Make a slideshow - it's easy!

It's been a quiet week for Jeff and me. We spent this weekend watching a lot of golf, as in Tiger Woods match play from Arizona. Jeff was glad to kick back. The weather has been great, highs in the 50's, lows in the 30's and sunshine. Spring is making an appearance, as shrubs are budding out. Unfortunately I don't know what kind of shrubs they are. Any ideas? They have small pinky red or yellow blooms, and they are 3 feet high and grow like a spirea. I did take a cooking class with my benvenuto club. There were about 15 of us learning about Indian cuisine. They gave us the correct information, according to those who know Indian food, but flavored it like Italians, which means not very spicy. The best part is after the class when we eat the food and drink wine. This is when we discovered how blandly it was made, but we also discovered the dishes of chutney on the table that were full of spice, and enjoyed ourselves. Jeff and I have been taking long walks through different parts of the neighborhood, which is helping me to break in a new pair of walking shoes I purchase for my trip with the church group, in March. I'm still not sure if I'm breaking in the shoe or the other way around. But as most of you know, most of my shoes don't have a back to them, and my heels are not accustomed to being rubbed. I think I've been in the south to long where we can wear sandals 11 months out of the year.

Back in Milan

I'm trying something new, so you'll have to tell me if you like 1 way over the other. In the past I've combined the pictures from a trip into a slide show, but was concerned about the amount of time it might take to download them. So now I'm trying fewer pictures and directly on the post. Let me know if there is a preference either way! So, we're back from Spain. The weather was not the greatest, temps in the 60's but the wind was strong. Fortunately the rain held off until this morning, just as it was forecast. Now that's hard to believe! Jeff and I took a 6 hour road trip to see what lay inland. What we found was mountains, and small compact villages, and more mountains. The picture of trees are of Cork Oak from which cork is harvested every 9 years by taking an ax and cutting it from the trunk! It's been a long day, but was anxious to share! Oh, I almost forgot, the last 2 photos are from the relatively good size town of Ronda. It's growth caused the city forefathers to expand the city by building a bridge over the river gorge. If you've seen the final scene in the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and can visualize the passage Frodo and Sam went through on the river with columns of the old kings, that's the grandeur of this span.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Jeff and I will be heading back to Spain tomorrow morning. We'll return to Milan on Sunday evening. My access to a computer will be limited so ... A Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Caio

Here we go again...

Sparks flew and smoke was building. Can you believe we have oven problems again! We'd been getting concerned about a smell when the oven was on, but when I turned it on Saturday it truly sparked and smoked. We unplugged it and hope we can get the landlord to pay attention quicker than they did with our washer. We bought a new washer, but kept the old one in our parking spot!
On Saturday we also spent the evening with 11 other Americans at a jazz club, The Blue Note. Jeff's been telling me about it since I got here, and we finally made it. Jeff woke yesterday feeling crumby and stayed in bed for most of the day. I followed up with my research on Greece. I think that if you plan it they will come, and if they don't it's fine with me. So, the thought now is a 3 or 4 day weekend in Athens to discover 'Greek', then return at a later date and explore the islands. There is a cruise that leaves Venice and explores that region of the sea. Have to run, Jeff just called with the go ahead for 4 days in Spain, starting this Wednesday, so I have to buy a ticket!!

No, my weather is not springy, but it had been since I lived in Minnesota that I have seen crocus in bloom. They certainly don't last long. Jeff is fighting off a cold, so with the drizzly overcast weather we've been experiencing we stayed in town. He asked me to come up with a day trip, but who wants to slog through a old town in the rain! Now 3 nights in Greece or Malta, and I'm ready to go! This expat way of life can certainly spoil or warp a person as to the value of the euro. Nothing much else is going on, it's the dog days of winter.