Volterra...

Yes! For those of you who have read the Twilight Saga...yes! This is the same Volterra that Meyer wrote about in the second book! On Sunday (I am still writing about last Sunday...it was a REALLY long day and we didn't get home until midnight...we are tired!) after we went to Pisa and Lucca, we went the back way home through Volterra. On the way there we saw this awesome rainbow...

We reached Volterra at about 7pm and enjoyed our first real experience in an Italian resturant (thank you Rick Steves')...we were really adventurous and ordered different KINDS of pizza! It was really good...we even got to have some vino! Again, it has been hard to do resturants because we don't know enough Italian to order anything for us let alone the kids! So this was a real treat...I loved it! Just outside the old city walls is this roman ampitheater...

The town also has 'the only Etruscan archway' in existance...at least that is what they say. Apparently in WWII, the Nazis were retreating through this town and wanted to blow up the arch to stop the allied advance...the people of the town ripped the stones out of the road and blocked the arch and convince the retreating Nazi army not to blow it up...

As we were walking through this old castle turned town at dusk, one can really understand why Meyer chose to use it in her book. Bats flying overhead, people looking at you funny (well, I guess we get that everywhere we go here, but it certainly added to the ambiance of the place)...it is easy to just let your imagination go! Here is the Tuscan view from the town at dusk...

Phew! Last weekend is done now! On to other fun stuff! I think we have explored more in the past month and a half than we have in Case's entire life! Good thing our rental car has unlimited miles!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Ciao a tutti!

Lucca...

As we left Pisa, it was HOT...at least for us. We traveled north to Lucca and into cooler and cloudy weather! As we entered the centro, I spotted the local TI (tourist information and my newest obsession...they give out free maps and really great brochures that tell you all about the area in English) and ran in to find my cool map and brochure (which by the way gave me all sorts of info on a great travel destination). While inside, my most wonderful husband came up with the BEST idea...riding bikes! The centro of Lucca is entirely inside it's intact castle walls which house the BEST paths around the city...cool! So Tobin took Gwen and Clayton in a trailer and Case was pedaling with me on a tandem bike! The kids were SO excited...I think it is the best 11 euros we have spent so far...

After traveling along the walls...we ventured into the town and found this really neat church...

This is a close up of the front...notice that each column is different...

Here is me with Case...He did a great job pedaling his little heart out...now if he just had a little balance!

The little kids LOVED the ride...notice my map in her hands...can't start teaching them too young! You should have seen the attention we got as we were biking through the town...'Ah Bella!'...there there was alot of pointing and exclaiming that there were 'due'/two kids in the trailer...3 kids is ALOT for Italy!

Lucca has alot of churches...

Here is a pic of one of the streets and Tobin...

So all in all, this was a HUGE sucess! The next morning all the kids could do was thank us for bike riding! I think this will be something that they actually remember from our trip! It is so much fun when we find something that the kids really enjoy...

But wait, Sunday was still not done...

Ciao a tutti!

Field of Miracles...

Sunday, we had a REALLY fun adventure. It started by driving up to Pisa (about 2 1/2 hours) and visiting the Field of Miracles. It was a beautiful sunny day...though VERY hot to us. They call this complex of buildings the Field of Miracles. The sparkling white marble buildings sit on one of the greenest lawns I have seen in a long time. It creates quite a setting for these spectacular buildings. The Field of Miracles documented the lives of most of the people of Pisa. They were baptized in the Baptistry, married in the Duomo, and buried in the cemetary. In this picture is the Baptistry (in the front), Duomo, and the famously leaning Torre di Pisa (though Tobin was incensed that such bad construction was so famous)...

Here is a picture of the front of the Duomo...notice the 4 stories of columns...very impressive. This was the only site that we actually entered...it was a welcome relief from the heat!

Here is the famous Torre di Pisa...it is pretty crazy! It started to lean before the 3rd story was even completed...and yet they continued the rest of the 5 stories...go figure! We didn't go up the tower...children under the age of 8 were absolutely NOT allowed in...

And finally, one cheesey have to take picture of the Leaning Tower of Pizza (at least according to Clayton)...

Stay tuned for the rest of our Sunday Adventure...

Ciao a tutti!

Oh Yeah, Tobin is actually working here...

Well, everyone seems to be wondering about work. To be honest it has taken this long to blog about it because it has taken this long to know even where to begin…

So I (Tobin) have taken over the blog for a piece to try and give everyone a feel for what we are doing. First, I have to say that I am enjoying going to work, so that is great. It is in a different role than I am used to on a daily basis, so that too is good because variety is the spice of life. Our (Cobalt Construction Company – my uncle’s company) role is that of Designer & Project Engineer, managing and making sure that the work is being done according to spec and in the contract time schedule. Not pounding nails on a daily basis but walking a lot. The job is 638 hectares (~260 acres) and my only mode of transport from one side of the job to the other is my feet; look out guys who go elk hunting with me in the fall – I will be in the best shape of my life!!

The PROJECT
The job we are working on is a 45MW Solar Power “Farm”, or solar power plant. When complete it will be the largest solar plant in Europe. Just down the road is a 24MW plant finished just recently by the same companies we are working with and a 9MW currently underway by the same companies. These pictures are of “the 24” (completed) and “the 9” (under construction still).

The panels are mounted to “tracker bars” which sit on top of piers and then computers allow the panels to “track” the sun for the best efficiency. This “tracker system” requires certain tolerances in pier movement and slope. To achieve these tolerances the “fields” (think rolling hills like home) have to be prepared to have piers driven in them. The ground has to be compacted to be strong enough to hold the piers (as well as be “mud hole free” so the pier driving equipment doesn’t sink during construction), drain water in the final completed form so as not to have puddles everywhere, service roads be constructed, and the high spots cut off and the low spots filled to bring the site slopes into tolerance for the tracking system. This is the scope of our portion of the work. Prepare a “farmscape” to drive piers. Once pier driving begins on a section, our job in that section is complete. We have been brought in because the standards realized on “the 9” & “the 24” have been sub-par as far as the client is concerned.

Seems simple enough. With our usual American construction machinery, techniques, understanding, and technical know how it would be by our standards a “walk in the park”. However, if the last five weeks have taught me anything, it is that these things are as foreign here as a polar bear walking the Sahara. Not that it is bad… or wrong… just TOTALLY FOREIGN!!! We have learned that even when we think we are communicating ideas and everyone is saying ‘Si, Si!!!’ that 75% of the time we are all agreeing to different things. This has caused much confusion and misunderstanding.

The CHALLENGE
Think of it this way. You have been asked to design and then monitor/manage the making of a wedding cake for the Prince in a foreign land. You investigate the local baking instruments and ingredients and then devise a plan. Now it is time to get the job done. The wedding is coming and the schedule is fixed. You are brought onto a team consisting of the overall wedding planners plus the royal bakers plus the local baker who will actually be making the cake per your design. Each group has representatives with different understanding levels and backgrounds. Meetings abound and much paper is generated, questioned, interpreted, misunderstood, and argued about. Great sums of money are involved which only further muddies the water. Meanwhile the work has started and as 15+ “managers” are meeting trying to get the job sped up, one lowly baker’s helper is beating eggs with a butter knife. Now, your plan needs eggs beat, but the egg beater is the best tool for the job, there is one in the bakery but they are beating eggs with a butter knife… and not near fast enough to meet the schedule. So this is argued at great length by managers in meetings. Pretty soon, the arguing works and more baker’s helpers start beating eggs and so more eggs get beat(still with butter knives) and you start to see signs that egg beaters in this foreign land are the same as in your land but here they use them for frosting cakes and butter knives for beating eggs….? Hmm… Not really wrong… Just different. Then you finally communicate your point about the time too many eggs are beaten and other things need to be done but since egg beating has been “SO IMPORTANT” in continues while the adding of sugar etc. becomes the topic of misunderstanding and the beaten eggs go bad…

This goes on over each step of baking the cake while the schedule falls behind by the day because of misunderstandings and misperceptions, which leads to mistrust. After several weeks of this and much consternation on your part, you begin to realize the problem is that where you come from you make cakes from boxed mixes and these foreign people make cakes from scratch. So it becomes obvious that your plans and procedures don’t include the same info that your bakers are used to. They have been trying desperately to understand your design/plan and comply with your request but you have assumed a bunch of things (i.e. that your foreign baker bakes things the same way you do) that is not the case. They are trying but it makes NO SENSE to them so they “mess” up and you chastise them but the whole time they “thought” they were doing what you asked. Meanwhile the “wedding of the century” marches ever closer and “managers” jobs are on the line. Tensions rise. Misunderstandings abound. Futures are in jeopardy. Quality suffers. And all you care about is that the quality of the cake is better than the last wedding disasters (knowing it will never get to the quality you are used to), cost close to your budget, and get finished in time for the wedding most of all, feeling pretty sure the wedding WILL happen, WITH a cake, even if the quality is not what you have been hired to achieve and care greatly about.

And to top it all off, the normal weather patterns that should have been providing dry enough weather to dry muddy ground and allow for compaction, have been altered by a volcano in Iceland and unseasonably high rain has fallen actually making more mud instead of less. For those of you familiar with dirt work in the mud… well let’s just say that working mud is futile. And this dirt has a very high clay content so we are talking MUD/PLAYDOUGH. Sinkholes abound and many a machine has been stuck, and I mean buried stuck!!
Capito? (Understand?)

The GOOD NEWS
However, if you are about to despair, don’t. We are beginning to develop mutual respect with the head baker in the bakery and his individual bakers. Drier weather has presented itself, dirt is moving in productive ways, and we are finding ways to improve efficiency as well as reduce the size of the cake to help reduce the time frame to bake it. Understanding is getting through as well through interpreters (head baker speaks no English) and the operators (the idea of a foreman seems to be foreign here) are starting to understand soil mechanics and how to make a “strong” fill and protect each day’s work from possible rain overnight. I can’t tell you how many lago di Montalto’s (lake of Montalto) have been created and when it comes to moving dirt, lakes are the enemy!!!! Keep praying for us because only God can make this a success, know that I am learning lots, and that the experience is definitely worth the price of admission!!!

The SIDE OBSERVATION
So, it dawned on dad and I just this week. Think of the Tower of Babel and God confusing men’s speech. After the past five weeks, I totally understand God’s method of separating peoples. When the language thing doesn’t work… nothing works. And they didn’t even have an interpreter!!! I know now that in one fell swoop, God divided peoples. Just like that! I imagine it would even divide a family. Communication is SO vital to our existence as human beings and without it… well… let’s just say the “tower” project came to a SCREACHING HALT in one instant. Problem solved!!! ‘Nuff said.

Confused? So are we but God is Great, the sun is shining today, and we are making Italian friends!

Ciao a tutti!


Machines moving dirt and some brush being burned...

One of many problem water spots, cursed Lago di Montalto...

Moving some dirt...

Part of “the fleet”! Our equipment spread is probably one of the largest in Italy right now. (We maxed out the Rome rental yard!!!)...

A compactor rolling some “finish grade”...

FINALLY!!! The first piers on the 45MW. (These are still the only ones… 13 of over 40,000!)...

Vulci...

I feel a little behind on our adventures right now...I was pretty busy this weekend getting things ready for Clayton's birthday...hopefully I will catch up this week! On Friday afternoon, we (the kids and I, Grandma, Shilo, and Shannon) went to Vulci. Vulci is an archeological park very close to Montalto and it is the most intact ruins of an Etruscan town in Italy. It's crowning glory (which were closed when we were visiting) is the frescos in the Francois Tomb...they have the most preserved frescos with the colors intact...next visit! It also has an Etruscan museum in a castle which we saved for another occasion. As it was, we went on a 4 km hike with the kids through the Lazio countryside. Warm when the sun was out, but pleasant with the breeze. Here is a picture of one of the sites...this is an aristocrat's residence...

Here is a picture of the tilework that was under the roof...tiles were about 1/4 inch square...

This was probably the coolest part of the park...this is an underground corridor, lit by sky lights from the ground above us...it is called a criptoportico...

Here is Gwen with her map...taking after her mom...I never leave home without a half a dozen maps these days...you never know when you need one, or what fun stuff you might miss out on if you don't bring them!

Ah, Gwen...had been acting VERY two in Vulci...it was a good thing there weren't alot of people. She has a very independent streak and stubbornly refuses to do anything with help...wonder where she gets that! The silver lining...she is the only one of my kids who threw a major temper tantrum in an Etruscan ruin! Eventually, she came around a bit and at least wanted to be with the family. Here she is peeking over one of the ruin walls looking at a lizard sunning himself...

And what would an Etruscan ruin be without a picture of an Etruscan road...

And the prize for hiking down the hill...a pretty waterfall!

We enjoyed our walk, Etruscan ruins, and beautiful Lazio countryside. Now, if I can get my 2 year-old to behave and enjoy ruins...life would be perfect! (I am dreaming...life is perfect just as it is)

Ciao a tutti

When I grow up...

Some of you might be wondering why we did snail crafts the other day...check them out here...as many of you know, I rarely do crafts with the kids unless there is a reason or a lesson behind them...I know, BORING! Anyway, I thought I would share WHY we did crafts with snails. Apparently, the boys have become snail farmers...each morning they go outside and round-up all the garden snails that they can find and 'corral' them with old clothespins...don't tell them they can get out of this...

The chopped up leaves are not for food...but the 'bed' for the snails ;) This is one of the cute fellas close up...

This is a new meaning of hitching a ride...

And I am not too sure if these 2 really 'like' one another, or if this is equivalent to a snail fight...

So, that is why we did a snail craft...in honor of our snail friends...

Ciao a tutti!

Today is brought to you by...

...the number 4! Today is Clayton's fourth birthday! Wow, they sure do grow up fast! Here is the happy birthday boy...

We had a fun celebration on Saturday with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Shannon (she is so cool that the kids call her 'uncle'), and our fabulous MT neighbors who came to visit us in Montalto. I had a request for a 'candy' cake...I did my best! I have yet to find a cake mix...at least that I recognize...I think they are out there, but they just don't look familar to me (the directions are also in italian...I didn't have time to translate!). So Uncle Shannon saved me by bringing a cake mix all the way from MT...thank goodness! Then there is the issue of the icing...does not exist here. So I find a recipe online and write it down (only problem: I only wrote down the ingredients and not HOW to make it). Remember the brownie incident...no mixer! I finally caved and bought a mixer (one of the best 12 euros I have spent!)...as it was it took me quite a while to mix it and have look like icing (everyone was very gracious to me, but I think I need to work on my icing making skills...as in they don't exist!). But at least it looked good and Clayton enjoyed his cake...

I found the great 'Buon Cumpleanno' sign at the store and just couldn't resist! Clayton also got some fun Cars plates and napkins...the kid could bearly contain himself! He is usually so low key, it was really fun to see him so excited about his birthday!

Let's have four amazing things about Clayton on his birthday...

One: Clayton is very into animals, bugs, reptiles, flowers, and vegetable plants...I like to think of him as my little biologist. He is always observant and loves to capture and look at every small creature he can find (even the really icky ones...that he always HAS to show me...right in my face!) Right now, buffalos and lizards/snakes are his very favorites.

Two: Clayton LOVES cars, trucks, planes, motorcycles, boats, and any and every piece of construction equipment he can find...if it has an engine he wants to watch, see how it works, and get one for himself (the miniture versions work...at least for now!) He especially loves the Disney Cars movie, Lightning McQueen, and Mater.

Three: Clayton loves to be with his Grandparents, especially his Grandpas! He just loves to hold their hands, sit on their laps, watch what they are doing, learn about what they like, or just be with them. His NJ Grandpa had him down in his fishing room and washing dishes, and his MT Grandpa got to spend a really special day with him at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas (which incidentally was where this whole crazy Italy thing came from).

Four: Clayton is our low key kid. He can play on his own, make up his own stories, sings his own songs. He is very independent and tends to go his own way...not in a bad way...he routes for his own sports teams (even if everyone else is routing furiously for the other side). He is very creative, loves to color, explore new things and experiments get him very excited.

Happy Birthday Clayton!

Baking...the Italian way...

I have gotten quite the response from my humorous experience at the food store getting the required card for the soccer card thingys...so I thought I would share my newest experience and success...baking brownies!

First off, I have to admit that I just may have the absolute best recipe for brownies (Jennie, I know you still think you do, but we have yet to have our bake-off...so for now I will assume bragging rights;). I know what most of you are thinking...why bake brownies from scratch when there are perfectly good boxed brownie mixes...obviously you have yet to taste these brownies! However, they do not have boxed brownie mixes here...nor cake mixes, at least that I recognize. I got this recipe from a roommate in college (being from NJ I thought she was crazy to spend the time and energy making them from scratch...at least until I tasted them)...

On to the adventure...I had no idea how many steps we just take for granted when baking. I was a good girl and copied several of our favorite recipes and brought them with us...I figured, hey this is from scratch...they HAVE to have these ingredients...it has taken me a month of looking in every grocery store (and that is alot) and a friend that had pity on me and just gave me some of them! Here is the recipe...

*Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (convert oven temp to Celcius...180 degrees and figure out which of the 8 oven settings is the correct one...still not too sure about that) If anyone can clue me into these settings, please don't hold back...Number 4 and 5 look like broil to me...but I can be wrong...

*I don't have any measuring cups or spoons...which is okay because they would be in metric anyway! Cream together 1 cup margarine (butter/burro), 1 cup sugar/zucchero, and 1 cup brown sugar/zucchero di canna...which I am still not sure if it is the right stuff, but it looked alright. Sounds good so far...I don't have a microwave to 'soften' the butter and I don't have a mixer of any kind to 'cream' it together...I found my hands did the best job for this ;)

*Add 2 eggs/uovo and beat...mix well with spoon.

*Add and stir in 1/4 cup evaporated milk/doesn't exist as far as I know so I used just regular milk, 1/2 cup cocoa/cocao amaro in polvere, 1/4 tsp salt/sale, 1 tsp vanilla/vaniglia which I couldn't find so my friend had pity on me but I have since seen it in a store, and 1/2 tsp baking powder/lievito in polvere which again my friend had to clue me in for.

*Stir in 1 3/4 cups flour/farina and then beat for 30 seconds...mix well with spoon.

*Pour in greased 9x13 pan...doesn't exist here because everything is in metric, but did the best I could.

*Bake 45 minutes (or in my case only 20 minutes because I think I had it on the convection oven setting).

So the batter tasted about right, it smelled about right while cooking, and looks about what it is to look like...

So I had another success! Today was a good day! Things just seemed to work out all over the place. The weather is just wonderful...sunny and a light breeze...downright pleasant. I managed to wash the sheets off my bed (this is kind of tricky because I only have one set and no dryer) and they are even dried and on my bed. I went to the friendly bread store and found what I think will be a fun 'school' on the beach for the summer months for the kids...I have been looking for something for them to do with other kids in order to make friends. We got mail from home. And my brownies look like brownies, smell like brownies, and hopefully taste like brownies (we are patiently waiting for them to cool down).

So I hope that you have a wonderful day full of successes!

Ciao a tutti!

It WORKS...

It REALLY works!!! We got mail! Thanks Mom! So for all of you out there who are dying to mail something to Italy...and I know you are out there...here is our address:

Rosanne Kruse

Via Eugenio Curiel, No. 5

01014 Montalto di Castro (VT)

Italy

In an envelope, you can send cards, stickers, coloring pages for the kids, pictures, etc...I am sure you can be creative about what one can put in an envelope (don't go over the weight requirements)...my vote is for some google eyes for our crafts...look at these poor snails we made...aren't they just begging for some google eyes? I am wondering how I left the country without them...I brought the construction paper, glue, sissors, markers...but no google eyes...what WAS I thinking!

Okay, back to the subject...mail...it takes a priority mail sticker thingy that you get at the post office...the cards that we recieved had costed 98 cents and took only 2 1/2 days to get here...kind of crazy!

Speaking of mail...those of you who are in my 4th grade Sunday School class...I just mailed you something special! Now I 'think' I got the right stamps, so if you do recieve something from me in the mail...PLEASE let me know! That way I know if I got the correct stamps and can do it again! Here is a pic of the mailboxes here...mailmen deliver the mail but do not pick it up...that's okay because these things are everywhere...

Well, now that I had a shameless plug/plead for mail from home...I do hope that you have a wonderful day!

Ciao a tutti!

Ode to Alfa Romeo...

I decided that I needed to share some about our favorite sports car that is no more. It was impractical, had absolutely NO ground clearance, only 2 seatbelts in the backseat, and was BRIGHT cherry red...but we really enjoyed it! With 3 kids, we just don't get FUN things, we need PRACTICAL...it was really fun to have been given a fun car. It seriously had some get up and go! Every time I drove it , I felt like...watch out Italians here I come! Tobin really enjoyed the Dynamic drive and it was MADE for those windy Italian hill roads...

Goodbye, Alfa Romeo! It was fun while it lasted!

Ostia Antica...

Sunday, we needed to go back to the airport to trade in our rental car. Apparently, the Alfa Romeo sports car that we were driving was the wrong one! Who knew! It was a great little car, and seriously fun to drive. Our new car is a black Peugeot...it is hard to believe, but I think that this 4-door car is actually smaller than our original sports car! At least now we have 3 seat belts in the back and the extra doors are handy (except that Gwen's newest passion is opening the door when we are zooming down the Autostrada...I have since learned how to lock the door, but poor Grandma's heart may never be the same again), and the trunk space is the same or a smidge bigger. It is hard to get used to another manual, I keep gunning the engine! Watch out pedestrians!

So after the exciting trip to the airport...off we were to Ostia Antica. I REALLY liked this trip. I am sure in some way this is heretical, but these ruins were way better than the Roman Forum. Sure, the Forum is the more politically and historically important sight, but as far as ruins go...it was much better. They are in much better shape, actual signs around (even in english) so that one actually knew what we were looking at...it is not in the center of a large city and even has shade...overall, a very enjoyable experience!

A little on Ostia Antica...Ostia means mouth...so the city was at the mouth of the Tiber River controlling all the trade and water traffic into Rome...so it was the place to be. Rivers being what they are, the mouth of the river moved and the town found itself land-locked. After a plague, the town was abandoned and eventually covered by sediment up to the second floors of buildings. You can think of Ostia Antica as a sister site to Pompeii...where Pompeii was a weathly comunity and covered by volcanic ash...Ostia Antica is a working class town and it is much easier to imagine daily life. This site is also better preserved than Pompeii and much less touristy.

I am constantly blown away at the sophisication of the people that lived so long ago...the ornate decorations in stone and tile are truly amazing! Heck, the Romans invented indoor plumbing! One never really thinks much about it until you are faced with the sheer size and monumental task that is, especially without modern equipment to get the job done...you really get a feel for the amount of slave labor that was used to accomplish such tasks!

Here is a pic of part of the necropolus..

Here we are looking at one of the multitude of baths that were present...the tile work is seriously impressive...the tiles are about 1/2 inch square...

This is the ampitheater...

And yes, we ALL were there (I am trying to sneak in pics with me in them...kind of hard sometimes when I am the one that takes the pictures)...

We had a bit of a grumpy Gwen, but big brother Case was all about helping out...

And here are some cool column pics of the kids...

Well, I guess she wasn't grumpy the whole time...

The ruins here are very extensive...they seemed to just keep going and going...

And what is a visit to a Roman ruin without a picture of a Roman road...

We really enjoyed our visit here, and very much recomend it to anyone traveling to Italy. It might not be the most must see, but I definitely think you get a bang for your buck!

This week has been more low key than last...I am trying to get ready for Clayton's birthday and doing regular household things...trying to get that laundry dry whenever the sun decides to peek through the clouds. I think that I am beginning to make my first Italian friend. I admit it is very difficult for me to chat with anyone. With the three kids it is hard, add the different language and it almost seems impossible, and then add in a TON of rain and I just don't get many chances to try! But I am starting to have REAL chats with the bread store lady! Today, I just went with Gwen (the store is literally 2 houses away) and there was no one in the store...she communicated that she wanted to learn English and I wanted to learn Italian! I was certainly encouraged...we spent a few moments trying to figure out several words...FUN!!! I am thinking of inviting her to my house some afternoon for coffee or something (the bread store closes every afternoon...though I don't know if she has other commitments...at least it is worth a try)...so here is to being brave!

I hope that you are having a wonderful afternoon!

Ciao a tutti!