A couple of items I've wanted to mention:
Early this spring I was typing at my laptop as a tiny red spider crawled across my screen. That happens in the USA and when it does, I reach up and tap the spider with my finger. It usually dispatches it quickly and I go back to typing. Well this one was different. As I touched it, his whole body just liquified into a bright red streak across my screen. It took several minutes to remove that red dye. I've learned to be more careful. They're found everywhere here, and I've seen the soles of shoes that look like they were scribbled upon by a bright red pen. It's also a good idea to check for red spiders before sitting anywhere in clothing that could be stained red.
When Robyn and I came here last October to find an apartment, we arrived at our apartment about an hour before check-in. It was a beautiful setting. New apartments with wonderful landscaping. We decided to sit down on one of the walls on by the sidewalk and wait to be let in to our apartment. Robyn was sitting on one side of the sidewalk with her suitcase at her feet and I was on the other side of the walk. I noticed a rat come running along the edge of the sidewalk towards Robyn. It disappeared from my view between Robyn's feet and her suitcase. I said calmly, "Rat." She said, "What?" I repeated, "Rat--at your feet." She still didn't understand and stood up to come closer. That's when the rat continued out from under her suitcase and feet. We haven't seen any rats since then.
A while ago I posted a photo of a breakfast cereal called "Choco Crusties" because the name made me laugh. I've decided that it's a delicious wheat cereal that looks like brown rice crispies. Unfortunately, when one or two of them spill on to the counter, they look disturbingly like mouse turds so you can't pick them up and toss them in your mouth without looking at them closely. I haven't seen any mouse tracks over here, but you can never be too careful. If we can find some marshmallows, Robyn's going to make some Choco Crusties Rice Crispy Treats. I think they'll be great. We haven't seen marshmallows though.
At the temple there are some huge pine trees, a variety I've never seen outside of Italy. I'd describe then as Mediterranean Pines. They have been dropping huge pine cones that are covered with sap. One of them landed on the sidewalk and shattered, scattering pieces. Initially, I thought they were seeds; but one of the gardeners at the temple grounds showed me a pine nut from these trees. He said they're quite rare and equally delicious. I took a photo of the pine nut, then Robyn and I ate it (well, we ate the part inside.) Tasted just like the ones back home. Most everything in Italy is small--trucks, showers--but pine nuts are lots bigger over here. As you can see from the photo, they're longer than the width of my ring finger. They're many times larger than a typical pine nut. (I haven't figured out how to format photos with text yet--and it's doubly difficult because I bought a full sized keyboard for when I'm home and many of the keys don't do what it says they do on the keys.) ... I learned a little more about the pine trees. I've been told that they're Mediterranean Sea Pines, and they only grow near the ocean. Below is a photo of said pines. Lots of sticky sap and huge pine cones; but they don't look like any pine trees I'm familiar with.
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