MOTHER'S DAY

Mother’s Day has just gone by.

I have never been too fond of celebrations which I feel too commercial (sorry I really dislike Valentine’s Day… I cannot help it) but I start to appreciate the importance of being celebrated once a year.

If we take it as a “healthy pit stop” it is really worth while giving time to reflections.

So I did. I took my kids out for lunch and I made the point of my “motherhood career” while having delicious Italian food.

I was asking them what are my best and strong sides and behaviors and what they dislike or feel irritated of. If they don’t tell me, I don’t know…

So, one at the time, they spoke to me.

I felt they struggled in finding the downsides for a simple reason: because children’s love is unconditional. I know where I have to improve and I pointed it out, but they seemed to focus on the positive sides.

Again, another good lesson of Life.

So, half amazed and half comforted I ended up ordering pavlova for everybody and the best espresso for me.

I was spoiled from the morning as they prepared breakfast for me and my small girls wrote nice cards.

I sent messages to my friends and I got back some nice ones that I like to quote:

Happy mother’s day to all the mothers! God made them as he could not be everywhere!

ROOM SERVICE!

Good morning, a special breakfast for you today: a glass of CARE, plate of LOVE, cup of PEACE, a jug of SUPPORT and a big bowl of PRAYERS!

Have a happy Mother’s Day!

A mum has strengths that no one will ever know. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens…she holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when she feels like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying, cries when she is happy and laughs when she is afraid. Her love is unconditional! There is only one thing wrong with her, she sometimes forgets what she is worth! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Beautiful people reflect God in their lives. They think His thoughts, speak His words, and love without end. May you always remain as beautiful a mother as you are! Happy mother’s day

The blessed mother of four children and a woman radiating beauty and goodness all around her. Have a lovely and restful Mother’s Day!

To all our beautiful soul mates, as mothers we applaud and celebrate your love that no one can explain. It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain, it is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may. For nothing can destroy it or take that love away. It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, and it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking…It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns, and it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems… It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanations, and it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation…God bless you all for our evergreen lives. Have a spectacular day

I really had an unforgettable day.

Love & Rainbow

SOUTHAFRICAN EASTER

We had a lovely Easter day at my best friend house.

She lives in a beautiful place in the nature, 10 minutes driving from my home. The way to reach her place is really countryside; it is incredible, in Johannesburg! The road skirts riding schools and horses browse on the meadows like kings of Life, untouched by earthly things and weather. It is a breathless landscape and while I drive to reach the destination I cannot help feeling that time stops and I am in such a state of bliss. I am listening to wonderful acoustic guitar music; the kids are quiet, also captured by the beauty outside. I relax, and although I know I have got to get there, I wish I could stay and whisper in the horses’ ears…

There is a nice smell of homemade cooked food in the car; I have been cooking since early morning for our lunch, not at all the typical Italian dishes that we eat for Easter, but still very Italian. My friend is Portuguese from Mozambique, a very Mediterranean special soul. She’ll be cooking baccalao the national fish dish in Portugal. We reach her property, 10.000 square meters in the nature, with the most incredible view, her golden retriever Rocco running happily to us and her twins, who are 7 and are my youngest daughter’s best friends since we moved to South Africa welcome us saying “ hey guys you know that Limbs has caught and killed the snake?” yes, this is real. We are in Africa, after all. They are talking about the snake that was hiding in the garden; a real spitting African cobra…brrrr I shiver ….. At least we know that today the kids will be able to run for the Easter eggs hunt without risk of meeting the non-invited snake…

So I set out for the kitchen, hmmmm I have the feeling I am going to spend quite a long time in here today but I am so glad I can have a privileged time with my special friend catching up about our busy lives in the kitchen.

How many feelings do we share alone or with the beloved ones in the kitchen? It is such a central place in our nests… So we start having coffee and, after a while, probably a long while, we realize that the other friends will arrive in no longer that half an hour and we still have to cook the vegetarian lasagna and the baccalao! I get my focus back to the béchamel sauce and all the rest, forgetting about the coffee, the dogs, the kids and I feel grateful that I decided to cook half of the things early in the morning. So the sauce for the bruschetta is ready, the ribollita (typical Tuscan vegetable soup) as well, and the barley salad too!!! Phew, they could be hungry! Somehow we manage to get everything ready, the baccalao smells so good but I am vegetarian since January so I’ll give up the pleasure of good champagne and this delicious fish.

Everybody arrives and, as a usual, we’ll be eating much later that we would think, so there is plenty of time to finish cooking and lay down the table with a nice table cloth, candles, small chocolate eggs oh no! I forgot my camera again!

The kids look like real warriors. There are three couples of 7 years old twins (six!) plus my kids and this is so special! But everything goes well, some boys fall into the pool, some others climb the trees, the girls are interested in stealing make up and wearing heels but when the never ending lunch is finished for them they polished their plates in one minute they start waiting for the highlight of the day: the Easter eggs hunt. I can say that the dads have lots of fun in hiding few kg. of chocolate in the huge garden, probably some of this chocolate finds the way of their stomach before finding a quiet corner to hide…

The hunt is like Katrina, the hurricane. And it last 3 minutes. I mean, I was in the kitchen, probably looking for the sugar, and it was OVER! The boys found all the chocolate in such a short time that we have to beg them to share it with the girls. Now the concept of gallantry is really “stinky” for 7 years old dirty and barefoot boys! So what? We appeal to the more popular “sharing is caring” till the moment when the twin sisters of the twin boys decide that it is time to fight.

So they all start running after the boys and, in the general stampede, some of the eggs fall from the boys plastic bags.

Happy warriors girls with the new spoils in their hands. It is time to put on a DVD, something cool and not too exciting.

I look at the landscape and I see the most beautiful sunset. I know this is the sunset that our kids will be enjoying in few years time and I know, again, that we are all ONE.

In the next post I will write about the menu and the recipes !

Bon Appétit

Love&Rainbow

Copyright2010LorenzaVerdini

TOO MUCH OF EVERYTHING

Is this Christmas “tour de force” at table finished? I think so, at least for me from tomorrow.

Italians have spent 2.6 million Euros for the traditional Christmas’ Eve dinner, Christmas lunch and today’s lunch and I cannot help asking myself if we really need to exaggerate every year. We do not only over eat, we greet people, generously offering wine, panettone (the typical Christmas cake) and lots of other gourmet stuff. We cannot help it. Food is breathing. It is a way of being, a kind of identity. Tonight we are going to see some old friends, of course out for dinner… Help.

Mother Earth does not follow any festivity or tradition, She needs to detoxify from all the rubbish we threw on her in the last 60 years. So, following the amazing snowfall of last week, we are having 20 degrees more of temperature (a kind of +18 degrees) and lots of rain. This is not normal. This rain has brought the level of the local rivers so high that this morning there has been a flood in a village 15 minutes from where we are. The river was just too proud to show its power so, went over a whole village and destroyed the houses. I guess, by now, it is only an economical damage, luckily people are not hurt. I cannot help thinking that we are responsible of all the upside down in the climate field. I keep on thinking about all the tons of plastic, glass and paper waste of those days, particularly those festivity days. Recycling is a duty but I think that reducing the consumption of goods it is also a duty. Re-using is important, reducing quantities, saving energy and giving a new meaning to our actions. Santa did not bring gifts to the adults this year in my family (we agreed with him that we do not need anything superfluous), he tried to make the kids happy. They are. We explained them we asked Santa to make more kids happy in the world and to let the adults be happy with what they have. Before leaving to Italy my two youngest girls “cleaned up” their toys baskets (they actually halved them) and we sent the toys and dolls to Susan who takes care of 150 kids who have NOTHING, not even the parents and live in the poorest informal settlement (if you have time please have a look at www.seetrust.com this is a non profit social program ) so they could have a Christmas present. They loved to share their toys and give those kids the possibility to smile. When they asked me if Santa does not bring them toys, I had to think a few seconds before answering that Santa will bring them more important things like food and clothes, so we could provide the toys. What is taken for granted from us it is vital for others.

I don’t even know why I have written this post, it was not honestly planned. Some of you know that tomorrow I am going in the middle of the Black Forrest in Germany for a silent retreat, where I’ll be doing, yoga, meditation, seva (service) breathing techniques and ayurvedic massages. My husband will join. We’ll be cut off communication for a week. For the first time in my life I’ll leave my four kids and won’t be talking for a week. I’ll be surrounded by other silent people but I’ll be in my soul’s company… It is going to be intense and surely I'll get to know myself better. But no more words now...

I will miss you guys, honestly you have become part of my life, but I am looking forward to writing and sharing my experience with you once back. And reading your wonderful posts.

Love & Rainbow

Copyright2009LorenzaVerdini

HOME SWEET HOME

Coming back to Italy is as sweet as the ripest seedless grapes melting into your mouth. It is a very special feeling , the feeling of belonging. It is having roots somewhere and going back to them.

It is the joy of hugging the family and feeling that we love each other even more.

It is walking in the village streets and meeting people you know, and they are happy to see you.

It is buying the best food in the whole world in small shops that look like boutiques.

It is smelling the rain and humidity of winter. Listening to the soft sound of the rain, hiding under the feather duvet is it really raining?

It is wondering how could god design the most beautiful hills and landscape a man could ever dream of…

Yesterday we went to San Gimignano. It is one of the most beautiful and old villages of Tuscany. All the buildings and towers in the historical town centre are OOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD and I mean really old of the 10th Century.
We were just breathing history, beauty, peace. There is something that always strikes me, whenever I am in an old place. The feeling of peace and serenity. I would not know if it is me or the place but I feel at peace. I feel the deep respect for all the souls that have been crossing the same path centuries before me. I am admired by the works of art that will always be there to witness the man’s grandeur and talent. The love for beauty.

So walking in the historical centre of san Gimignano I was, once again, speechless. But is there need of words when we FEEL the beauty all around ?

But In san Gimignano there is also the best ice cream shop in the world! I am not joking, it is the best in the world the Gelateria Dondoli: the owner, who makes the ice cream, won the title for 2 years in a row! You can cry of joy having one of his ice creams…

You can enjoy in one of the many wine tasting places a special white wine the VERNACCIA, produced only with the grapes cultivations which are in the village surroundings. It is a very tasty special wine. When you say Vernaccia you know it can come only from San Gimignano.
And the best delicatessen shops for the non vegetarians, with really the best of the best exquisite food you can find. All clean, well presented. Beautiful food. I feel like buying so many things even if I would not necessary eat all of them… Eating with eyes and mouth is an art that is part of our culture I guess.

I found a small shop where the owner was producing stunning pieces of clothes with a knitting handloom I mean I could watch him working and creating the most beautiful clothes: he could have come out of the novel The Pillars of the Earth, easy.

Next door a craftsman was working on his hand made jewellery: bronze and hard stones. Some of the jewellery seemed to be coming from the Etruscan tradition, very special ones. I talked to him: the whole family work with him and they are all able to make jewellery, that is the family business!

In that area San Gimignano is very close to Volterra they are specialised in the work of alabaster: they do everything with it, from home accessories to ornaments and sculptures. Whatever but made with what nature has provided the villagers : lots and lot of alabaster!

We went back home with special chocolates bought at the Christmas outdoor market, a couple of ice creams in the tummy, bottles of Vernaccia and wooden toys chosen by the kids.
And a light hearted spirit.


Living in South Africa makes me appreciate all this when I come back and at the same time gives me new inputs to live my holidays with a new awareness. Nothing is obvious but to discover, once again with the eyes of the Life’s Explorer.

And every time I go back to my new home I feel the miracle of belonging to that land too, happy to feel life in slow motion, with different sounds, colours, music, people. Sharing my heart between my Tuscan hills and the most beautiful sky in the world, somewhere in South Africa.


Love& Rainbow



Copyright2009LorenzaVerdini

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

I wonder what the real relationship with my cooking is.

I love cooking. I hate cooking.

Sometimes I feel like having a double personality, Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the kitchen.

Some days I am very much inspired, some others I‘d love to feed my big family using a magic wand and just being served and spoiled.

In those days, the inspired ones, I just open a cooking book and let myself go to the joy of creating a new dish. It is a successful attempt. I choose quick dishes to prepare, because in half an hour I want to be done, I cannot stand spending hours in the kitchen.

Always. Always Indian food. Or Thai. Which lead us to think, according to my theory of my past lives that I was there in previous times.

I also cook Italian, of course. The mastery of cooking pasta is just printed in my genetic code, as well as making the best Tiramisu’ in the world. Mmmmh and what an exquisite Panna Cotta…..

Most of all I love baking. I bake my own bread when I have the time.

I just find irresistible the aroma (or scent?) of freshly baked bread. I really love baking whatever can fit in the oven (my husband will never fit in) . I must say I am successful also at baking good simple cakes and tarts.

But baking is not cooking, it is completely another story.

The love for freshness in food, good quality and healthy food it is not negotiable. It is just the way I have always eaten. It is part of my culture. But I come from there, the Boot, where we do not only love food we mainly love feeding people. It is a kind of sensual pleasure seeing friends and guests eating my food. Offering, sharing. I always think it is never enough so usually, when friends are over I cook quantities of food that would be sufficient for a starving soccer team!

Drinking is secondary to food. We invite friends to eat and then drinks will follow. But the focal point of the evening is the fooooooooood.

I usually cook recipes I have never cooked before, because I love the thrill of the “unknown”, the mystery of unfamiliar food and ingredients. But I never tell my friends-guinea pigs because it comes out delicious, so why bothering them with superfluous anxiety?

Those are my creative days, where I do enjoy cooking and feel like a great Chef. Mr. Hyde in the kitchen.

Then Doctor Jekyll shows up in bad days, when I hate cooking because I rush the whole afternoon taxi-driving my kids at their sport and cultural activities, worrying about the idea what’s for dinner? Is there food in the fridge?. This makes a lot.

Because dinner must be ready by 6 pm in order to be in bed early.

And because my kids are never hungry “altogether”, at the same time.

So I often end up spending hours in the kitchen!

The focus is on the balance of my kids’ diet are they having enough proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibers and vitamins? So those are the days when I wish I had a small Ratatouille cooking for me, where I would appreciate ANYTHING healthy already made! Broccoli, cauliflowers, spinach, whatever green exists in this planet. But already freshly cooked, waiting for me to grab a fork and wishing Bon Appetit a’ tout le monde.

I guess I‘ll be living with my split personality for a while, in the meantime who is joining for dinner tonight?

Love & Rainbow

Copyright2009LorenzaVerdini

SHERLOCK HOLMES

I have finally decided to pass on my award to two lovely blogs, completely different from one another.

THE GOOD GIRLS by Sarah, who entertains with her talented way of writing, always surprising the readers. I like the feeling of no time and no space that I get from her posts, jumping from one place and time to another. I am always looking forward to reading her and I do it anytime she posts something new.

KIM UNDER THE SUN by Kim. I like this blog very much because it is a creative blog. Words can beautifully blend with photos, artistic photos.  Kim is an artist exploring new frontiers of the human being. I do love this blog.

Well done to these two newly awarded LOVELY BLOG.

Because I am still bad at computer stuff, you can find their links on my Blogroll.

Today I wanted to show you how beautiful is the South african nature, putting nice photos on my post. But I could not find my photos anymore. Vanished. Gone. My computer does not hold my beloved photos anymore. I'll have to recall at Sherlock Holmes talent to find out what happened, before strangling somebody (who?who?who?). I keep on feeling annoyed by this accidents: I try to accept those linked to my incapacity of being good and independent at computer stuff, but I struggle to accept the Fate interference (mmmmhhhhh........). 

Was it because of last night storm? Or maybe because food was too spicy ? Or because my kids kept on fighting the whole day, that I ended up with a migraine thinking does anybody need an au-pair with experience, speaking fluently three languages, cooking well, always happy and cheerful (almost...) ? I also thought I could look for adoption, if a mother can be adopted.

I know the reason why they fight, basically no. 2 vs. no. 4... but please give me a break, stop polluting my living space...

I need to go now, the raincoat is on the wall hanger, the pipe is still in my pocket, Watson is waiting downstairs...

Love & Rainbow

Copyright2009LorenzaVerdini

I LOVE WINTER

Two days ago I read a lovely post from Dan, in his amazing blog, Vacant mind, about his love for winter.

It actually inspired me a lot, because I am a winter lover (I mean that I love winter, not that I love only in winter!). Lots of thought came to my mind and now, that I have been living in South Africa for three years, winter even means a lot more to me.

I was born on a cold Italian winter, does it mean anything? I have noticed that some of my friends who were born in summertime are meteoropathic: they need the sun. A cloudy or a cold day makes them feel depressed or, in the best case, low energy. I love rain, I love autumn and also winter. When I was living in Tuscany on a rainy night I would go to bed, under my feather duvet and listen to the rain symphony till I fell asleep. It is an ancestral music that touches the strings of my soul. I feel really connected to the nature. I love wearing warm clothes and going out to walk in the cold. And then come back home, in the warmth of the nest. I love cooking soups, hot chocolate, baking; all those things create the unique atmosphere of my winter. And the scents…They are not the same as in summer, obviously. We probably get the scents coming from the woods were we have lots of chestnuts, damp fallen leaves and mushrooms. Have you had a risotto with Italian porcini mushrooms (wild mushrooms)? Or polenta with bolognaise sauce and porcini mushrooms? It is an ecstasy for the palate. So when I go back to Italy I always put a bag of dried porcini mushrooms in my luggage. What make winter special to me it is also the soft hues of colours that the nature offers us. The sun it is never strong or aggressive it is there just to caress softly our faces. The trees have lost their leaves, witnessing a cycle that will never end. The sky is there, relaxed and lazy, over our heads. I can see it, I can touch it.

I can smell when it is going to snow. There is a particular scent that I can recognize and one day later it is snowing. And that is happiness. I started to ski when I was three years old and what I remember of those privileged holidays is the feeling of freedom and happiness. And the immensity of those high mountains. I felt a small speck comparing to them. I loved skiing so much, even being that little, that I used to launch myself down the slopes without the ski sticks (very bothering accessory…) straight down to the end of the slope. No hat, no gloves only the cold wind in my hair. Once I decided to go on my own, because I knew the slopes very well (I was an experienced skier of 5 years old) so off I went, enjoying the freedom and the mountains. I actually shook off my father, who was in charge of me. He was not really happy. Then I got lost, because that is what happens to a 5 years freedom-seeker skier. Everybody was really worried but, I don’t remember how, I managed to find my way back. It was dark, the experienced ski trainers (coach? teacher?) were looking for me with torches, the wolves were howling (yes, there were wolves on those mountains) my mother was frozen desperate holding my sister’s hand, at the bottom of the slope. Then I thought what is happening? Why all those people are here? Oh here there is mum and Betty, and dad. Why is he walking up and down so nervously? So I launched myself down at the highest speed I could. I don’t remember being punished or reproached in a bad way. I was happy to be back to my family and have the sweetest hot chocolate. Probably the reproached one was my father how could you “lose” you child? But please find me a father who never got distracted and lost his child at the playground or in the supermarket. This is another topic for a future post.

Love & rainbow

Copyright 2009 Lorenza Verdini

MOVING TO SOUTH AFRICA

Once back to Italy, I spent a couple of months packing up big boxes of books I cannot go without, two thirds of our wardrobes, the one third being skiing and very heavy winter clothes, lots of toys oh no, why do we have to take all this? and other stuff that I thought would be useful in the immediate once arrived in the “promised land”. So I was bouncing myself between the very organized and the emotional one who was, somewhere deep inside sorry to leave. Have you realized that you are about to leave your beloved Tuscany, your family and a bunch of good friends, the best food in the world, the most beautiful hill landscape, the art of historical buildings in the streets? Yes I think I had realized all that but I could not forget the feeling of belonging that sprang from the South African holiday and my husband was there, so I wanted to give the family the chance to be together. The children were fine, except for my older one who was thirteen and a half, the most “Italian one” of the four. She was tearful and anxious about the change, mainly about the fact that she would have go to an English school, and at the time she was speaking only Italian. So, to cope with her feelings, she was writing a journal that was heartbreaking…The youngest one, four at the time, was making herself comfortable using her creative side: she was drawing on the bedroom walls, painting furniture of course while I was sweating and packing up in the hot Italian summer and also expressing her deepest form of art in body painting herself, naked, with black paint. From head to toes, she did not forget one inch of her skin… When I saw her I had such a fright oh my God what is that! Don’t move, don’t touch anything, don’ breathe, no no please breathe but form your nose….helpppppppppppppp I lift her from the floor and put her in the bath where, after 45 minutes of brushing, she looked like my naughty baby again. My friends know what kind of character she is.

I put the records of my mind in fast forwards now… At the airport we paid the amount of a full flight ticket for exceeding weight of our luggage come on, there must be a mistake, we only have 14 luggage! What a petty thing, can’t you see it? The employee could not see it a small thing, so we paid all the money. There was a very emotional tension all around, my family had come and they were just putting back the tears, not very successfully I must say. I had a lump in my throat although I was trying to hold it in a very professional way I don’t like to cry in public, not even at the movies

My sister and I had made a deal ok we don’t cry, by the way it is only a goodbye; we ‘ll be back by Christmas to celebrate altogether. Please please don’t cry, if you start I won’t be able to hold it… But when my oldest daughter hugged tightly my niece Camilla and both started to sob desperately in each other’s arms, I looked for one second into my sister’s eyes and we both started too. Then my other niece Giulia hugged the small ones and started to cry, my mother was devastated I know I am taking your grandkids from you and you’ll miss us so much and I was feeling so guilty for creating such a pain in everybody. It was a real symphony.

My brother in law looked like somebody at a funeral but he tried hard to keep himself calm. I must say the “boys” succeeded. Once on the airplane I let myself go to all the tears I could pour out of my soul, Pisa/Paris, 1 hour and a half flight, sobbing with my daughter, feeling such a sharp pain in my heart.

The rest of the flight, Paris/Johannesburg was like the rest of the warrior, so exhausted by all those tears I think I fell deeply asleep . As soon as we landed, I started to feel good I don’t know how to explain but I love this place, the noises, the colours, those people willing to help, for the tip ok, but still willing to help, the landscape so different, wild and vast, the scream of the hadidas at five o’clock in the morning...

So the new life started, it was the beginning of a re-birth for me. We had quite a few difficulties but I guess it was normal. In the whole picture I can say the children adjusted in a short time purely because they are perfect creatures.

We, the adults, always have to mess up with our lives, because we seem to be more comfortable in the “drama” than in simplicity and serenity. It must be our troubled Karma. How many lives do we need to understand the magic of Life?

 

 

Love & Rainbow

 

Copyright 2009 Lorenza Verdini 

HAKUNA MATATA

In April 2006 we went , as a family holiday, to South Africa , to see what it was like. The place where my husband was spending most of his time, building up his business. I must confess that, although I love traveling , I had never gone farther than Europe and Lebanon , never gone for exotic holidays in secluded islands... what the hell are you waiting for? to be a granny? I felt I was going to explore the "unknown" that was not totally unknown, as my husband was already living there and had been traveling in Africa for many years. I could guess what it was like... So I packed stuff for everybody, which took a couple of full days well, let's see.. .in Italy it is spring now, so In South Africa it should be autumn , that could mean to pack warm clothes. Shall I put cotton or wool jerseys in the luggage? Shall I take sandals or takkies? Do we need a sun block? Ah I don't have to forget the drugs for the kids... Basically the "packing fear" existed and was taking lots of energy from me. But I MADE IT ! So we went to the airport to take off to Johannesburg on a beautiful spring evening, leaving my loved Tuscany behind to jump, with my four kids, into the wild bush. I survived the night on the flight taking care of my youngest daughter who was having with 39 degrees of fever why did you wait to be on the airplane to get sick? good you took some drugs with you and who was not happy to feel "trapped" on a seat while all the other passengers were trying to sleep please please don't vomit I can cope with the fever but not with the vomit . The turbulence over the Equator did not help to relax about it. By the way, the four years old girl did not vomit and I was so grateful to the god of travelers for watching over us ! When the hostess brought the breakfast tray I was in Heaven completely relaxed I would say exhausted and ready for the adventure. The thing that stroke me most, nose stuck to the window, was that I could see a big land affected by huge blue chickenpox pimples that I realized then, were SWIMMING POOLS! Yes, swimming pools of all sizes and shapes... I was expecting to see giraffes and zebras running freely, instead I could see swimming pools. So that was the first scenario that welcomed me in South Africa. The first day went by trying to relax at the hotel after having been at the nearby hospital to check on my daughter who was not feeling well. Besides this inconvenience, the holiday started. Every single holiday has a bad side : it's too short. And this holiday was no exception : the three weeks were going so quickly, our time was intense, full of nice things to do and discover, the weather was absolutely perfect. We spent most of the time in Johannesburg area, with a few days break in Zimbali , because I wanted to have a feel on what is daily life like in Johannesburg in my mind already open to the possibility of moving the family. I must say it was love at first sight : the sounds in the streets, the music on the radio, the brightness of the sky and the beauty of the sunsets, the slow rhythm of life, the birds and nature, but most of all people's warmth and smile, and the Energy . I could not believe what I was experiencing , every single person I was dealing with, was warm, smiling and kind and they did not even know me. Those My God I feel at home here... I can live here... this is Pure Energy so I decided, fbeautiful smiles...rom my heart, and in a very impulsive way well that is your personality: you never think twice when you have to take important decisions in your life that I wanted to move to South Africa, to bring together the family again and to let my children grow in a place where they could feel that difference can be beauty, that poverty can be warmth, that we can learn to help and support others. That to be different means to be equal because we are all one. So I was experiencing , truly and deeply , the pure energy that makes South Africa so special. I could not see one single thing that would make me change my mind. I was also thinking that it would be great to brush up my knowledge of English, very rusty indeed, and to give the kids the opportunity to learn a new language. And that was it, I was back to Italy, announcing my speechless family that by september we would be moving permanently to South Africa. So...Hakuna Matata what a wonderful world !

Love&Rainbow

Copyright 2009 Lorenza Verdini