We are on the News

My mother called and said she would send some newspaper pictures from the Swedish paper about "our" garbage problem. I told her she didn't have to, I can just open our window and have a "pleasant" view.

It is so sad in a beautiful country that something like this can happen and that the government is doing nothing. According to my friends here, it is the Camora (Mafia) that ownes the now closed garbage landfills --they are overfilled from northern Italy's garbage--good money. People here are getting mad over the plan for old dumps are going to be re-opened. The people strike in protest, and it is not quiet or violence free. The protesters shut the exits of the motorway off and block traffic. The people on the motorway can't get off and inch forward. I got an angry phone call from my husband, he was stuck for four hours on a trip that normally takes no more than 20 minutes!

Wannabe mafiaosos with masks on their faces--throw rocks from the bridges down on the cars, some of them had baseball bats smashing the car's windows while people where sitting inside.

Southern Italy is suffering a lot of cancellations of fruit and vegetable delivery to other countries. Customers are frightened over possible contamination from the garbage that is being spread every where.

Tourists are re-booking the trips to other regions and countries....the garbage is a huge problem.

When I pick up Olivia from her school her comment is; "Look mommy...garbage!" We nearly have to climb a mountain of trash to get back home!

This is not Amore!

Our House

How can so many things in a house go against you?
Before moving over we had our eyes on another house but my husband thought that probably that house were to old and would have to old pipes and plumbings. Risky.
So we moved into this new three floor house with five bathrooms and six bedrooms and two living rooms.
That we couldn't get Internet in 2 1/2 month we couldn't blame the house, more the system, and us being "to nice" on the phone to the company. When we showed them our back bone they came and installed Internet the day after.
The cold weather came "over night' and our heat system is just working on first and second floor. Of course, my office with Internet is on the third floor were all the penguins are now having a blast in the cold rooms. Sorry for short e mails!
Our security gate out from here doesn't work so you have to hand push them to get out with your Suburban or Truck. being pregnant it isn't that easy to push, well not yet anyway.
Well we have had everything going in this house from constantly electricity shut down to lightning hitting our house but I have to say we have an awesome landlord who really is trying his best. And he was awesome not to yell at me when I backed into the wall with my Suburban and left a big hole. Ops, blond, pregnant and Swede--lovely combination!

The dogs are digging holes in to the lawn so we have planted bushes to cover up what our miss behaved dogs are/have been doing.

So, old house or new house, doesn't matter when the Mercer family moves in with four dogs a blond wife, well it is not any boring moments here.

PS The snow on top of the Mountains-- that we can see from our windows-- are covered with snow, belissimo.

Alfred Nobel Peace Prize

Alfred Nobel was a Swede!

Congratulation Al Gore, you did it! Better this than being a President....see how fast you made something good in this world.

"Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and lay the foundations for counteracting it. "I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize," Gore said. "We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity." (quote from Yahoo news)

Please Mr Gore, come down to southern Italy and teach us, we need help.

Amore.

Mother Earth is Crying

U.S. embassy warns about the city's health and safety issues.
Well that is comforting and loving to hear!!
I was reading the newspaper, and this didn't surprise me after seeing all the garbage laying around that it is a huge problem.
What are we doing with Mother Nature, Mother Earth?

"U.S. embassy in Rome has warned U.S. citizens they may face a health risk in Italy's southern Campania region due to the garbage crisis that has filled streets with piles of rubbish. Open fires with potentially toxic fumes, and/or sporadic public demonstrations by local residents attempting to block access to dumps. The fault of political mismanagement, conflicting interest and organized crime--guess that is the Mafia--
Last month the European Commission took legal action against Italy over the thousands of tonnes of uncollected waste, saying it posed serious health and environmental risks through the spread of disease and through pollution of air, water and land."

Information from newspaper Panorama 2007