Another busy, but fun weekend

Yesterday Les and I went to feed the poor/homeless in Catania. I haven't done anything like that in years, probably since I was a teenager going with church and school friends. I'm really glad I went.  I was nervous given the language barrier.  Even after two years here my Italian still isn't very good (ah, the joys of living on a military base and having limited opportunities to practice speaking the language) and I wasn't sure what would be expected of me.  Luckily many of the nuns at the mission spoke English and were grateful for the help.  They quickly put us to work serving food. The serving pace was astonishingly fast.  We arrived just as people were being seated for the meal and we were done (cleaned up, floors mopped, tables wiped down, etc.) in just over two hours. I will definitely go back to help out again. The nuns, volunteers, and those receiving the meal were all very nice. I couldn't communicate much with those we were serving but a smile from me brought a smile from them and hopefully I was able to make their day a bit better, even if it was just though handing them a hot meal.

After we finished working at the mission we made our way to one of the few Chinese restaurants in Sicily.  We'd only been there once before - for my birthday a little over a year ago.  The food was delicious and it was a nice treat to have Chinese food, which, unless I make it myself, we don't get very often.

Today was the Craft Bazaar on base sponsored by the local Girl Scouts. There were about 15 local (American) vendors, and I was one of them.  It was awesome to see some of the talent that is usually hidden away in our little community. The Bazaar was a huge success for me.  I sold a lot of cards and artwork and I'm still on cloud nine about it! It is so gratifying when people like my pictures, and even more so when they buy my cards to give to a friend or family or buy a print to put in their home. So cool!

  My Craft Bazaar Table

Tomorrow is Les' and my fifth anniversary.  I can't believe we've made it this far without killing each other ;-) If you read my blog but don't know us personally I will suffice to say that we both have strong personalities and are both very opinionated...or I could just say we are both firstborns.  Power struggle? In my house?  Naw! ;) But with all of our ups and downs its been a good ride so far.  Five years ago I would never have guessed that I would be living in Sicily five years later.  Wow.  Wouldn't have done that without my hubbie. It is amazing the places life has taken us.  Such an adventure!  I'm looking forward to the next five years (and ten, twenty, etc.).