Moving !

Yes, we are moving, it is a rather sudden move, it is not fun, but we are moving. I know, I know, I had a post about moving few weeks ago .... don't tell me... At times, life has a weird sense of humor.

I will be off the Internet for a few days, new house, new ISP provider, fighting with boxes, furniture, trucks and stuff. I leave you with two pictures, one of the two items that got put in the moving truck FIRST, as any good Italian would, and one of the moving truck.
Yeah, it's a rather dull, gray day.
Let's go move.

Ciao, ci vediamo tra un paio di giorni.

Ecco a voi, Cowboy !

Vi presento il mio alter-ego, ed il gatto "dietro alla foto" di questo blog.
Cowboy e' il primo gatto nato "qui", sui 20 ettari dove viviamo, ed e' anche il solo sopravvissuto ad una miriade di gatti.
Tra falchi, civette e sciacalli, questo e' un posto dove sopravvive il piu' forte,e lui si e' meritato il titolo di gatto piu' furbo, e svelto, pure.

Cowboy e' un gatto estemamente indipendente, non si lascia ccarezzare quasi da nessuno, all' infuori di me, mia figlia Francesca, ed i bambini piccoli, che sopporta con stoica pazienza .. .felina.

L' altro giorno sono uscito di casa, ed ho trovato Angelina che letteralmente stava sollevando Cowboy per la coda, mentre il poveretto tentava di mangiare ...

Di tanto un tanto e' un cacciatore spietato di scoiattoli, che qui sono onnipresenti ed in quantita' allarmanti.

A small piece of home....

Here we are, in Houston, at the front door of the Italian General Consulate. For most people, a Consulate is a small thing, almost meaningless.

To me, however, it always "triggers" something when I go through those doors. I know that in there, there are people that speaks my language, have the same cultural background, and, that can help me, if needed.

I often got myself in troubles, with documents and deadlines. My own laziness and distraction got me often to the point of calling the Consulate and asking for a "rescue" with bureaucratic deadlines . I got to say, that in the last17 years, the Consulate in Houston, has always come through and did save me from my own stupidity, and they did it with kindness, efficiency, and competence.

Their record was a passport for one of my kids, issued "on the fly" in 20 minutes, as I was going to the airport, and the US passport was lost in the mail.

I know, there are many things in Italy that do not work, but I need to "give credit when credit is due" to the Consulate for doing what they do, and doing it well.

On the Road again

Jut like Willie Nelson, today I will be "on the road again" for the entire day.
We are going to Houston, to the Italian Consulate for some bureaucratic things to take care of.

Didn't want to leave my audience (both of them ... ) empty handed, so here is a quick one, my always sweet and smiling Angelina.

Rob, can you tell me where I took this picture ? ( it's easy....)

Ciao !

Venezia.

Venice is an absolute masterpiece. Must see, words cannot really describe it, you just got to go there. It is also a heaven for anyone even remotely interested in photography at all.

I will tell you a secret: in Venice it is really hard to take a bad photo. Go, and try. One advice: try to stay away from the "touristic Venice". As soon as possible, take a left, then the 2nd right, walk 300 meters, then the 1st left. You have, probably, just arrived in the REAL Venice, the one "owned" by venetians. The one they try to hide from tourist, the beautiful Venezia most tourists do not see.

I have been to Venice truly countless times. And there is still stuff to discover. The last time I was there, I was (off course) taking pictures. Lots of them. I found this one, it looked interesting, I made some really minor corrections for colors, and this is what it became (left)

I love this picture because when I clicked, this is exactly what I saw, felt and what I wanted to take away with me.
Perfect. I love Venice.

Quick Friday

Today is very busy, so you have to forgive me for the "shortness" ( is it a real word ? ) of this post.

When I am back home, in Italy, often friends and family, ask me the question I fear the most:

"So, ... (pause) how IS life in America ( or Texas ), anyway ... ?"

This is a super loaded question, and to answer it correctly it would require .. Wikipedia. There is no way to summarize how "life is" in Texas. Then comes the 2nd question, the one I HATE the most: "So, is it true that in Texas everyone has guns ?

Well, ... a lot of people, actually ... do own guns. This is going to be the subject of another topic, I just wanted to introduce it, with a picture.

One day we go and visit some friends, in south Austin, (and for Texans, this alone has a meaning of its own) . I have a cheap digital camera that I wanna test and play with to see how it works. I take a lot of pictures,and the next day, at home, I review them, one at the time, and I come across this one:


















It's my girl, Isabella, on the left, with her friend.
I give you three seconds to tell me what's ... peculiar in this picture.
Welcome to Texas.

See you tomorrow...

Ciao.

Una mattina, mi son svegliato .... Texas Thursday

Una bella mattina, mi son svegliato e ... no, non ho trovato nessun invasore, anche se ci e' mancato poco che mettessi il piede sopra, letteralmente, a questo serpentone qui a destra.

Non chiedetemi che cosa e', so solo che 'e brutto, con i sonagli, e stava acovvacciato sul marciapiede davanti alla porta di entrata di casa mia.

L' incursore e' stato fatto fuori a colpi di pistola, presa a prestito da un vicino per l' occasione (!!)

Siccome non riuscirei e colpire la porta di un fienile, ho dovuto scarica l' intero caricatore prima di centrare il serpente, che a quel punto stava per morire dalle risate.

I miei figli invece se la sono fatta sotto dalle risate a vedere il loro padre tentare di uccidere un serpente a sonagli, ad un metro di distanza, e proprio non riscivo a fare centro !! Il mio vicino di casa, Texano al 100%, con un' armamantario in casa, si e' nascosto nel garage per poter ridere senza offendermi...
Qui in Texas, i serpenti sono (purtroppo) comuni, e dove viviamo abbiamo una fauna abbastanza variegata ed interessante. Si va dalle tartarughe (enormi e bellissime), ai falchi ( ce ne sono circa 5 ) alle civette, che sono piu' grandi di quello che pensavo.

Poi ci sono scoiattoli a migliaia ('na rottura che non vi dico), armadillo (bruttissimi), procioni (orsetti lavatori), opossum, volpi (ne ho vista una in 5 anni) ma so che ci sono...

Gli sciacalli li sentiamo ogni sera, nel boschetto dietro casa, a decine. Aironi blu vicino al torrente e tortorelle e colombe concludono la lista.

A volte e' interessante avere tutta questa fauna, letterlamente alle porte di casa, una specie di lezione di scienze naturali 24 ore al giorno....

Pero' quel serpente, e' proprio brutto ...