A Wolf, A Donkey, And Some Self-Defense

There have been some fun little mini-adventures this past week, including some impromptu surprises. It's been a good week, even though I spent most of the time by myself. 

This little guy was the star of the whole week. He was the cutest darndest baby donkey that I've ever seen!! He was unimaginably soft and extremely cuddly. As soon as any one of us stopped petting him, he would nudge right up against us, begging for more. 

I guess I should start at the beginning, though. 

Monday, September 18th: Scott was able to meet up with Abdo, my Moroccan son, down in Agadir. Abdo traveled by taxi over to Scott's hotel, where they sat outside to visit for a while. I was able to be part of the video call and to chat with Abdo as well. He is always smiling. What an amazing young man. Scott gave him some money to help their family after the earthquake and with everything else that happened because of Abdo's medical emergency. (see last week's post for the full details) 

Tuesday, September 19th: I went to the Thrift Store on base and got a whopper of a surprise when they rung me up for all of these . . . Guess how much it all cost? (I'll give the answer in a minute) Keep in mind that I saw the same set of Planet Earth DVDs on sale on Amazon a couple years ago for about $80. 

I had the first of many chats with Amber this week, ha ha. She is such a wonderful daughter. We have been discussing plans for when they get here, along with logistical details and packing lists, etc. Plus, she is homeschooling her girls each day and doing all the many things a wife and mother does on a daily basis. I am so proud of her and I can't wait for her to get to Italy soon! 

That evening, I attended a Relief Society activity for our church. This was an opportunity for all of the ladies to learn and practice some self-defense skills. The class was taught by Alex, a Sgt. Major from Ukraine, who works with soldiers all the time, teaching them self-defense classes and how to maneuver in hand-to-hand combat. She said she was motivated to learn self-defense because she had been assaulted at some point, and never wanted to be a victim again. 

She was one tough cookie. Very no-nonsense. I took a little video of one of the techniques that she taught us. 

Video of Alex teaching a self-defense maneuver: (1 min, 51 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AgxP5aLGTJJNFjJH8

She would teach us a thing or two, and then she had us partner up and practice those techniques before we learned the next thing from her. Some of the maneuvers were more simple and therefore easy to execute. But some were more complex, and required practicing them more than once. It was a very fun class, and very informative, too.

I didn't sleep very well that night, though. First of all, I didn't eat dinner until after I got home, so it was quite late. (around 9:00 p.m.) Going to bed right after you eat a meal can cause some weird dreams to occur . . . and when you add in going to a self-defense class, it makes for some even weirder dreams!

Wednesday, September 20th: I got up early to meet up with some friends for a field trip, as part of our "Wednesdays in Italy" activity group.  I was grateful to not be the main driver, since I didn't sleep very well during the night. We drove about 2 hours north, to the Trento area, so we could go on a very unique hike.  

The mountains in that area are some of the largest I've ever seen, and not only are they majestic and wondrous, but you get a little taste of just how small you are in this big, big world. I didn't take any pictures as we drove past them, because the van we were in has seen its share of children and teenagers, so there were fingerprints all over the windows, ha ha.

We drove up several hairpin turns to get up to the parking area for our hike. From the parking lot, it was surprisingly only a 1 km hike, mostly uphill, but still relatively short. The name of the trail is, "Lupa del Lagorai". I think it means Wolf of the Lake. (it's more of a derivative of the word lake, but I'm not sure exactly what it is . . .)

We passed the cutest little house on the way up . . . It had lime green shutters and accents and looked like something out of a fairytale. I would totally live there. 

There were occasional signs on the way up, telling you that this was a protected nature area and the importance of caring for the environment as a hiker. You can see the valley of Trento off in the distance.

The altitude was at least 1200 meters, because that was the last sign I remember seeing as we drove up the mountain. I used my inhaler before we began the hike, and it definitely helped as we trudged up the steady incline.

We could see the wolf off in the distance, and it was larger than I had expected.

This sign tells the details of how this wolf came to be. Apparently, there was a HUGE storm in October of 2018, one that uprooted over 22 million trees in Northern Italy. The artist took pieces of the trees laying around everywhere and made this beautiful wolf as a piece of art and a tribute to the strength of the Italian spirit in overcoming something so devastating. (click on the photo to read the English explanation better)

I set up my phone to take a group selfie using the timer in the camera app. It turned out pretty well!

L to R: Andrea, Caroline, Addie Mae, Me, and Rachel

An older German couple took another group photo of us. How thoughtful. 

Here are a few more photos of the wolf, because he deserves to be shared and admired and appreciated.

Short video of the Wolf: (21 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fvE2UkjDVj4RSX4q8

The wildflowers still in bloom this late in the season were so delightful. Yellows and lavenders and whites, mostly. 

After we milled around enjoying the view for a while, we headed back down the trail. 

 Standing on a tree stump on top of Italy . . .

Goodbye Wolfie . . . (you can just barely see him in the distance)

As we neared the parking lot, we could hear a lot of bells clanging, but the bells were not hanging on the necks of cows or horses this time. Rather, they were strapped onto a little family of donkeys!!

Mama donkey patiently feeding her baby . . .

I'm not sure what his name is, but I kind think he looks like a Jed. What do you think?

Video of me petting and loving on that super soft and sweet baby donkey: (25 seconds)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZS7hZuyvFxxNhiyj6

There was a really nice B&B and cafe where we parked. They had some delectable treats inside, which I chose to ignore, but some of the other ladies bought a slice of apple pie or other yummy desserts to bring home. Ciao, cute little Italian donkeys!! 

All in all, it was a wonderful drive, we had time for great conversations in the car, the views were tremendous, and the hike was beautiful. Even though we drove 2 hours each way to hike a total of 2 kilometers, it was still worth it!

(**The total cost of all those books PLUS the set of Planet Earth DVDs was $8.00. Yes, EIGHT.)

I had a cute video call with Amber, Abby and Gwen later that evening. Abby showed me some of the music she was creating on the computer, with several very cool percussion arrangements. 

And Gwen applied some hot pink lipstick (for dayzzz) and looked ready for a night on the town. 

She even gave her momma a kiss, trying to leave lipstick marks on her cheek . . . ha ha

Thursday, September 21st: Scott sent me a text at the start of the day, saying, "Do you remember?" I didn't understand what he was referring to. So he sent me a follow-up text, "Do you remember? The 21st night of September . . ." LOL  

What a cutie. He always does that every year, mostly with his brother Gordon. 

I spent 3.5 hours at the hair salon, which was a little longer than usual. And they added an extra step which had not been done before, which also required an additional 30 minutes or so. I learned at the register later that it also added more to my total, too, which I didn't like. So next time, I will be sure to be more clear that I don't need any more extras. 

But they did a great job. I wanted a different hairstyle, so after they colored my hair, I got the cutest haircut! I showed them pictures of what I wanted, and also a couple photos in years past where I had a similar haircut, so they could have a little perspective.

First, they brushed my hair out, which always looks make me look like a disaster, ha ha.

Then I look like something out of an alien movie . . .

They placed several clips in my hair before blow-drying it, to give it more lift at the top, instead of making it big on the sides. 

In the end, it didn't matter, because they still made it super big all over everywhere by the time they were done. I took a photo as soon as I got into the car to go home. Big and Poofy. That's all I can say. 

But once I showered and styled it all myself, it felt more like what I wanted in the first place. :)

That evening, I rode the bus into downtown Vicenza to have dinner at Nell Zeitzman's home, with her husband, Mike. She went to culinary school, so ANYTHING she makes is gonna be amazing. She invited the sister missionaries over to join us, and we had "breakfast for dinner". It was delicious. Nell made a frittata with cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil from her garden. She also made biscuits from scratch and a tasty sausage gravy to ladle over the top. 

After dinner, we sat around and visited for a while. We talked about life and places we had all been, and we talked quite a bit about family history, too. By the time I left to go home, 2.5 hours had passed! Nell is a lively personality, with a million life stories to share. I could listen to her for days. Her husband, Mike, is more quiet, but is very interesting and intelligent and kind. 

L to R: Sister Perry, Me, I don't remember her name - (she was just there for the day but is serving in the Trieste area), and Nell.

It was raining as I made my way home, and between bus rides and walking in the rain, my Birkenstocks needed a little love, so I began cleaning them. With all the humidity, it took more than 24 hours for them to fully dry afterwards. I used a little baking soda and water, with a drop of dish soap to scrub them and get them looking more presentable.

Friday, September 22nd: I worked on a menu plan, getting groceries, and cleaning the house for company to arrive the following day.

Saturday, September 23rd: I finished cleaning and getting things ready, and that evening I drove to the Venice Airport to not only pick up Scott, but also to pick up our friends at the same time. The drive to the airport was pretty hairy and caused me to have a LOT of anxiety. 

Not only was it rainy, but there was almost constant lightning across the sky in front of me. Just west of Padova, there was a major slowdown on the freeway, where we were crawling along. Soon, I realized why. 

It had hailed just a few minutes before I passed through, and this was the most hail I had ever seen before. It was piled up and thick, and as all the cars drove over the top, it became compacted and more like crunchy ice. Since I was only in 1st gear and inching along, I grabbed my phone to take a photo because it was so unbelievable. I was slipping and sliding along for about a kilometer before it cleared up and I could get going again.

A few minutes later, the rain came down in BUCKETS. There were huge puddles and mini-lakes on the freeway, so I had to be extra careful once again. I was so grateful to arrive in one piece at the airport!

Everyone arrived on time, thank goodness, and then I asked Scott to drive us home . . . 

Our friends, the Andersons, live in our neighborhood back in Idaho Falls. Scott and Jennifer have had me over for dinner several times while my Scott is on the other side of the world, and now it's our turn to host them and take good care of them here.

This was all of us together for Sunday dinner, including an extra young man, Jace, who Scott invited to join us.

Clockwise from the bottom left: My Scott (at the bottom), Scott and Jen Anderson, Jace, and Me.

After dinner, we walked up to Monte Berico just as the sun was setting. What a beautiful way to end their first full day in Italy. 

Views of Vicenza halfway up to Monte Berico . . .

By the time we marched up to the top, the sky was getting all dark blue and beautiful behind the Basilica of Monte Berico.

I thought this fresco was especially touching, with Jesus appearing to heal someone, or bless them.

As soon as the Catholic service was finished, we popped inside briefly so Jen and Scott could see how beautiful it is.

Good night from Vicenza, Italy. Buona serrata! (Have a good evening!)