Hello, all…

Sorry it has been so long.  I have, as I’m sure have all of you, been in somewhat of an emotional state lately.  It’s hard to write, because none of the same things seem meaningful anymore, and yet, we can’t talk about terrorism all the time, and our life is still our life, right?  It’s all very strange and sad.

 I am so incredibly thankful every day – every moment – for all of you and the fact that you are all safe and well.  I consider myself to be truly blessed.

Mike is stressed with work, but really only as a function of who he is and what he knows, or doesn’t know, at any given moment.  He doesn’t think it likely that he will be called into action with any of this, but of course you never know.  And they have to be very prepared, just in case.  That in itself is a stressor.

He says that his unit is relatively “slow” – it takes them up to a week to mobilize and get setup anywhere – so they are typically not used in immediate response situations or “get in, get out” type scenarios.  Of course, who knows what this will all look like long-term?  I pray all the time – I fear I am not prepared to give him up for the good of our country, in spite of the renewed sense of patriotism and gratitude for what we all have taken for granted.  It’s weird how I can feel such pride in our country and our military, and still be desperately fearful of having to let him go and make greater contributions to the effort.

On the topic of life in Italy…

Our house is finally coming together, amazingly.  We have hung pictures, and unpacked boxes, and organized until we are sick of it!  We still absolutely love our house, and we are happy to be getting settled.  I feel some anger at the terrorists for disturbing our settling-in to married life and our new home.  We are working hard to establish some normality and joy in our day-to-day life.  We are really looking forward to people coming to visit us – I especially can’t wait to share all of the amazing sights, tastes, and experiences with the people I love!  I hope you will all get the same joy and awe from it that I do!

I am getting better and better at interacting in Italy (as opposed to on-base, which is basically in America).  I mostly tend to clam up when Mike is around to hear me because I get more self-conscious, you know?  But I do fairly well when I’m alone.  I haven’t been getting out a lot lately because I don’t have the car, and I have also been unable to tear myself from the TV for long.  But the weather is much cooler now, conducive to walking, and if it will just stop raining for a while, I will probably get out a lot more.  Mostly it rains in the afternoons, about every day lately.

The heightened security on base makes it more appealing to go elsewhere.  I still do major grocery-shopping at the commissary, but for quickie-trips I would much rather go on the economy.  We have a small Italian grocery store just a block away from us – close enough to carry even heavy grocery bags with drink bottles in them.  It’s VERY small, but still much more than a minute-market – they have a produce section and a small meat counter.  It’s about like a small, old-fashioned grocery store in America – maybe a little like the Giant Genie they tore down recently on Park Road, minus the pharmacy.  The only problem with going on the economy is that, often, the things I want in a quickie-trip are things they don’t sell here or that I don’t know how to pick out or that I don’t know if I would like their version of.  For example, I am hooked on half-and-half for coffee, and they don’t sell that here.  And I never know if I will like their version of toothpaste, or milk, or whatever.  But I am branching out gradually.  I’ve already found things that I will miss when we come home – like lemon gelato, which is like lemon sherbet – Yum!

Our clothes-dryer is really useless!  I don’t know if it is broken (it doesn’t act broken), or if this is how they work, but it produces NO HEAT.  I can’t get the clothes dry!  So I hang everything, either on a rack in the living room or on a clothesline outside.  It’s fine, but when it rains everyday, they ALL have to hang inside, which is really cluttery in the living room.  And sheets and towels are very scratchy, not soft at all.  And at the rate of our washer (about 2 hours to wash a load), I do laundry constantly.  I know this all sounds like complaining, but I really have to point out that if this is the biggest hardship of living in this gorgeous old home, I am very happy!!!!

We are gradually discovering which appliances it is easier to just re-purchase in 220volt versions.  Our microwave will NOT work – it blows the fuse on the transformer every time – so we are probably going to get a new one.  And I bought an iron, and some lamps… I’m sure there will be more.  It’s a matter of figuring out which things can be permanently hooked to a transformer and left alone, versus which ones you have to go hunting on a case-by-case basis.  The computer and all its ancillary devices are hooked up to one transformer, along with the only light in this room for now.  We have all the A/V stuff on another in the living room.  The kitchen we are still working out – some things work better than others.

I am so in love with the kitchen.  It has a really small, shallow sink, which is a real handicap since there is no dishwasher, but other than that the kitchen is a nice size and very useable.  Our table fits perfectly into it, giving me more workspace and not crowding the room at all.  I have everything I use right at my fingertips (ie. Hanging on the walls!) and I am really enjoying cooking here.

I am not including pictures in this letter, because we will publish our website probably within a week or two, and all the pictures will be on there.  Anyone who loves us will love our website, because it is just like us, with our diverse interests represented, and it is SO cool how it works, thanks to Mike’s computer geekery!  J  I can’t wait for you all to see it.

I am going to go for now and do laundry (surprise!).  We are having dinner out tonight with our friend Stefano and his family.  He is the one whose family hotel and restaurant we stayed at last year – Mike’s friend from his first tour here.  That should be interesting – I’ve never met his wife or his three boys.

I love you all and miss you. 

Shelly