Medieval Times Pumpkin Festival

As our days in Italy slowly come to an end, I find myself wanting to attend every festival and event possible. Who knows if we will ever return to this enchanted place again.
Last weekend, we attended the Chestnut festival in Pordenone. Who would've thought that you could celebrate something as insignificant as the chestnut. But in Italy, they even have a mushroom festival. The Italians like to have fun. For the chestnut festival, the center of Pordenone was lined with shops, music, events and people. It was fun getting lost in the crowds and shopping with the locals.


 
This weekend we attended a Pumpkin festival in a medieval city called Venzone. Upon our arrival in the city, we walked through the city gates where people wore authentic medieval costumes. The walls surrounding the city resembled nothing less than a castle, and it left you feeling as though you were stepping into real medieval times.
Fortune tellers could be spotted throughout the city, along with the fresh smell of breads, pastries, and of course, pumpkin.
Around lunch time, we spotted a pizzeria selling pumpkin pizzas. Turns out they were beyond scrumptious! Replacing the traditional pizza sauce, they used pumpkin sauce instead. Very few places in Italy do this. No wonder the pizzeria was overflowing with people! :)  We spent the afternoon touring shops and watching Arts and Crafts demonstrations. Later we stumbled upon a great medieval feast where the old town center was lightened by torches and crowded with nobles, ladies, knights, and merchants.
Toward evening, we watched jugglers, jesters, musicians and more noblemen.
But the best part of this little medieval town is the story behind it, and it's too good for me not to share. 

Venzone was destroyed by an earthquake in 1976 and had been rebuilt according to original plans. It started celebrating its pumpkin fair 14 years ago because of an ancient legend, which centers upon a pumpkin. According to this legend, in the 14th century Venzone was almost completely built and had many nice palaces. The city's cathedral and the tower clock had finished being constructed. Unfortunately, the city didn't have enough money to pay the artist who had just completed decorating the roof of the tower clock with a golden globe. The city committee decided to give him just one third of the amount he asked for his work because they thought that everybody should volunteer some of their working time for the town, especially during this hard time. He didn't have much choice, and he accepted the money that the city gave him. But that night he thought he would pay the city back in the same way. He went back up to the roof and replaced the golden ball with a nicely painted pumpkin. He left the city the next day. 

The Venzone inhabitants were happy for the completion of the work that embellished their city but, shortly, they realized that something on the tower was wrong because the ball was changing color. Only when big pieces started falling down did they understand how the sculptor had fooled them. Nevertheless, the city dedicates an annual fair to this important agricultural product that grows in the area. For a couple of days, the town is swarmed with thousands of visitors from towns nearby, as well as from Germany and Austria, who come to watch the parades of people dressed in medieval costumes ,musicians, jugglers, armigers and knights, who populate the narrow streets.  



Click here to see more of my Medieval pictures on Facebook

 

August was not my month! Here's to September, Cheers!

I knew I spoke too soon in my last post when I mentioned how smoothly this deployment was going. Didn't I say I would probably jinx myself for admitting that?! I guess I can't complain too much since nothing serious has happened, other than some minor set backs, but they are still set backs nonetheless.

A few months ago I hurt by back doing some kick boxing. It healed fine, but little did I know, that would be the start of chronic back pain in my lower back and Sciatica.  The last three weeks have been miserable and I haven't been able to do much pre-packing/moving or cleaning in preparation for our move in November.  My doctor recommended physical therapy but thankfully the yoga I've been doing 3 times a day is starting to help. Yay for yoga! I sure hope it heals up before Allen gets home. I'm ready for some good vacation time with him.







Around the same time I hurt my back, someone decided to steal our credit card info and make two large purchases at Walmart.com. They charged over $1200 before we noticed and cancelled our cards.  Apparently this happens a lot overseas because this is the second time it has happened since we've been over here. THANKFULLY we bank with USAA, and they are easy to work with. They primarily deal with military, and they have a no fraud policy so we were able to get refunded almost immediately!  An investigation is still pending, and I sure hope they catch whoever did it. Otherwise USAA will be out that $1200.




If you've read this far, let me tell you about my week so far. Besides running two red lights and now waiting to see if I get a pricey ticket in the mail, I also got a ticket today for not properly disposing of my trash. And all because of an itsy bitsy broken up plastic bin that I sat next to my garbage can by the road. Either they didn't like the fact that it wasn't placed INSIDE my trash can, or because it was a recyclable item, not trash.  Either way, it is complicated trying to throw trash away over here. I love to recycle but sometimes I really miss those big black American trash cans with the hunky-dory cool wheels that you can pull out to the road. Instead, I am stuck with a little orange bin that comfortably holds ONE garbage bag. But, as you can see in the pictures below, this is what happens when you miss a week and have TWO garbage bags instead of one! I get to climb up and squish them down.  If I were to be fair though, I should add that once you recycle cardboard, plastic and glass, you really aren't left with too much trash each week....unless   you're like me and forgot trash day...then have more trash the following week.




                                                                          THE TICKET:
              (It basically says the waste was not properly disposed...blah..blah..blah..)

                                                                      BEFORE:

 

                                                                         AFTER:
                                                                        (Whew!)

                                                              

I'm hoping September is a MUCH better month since August didn't turn out so peachy!                                                       

                                                           Cheers! :)

8 weeks left!!

8 weeks left! Woo Hoo! I must say that this deployment has gone by so smoothly and quickly so far. And I hope I don't jinx myself by saying that. ;)  I feel very thankful that there have been no major issues with the house or car, but I find myself holding my breath, waiting for something to go wrong. After all, isn't it written in a handbook somewhere that something MUST break down or go terribly wrong during a deployment? I'm pretty sure that's a rule! But, fortunately for me so far, there have been no hot water leaks, flat tires, no major accidents or trips to the hospital, no lightning strikes on the house, power outages, ruined appliances, expired cards or documents, no gypsies or salesmen peeking into my windows, and no major hindrances from simply living abroad. Whew!  I'm wiping the sweat from my brow just thinking about all the past deployments. It's amazing just how much can arise when the husband is away. It makes me wonder how we ever manage without our husbands, especially if they are such great problem solvers and handymen!  One thing is true, though: with each deployment I always learn something new about myself. I find new strengths I never knew I had, even if it means simply learning how to fix a temperamental lawn mower, change a flat tire, spend countless nights alone or hopelessly try to speak Italian to the locals! Life has to go on, and sometimes there's no one else to do the hard stuff, so you simply have to do it yourself!
Lets hope the next 2 months go by just as quickly and painlessly! We are hoping this is Allen's last deployment!! Since he will be teaching for the next 4-5 years in Georgia before retirement, there will most likely be no more deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and other hostile territories. If he does deploy again, chances are it will be just for two weeks at a time to Europe or places in the States to teach a class. I will be so thankful to have a full time husband again! :)  If you add up all the deployments and assignments Allen has had since we moved here, it adds up to roughly 15 months.  That means I have lived alone in Italy for 15 months without a husband! And I survived!! You'd think somewhere in that book, it would also be written that a wife deserves a medal too just for putting up with all the deployments! :) 

Slowly but surely I am sorting through and getting rid of things before we move. Thankfully, since Allen got his promotion, we are allowed a bigger shipping allowance. We are allowed to ship 11,000 pounds of household items, and I doubt we will even use all that. But there's nothing I hate more than moving to a new place and having a bunch of things we don't need! Because unpacking is even worse than packing!!
My Nigerian 'friend' Paul stopped by the other day. He's a door to door salesmen who sells mostly dollar items. Normally I don't like the salesmen here because they are nosy and pushy, and they will peek through your windows if you don't answer the door; but every month Paul will stop by during his usual rounds in my area. He usually sells cheap socks and tissue paper since he doesn't have a lot of money, but instead of buying things from him I usually load him up with can foods and other things he can use. So the other day as I was bringing groceries in from the car, he stopped by and I loaded him up with not just food goods this time, but also a few things that I really needed to get rid of. Since there are no thrift stores to drop junk off at, and since we are not allowed to have yard sales over here, it's very hard to get rid of things you no longer want or need. Everything has to go to specific recycling centers and it's very time consuming and inconvenient.  So, I loaded Paul up with some things he could use or sell, and what may sound like a good deed on my part, is actually me being selfish by unloading all my junk on him! :) It's a win-win situation!  Next time he comes, I plan on loading him up with even more! :)  

Soggiorno, moving and planning for the future...

Soggiorno

 

I got a call this morning from an Italian woman telling me that my application for a Soggiorno had been approved, and that it was ready for pick up. A Soggiorno is basically equivalent to what Americans call a Green Card. The Soggiorno gives me permission to live in Italy. Unlike a Visa which allows a person to stay in another country up to 3 months, the Soggiorno allows me to live here a lot longer.
So, funny enough, after 2 1/2 years of already living here, and only 6 months left, I now have permission to live here. Italy is a funny place.

Time to think about moving!

It's hard to believe that we only have 6 months left here. Allen will be home from Iraq in September, and then we leave two months later. There's so much to do before then. And with every move, there's always stuff to go through and donate, or throw out. I'm becoming quite good at organizing and knowing exactly how much weight all of our household items will accumulate to, and what the movers will accept and not accept. I must say, however, that this move is going to be a lot different than all the other moves in the States. Moving was SO much easier in the States because all you had to do with your old junk, was box it up and drop it off at the local Good Will. Over here, there are no thrift stores to drop things off at, only recycling centers and an occasional flea market. Both places only accept certain things, and it therefore becomes tricky trying to throw out old things.  I have a feeling it's going to be a long process, and I will need to start soon.

Another tricky thing about moving from here will be finding homes for all my 220 volt appliances... Crock pots, electric water kettle, Vacuum cleaner, Dish washer, hair dryer, radio, alarm clocks, lamps, computer modem, fans, etc., etc. It can be really interesting trying to sell certain things on the classifieds, especially the bigger things since most people don't have trucks to haul them in, including us. :) Thankfully, I have 6 months to figure it all out and start planning. 

What does the Future hold for us?

 

 

 

We're still waiting to hear back from Keesler Air Force Base to see if Allen got the teaching position. Normally the Air Force assigns us according to open positions in his career field, but since this is a special assignment, he had to apply for it. He put his application in right before he deployed, and we are hoping to find out before July if he got the job or not. Pray hard that he gets it; we'd sure love to be back in Biloxi doing what we love and being in the South again. But wherever the Air Force decides to send us, I'm sure we'll adjust and be happy wherever we go.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Maron, Italy

-----Euros, Dollars and even some Lira----

Money is a funny thing when you're living in a foreign country. Today as I was at the grocery store, I walked to the checkout counter to pay for my groceries. As I handed the lady some money, I noticed a confused expression appear on her face while she looked at a particular coin. She handed it back to me, and the confused look on her face immediately transferred to my face as I realized it was a Turkish Lira instead of a Euro. "How in the world did that get in my wallet?", I thought to myself. It was true that I had saved some Turkish Lira from our time spent in Turkey, but it was odd to me that I found it in my wallet of all places, and especially after all this time.

 Still confused and not quite thinking, I then reached in my wallet and proceeded to hand her another coin in it's place. Without realizing it, I handed her an American Quarter instead of a 50 cent euro coin, which are exactly the same size. At this point the cashier is becoming amused and she chuckles before handing it back to me. Feeling a little silly at this point, I finally pull out a euro coin and give it to her, all the while realizing the people in line behind me we're becoming quite amused too. I've never been great about being put on the spot, no matter how amusing I am. I could feel my face getting red and I thanked the lady, apologized for the error and quickly walked out with my groceries.

This isn't the first time I've confused my money over here. I often carry American money in my purse, as well as Euro because I use both. On base we use American money, and off base we use Euro, so it only makes sense that confusions are bound to happen from time to time.  Now about that Lira, I'm still trying to figure out how it got in my wallet. It's a mystery.

Here are some pictures to show you the differences of money. Some of the coins are very similar and it's easy to mix them up.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Via Scortegadora,Brugnera,Italy