Simple thoughts

for the ones who, like me, are avid readers but want to avoid to spend lots of money buying books!

Great idea Shelley and Jessica!

27th may 1990, Parma Football Club won a very tough match against our storical adversary, Reggiana AC, and we gained the right to play in the Serie A, italian major league. As sometimes happens in history, after 17 years during which the Club won for three time the Italy Cup (1992/1999/2002) one Italian Super Cup (1999) twice the Uefa Cup (1995/1999) one European Super Cup (1993) and one Champion Cup (1993 - back then its name was Coppa delle Coppe) and lost the italian championship for just one point 5 years ago, yesterday, 27th may 2007, the team won the match against Empoli and the right to play in Serie A next championship. 

    our mascotte  our sign

It's been a hard year, following the bankrupcy of the company who owned the team, a team without a real management behind its back, no money and no hope for the future. A few months ago, a young manager, with his best friend as a partner, decided to be bold and bought the team, and with a new coach, they rose up the hill from hell to heaven! It will be hard next year, but with all the supporters who never left the team side, we can dream again about Europe.

 The president, Tommaso Ghirardi (R) with his partner Angelo Medeghini (the t-shirt says "keep it tight", meaning the serie A)

 The president with the coach, Claudio Ranieri

 the coach with supporters' banner

 Tardini Stadium before the match

 the team celebrating after the match.

All town was under siege yesterday just after the match, cars riding up and down the streets till dawn, yellow and blue flags hanging from everywhere, parties all over town, a very big parade of the team on an open bus in the town center, and local tv covering the event till late in the night.

Parma Football Club Official Site http://www.fcparma.com/en/

Today during lunch break I went to get my copy of Michael Bublé last album! I can't wait to go home tonight and listen to it in peace (if other members of the family allow me to).............God, how I love this man's voice, pure pleasure!

And I really hope to get tickets for one of his concert in Italy, in Mantova the 22nd of october, I'm really looking for it! If only my daughter won't be such a bitch and my collegue would make up her mind and decide if she's gonna come or not, I could go and buy it.

A tip for my fellow cooking addicts................don't think that when asked for a buffet dinner it would be easier, it all depends on what you have on the menu....rools with black olive and tomatoes patè

bread with tuna patè and olive

ham rolls with ricotta cheese and black caviar

cesar salad

and a tropical fruits salad

and one of the friends at the end had the courage to ask for dessert! Are you kidding???

Mom

I Have Searched My Heart
Looking For The Words
I Want To Say To You
But They Would Fill A Whole Book
Not Just A Page Or Two
You Have Always Stood Beside Me
During My Ups And Downs Of Life
Somehow Picking Up The Pieces
Making Things From Wrong To Right
So Many Times I've Stood Broken
My Emotions Fragile And Torn
The Only Place I Found Comfort
Was Sheltered In Your Arms
I Would Have Been Lost
If It Had Not Been For You
Helping Me Back To Reality
With Words Of Wisdom And Truth
You Have Helped
Me Rediscover Myself
Gave Me Courage
To Travel A New Path
And On That Wondrous Voyage
I Found True Love
That I Know Will Last
So A Hundred Times I Thank You
And I Wanted To Say
I'll Always Be Grateful
Till My Dying Days

Yesterday evening we received a phone call from our friend Bruno.

He and his wife have two sons, the oldest, Giampiero, is in Brazil with his wife and from last august they have a little boy named Ernesto, after Che Guevara, do you remember? I already posted about them. They call home the little city of Poxoréu, Mato Grosso, where he teaches in a elementary school and she's a pediatric doc. They are volunteers for an italian association called Partilhar (in portuguese it means "share") and their goals are to raise healthy children, give them some school education, and help poor families with projects as teach them a job, or how to build a water mill.

This is the official website of the hospital where Marianna works http://www.hmsjbpoxoreu.com.br/index.asp and this a little page about Partilhar (sorry, only italian) http://www.altrospazio.it/progetto_partilhar.htm and this is the little church the association helped building some years ago

They don't have official wages (as all the volunteers there), they live on charity and help from the local people, from family and friends here in Italy. So, like last year, the 8th of june the friends and families here are organizing a charity dinner to raise money for them. It's seems a little thing, but with the 800,00€ they raised last year, in Brazil they bought a van to pick up children to school, and books and pens and bags for the little students!

So this year I'm spreading the news around to have more people partecipating to raise more money, coz our friends will go to Brazil at the beginning of july, (bringing the money) and I can't wait to see what our little generosity will do for those children and their families.

This is Ernesto swimming in the little pool at home last month (it's 45°C there!!), he's a lucky boy to have mom and dad taking care of him, having enough food and water, a home, and a future. The little children of Poxoréu are not that fortunate, so I'm very happy there's people like Marianna and Giampiero, their parents must be very proud of them, it's not easy to leave a life full of comforts to go to the other side of the planet and help those in need. Bravo!

Last saturday we had dinner again in a club about 10 km outside town, now don't be fooled by the image on their card, it's a respectable place!

You have to fix the menu in advance with the chef coz they only serve people by appointment, but trust me, he knows exactly what he does in the kitchen! We had "tortelli d'erbetta" (spinach and ricotta stuffed pasta) "tagliata di manzo" (beef roast cut in slices with rucola and parmesan cheese), chips, good red wine, walnuts and chocolate cake, coffee, "limoncino" (a very alcholoc drink made with lemon juice) for a very low price of just € 17,00 each!

Here're Enrica and Luciano (pouring the limoncino) and hubby explaining his point of view

(sorry, the pics are very dark).

And talking about food, here're some of the things I cooked over the week.....

asparagus with Parma ham

crusted wurstel

pasta salad

and broccoli and potatoes

I like very much spending time with friends, just talking and take little walks together, or sitting at dinner in a special place, I like reading (I'd do it all the time), spend time in the kitchen trying new recipes, and most of all I like to travel. Instead of all this, I sit for 8/10 hour a day in a tiny office, before a pc, surrounded by stupid people (most of them) trying to solve a problem after another. Here's where I spend my days

and just outside the window ther's this little walled garden.......

I usually look at it, and start dreaming of far away places.............

Sunday Bloody Sunday - by U2

I can't believe the news today,
I can't close my eyes and make it go away.
How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long? Tonight we can be as one.

Broken bottles under children's feet,
Bodies strewn across a dead end street,
But I won't heed the battle call,
It puts my back up, puts my back up
against the wall.

Sunday, bloody Sunday.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.

And the battle's just begun,
There's many lost, but tell me who has won?
The trenches dug within our hearts,
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn
apart.

Sunday, bloody Sunday.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.

How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long, Tonight we can be as one.
Tonight, tonight.

Sunday, bloody Sunday.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.

Wipe the tears from your eyes,
Wipe your tears away,
Wipe your blood shot eyes.

Sunday, bloody Sunday.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.

And it's true we are immune.
When fact is fiction and T.V. is reality,
And today the millions cry,
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die.
The real battle just begun.
To claim the victory Jesus won,
On a Sunday bloody Sunday,
Sunday bloody Sunday.

It's been a very busy week, and it's not over yet! It was time for "gnocchi" (smashed potatoes, salt, eggs, flour) with tomatoe sauce

salmon pizza (not hubby fav, I must say)

rice salad ( a must for hot weather)

and some strawberries with hot chocolate (I though they would melt, but I was wrong, they tasted really good)

Last sunday we had dinner with friends at La Stazione, in Valmozzola, a place we can call home, considering we're there so very often. This is the painting on the wall in the main room

and these are the "boys", lost in a deep conversation.....

In about two week, we're going to vote for the new major of Parma, here are the candidates with the better chances to be elected

 This is my favourite (for political reasons)

 I really hope he won't win, for our own sake.....

 only positive thing about her, it's a woman (we had a woman as a major already)

 he hasn't really a chance, it's just that he's Marty's phylosophy teacher.........

I'd like to have someone who can really make a difference, there're so many things to change in my hometown! I did my homework to better know them all, and their proposal for the town.

The real new is that next sunday me and hubby will celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary! Cheer...... I looked at my wedding photo album, here how we were back then.....

God, we were so young!!! Anyway, with all the highs and downs of these 23 years, it's the best thing I can whish for everyone.

Finally I got my own digital camera, a Sanyo S6, and at a very low price, just € 68,50 so I bought also a very big memory card, here it is

So, watch out, a crazy photographer is freely walking around..........