And G-d Was Watching: Top 7 Happenings of 2008

What: High school graduation
Who: Julianna
Where: Christ Covenant
When: April 2008

What: New cousins!
Who: Timothy Stelzl, Scott Berlin, and Nathan Reed
Where: Waxhaw NC, Vero Beach FL, and Rock Hill SC
When: February-April-July 2008

What: Volunteer work at the USO
Who: Morgan and Julianna
Where: Charlotte-Douglas International Airport
When: August 2008

What: Driver’s license and learner’s permit
Who: Christine (fully licensed) and Peter (learning)
Where: the streets of Charlotte… watch out!
When: September 2008

What: 25th anniversary celebration
Who: Joseph and Allyn
Where: Tuscany, Italy
When: September 2008

What: Profiles on the social networking site Facebook
Who: Morgan, Julianna, Peter, and Mary
Where: Online
When: Fall 2008

What: Tour with FFOZ
Who: Morgan and Christine
Where: Israel
When: November 2008

Under the Tuscan Sun: Epilogue

by Julianna Squicciarini

And finally, we come to the close of our exciting Tuscan adventure.  On Monday, around 3:30pm, our parents flew into the Charlotte airport, made it through security without any…ahem..issues, and walked out the airport doors just as we drove up.  It couldn’t have been more perfect.

They brought back tons of special Italian stuff from the region in which they stayed, including Chianti, Pecorino cheese, and many bottles of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Things have definitely taken a more delicious and gourmet turn since they came home.  They also brought back Italian glass jewelry for us girls and a beautiful pocketknife for Peter.  Leather products such as lipstick cases (!) and wallets were also distributed.  I tell you – when my parents are visiting another country, they spare no expense (good for us ).

The evening of their return, we all sat in the family room and looked through their – I kid you not – SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX pictures.  756!  Happily, our esteemed father has finally gotten the memo that scenery is never as beautiful in a photograph as when seen in person, and also that putting people in the picture makes it more interesting for those who weren’t there

It’s great having them back!  We DID miss them

Under The Tuscan Sun: Day 10

Our Shabbat was looked forward to after a long week of hard work. People may think that while our parents are gone, we’ve been partying, sleeping and eating… and as everyone knows, we did party – just not as often as you’d suspect while Mom and Dad have been gone. The main point is, we were beat…

Also, we were invited to a delicious meal (lunch) with the Stelzl family in Waxhaw. It was delightful, and afterwards we made a few stops to see some other friends. Great time

Meanwhile, the ‘Rents have been enjoying a day at “Piazzale Michelangelo,” a terrace overlooking the best view of Florence. We heard they took lots of pictures! They also went to an art museum which sounded incredible!

Overall, our day included well deserved rest, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Only a few more days to relax, right?

Under the Tuscan Sun: Day 7

by Julianna Squicciarini

Wednesday was full of activity.  As always.  I taught the last of my piano lessons for the week, and Peter held down Fort Quo Vadis with aplomb, also as always. I also had my second flute lesson.  Did anyone know I took up flute?  Way cool – Christine is teaching me.  Nice having things built right into the family.

Also, Christine, Mary, and I were invited to the [lovely] Atkinson home for a puzzle party, complete with cookies and cider.  It was very nice to catch up with them, as it has been quite a while since we last saw the girls.

But the highlight of the day came that evening, as The Three (which would be Morgan, Christine, and I) went galavanting off to Southpark Mall, leaving the small fry at home with a comforting meal of ravioli and green peas.  Or maybe it was just the ravioli – we tend to skip the vegetables when the parents are away, if you know what I mean

THEY apparently spent the evening finishing up the list of chores we left – and it was short, people, don’t get the idea we left them slaving away! – and working on Michael Jackson dance moves.  Or something like that.

WE did a few quick Southpark errands, including Sephora and Godiva (yum!), and then went for an inexpensively (ok, comparatively inexpensively) elegant dinner at Bronte, the bistro in Joseph-Beth Bookstore.  We were asked if we were triplets, and the woman who asked seemed very shocked to find that there are 5 years between Christine and Morgan.  This is a normal occurance

We finished the day by renting a fun chick-flick and watching it on our parents’ ultra-comfortable Sleep Number bed, while Peter and Mary picked two Hogan’s Heroes episodes to watch upstairs.

But don’t misunderstand!  It may sound like Peter and Mary got the short end of the stick here, but they really didn’t.  They are such homebodies, they don’t care about coming up to Southpark or stuff like that.  Besides, the sister/girl bonding time was priceless.  If you have siblings, you should consider bimonthly bonding opportunities.  It really strengthens the relationship

And, last but not least, to give you a very short update on our dear parents.  We have not heard from them since Monday, which is kind of a good thing – I look at it this way: they must be having too much fun to call us!  They went to an aristocratic historical residence today for a guided tour and lunch, finishing the day with another Italian cooking class!

Under the Tuscan Sun: Day 2

by Julianna Squicciarini

Well, first an update on our beloved parents.  They have arrived safely in Italy – we know this because of an affectionately cryptic email received this morning at 9:00am.  If you’ll remember, we had to wait three days before hearing anything from them last time they left the country.  So this is good news.

As I write this, our parents are (hopefully) in bed and asleep.  It’s around 10:30pm there right now.  Of course, they could be partying.  You never know.  Anyway, on their itinerary for Friday was a walking tour of the historical streets of Florence.  According to our online bank statement, they also did some shopping and had an excellent dinner to celebrate their anniversary.  At around 4:00, they left the hotel in which they were staying, and were transported to the villa, where they will be spending the rest of the tour.  It is reportedly located amidst the Tuscan hills, and surrounded by cypresses, vines, & olive trees.  Sounds scenic.

Now, back to the interesting party.  WE had a lovely day, very relaxing.  Christine and I ran errands this morning, and dropped in on Rachel Allison, who has just had all four wisdom teeth removed and is in quite a bit of pain.  It was great catching up with her, as always.  Morgan went over to one of our customer sites and recorded their phone greeting – they are from Russia, and they wanted a nice, cheerful, intelligent-sounding American on their phone

The rest of the day was spent in preparation for Shabbat, and the advent of Aunt Lynn, who has just made her appearance.  We plan to spend the evening enjoying the delicious meal we have on the menu (acorn squash & frosted cranberries, pesto pasta, and a crisp green salad, accompanied by challah bread and finished by the last of the summer fruit tarts) and perhaps doing some dancing.  It should be quiet and relaxing.

Good Sabbath, everyone!

Under the Tuscan Sun: Day 1

As an introduction, this year is my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary. October 8th marks a quarter century since our family was established… undeniably a momentous occasion worthy of the most extravagant demonstrations.

My father pondered the best choice of an anniversary gift – deliberating between two excellent options: a 10-day trip to Tuscany, or a new car.

We voted decisively for the trip… so after selecting the perfect tour (relaxing but structured, personal but guided) and making arrangements to be gone for almost 2 weeks, my parents departed this afternoon on a Lufthansa flight bound for Florence. International travel produces the occasional tense moment or crucial preparation… (my mother’s primary concern: clothes; my dad’s: business). Fortunately the actual leave-taking today was relatively simple – no frantic last minute searches for tickets, no vanishing passports, no forgotten luggage. As it happens, Julianna and I now have USO badges which allow us to get through security, so we were able to give my parents a tour of the USO facility and then accompany them through the concourse.

Now, on to the fun part! Ten days on our own is a rare opportunity… and it’s no exaggeration to say that we’ve spent countless hours in the last couple of months planning an ambitious social schedule… balanced of course by our dedication to company work.

Tonight was an important celebration… no, not because our parents left! What do you take us for? We had a good reason for celebrating, which will be explained in a subsequent post. It was a great way to kick off our time Home Alone.

In closing, I want to extend an open invitation for friends and family to drop by anytime… to inspect the housecleaning, have a cup of coffee, or just make sure we aren’t getting into trouble. We usually keep a count of how many guests we can entertain during the time away, so we’re grateful for any additional visitors!