Pina & the tow truck

Well... airport arrivals to Catania were a bit weird this time round.. How couldn't they be when G&P are involved...
Bea, Pina's daughter trotted along to Catania and the car was waiting outside for her...
The car being



a tow truck....
As Pina accidentally forgot to replace the oil, the engine blew up on the way to the airport, so she decided to grab a lift to the airport.. from towcar man.
I assume after so many years we got used to our mums ( not!)

After the car incident Pina was on foot, so she decided to borrow her father's 23 years old jewel to reunite to Gina in Milazzo. The 40 minutes journey took 8 hours but G&P were reunited again and to celebrate, sword fish braciolette and 4 fish were cooked for the event.

Prayers answered with pot

Some marijuana, doing the Lord's work

Often people pray to make a request or seek guidance. Confusing times then for a Kentucky congregation, who returned to their cars after a prayer service to find bags or marijuana on their car windscreens.

Although divine intervention has been ruled out by police, a man arrested for planting the pot insists God told him to do it

The pot bags came complete with a puzzling, handwritten note conveying the message 'Peace poles Native American right.'

That springs to mind the latest tale of Pina.

Smuggling anyone?? And to the list of rabbits, fillet, whole fishes, salami, wine, pasta, cheese, sweets and brioches, now we add pot, to the list.

Guiding and spying on her Morocco's school trip...

As out of 300 students the morning after arrival 3 were vomiting and 20 were late, she decided to raid each single room.
To find....

Disgrace of the disgraces. Pot.. and chillum that they have been smoking. As they were clever... they made everybody smoke - Of course forcing them :-)
Hence Pina decide to confiscate all the pot.. and fly back with it in her bag to show the head teacher. 5 students changed school.

Seatbelts

Obviously everybody needs to wear one. In the Italian legislation, likely the European one, there a couple of exceptions. Police, fire brigades, passengers and users of emergency vehicles, cars, taxi drivers and people which have peculiar pathologies. And guess what? Gina & Pina have got an exemption.
Gina declaring that she's too small hence the belt cuts her throat and
Pina saying that cars are too small and the belt limits her movements.
Then I leave to your imagination, what happens when the police stops them to fine them for not wearing a belt.
They do a little act, they show the documents, duly signed and regular and there you go, they hit the road again for the next bunch of flowers or for next restaurant to try. The latest had a chocolate theme. Chickpeas soup and chocolate???

L'esenzione, inoltre, riguarda: gli appartenenti alle Forze di Polizia e ai corpi di Polizia Municipale e Provinciale nell'espletamento di un servizio d'emergenza, nonché le Forze Armatenell'espletamento di attività istituzionali in situazioni di emergenza; i conducenti e gli addetti dei veicoli del servizio antincendio e sanitario in caso di intervento di emergenza; le persone che risultino affette da patologie particolari; le donne in stato di gravidanza ed i passeggeri degli autobus in cui è previsto il trasporto anche di passeggeri in piedi, quando tali veicoli sono adibiti al trasporto locale.

And then there was Easter

Oh yes..
Sicily = Saturday to Saturday.
I won't bore you with the numerous phone calls, dinners, lunches and visits to friends. The biggest issue is that everybody wants their personal space with me. My plan of booking a table for 20 and answer the marriage and kid questions all at once wasn't accepted as a polite thing to do.

Gina was more hyperactive than usual, then I wonder why I never sleep.
Hence she wakes up at 5 and goes for a run, all the police cars, the rubbish bin collectors and grocery shops of the area know her, most of all, as the nutter that runs in the early hours of the morning, some of them as the little lady that jumps the queue because she's always in a hurry.
Well yes, you need to know that if Gina enters a shop and she doesn't get immediate attention, she will just leave. If patience has never been my virtue, then Gina's never made an appearance in the course of her life, well or since I know her.

I went running with her, one afternoon, in the middle of the woods with wild rabbits crossing the paths and angry dogs following us. Street dogs have always concerned me and it amazes me that Sicily must be the only region in the civilised world, to still have such a huge number trotting around.
She runs with a stone in her hand, just in case they attack..
In one of these episodes Gina took Pina for a run in the woods.
While Gina was comfortably dressed, Pina was just over from a meeting hence with tight skirt, jacket and summery high heeled shoes.
Ater about one hour, they were tired so they decided to take a shortcut. There was a very steep hill, Pina rolled her skirt up but still wasn't enough and her shoes were slipping, hence Gina said I push you. And there you go, Pina with hands on the wall and Gina pushing her ass up.
I have been searching the web to find a cartoon or a picty to depict it, but I didn't succeed.. Hope you can visualise that. In case refer to prefer Gina & Pina's episodes.

I forgot to tell you, Gina loves flowers and fruit. Especially stealing them.
I stopped her from stopping the car in the emergency lane on the motorway, to climb up the wall and "collect" some flowers. But nothing I could to avoid her climbing in somebody' s garden to get a huge bunch of flowers with which she just kept walking on the street.
The dog almost attacked me ( on the street, still waiting for Gina) and her ( head to toes in the garden pulling away- with the owners just inside the overlooking house)
I asked.. Mum, what if they came out ? what would you have said?
Gina: Well... that as I saw many flowers in the garden and I assumed they didn't like to collect them, and you can't just leave those beautiful flowers there. Can you?
I'm glad they didn't ask.
These flowers are so beautiful that when you get married I'll fill the church of them. errr...



I also saw pollo & polla ... as they were going to an outrageous wedding ( with tons of roses and a photo service comparable to a film set).
Ah yes and I also bought a pair of roller blades, so if you want to join me for a stroll, feel welcome.
And Pina rescued me from the diet with swordfish kebabs ( braciolettine di pescespada) with bay leaves bbqued on the spot.

Remember Federica?
These are her latest creations.

Still day 3

Oh well.. and as Pina put it, we watched the movie of the holy festivity.
While other families might have watched Jesus Christ Superstar, or the miracle of Lourdes, well, my Xmas family watched Salo' ( the 120 days of Sodoma).. and guess what, wasn't even mine the choice.