Chris & family are heading back to Zurich - we do lots of good-byes. I'll see them in 6 days. About an hour after they left; we got a torrential down pour of rain and hail - like you've never seen before. I'm talking serious hail - bigger than golf balls. It was loud & scary. Morgan's terrified & I'm running a close 2nd to her. We're worried about Chris & Antje, as the storm seemed to come from the direction they were traveling. A call to them reported nothing but blue skies.
The rest of the day is sunny, cloudy, sunny, more hail ... really strange. About 10:00pm we were sitting on the front veranda; it was like a small tornado hit - almost no warning, the wind howled.There was a mad scramble to get the shutters closed. So much wind that pulling together Killian and I had a difficult time getting one window shuttered. Nothing to do but go to bed & hope it passed.
Did it ever! The next morning we peered out. Tree limbs were down, a large vine growing up the side of The Barn was torn loose. The Barn, with it's various outside storage areas (that's a positive spin!) was a mess. As we drank coffee & took inventory; Mikki came up with the bright idea "well, Sonja said we needed to clean up that place!" It was like a light bulb went on in Franco's head - next thing I know he's calling his sister to come on over. She did - 30 mins later Sonja arrives and she & the family cleaned all day. By the end of the day Outdoor Storage Areas looked like the inviting veranda it was meant to be.
After the storm, pre cleanup
Sonja & Linda
The week passes quickly. Gradually get to know the kids a little better. Killian reminds me so of his Uncle Chris - however it's hard to show you this revelation as you rarely get a picture of the front of Killian's face. What I find interesting in the family dynamics is how strongly the Ditto bone structure came down to Aunt Marilyn and her children. Killian is the only one of his generation where I still see the Ditto. Talking to Killian, I enjoyed learning the books & movies he prefers - nothing I'd watch in my wildest imagination. Yet I think perhaps I'm missing something and maybe I'll expand my horizons - not like I'll have much else to do in the coming months. Perhaps, he'll be coming to visit next summer.
Not the man in the Iron Mask - but always the back - that's how Killian's teen-age years will be remembered.
Georgia is charming, dresses with flair, opinionated & like a whirling dervish. She's either coming in or getting ready to go out. Philip and I couldn't believe what we were hearing - YMCA by the Village People!!! I think she was surprised to realize we knew all the moves! (Guess those marbles are still in the jar). Amid all this motion; she still took time to show me how to make a movie, using pictures & music. I loved the movie she did of her family. (Mikki, maybe you should add it to this blog)
Heading out before being halted by the water fight!
Morgan probably wonders why we keep showing up and speaking only english; leaving her to puzzle about the talking. I wonder too ... I did a little better this time; practiced words and tried them out on Linda - who I desperately want to converse with. Linda didn't exactly laugh at me but she did smile lots; Morgan out & out laughed, so I think I kept missing the mark. Despite the language barrier, Morgan is less shy and good about figuring out what you want or are trying to do and tries to help. We shopped together, picked figs, and generally hung out. She's in that time warp - wanting to hang out with teen-agers & them wanting to be somewhere else.
Spritz break in Concordia
Bruno, Franco & Marco
Mikki making supper
Searching for a book to read, Mikki recommend "Two Lives" by Vikram Seth. Once I started reading, I almost never put it down. It's a book about two seemingly unremarkable people who were an extraordinary couple.
Our time went so quickly - mostly I'll remember the laughter - putting Franco & Philip together is Trouble. They've given up on the Get Rich Quick schemes of Kiosk & Spritz Wagon - I can't remember what the latest plan is. Mostly their plans involve work for other people. A particularly memorable dialogue was at the supper table when they tried to determine the speed of sound in mins/feet & mins/centimeters. Mikki even weighed in on that discussion while I searched the Internet on my handy Blackberry.
One evening we drove to San Daniele to a favorite restaurant. Easy to order - they offer one meal - Prosciutto, mushrooms, artichokes, cheese, bread sticks & wine. The prosciutto is locally produced and is absolutely melt in your mouth food.
So much good food! I'm intimitated - both Linda, Mikki, Franco, Antje & Chris make it appear so effortless (Hmmm, scratch Chris from effortless) and they fix these wonderful meals. My major contribution to a meal is fixing a prepackaged salad. We tried Fried Green Tomatoes - not successfully. Helps not to mix the liquid with the dry seasoning - thought of that too late. Missed the ranch dressing for dipping.
Packing up - catching the direct train tomorrow. Wish we lived closer.
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