2 for 1....

Week 19 means there's no going back. It all started when i wore this dress to the high school where I teach english. Miguel, one of the typical loud mouths in class asked me in the middle of a preposition lesson, "Teacher, some of us think you're pregnant." I asked who, as I had not yet told anyone at the school of my condition. He replied, "Well you've been wearing large clothing lately. We were afraid to ask because maybe you had gotten fat." Fair enough!

week 19 in my pregnant dress and growing...first movement (bubbles) felt

on October 24th, also ironically our 6 year anniversary together, atleast someone remembered!

Peanut is already pretty popular and has been blessed with many gifts. Above is a beautiful bouquet from our french neighbor, Hubert, a card from Aunt Coco in Boston, and some real dutch wooden clogs courtesy of Doeke & Anna!

Peanut and I decided to go for a walk and look for fall....barolo reds

bright reds and squash oranges...

mustard yellows and lime greens

we're back!

What happens when you ignore your blog for 1 year? You get pregnant! I'm hoping with this additional inspiration and my growing sentimentality I can once again put the blog to good use and inform our loved ones overseas with photos and stories. Just to get your caught up on the recent activity here's a few photos.....

the day of discovery....July 16th, the day before flying to the USA for summer....

week 17 and the little hump
first sight of the mountains from Pecetto since our return

Agosto brillante part 3...

the trulli of Alberobello, urban farmer homes of the 19th century...
view from our lunch table of beautiful Gallipoli...
specchia by night, our home base for the next 5 days....
erin cliff jumping in porto badisco on the adriatic coast...
our parting dip on the peninsula gargano, and end of a brilliant summer...

Agosto Brillante part 2....

after a 2 week stay in the states, we headed back to the homeland and started for the south....

a monk enjoying a good laugh in Assisi.....home of St. Francis

a 1 year anniversary kiss

Mark in the town of San Donato, standing on the old street of grandfather Eraclio Coletti.

Castelmezzano, a breathtaking village in the high mountain region of Basilicata...

Matera....site of thousands of sassi cave dwellings, highlighted in movie Passion of the Christ.

Agosto brilliante part 1...

we managed to cover a major part of the western hemisphere in the course of 4 weeks.....

A good reason to go home, Christiane, Isabella, Sabatino and Sophia....
precious....

lizzie, eric, mark, and erin enjoying the oregon summer sun at dave and katie's wedding...
big b shares a midnight dance with the bride....
friends and family gathering in portland....

weekend retreat...

june and july in torino means hot, humidity, and dramatic thunder storms...perfect excuse to escape to the mountains, breathe some fresh air, bond as one only does when driven to physical exhaustion combined with bunkbed dorms, and hearty mountain cuisine....

rifugio zamboni zappa is located at 2,080 meters at the base of Monte Rosa, the second highest peak in Europe at 4,500 meters. We departed from Pecetto at the early hour of 7am with our group of 10. After a 3 hour drive, we found ourselves in another Pecetto near the border of Switzerland, and got in line for the summer chairlift....didn't know hiking could be this easy!

chairlift takes us to 2,000 meters and a 45 minute hike....

catherine and laurie near our base camp summit with a monte rosa backdrop

my joyful sherpa

descending back to rifugio zamboni after exploring the surrounding glaciers

Turin Dream Race 2007

Pininfarina recently participated in a soap box derby race. The responsiblity fell on Mark and a team of designers to come up with the car from concept to completion. Our dear friend Giovanni, known for his speed and excellence on the Go Kart race track volunteered to be pushed down a 2.8 km winding street that ended climatically in Torino's Piazza Gran Madre. Competition included a fleet of four Ferrari clubs who dedicate a good portion of their lives to this sport, Torino's school of design IED, and 4 others.

Besides the course having it's share of curves and descending from nearly 1,000 feet, the additional fact that it was a paved italian road added another twist. italian's never seemed to have mastered the art of laying asphalt, therefore a newly paved surface becomes a series of potholes and cracks within days. Only to be filled with a cheaper substance which is then washed away with the next rainfall. Through it all, Giovanni persevered and Pininfarina placed 5th overall, but 1st behind the Ferrari clubs.....basically a win in our eyes.

side view taken in parco valentino

some of the competition...

team pininfarina, a good looking group

giovanni mentally prepares for the grand descent...

screaming around the last curve before home stretch....