It's been a while....

I really wasn't sure if I wanted to resurrect this blog or not. So much has happened since that last post, most of which won't be going on here I admit! Anyway, I'm here now. I'm just going to keep it pretty general from now on. I guess it was anyway but I'll come on when something exciting is happening and that will probably be pretty much it!! My kids changed schools, both are at school together now. It's a French school which is interesting but it does mean they will be following the IB rather than the Italian Maturita which for them is a better option as it opens up Unis all over the world if they decide to go that route. We also have 4 cats now!!! Totally unplanned but we decided to keep the kittens our two had...maybe not the best idea but hey!! Anyhow the sun is shining and it's lunch time! :)

Time Passes!!

Good grief! I can't believe it has been 7 months since I last posted!! Thing is once summer hits it's way too hot to do too much and typing becomes an effort!! Not much has gone on either tbh...Antonia started Prima which is going okay. The homework is heavy at the weekends and neatness in writing and colouring is expected from the start, which I find incredible! That said her reading and writing in both languages is coming along well and she finds maths fairly straightforward so far!!

I'm not going into the details but we will be on the move again soon. Various forces have come together and we won't be renewing the lease on this place, so we need to find a new place before the end of January. I was hoping to be gone before Christmas, so we could decorate our new place with the tree etc but Italy being Italy this is probably not to be.....So we will have to make the best of it here, surrounded by cases and boxes!! It's not very conducive to the seasonal spirit but hey ho! Next year will be different.

Alex is here too at the moment. He is taking some study leave before the pressure of next years exams plus he wants to be here when we move - hoping this will be possible!!

To say my love of Italy is being tried at this time is an understatement but I can't imagine it being any different in any other country right now. Once I am resettled I'm sure it will return but in the mean time I remain frustrated and fed-up!!

Happy Christmas! ;)

Kittens and summer.

I finally think summer may just about, probably, be here. It's been terrible so far this year! So much rain, even friends who like the rain have been complaining! My two poor tomato plants are turning yellow with it all! Finally brightened up the end of last week, just in time for the bbq my friend Kim had arranged for a group she runs for English speaking mums. It was a gorgeous day and there was a great turn out! Unfortunately "cliquey-ness" was a bit of a blight, but once that group had moved on things seemed to take a turn for the better! The kids there had a great time, which was probably more important! So much good food too, luckily my lemon meringue held its own, which was a relief! Star for me were the chocolate cup cakes and the spinach and artichoke dip! I could've eaten the latter all to myself and wanted to with the cup cakes but they were so rich I was feeling pretty sick after two, but they were worth it!! :D We all bbq-d our own stuff, I'd taken kebabs but Antonia and I had pigged out so much on the table buffet we didn't eat much of them! I wasn't that bothered as they really weren't my best effort! She didn't like the meringue though, said it was too lemony!! Lol!

Because we stopped over at the house where the barbie was we also took along our new kittens! Kim is a big cat fan and it was her idea! They slept in the same bedroom as us, which was amusing if not restful. I woke up at one point to find them sucking Antonia's hair!! They also had a "garfield" habit of walking across my face with their claws to wake me up! Here, at home, they have the run now at night but I lock them out of the bedroom. It won't be long though before they work out how to get past the doors via the open stairs! We've had the kittens nearly two weeks now, they still don't have names, we are waiting for Alex to come home for a break this weekend to help out with that! One is a tom, he is absolutely stunning, a grey tabby, not something I've seen before. He has the cutest face and a mass of fluffy fur. I think he will be big, he has huge paws already at 6 weeks and reminds me of a little tiger cub! The other is a female, she is a strange mix of colours, two of her legs are perfect ginger tabby stripe, but the rest of her is a mix of grey, brown and ginger! She is tiny compared to the tom, really delicate like a flower! She's also the nosy one and I know will be in more trouble than him, either that or she will be egging him on from the side!! Lol!

We are all so happy to have the kittens, Antonia doesn't really remember having a cat in the UK and this is the first time in 4 years nearly, that we have had one. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance. I post them rarely because it is such a pain to upload them for some reason, I don't know what it is, anyway, soon. Girly cat just tried to add her thoughts so I'll finish off now!!

All things Volcanic!!

All has been quiet here at Casa Long, hence nothing to write for a while!!

We went to Spain for 10 days before Easter which was a pleasant change. The weather was only okay until the last 4 days or so but it was good to get away!! Loads of British shopping in Iceland - you have to be a Brit to even get that one I think - a good haul of Crunchies came back and so far I have managed to keep them all to myself!! :) We also went to a wolf park up in the mountains which was really interesting if bitterly cold! Oscar the fox was so cute! He likes to have his chin tickled!! I took the kids to Corduba for the day - should have been Seville but we missed the train...Someone forget to tell us that Malaga has TWO stations...Anyway, it was a pretty place and has Roman roots so felt like home (not!). The most interesting thing was the mosque/church. When the moors were kicked out the Christians "converted" the mosque rather than knock it down! Hence the bell tower is the muzzein's tower covered over to look more "Christian"!! Very strange place!! The holy places from the mosque were left intact inside too. Shame there can't be this "tolerance" today - okay so the Christians kicked the Muslims out of Corduba, but they didn't descrate the mosque, rather they adapted what was already there....

We were in Florence for Easter weekend and went to see the cart pulled through the town by the oxen (moo-pigs! - big and white...!). We also caught the flag throwers who were in good form as usual!

Chaos descended over Europe roughly a week later when Iceland's unpronounceable volcano blew it's stack! Suddenly my husband was stuck in the UK, my son couldn't go back to school and it looked like nothing was going to change this for quite some time to come!! Just over a week later my husband is in Spain and my son is on his way back to school!! Whether things changed, like the weather, because they do or because of pressure from the airlines who really knows at the end of the day?? All I know is that everyone got to where they should be and safely, which is what really matters. It also meant Alex had his birthday at home for the first time in about 4 years!! Because of all the uncertainty in where he was going to be he had two cakes, and two mini-celebrations! Neither were perfect (from my pov) as I wasn't sure what was happening when so I ended up hedging a bit...Next year he is definitely here and it will be his 16th, so I will make sure that is a bit special!! Antonia had her birthday in Spain, which I'll write about over on her blog!! :)