Month: April 2019

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Italian Wannabes

Chocolate Castles5 Comments

We, along with thousands of people who have passed thru here, dream of living here or at least want to look Italian! With my milk of magnesia lilly white skin I dont stand a chance. Dressing all in black or gray trying to fit in as we walk along the streets of Florence, we still stand out like the typical tourist. Maybe its that I stop every 10 min trying to snap pictures of someone leaning out a window singing and waving to all of us standing waiting for bus #13 to show up! Maybe its that we have to stop at every little market to just look at all the beautiful fresh produce or that I’m yelling Caio when everyone else is yelling Bonna sera! Or maybe its the fact that we continually pull out the map while pointing to the walls of the buildings trying to figure out where in the world we might be and how did we get there when we intended to be on the other side of the river!

Whatever the reason that we look like tourist, i really dont care. We are just thankful to be here. Today i thought it would be fun to list some of the reasons we love Italy! So hang on and if you have some reasons that you would love to share, please do so!

The scenery is gorgeous

The gelato is just, well, how do you describe it? Im sure it will be on the banquet table in Heaven

The people are so precious

Love that you never see anyone wearing jeans that are so low you see more of their underwear than you want to see

The food is incredible

Makes me use my mind trying to read a Italian labels and if im washing our clothes in dish detergent or clothes detergent

Did i mention that the food is incredible

I feel healthy even eating everything with olive oil

Even love the bread without butter (and for those of you who know me, that is saying alot)

Have loved walking ( and for those of you who know me, that is saying alot)

No screens on windows plus able to hear church bells ringing so the sunshine as it pours in the windows

It has been fun to use clotheslines off our back patio to hang up clothes to dry. If i did that at home, they would think I’ve lost my mind or had spent all our retirement money on chocolate and butter and couldnt afford a dryer…but here its fun!

Since we dont speak Italian we dont watch much tv so have begun to read more and get out and walk more to just explore. Why dont we do that back in Texas??? Maybe because we think it might be dangerous walking on the Tollway? And there is no gelato shop on every corner!

We love traveling by train which allows Randy to rest while i snap pictures of the gorgeous countryside

I will end todays post with just one more reason we love Florence…..

The food! It is just incredible!

We are taking the train on Sunday after church (yes we are going to try to get there again) and go to Venice for 3 days, then back to Florence to await some dear friends who are coming to visit us from California! We feel that we have learned a few out of the tourist busy places to show them! Am so excited to have them here! Ciao or Benne Sera or Arrivederci….or toodles (for those of you who dont speak Italian like us)!

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Easter In Italy

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Oh we had so many plans! Plans that included us worshipping with other Italian believers in a church where many different people from so many different places would be joined together! I had even imagined that hopefully someone from church might invite us over for an Italian Traditional Easter meal! I know, i get carried away so often with my thoughts! But this Easter was going to be so very special as we had never been away in a different country for Easter! I had even written the church on FB to tell them how excited we were to be joining them today! We left the apartment an hr early to walk to the taxi stand two blocks away! We knew the church was a little over 2 miles away so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to hail a cab! Because we had been told that taxi service would be a little restricted today because of so many drivers were off, we prayed, asking God to please send us a cab so we would be able to go to church. You would think that that would be one prayer that would be answered, but to our dismay, we were not able to get any taxi! We left after 45 min with a discouraged heart. Why had we not been able to get a ride? we had waited just knowing a cab would arrive, so we knew we would never make it in time if we walked by the time we gave up. Sounds silly but i kept thinking, we are staying at this taxi stand in faith knowing God would provide!

What happened to our perfect Easter plan? We walked away from the taxi stand with a sad heart. As we walked, it would be so easy to allow this disappointment to get me in a bad mood but as we continued to walk an old hymn came to me…

“At the Cross, at the Cross where I first saw the Light and the burden of my heart rolled away! It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.”

As i sung that song to myself I thought about those words “and now I am happy all the day!” But i wasn’t feeling very happy at the moment. But shouldnt I be? Today was Easter, Jesus Christ is Risen! Should any circumstances cause me to not be happy? Because He lives, we have hope! Because He lives, we can face uncertain days! Because He lives we have eternal life! Shouldn’t these give us cause to have unspeakable joy! We continued to walk and came upon a little pastry/coffee shop where we went in and sat down! We were the only ones there that was not from the neighborhood and the only ones who spoke English! We ordered a coffee and pastry and as we sat there watching and listening, my heart turned to gladness! These were precious people who Jesus died for also! He had put it in my heart, even before we arrived here last thurs, to pray for folks who crossed our paths! In the afternoon Randy and i were walking back from dinner about 7 and we encountered one of the sweet ladies we had seen in the coffee shop. We stopped and talked to her! It was then that i realized that maybe we were suppose to be in that coffee shop this morning exactly when we were! God has laid it on my heart to pray for this lady who we ran into again this evening! Sometimes it takes us not being in church to “be the church”! I am committed to pray for her and ask the Lord to give us another opportunity to talk with her! So I am praying for boldness to share the Good news. She spoke a little English and was such a delight! My heart was full as we walked home! Easter had indeed not been our normal routine, but as we all know, Gods ways are always perfect and maybe, just maybe, God sent our taxi to someone else trying to get to church that needed some hope and encouragement today! Yes Easter was different from our normal Easter, but it was so very special!

And we had delicious Italian Pastries! God is good all the time, all the time, God is good!

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

10th Floor View

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As we come to the close of our time here in Orlando, we have so many precious new memories, not only with our kids who live here, but with each other and with dear friends who we had almost lost contact with in preceding years.

This morning when I was looking down to the view below and commenting to Randy that I will greatly miss waking up and looking down on the lake which is on one side of the condo, but also the Orlando skyline which is on the other side. When standing outside this morning looking across at the different scenarios of the peaceful feel that you get looking at the lake, as opposed to the feel that comes from watching cars race by headed to work or activities, this thought came into my mind…..”is this all I want?”

This question was posed to us last Sunday in church where we attended several times with our kids while in Orlando. I hadn’t thought much about that question until this morning. As the preacher was talking to us on Sunday and told us to turn to someone and ask them, “is this all you want?”, he went on to talk to us about the Christian life. Is just coming to church on Sunday, sitting in the pews and singing some songs, listening to a message all the Christian life we desire. Or do we want more? Do we want to live the abundant life that Christ has promised us? Do we want to live to glorify Him? Do we want to love Him more than anything we know or have. What is our reason for wanting to be a Christian?
We read Luke 7:43-50 where Jesus is giving us the story of the women who washed Jesus feet with her tears and hair. She didn’t worry about what others thought of her. She surrendered herself and her heart to Him in a way that none of the religious men in the room had done. Probably at the time when she was on the floor, bowing before Jesus, where her tears fell upon Jesus feet did she even realize that she was indeed washing the feet of God.
The service last Sunday was ended with listening to “My Alabaster Box” and as we heard the words of the song, it convicted my heart of the question that was ask of us at the beginning of the service. “is this all I want?” Do I want more of Jesus?
This morning as I stood out on the balcony looking below at the different views, that questioned lingered. Yes, it is easy to stand 10 floors above and look down upon the quiet, peaceful lake across the street and think, “wow, what a great life it would be to have everyday tranquil, peaceful with no ripples to my day.”
Then walking around the corner looking below at the cars rushing to wherever they are going, I start to think about the people in those cars. Do they ever think about God? Do they ever ponder what their lives are about? Do they question why life is what it is? Is there a purpose to my life?”
As I stood there this morning, thinking about this, it dawned on me that yes, I do want more. I want to be used by God to tell others the Good News. I want to fall in love with Jesus more every day and fulfill the purpose of why He allows me to wake up each morning. I want to live each day desiring to be His Heart, HIs Hands and live in such a way that others see “Christ in me.”

As the days grow closer to Easter this year, we will be in Florence, Italy having the blessing of attending Easter services there. Lord, help me to have greater desires to be used by You and that others will see Your reflection when they look at me.

Alabaster Box (Written by Janice Sjostran)

I can’t forget the way life used to be
I was a prisoner to the sin that had me bound
And I spent my days
Poured my life without measure
Into a little treasure box
I thought I found
Until the day when Jesus came to me
And healed my soul with the wonder of His Touch

So now I’m giving back to Him
All the praise He’s worthy of
I’ve been forgiven and that’s why
I love Him so much

And I’ve come to pour
My praise on Him like oil
From Mary’s Alabaster box
Don’t be angry if I wash His feet with my tears
And I dry them with my hair
You weren’t there the night He found me
You did not feel what I felt
When He wrapped His loving arms around me
And you don’t know the cost
Of the oil in my Alabaster box

Lord, please help me not to be satisfied with just sitting in a pew on Sunday mornings, but to be out there, living for You and being surrendered, that You will use me to share Your love and Good News with whoever You bring into my life.” Help me to get off the balcony of life and onto the streets.

Casseroles · Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Green Chile Chicken Casserole

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

Tonight we took dinner to our kids. Tuesday evenings are pretty hectic in their household so it has been so neat to cook for them and have them walk in to their house to dinner.
They like chicken so I always try to think os something that will be easy to carry over there and yet something that everyone likes. Today I decided to make this casserole because it is so easy and they loved it.

1 can of mild green chile enchilada sauce (10 oz can)
2 chicken breasts cooked an diced (save some of the chicken broth that you cooked the chicken in ”
1/2 cup onion
1 oz package shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 oz package of cream cheese
3 tables butter
18 yellow corn tortillas
garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste
1 tables corn starch stirred into 1/3 cup water or chicken broth.
Oil for searing tortillas

Spray a 7×11″ baking dish with Pam.
In a skillet, melt the butter and add the diced onion. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until onion is clear and tender. Add the garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir. Add half of the can of the green chile sauce to the onion mixture. Pour about 1 cup of the chicken broth into this mixture. Stir in softened cream cheese. Mixture will be thin, cook over low heat for a few minutes or until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in the corn starch mixture a little at a time stiring continually until mixture thickens. If it thickens to much, add a little more chicken broth or more green chile sauce from another can. (I always buy two cans for this reason.)
Set this aside.

In a separate skillet heat oil. Taking the corn tortillas one at a time, drop in oil for 2-3 seconds per side until all 18 have been heated in oil. Drain on paper towel.

Pour other half of remaining sauce that is in the can in the bottom of the baking dish. Layer 6 of the tortillas on the bottom. Sprinkle 1/2 of the chopped chicken over the tortillas. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over this. Layer 6 more of the tortillas,now the rest of the diced chicken and another 1/3 of the cheese. Layer the remaining tortillas on top. Pour the sauce from the skillet over the entire casserole and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until casserole is bubbling and cheese is all melted and lightly browned around the edges.
We served this with a pot of pinto beans and Spanish rice.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Seniors On the Run

Chocolate Castles7 Comments

Bonnie & Clyde, Guido & Gina, running away from so many different things. So much difference between the two couples. Bonnie & Clyde were running from the law. Guido & Gina are running from everything that is familiar, family and friends. Even though we are leaving for Italy in the month of April, we are not trying to escape tax season. We are just trying to run to someplace which will grow us as seniors. We won’t have Walgreens on every corner. There will be no Walmart to run for heartburn meds or Geritol.
We won’t have familiar faces driving down the street, stopping to engage in conversations about government or the latest neighborhood gossip. Yes, it will truly be a whole new experience for us both. It is different when you travel overseas with tour groups. Safety in numbers, right? Well, there is just the two of us, with the exception of a couple of weeks when we will be blessed with some of our kids and friends coming over to stay with us. This trip has been a dream for us for a long time. Why is it that these bucket lists possibilities are never a possibility until we are old. I am sitting here thinking about what we are going to be doing and what it would have been like going when I was 25 or 30. No fear, no thoughts of “oh my gosh, what if one of us falls and breaks a hip while trying to take a selfie at the Trevi Fountain?” What if we get heart burn so badly that we can’t tell if it is just heart burn or a heart attack? Can we really carry our 50 lb suitcase up 4 flights of stairs? What if we loose our passports? Will we get on the wrong train? What if we get lost and can’t explain to our Italian friends where we are trying to go?
Thoughts like this never enter young peoples minds. They just go and enjoy the ride.
After my doctor told me last week that unless I gave up certain foods that I would certainly find myself having a heart attack or stroke, I thanked him for giving me something else to worry about. Now, instead of walking the streets of Florence with a gelato in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other, I will now be afraid to eat anything other than a piece of dry crusty bread or a sliced tomato. Gelato? Forget it, the closest thing I will get now to that is a frozen slice of banana. Young folks, listen to me….steal, beg or borrow and go travel before you spend your nights preceding the trips, practicing getting out of small cars without looking like you will be bent over for ever. Guido and I are already practicing each evening how to say in Italian, “where is the closest emergency room?” We have sewed pockets in our shirts for extra Tums and ID cards in case one of us looses our memory while we are gone and get separated in the crowds.
Just this morning, when I was tempted to stop at Chick Fila to buy a new Key Lime pie flavored shake, Guido looked over at me and says, and I quote, “No, remember what the Dr said and I can tell you right now, if you have a stroke, I will put your make up on you so heavily that you will look like Tammy Fae Baker. I will not keep your face shaved, or your hair done like you like. Also,you will be laying there with a unibrow. So let that be an incentive for you to enjoy those bags of lettuce we just bought at Trader Joes.” Bless his heart, God love him….he is so caring.
Yes, in a couple of weeks, we will be seniors on the run, praying that we will return 3 months later with memories which will prove that oldies can go, grow and explore new places even loaded down with heavy suitcases, purses filled with meds and snacks that would make my doctor proud.
Trust me, I’m not leaving Italy before having coconut gelato, pizza or limoncello….even if I end up with Tammy Fae makeup being applied to my face!