What a Spring!

This has been quite a spring. On top of all the daily events of my life, the shop and Y2Knit, three major events transpired:

• My youngest son, John, married Quy in a wonderful ceremony on March 29. Of course, the weeks and months leading up to the event were full of planning and activity. My week started with picking up my mom at the airport Monday evening. I hosted a rehearsal dinner on Friday, with a Mexican fiesta theme. My brother and sister-in-law did most of the cooking, we added Frankie's tamales and the meal was perfect. Jill and others set up while I was at the actual rehearsal.
  
  The next day had three main activities: the Vietnamese wedding at Quy's parents, a church wedding (yes, the women changed clothes) and finally, a large reception at a Chinese restaurant.
  
  I concluded the week of activity with a two day visit by my brother and sister-in-law in Funkstown.

• Jill and I took a business trip to Italy April 10-16. It was kind of a whirlwind, but also very relaxing.
  

• On April 19, my second grandson was born. Ian Roberts is the first child of his parents and arrived via c-section as he had a 16-inch head and weighed 9.5 lbs.

  
  

Tuscany Travels

Where to begin? Everything about this trip was amazing. Jill and I are so glad we went! Not for just the obvious--who doesn't want a trip to Italy, but because we were able to really get feel for Montisi, to meet some people there, and to find more suitable lodging. This means we can offer about 4 more beds each week, so if anyone is interested in joining us for the Y2Knit Experience Tuscany, let me know ASAP. We've also reserved the Villa for October 09.

Montisi is a village on a ridge, as are all the villages in the area. At one time it was a fortified village, with a wall and lookouts, which still remain. Curving streets make it seem bigger than it is, home to 315 people. While small, there's a lot of activity, and much of it takes place in the streets so we were able to take it in.

On the main street, just two doors down from the Villa Maddalena are two cafe/bar places, each different, but offering coffee, beer, wine, sodas, snacks, newspapers and magazines. Even locals drop in for a quick drink and to catch up on the latest news of the village. There are clearly peak times (early, midday and about 6pm) when regulars stop in.

Amazingly for such a small town, Montisi boasts three B&B (agrico tourismo) and two fabulous "slow food" restaurants, where the food is local, natural, often organic. We couldn't believe we could eat so well!

We were able to meet locals, both native born and ex-pats, so we developed some resources for making our stay there memorable. I have to say, I miss it already and can hardly wait to go back.

greetings from rome!

Jill and I are in an internet cafe in Rome after a fabulous lunch (fried artichoke, pasta, eggplant parmigiano) and we are on our way to Piazza Navona, hoping to find a pastry shop I remember from years ago when I was here with my daughter,Rose.

We had an amazing time in Montisi--more about that later. The pace and lifestyle of Tuscany is amazing and we look forward to sharing about it with you. We have eaten really good food and walked miles. The countryside is spectacular and because Montisi is on a ridge, you can see in all directions.

Tomorrow we fly back and we,ll be posting more once weàre ate familiar keyboards!