Good morning Mt. Etna

There are so many things I adore about living in Sicily. My all time favorite is the morning and sometimes night view of Mt.Etna. I am close enough to enjoy the glory that is Etna but far enough away to feel quite safe. I start most days here checking Etna snapping photos at the break of dawn if the light is good enough and often go to bed checking the sunset over Etna and in my own way saying buonanotte/goodnight to the world. It's early June and I have been here since April. The weather has been fun and very unpredictable. We have had rain, sleet, snow almost tornadoes and boiling hot sun. Today is sunny and glorious and quite the perfect day. Time got away from me...its now July 7th. We have had several guests here at Villa Isabella. Tina and Chris returned for a second visit from Bonnie Scotland. What fun we had. They made us lazy as all they wanted to do was relax around the pool. What wonderful company they were. My animals are a huge part of my life here at Villa Isabella. Last year when I left for California we had 4 dogs and about 12 cats/kittens. When I returned we had two dogs and a brand new mix of cats/kittens. Hardest part was Winston our beagle was gone for several months and I was so sure we would never see him again. Last week as I lazy napping by the pool a very well fed Winston jumped up and licked me all over. He came home :) Who ever had him for 6 months at least he was well fed but they must have locked him up or he would have been home sooner. So he has happily got back into the swing of being top dog here with Max and Oliver and the 5 new kittens who he sleeps next to every night. The summer has been wonderful here I have enjoyed my time with my husband Gino as we had been apart for several months and will be again as this seems to be the pattern of our back and forth life. Never dull thats for sure. I am now headed to the kitchen to prepare lunch for our current guests Kristen and Tom a lovely American couple staying with us for a couple of days.

Once again home in Villa Isabella.

I just returned from another trip to California.  Two wonderful months in Santa Barbara with my kids and Gkids.  As always my focus is cooking and feeding the family.  The weather when I left Sicily was wet cold and even snowy some days.  It was nice to leave that behind for some much needed sun.

Santa Barbara continues to be one of the most beautiful places and I am lucky that I can still call it home.

OK.....where do I begin?  I will go backwards.  Today is June 17th 2012.  I have been at my home Villa Isabella for one month.  Leaving sunny California once again to start my easier life here in Sicily....did I just say easier????

My home had been shut up for nearly 6 months.  It was not a pretty sight.  The entire villa was dirty and neglected.  It made me very sad till I had my first glass of wine then I just got stuck in.  The house cleaning was actually fun and I had the goal of my first guests arriving two weeks after I arrived.  So there was no time to feel sorry for myself.  I hired Elena from Romania who cleaned all my windows all 28 of them.  They are now shining.

The land was also in dire need of attention and I hired Eric from Ghana and Trust from Nigeria two immigrants living nearby.  They were both such a great help and I am going to dedicate a complete blog to their story very soon.  Angela Pavone a man I love and adore showed up knowing I was on my own and started work on the land cutting all my weeds.

I think I might have forgot to mention I am once again here on my own.  Leaving Gino at home in Camarillo dealing with our business.  Isabella finishing school in Santa Barbara.  Both arrive in 5 days and I am counting the minutes.

Back to Villa Isabella....with Elena Eric Trust and Angelo and me.... two weeks later the villa was finally home again.  Oh the pool was no fun but today as I type its sparking blue and very inviting.

My dogs Winston the Beagle.....Max the Black German Shepherd and Oliver the somewhat mutt Golden retriever were all in good health and very happy to have me back.  Sadly my last little dog Poppy who was an escape artist was not here to greet me and I still miss her.  Always hoping she will one day return.  Although I always had animals in my life these dogs here have become so special to me and I cannot describe my love for them.  Animals here are just not well cared for....of course there are good people here that love all animals but there is a huge animal neglect problem and many wild and abandoned dogs which is very hard to see on a daily basis.  They seem to spend their time at the trash cans and its always difficult for me to take my trash as I cannot not look around for puppies or kittens.

Just last week a brought a tiny baby kitten home..sadly after two days it passed away.  Please do not tell Gino but I am bringing three kittens home tomorrow from our local pet store....shhss

So Villa Isabella was in good shape when Tina and Chris arrived from Scotland for a one week stay.  I knew Tina from my childhood and thanks to FB we reconnected some 40yrs later.  I was in dire need of company and  what great company I got.  Easy going fun generous loved my dogs wonderful wonderful people and it was sad to say goodbye to them yesterday.  They will be back though of this I am sure.

So now I have a few days to relax settle the kittens into their new home and get ready for Gino and Isabella.   Ciao from Villa Isabella....more blogging very soon.

Between two worlds...Christmas in California

After a few months at home in Sicily I am back in stunningly beautiful Santa Barbara with my family for Christmas. Its pure hell being stuck between two of the most beautiful places on this earth. I so love my peaceful/tranquil Villa Isabella in the Sicilian countryside but how can I not love this coastal town of Santa Barbara (my home for 30+ yrs) with almost perfect weather all year round?

Spending Christmas here with my kids, grandkids & sisters etc.....what is not to love about that.

I have been cooking cleaning doing laundry sleeping with my kids.... its heaven. You are never too old to sleep with a four year old and listen to the rambling that comes from that highly intelligent child AKA my adorable Gdaughter Miss Violet Paisley.

My daughter Isabella is growing into such a beautiful young woman it brings tears to my eyes....she is for sure going somewhere very exciting with her life..of this I am very sure.

How I miss Sicily though. I never thought I would ever want to leave Santa Barbara. Life is strange and we should never take it for granted. You never know where tomorrow might take you. Never say never!

Enjoy every second of every day and appreciate your family because at the end of everything they matter more than anything. Love you guys....you all know who you are...from Santa Barbara to Sicily to Strathaven to Indonesia.

SO long since my last post.....where the heck does time go?

Its been a pretty crazy and as always eventful year. Where should I begin? Can it really be last Easter that I had time to blog? What happened to my quiet retirement in the sun? Life happened!

Isabella tried school here and hated it...so off she goes back to Santa Barbara breaking our hearts but knowing it was the best for her. She settled back very fast and lives with my daughter Rebecca and her three kids and all is going smooth...dare I say that out loud.

Gino and I got hard to work on Villa Isabella and its really looking like all the pictures that have been in my head since we bought this property several years ago. Scottish determination goes a long way and to give Gino lots of credit he is truly amazing at working outside...doing all kinds of handy stuff that I had no idea he could do. I married a smart man for sure.

Isabella came for the whole summer this year and we had some great times in our new pool and visits to our favorite beach Cefalu.

Poor Gino had a miserable spell in hospital with kidney stones.....a problem for him. Then to top that off he had to rush home to CA to fix a major nightmare a thieving manager at one of our restaurants. He worked hard at the restaurant and brought it back to life and I followed him and the end of the summer and together we worked Cucina Isabella handing it over to our best pal Amedus to run in our long absences.

Now its late October we are both together in Sicily. I came a month before Gino and he arrived two days ago.

We now have 4 dogs.....in order of who is the boss.....Winston the Beagle, Oliver the Golden Retriever, Max the big black German Shepherd and the baby of the bunch...followed by last I promised Gino.....Poppy my little near death dog that came thru the gate the one time it was left open. She is one sweet little dog and I recently had her fixed with my local vet and she is now very happily running with the pack....she might be in the lead...being the only female!

If 4 dogs were not enough...I am now up to 5 cats.....one by one they showed up....and now they are front of the house pets...dogs being the the back.

Its getting colder here but I truly don't seem to mind. As long as you are well dressed its fine....plus we have hot water bottles in bed at night...so delightful.

Mt. Etna as of just a few days ago continues to keep our attention. The airport was closed once again....this has been going on since summer.

I am only here till the end of November then back to CA to spend Xmas with the family and very excited as my brother Pat with his family are coming from Indonesia for the first time in years and my sweet brother Sean from Scotland. Big Milligan family reunion...guess who will be cooking?

OK I will add some pictures. Ciao for now

Easter in Sicily

Easter Sunday was beautiful and we had the family over for lunch.... 19 of them...way too much food but somehow it all got eaten. Sicilian's love to eat and after cooking for hours its great to see it enjoyed.

They came at 11am and left at 11pm very long but lovely day. They came back the next day a little later and stayed till late again......Next big festa is The Madonna and of course I will keep you posted.

Why my kindle saves my sanity time and time again. Every where you go here it's a wait, a line, a queue. Its just the way it is. Years ago it drove me crazy but then I got smart and always had a book or knitting in my bag. Now in 2011 its my kindle. I just whip it out and who cares where I am or how slow they are. Thanks again to my pal Janet. I swear I have been in every office in Enna many for way too long as they sorted out our applications for citzenship and like every goverment office worldwide its seems too many people doing too little.

Next goal is our driver's license. Eye test, medical, post office for stamps don't even ask about this, bank for money for fees and we still do not have our license. I will post a photo if we ever get one.

Its windy this Easter Monday very windy...all night long...the seasons here are really interesting.....California weather is dull in comparison.

Moving forward a week or more.....time really does go fast here. The royal wedding Obama dead......the world is never dull............a lot like my life in Sicily.

This week our workers started again.......we are paving the front and back of the house. First up..the bulldozer with its many attachments....reminds me of my kitchen aid mixer...different tools for different jobs. So wish my grandson Oliver was here...what boy would not love watching this machine break thru concrete and dirt.

We have been blessed with the best workers here in Sicily. They fast become part of the family...maybe because I insist in feeding them.

Carmelo and his son Fabio are too adorable and love everything I put in front of them. Carmello is a world class chess player and we made a deal when the work is done he will teach me the game. I made a promise to feed them food from many countries. Today was Italian...tomorrow is American /hamburgers then we have Mexican, Chinese and Scottish food to follow. I might have to repeat some countries..my experience is limited.

I have also promised to find a wife for Carmelo who is a widower....one from Scotland may I add.........Liz if you ever break up with John I have the next one!

Last but not least....our new baby.....baby grand that is...........we fell in love with it and as neither Gino or I play its quite an absurd purchase.....but God does it look good in my living room.

Anyone that can play piano gets to stay at Villa Isabella for FREE!

My week in Sicily

The weather has been magnificent.....truly stunning and it makes me very lazy. I have read three books this week alone. I never thought I could go from real books to a Kindle but I did. Thanks so much to my pal Janet who gifted me my Kindle several months ago with a selection of great books which I am working my way thru.

Life in Sicily is a different pace. Of course it helps that we are tucked away in the countryside where its peaceful so the pace of our daily life is pretty slow and some might say dull............but we love it. If we want excitement we leave the compound and the pace is very different.

Like today...headed to the Saturday morning market with Gino and his Mama.....we get pulled over at a police road block.....30 mins later and a fine 160 Euro... and we are on our way to the market 160 Euro poorer.....Gino's smog was not up to date and he did not know it......several police cars many policemen with several different uniforms....why I have no idea...and one huge machine gun? Exciting enough..right?

Then a few days ago Angelo B, our brother-in-law called and asked if we would like to come out for a free dinner.....sure.....one catch.....its a sales pitch from a company selling stuff....just like that time share crap you sit thru in Mexico or Hawaii.....yep we are coming its free and I don't have to cook for once. What an assortment of stuff...short list....all kinds of creams and toners...a 300 Euro food steamer....blankets sheets pillows fold up bags with wheels quite a weird mix of stuff don't you think? The food was good and we spent 20 euro on face cream just to give something back. Very entertaining and exciting night all in all. The salesman was like someone from a carnival booth.

More excitement after days of shopping... comparing ....measuring.... we finally bought our fridge and dishwasher.....very exciting for me. The salesman said I was buying a grande American fridge....I love it. To fill it will take about 1000 euro....its that big compared to the one we were using. Did the first dish load in the new washer and happy with that too.

Saturday night here and we are going out to dinner so let's see what excitement might happen tonight.

Tomorrow is racing at Pergusa race track vintage cars which we have been hearing all day wizz around the track practicing. So we will spend a little time there tomorrow and then come home and cook for the family 12 or so coming for lunch. Catch for them is we are rearranging our furniture and need their help.....I will feed them well first though

Ok so now its Monday morning...stunning day again. My cherry trees are blossoming and it looks like we will have an abundance of fruit this year. I just washed out the dog run...let the big dogs out for a spell and sadly had to tie up my beagle Winston as he is Houdini who gets off the property too easily and I fear for his safety. I am going to make him my walking buddy around the lake to make up for it.

Gino is planting flowers for my window boxes. Its been very hot here and we are using a lot of water for the trees. We are worried it will be a long hot summer and water might be a problem.

Gino's family here are simply the best. Even Mama 85 yrs young gets stuck right in to any project we might be working on. Yesterday it was rearranging the entire downstairs. It was long overdue and we flipped the furniture from one end to the other.....not perfect buy much better.

Saturday night dinner and dancing was fun.....but once again the pace/timing here takes a bit of getting used to. Dinner was at nine.....it actually was served closer to 11.....it was a group of dance clubs that get together at a local hotel.....let me tell you these people know how to dance.

We left at midnight but according to Antonia my sister-in-law they stayed on till 2.30 am. Gino and I are planing on joining this club and taking dance lessons but we had better get into the staying up late scenario first.

Ok I think this blog might be plenty long.....till the next time