wedding ring is usually worn on the left hand, on the forth finger, called “anulare” in Italian, which means ring-bearer. The ring is worn on this finger because it is thought to contain a vein (vena amoris or “vein of love”) that would run up through the arm and get straight to the heart. By wearing rings on the fourth finger of their left hands, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. Also the shape of the ring (a circle) symbolizes eternity.

Well, despite tradition or etiquette, I prefer NOT to lose mine and keep it safe on my thumb! LOL! I know that in some countries the wedding ring is worn on the right hand instead. I also know a few people that prefer to wear it as a pendant around their neck and “near the heart”. What about you?

Life is full of twists and turns and change is inevitable… but it’s a lot easier with your soul mate by your side!

To all my American friends: have a great 4th of July with friends and family and lots of yummy food!

July arrived at our place with warm temps but cloudy and a wee bit wet weather. After the long gloomy winter a bit more of sunshine would be highly appreciated. This morning the guy on the radio said: “The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and Britain’s summer heat-wave is in full swing”. Hum, the part about the birds is true, but I’m skeptical about the rest. Dunno about the rest of Britain, of course, but it’s almost noon and it’s 19°C/67°F. You can see many half-naked Glaswegian men wandering around complaining for the “heat”. It's not “too hot”, guys, it's just warm and pleasant. What are you gonna do tomorrow when we should reach 24°C/75°C?! Melt like an ice cream?

I spent an hour on Skype with my parents this afternoon. They just got home from a week vacation to Al Alamayn (Egypt) and I wanted to know everything about it. Unfortunately, half of the people in the holiday resort had a tummy flu, so they didn’t manage to have that much fun. What a pity! The place was really nice, with white sand beaches and a clear blue sea. Here is a photo my parents sent me, just so you can have an idea.

A few minutes ago I got an e-mail from my dear friend Susan telling me that Abby (her second grandchild) was born 7 weeks earlier. She is 4 pounds 9 ounces of happiness with a full head of dark brown hair! Congrats to grandma Susan, mom Brooke, dad Chris and big bro Connor! Zeno and I are so happy for you, guys! Enjoy your new bundle of joy!

Another happy news: my cousin Samuele and his fiancé Sabrina announced they will get married on August 29^th. I wish them both a happy and long life together!

I think this is all for today. I have been writing and deleted this post for a few hours now. It’s always a wee bit difficult to be cheerful when the news are quite depressing (all the problems in Iran, the Yemenite airplane that crashed into the Indian Ocean and the railway disaster in Viareggio are just a few that pop into my mind).