Summer plans

I have my tickets in hand (well, since they are ticketless tickets, I should say that I have tickets sitting in my e-mail box) to return to the US for 6 weeks this summer. I am soooo excited. Yesterday, I also booked the Montana leg of the visit. So the deal is Ray and I will be in NY/NJ from July 1 to 16th, then to Montana for the next three weeks, then back to NY/NJ from August 6 to 16th unless we decide to throw in some time in Florida before heading back to Bologna. Andrea will join us at some point if he can.

I know it is ridiculously far off but as it has been almost two years since I last visited and by the time July arrives I will really be jonsing for all those things I miss about the US: family, friends, ethnic foods, competitive consumer shopping (Marshalls), a truly wild landscape (Italy is a small country that has been settled for so long there is no real wilderness even though there are lots of landscapes), beer at Triumph (with a couple of my favorite PU economists among others), 20 ozs. of take-out coffee and attending the theater and movies in ENGLISH. And seeing my mother after the death of my stepfather and my dearest aunt this spring is long overdue. Also can't wait for Ray to experience a lot of things Americana: bbqs, cousins, the NJ shore, NYC, Sesame Place, fly fishing, cowboys, and on and on.

So now with these plans in place, I can concentrate on Christmas and the short wish list of one little boy that is starting to grow a bit longer - it is quite simple, really - anything that has to do with Spiderman, Batman, and Gormitis. Oh yes, if he is a really good boy, perhaps a pint-sized guitar and (more) Legos.

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Here is one of my favorite holiday photos - Seb and Evan bringing home the Christmas tree in Montana a few years back.