Kittens, Water & Olive Wood.......

Ben and I spent some time at our friend Tonya's house this week..........of course I had to take pictures to share :)

Ben holding a kitten ( I think about 3-4 weeks old ). The momma had 3 babies...2 darker and 1 yellow/orange.


I love yellow/orange cats. My first cat, Sunny, was yellow/orange and he died when I was 10.....it broke my heart. I loved him!



I never was a huge fan of the hibiscus flower until this summer here in Sicily. They are everywhere and in such pretty colors! How did I miss the beauty of these flowers before?


These chairs are in Tonya's backyard and belong to the landlord. They caught my eye....with a fresh coat of white paint and maybe a distressed finish they'd be perfect in my flower garden area back home! :)


This is Tonya's patio....the view is AMAZING!


Ben wearing an Irish hat and being silly :)


Pretty.....


A zoomed in view from Tonya's patio


Ben and I went to the base beach this week with Tonya, and her 5 year old son Jack. The water was great and you get an awesome view of the Egadi Islands from the beach. The day we were there the islands were postcard quality with a beautiful, blue haze. ( below )




I love cracked and peeling paint...it adds such character. This picture was taken on my friend Carol's porch. I promised I would do a blog post on her villa before I leave.
Yesterday Carol had a coffee get together to welcome a new lady to our group. Her husband has been here longer than DJ but her and the kids just recently arrived. Carol also invited a local lady, Rosanna, to come and bring her items that are made from olive wood so we all could shop. ......and shop we did!!!!!



The olive trees here in Sicily are protected so they ship olive wood from Tunisia ( a country in North Africa and southwest of Sicily) where they have a surplus of olive trees.
Items made from olive wood will basically last forever if taken care of by rubbing down with olive oil when the wood shows signs of drying out.
The grains are so beautiful!

Rosanna is an example of the warm hospitality the Sicilians have. She was delighted that we all showed such an interest in the olive wood. ( and not just because she made money off of us!! :) :)
Rosanna and myself standing by some of her olive wood items....I bought enough to make her visit worth while!! :)


Here are a few of the pieces I bought.....DJ likes the olive wood as much as I do :)


Summertime has brought a colorful array of old Fiats to the streets of Marsala. We love them! You see them in the winter too but there's alot more on the streets lately.


Enjoy your weekend!! We are doing more adventuring this weekend....both include boats and water :) You know I'll share pictures with you!!

Blessings.