tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442Tue, 09 Jun 2026 06:39:30 +0000Life in the villageInsanityWisdomAs I matureChristmas in ItalyEnglishFun timesSpring in TuscanyTourists run amokcrafting on a dimegardening for dummiesswine flu H1N1Where Southern meets Italianhttp://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)Blogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-6713463574841880980Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:44:00 +00002011-11-10T13:48:09.038+01:00InsanityLife in the village Current drama unfolding in my life, as I understand it. I would like for someone to explain the following Italian BS to me: When transferring vehicle ownership from one person to another, you have to pay circa 300 euros in expensive taxes.  But if the owner is dead, well then to transfer (required), you have to pay an extra expensive tax.  Because they are dead.  Why?  http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/11/headaches.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-6122139966352453170Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:42:00 +00002011-11-08T12:42:23.232+01:00It was recently brought to my attention that, while I may consider myself to be as cute as a button, my fashion sense has got "frumpy" written all over it. What the hell is it about hitting your mid thirties?  Wrinkles, wiry grey hairs, achy joints, and a frumpy wardrobe...wham bam!  Who is responsible for this madness?  Did I do this to myself?   While I http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/04/fashionablyfashionable.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-8696926884697256777Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:34:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.611+02:00crafting on a dime I have finished my dress.  Yay for me!    from this, to this! The dress is a loose fitting, cotton paisley pattern (I just love saying the word "paisley").  I added a belt here to see how it would look, because otherwise it just hangs like a sack, and that makes me look like a marionette on a stick, quite frankly.  The sleeves, which have a small http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/03/moira-dress.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-7815005496921164683Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:44:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.599+02:00Life in the village Looks like the computer is fixed, but every now and then it burps up an error message.  I seem to be getting lots of spam from an old friend, what is up with that?  I now have 4 email accounts to my name, and no peace of mind. Spring and pollen have arrived, and they've not been so nice to me.   I may just lock myself in the house and refuse to seehttp://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/03/rough-week.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-1470968079124751507Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:48:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.552+02:00This morning my elderly Italian neighbor, who is 80 if a day, brought me a present.   I stared blankly back and forth from her smiling face to my new gift, wondering just what the heck she thought I needed a hot water bottle for. According to her, this here hot water bottle is for keeping me warm at night since my husband has joined the http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/03/mistah-lovah-lovah.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-2601836234491067508Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:30:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.565+02:00 Ok, enough procrastinating!!  I want pretty dresses for spring and summer, and they just aren't going to get up and sew themselves, right? cracks knuckles, wiggles fingers. (ahem) step one:Uncross my eyes, and figure out where the hell my pattern pieces are on this sheet of paper.  http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/02/home-economicsrevisited.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-1861957966784038492Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:13:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.560+02:00Life in the village This week, our little Italian-American family joined the Travelling Salesman Club.  My husband's new job is too far away for him to make the daily commute like any reasonable person should, so he has rented a room and will be living the weekends at home and the rest of the week in the far away town.  How does this make me feel?  One the one hand, I am happy for him, http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/02/ch-ch-changin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-3785640341680695062Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:19:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.572+02:00Christmas in Italy Seamus Scallywag, our Christmas Eve dinner.   We went all Maya on him afterwards. (He's paying homage to da Knife)  The Ghosts of Christmas Past rollin in!  Can I get a hoo-hah!  Shepard girl with chubby baby, from Nativity scene:  two pieces of cane, aluminum foil, yarn, fabric scraps, and Q-tips! (Those are the super-talented fingers ofhttp://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-christmas-highlights-in-da-village.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-1509740212481048871Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:25:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.556+02:00Life in the villageVideo taken by my daughter on her cell phone, sorry about the poor quality Our dog Jack is what you would call a case study against animal abandonment.  We rescued him from an animal shelter two years ago.  He was quiet, while all the other dogs were busy agitating around.  (Really,who wants to bring home something agitated, right?)  He was our guy.  We http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2010/09/introducingjack.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-6285422637290494417Wed, 12 May 2010 15:17:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.587+02:00As I matureLife in the village This morning, while in house clothes, and with a Breathe Right strip still stuck on my nose, I stood staring into my upteenth pot of oatmeal.   Oatmeal has become my new best friend.  Next week I'll be having a birthday, and never have I felt so old physically (Mentally, I'm still 21, just sayin').  I mean, when have I ever had problems eating fast http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2010/05/x-fat.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-2865885476161692882Mon, 03 May 2010 08:00:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.569+02:00Life in the village A case for McDonalds... or, why you should avoid it like the plague. Let me just start off by saying that I'm not a food snob.  Back when I lived in the US 12 years ago,  I practically lived off fast food. So...McDonald's opened up a chain last year in a nearby town, in the big Outlet Center in Tuscany where everyone who is anyone now goes to shop.  It's only http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2010/05/case-for-mcdonalds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-5685658051413038015Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:19:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.585+02:00Spring in Tuscany It's spring in Tuscany, and for me that means allergy season.  Yippee.  I'm a snotty mess until the end of May. So, seein' as how I had planned on doing some prevention this year, at the first sign of a stuffed nose I hightailed it to the village pharmacy.  Our pharmacist has a knack for giving you "just the thing that you need!", and 9 times out of 10 it's medicine to solve a http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2010/03/friend-in-need-is-friend-indeed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-3991607310318901589Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:04:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.575+02:00Insanity Bloggers, I think I've caught me some spring fever. A few days ago, I was a simmering, sarcastic nutcase, writing up a scathing put-down to some bumbling idiot on vacation.  Before that, I was feeling a little hippy-ish out there in my yard, waxing poetic about weeds...I mean, who gets poetic about weeds?  I don't even have a green thumb. ( I just tell myself that I do). http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2010/03/spring-fever.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-5575973324138257643Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:40:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.583+02:00gardening for dummies Today was the day I started to tackle the long neglected backyard.  The sun was inviting me to come out and play.  Look!, it was saying to me, I've returned!  The snow from The Great Inconvienence of 2010 had finally melted after a week of hanging around.  But spring is here,  and that means eating al fresco and lazy afternoons in the hammack, and Ihttp://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2010/03/is-it-spring-yet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-7969496002881095504Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:46:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.603+02:00English This morning I had a lovely visit from a new English-speaking friend!  It was so nice to have a chat over the kitchen table, and to laugh at the silly things and going's on in small town village life from a foreigner's point of view.  She is a funny and delightful woman to chat with and I'm so glad that we've met. I swear, though, I had a strange phenomonen happen to me http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2010/02/do-you-speak-english-no-my-brain-runs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-4926798292284954530Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:10:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.580+02:00Wisdom the sempre fedele Ypsilon 10 I think I may have jinxed the sempre fedele Ypsilon 10 with the kooky car post....it's leaking oil.  This evening il marito is off to look at a new car.  I knew this day would eventually come, and until now was eagerly awaiting it... Ten years together, us and the ypsilon...that's longer than some marriages last!  The kidshttp://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2009/12/ypsilon-10-rip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-81774362111050067Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:27:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.606+02:00Fun times Last eve, my darling husband took me to a dinner at La Sirena (the mermaid).  We wore our best clothes, bummed the kids off at the in-laws, and rattled and popped up to the restaurant in our poor man's mazda, the sempre fedele Ypsilon 10.  Since we were so fine looking and all on the inside, and the car was so 'junkyard-ish' on the outside, we decided to http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2009/12/kooky-car-little-ditty-lot-of-laughter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-7391203970017103697Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:43:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.596+02:00swine flu H1N1 My sweet twelve year old Son has caught the H1N1 flu virus.  This morning our village doctor made a house call.  Apparently, my Son is the last one in his class to catch it.  This is what swine flu does to you, according to my long-suffering doctor:  First you get a sore throat.  Then you get a raging fever that lasts for two days, max three.  http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2009/11/influenza-h1n1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-7285776475256549137Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:30:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.593+02:00Life in the village My husband loves to watch "Walker, Texas Ranger" reruns.  Without fail, he'll call me everytime to come watch it with him..."Honey, Walter is on!"  Cue me rolling my eyes.  He usually follows that up with "That'sa real man!  Beat the hell outta everboddy!"  No offense, Walter, but I think your show is corn-on-the-cob corny.  The whole "Don't http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2009/11/toughing-it-out-like-walker-texas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-8358895388082224520Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:39:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.609+02:00WisdomMy twelve year old Son's favorite show is 'Everybody Hates Chris', which runs on Comedy Central over here in Italy.  It's a cool show.   The problem is,  I have to explain everything, and by that, I mean pop culture, to my Son.  "Why did he say this?  What's up with that?"  (It could be worse for me, at least he understands english).  http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2009/10/day-i-officially-turned-old.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-4535672584855405109Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:39:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.577+02:00Life in the villageI would have betrayed my cappucino in a heartbeat this morning with a steaming hot slice of southern white cornbread.  Not an ideal breakfast choice, I know.  Food cravings always hit you at the wrong time. I'm in a land of cappucino and croissants, espresso and biscotti.  Don't get me wrong, I love Italian breakfasts.  But every now and then the Southern http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2009/10/constant-craving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879008284901837442.post-641362738695185598Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:33:00 +00002011-10-26T15:58:07.589+02:00Tourists run amokIn September of 2009, my husband and I went on the yearly field trip offered by the local mom n' pop grocery store here in my village.  Two years ago, we went to Pompeii, last year it was Padova, but this year we went to the Cinque Terre in Liguria.  For those who don't know, Liguria is a northern region in Italy. The Cinque Terre has been designated a World Heritage Site by http://sugoandsunshine.blogspot.com/2009/09/on-september-6-2009-marco-and-i-went-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (sugoandsunshine)0