Snow, Snow, Snow!

The locals try to tell us that it rarely snows in Varese - maybe four days a year. BUT! It has snowed twice this week.

Patch came and wakened me about 6.30 on Monday morning to tell me we were living in a 'winter wonderland'. Indeed it was! Of course I had to run around like an idiot in silk nightie and sheepskin boots, waking the kids to come and look... After dressing warmly they made the most of it all.

- at this point I retired to the diginity (and safety) of the lounge - just in time!

Alan made a great snowman and he lasted several days - after Caitlin headed to school, I arrived home to find the snowman somewhat anatomically altered - definitely a snowMAN.

Varese set out to outdo itself on Friday and after a clear start to the morning it began to snow about 8.30am. And it snowed and it snowed and it snowed! The place looked gorgeous and out came the camera - again!

Soon it became far too difficult to drive - the road was too slippery to negotiate and so we settled in for a long day at home. Luckily enough Caitlin was not at school (touch of appendicitis! - all clearing nicely now). Finally about 2pm the falling snow flurries turned to gentle rain and the snow on the roads became slushy enough for the tyres to get a grip. We now proudly possess ice scrapers for the windscreens and chains for the tyres and sometime - very soon - we'll be getting lessons on how to put them on the car...

Supporting Patch in Movember

Hi All,

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I, Patch, am growing a Mo. That's right I'm bringing the Mo back because I'm passionate about tackling men's health issues and being proactive in the fight against men's depression and prostate cancer. To donate to my Mo you can either:

Click this link https://www.movember.com/nz/donate/donate-details.php?action=sponsorlink&rego=2154336&country=nz and donate online using your credit card, or

Write a cheque payable to 'Movember Donations Account', referencing my Registration Number 2154336 and mailing it to:
Movember
PO Box 12 708
Wellington 6144

Remember, all donations over $10 are tax deductible and you'll get a receipt.

The money raised by Movember is used to raise awareness of men's health issues and donated to the Cancer Society of New Zealand and the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. These two charities will use the money raised to fund research and increase support networks for those affected with prostate cancer and experiencing depression.

Did you know:Depression affects 1 in 10 men....Most people who experience depression make a full recovery. The first step is seeking help. Last year in New Zealand 2,700 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 600 died of prostate cancer - (that's nearly two each day).

Photos of the team here in Italy will be forthcoming at the end of the month giving evidence that we did the hard yards here where the mighty manly Mo's aren't big in the fashion stakes!

Thanks for your support everyone.

Patch

Birthday Weeks

Patch and I have been having our birthday weeks just recently. As our birthdays are exactly a week apart we long ago decided to make the most of the intervening and following period.

My week started on Sunday with a trip to the (english speaking) All Saints Church in Milano for Remebrance Day services. This required an early start, paniced adjustments to jacket buttons and hairdos, and a couple of muesli bars grabbed on the run. The service was LOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG and mostly sung. Instead of a sermon there was an address delivered by the second in command of the Brit contingent from the local NATO base. His name is Rupert - this appealed to me immensely - a rupert called Rupert! Most suitably named.

An aside - I love those names that match or are appropriate to peoples work - in Marton the local undertaker was named Death. A couple of days ago I read in a magazine about a woman called Sally Styles who is the registrar for the Hairdressing Council in England; Sally Styles the hairdresser!

From the service we drove out to the War graves at Treno where wreaths were laid by the Consul Generals of New Zealand, Britain, and India, also from South Africa. It was very moving to walk through the graave stones and read the names. Many were only in their early twenties. Sometimes whole crews were buried together when an aircraft had crashed. Most of those marked in the cemetry were prisoners of war. A very sombre and emotional visit.

We returned to the city for drinks and nibbles at the British Consul but by 3pm starvation was setting in and we made for the nearest restaurant. Hunger aleviated we next called to visit some American friends in the northern suburbs. We have hardly seen them since leaving the hotel where we all spent our first few months. One quick coffee turned into three hours and a couple of wines. Great time!

A final half hour drive home saw us arrive in time to open birthday cards, have a feed of smoked salmon and a celebratory glass of bubbles before birthday phone and skype calls. Lovely, lovely way to finish the day.



Piccie of my birthday presents still to arrive... Patch (and John and Les - thanks for the birthday money!!!) have bought me two of these candelabra. They are silverplated and 75cm tall, holding five candles. They will look stunning on the dining table - especially for Christmas.












The other purchase is a four poster wrought iron bedstead - hopefully it will arrive later this week. I've wanted one of these for years and years and this is the loveliest one I've seen - crisis measuring after ordering it to check that it would in fact fit in the room height... thanks to a sloping roof I'm okay.




One of the other Kiwi girls is having her birthday today - it must be the season! Happy birthday to all the scorpios out there.