Fields of Gold from last summer

At the edge of our village, one farmer was growing sunflowers ... 
and hay of course ... lots of farmers grow hay here .....

DH and I walked past this on one of our longer walks ...

These sunflowers were only about 5-feet tall 

with flowers about six-inches petal tip to petal tip ...

Golden flowers basking in the sunny rays ...

Pretty sight ... one to treasure in my memory now that winter is nearly here.

Holly

Sad Kitty

Poor Indy kitty! 

Found a new vet (really nice one) who gave Indy her annual physical -

wanted  complete blood-work done to check kidney functions
and overall health due to her age. 

Not a happy kitty after her blood draw ...
don't blame her in the slightest ...
I don't like needles either.
Holly
 

I'm Back Again ... in Our New Home

I sure didn't expect to be gone this long!  Moving is such a bear!! 

It is so depressing to leave a place where you have created a life and made friends .. have made memories (lots of memories) and changed a building from just walls, ceiling and floors into a home, welcoming and filled with the treasures that decorate our life.  It was so sad to look at the empty spaces and know that our time there has come to an end ....

DH found a wonderful place in southern Germany ... a bit smaller than our last ... so some things we have acquired over the years are going away to brighten other lives.  Dear Kitty managed to make it up here okay ... though she wasn't too sure about that while we were on the ferry going from Palermo (Sicily) to Genova (northern Italy).  The cat kenneling area was under repair ... and since she was the only cat (and pets are not allowed in the individual cabins ... which I can understand ... fur, "accidents", fleas, other issues) ... she had to spend nearly 24-hours in one of the smaller cages at one end of the dog kennel.  Fortunately there weren't a lot of dogs in the kennel area ... and the staff did put her at one end of the room and the dogs at the other end ... but several of the dogs barked A LOT!!!  Poor kitty.

Since the kennel area was accessible to the passengers the entire trip - I did spend time with her over the trip.  But mostly she just wanted to huddle in her carrier  with her blanket (I left the carrier open and just stuck the whole thing in the kennel cage) and made sure she had water the entire trip ... as well as food once her motion sickness/panic settled down.    I felt bad for her ... I don't even like going into pet stores because I don't like seeing the animals in cages. 

Still have some boxes to go through ... but progress has been made.   Amazing some of the things I am finding packed away .... even though I did quite a bit of purging before we left Sicily (I packed a lot of boxes myself in the weeks before the movers did the final packing and loading) ... there are still things that I have to just shake my head and wonder what on earth I was thinking.

Our new home is brand new ... it was nearly a month and a half after we moved in before the landscapers finished laying the patio and putting in the landscaping.  Lots of dust and dirt during that time period .... ugh!!

Glad to be back ... time to make new memories, create a new home and make new friends. 

 

The moving van on delivery day, the living room (you can see what will become out patio and the slope that is still raw dirt) before the boxes were unloaded .. and the kitchen part way through the unpacking and putting away process.

Moving is just not much fun ...

It has been an incredibly busy month .... but DH, DKitty and I have managed to get through most of the fuss and flurry.

All our furniture (at least all that we kept) is off and on its way to Germany, the apartment has been cleaned and turned back over to Carmela and Giovanni, DH has reported to his new job (and spent much of his "free time" looking for a new place for us to live) ... DKitty  and I will join him soon ... I have a few more days of work left before the two of us will be on our way.

Amazing how much stuff we packed up and shipped out .... gave away or sold quite a bit ... but there was still a lot.  And I am sure that when we unpack all the boxes ... we will wonder just what prompted us to keep some of the things we did.

Am making the last of the farewells, picking up a few last items to mail/take to Germany ... have shed lots of tears ... I really enjoy living in Sicily and in many ways do not want to leave ...I've made friends here and have created a home here.  Tearing up the roots has been surprisingly painful considering that DH and I both spent time in the military and did multiple moves.

Gave Carmela and Giovanni our keys, gave most of my plants to Carmela ... she loves plants and poking in the dirt ... time to head off for a new adventure.... ... now, if I can only convince the cat ...

I'll miss our kitchen and being able to look out over the plains of Catania
to the ocean and our wonderful huge terrace.

Yes ... I really did need all of these keys to get into our apartment ...

Off and on our way to a new adventure ....  Holly

 

On the beach near Giardini-Naxos

Went to the beach two weekends ago with some Sicilian friends ... first time either DH or I have been to the beach in nearly four years.   The beach is lot different than the ones in San Diego ... lots of small rocks rather than sand.  Both DH and I are going to get water shoes before we go again.
I'll need to put on sunscreen as well ... ended up with a second-degree burn.... lots of small blisters.  Oh well ... so life goes.

Buying figs in Belpasso

We passed this vendor on the way to work -- haven't seen him before two weeks ago.  Most local vendors set up near the top of town or on the main road coming down from the top.  Others drive through town either in the morning or evening with small (very small) trucks and loud speakers letting people know what is being offered.  This one is closer to the bottom of Belpasso.

The figs were pretty great!

Weeding the roof

Results of birds and prickly pears ....

DH was able to remove most of the cacti from the rain gutters... but not all.

Spaceship over Etna

The winds blowing around Etna cause this cloud formation.

Did anyone else think of the movie "Independence Day" when seeing this?

KFC Russian-style

Hey!  It's KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) ... in Moscow, Russia. 

 "It's chicken tonight!"

DH and I spent most of June visiting Berlin and then taking a river cruise up the Volga from Moscow to St. Petersburg. 

DS even managed to get leave approved to join us for the entire trip.

We had a GREAT time!

Eyelashes again!

Cute eyelashes!

Saw this car at the mechanic's lot the other day ...

My Scenic is a goner!

The after-math of a rainy night and wash-outs on a narrow road.

Mechanic told my husband it will cost more to fix

than to buy a different car.

Farewell my little Renault Scenic.

Brotwort seller in Berlin

Visited Berlin (Germany) last month with DH, DS and a co-worker (who lived 11 years there .. our own personal tour guide!)  Saw this guy at a couple of the tourist spots we visited.  Carries all that he needs to sell wonderful German sausages to passers-by. 

 Yum!!

Jester at Medieval Festival

Three more clips of the jester ...

even not understanding Italian, I think he's fun to watch.

Say what???

what of what???

Jester in Motta S.A.

Recently Motta Sant'Anastasia (CT) Sicily had its annual Medieval Fest

 and celebrations in honor of the town’s patron saint, Santa Anastasia.

This jester was a lead performer one night. 

He's also a juggler and ventriloquist and a bunch more all rolled in one.

He was a riot to watch!

Hurting kitty

Indy had her annual physical first thing in the morning on the 24th ...

DH took her to the vet on his way in to work (he got in around 10) -

 I took her back home again at lunch.

She was out of her mini-carrier during the hour she was with me ..

she wasn't happy the vet poked, prodded and stuck her with a needle.

Poor baby....

Etna erupts again

Etna has been erupting off and on all year long ...

This was taken from the end of our street last Friday.

We live about a third of the way up the side of Etna....

the few lava overflows there are go down the other side of the mountain.

Gift for my son

lava plaque my son asked us to get for him ...
ordered it about a year ago from a local lava carver...
got it a few months ago...
now have to figure out how to get it to him.

DS asked me to post the picture so he could see what it looks like...

St James candlelighting - Caltagirone

This year's luminaria design on the Sta Maria steps
 in Caltagirone for the St James Festival (24-25 July).

Made for a long day ... didn't get home until nearly 2 this morning.
We enjoyed the day even so.