4CarpenterHouse

   We enjoyed a beautiful day walking around the town of Caltagirone looking at their presepe set up around the town.  We went with a two other couples and wandered around and let the kids burn off some energy before lunch. The presepes were mostly made on terracotta, and wood.  We did see some plastic, pasta and other materials used. Laurel pointing out something that brought a smile to her face. This was in the black light section of the tour. The kids waiting outside a small wine shop that we ran into other American friends from the base. Laurel waiting. Deanna impressed with our parking spaces down in the center of town. Leonardo, Seena and Kestrel catching a little sun. Deanna and Laurel outside one of the many ceramic shops in Caltagirone. A presepe made of pasta, how fitting for Italy. The stairs of Caltagirone, Mark, Laurel and Seena were the ones who hiked up to the top. The second graders at the top of t...

    We celebrated Thanksgiving this year with our Navy family.  As the years have gone by we have come to appreciate friends that we share the holidays with.  This year we had two Thanksgiving parties.  The first one was to a local agriturismo a week early, because many families were going to be traveling during the actual holiday.  The second was a our house on Thanksgiving day where we invited friends to enjoy a meal and time together.  We rented a bus to drive out to the agriturismo in the town on Mineo.  Angelo was our driving for the day and put up with our music and drinking habits. Always a class act, Quoc stole the show by bringing a 3 liter bottle of chilled champagne to help lighten the mood on the drive.  The group settling in for the 40 minute ride.  We had great sunny weather and mild temperatures (that pretty much sums up Sicily's winter weather) Quoc and Mike pouring while the bus was driving on a twisty...