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10 June 1983
Dear Mom & Dad, It's very late so this may be a short note. I've been getting letters from you just a couple of days after I mail one to you, so maybe I'll be getting one soon. No one else seems to find the time to write. We got our household goods shipment Wednesday. It took almost exactly 2 months to get here. Nothing was greatly damaged. Angelique's chest has some small scratches and 2 small nail holes on one side where they nailed the crate shut I suppose. That was the biggest damage. It shouldn't be too hard to fix it up. There were a few other scratches here and there. Having our own furniture here is exciting, but it really makes us realize that this isn't just a temporary move. Three years is a long time. Angelique was so excited about every familiar piece of furniture and toy. Steven was just excited about the toys. We found a good supply of wardrobes so we have space for our clothes. Now we have to find storage for kitchen items & linens and such. We're looking into some more kitchen cabinets tomorrow. I guess we'll eventually find room for everything. Michael bought me a different car. The old red automatic Fiat was just a nightmare. The new one is a copper metallic 1981 Fiat standard. I'm doing pretty well driving it I haven't taken it out into any heavy traffic yet, though. It's pretty and is in good shape. We bought it from a Commander who had really taken care of it. It should take us all over Europe if we want and will certainly make it to the airport in Rome or Naples to pick up visitors. Hint/Hint Michael's VW Rabbit just got here. We'll have it soon. We're paying £710,000 (lire) (that converts to about $470 this month) for the house. The rate fluctuates so we'll be paying different dollar amounts for rent each month, but it will always be £710,000. The dollar is continually getting stronger than the lira. We hope it stays that way. We don't have a flower garden as such. There is a pink rose bush in the front yard. There is also a young ornamental palm tree, a eucalyptus tree and 2 lemon trees as well as some hedges and a few other bushes that you would recognize, but I don't know their names. There are some iris on one side of the house, but we got here too late to see what color they are. The lady we bought our wardrobes from gave me 2 pots of gardenias that I set on the patio out front. Come see them. Right now all we get is Italian TV. Eventually we'll get a Video Cassette Recorder and swap tapes with everyone around here. That's the going thing. I'm trying to answer your questions in your letter in case you're wondering. The music on the radio sounds just like American music except most of the songs are in Italian. Every now and then they play American songs. The Navy has a couple of stations that we listen to most of the time. Alisa's shots are not from the wreck. They are for her allergies. Tell her I'd write her again if she ever finds the time to write me. Why don't you try writing a note specifically to Angelique & Steven next time you write. They would enjoy that. Michael will be in Philadelphia the week after the 4th of July. He'll probably call you. He has to take his Family Practice boards test. He'll be gone about 5 days I think. Steven is over his fever & diarrhea. Just a small virus I guess. The fever just lasted a couple of days, the diarrhea about a week. Angelique & Steven will be taking swimming lessons for 6 weeks starting 20 June. We'll go 3 days a week for 30 minutes each day. They'll be in the same class and I'll be in the pool with them. That may get old after awhile. We'll see how it goes. We go at 9:30 AM. I've got to get to bed. Tell everyone Hi. Happy Father's Day! Love, Jeannie |
