Let it snow!

The forecast said 4 days of snow ending Wednesday night.  Fabri and I were worried, our flight leaves at 7:15 on Thursday morning.  We got a few hours of snow yesterday.  Big beautiful flakes.  Nothing stuck (here in Saluzzo, Cuneo got 3 - 4 inches).  Now the forecast says no more snow until after Christmas.  So much for that giant snowstorm. 

I took Olney out for a walk when the snow was falling.  We're pretty sure that was his first time seeing snow.  We don't know if he was born in December or January, but either way, he would have been VERY little during last year's snowstorm and wouldn't have gone outside.  Yesterday he caught some snowflakes in his mouth and jumped around a little.  We might take him up into the mountains this evening to let him run around in the snow.  I'm sure he'll love it.

From Sunshine Gospel Choir

Last Sunday Fabri's work celebrated the 10th year of the Hospice.  One of the nurses organized a lovely performance.  There was an a cappella alpine troops singing group.  Then the nurse who organized the event read a poem.  Then it was time for the main event: the Sunshine Gospel Choir.  They had a lot of energy, but the singing wasn't that great.  There was one soloist that had a good set of pipes on him, but the others couldn't make themselves heard without a microphone.  The conductor sang and danced and performed and for the second act, he came out in a gold suit.  I wanted to ask him afterward where you buy such a thing, but I didn't have the guts.  But they were having fun, so it was fun to watch and the whole thing was in a beautiful renovated church that is now a part of the Cuneo town hall.  The most important thing was that Fabri networked with doctors and politicians, though, as usual, I had to pull him away from talking to nurses so he could do so...


Sunshine Gospel Choir from Jessica Goldstein on Vimeo.

This might be the last post this year depending on how quickly I post the photos from our upcoming trip!  I hope to see everyone in Washington!

Italian Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was an overwhelming success.  Everyone was so happy and I got so many compliments!  When dinner was ready, I was ready to go to sleep.  It was an exhausting day.

Olney and I arrived at the Motta's house a little after 10 Saturday morning.  Fabri was at work doing rounds at the hospice.  At 11 or so the cousins started arriving.  I made us a pancake breakfast to start the day off American style.  We will definitely skip the breakfast next time I cook Thanksgiving dinner.  After the pancakes, people left to go shopping and I came back to Saluzzo to meet Fabri and to pick up the pumpkin pies and quiches that were still in my fridge.

From Italian Thanksgiving

At 3:30 we arrived back in Savigliano.  We worked on the table settings and at 4 we lit the fire.  We decided to do the turkeys in the wood oven because there was room for both of them in one oven that way.  Also it was pretty cool and rustic.  The cousins returned soon after and I put them to work cutting onions, celery & mushrooms for the stuffing.  I prepared the turkeys and got those in the oven.  It was really great because everyone helped with something.  It was truly a communal effort.  That was Fabri's favorite part of the holiday.  The family working together to create a delicious meal.

From Italian Thanksgiving

I had been worried it wouldn't be enough food.  I had never cooked a dinner for 17 people before, but in the end, we had plenty of left overs.  We started with quiche (Aunt Pam's recipe) and baked brie (Stephanie's recipe super-sized).  The main course was, of course, roast turkey (Mom's recipe).  I cooked all the traditional sides as well: mashed potatoes, stuffing (Mom's recipe), green bean casserole, creamed corn (Aunt Pam's recipe), cranberry sauce and gravy.

From Italian Thanksgiving

Practically everyone brought a dessert.  I made two pumpkin pies.  Maria Pia made an apple cake and a chocolate cake.  Detta made a delicious Sicilian ricotta & chocolate cake.  Antonio & Laura brought pastries from the best pastry shop in Savigliano!

During dinner and also later in the weekend I got a lot of thank yous and compliments from all the guests.  Maria Pia & Antonio were so happy with the dinner, on Sunday they gave me an iPhone! Sunday I returned to Casa Motta to pick up my left overs (they did all of the cleaning and packing up without me).  Then Maria Pia, Detta and I went to the Christmas Market in Savigliano.  Before heading home, Antonio brought out the iPhone and I did a happy dance.  Good weekend.