A French Market & Not Much Else . . .

This might be the shortest blog I've ever written, ha ha. I'm trying to squeeze in a small post before I head over to Slovenia for a few days. 

(Update: LOL, I didn't get this finished before I went to Slovenia . . . I have so much to share about my recent experiences, but this one needs to get done first!)

I think part of why there's not much to write about is because I was sick for several days last week, so all I did was stay home and rest. After what started out as a bad headache for almost 3 days, I thought I had escaped the brunt of whatever Scott had just experienced (sore throat, lots of congestion, lots of coughing). But then I ended up with my own version of his mystery bug. For the next few days, I had a swollen throat (with just one painful tonsil), moderate congestion, and I just felt like garbage every day. I didn't really get any sort of cough, which was nice. But I had minimal energy and yeah, I just felt like garbage mostly. It's hard to describe . . .

A friend mentioned on our ward chat that there was a French Market in downtown Vicenza for Easter weekend. Even though I still wasn't feeling 100%, I was "well enough" to go on a smallish and fun outing with Scott the day before Easter.

Google told us that Bus E13 would swing by to pick us up at the bus stop just north of our driveway. But it never came. We thought it was odd that Google would have an option for Bus #13 coming through (which we had never seen before - usually it's Bus #6), but the sign at the bus stop showed no mention of a Bus #13 either. Hey Google, You're weird! 

After waiting there without much hope for about 10 minutes, we walked home and drove ourselves to a parking garage near downtown Vicenza. From there it was just a short walk to the Piazza where the French Market was.

The setup looked similar to a typical Farmers Market, but there were French flags down the rows of white tented booths.

Offerings included colorful macarons . . .

Pastries, breads, croissants, etc. . . .

French cheeses and dried meats . . .

Open air spices . . .

French BUTTER . . . ooh la la . . .

*Regarding the French butter: My friend Kelly Campbell first introduced me to this marvel a little over a year ago. What distinguishes French butter from most butters is that there are little salt crystals that are incorporated in. It tastes so amazing!! I know several women here who find ways to bring home several plaquettes (or bricks) of butter whenever they visit France. (ice chests, insulated tote bags, etc)

I grabbed two bricks at the French Market.

Recently, I also saw that Tillamook has a salted crystal version of their cubed butter. It was in the refrigerated section of our Commissary on the main base. I haven't tried any yet, but I'm very curious how Tillamook might stack up against the infamous French butter.

There was also a booth where you could pick and choose whatever breads, biscuits, cookies, etc that you wanted and place them in a sack yourself. I'm not sure if the offerings were individually priced or if it was by weight, but you'd pay at the end of your "shopping" experience.

Video here: (7 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/vs6ZyBwT5qyJ3Cgj6

The items I came home with were: 

• A couple of lavender donkey milk hand creams
• A couple bars of soap with the most delicious scents (lemon, cinnamon & clove)
• A couple of airy and lightweight scarves
• Two bricks of butter
• And these macarons

I am looking forward to sharing some of these items with my sister-in-law Pam when I go to see her next week. (Not the perishables, but the other goodies.)

April birthdays are in full swing within our family right now! Abby turned 11 years old on April 1st, and one of the coolest traditions that my daughter Amber has consistently implemented is to interview her daughters on their birthday. She asks them such great questions, ones that really give you a glimpse into their minds and hearts. Here is what Amber shared online from her recent interview with Abby:

Abby sure is growing up! She got a bob haircut, too, which looks so cute on her. 

The birthday package I sent to her arrived a couple days late, but hey - better late than never. I sent her a beautiful dress that I saw up in Germany (when I drove up there with Benson in February), along with some sweet treats (she has a HUGE sweet tooth), and this thing (see below). I'm not sure what to call it. It's sort of like a terrerium, but with some pretty silk flowers, dainty Easter eggs, and cute little fairy lights. I also wrote her a 7-page letter about how I find strength and comfort in my Savior, Jesus Christ - complete with stories from my life. 

Next up, it was Jack's birthday on April 6th. He is now a whopping 5 years old!! Gracious me, how time flies. We chatted about this and that while he ate a bowlful of frozen peas. What a character!!

My mom sent him a collection of Calvin & Hobbes comic books, which is so awesome because my kids literally raised themselves on this series. They were an absolute staple in our home for many years.

Apparently the secret is out that Jack loves bugs. More than one of us sent him a book about bugs, and I also sent him a bug collection kit. You can collect a specimen and either A) build them a habitat in the little "house" that comes with the kit, or B) study them inside the "house" using the regular peephole or the magnifying lens in the other peephole.

Maisie climbed into the laundry basket to study her own book at one point during our video call. What a little darling she is . . .

She is just so yummy . . .

And stoic, ha ha . . .

While Jake and Hannah made some beautiful and colorful foccacia bread recently . . .

I have been practicing the art of making pizza in the cast iron pan on our gas stove . . .

Scott had the brilliant idea to transfer each one to the oven and broil them for a couple minutes at the end to get everything nicely browned and melty.

Video here of the process: (1 minute) https://photos.app.goo.gl/DJurdQ6h6452J1KN9

*You will have the delightful backstage pass of hearing me coach Scott on when to hit pause in between each segment, ha ha.

I've also been happily planting a few things, in between rounds of sickness . . .

So far I've planted: strawberries, garlic, green onions, coriander, basil, an orange cherry tomato plant, and a variety of bright flowers.

I also put together two planter boxes of red/white/"blue" flowers. One is up on the balcony, and the other is downstairs at the main entrance to the building.

Scott has been diligently putting together a watering system for the planter boxes on our balcony. With guidance from my sister, Charmaine, we found a good version on Amazon Italy. It will be our saving grace when we're both gone on separate trips in the next few weeks.

Coming up in my next post:

The women's wellness retreat in Slovenia was absolutely life-changing. I tried several new things that I had never heard of before and I'm so glad I did! Bonding with so many incredible women was the highlight, though. And I can't wait to share all the stories sometime in the next week!!