getting settled

sounds simple enough - getting settled. but it is a challenge in Sicily! everyone is very nice and helpful. it is just extremely difficult to get appointments completed. today, for the billionth time Brad is supposed to go and look at getting the rest of the kitchen. (yes, it is an exaggeration to make the point..)

anyway, we are also having to have the guys back to finish the a/c installation in our bedroom - he did not have the compound with him to close up the hole in the outside wall around the pipe. also they have to move the outside unit from the roof of the neighbor's house. we found out it was the roof of the neighbors house last weekend when we were in our living room listening to a sermon by Adrian Rogers. we heard from the balcony next door 'hello, my american friend' - so of course we knew it was us. then he told Brad that the a/c was on his property.

it was kind of embarassing, but we really did not know. i personally am glad that we have to move it because it will look better where it is going - to me it looked terrible with all the pipes going through some sideways conduit. it looked like something the three stooges put together.

we need to officially meet our neighbors. apparently they speak some english. they have had american neighbors in the past in this house. i'm praying that we give americans a good name and not a bad name. at first our dogs were always freaking out and barking. in the dogs' defense, they went from a very quiet country life in Brighton to a somewhat hectic street and neighbors right on top of us. they used to bark when other dogs came in our yard or people came up the driveway. so now they are having to learn new behavior. they are getting better. still room for improvement in the jumping up to greet you department. does anyone want to mail me a squirt gun? or maybe i can get one at the exchange. please, no power soakers!! haha!

hopefully this weekend we will get something to put our tv on in the living room besides an end table - or at least get it ordered for delivery. this time i think we will just stick with the exchange even though the options are not as nice as some of the things i was finding out in the Italian stores, just because we know when it will be delivered and can call for ourselves if there are any problems. we are still waiting on the bathroom cabinet to be delivered and supposedly it will be here from some place like the Netherlands in about 8 days. (this has been going on for at least a month!!)

the only other major thing left is to get the phone line extended to the top floor. right now we only have a connection in the living room and so all of our computer stuff is in there in addition to the clutter from the tv paraphenalia.

as you can see, the left side of the kitchen is complete, but the right side is stacked on some boxes! i'm working on getting a set of photos posted to the flickr site - i'll send a link for that soon....

Memorial Day

so what does Memorial Day mean to you - cooking out burgers and hanging out with your family and friends? that is a great way to enjoy the holiday, but please take some time to memorialize those who fought and died for our country. and those who fought and did not die but were injured seriously. or those who fought and were not injured but will never forget. and those who are fighting still, right now, today. their lives are in danger right this moment.

please say some prayers for them and for their families. and then celebrate your freedom in style - because freedom is a very very precious thing.

this web site is dedicated to Memorial Day and this page of the site has links to other sites about Memorial Day - so please, take a few minutes and even incorporate something you learn or something you already know into your daily activities. teach your children about honoring the military and remember that we all have something to be thankful for - especially Americans - because our freedoms are unique in the world.

http://www.usmemorialday.org/other.html

(photo borrowed from the above web site)

Agrigento

Today we took our first day trip. We went to Agrigento to see the Valle dei Templi - Valley of Temples. These are some ruins built by the Greeks dedicated to their gods - Zeus, Juno, Hercules and others. They were later also used by the Romans and at least one was transformed into a Christian basilica dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.

It started off cloudy and even rained a few times, but by the end of the afternoon it was very hot and sunny. We went with a man Brad works with and his family - it was a fun day. We did go to the Archeological museum as well, but unless you are really interested in the Necropoli and all of the things that have been excavated you may be overloaded on vases and a lot of small statues and oil lamps and things that were apparently discovered buried there within the sarcophogi. There was a intricately carved marble one for a very small child and the carvings actually showed his birth and then him on his deathbed, and then being driven away in a chariot to the world 'beyond'. There were a few skulls and various pieces of jewelry and some very strange sculptures of bronze and marble.

We got some great exercise and the views were fabulous although there still seems to be a haze over the sea - even from where we live it has been more hazy than clear most days. Hopefully that will all burn off soon so we can see for a long way and also be able to enjoy the beautiful blues of the Med.

Follow this link to see some of the pictures we took. If you view as a slide show and then click on the first picture, you will see the name and any descriptions we might have added so far:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/8514449@N06/S672WN

The valley of the temples archeological area is a UNESCO world heritage site. You can learn more about it by going to http://www.parcovalledeitempli.it - select 'eng' for English. There is a lot of fascinating history in Sicily and this is part of it.

dessert

Last night we went to a play at the local school. Quite a few of our friends had children in the play because they were from all grades 1-12, and a few adults. It was Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang. They actually did a very good job - the acting was great and so were the costumes. They did not have much to work with for the set, but nonetheless they pulled it off with great enthusiasm. They even had the student choir singing along.

Afterwards we went for some appetizers and dessert to Applebees. That will definitely be the last time for that. Brad got some sort of apple pie on a frying pan with vanilla ice cream on top and then you pour a small cup of caramel sauce on top - plus the guy thought he was doing Brad a favor by bringing an extra caramel sauce. When I tried it, it was just like eating sugar with sugar on top. I got a brownie with vanilla ice cream. It was actually not just one but 2 pieces of brownie and 2 scoops of ice cream with chocolate sauce drizzled on top. I ate part of one piece of brownie and all of one scoop and part of the other of the ice cream. I think I will stick with Italian dessert from now on. It really tastes much better without so much sugar. I mean they do use sugar but just not so much. Plus, they bring you a more reasonable portion. No wonder America is having a diabetic crisis and an obesity problem!

If I would have eaten all of that, I would have really been sick.

On a positive note, they were a very nice couple and it was the first time we went anywhere with them. They have 3 really nice children too - all girls.

Today is a beautiful day outside. Tomorrow we are going to visit Agrigento so I am going to try to learn more about it so I know exactly what I want to see there. We are following another couple in their van - they also have 3 nice kids - 2 girls and an older son that is in high school. It is one of the places I have wanted to go so I'm excited about it....

Coffee pot is beeping so I am ready to go and have my coffee and read the Bible and I am always excited about that!

Our friends who were supposed to go to London ended up taking a trip within Italy instead but they are having a great time.

Another friend sent us a link to an article about trash problems in the City of Naples and how it is piling up everywhere and there are rats and roaches all over. Then this morning at 6:somthing I let the dogs out and there was a gigantic dead roach in the driveway. When I went back to sleep I had a dream that there were thousands of them everywhere. Of course that was a nightmare. But we do not have any in the house, and I am praying that none decide to show up. If you know me, you know how I am about bugs. I will not be going to Naples any time in the near future... You would think all the roaches would have heard by now and be heading up there to join their friends...

thank you

thank you everyone for your prayers - i know there were a lot of people praying besides just Brad and me. please continue to pray for Brad's healing and especially for Bekah's allergies and asthma to be overcome for life! please pray for me too because now i can feel in my throat that i am coming down with whatever Brad has been suffering with. hopefully i can get it together to get out and shop - it makes a big difference when you are juicing fresh fruit and veges for sure!!

please also pray for our friends who are stuck at the Palermo airport due to a strike. they are supposed to be flying somewhere special for their anniversary/birthday and do not know now if it will be possible.

3 or 4 vets said

that Zelda's bladder stones were too big to pass, and too big to dissolve with medication. at that time i started praying for God to dissolve them.

so here's what happened today. Zelda and I got to the vet's office early so I sat outside reading the Bible and praying with her before I took her in (Isaiah 55). then we went in and the tech briefed me on the procedure and the order of what would be happening. then i found out the vet wouldn't actually be there until 9am but i was just supposed to leave Zelda so that they could start whatever prep they were going to do in advance.

so i went over to the library and i was working on a Bible study i started at Crosspointe called 'Living Beyond Yourself -Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit' by Beth Moore. (Based on Galatians 5:22-23 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. Against these things there is no law.")

So after I did a day of the study on the peace only God can give us, I went online and found a web site about prayer. Then my hour ran out on the computer. I decided to go to the exchange since it opens at 10am but I called my friend Lorraine and she said 'come on over' so i went to her house. she and another friend and i were talking about all the ways God works in our lives. just encouraging each other generally.

around 11am, my cell phone rang. it was the vet. she said....

Mrs. Currie - we just came out of the ultrasound room and i have some good news and some, well, rather strange news. i could tell she didn't know what to say. but i KNEW at that moment what she was about to tell me.

she said that they had done 2 ultrasounds and she could not find

a single stone

nothing but a bladder. and of course i had to say 'that was my prayer!! that is God!!! that is exactly what i have been praying for'. then she said that Zelda's urinalisys was the cleanest she had ever seen. not even a trace of sediment. and i fell on my knees and praised God.

i'm writing this because we are to tell of God's works to all generations. some may try to explain it away. Brad and I are struggling to find words to even try to describe the magnitude of what happened today. but words really do fall short.

to God be the glory!

Brad and our granddaughter and Zelda Lou

This is going to be a really long blog entry. So if you don't have a couple of minutes...just a warning....

I've got some prayer requests and some things to talk about when it comes to answered prayers. First of all, Brad has a cold with a sore throat. He has been sick for the last few days. Please pray for him to get better fast and that he could start on the path back to better health by adding exercise to our current healthy diet. We both signed up for a weight loss challenge through the local dietician and physical fitness program. So far we are both losing weight and eating healthy (for the most part).

Next is our granddaughter. She just had a birthday, but was unable to have her party because she had strep throat. Please pray that God would strengthen her immune system and that she would be able to fight off the allergies and infections that continue to attack her. We did get to call and sing Happy Birthday and she chattered away on the phone for quite some time. It was so wonderful to hear her sweet little voice. We are hoping for some pictures of her opening presents in the near future...

And lastly, tomorrow is Zelda's big day - she has multiple large bladder stones and they must come out. She is scheduled for surgery at 8am.

In the Gospel of John 16:24, Jesus said "Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."

Matthew Henry, a clergyman from England (October 18, 1662 - June 22, 1714), wrote one of the most respected complete commentaries of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In his commentary on this Chapter he says this: "Asking of the Father shows a sense of spiritual wants, and a desire of spiritual blessings, with conviction that they are to be had from God only."
Matthew 21:22 says "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."

But of course, just taking those verses out of the Bible without the context, could make it seem like you should expect God to give you anything you ask for. I believe God wants us to live fulfilling lives - Jesus said He came so we could have life and have it to the fullest. However, if we are asking for our own gain and out of selfish desires, then of course we should not expect those types of prayers to be answered. It is not like you just send God a list of your wants and he checks them off as they are provided to you!!

For all of the healing prayers that I am asking, including Zelda's extra large bladder stones, I pray it because I know that God can heal - He has healed me in many ways. Physically He has provided me strength to accomplish things I thought impossible - He has provided relief from the RA symptoms and continues to show me new and different ways to safely deal with this chronic illness. Including the fact that I am now back to doing my aerobic workouts with light weights.

Spiritually He provided me with His Holy Spirit to teach me about His ways, and who intercedes on my behalf (sometimes God provides me with things that I haven't even fully been able to ask for properly and I will give an example in a second of that), and mentally because incident by incident He is slowly healing my mind from everything that ever happened in my life that gave me a twisted and distorted view of His love, the world and life itself. It is beautiful to experience.
So my prayer for Zelda is that after they give her the anesthesia and shave her little belly (where she loves to have belly rubs...) that they will do the ultra sound. And there will not be anything there but the bladder. Not a single stone.

Now I know that God answers prayers, but He doesn't always automatically just give us what we want. He sees the big picture and we don't. He's not there to just answer our demands. He loves us all and has a very complicated universe to sustain...'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.' (Isaiah 55:8-9)

So no matter what happens, I will still praise His name and tell of His awesome works in my life. Here is an example. When the dogs and I were getting ready to fly from Atlanta (a very busy airport if you haven't been there before!), I had to check Ringo in to the cargo terminal. Meanwhile, I still had 2 other dogs, with crates, my luggage to be checked and my carry-on luggage in a rental van. I did not know what to do, so I prayed something like this, 'God, I don't know what is going to happen or what to do, so I am just going to drive to the terminal and I know you will take care of things for me.' I had not even stopped the minivan when a sky cap passenger assistant was waving me in. He said, "I'm going to help you" and I said, 'but I have this rental van and these dogs and all these bags!' and he said, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it. And he did!!!!

They let me actually leave the minivan out front where you are NEVER supposed to leave your vehicle. He took me to a special counter where the lady started processing my ticket and the dogs right away. He helped me take them to get weighed and checked in, got my luggage checked and had me back out in the van in about 10-15 minutes. I turned in the van, got on the shuttle and rode the long way back to the airport with nothing but a carryon and my tickets. Now THAT is the way God does things.

After everything else in addition to the above that happened during this moving process, I could never imagine doubting His love for me and how He cares about each one of us in every detail of our lives. He loves Brad and our granddaughter, they are so very precious to Him - even more so than they are to anyone else.

And he even loves little Zelda too because He created her and He gave her to me as a gift. She has been a comfort to me so many times and I know He made her just for me...

Anyway, I pray that if you are reading this blog, that you will join me in lifting up these prayers to our Father, believing that God can heal and that He does miracles every day!!

thank you!!

kitchen distractions

here's my latest creation in the kitchen.

it all started when i bought these really thin pork cutlets and then right after that some small bags of frozen porcini mushrooms, and some panna porcini...amazing! stuff you just do not really find in the states unless you find some really gourmet stores (i think?)

they have pasta here in the refrigerated section that i like because it cooks fast. i have fried it before with onions and garlic but today i just boiled it to save time. i cooked the frozen mushrooms in olive oil - i cook everything in fresh olive oil now. then i added a little slice of butter and some white wine and really thin slices of garlic. once i added the porcini creme sauce, it was incredible!! i put fresh lime juice on the cutlets and set them aside. then after adding garlic salt and pepper, i put them in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and put them in the freezer to be lightly fried later in, you guessed it, olive oil! the fact that i did not lose my breading and the cutlets came out perfectly proves that my Martha Stewart Living subscriptions is a good investment and also that my memory is still functioning on some level!

the cutlets were very tasty. and so was the red leaf lettuce and spinach salad, but the very best part of the meal was the fennel. since this was the first fennel i ever cooked, i searched for a recipe and found fennel au gratin. so you boil it for 20-30 minutes then slice it up and put it in a 'gratin' pan. i just used a glass baking dish. then i changed the cheese because they called for gruyere (it was a french recipe) and so i made it italian because i used fresh shredded asiago and reggiano parmesan and a few small slices of fresh provolone. i put some pine nuts on top and broiled it. it was the most incredible flavor - we both had seconds!

okay, all of this is just a distraction because tomorrow is our grandaughter's 2nd birthday and we are not going to be there. so i must do even more than the usual in order to distract myself. God gave me a love of cooking and so that is where i will continue to experiment. there is also a huge pile of dishes waiting for me in the kitchen. (no thrill there).

Gramps (Brad) was off today because he already had worked a full week, so he spent the morning here alone while i took ringo to the vet. then he started playing an online video game for the rest of the afternoon and evening. so he's definitely distracted.

now that we have a working camera again, we will go out hopefully tomorrow for a drive so i can capture some of the beauty of God's creation and the colorful towns of Sicily. this way i can share something besides what i can see off of the bedroom terrace...

Isole Ciclopes