On our way again

Sweden has been great; weather has been pretty good and it is just starting to turn autumnal this week. We are off to Italy on Friday for a last gasp of sunshine, lots of work, a little trip to Bergamo to see my folks, another to Sicily for a holiday, which will now have to be cut short because Giorgio's buddy is getting married that weekend (WHY couldn't he have told me a week ago before we booked the flights? Fortunately they were cheap!) I'm very tempted to go up to Milan to see Italia-France which is next weekend (I think) but it depends on how well er pupo is settling in. We will definitely go see Italia-Georgia which is in Genova.

My work has gone very well and I feel really confident about my research (for a change!) Things will slow down in Italy, at least as far as research goes, but I now have so many things in my head (and on my laptop!) that I will be able to process them all out into papers - well, that's the plan, anyway. Our time here has indeed proved productive... (SAHM knows what I mean...)

Er pupo still loves the opera but has become somewhat selective. Oh, he is allowed to sing along as and when he takes the fancy, but if hubby or I threaten to join in, we get a firm "No!" and a talk-to-the-hand gesture. Sing ye not over Pavarotti. Well, can't fault his taste. We loved Jennifer Larmore in L'italiani in Algeir that we are saving our pennies to buy her in the Barber of Seville. Can't wait. meant to be an excellent production :) Might have to buy some books too, for despite Genova having a big library in international law and a quite prestigious law school (or perhaps "because of" the latter!) it has no books at all on feminist theory of international law. Deary me. Well, if I have to order from amazon anyway, I might as well slip that dvd into the pack.

Best news of all today is that ITUNES IS NOW CARRYING EPISODES OF LOST!!!! We missed the last four because we left Iceland mid-series, so now we can just buy those 4 instead of waiting till October and having to buy the whole package. Woohoo!
I am not much of a tv watcher, honest! But I am hooked on Lost!

More from Italy.

Sweden

Yes, we do still exist. Haven't been arrested or dragged off a plane due to an errant toddler who won't stay quiet (despite much praying by nearby passengers, methinks).

Italy was fab; as was brother in law's wedding, despite the fact that hubby and I came down with flu and only made the ceremony owing to a generous dose of paracetamol. His wife was absolutely stunning, which in her case, doesn't actually take a whole lot of effort, but since she HAD made a whole lot of effort, oh, wow! Er pupo was the bellezzo of the ball, in his kilt. An absolute darling; but with our flu, and him missing his nap, I have to say, we got a little tetchier with him than was strictly fair.

After the wedding, we recuperated on the riviera. It's so hard being me. Then up to Scotland in time for er pupo's birthday so he could get spoiled rotten by another set of grandparents. We're now in Sweden; hubby and I are working really hard, but taking a day about, with the other spent with er pupo. I must confess, much as he thrives at daycare, and I think he misses being with other kids (as we don't know any here), he does love being with us. He is going through a clingy phase, which is hardly surprising, given the amount we drag him around and change his surroundings; but he is also so enormously happy. He is in a big bed here and is very good about going (even if we do hear him sneak him to potter about a bit before going back to bed in the evening.)

And he still loves opera! Giorgio got L'Italiani in Algeria (Rossini) and L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti) and he begs to put them on. He's quite partial to bob the builder too, but it's the opera he asks for. So, if you see him point to the tv and say "A bus-ah!" (meaning a bus) that is a request for opera - because the opening of the film of the Rossini is outside the Paris opera theatre and a bus goes past. His favourite thing in this order are:

Icecream (which funnily enough is about the only food word he can't say in any language)
Opera (a bus-ah! whilst point at the tv)
Buses (a bus-ah!)
trains (choochoo, even though trains don't actually say that anymore. Quite sad when you think about it)
Excavators (diggerdiggerdiggerdigger)
Trucks (lorry, which he decided to say all of a sudden, despite me spending weeks trying to teach him truck. But there you go. none of this American English for er pupo).

A couple more weeks here; then off to Italy where I can see my other babies and the original er puppone! ROMA ROMA ROMA. Hubby is annoyed since his ridiculous team have finally scraped back into Serie A and are now officially in competition. Don't care. Still love Roma.

Boy is up, can here the scraping....