Little Italy 24

[BananaGio]

Ciao tutte!

Has he got a thingy- can't remember the Italian, a corset type thing Dp had/has a hernia al disco and in the 14 years we've been together it's the only time he's had time off work. They made him have physio, suggested an op (he refused ) and had to wear a corset thing. He still wearsit sometimes.
Just make sure he doesn't take that diflo-whatisitcalled or he'll be wishing he only had a hernia al disco!
I'm just getting over a cold and bright yellow water is now dripping out of my nose.I wondered if it might be brain fluid but apparently that is clear....

It's called busto, both my mother and father use it, as they have several conditions with their backs ()

at brain fluid...

Get aerosoling one of the few wonderful things I believe in ....It works and if you are loosing your brain fluid then I would get going asap.
He has a back wrap thing sort of made of black nylon with a velcro bit on it is that the thing? I know where it is and could dig it out. No disco stuff just Ibroprofen and muscolid insieme x 1 week and teh sera after he has had the massage stuff ( I have tears in my eyes thinking about that as I bet it will be painful!)
They tried to close the consoltorio here and there was a riot- they were opened a gain. However the sat and sun paed service has not been re opened but my paed has been known to answer his phone the odd sat for emergencies!My doc bless when I called said he had 20 people this afternoon but if we went early he would see her - it is really only her ear . Mind you both mine are on Day 7 of the colds but ( Milestone) minirosa has learnt to blow her nose !!!!

Oh yes like a sort of pancera.

Well done minirosa, clever girl !

Ah well done minirosa, I wish mine would learn to blow her nose, she's got the second cold in 2 weeks, poor thing! Welcome to the world of asilo nido I guess...

DP is unfortunately not from Lecce (I wish!) but Taranto :( ...although I've made it pretty clear I don't want to live there so we've been toying with the idea of nearby Martina Franca, it's much prettier, a safe distance from the rest of the clan, and seems more civilised with less soul-destroyingly ugly buildings than Taranto (which looks like a bunch of Soviet trainee architects have been let loose on it). Oh, and people have teeth, at least I think I remember seeing them! :o

Oh gosh, Taranto is quite a tough place isn't it. Martina Franca is said to be a nice place, no?

Dp says Taranto is smoggy like London was in the 1950s. Lots of heavy industry I think?

Martina Franca is lovely. There is now the added plus of cheap Ryanair flights to Bari/Brindisi so lots of Brits wandering around buying trulli which makes me feel both Italianised (as I watch them striding purposefully around with their elasticated waisted slacks) and very British (we all tut together at the Italians trying to pretend their "altra fila" boarding pass doesn't say that really, but says "priorita'" and that their stomping great 19 yr old son is really 3 and must be allowed to board first or he'll cry.

We have the first cold and cough of the season too, and the sciroppo is doing bugger all (aerosol... Mmmm may try that). Although the record goes to my cousin's DS, who started asilo and came home with a high fever on day 3.

Spaghettina, good luck with the proposed "move". We are currently toying with the idea of moving back to London so I am feeling rather unsettled too.

Very jealous of those of you with a consultorio nearby. I do not even know where the closest one is - it would be handy. Although I have to say DD always got top notch service from the local neonatology (which was definitely not inferior to the one in London).

Minerva look on you comune website it should be on there..possibly!

There are still some consultori here in Milan too, but they've been neglected by past giunte, given that they are probably viewed as dangerous breeding places of left wing doctors... you know family planning, breastfeeding and child psychologists... Bloody Formigoni!

I think they closed the one in my comune - they only left the midwives/mental health locally. I am not even sure you can get things like contraception there - you probably have to go into Udine for that. All in all though, the local hospital generally works well, is clean, a lot of it is brand new and has a balanced budget... I should not complain really.

Rosa, Handy Manny's tool box, I am so impressed!
Very proud Mummy today, as DS got a certificate at assembly from the headmaster today, for staying in his place in the line (which has been a challenge for him!).
Rosa, I was telling DD about Venice today, she wants to know if you have boats instead of rubbish trucks and I promised I'd ask you. One day we 'll pay you a visit!

Oh well done your ds Sputnik!

Rosa, you HAVE to upload pics of your masterpieces!

Mind you, today I made a lovely cake with white chocolate and almonds and raspberries, which was lovely. No icing though, I don't feel ready! (I do make ganache occasionally)

A question to you lovely ladies... Did I dream of it, or will it be possible in the near future to subscribe to iplayer from abroad?

Well done to your ds that is great .... Handy Many was ok not one of my best !
I thought I head about the I player but so far no joy !!!
WHat do you reckon Baking Powder is ? I don't want leivito but just baking powder thought I would ask here before starting a proper search !!!

I've no idea, I'll have a look in my baking drawer... and will let you know!

Hello... Rosa I've got some Baking Powder somewhere in the kitchen and according to Wikipedia "Most commercially-available baking powders are made up of an alkaline component (typically baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate), one or more acid salts, and an inert starch (cornstarch in most cases, though potato starch may also be used)."
Don't know what the equivalent is in Italy, or if indeed such a thing exists, but after lots of searching in vain in supermarkets, I bought mine from an Indian food shop here in Milan which stocks lots of English imported stuff you can't get anywhere else (Marmite, Horlicks etc!), maybe if there's somewhere like that in Venice they'll have some too...

Franca, that white chocolate cake sounds divine!

As for Taranto, yes lots of heavy industry - steelworks and a refinery both looming over the city and polluting the cr*p out of the air, soil and water with dioxins... of course Milan is polluted too but somehow it doesn't scare me as much here (perhaps it should!)

They're closing consultori in this area too, our local one is now just for vaccinations only. It was quite helpful to have one nearby when DD was born, in addition to the hospital drop-in centre, although looking back I would tone down the militant "Breastfeeding on demand" stance, I ended up creating a monster and am still trying to stop BF on demand 18 months down the line

Spaghettina, well done for breastfeeding for 18 months... Surely that's a positive (well most of the time at least? ).

Spent the weekend shopping: new car seat for DD, winter shoes for DD, and a few Xmas pressies and stocking fillers (I had a 20% off SMS from Limoni... Very handy, plus they gave me a 15% off for Xmas period). Whilst I was there, a woman spent 240 euros on some kind of anti-wrinkle serum...

Sorry i messed up and sent the msg anyway.

Anyway - and her daughter was egging her on to buy another cream which was even more expensive. More money than sense: you would be better off saving for plastic surgery at that rate...

Very impressed at everyone's culinary adventures this weekend. I managed a blueberry tart with local mirtilli, which was OK but not great. I hope to do the Xmas pudding in the next couple of weeks or so. Have to be careful as last year it turned out a little bit soggy. I realised that Italians actually like British food, as long as you do not label it as such (I make mince pies, glazed ham, pud... All got eaten last year).

Spaghettina, wow, I am impressed by 18 months bf, well done!

Minerva, Italians who are "in the know" like British food. Who wouldn't like a nice roast, a hearty fry up or a nice carrot cake?

Oh shoes, don't remind me of shoes... the other day we were early for the paed, so I managed to convince ds to stop at "Il supermercato della scarpa" for 5 mins, where I spotted a pair of blue New Balance with straps. Perfect for him. Took me 5 mins to convince him they were "the ones". But number 35 was too small. 35 and a half too big. So we left, without shoes. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Minerva agree the important thing is not to label British food as British Food with Italians. DP loved Nigellas ham in coke untill I told him how I cooked it and now that is one of his favourite stories to recount re his mad English wife and her culinary skills.
I want one of your cakes ladies. The only sweet thing I have in is a Kit Kat-not the same but after the day I have had it is getting eaten! Bloody toilet leaked (clean water meno male) and went down to elderly ladies apartment below who had hysterics re me as she is being bullied by the cow that lives below her and she was terrified re what would happen if goes down to her. So fun afternoon trying to placateher, mop up water and get man round to sort.
Rosa poor DH but glad it wasnt anything more serious.
Well done DS SPut!
Has the brain fluid stopped leaking Buch? I've had that after colds occasionally.
Franca no need to worry re Italy anymore if only we can get The Yard to come over and sort out our crime issues (saw you on the other thread).

Ciao Gio, I couldn't resist posting on the other thread (and I saw Buch on a similar one!), even if I haven't formed an opinion on the case (and I am quite impressed by all these people who know everything about it!)

Mind you, perhaps the Yard could also help us solving the strage di Bologna or similar stuff.

Mmmm what a day you had, I hope that kitkat bar has helped!

Oh gosh ds is up again, talking about the crisi economica

Grrrr, rant, rant, rant.

Blimeyheck, who needs CSI when MNers solve pertinent cases by reading wikipedia links huh?

I almost left MN yesterday (and had several correspondences with HQ) over the fact that I had called some moron (and I stand by it) a "complete fool" for stating that Guede was obviously a murderer because the country he comes from "breeds them" and my comment was deleted while hers stayed.HQ eventually apologised and said I was right to call her racist and deleted her as well.

What about the comment about "watch yourselves when you go to Italy, it could happen to you!"

FFS.

Brain is OK, all seems to be in place.

eh eh... I actually stayed well away from the Knox&co threads because I know I would get into a fight. As for "watch yourselves in Italy", I always reply that I have been a victim of crime in the UK a few times (minor stuff) but never in Italy. And actually I left my wallet on the passenger seat in my parked car outside for the whole day the other day and it was still there in the evening.

Franca, lol at your DS talking about th crisi economica. Is it his left-wing teachers that are putting these wild ideas into him?

Gio, what a day - I hope today will be a boring one for you!

China (mmm I am getting used to your new name!) at "watch yourselves when you go to Italy" comment... was it about the brutality of our police forces? I wonder if the sad events of the G8 in Genova raised as much contempt among MNetters... I guess not.
I also read another comment which went "Italians should be ashamed of themselves..." to which I wrote several replies but I didn't post it.

Well done for having the racist comments deleted.

Minerva, at the moment ds seems very keen to resolve the world problems, from pollution to the economic crisis... Yes, it's those maestri comunisti, it's all their fault. ANd the sessantotto too.