Sunday, December 16, 2007
Web Site Hijacked
My domain name northeastitaly.com got hijacked, stolen as far as I'm concerned. Maybe the time for renewal was up but I did not get a notice and now I find out that someone else owns the name. I'm guessing people do this as a business. They watch names ready to expire and jump on them hoping the owner will want to buy it back at a much higher price. Well I was thinking it might have given a bit too much personal information about where we live and so on so maybe it's better that it's gone for now. But the whole idea of it is very disturbing.
Friday, December 14, 2007
The War on Iraq
One of my daughters has a step son in the Marine reserves. I'm just told he has volunteered for active duty and will be sent to Iraq. He is such a nice young man and I am pleased, and proud of his courage and commitment to the defense of our country.
But I have been opposed to this war from the beginning that has waisted the lives of some 4,000 US troops and killed undreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children. It makes me so sad to see him sucked into it. I just hope and prey that he makes it through this and comes home alive, in one peace, and is not destroyed mentally for the rest of his life.
But I have been opposed to this war from the beginning that has waisted the lives of some 4,000 US troops and killed undreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children. It makes me so sad to see him sucked into it. I just hope and prey that he makes it through this and comes home alive, in one peace, and is not destroyed mentally for the rest of his life.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Our Christmas Tree
I didn't know where to go to find a tree here in Belluno, it's not like they have tree lots all over town. But I left with the kids thinking it was going to take a couple of hours and we might not even find one. Well about two blocks from our house at the local flower shop we saw some sitting out front. I imagined the price would be out of site. But hey they were only 18 euro. I grabbed the first one I saw and we were home in 15 minutes.
Now the tree is decorated, it's not a work of art but I love all the decorations that have been collected and added over the years. Many were made by my kids, the grown ones when they were 4 and 5 years old and now my little ones have added to the collection. There is one I found from a friend I went to college with, Bill Catron, back in 1970. Others given to my daughters 20 and more years ago. It makes a tree full of happy memories and reminds me of what Christmas is about, love of family and friends and the birth or our Lord .
Davis
My grandaughter Davis, doesn't she look Swiss and beautiful! Well she's not Swiss but she does live in Switzerland.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Italian Families
What do I know about them. Some I guess. What I like right off which some expats don't is that whenever you leave or come home unless it was just a trip to the super market it's a big deal. You get a big send off when you leave and a big welcome back when you return with all the kisses and hugs. It's great. Another thing is that there is always this level of excitement when everyone is together, always two or three conversations going on at the same time.
Another thing I like are Italian mothers, yes they baby their kids too much and a lot of Italian kids are whinney cry babies, but still the moms are great. If you have any Italian friends outside Italy have you noticed how the these Italian moms greet little kids when you arrive at their house or when arriving at a get together, it's all full of joy and affection even for the kids they have just met. My wife she's a great Italian mom, always there for her kids too much in my American opinion because she just gets too tired, when they go to bed she is usually so tired she just drops off on the couch. Even after working all day, she doesn't short change them, and I think this is pretty typical.
I will write more on this subject.
Another thing I like are Italian mothers, yes they baby their kids too much and a lot of Italian kids are whinney cry babies, but still the moms are great. If you have any Italian friends outside Italy have you noticed how the these Italian moms greet little kids when you arrive at their house or when arriving at a get together, it's all full of joy and affection even for the kids they have just met. My wife she's a great Italian mom, always there for her kids too much in my American opinion because she just gets too tired, when they go to bed she is usually so tired she just drops off on the couch. Even after working all day, she doesn't short change them, and I think this is pretty typical.
I will write more on this subject.
Politicians
I've decided there are two types of politicians, both types are corrupted by the system that demands that they accept money from those would influence their decisions. But there is a difference in the two types. Type one is only interested in furthering their own wealth, and power. Everything they do has really only that goal. Examples would be G.W. Bush in the US and Berlusconi in Italy. Type two, though not without the first goal of gaining wealth and power is actually interested in governing as well. They want to do what is right for their countries and want to go down in history as having done a good job. Examples of the type two are Pradi in Italy and the Clintons in the US. We could name many on either side of the conservative vs. liberal issue. The two types exist in both camps. I think our difficult goal as voters should be to separate the two types and only vote for type two. The type ones destroy our countries, the type twos while making mistakes at least give us a government that is somewhat democratic.
Blog Comments
Seems that about 15 people a day look at my blog, not a lot but at least there is some interest. The thing is that few people make comments. I'd like to hear from those of you who come here. Tell my why you came, what interests you etc.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Pizza Mexicana
Or what to do with the left over taco fixings. Take an extra large flour tortilla, or in Italy you can use Piada, those things that look like tortillas but are too thick for anything Mexican.
Put the Piada in a frying pan with a little oil, fry on both sides until semi crisp but not hard, put it on an oven safe plate, spread refired beans over it, then the taco meat, then chopped tomatoes, onions, what ever you like, top with a nice cheese that melts easily. Put in under the broiler until the cheese melts, take it out and serve topped with with salsa, taco sauce, avocados, sour cream (Greek yogurt works in Italy), whatever you like, use your pizza cutter to slice it - enjoy.
Put the Piada in a frying pan with a little oil, fry on both sides until semi crisp but not hard, put it on an oven safe plate, spread refired beans over it, then the taco meat, then chopped tomatoes, onions, what ever you like, top with a nice cheese that melts easily. Put in under the broiler until the cheese melts, take it out and serve topped with with salsa, taco sauce, avocados, sour cream (Greek yogurt works in Italy), whatever you like, use your pizza cutter to slice it - enjoy.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Grand Children
Well now I have four all beautiful. I'd post some pictures, but their moms are doing a great job with their own blogs so if you want to see them just click on the links for my daughters.
Italian Citizenship
Here I am being congratulated by the Italian consulate in Los Angeles. Now I am officially Italian. Of course I am now a dual US and Italian citizen. I'd never give up my US citizenship. But living in Italy it's just make sense to be able to participate as a citizen and also not have any issues about being able to stay as long as I want. My whole second family and I are dual now. Luisa became a US citizen last March.
Taco Night at the Helm's
Yes, it was taco night. One of the few things we can't find around here are corn tortillas. So we brought about 6 dozen back with us from California. We left Italy with two and a half bags not that full. Returned to Italy with four all weighed out to the max 50 pounds. I bring a scale with me. At the airport check in the lady asked what I had in them that was so heavy, taco sauce and tortillas I said.
Tonight I cooked the "traditional" Mexican tacos - California style I suppose you would say. Do you miss refried beans living in Italy? Here's how to make your own. Take two or three cans of Bartollini beans, a medium brown looking bean. Drain all the liquid even maybe washing them in a colander. Put them in the food processor with some seasoning as you like, a little olive oil and pulse until they are pretty well mashed up. Put them in a pot and simmer a few minutes and there you go.
Tonight I cooked the "traditional" Mexican tacos - California style I suppose you would say. Do you miss refried beans living in Italy? Here's how to make your own. Take two or three cans of Bartollini beans, a medium brown looking bean. Drain all the liquid even maybe washing them in a colander. Put them in the food processor with some seasoning as you like, a little olive oil and pulse until they are pretty well mashed up. Put them in a pot and simmer a few minutes and there you go.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
California
So here we are for a couple of weeks in sunny So Cal, it's nice. We've (mostly I have) been pigging out on typical American food, that is Mexican fast food, hamburgers and fries and then there was the steak sandwich at an expensive beach front restaurant in Del Mar, but it was happy hour half price. So not too bad. Then the long walk on the beach watching the sunset. That's California at it's best.
Reminds me of another recipe that I used to make a lot for guests before we moved to Italy, we don't have a real oven in our apartment so I have not been able to do it there:
Garlic & Onion Focaccia
Ingredients:
Medium size pizza dough, make it yourself from a typical recipe or buy ready made at Trader Joe's. Plan or with rosemary and basil.
1 Medium onion
1 Tbls minced garlic (the type in packed in water is fine)
Salt
Olive oil
Grated cheeses, jack, cheddar, or whatever, cheese is optional.
Good quality Parmesan cheese
Cut the onion in half then slice thinly, saute the onion and garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until the onions are translucent.
Lightly brush olive oil on a standard size cookie sheet, then spread the pasta dough over the sheet. It’s best if you let the dough warm to room temperature. Then stretch and pull like you would for a pizza. When it’s nearly the right size put it on the sheet continue to stretch until it covers the sheet.
Brush the dough lightly with olive oil and then spread the onion and garlic over it. Sprinkle cheeses lightly over the dough then grate a small amount of Parmesan over it all.
Bake at around 375 until done. You might put it under the broiler for the last couple of minutes to brown the top. When done you can sprinkle olive oil over it if it seems a little dry and then sprinkle a bit of course ground salt to taste
Note – you can experiment with various toppings, just, remember it’s not a pizza so go lightly. Leave off the cheese for a more traditional focaccia. Variations are limitless. Fresh pesto sauce is great brushed over the dough or drizzled on top.
Reminds me of another recipe that I used to make a lot for guests before we moved to Italy, we don't have a real oven in our apartment so I have not been able to do it there:
Garlic & Onion Focaccia
Ingredients:
Medium size pizza dough, make it yourself from a typical recipe or buy ready made at Trader Joe's. Plan or with rosemary and basil.
1 Medium onion
1 Tbls minced garlic (the type in packed in water is fine)
Salt
Olive oil
Grated cheeses, jack, cheddar, or whatever, cheese is optional.
Good quality Parmesan cheese
Cut the onion in half then slice thinly, saute the onion and garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until the onions are translucent.
Lightly brush olive oil on a standard size cookie sheet, then spread the pasta dough over the sheet. It’s best if you let the dough warm to room temperature. Then stretch and pull like you would for a pizza. When it’s nearly the right size put it on the sheet continue to stretch until it covers the sheet.
Brush the dough lightly with olive oil and then spread the onion and garlic over it. Sprinkle cheeses lightly over the dough then grate a small amount of Parmesan over it all.
Bake at around 375 until done. You might put it under the broiler for the last couple of minutes to brown the top. When done you can sprinkle olive oil over it if it seems a little dry and then sprinkle a bit of course ground salt to taste
Note – you can experiment with various toppings, just, remember it’s not a pizza so go lightly. Leave off the cheese for a more traditional focaccia. Variations are limitless. Fresh pesto sauce is great brushed over the dough or drizzled on top.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Italian cooking
Well Italian style cooking is more like it. I like to cook, but slow food is not what I have time for. It's more like slow food cooked in a fast way. I'm thinking about making a new blog just about my way of cooking good things fast.
What do you think? Here is a example of something I copied from a recent meal in a local restaurant and adapted:
Pork Roast with Chestnut Sauce
Ingredients:
Pork roast about 700 gr.
Milk
Butter
about 20 or 30 chestnuts
Olive oil
large salt
Besciamella already prepared or make your own
Make a cut in each chestnut, put them in water and boil for 45 minutes, the peel them, that's the hard part.
Pour some olive oil in the bottom of a backing dish, sprinkle with medium size salt. Put in the roast and turn it over covering it with oil and salt. Now bake it at a fairly high temperature until cooked, check the temperature of the pork to reach 160 degrees f. You should get a nice salty crust on the roast. Don't use too much salt.
While the meat is cooking put the chestnuts in a blender with some milk and blend, ad the besciamell until you have a nice creamy mixture and an adequate amount of sauce, add some salt and pepper to taste.
Next put a bit of butter in a sauce pan let it melt then add the chestnut mixture, heat it cook it stirring constantly for 5 minutes or so. When done set it aside.
Slice the pork very thin. Reheat the sauce and serve it separately from the pork as a topping sauce.
You can use turkey breast as a substitute for the pork if you like. The real Italian recipe would use cream for the sauce but my version has much less fat.
Note that I won't give exact measurments, one needs to use a bit of judgement, taste and experience.
What do you think? Here is a example of something I copied from a recent meal in a local restaurant and adapted:
Pork Roast with Chestnut Sauce
Ingredients:
Pork roast about 700 gr.
Milk
Butter
about 20 or 30 chestnuts
Olive oil
large salt
Besciamella already prepared or make your own
Make a cut in each chestnut, put them in water and boil for 45 minutes, the peel them, that's the hard part.
Pour some olive oil in the bottom of a backing dish, sprinkle with medium size salt. Put in the roast and turn it over covering it with oil and salt. Now bake it at a fairly high temperature until cooked, check the temperature of the pork to reach 160 degrees f. You should get a nice salty crust on the roast. Don't use too much salt.
While the meat is cooking put the chestnuts in a blender with some milk and blend, ad the besciamell until you have a nice creamy mixture and an adequate amount of sauce, add some salt and pepper to taste.
Next put a bit of butter in a sauce pan let it melt then add the chestnut mixture, heat it cook it stirring constantly for 5 minutes or so. When done set it aside.
Slice the pork very thin. Reheat the sauce and serve it separately from the pork as a topping sauce.
You can use turkey breast as a substitute for the pork if you like. The real Italian recipe would use cream for the sauce but my version has much less fat.
Note that I won't give exact measurments, one needs to use a bit of judgement, taste and experience.
Friday, October 26, 2007
California Fires
Our condo and office were right on the edge of the fire zones. In fact I'm sure our renters had to evacuate and Solana Beach where our office is was also evacuated. The weird thing is that two of the local TV stations broadcast live over the Internet during the crisis and we were tuned in here. It was too much like being there. Normally all live feeds are blocked outside the US, so it was unique. It just was strange seeing all the newscasters we know from the past as if we were still in the area. The Internet never ceases to amaze me. We got updates on the fire coverage from the San Diego emergency services site as well as from my wife's brother in Canada whose wife is from San Diego and worried about her parents. Of course his information was relayed from another brother in law living in Orange county. Then there were the phone calls to cell phones of my daughter to find out how her horses and she were doing and then my sister who also evacuated. She was camped at the beach having a fine time, so much for the misery of evacuation.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Fear of the Bidet
So we had someone here renting the apartment of a relative for 6 days, a really nice retired couple. When he saw the bidet his comment was "oh a bidet great for washing the feet". Now I ask you why such a comment or any comment at all. Well I think it's out of fear of something that some people shall we say mostly American type people associate with that other nasty word Sex. To them it's this foreign thing that them darn foreigners use after having sex. And anything to do with sex should not be made so visible. Those things should be hidden like breasts at a Super Bowl game. But then there is the other source of fear that is the fear of the unknown, people just don't know what it's for and therefore they fear it and feel obligated to make some silly comment when they first see one.
So what is that nasty little bowl with the faucet attached? Well it's a sink close to the floor or a mini bath tub. What's it for, it's for washing stuff. Yes of course it's handy after sex. But once one gets used to it being there, one finds all sorts of uses for it. Short people as in kids use it to wash their hands, even dare I say brush their teeth. It is useful for washing feet especially the feet of the little rug rats who would otherwise go to bed with dirt ladden feet. It's good for soaking laundry, and depositing wet bathing suits. As you can see it has many many uses. But it's main use remains that of a good place to wash that area between the legs, Italian kids are taught, more in the past than now, to use it after going poop, and little girls and boys who are too tired to take a bath find it handy to clean themsleves a bit before going to bed keeping mommy at least somewhat satisfied. And finally I'll admit my love of the bidet comes mostly from the mini shower aspect, saving lots of toilet paper.
So what is that nasty little bowl with the faucet attached? Well it's a sink close to the floor or a mini bath tub. What's it for, it's for washing stuff. Yes of course it's handy after sex. But once one gets used to it being there, one finds all sorts of uses for it. Short people as in kids use it to wash their hands, even dare I say brush their teeth. It is useful for washing feet especially the feet of the little rug rats who would otherwise go to bed with dirt ladden feet. It's good for soaking laundry, and depositing wet bathing suits. As you can see it has many many uses. But it's main use remains that of a good place to wash that area between the legs, Italian kids are taught, more in the past than now, to use it after going poop, and little girls and boys who are too tired to take a bath find it handy to clean themsleves a bit before going to bed keeping mommy at least somewhat satisfied. And finally I'll admit my love of the bidet comes mostly from the mini shower aspect, saving lots of toilet paper.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Milan
Another weekend in Milan. Our daughter has regular visits to her orthodontist who is an American trained in the US but practicing in Italy. I am disappointed to say we could not find an Italian orthodontist with the knowledge to treat her problem. We did try.
Anyway I still can't really decide how I feel about Milan. Probably my problem is that I've always been a small city or country person. Milan is an interesting city, and everyone tells me there is a lot to do there. We usually spend most of our time shopping or at least looking at stuff in stores. This weekend we arrived on Friday about an hour before her appointment, since it was early afternoon we had no problem finding a parking space in the private parking area of the condo building where Luisa's parents live. That's a chore that can take an hour on a late evening. The metro takes one right into the center of town which makes that part easy. In the evening we had the typical family dinner with our kids, Luisa's parents and her sister and her kids. It's always nice to sit and eat with all the family at table. Luisa's mom is a great cook. I had a moment when I looked around at the table, with four kids there ranging in age from 5 to 9 all being very polite and quiet, yet not hesitating to talk if they have something to say, when I thought, this is great. What wonderful children we have.
Saturday was mostly spent shopping for clothes for our daughter who is suffering from peer pressure and won't accept almost anything we like, because her school mates don't dress that way. Saturday evening the kids were deposited at the sister's house and Luisa and I went out for Chinese. Amazingly we have found this restaurant mostly frequented by local Chinese and can you believe, Peruvians. They cook Peruvian food on the weekend. Well we really stuffed ourselves for a total of 25 euro. It's not a fancy place, but the food is good and the price especially in Milan is great.
Sunday was mostly the long drive home. Three and a half hours on the autostrada. I'm almost getting used to it, at least on Sunday there are no trucks.
Anyway I still can't really decide how I feel about Milan. Probably my problem is that I've always been a small city or country person. Milan is an interesting city, and everyone tells me there is a lot to do there. We usually spend most of our time shopping or at least looking at stuff in stores. This weekend we arrived on Friday about an hour before her appointment, since it was early afternoon we had no problem finding a parking space in the private parking area of the condo building where Luisa's parents live. That's a chore that can take an hour on a late evening. The metro takes one right into the center of town which makes that part easy. In the evening we had the typical family dinner with our kids, Luisa's parents and her sister and her kids. It's always nice to sit and eat with all the family at table. Luisa's mom is a great cook. I had a moment when I looked around at the table, with four kids there ranging in age from 5 to 9 all being very polite and quiet, yet not hesitating to talk if they have something to say, when I thought, this is great. What wonderful children we have.
Saturday was mostly spent shopping for clothes for our daughter who is suffering from peer pressure and won't accept almost anything we like, because her school mates don't dress that way. Saturday evening the kids were deposited at the sister's house and Luisa and I went out for Chinese. Amazingly we have found this restaurant mostly frequented by local Chinese and can you believe, Peruvians. They cook Peruvian food on the weekend. Well we really stuffed ourselves for a total of 25 euro. It's not a fancy place, but the food is good and the price especially in Milan is great.
Sunday was mostly the long drive home. Three and a half hours on the autostrada. I'm almost getting used to it, at least on Sunday there are no trucks.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Sweet Italian Days
I suppose people are more interested in hearing nice things about Italy rather than my political views, which I will write more later. Anyway here is something. Last Sunday, we had started a lazy morning not sure what we would do. A friend who has two kids in school with ours called inviting us to go on a hike with them up on the Nevegal with is a local mountain we can see the top of from our windows. It's also the closest ski area. The hike was supposed to be short and end in time to come home for lunch. So after a bit of debate as I had not felt that good earlier we called them back and said sure we will go. They were by then half way out the door so we only had ten minutes to get ready and off we went.
It takes about 20 minutes to drive to the spot we started hiking from. It's a liesurely hike, that takes manybe an hour to get to the top. But with 4 kids and two chatting women the hike takes much longer. It was one of those perfect days. From that area one can see all of Belluno and the surrounding valley and mountains. The view was beautiful, the air fresh and clean. At the top there is one of those typical refugios, always amazing to see something so rustic and cute in the middle of nowhere. Of course by then we were all hungry so lunch at home yielded to some panini and I had a beer. We sat outside on a long bench facing the view and the sun. One of those moments when life seems like it can't get any better.
The hike down finally after the kids had a great time just rolling around on the grass and playing in the sun, equally beautiful. Form the ridge one can see Lago di Sante Croce and the autostrada on the other side of the mountains. Finally arriving at the starting point there is a restaurant and a playground. On the way down we were joined by another couple who also have a child at the same school and so the kids played in the playground and the adults chatted. The short two hour hike ended finally at 5:30 or so.
It takes about 20 minutes to drive to the spot we started hiking from. It's a liesurely hike, that takes manybe an hour to get to the top. But with 4 kids and two chatting women the hike takes much longer. It was one of those perfect days. From that area one can see all of Belluno and the surrounding valley and mountains. The view was beautiful, the air fresh and clean. At the top there is one of those typical refugios, always amazing to see something so rustic and cute in the middle of nowhere. Of course by then we were all hungry so lunch at home yielded to some panini and I had a beer. We sat outside on a long bench facing the view and the sun. One of those moments when life seems like it can't get any better.
The hike down finally after the kids had a great time just rolling around on the grass and playing in the sun, equally beautiful. Form the ridge one can see Lago di Sante Croce and the autostrada on the other side of the mountains. Finally arriving at the starting point there is a restaurant and a playground. On the way down we were joined by another couple who also have a child at the same school and so the kids played in the playground and the adults chatted. The short two hour hike ended finally at 5:30 or so.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Call to from and all over Europe FREE
Why not sign up for the VOIP phone system we use and talk as long as you want from the US to Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia at no extra charge. You can even take the system with you when you move to Europe, hook it up to your internet connection and have a US number that friends can call as if you were still in the US.
We have been using this system here in Italy for two years. We also have the system in our US office. Clients and others call our office number and when no one is in the office calls are forwarded to our other US number which rings in Italy using VOIP. And finally we use it to call all over Italy and Europe free. We just dial a number as if we were calling from the US. The system works with a regular phone wireless or wired just plug it into the little box as if it were a normal phone jack. My daughter living in Switzerland also has the same system we can talk for hours anytime we like.
So, yes we get $25 for every person who is willing to list our email as the one who refered them. But I wouldn't mention it for a measly $25 if I didn't think it was a good idea. Send me an email and I will give you all the info. You don't pay me anything.
We have been using this system here in Italy for two years. We also have the system in our US office. Clients and others call our office number and when no one is in the office calls are forwarded to our other US number which rings in Italy using VOIP. And finally we use it to call all over Italy and Europe free. We just dial a number as if we were calling from the US. The system works with a regular phone wireless or wired just plug it into the little box as if it were a normal phone jack. My daughter living in Switzerland also has the same system we can talk for hours anytime we like.
So, yes we get $25 for every person who is willing to list our email as the one who refered them. But I wouldn't mention it for a measly $25 if I didn't think it was a good idea. Send me an email and I will give you all the info. You don't pay me anything.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Bringing the Troops Home
They ask me here in Italy what I think about Bush saying he is reducing the number of troops in Iraq. Well what I say is that it's all a bunch of smoke and mirrors, or to be more blunt lies. Those troops were already scheduled to come home. And the military can't really replace them because they are just stretched too thin. So Bush uses something that was already a given as if he just made are great decision and the media buys right into it. What a bunch of BS. I don't get it.
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