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To read the CURRENT month, go to ITALY JOURNAL
Evanne's first one-woman show!! - For those of you who missed the Opening on December 30th - The paintings will be on display at Omaima in Orte thru March 2008 and perhaps thru April!
If you can't make it or to see the address and hours - click here:
Art By Evanne / paintings
January 1
We walk up to mass at ten o'clock, for today's service is later than usual. Perhaps the Catholic Church agrees that it's difficult to get up on time after a late night celebrating the start of a new year. It is quite cold, but warm in the sun, so it's at least above freezing...
I take the little program home from today's mass, telling myself that I'll take a few words or phrases from each one each week and use them when speaking. Perhaps that will be a gentle way to learn more Italian.
I'm also going to review the dictionary list I copied years ago, thinking that by writing the words down that they'd become more familiar and easy to recall.
One day at a time...one day at a time. So let's see if on this first day of the year that I can learn something new...Ascoltaci! is a word that is often used in the Sunday service, and it is used today. I see it often, but am not sure of it. Ascoltare means to listen, so that's a very good word to begin. So about that "ci" tense...Let's see...
I'll get out that verb book...it's time to pay attention to the tenses...all fourteen of them! To listen, to learn, to put...these are three verbs I'll be working on this week.
I'm interrupted by fixing a leg of lamb, stuffing it with garlic and other herbs and roasting it, basting it with red wine a la Jamie Oliver and all that. It comes out fine, but the chocolate cake is a literal flop...Dino puts it in the oven in the loggia and when he takes it out of the new pan (a glass bottom and Teflon sides), the cake flops out onto the floor.
We survive it all and the cake is repaired, so we each eat a piece and then throw the rest out.
Tonight, after a dolce fa niente (afternoon nap) to sleep off too much red wine, we're watching a James Bond film when the doorbell rings.
It's Livio and his son-in-law, Giulio, here to ask if we'll translate a tourist brochure into English for a Viterbo church, San Crispino de Viterbo. Dino refers the project to me, and of course I will. It will be fun to do. Someone has made a first attempt, and our task is to clean it up. We'll do it this next week. We're pleased they asked...
With another day tomorrow when no workers will be available at the house, we'll be keeping things mellow. If I don't hear from the painter from Orte, I'll find her phone number and call her. A new year is perfect for a new beginning, a more detailed effort to learn the nuances of classic painting. And I so want to learn to be a serious classic artist.
January 2
Brrr! On this cold morning we drive to Viterbo and pick up a couple of things that we cannot find nearby. On the way into Viterbo from the Superstrada, I mention to Dino that we have yet to find out where the crematorium is in Viterbo, where we are to be incinerated (gulp!) after our deaths.
There is a sign to the right of the cemetery, so we drive down the road and while Dino and Sofi sit in the car, I march right through the back gate and find an office. I'm seeking information, and a kind young man zipped up in a winter parka tells me what to do...
First, one of us dies. The surviving spouse calls the priest and the funeral home. They arrive at our house and lay the body out (usually in the living room...funny it's in the LIVING room) for a day while the neighbors drop by. Everyone sits around and stares at it decked out on a bed in dress-up clothes. Then the body is taken to the church in a regular casket for the service.
After the service, the funeral home takes the body in the casket to the crematorium in Viterbo, in this case. Usually, people are buried in the ground in the local cemetery, or their caskets are slid into those stone boxes along with their neighbors in the same cemetery, in a kind of post office box configuration along a wall.
In our case, I suppose the funeral home makes provisions to return the ashes to the surviving spouse, and hopefully they're the correct ones.
But in order for this to happen, our wishes must be written in advance and filed at the Comune, we suspect with Francesco, our Vigili Urbano (local policeman) who also serves as overseer of the cemetery in Mugnano.
It all fits. The charge by the Funeral Home now makes sense, for there is a regular casket, there is a regular service, and then the funeral home delivers the casket to the crematorium.
It's not completely a "fa da te" (do it yourself) process, and is all rather civilized. So we'll write up our wishes, have Tiziano look them over, and file them in the Comune. E fatto! ( It is done!) Well, almost...
Now those of you who don't know us well wonder why we're including this in the journal. But it is the journal of our lives here in Italy, and perhaps it will be helpful to other stranieri who settle in Italy and don't know "how it's done".
This morning I call Els, the painter I met on Sunday in Orte, and we're to meet on Monday in Orte at the bar, to discuss my next art training. In the meantime, I'll call Marco and tell him I am going to take a hiatus for a few months from his bottega to get some training from an accomplished painter who speaks English. He'll certainly understand.
Dino drives off in the afternoon for a haircut, and I walk upstairs to do some writing. Outside the West-facing window I see a fire on the hill near Shelly and Claudio's and immediately pick up the phone. Neither their telephone number, nor the cell, works. I cannot even reach Dino.
He returns home in a few minutes and I send him up to see if there is really a fire and if it is out of control. He comes back to tell me they are just burning leaves. That's good.
But one never knows if a fire will get out of control, especially if the wind picks up. Perhaps it is our ten years living on Mount Tamalpais above San Francisco and it's dangerous location during fire season that has me on alert.
"She's daft, she's really daft," you're probably thinking after reading today's entry. Perhaps you're right...At least you never know what I am going to write about next...
So I have not done much to practice my three verbs, but at least I have taken out the verb book. Sigh. Tomorrow while Dino is in Tenaglie finishing the kitchen installation I will do the translation of the booklet and take a look at the verbs. But tonight, I'll make a cece and pasta soup.
The soup is really delicious (see the recipe elsewhere on this site) and we sit around for the rest of the evening, watching U S election coverage on T V. Being so far away, I admit I am an election news-junkie. Unfortunately, the choices to watch are only CNN and FOX. Puor troppo!
January 3
Michelle emails me that Claudio and Dani were burning olive cuttings last night, from their many trees; hence, the flames. They've pruned them, as it is fine to prune olive trees almost any time of year. Perhaps that's impetus for us to prune our own. Dino is in Tenaglie while I write this and we'll have to see how he feels about it when he returns...
I'm very interested in the Iowa caucus, although I do agree with the commentator who voiced his opinion that we make too big a deal of Iowa; there are so few people who actually caucus (one in fifteen?) and the state does not have that many people anyway.
The day continues to be so cold that neither Sofi nor I have any interest going outside, even for a minute. Dino makes a fire, which is restoked during the afternoon and evening. I cannot imagine a house without a real fireplace, and we're so pleased with ours. Even though we have a stufa right nearby, we hardly use it. I think that's because we have lots and lots of wood.
With this break of a week or more without painting, I'm looking forward to sketching and painting again, so while Dino is out tomorrow morning getting a haircut, I'll begin sketching again. There'll be lots to watch on T V about the Iowa caucus, for it won't be decided until we're long asleep, and that old news will be new to us.
January 4
While we were in the U S on our annual trip during November, our local airport, Viterbo, was chosen as Italy's newest major hub. It's choice as central Italy's third airport after DaVinci (Fimucino) in Rome and Ciampino will be a boon to local business. Ciampino is the current airport that the low-cost carriers fly into, and Viterbo, located north of Rome, will be expanded to take on some of that traffic.
That's the good and the bad news. Viterbo will become more of an important hub of commerce, more people will want to purchase property here, we'll have more opportunity to help people purchase property or take on restorations, but that's where the good news ends.
Italians love to emulate the United States, and we're afraid that urban sprawl and a loss of character will become a fact of life in the surrounding area of Viterbo. Sigh.
Many Italians cherish their history, their art, and work diligently to protect it. But then greed steps in, and the opportunity to make money changes people's perspectives. We are not all that concerned about little Mugnano during our lifetimes, but after our deaths, who knows what this area will look like?
Tuscany has turned into Chiantishire. It is over-restored and precious, although the handsome landscape remains. Locals are having trouble making ends meet with the high cost of living there. Umbria is a mix of old and new, with Todi leading the pack as a location to rival towns of Tuscany. So every province is changing.
We take our friends to more undiscovered towns and cities in Umbria and Lazio whenever possible, to discover Italian charm and a characteristic way of life.
So what's to become of Alto Lazio? The Etruscan heritage is strong here, as is the interest in preserving ancient monuments and works of art. We see it as an excellent real estate opportunity, especially with the ease with which one will be able to travel in and out of Viterbo.
I have faith that the annual festas and sagras and feast days of towns and cities all over Italy will continue, and that their popularity will increase. The converse is too terrible to contemplate.
I'm back sketching again, in preparation for returning to painting lessons, this time with a teacher who speaks English. I miss Marco already, but will hope to return to him later this year.
Sofi is ill this morning. Her nose is cold, but she shakes underneath the oven, crying out to me. We are able to feed her a little Enterogermina in a demitasse cup, for I can hear her stomach rumbling.
She's huddled in her little bed while I write, trying to hide. It's quite cold outside, so while Dino and Pandina dance around the countryside, she and I stay inside.
So about last night's caucus in Iowa... The turnout was enormous, and I'm hoping that means that young people want their voices to be heard. Hillary is a person who is either loved or despised, and I fear she will not be a unifier, or a motivator, which we sorely need.
Obama seems to have come out of nowhere, and although I believe that people don't even know what he wants to do, they yearn for someone who has the ability to motivate them and then get them to act. If he can prove that he has substance to back up his words, I remain hopeful.
But it's too early to count anyone out...yet. And on the Republican front, McCain will probably emerge, so it will be a long and windy road ahead for both parties, and for the American people.
I read a daily blog by Beppe Grillo, and his comments make me shiver:
"One of those who spoke at V-Day in Bologna was Massimo Fini. He expressed a concept summed up by Charles Bukowski: "The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting."
Beppe continues...
"If representative democracy is the best of all possible worlds, its degenerated Italian version is the worst of the best possible worlds. In Italy the citizen counts for one, but is worth nothing. "
Dino returns and Sofi scurries under the stove, where she remains huddled, crying out to us. I get down on my hands and knees and give her my hand, which she kisses, but she's not about to come out. Her cries continue, but she has a cold nose.
We interrupt a simple pranzo to put on our coats, when she rushes out and wags her tail. In fifteen minutes we're waiting in the "sala de attessa" (waiting room) of the vet. Soon afterward, Sofi's checked out, but the vet can find nothing. So she gets an anti-pain injection and we drive off.
She's well enough to come with us to Tenaglie, so that I can see the new copper countertops and give my opinion about the fabric curtains that I will make to put under the sink. The kitchen people will return on Monday, so there are adjustments to be made first. But the space looks wonderful.
Tomorrow Dino will work with a new plumber on the leaking radiator, the sink faucets, and with Lorenzo on measuring the stairs for a safety rail. Since our clients will be renting their house out, they want to forego the clean look of the open side of the staircase, in favor of safety. Lorenzo to the rescue...
On the way out, I'm taken by the quality of the work done by Lorenzo on the iron gate. He has a way of finishing a project with details that are understated and yet elegant in their simplicity. He remains a treasure to work with, as well as to know.
On the way home, Dino tells me that when Daniele was cutting his hair this morning, he asked him about those sheep in the meadow that seem to line up in front of a makeshift tent.
I've written about them before, and Daniele has the answer: it's a milking stand! Could it be possible that one can get one and one half liters of milk per lamb per day?
Well, why do people want to own sheep? For the wool? No. For the meat? No. They really want to own sheep for the milk that is turned into...cheese! Pecorino! Peccora = sheep. Well, the answer has been right in front of me all along!
I feel much better about that now. The thought of them lining up for their death was more than I could bear, although I should know better...
January 5
Although it's Saturday, Dino is up and out to meet the plumber in Tenaglie. Sofi and I loll around a little, for it's too cold for a walk outside.
The new plumber arrives to take a look, but he won't do the work until Tuesday. So the kitchen installers have been rescheduled.
It's been raining all day, and after pranzo I'm not feeling well. It's another migraine, but one so strong I have to take my regular medicine again after four hours. Sofi and I spend most of the afternoon napping, and that means that I'm up after nine, wanting to watch TV and learn about the latest election news in New Hampshire. There's not much to report about, so after midnight Sofi and I turn in.
January 6
It's Epiphany, one of those strange holidays that ends all of those "Auguris!". The kitchen witch is big tonight, for candies are given out to children on this day in a strange tradition that shows people in cities and towns getting out their ugly witch costumes and giving prizes for the ugliest.
Tonight is also one of my favorite church services of the year, the blessing of the reliquaries (relics). "Prega per noi" or "Ora pro nobis" (pray for us, the second in Latin) is chanted by all of us in response after each saint's name is chanted by dear old Vincenzo. I can't imagine this mass with anyone else doing the chanting.
Dino wants to attend mass this morning, so attends by himself. I'm feeling better, but think one mass tonight will be enough.
Instead, I take a look at the west garden and try to imagine it with more gravel, fewer plants. There is a succulent variety I like quite a bit, and its name is echeveria. So I look it up on the web, and come up with a number of varieties that I like.
I'm also imagining a stone wall around three quarters of our big olive tree, with level stones at the top so that we can sit there. The only new plant we will introduce will be types of echeveria, but there will be multiples of them. We may add some lavender, strategically placed, for not more than a dozen of ours are left.
This will be a more draught-tolerant garden, with much less maintenance. I'm hopeful we can get Mario to do the heavy work. I'm not completely sure of the design, but it will be reminiscent of the dry stone gardens of Provence...I'll check first with Sarah Hammond to be confident that she approves...
With a light rain outside all day, we're inside by the fire, but at just before 5 PM we walk up to the borgo for tonight's special service. Dino has his confraternity costume, and I'll sit with Candida or one of the other older women as he stands up front. There will be much incense tonight, and this is about the most formal service we have all year.
There is a small turnout, but it's a sweet service, with Dino and just a few of his brothers taking care of the reliquaries. For this service, Don Luca sits in front of the altar facing it.
Mauro is chosen as the confraternity member to raise each reliquary or bust containing a relic high up facing the people sitting in the pews. Dino and Fabrizio and Mauro help each other with the relics.
We walk home to see the lights on our tree for the last time this year. With the season over, we'll turn them off and put them away.
Now there's a much more interesting project on our minds, and that is the agreement that we'll consult with Pepe and Stefano, the muratore, and build a classic wood burning oven in the corner of the loggia.
This will happen in concert with the new roof of the loggia, and it might as well happen this year. So we'll be able to roast meats and have pizzas whenever we want. That will be fun, especially in warmer weather.
Perhaps later this week we'll begin some pruning, and so the cycle of getting ready for plants and flowers in the spring has begun, if only in our minds. Although it's very late, Dino will turn the soil over and plant the fava bean seeds this week, too, where we like to grow our tomatoes.
We're reminded that we had no tomatoes at all last year, and the jars of tomato pulp and puree from 2005 will be gone in another week or two. We have the seeds to begin planting in a few weeks, and are hopeful that we will have an abundant crop. Time will tell...
January 7
Under an overcast sky I drive to Orte to meet with Els as a potential painting teacher who speaks English. I decide to stay with Marco instead. Perhaps in the future I'll take a one-week course with her, but on an ongoing basis have decided to stay where I am. She is certainly talented and with her command of the English language can help me a lot. So we'll see...
I take my violin and a photo of me taken the first time I held a violin in my arms. It's for Lucia, who loves the photo. I also take the 5 meters of silk taffeta purchased on our U S trip. I give Lucia the photo, and later Dino takes a few photos of it to give to her so that she can paint the violin in her own style.
For me, I take the opportunity to sketch the violin and bow, leaning it back against a mussed up measure of silk taffeta. Marco loves to set up backgrounds and subjects for his students, and this is a good exercise. I spend the entire session drawing the violin leaning back at an angle, as well as the taffeta scrunched below and behind it to show light and shadows. It is a daunting task.
Earlier I took out the book, Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain and did a few exercises. In it, I read about people who are left-handed learning to write with their right hands, and about exercises to tap the other side of one's brain used for writing. Something stirs deep inside me...
When I was a young girl, I practiced reading upside down and backward by sitting on the floor in front of a mirror. I am able read upside down now, and give friends a laugh whenever I demonstrate. Will this strange ability serve me well in drawing?
We strike the set and bring the violin home, while Marco recommends that I continue to practice drawing during the week using fabric and still life compositions. Still life is referred to as "natura morta" in Italian.
January 8
Yesterday Dino discovered that one of our electrical circuits is out, and it is the one that serves the parcheggio gate and the septic tank that is pumped into the village sewer. Without getting into detail, I'll tell you that both tanks are full.
So we're expecting Viterspurgo to arrive after pranzo to pump them both out. After that's done, Silvano and Enzo Rosati have a long-term solution. In the meantime, we must conserve water. Enough said.
We call upon Mario to come and take a look at what we need him to do for us in the garden. Although we're really too late, we want him to prep the tomato garden and plant favas.
We don't care about eating the favas, just want the soil enhanced. Mario rolls his eyes but agrees to do the work, if Dino will set a fire in advance and burn what needs to be burned in its place.
Dino has taken out a lot of the lavender, for most of it is too dry to save. We are left with a dozen plants, growing here and there. So with the idea that we want a more draught-tolerant garden, we orchestrate a plan in which the path to the far property will be used primarily as a height guide.
The flat tufa paving steps to the gardener's cottage will be removed and soil dug up from that area to the border where the lavender garden begins. Where the lavender garden "began", we map out a winding path for the grading and gravel.
There are many tufa bricks left to build a short wall around three sides of the base of the huge olive tree. The wall will be strong enough to sit on.
The upper row of boxwood hedging on the path will be removed, and those healthy plants remaining will be used to fill in those that are not doing well on the bottom row. It's a good first step.
Once that is done, we will take a look at what we need to replace or replant, what we need to change. The rest of the area will be graded and nursery cloth and gravel will be placed there. We are hoping we have enough gravel, left from previous projects.
Dino and I will do all the tree pruning, and will prune the big olive tree just enough to allow sunlight to filter in for the climbing rose that has not done very well these past two years and remains growing into the center of the tree. I feel it has suffered from neglect.
Poor Lulu the scarecrow will come out of the tree and will be given a burial. She was a big hit with our grand daughters, but by the time they return they won't remember her. We'll also prune the other olive trees.
It's time to begin pruning the roses and cutting back the fig tree (a lot) and the large loquat tree. Year after year, I tell myself that we'll take out the cherry tree, but each year it flowers and produces cherries that make great sour jam. The tree will remain for one more year...
My dream of two apple trees on the front terrace will remain a dream for now. It's time to get out the books to review what to do with the roses, and in the next week or two I'll begin that annual task. There's no money to spend on luxuries, so I'll just continue my dream.
We've offered Giordano and Goury a wedding present from our site, and they want painted tiles for their kitchen. So we'll meet with them soon and figure out something appropriate. I have some bisque (unpainted) tiles and Elena will dip them and fire them, once I have the design worked out. It's the dipping I don't want to continue. A painting project now and then on ceramics is fine.
I'm looking forward to seeing a new design unfold in the side garden, and to having a more draught-tolerant space. Dino spends so much time watering during summer months that I'm hoping this will change all that. We'll be laying down additional irrigation lines, hoping that we'll have made less work for us in the very hot summer months.
I still want to include some echeveria plants, but am not sure where they will work. Echeveria is a very draught tolerant plant, a succulent that I find very attractive, and we're going to figure out some groupings. They'll look very good against the pale gravel.
Viterspurgo takes no time at all to clean out our tanks, so Dino burns some dried brush to ready the area for Mario while he waits for Silvano and possibly Enzo Rosati. It's such a warm and sunny afternoon that Sofi and I spend time in the garden, too.
There are roses and roses and more roses. The roses against the front fence will come out, probably replaced by plumbago. The existing plumbago does so well that more of it along the front of the property will be more of a unifying design.
These roses will be moved, I'm not sure where yet. But they get tangled in the metal fence and are a waste of effort where they have been growing. Before the afternoon is out, I've cut back four or so roses. If I can do that each day, in a couple of weeks they'll be done.
Am I the only person worried about our ships on the Gulf of Harmuz? With Al Queda urging terrorists to welcome George Bush with fireworks of their own, I'm surprised that the media is not picking up on it other than mentioning it as an aside here in Europe. As little as I like George Bush, I like Cheney even less, and surely don't want his finger on the proverbial "trigger".
In the U S, the election is taking center stage, especially Hillary's moment of emotion, and we're weary of it all. Yes, I think the moment was genuine and no I do not like her. At first I could not get enough election news (our resources with CNN and FOX are so sparse that we're often watching Al Jazeera for another point of view).
I suppose that in the U S people are tired of the coverage, and wonder if people are really taking the election seriously. So many people vote for the candidate they "like", instead of the candidate who would do the best job. I really don't have the answer, and have no idea who I will vote for. I don't think Dino knows, either.
Dino's gone to the geometra to give him hell about the muratores' lack of quotes for work not done, for bills for work done not covered in the original bid. The geometra has been raising his shoulders in a "who, me?" response. Being a project manager for a restoration project in Italy is not easy. The geometra is responsible for keeping the muratore in line, but this one is not particularly forceful.
On another front, the kitchen supplier is also building the medicine cabinets for the bathrooms. The cabinet for the cantina is not ready, for they cannot find the mirror we gave them. This is the same mirror we could not use upstairs, and to be sure it fit with the downstairs color scheme, I painted half of the leaves silver so that the design is now gold and silver instead of gold and dark blue.
It's quite beautiful, and the situation is quite nerve wracking. At the 11th hour, they seem to have lost it. I fear they have thrown it out by mistake. So I'll recheck the journal for November and December to see if I mentioned it. Ah, Dino returns to tell me he found it at the house and dropped it off to be mounted before returning home. That is a relief.
Dino is attempting to replace the muratores at this late date with a handyman-type, and tomorrow will make the rounds to see if he can find one. The remaining work to be done is piddly, and the geometra told Dino last night that the muratores are in Albania for the rest of the month. So they obviously don't have an interest in finishing the work.
Do they want to be paid? I roll my eyes, wondering what new property owners from other countries do to get their projects finished. It is a thankless task, but somehow Dino thrives on making things work out.
While the men stand around the septic tank in our parcheggio, Dino figures out that the pump is fine, but the lever that moves the pump up and down has a break in the plastic, and water has been leaking in; hence the inability for it to function.
In the next day or so we'll have the correct part and will have it functioning again as it should. I should say for the first time, for the light on the pump never worked. It gave us the impetus to plan to have it pumped out every three years. The cost was €250, which was not too bad.
We're continuing to do laundry and running the dishwasher at night, for we are on an energy-saving program. It seems to work, although I haven't seen a bill for a while.
As the weeks move along, Mario will come when he can to do his work, and it will be interesting to see how the project progresses in the garden. He is a great worker, and winds up costing less although his hourly rate is more. He works like a bull, with his head down. Va bene.
January 9
We went to bed long before the votes were counted in New Hampshire, but a win of Obama and McCain were expected. A surprise win by Hillary changed the dynamics. My reaction is that the media gave her the win, after castigating her for her emotional response to a question.
This morning, while Dino returns to Tenaglie, Sofi and I take it easy. A headache returns, for I'm not all that interested in drawing today.
There is an owl out there, or at least one owl, and it is LOUD. Even with the double-paned windows closed we can hear him hooting, morning and night.
Silvano and Enzo Rosati's crew arrive in the afternoon to work on the septic system, and the culprit is a faulty lever. One of them volunteers to be lowered down into it, and they're all in good spirits figuring out what to do. Everyone has an opinion. Luckily, Dino has a good head on his shoulders, and figures out who is correct. On Friday, Silvano will return with the part we need and finish the work.
January 10
Dino gets me up early, very early, and we're at the house in Tenaglie before 8:30. The kitchen supplier arrives and finishes the installation of the cantina kitchen, and refits the upstairs kitchen for metano. Previously, we hooked up bombolas for the house, for the gas did not arrive until this last month.
Just before they leave they help Dino move the new sofabed downstairs, and after they leave we get a chance to see how beautiful the downstairs apartment will be. The sofabed is just an extra in the mono-locale living/dining room/kitchen, facing the big stone fireplace. There is also a lovely stone-walled bedroom overlooking the olives and an ancient ruin, so this lower apartment can sleep four friends.
I imagine myself as a writer for a moment, wanting a retreat for a year to write a book. If that's you, write it here! Merritt will surely rent the cantina to you. Email us and we'll connect you with him. They've signed up with at least one rental company, so get your bid in soon!
We spend the entire day at the house, and Sofi watches and snoozes a little while we keep busy. By the time we leave the lights are installed in the bedroom, and task-by-task, we're checking off details that are so important at the end of any project.
At home we hear from Shelly that they are all a tizzy about Giordano's wedding tomorrow. Yes, we can lend them chairs. Yes, Dino will make sure Stein's house is ready for their relatives to sleep there. It's raining this afternoon, and although the weather forecast is not for sunny skies, I can't help but hope that it's good luck for this young couple.
January 11
Silvano is expected at 8AM to work on the electrical pump for the septic system. He calls to ask about the weather, and Dino tells him we have another project inside for him to work on. Silvano has become increasingly adept at solving electrical problems in the ten years we have known him.
Shelly and Claudio agree with us, and this past week he worked at their house on various projects, helping them to get ready for lots of wedding guests. Giordano is to be married today.
This morning, Silvano and Dino redistribute the power going to various parts of the house. Since our new stove takes lots of power, he's changed the circuits for that corner of the kitchen to have a circuit all its own.
By the time the two of them have finished checking and redistributing power, Silvano is ready to work on the septic tank switch. We need to purchase a few items for the project, so he'll return on Tuesday. Now Dino knows why Enzo originally recommended a verbal alarm. We will return to that concept if Silvano cannot find the switch that has shorted.
We've signed up for daily rantings of Beppe Grillo. A friend we respect a great deal responds to our question about how he feels about him: "He is the kind of dangerous buffoon Italians are likely to love immoderately.
"Not a Mussolini or a Hitler, but a potential foe of our shaky democracy. Our Parliament and its members do not deserve much praise, but alternatives, as Italians should know, are even worse".
If you want to find out for yourself, the site is:
http://www.beppegrillo.it/English.php
We spend this rainy afternoon taking things down from the storage loft and continuing to look for the blue striped fabric we have not been able to find for two years. When we're through, Dino takes a number of things to the dumps, and sets some aside to donate and some to take to the consignment shop in Viterbo.
We're still overwhelmed with "stuff". We don't buy anything anymore, but our shady U S past as consumer junkies proves that that was not only the case. No, we have not gone through a twelve-step program, we just have a small house and limited funds, and won't go into any more debt.
The night ends with us taking Stein's keys to houseguests of Claudio and Shelly and showing one of the young men where all the lights and locks are. They'll only spend one night there. Tomorrow will be a big festa at NonnaPappa that we'll attend in honor of Giordano and Gowri. We're looking forward to it.
January 12
The rain continues, but today is not particularly cold. I work on a drawing of St. Matthew and the angel. The more I draw, the more I enjoy the work. The original painting sits in the French church in Rome, .....and again I'm drawn to the tessuti, the fabric, of what he is wearing.
With all this rain, we are unable to connect with the internet. I suppose that anyone wanting to reach us from afar can always call.
Just after noon, we drive to NonnaPappa Restaurant, for the wedding reception. Giordana and Gauri have taken over the entire restaurant, and it's a warm and friendly crowd. We especially enjoy getting to know Gauri's parents, who are here from Ohio.
Dino later tells me I made him laugh when I asked her father if he thought he had a Cincinnatti accent. Well? Why is it that we never think WE have accents? Perhaps it is that we are so used to hearing our own voices that we don't pick up on that.
Here are some photos of the people at the reception:
At home, we watch Bush's speech from Dubai, and then turn on Al Jazeera to get a different kind of commentary. I've long thought the American view of Middle Eastern governments has been simplistic. Democracy in Lebanon and its last elections led to Hamas-led power, so what do you think of that, George?
We're looking forward to driving to Rome with Don Luca to pick out an altar service for the Duomo. I'd like to make a side trip to the Causes of Saints, to review the page of the book about the various San Liberatos. The caption below a photograph of men standing on a boat referred to another San Liberato, but since "our" San Liberato was set out on a barge that was set on fire, I later began to think that the description under the photo was incorrect.
It's also time to review our options to get into the Vatican Library itself. There were only two books we were shown in the Causes of Saints building, and I can't imagine there aren't other sources. So who can help us dig about?
Perhaps our own dear friend, Don Francis, is the answer. Let's see how he responds to our nudge. He's always enthusiastic, so we'll hope we can extend his positive attitude to this research in Rome.
On another front, we continue to dream about a restored roof and new bread oven for our loggia, or outdoor kitchen. Have we forgotten that there are programs with ENEL, the local power company, to sell them power (!) from solar panels on our roof?
There are specifications, so Dino will visit his good friend in the Soriano office. We'll get their bid, then see who else can give us bids. With that information, we'll obtain a quote from Stefano, our favorite muratore, and see if we can move forward without a great expense. We keep going back to this project, and I don't think it will go away.
It's back to the translation project for the Bomarzo Comune, and with Spring and the Palio not all that far away, I spend a few hours on it. Will I become a translator? With the small Viterbo booklet translation under my belt, why not? The little brochure I translated a week ago gave me a bit of confidence. It might be fun.
Kees arrives for a visit and to drop of Stein's car key. He and Catherine are settling in to their lives in Holland, and they are missed.
We drop him off at the house of friends and continue to Omamia in Orte to see Francesca, and look for two kitchen stools for the cantina project and visit our paintings on the gallery walls in the back.
We also look for the stools at Asti & Fallimente, but don't find what we like. I'm thinking we should just order them, even if it takes a month for them to arrive.
January 14
There was no mention of the Blessing of the Animals at church yesterday, and I'm beginning to think we'll skip it this year. For the first year or two of Sofi's life there was a blessing in Mugnano, but for the past few it's been a chaotic meeting up in Bomarzo.
On this cold and dreary day, I do some research about San Liberato, one of our patron saints, and discover that he was martyred under the reign of a king of the Visigoths. I also think that he is the patron saint whose remains are buried in a lovely church in Bracciano, near Rome, so it's worth a trip there to learn more about him, and the history.
I spend the session at Marco's working on a drawing of St. Matthew and the Angel, an enormous painting by Caravaggio and housed in Rome at Chiesa San Luigi dei Francesi , the French church in the piazza by the same name not too far from Piazza Navona. Tomorrow we'll obtain a blowup of it and I'll copy it onto canvas and begin to paint it.
Dino picks me up early, and we arrive home before the sun sets, so that I can see the fog laying low in the valley as if making a bed of it. It is a wonderful sight, peaceful and calming.
January 15
Dino drives to Viterbo to pick up the electrical box and other items for the project he is working on with Silvano. But after Silvano arrives they realize that the specification that Silvano gave to Dino was incorrect. Dino agrees to drive back to Viterbo to pick up what they'll need.
Sofi and I stay at home. These days I've been drawing quite a bit, and it is important to master the principles of design in sketches before moving on to painting.
I have a wonderful set of drawings, originally done by Leonardo da Vinci, and spend several hours drawing a hand...just a hand. I'm drawing the muscles and tendons underneath the skin. Once I understand these basics, I'll hopefully become a more accomplished artist. I have loads of exercises ahead of me, and look forward to every one.
I find it interesting that at my advanced age that I'm serious about learning. Well, perhaps the creative side of me is, but the side that is responsible for language comprehension just shuts off. I'm becoming somewhat of a hermit, so perhaps it does not matter.
January 16
Dino leaves early for Tenaglie and Sofi and I sleep in. I have a migraine, and it is a test. I ate potato chips last night, and thought that the salt may bring on a headache. It did. The medicine works, and after an hour I'm feeling better.
The weather continues to be overcast, and so we work on projects in the house. I admit I spend a lot of time researching houses to exchange in Provence. It takes a lot of time, and by the time the night is over, we have only a few real places to consider. It will be interesting to see who replies.
January 17
Dino and Sofi and I drive in the rain to Tenaglie, and I work with Dino on projects to finish the restoration. We finish around noon, and when we drive home the drizzle continues. It continues all afternoon and evening.
Looking around the kitchen, I continue to draw still-lifes, or what the Italians call natura morta. It's good exercise, and these days I'm less driven to paint, more interested in drawing well. Before moving to the natura morta, I finish drawing a second hand, including the tendons and muscles underneath the skin. Will this really help me to draw hands? It's good exercise, anyway.
January 18
We've kept our journal up for more than five years, and sometimes I just don't want to keep at it. So on these sleepy January days it's difficult to be motivated to do it.
What day IS today, anyway?
Mugnano continues to be bathed in a mist and we begin to talk about a house swap with someone in Provence for April. Will it happen? I'm not sure.
I'd like to be outside working on the roses, but it's just too cold. So sewing and drawing take up my time. Dino is always up to something.
We stop by to see Shelly and Claudio, and there is talk about the solar panels and selling electricity to ENEL. Sound weird? Well, there is some strange rebate program whereby we'd buy the panels, finance their purchase through a bank, then sell the solar power to ENEL after they're installed on the roof of the loggia.
It's a very long-term program, but I think it will mean that we won't be paying for electricity at some point. Shelly and Claudio are doing most of the research, and we'll take their counsel, as well as do some of our own.
Roy reminds me that we were hoodwinked by Elizabeth and her solar panel friend. They assured us that we would be able to use our existing panels to recoup a lot more than the ability to heat water. So we'll tread slowly on this one.
January 19
We've purchased an Italian version of scrabble, and Dino beat me soundly at it last night. So now we're back to wanting to play it in English, so purchase one online. We're trying to stay away from television at night. With all the Italian vowels, it's almost weird to figure out how to put words together in Italian. But it is good practice.
Wonder if it's easier to play scopa?
We take a trip to search for chandeliers for our clients, but the choices are all over-designed. It may be worth returning to Pienza to the shop we know. Perhaps this is a good time of year for a trip, so perhaps we'll drive there next week.
It's still too cold to garden, so the roses will have to wait a little.
January 20
We decide to drive up to mass, for later Dino will drive to Il Pallone to do grocery shopping. Sofi is with us and will stay in the car. She seems to be happier waiting in the car than in the house when we are gone.
One of those black and white notices is posted, and it's for Vincenzo, who died yesterday. At first I think it's Vincenzo who helps with the mass, and then Dino tells me it's Carla's husband. They live above Ernesto's store, and for a few weeks we've seen him at the window, not really making much of it.
The funeral mass is at 10AM, and that is unusual. Usually funeral masses in Mugnano are in the afternoon. So we walk up the steps to their apartment, and it is full of people.
Vincenzo's casket is closed, and we think that's unusual. Perhaps it's because it's almost time for the funeral mass. Carla is overcome with grief, and holds me and wants to tell me how great her loss is. I am so very sad for her. Her son and daughter in law are also there.
There is a second priest serving at the mass in addition to Don Luca, and Dino thinks he is a Capucin or a Franciscan. He performs half of the mass. Since Vincenzo is not from Mugnano, perhaps this is the priest from his town.
Maria tells us that he died of liver cancer, and later we surmise that he died quickly. There is a big turnout from Mugnano, including Pepe, who spent a lot of time with Vincenzo. Often we heard Vincenzo grinding the grain with a noisy machine in Pepe's garage, sitting on a stool in the open doorway. Vincenzo was a mild and gentle soul, and we think of him as a part of the very fabric of Mugnano.
We will miss Vincenzo, miss his sweet smile as he drives by us in his ape, or in his car with Carla by his side. He was a giant of a man, towering over little Carla, and with him, the passing a little of the soul of our dear village.
While we wait for mass, we walk up to the Duomo, and the doors are open. A team of restorers is working on the floor, and we're able to step inside and get a glimpse of what will be the final look of the Duomo.
We are inspired. Little cherub statues have been replaced over two sections of the main part of the church. We were told some years ago that thieves stole all the cherubs and angels in Mugnano. These must be replacements, and they are beautifully crafted in stone.
There are no paintings, but places for at least three of them. I'm surmising that the original San Vincenzo painting will be installed behind the altar, and perhaps Don Luca will not want ours, but we can probably exhibit it for the opening.
So what is San Vincenzo's feast day? It is the 22nd of January. Well, feast days are celebrated at different times, depending on what's easiest for the city or town or village in question. I don't believe there will be a celebration of San Vincenzo this year, although he is one of our patron saints. Perhaps that is a good thing.
I consider us fortunate to have owned our property in this village for at least ten years, and fortunate to have had the experiences we have had with our neighbors, neighbors we miss who are no longer with us:
We remember bright blue-eyed Gino who lived above us with his wife. When we were first here, we watched her sit on the back of Gino's rig, hanging her legs over the back, a babushka tied over her grey hair. She died before Gino, and we recall him standing in front of her headstone in the cemetery on the Day of the Dead, polishing it and telling us how much he missed her.
Gone is Leondina, Italo's feisty and fun wife, who sat outside her door greeting everyone who came by. Often she'd take me by the arm and walk me into the kitchen for coffee. When people would ask if Mugnano had a cafˇ, we'd answer no, but if you come to the village Leondina would be happy to invite you in for coffee and to talk. We remember hearing of her sudden death, and moments later walking into their little house, seeing her laid out under a filmy cloth.
I loved her and cried when I saw her, holding her daughter tight and weeping with her at her back balcony. Gone is Anna Farina's husband, who loved dressing up with her for our annual festas in medieval costumes.
These people and more were all a part of the fabric of Mugnano, characterized by its simple way of life, and who we remember fondly. They will be joined now by dear Vincenzo.
As the years pass us by, we'll continue to watch the fabric of the village change, and surprisingly, the news is not all bad.
Earlier today, Arduino told us that he loved the new pavement in the borgo. The Duomo will soon be inaugurated. The old school is much improved for village events. The dusty and decrepit look of the village has been changed by many restorations in addition to our front wall, and yet the character remains.
We loved the old. We hold the villagers in our hearts and are so thankful that we are embraced by just about everyone here. Was it so long ago that we were told that when the old people die that Mugnano would be turned into a ghost town?
Today, while waiting for the hearse to begin it's slow journey to the cemetery with Vincenzo, Don Luca acknowledged us and walked over to us, letting us know when he'll be ready to travel with us to Rome. We believe that in the next posting we'll be able to tell you about that.
I hear a dog howling above us, a kind of plaintive wail. Perhaps it is Brik, or another dog, crying out for Vincenzo. Today is a sad day for our village.
January 21
Dino and Sofi and I climb into Pandina for a trek to Tenaglie, and we work on installing stained shelves and lighting in the cantina. When Ovidio is able to return to install the remainder of the windows and doors, we'll be close to the finish. But the studio and the walkway are still unfinished, and we're hoping the muratores will return from Albania at the end of the month to tackle those two projects. Then the restoration will be finished.
We are at home for enough time for me to fix pranzo, then Dino and Sofi drop me off at Marco's with The Dancing Lesson. Yesterday we picked it up from Omamia, where is is on display with many other pieces. It's not finished, and Marco does not approve of my work on the maid's gown. I tend to agree with him, and this afternoon I spend the entire session on it.
By the time Dino arrives to pick me up, I'm still not satisfied, so the painting will remain at his bottega for another week. Before we leave I show him the drawings I have done this week, and when he points to a hand I have drawn in detail, he tells me, "Hands and feet, hands and feet.." as if to tell me that I need to continue to practice, practice, understanding them and drawing them in detail.
This week he wants me to draw the skeletons of the hands and feet, as more practice exercises. So I am able to learn classic skills from Marco, even if it is by my own persistence and will to learn.
Before driving home we drive to Viterbo to price wood for bookshelves for our bedroom. Wood is very expensive in Italy, but after comparing the prices of Centro Legno an OBI, we agree that Centro Legno is the place to get the wood. They're about to close, and our favorite paint store is also closed, so we are unable to pick up the stain we'll need. Tomorrow Dino will pick everything up.
January 22
Sofi and I sleep in for a bit, then I spend the morning going over papers and documents. How much paper we accumulate!
Yesterday we re-measured for the curtain to be hung inside the front door of the cantina, so I re-pin it and sew it. Once we hang the rod for the dispensa and measure, I can hem that panel and the sewing will be finished for the restoration. I have sewn a couple of panels for both sinks, and the choices look great.
I am so in love with fabric, that I can't help dreaming of buying more fabric when we're in Provence in April. I love making curtains to hang under the kitchen sink and tablecloths. Every ten days or so we change them, and I'm looking forward to more choices and to making tablecloths for the table under the pergola, too.
I take out the box of seeds and fertilizer and C-spray and read the instructions. Since we've just had a full moon, I'm going to plant the seeds tomorrow. It's early, but the more time they have the better chance they will have to thrive. Last year I planted them on February 1, but it's all about the moon, and now is the best time of the month to plant.
Dino brings up a folding table and we lower the grow light. I soak the seeds in lukewarm water enhanced by C-spray for several hours, then dry them off. We have thirteen varieties of tomatoes, and I will plant six seeds of each tomorrow, after drying them. It's too confusing to separate each variety, so we'll match up the photos of the ones we don't know with those on the web site after they're ripening on the vine.
Mario has still not shown up to rework the earth for the planting of the tomatoes, and we have not planted the favas. So we don't know if that will happen. Dino will call him tonight to see if he can put a fire under him. When Mario works, there's no one like him. It's getting him to show up that's the problem.
January 23
After at least ten days of continual fog, we awake to blue skies and sun! Last night I went to bed with a headache; a headache that remained until early morning. At about 7 A M, I took a Difmetre and 1000mg of Acetemol and by 9 A M, after lying in bed, I rise with no headache but am a bit shaky.
So what's with the headache? Is it barometric pressure due to today's sun after days of fog...or something else? The causes of my migraines remain a mystery.
Today is planting day for the tomato seedlings, and Dino has assured me that I'll be mixing the peat and soil and getting the pots ready at the outdoor table. Otherwise, it will be a real mess. The seeds have been soaked and dried, so here we go...
Well, I've mixed the coco-peat, let it sit and fashioned some rectangular tubs with gravel. This year, we'll water the tomatoes from below to see if it helps.
They're now planted in pots upstairs in the guest bedroom window, with our traditional grow light (a fluorescent tube) shining down on them from a few inches above. With 36 pots, I've put two or three in each pot, equally spaced, for they never all pop up. Once the good ones begin to thrive, I'll separate them and put each of them in their own pots. I think that will work. One never knows...
Dino wants to move full speed ahead with the bookshelves flanking our large armadio in the bedroom, and since he has the wood, he stains it the same color as the armadio. Then we work side by side to put them together.
By five P M the lovely warm sun has left, and we're shivering in the shade. But the bookshelves are finished. So it's been a fai da te (do it yourself) day all around. What a wonderful use of space the back bedroom wall will be. They really look beautiful.
I'm feeling so very organized, and we like to be organized. So the translation project is on my mind and beginning tomorrow I'll work on it quite a bit, hoping I can almost finish it by the beginning of February.
Don Luca confirms the date in Rome and we're thinking of taking Sofi with us. It may be an adventure all around. I'm so happy with the bookshelves that I feel like celebrating.
Since every day is a celebration here, we relax for the rest of the day and keep warm by the fire.
January 24
It's time to prune the wisteria, and since it's a lovely sunny day, today's the day. I read on the internet to cut the leader stem back to one half to two-thirds its length and then train it so that the side shoots grow where we want them to on the pergola.
This afternoon, after pranzo, Dino and I will go over the four plants. Some people say to cut the wisteria back "hard" the first year. What is "hard"? I think the suggestions mentioned above will be hard enough. Sarah, of course your suggestions are always welcome.
We still have many, many roses to cut back, so perhaps I'll work on some of those. With Mario coming tomorrow to begin to work on the short wall around the big olive tree and grading the area for the planting of more gravel, there is a lot of work to do.
So about that translation document...It's too lovely a day to work on that. With a spring trip to Provence this year, we'll hopefully visit a few gardens where there is gravel and get more ideas.
I've just read my garden article printed in the S F Chronicle again (May 11, 2005) while cleaning out our files, and it's time to fall in love with the garden again.
Remembering vividly the years when the land was too much work, we'll hopefully pare down the needy sections and add more irrigation lines. I really do love the lavender, just would like it placed in a more random fashion, so we'll pick up some more lavender, now that we're down to less than twenty.
Echeveria is a plant I've fallen in love with, so we'll pick up some of those, too. Will we pickup the lavender and echeveria in March so that the garden will be lovely in April? I hope so...
A headache looms, and I try a mild cure, but it does not work. So this afternoon I'm back to the difmetre and 1000 mg. of Acetamol. I should not fool around when coming down with a migraine. I pretend it is a headache and that it will go away and instead I am hit over the head with a continuous "boink!" that should sound like a hammer against metal. Sigh.
Dino and I prune the wisteria, and I prune the four roses flanking them. I prune the roses back "hard", knowing they'll flower beautifully. There are so many roses yet to cut back...
Dino has his mind set on attacking both the caki tree and the bay tree. I agree that he will cut back a major branch as a start, and once that's done he moves the three-story ladder over to the bay tree. But I've found a bird nest on a branch near the house, and he's not sure how to proceed.
He begins at the center of the tree, sawing off slimmer upward facing shoots. They crash down as if they're made of lead. He works his way out to the side branch where the nest is, but does not move it. While he's working away, a bird flies by, and I sadly think he'll never return, any tiny eggs will be abandoned. I fear this is what happens when pruning a tree, and although have heard about people moving a nest, don't think it will work.
With Mario due early tomorrow, Dino calls him to bring his tallest ladder. Mario hates to climb into trees, so Dino will do that work while he works on the garden. I'm not very happy about Dino on the ladder, but he is careful and I "foot" the bottom rung of it to help steady him.
I'm sorely wishing we had the money to move ahead on a new roof of the loggia and the bread oven. If we did, both trees would come down and then I would not have to worry about Dino in the trees.
It's a "man thing", I fear. So I let him have his way with the trees, knowing they'll grow back and hopeful that we'll cut them down before they do. How things have changed! This year the bay tree is so enormous that it stretches right over to the house, and far surpasses the roof in height.
I'm researching roses, planning the changes to the garden that aren't all that costly, and am really sick of the mermaid roses flanking the west fence. They don't grow well, and their thorns are dangerous. We'll have Mario take them out, and plenty of the earth around them. I've learned that when replacing roses that every bit of the earth surrounding the previous rose must come out, or the new rose won't survive.
I'm thinking of a climber, and have researched a few. A good idea is suggested: to plant the roses on the far side of the fence so that it cascades over and inside the fence, instead of the other way around.
To do that, we may have to plant the roses in the ground below the fence, but if we have a luxurious climber, the several extra feet to get it going won't be a problem. I like the idea a lot.
So do we travel to our friends at Michellini in Viterbo? I try to research the roses online in England at Peter Beales, but they don't always ship to Italy. We had a nightmare receiving roses from the Netherlands a few years ago, so we'll try Viterbo first and see what they suggest.
We're going to pull up all the roses against the front wall. There are four icebergs and at least two Pierre d' Ronsard. We'll make a little rose garden nearer the lavender, and it will work well.
Plumbago will be planted all against the front wall in their place. We have one plumbago on the near side of the front wall, and it behaves beautifully from mid summer until the first hard frost. So several more will do even better!
I've asked Dino if we can put a search feature on our site, and he will work on that. That way, when I want to recall when we have done something, or if you want to, we can call it up and refresh our memories.
January 25
So the bay tree is almost gone...How did that happen? Well, this morning Mario arrived to turn over the soil for the tomatoes to be planted at the end of April and plant the favas. We know it's too late to plant favas, but by planting them they will enrich the soil for the tomatoes, and that's all we want to do.
While Mario is taking care of the favas, Dino continues to selectively cut the branches of the bay tree, convincing me that we will have a tree with vertical growth until we put the new roof on the loggia.
I help him move the cut branches until Mario finishes with the fave. He walks up to us with his motosegas. Sofi and I leave at that point, after agreeing to a major cutting back.
In five minutes Dino calls and asks me to return. They want to cut the entire tree down, piece by piece. I can see them drool. It's a man thing...a liberation thing. It reminds me of riding the rocket on Mr. Strangelove.
Mario does advise Dino that the bird's nest is empty. It won't have eggs until Spring. So it's taken down, and after a great deal of work, one particular bird will be very unhappy. Sorry.
I agree with Mario and Dino's counsel that the tree can come down, with the proviso that this year we'll replace the roof and add the solar panels. "You'll be able to see the houses up above, you know..." he warns. At some point we'll see them anyway. Perhaps we can buy Rosina a more attractive curtain for her balcony. It really doesn't matter.
Now that they have my agreement, they flinch and keep one lateral grouping of them, so that it still looks like a tree, albeit a much thinner one. I am pleased that they did. Dino has, then, committed to the new roof.
The sooner we get rid of that old asbestos sheeting on top of the loggia, the better. Unfortunately, we cannot have it taken away without protecting the loggia with something else. That means a new roof.
So I content myself with my new project and the sewing machine while outside in the sun the two men breathe in the beautiful winter air and continue their symphony.
I cannot sew the material after all, for it has not been washed. So tonight at 7PM, when our power cost is drastically reduced, I'll plop the material in the wash for at least a rinse and dry it before sewing again.
Dino takes Mario to Pietro's to look at his oak trees that need to be cut down or drastically pruned. He can't return until after February 1st, he tells us, then later tells Dino next Tuesday. Va bene!
I fix an early pranzo and then Dino walks the cut bay to the far property near San Rocco bit by bit to burn it. He asks me to draw out a plan for how I want our new garden to look, and while he's in Tenaglie getting the windows and doors worked on this afternoon I do just that. It's very exciting.
I'm so enthused that I order three climbing roses from Peter Beales in England, and they're to ship in February, which will be perfect timing. There are two Madame Caroline Testout and one Lady Silvia, both climbing roses said to be quite prolific. The Carolines will be planted outside the fence between the osmanthus to grow over and into the lavender garden and the Silvia will be planted inside, where the central mermaid rose was planted, to grow up and out. Yes, Sarah, we will remove all the old soil when we take up and throw out the old mermaids.
The Italian government has collapsed yet again. Prime Minister Prodi has resigned after twenty months of fighting with the opposition, so the president, Giorgio Napoletano, has to decide if he'll call new elections...He must be so familiar with this by now.
This in from the Financial Times: "Unfortunately, Former Prime Minister Berlusconi tinkered with the Italian election law just before he left office, to allow more fragmentation of political parties, not less. Since Prime Minister Prodi lost his confidence vote, Napoletano should appoint a caretaker government to change that law, which is in nobody's interest." Why can't the warring factions get along? Is that why nothing gets done in Italy? Will Berlusconi rise again? Purtroppo!
Well, some things did get done under Prodi's tutelage, amazingly, and we're sorry things did not work out for him. He seemed the most honest and straightforward of the lot.
The Financial Times continues: "The present Chamber of Deputies - the lower house - consists of 39 different parties, and Mr Prodi's coalition contained nine of them until the latest defection. In spite of that arithmetical nightmare, the government has performed surprisingly well over the past 20 months.
"Tax evasion has been sharply reduced, and a budget deficit of 4.4 per cent of gross domestic product left by the former centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi has been cut to about 2 per cent. The upward trend in Italy's swollen public debt has been reversed. Although growth has been sluggish in eurozone terms at 1.9 per cent, unemployment is down to a 15-year low of under 8 per cent."
Speaking of politics, we're hearing there will be some kind of tax rebate for U S citizens, but the program does not make sense. Aren't there some forward-thinking folks in the U S who can convince the lawmakers to concentrate more on innovative ideas to bolster exports and small business?
Every few weeks we receive an update from the U S census department. I don't know why, other than when there is a warning for U S citizens overseas it's usually distributed by the census folks in a friendly email. The census department must be one of the many departments organized under Homeland Security.
I wonder what Harry Truman would have thought of all this? Just now the census dept. tell us that "The Nation's International Deficit in Goods and Services Increased to $63.1 Billion in November from $57.8 Billion (Revised) in October, as Imports Increased More than Exports. Now do they think we can't read from the beginning to the end of a sentence? What the American public does not need is a stimulus package to turn us into drunken sailors. When we wake up, we won't even remember if we had a good time.
January 26
It's Saturday, and I'd love to spend it in the garden, but Duccio and Giovanna have invited us to take a trip with them to Sienna, so the garden will have to wait.
We drive up the A-1 to Bettole/Sinalunga and take the scenic route to San Galgano. Even from a distance, the sight of the abby is a marvel. In 1218 work began on the remarkable building we see today, albeit without a roof or windows or internal structure.
Today, the guidebook tells us: "the temple has a meadow for a pavement and the sky for a roof". On this warm and sunny winter's day, Sofi leads us in a romp through the building, our eyes joyously lighting on corbels and open widow ledges and shadows and niches as if we're butterflies.
Here are some of our favorite vistas:
"Galgano was a young knight born a few kilometers from the city of Siena, in Tuscany, in the year 1148. The legend says that one night Galgano had a vision of the Archangel Michael. The archangel was guiding him down a narrow and difficult path to Montesiepi where he was eventually greeted by the twelve apostles in front of a circular-shaped temple.
"Galgano interpreted this vision to be a sign of the divine wish of God. In fact, some time later this isolated place became his new and definitive residence as a hermit. History tells us that he went to the hill of Montesiepi, abandoned his past as a knight and drove his sword into a stone. The sword was driven so deeply and with such great force, that only the handle, appearing in the shape of a cross, remained visible on the surface of the stone. That sword is still there and has served as a symbol of an incorruptible conversion for the last 800 years.
"Aside from the sword, there is another extraordinary aspect to this story. This is the possibility that the myth of the sword in the stone, tied to the saga of Britain's King Arthur, could have originated right here in Tuscany and later have been exported to France to become the famous legend of King Arthur. Some factors make this hypothesis a plausible reality.
Both the Cistercian Abbey and the chapel dedicated to Saint Galgano are of the same time period of King Arthur's tomb in Glastonbury. We know that the Cistercian Monks were propagators of King Arthur's story." So, were the monks responsible for dispersing the echo of Arthur's legend in Tuscany or rather, was the story born in Tuscany and later adopted into the history of Britain? I'm sure our good friend Don Salter will have plenty to say about that...
Take a look at the remarkable inside of the chapel and its ceiling, a ceiling we think that Christo Risorto in Bomarzo could be patterned after. What do you think?
We decide to drive there anyway, and other tourists walking through town lead us to our pranzo destination, an excellent trattoria called Il Minestraio. No, they don't have any zuppa, or minestre, but their pasta and other dishes are just fine with us.
Sofi even entertains us with her version of eating pasta...I hold one end of a long noodle and she begins to eat from the other end. I lower the noodle down, down, down until it's gone and her tail wags that she'd like another.
While walking around town - I spot this colorful laundry:
When driving back near Grossetto along the Tuscan coast at the end of the afternoon, we turn up an exit ramp from the Superstrada. Up ahead, Duccio remarks that there are "un sacco de polizia" (a sack of police, as if they're all dropped into a big burlap sack). That has me thinking. I love the way Italians use the phrase "un sacco de..." to describe "a lot of ..." anything.
A discussion begins with a favorite: "un sacco de cosi" (a lot of things). I'm realizing that we can converse in Italian using many popular phrases, and I try on, "altremente no" (otherwise, no).
Giovanna is such a dear person. She waxes enthusiastically about the Italian language, as well as our feeble efforts to express ourselves in Italian. More often than not, she explains what phrases mean, and gives us different ways to use them.
So I try the "c'e veddiamo" on her. Now if you're regular readers, you'll remember the correct way to say "see you again" is "c'e reveddiamo". She tells me they use the shortened version in Rome, but when I ask her why she responds, "I don't know". So if Giovanna uses it, so can we, and so can you. It is a familiar usage, a little sloppy, but correct, nonetheless.
Then I ask her about the strange word, "insomma". It's used often when we ask people how they are. It means, among other things, "no sense in complaining". Usage is usually a bit less than positive, sometimes even a bit melodramatic. There's always so much to learn...
Although we left this morning at around 9 A M, its 6 P M when we drive past Viterbo on the way home. We're all tired, especially Dino, who had his fill of driving...perhaps six or more hours today. For someone who loves driving, that's even a bit much.
January 27
Sofi hides under the bed, for today is the festa di San Vincenzo, our second patron saint, and cannons roar in the valley, possibly in Pepe's field. I have no idea who is responsible for these resounding booms on festa days, but whoever it is seems to have quite a time with it.
By the time he packs up and leaves, at least six shots have rung like the liberty bell, bouncing all the way down the Mugnano valley, way past Tiziano's house and back again.
Neither Dino nor I pay much attention. It's really too bad. A day in honor of one's village or town patron saint is to be celebrated with thanks and even a prayer or two, for in this case a fallen martry.
Poor Vincenzo was from Saragosa, Spain, and I believe he was drowned after his enemies chained a heavy ball around his ankle after he refused to give up his love of Christ. We found a photo of a painting on the internet, and perhaps I'll paint him again one day.
The one painting of him I have finished shows him levitating over Mugnano, an angel holding a wreath of laurel above his head. It remains on display at the shop in Orte, along with the rest of the paintings.
We're so out of touch today, that although the mass does not begin until 11 A M and although the Bomarzo band arrives and serenades everyone in the town, street by street, we don't pick up on the fact that there will be a procession. So I forget my A C blue scarf, and Dino does not think to bring his Confraternity costume.
We have to stand at the back of the church with Tiziano, for it is packed with Mugnanese, the Bomarzo Polymartium Band and the Bomarzo choir and about seven confraternity members all dressed in garb. A few people walk up to Dino to ask him why he did not "suit up", and he's visibly unhappy, wondering why no one told him.
Since it's our patron saint's day, I suppose everyone assumed that Dino would dress up. If it's any consolation, several other members did not dress up, either. Lore and Alberto are here, and after the mass we greet each other before beginning the procession with the other women.
Dino follows behind with the men, and we stop as they turn around just below Giustino's to continue home. Poor old Giustino...He's practically sightless, yet knows what's going on and leans over his balcony on the third floor to take in the sounds, at least, of the procession.
Don Luca tells us that the reopening of the restored church will take place on Sunday, March 9th. That should be a wonderful event. This Thursday, we'll be driving to Rome with Don Luca and Tiziano to pick out the altar pieces, gifts from our Festarolo year.
The sky is overcast, so we don't do as much work in the garden as we'd like. It's cold, one of those buttermilk sky kind of days. Dino moves most of the bay cuttings to a spot near San Rocco and lights a fire. There is plenty to burn.
We putter around in the garden, and I tell Dino where the transplanted peony will go. I'm holding my breath, for we have to move it. It will be in a corner spot of the front garden in front of the caki tree, near where the iceberg roses are to be taken out. If we are in luck, it will live.
Sofi and I watch from the bedroom window as Dino selectively cuts long branches from the nespola tree, which hide a lot of our garden view. Those are put in the fire as well, and as Dino cuts we watch an extraordinary sunset, red and orange and purple and gray, seemingly moving in drifts behind San Rocco.
January 28
Dino does not drive to Tenaglie this morning. The sky continues its cloudy pattern and he takes the Alfa to Giorgio to see if we need a new battery. On Saturday we had to rock the car out of the parcheggio in the morning to get it started. Giorgio does put in a new battery. Otherwise, the Alfa is fine.
We hear from the Golden Harvest Organics people, and think our new watering pattern will be successful. They are a great company and we appreciate their quick response. No seeds have "hatched" to date, but I am hopeful.
I spend the entire session at Marco's on one dress, a foot and the hands of the two women. But three of the women at the bottega are painting nude women and they are really tremendous: Rita paints a new set of breasts, Giovana works on nude figures based on Marco's earlier works, but the one I like the best is Michela's.
It shows a woman from the back, and she is outside in front of a row of trees, lying naked and leaning toward the trees. The painting is marvelous. I can't help telling Michela that I love what she has done with the woman's rear end, and we laugh.
I now have an idea for a partially clothed woman, and it will be the subject of my next painting. But for now we've taken "the dancing lesson" home and I plan to work on it this week and bring it back so that Marco can oversee the finishing touches.
Will Mario and his brother arrive to do the work in the garden? Dino hopes it will just take one day. No matter how long it takes, I am enthusiastic about making simple changes to the garden. I'm not as enthusiastic about moving the peony, but Dino tells me that we must.
Since we have uncovered an almost abandoned peony that we seem to keep stepping on each year, we now have six plants. So hopefully we will still have six when it's blossom time. We'll let you know.
January 29
We see a seedling! One tenacious heirloom tomato seed has poked its way out of the soil after six days in pots in the guest bedroom window, and each day we hope to see a few more. This is an exciting exercise, peeking into the room each morning to see if there is more life.
If they all "take", there will be eighty-four, but that is highly unlikely. I did, however, soak the seeds first for the first time, so perhaps they will after all. By the end of the day we have four; no, eight!
Mario and his brother did not come today, perhaps they will arrive to work in the garden on Friday or next week. It's very cold and overcast this morning, So Dino drives to Viterbo to pay the renewal registration on Pandina and I do a little painting on The Dancing Lesson. The sun has just come out, the fog has lifted, and it's a cold but sunny day.
When Dino returns, he tells me that ACI was mobbed with people, even the second time around after he did some errands. Deadline for registration is Thursday, and Italians love to do things at the very last moment. So he found out from the Italian version of DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) that the renewal can be paid at any post office. With post offices remaining open until 2PM for those people who work, we often pay bills at the post office between 1 and 2, when all of Italy is at home with mama eating pranzo.
We continue the cutting back of trees and bushes, and today we have a delicate task...to move two of the peonies. Peonies do not like to be moved. They are somewhat temperamental and like to be ignored. Some peonies practically disappear for years at a time, then emerge one spring and flourish. Just when I think our peonies will do just that in April, Dino tells me we must move two of them.
Resigning myself to the fact that they may not survive (if one is to move peonies, it should be in September or October), we use a transplanting medium as an additive to the coco peat, the same we used to plant the tomato seeds with, and move them to two corners of the front section of the garden, in front of the side caki tree and the loquat next to it. They'll receive plenty of sun, so they will either live or die. We'll see. There are many buds on one plant, only a few on the second. I'll "keep my fingers crossed"...
For the third session I work on the Madame Alfred Carriere rose, growing along a wire fence. It is definitely prolific in its growth of leaves, even if the flowering is sporadic after it's first generous bloom each season. Perhaps this year I'll figure out how to tie it back accurately and prune during the season to keep the blooming more regular.
Dino had to make a trip to Orsolini to buy two more shovels, for two broke today while transplanting the peonies. They're quite old, but I thought very sturdy. I appreciate that he takes good care of his tools...and he has many of them.
I'm finally finished with one of the Madame Alfred Carrieres, and the other won't take long. It's been in a spot in front of the gardener's cottage that does not get enough sun underneath, so it wisely found its way over and up on top of the cottage, and plenty of growth appears there. The two roses almost kiss each other from each side of the cottage when they're in full bloom.
I've begun to cut back the four Iceberg roses in preparation for their move at the center of the former lavender garden. They will grow in a rectangular spot alongside the two Pierre d'Ronsard roses.
Otherwise, the remaining lavender orbs sit in different spots in the existing space, to be surrounded by gravel and roses in pots. The look is inspired by our trips to Provence, with an interest in turning the garden into something easier to maintain.
Just in is a letter and article from dear friend, Don Salter, from England. The article is called "Storm clouds over Sienna; trouble in the air". The formerly tranquil countryside outside Sienna is to be overtaken by an airport meant to serve the low cost airlines.
Now you're probably saying, "Tch, tch..." and all that, thinking it's a bad idea, unless you live in England and want to fly to Italy. If you do, of course you will seek out those low fare airlines, for a trip lasting not more than two hours or so. The result is an airport to serve you in lovely Chiantishire. Thank you very much.
For those of us in Alto Lazio, we're faced with a similar situation. We think the low cost airlines flying into nearby Viterbo will make it easy to fly to cities all over Europe on the cheap.
For those of us in little Mugnano, we think we won't be located under the path of any airlines, but can't be sure. The resulting urban sprawl will certainly change the landscape. So for now we continue to love our little village, knowing that year-by-year the character of these little towns and villages and the surrounding countryside will change along with them...in our lifetime? Probably. Puor troppo.
January 30
Seventeen shoots have sprung up, and six of them have even formed leaves. Even Dino is thrilled with the count, checking with me as though we have them in an incubator, which I suppose you could say we do.
Just after pranzo we count 29 shoots! Where or where will we plant them all if they all come up? Luckily, that probably won't happen.
With an overcast sky, we're continuing to cut back in the garden, and now the main caki tree is pruned for the year. I continue with the roses, and this year I am going to tackle two Cornelia roses that have been almost swallowed up by roving Bermuda grass. They sit in big plastic tubs, I suppose because we did not know where we were going to plant them, and then the grasses took over.
Silvano is expected to finish the electrical project he began with Dino a few weeks ago, and then we'll drive to Viterbo and donate a bunch of clothes.
It's 9 P M and we now have 33 shoots. We're doing something right. After less than two hours, we're at 40!
January 31
We're on our way to Rome with Don Luca, Livio and Tiziano. Sofi's under my arm, and we hope to visit the Causes of Saints building adjacent to St. Peter's, but the main mission is to purchase the altar pieces for our newly restored church.
There's a minute to check on the pomodori, and Dino counts...50! But when we return from Roma at 3:30 there are...61 out of a possible 84. By bedtime, there are 63!
We park on the Janiculum hill at the garage, and it's Dino's new favorite parking place in Rome. We're merely steps away from St. Peter's.
We eat at the Janiculum trattoria in the garage, on the 5th level, and it really is not bad. We're back in Mugnano before 4 P M, saying "a domani" to Don Luca. Tomorrow is the service that is the blessing of the throat.
Earlier, at around noon, most of the troup looked in a bookshop while Dino and Sofi and Tiziano and I walked to the Causes of Saints building, to do some more research on Saint Liberato.
Dino had to wait outside with Sofi, sadly. Tiziano and I took the elevator to the third floor. The same sister who helped us last year agreed to make more copies for us of pages of information regarding San Liberato. Tiziano wisely asked her for information on San Vincenzo, too, for he is our other patron saint.
Don Luca wants to have a booklet to pass out for everyone on March 9th, the festa celebrating the re-opening of the newly-restored church in Mugnano. But the booklet will also have information on Saints Liberato and Vincenzo, so I'll be kept busy for a few weeks figuring it all out, luckily with Tiziano's counsel. I'm very happy to do it.
We end the month with misty skies and pomodori seedlings just popping out in record numbers. There's so much to look forward to.
FEBRUARY 2008
February 1
We begin the day with 64 tomato plants beginning to appear. That's remarkable out of a possible 84, sprouting up in just over a week, don't you think?
By the time we leave for the blessing of the throat in the afternoon, there are 70. We'll now have to do some serious planning to find the best place to plant at least half of them. Last year we planted our tomato seeds on February 1, so we are ahead and hopefully most of these will survive...
Earlier today we worked on the cantina at the Tenaglie house, and we're close enough that we'll be able to take photos tomorrow. It really is a special place to rent. We might stay there for a night to write up all the instructions and the inventory, so that Mara can take care of administering to the renters.
We take a short drive to Montecchio to the Friday market and pick up a few things for tomorrow's little photo shoot. On the way home we find the two stools they'll need, and will take them with us to the house tomorrow. We also find a few pots that we can use when moving around some of our roses, but don't pick those up yet.
This afternoon is the mass of the candles. It is a sweet mass, during which the young altar servers light our candles. Giulia, Federico and Salvatore are dressed in their white cassocks banded in red. When it's time to kneel down and pray, Dino sees Federico and Salvatore sitting on the floor of the altar, playing some kind of game and ignoring the mass. Italian children really are spoiled, but they are cute, and Don Luca just lets them "be".
While our candles are lit, Don Luca speaks about "illuminating the world", and I wonder what would happen if each person on earth held a candle today and prayed for a better world. He tells us after the prayer to extinguish our candles, and with it I become visibly sad. I have so much hope for the world, and my hopes are dashed with just one blow.
Sofi has rested in the car during mass, and we take her with us to Viterbo to pick up some things we need to take to the house in Tenaglie. Tomorrow we'll stage the cantina and take a few pictures.
While at Ronchini, a fellow behind the counter wants to speak a few words of English to us. We are there to purchase special knobs for the shutters. The shutters from Romania have lovely catches, but nothing on the inside to pull the shutters closed.
It's a strange quirk. So Dino has come up with this addition, both for Merritt's house as well as ours. We'll install them at their house tomorrow.
But the word "bugiardo" (liar) comes up, and I ask the fellow behind the counter to tell us the difference between that word and the expression an Italian uses by pulling the skin under one eye down with an index finger; one that I think means the same. He tells me that that expression means "furbo" (sly).
He asks us what expression we'd use in English, and we tell him that we have many more words to express ourselves than Italians do. For them, one word or phrase could mean several things.
Again, all commerce stops for a friendly conversation; a conversation that two men behind the counter and one other customer partake in with us. The actual work can wait. Welcome to Italia.
We drive on to OBI, and pick up a few things there, including a set of three plastic storage boxes, one inside the other. Laura is our favorite "checker", and something is wrong with the bar code on the largest box.
I return to the stack, for she tells me the bar code is for only one box, and we think that all the boxes have boxes inside them. I return to the register and Laura decides that she should shut the line down and walk back with us to find the boxes and another bar code, happy to help us.
We as "Italians" are often made to feel like sheep. Yes, there are plenty of Italians with bravado, but mostly Italians just let things be, willing to stand and talk with a stranger next in line while at the front of the line nothing much is happening.
Today, at least, the people behind Dino move to other registers after ten minutes or so. We almost feel honored. Usually we're in back of a line, tapping our feet and wondering what the heck is going on.
The weather is not cold, but the sky is dappled and gray. At home it's already dark, so we can't work outside today. I'm thinking of moving the large pots by the front door to the lavender garden for roses. The two box that we moved there this summer never made it. We knew we moved them at the wrong time, but since we had to plant the wisteria in May, we had no choice.
I don't see any need for big pots by the front door. The pergola expanse is ten meters across the front of the house. There is a large square planter on either side of the front steps containing wisteria and roses, so we don't need these other pots by the door.
One and possibly both will be used for Cornelia roses. These two roses have been overgrown with Bermuda grass and I intend to pull them out of their big plastic tubs (we never did replant them last year) and get rid of every shoot that is probably strangling the roses. That will happen...subito!
Our tomato seedling count is 72 as I turn in to bed, with two looking as though their leaves are not very strong. We only planted 82 seeds, so even if no more rise to the surface, we'll have a challenge finding enough space for them. But oh the tomatoes we'll be able to put "up"!
February 2
With a seed count of 72 holding steady, I'm wondering where we'll plant them all...I think Dino is in denial, but once they start to thrive in their little pots, it will be time to make some decisions.
Today we're packing up a lot of things for the house, including drapes I've sewn, food to use for photos, two stools to be located at the end of the peninsula, and of course, Sofi.
We stop at Sisters' Bar for a cappuccino, then arrive at the house while the sky can't quite decide if it will rain down on us or just tease us with drops. I cajole Sofi inside with Gemelli, two little stuffed animals sewn together, and we begin the day's job of hanging lights, towel bars, wiring the chandelier, hanging memorabilia and two special framed certificates given to the original owners as children, and left behind for our clients.
Over the bed, we place an elaborate framed certificate of the marriage of the original owner of the property and his wife. It's very sweet, and so is the room. We think it was the first bedroom of the larger house, and the sons tell us that each of them was born there, in a bed that we have put away in storage.
The former owners left a bag of things behind, telling us they weren't important, so the new owners want these certificates hung on the wall to honor their family. We are sure that when we invite the sons in that they will be quite moved, as are we, just thinking about it.
It takes us an entire day to get ready for the photo shoot, so tomorrow we think we will be set. Tonight I take a few photos of the vegetables we purchased at yesterday's market in Montecchio, sitting on the copper countertop next to the sink. The combined colors and textures are delicious. What do you think?
Just before turning in, I'm deciding to write about my disappointment with Bill Clinton. His actions are so strange, lately. Is it just possible that he wants Hillary to lose, even if his wish is subconscious? Why else would he act that way?
February 3
The new friends with whom we will be exchanging homes in April email us from San Francisco that they're looking for puntarella seeds.
Puntarella is a kind of chicory, a bitter relative that is used in salads and sautéed with garlic and oil. We're pretty confident that we can find the seeds here and will pick up a packet and leave them for them here. Perhaps we'll even pick some mature puntarella ourselves and try to make something with it. If it's bitter, Dino probably won't like it, unless I mix it with anchovies.
The new priest who occasional holds mass here is in great form today, and the mass runs about twenty minutes longer than usual. He is full of joy, a chatty soul, and even gives everyone a blessing of the throat, a la Saint Biagio, so we won't have to go to church tomorrow, the real day of this saint.
Poor Argentina is really not doing well. We can see a big red bruise on her forehead, so she must have fallen. The priest walks over to her sitting down after blessing everyone else, and as he puts the crossed candles to her throat she tries to take the candles from him. Yes Iolanda...there but for the grace of God go I.
It's raining a kind of mist when we leave the church, but it is warm, so the walk home is actually fun. We decide to have an early pranzo. Afterward, we'll travel to the house to take interior photos. The weather really won't matter.
The number of pomodori seedlings is constant, so we might not have more than 70 or so to plant in the ground. Even at that number we will have trouble finding places to put them all. This week I'll begin the camomile spray.
While setting up to take photographs in Tenaglie, Dino lights a fire in the fireplace. Because it is a newly built fireplace, we expect a little smoke. But it takes Dino to push the fire to the very back of the box for it to draw perfectly. The pictures come out just as we had hoped, although a few appear smoky...Once we have figured out the draw of the fireplace, Dino is able to take more.
We sit at the table in the corner for a glass of wine and some cheese and enjoy the room and the fire. Yes, if we were renting a place for a vacation, this is just the kind of place we would love. Sometime soon we'll stay overnight to do a test, and inventory everything for Mari, who will probably handle the rentals. Sofi enjoys the space, likes sitting at the top of the stairs at the bedroom door, looking down at us.
Sofi and I go up to bed after 9 and Dino is already napping...he'll definitely watch the goings on beginning at midnight our time.
In boca a lupo (in the mouth of the wolf)....
February 4
Dino fills me in on the happenings last night on the Superbowl. He was unable to watch the U S commercials, and instead watched Italian commercials. I wonder if Italian companies paid a premium to have theirs run during prime time.
We can only watch Fox (yikes!) and CNN for U S coverage of the aftermath of the contest, and CNN doesn't have much to say. So Fox commentators discuss their favorite commercials, and we're able to watch a snippet of Justin Timberlake being catapulted and dragged and slammed. It makes me so angry I could scream. Gratuitous violence again is made popular...again and again and again. Commentators laugh...I steam.
By now you know I am a pacifist, and against violence of any kind. I've thought a lot about Bill Clinton and Hillary these past few days, and after reading some blogs about them, believe that most of them are wrong.
So Bill grew up in a house of violence. So he has some deep-seated emotional challenges. Now he's acting them out on the campaign trail. Notice he uses the words, "she" and "her" instead of using Hillary's name.
She's not totally innocent, for she's become a master enabler. When asked about what role Bill would take in a Hillary presidency, she affirms that the presidential decisions would be hers and hers alone, and that he would do a good job canvassing the world on a variety of topics. She's beginning to come around.
I am hopeful that the enlightened voter will realize that Hillary is indeed our best hope, and that taking Bill to the woodshed or telling him to take a walk is what she needs to do to make the presidency that she has long dreamed of a decisive one.
She'll be a wartime president, and her legacy could be oh so much more relevant than Bill's. We're all beginning to realize that she just might be able to finish what he could not, and so her legacy will be that much more palpable. You go, girl...
Today we have thunderstorms and lots of rain. I wake with a headache and go back to bed with a difmetre. After awhile I'm better, make breakfast and then pasta and cece soup, before traveling to Marco's to finish The Dancing Lesson.
I spend the entire session working on the painting, and by the time Dino picks me up I think I can finish it at home. The rain stops just long enough to put the painting in the car, but the rain continues in waves, so strongly that we can see it moving across our windshield in sheets. The painting stays in the car, and we'll not take it out until we are sure there is no rain.
Perhaps tomorrow we'll be able to do some gardening. The soil is so damp that it will be easy to work in the ground; messy but easy. No word from Mario, but we're hoping he'll begin work this week.
February 5
With rain pouring down as if we're going to be looking for an ark, Sofi spends some of the night at the foot of the bed. This morning, fog gives way to a partially sunny day.
Each month I have a pedicure with my friend, Giusy, in Orte. She speaks no English, and yet we are able to have the most remarkable conversations. Today the talk is about ethics!
For cappodanno (New Year's Eve), Giusy went to Assisi for a conference, and will return there later this month for an update. The conferences are all about ethics, and moral issues. I applaud her for her continued quest for the truth, which is what her search is about.
Somehow I understand most of what she has to say. When I ask her how she feels about the pope, she thinks he's a good man, and speaks highly of him. She sees the look on my face and admits that he is stern and inflexible. She tells me that he is brilliant, and his resolute demonstrations of faith are what's needed in this world of people who don't really care.
So if he won't really communicate with the people of the world except by edict or lecture, how is he to gain the support of those who don't follow him? I respect her opinion, but believe he is not furthering the cause of a more inclusive church, and how else will he gain the Catholics who have fallen away, and convert others?
Enough of that. We drive to Tenaglie and measure for furniture, and after pranzo drive to Marina Fa Mercato in Orte, where we pick up a variety of very good pieces for our clients.
We unfortunately still have a few things yet to puchase on their behalf from IKEA. I admit I am bored with their selection, but their prices are good and there are a few things we can't find elsewhere for the same price. Depending on the clients' response, we may drive there tomorrow.
Mario is not coming today or tomorrow, but Dino thinks he will surely come on Thursday with his brother. We spend a while in the garden, mapping out the design.
We also come up with the idea that we should use gravel instead of tiles for the walkway from our clients' gate to the area behind their house where they will one day have a pergola.
We price the gravel (gaia) and it will cost around €100 plus €120 or so for the delivery. For delivery, Dino calls Alessandro, the George Bush look-alike trucker, who has an American Flag hung upside down in his cab. We really must take his photo in the cab and at least send it to David Letterman.
Back at home we both vote on line, and it is quite easy. We're considered a part of the United States 51st state in terms of voting, and have until the 12th to vote. It feels good to vote, although we understand the candidate won't be determined until at least the Pennsylvania primary in April.
February 6
We're up and out before 9, and drive to IKEA to pick up a few last things for our clients. We're back home and in the garden by 3PM and spend a couple of hours on the roses and cutting the fig tree back some more. The tree is pretty hardy, so we may have a tree with fruit we can actually reach this year. If the tree goes on scopero (strike) this year, we're sure it will come back.
The Madame Alfred Carriere rose to the left of the door of the gardener's cottage will be moved to the east side of the loggia. With the bay tree seriously cut back there will be plenty of sun. This rose has never been given the attention it deserves, and perhaps this year it will shine. If not, no matter. The giant Madame Alfred Carriere that grows on the right side of the cottage, and is cut back hard each year, shows no sign of slowing down.
We'll move the other rose tomorrow and add some transplant medium and coco peat to the ground, while Mario and his brothers are doing the heavy work grading the garden.
We walk up to the mass of cenere (ashes), and little Andrea Perini, who looks and walks more like Charlie Chaplin than Charlie Chaplin, wants to be an altar server. He's in his Marines jacket, standing by Salvatore's side. Salvatore is dressed in his white cassock, and takes Andrea by the hand to show him the "ropes".
Don Luca is the priest, and has to keep from smiling a big grin at the two of them on this serious day. Afterward, Dino walks into the sacristy to speak with Don Luca, and while he is there, congratulates Andrea and shakes his hand. He also praises Salvatore for his teaching skills. It is very sweet.
Dino asks Don Luca if the original painting of San Vincenzo has been restored. It is wrapped up and we are not sure. Dino tells him that if it is not and they want our San Vincenzo painting, that's fine with us.
Don Luca tells him that even if the painting is finished, they might want our painting for the sacristy. We'll pick it up tomorrow in Orte when we bring The Dancing Lesson back to Omamia, and will make it available to Don Luca whenever he wants to see it. I would be honored if they wanted it in the church, or the sacristy, whatever.
While we waited for mass, Livio asked Dino if he'd go to Rome to pick up something they forgot to pick up for the church when we all went a week or so ago. We will.
Gigliola and Rosita also let me know that there is a white car with men inside, scoping out houses to rob while they drive around the village, so these women remind us to keep our house closed up securely. What a travesty that people look for houses to rob.
Almost everyone has a story to tell. At least the robbers are not armed, as they usually are in the U S. It could be worse. We have enough familiarity with being robbed that we're going to keep our house as secure as we possibly can. But we're not going to obsess about it.
February 7
Where, oh where, is the blue and white striped fabric for the loggia? The first blue and white striped material we purchased years ago turned grey, and we've continued to use it. A few years ago we purchased a blue and white striped material to replace it, material that we were told would not fade.
We used it for a season and put it away, but we cannot figure out where. We've scoured the house and every conceivable hidden corner, but cannot find it. So when we travel to Rome next week to pick up the item for Livio and Don Luca, we'll return to the fabric store in Piazza Argentina and buy more.
The couple that will exchange homes with us in April write about puntarella, a kind of chicory that is available in the markets in winter. We've never picked it up, for Dino thinks it's probably too bitter.
But now we're intrigued, so we pick up a packet of seeds for them (amazingly they are planted twice a year, the first time in April). Today at the market in the next town we'll look for it, and will make a salad of it with Joan's recipe. Here it is, in case you can find puntarella where you are: "...all one does is strip the leaves & shave the stems so they curl. Gather these on a plate & serve with a simple anchovy, garlic, lemon & olive oil dressing. There might be another way to serve them but this is how we always ate puntarella". Thanks, Joan.
This morning has been one of the most wonderful mornings of our marriage. Why is it so? Well, the blue, blue sky and fragrant air help.
Mario and his brother, Silvano arrive just after 7 A M to grade the area where we are going to extend the existing gravel, and Dino and I work side by side all morning on the roses, taking time to stop and marvel at the changes in just a few hours.
It feels like a slow dance, working together on cleaning up old growth while the brothers move carriolo (wheelbarrow) after carriolo of dark rich earth to a mound near the apple tree in the far property.
By the time they leave for pranzo, there is a new seating area around what is now a very big olive tree. Tufa bricks have been laid in an arc around the tree, with plenty of space for a planting bed of seasonal flowers, as well as a rose or lavender or two.
The tiles are wide enough that we are able to sit on the top row. There are little "v's" in between the tufa tiles where we will plant fragrant thyme and possibly here and there, lower on the wall, blue star creeper, also known as isotoma. What a difference the space makes!
We need to purchase about fifty more tufa bricks for borders to contain the gravel, but now we are seriously looking at making the area more flat instead of rising gently here and there. We're to call them back when we've organized what we want to do and they will pick up the tufa bricks, which don't cost much.
Dino is so enthused, that he decides to shovel some earth himself. He likes the work, and will probably do the rest of the grading himself, which we both think is a great idea. After the brothers lay the rest of the tufa bricks, we'll put down nursery cloth ourselves and will spread the rest of the gravel. We're hoping you approve, Sarah.
We drive to Tenaglie to meet Lorenzo to install the last stair rail, and there is a mistake, so we'll finish that next week. But while we are there we look at the possibility of using gravel on their walkway and the area behind the house where they want to put the pergola. We do love gravel...
Since there is already cement there, as well as a grade, there will be runoff and the cement will contain the gravel. It will work marvelously, and will save them a lot of money. In addition, we won't need a muratore to do the work. Mario and Silvano can be hired to spread the gravel, after a truck drops it at the top of the drive by the gate.
We look at restorations as if they're work being done at our house, and perhaps that's why they work out so well. There's another small job to do in a nearby town, and Lorenzo is involved in that one, too. The more we work with suppliers, the easier it is to use them. Dino really loves this work, and I love seeing him so satisfied. It's a good life, don't you think?
This afternoon while in the car I mention that we need to write our letters to the Comune to tell them that each of us wants to be cremated. And that begs a conversation...
"Why is it that we want to be cremated?" Dino asks. In Italy, the funeral is the same, the casket is the same, but afterward the body is taken to a crematorium instead of to the cemetery. We already have our plot, so we'll just need to modify our design of the vault...
That is all it takes. We're now giving up cremation, for a more characteristic burial in the cemetery. So there's nothing to be done except tell our attorney our wishes. I'm feeling very good about our decision.
February 8
It's cold this morning but the sky is clear, so we're up early and leave for Viterbo. Most important is the purchase of an electrical box, to see if Dino and Silvano can figure out why some of the circuits in the house won't work. Last night Dino tried using extension cords to test area by area, with some positive result, but no certainty.
Before driving to Viterbo, we stop at our favorite falegname yard in Bassano, but they don't have the wood we need for our headboard. What they have in castagno would be pieced together. So we'll try our friends at OBI and then Centro Legno in Viterbo, next.
We have a carved wooden piece that fits the head of the bed exactly and is beautiful. We picked it up almost ten years ago at one of the monthly antique mercatos in Arezzo. But we hang it high, so now we're going to place it at the top of a headboard, and want to find a 3cm thick piece of wood in the width we need and will stain it to match the carving before attaching them together and installing the new piece.
We pick up the electrical box in the industrial park right outside Viterbo, and also pick up a few paint colors and a fine grade canvas for me at KLIMT, then blow up a photo for me to paint. At IPERCOOP we run into Brooke Smith, and her parents will arrive tomorrow, so we'll try to attend her basketball game in Viterbo on Sunday evening.
On the way home we stop at Paolucci in Bomarzo, where Dino orders a pallet of tufa bricks (56 of them) and they will be delivered by mid afternoon. He places a call then to Mario to tell them to return soon. In the meantime, Dino will probably regrade the rest of the area himself.
Back at home, Silvano arrives and tests the circuits, but there may be a humidity problem, for everything works. So we'll just have to wait until something goes wrong again.
Dino and I work outside in the afternoon on the garden. We have sixteen box that we purchased a few years ago as tiny little things. They've grown into little plants, their shape about six inches in diameter. So it's time to put them into pots. By the time I'm through I've planted them in a dozen pots, so of course a few of the larger pots have more than one plant. They look great.
A transplanting medium arrived with the pomodori seeds, and I mix a small amount of that with the last of the coco peat that was recently mixed with water. I know that box does not like to be moved, and I'm sure it does not like to be transplanted to pots, but I've done that anyway.
A few days ago Mario and Silvano told us that the box hedges that looked questionable when we bought the house and have stayed yellowish for years just need more water and they'll come back.
So we'll put them on the watering system. For the ones in pots, we'll work that out, too. We're planning more irrigation this year, and are hoping to do far less work, especially in the very hot summer months.
A truck arrives mid-afternoon with the 56 bricks of tufa, and an old man and Dino have to unload them, one by one. It's interesting how pale they are when new, and how dark they become over time.
By the time Dino leaves to get his hair cut, he's mapped out a curved area next to the circular wall around the olive tree, and the steps to the gardener's cottage will ascend from those. The project looks better by the hour...
Dino travels to Daniele's house for a hair cut, and Daniele asks him whether Hillary or Osama will be the next president. We think that's hilarious. Sadly, it may be closer to the truth. We never know what nightmare may lurk around the corner.
Dino is tired, and I don't blame him for wanting to sit around for the rest of the evening. I've been working on The Dancing Lesson, wanting to finish it and wanting to change some details in a tug-of-war with my mind. Regardless, it will be returned to Omamia on Sunday and San Vincenzo will be returned back home.
That means I'll begin a new painting if nothing else comes up. It is a bunch of grapes, magnified many times, and should be fun. I may complete it myself, without Marco's tutelage. At his bottega, I intend to begin something new on Monday. I think it will be a partially nude woman, with her arms and hands exposed, draped with fabric. I know the photo is around here somewhere...
February 9
There is a book exchange in Otricoli, and I'm looking forward to seeing friends we have not seen in a while. I also want to talk with Pat Smith, who is hosting the swap, for she is a wonderful artist and paints some of the same type of subjects I'd like to learn to paint. Since she speaks English, perhaps she can give me some guidance. But today is probably not the day to talk about it.
The day begins with a bright, clear sky and sounds of weed-whacking in the valley. Yes, we hear those sounds here in this part of tranquil Italy, too. When living in the U S, the sound grated my nerves. Here, it becomes a part of the fabric of country life, and I even enjoy it. The sound conjures up images of paisanis working in their fields.
Dino's already out in Pandina, doing errands and picking up a few more tiles to border the stairs going down to the lower pomodori planting area. I'm thinking of Peggy who visited a few years ago just as we planted our pomodori in late April. She may return in April. We look forward to seeing her; I really miss her.
We arrive in Otricoli and Pat Smith could not be nicer. I ask her if we could chat when she has a minute, but she tells me why not now?
She tells me that she is mostly a self-taught painter, and offers to have me come for an afternoon and paint with her and she will give me some pointers about how to achieve the marvelous effects you can see yourself on her website: web.mac.com/patotricoli/
Dino likes her husband, Gangia, a lot, as well as a few other people we meet today. The book swap is just that, and we're encouraged to take at least the same number of books away that we brought. The object is to have no books left at the end of the swap.
There are more than enough to choose from. We bring about two dozen and take away twenty. It's practically impossible to find books here in Italy that are written in English, and so a books is a precious commodity. Those we don't need to keep are set aside for these events, from which everyone comes away happy.
There is an emotional but positive discussion about Hillary Clinton, and I'm happily surprised to hear that women here are taking Hillary's side, wanting her to have her chance in the White House.
This afternoon there is a conference call with Bill Clinton and the Democrats Abroad. Before we conference in, I wonder if anyone will bring up the fact that he's been over-zealous on the campaign trail. He's been like an angry bee, buzzing around the hive...
The conference call is late because Bill is late, and his voice and his words are hardly motivational; to think that I used to be such a fan. Although there are listeners from all over the world conferencing in, only Bill and a woman from London speak. I'm left with a "so what" feeling about it all, even though we want Hillary to win.
Dino has returned to the garden, this time laying steps to take us up to the gardener's cottage. We won't need Mario and Silvano to return, for Dino seems to want to tackle the project himself.
I think the challenge will be to grade the space so that it's mostly flat. The space itself slopes, so without putting in a step or two here and there, we'll have to figure it out. We know that there are a few "dips", and Dino thinks we need to build the earth up in those spots, so that overall the area will be uniform.
What helps will be a few pavers that will be cemented in at the top of the stairs to the lower pomodori garden. They will hold in the gravel and we'll allow a place for water to drain.
We end the evening watching the repeat of an old movie. We're not fussy when it comes to movies or programs on T V, realizing that there are few first-runs shown in Italy; it's more like watching "also-rans".
February 10
I've finished painting The Dancing Lesson as much as I'm going to, and we will return it to Omamia and pick up the painting of San Vincenzo. It appears the painting will wind up in the newly-restored church. We'll find out in a week or so.
The inauguration of the church will take place on Sunday, March 9th, and it should be a wonderful event. Perhaps we'll even see Bishop Lorenzo, who we don't think has appeared in little Mugnano for anything in all the years we've been here.
The new priest is here again, and is so genuine in his love of the church that I can't help falling for him. He does not do his sermon from the pulpit, instead walks down to the center aisle in our little church and finds a way to reach each of us.
After mass, while I'm chatting away with Tiziano by the door, he comes over and shakes hands with each of us in a genuine expression of joy. Tiziano thinks he's like an American priest, even though he has never seen one...We don't know his name, but the next time he comes to Mugnano we surely will.
Dino is so jazzed about our garden that he cannot wait to get out there and dig. Va bene. By the time I call him in for a pranzo of roast pork and carrots sautéed with brown sugar and potatoes roasted with the pork, he's ready for a break.
Annarita and her husband tell us about a special garden program on Thursdays on RAI TV. Tiziano also tells us about it, so we'll check it out this week. He thinks our garden should be featured on the program. I respond, "Prima le photos, dopo i ladri (thieves)!"
Sofi searches for her springtime friends, the lucertoles (lizards), but it's too early, so she sniffs around in the garden and then just sits.
We leave in the late afternoon for Orte and then for Viterbo, to watch Brooke Smith in a basketball game and greet her parents, who arrived yesterday for a couple of weeks. It will be good to see Alison again; she joined Brooke at the start of the season. Today she's taking a motherly role, as Brooke has come down with a fever and doesn't think we should get together after the game.
Vincere! Brooke and her teammates play Parma and they win, a decisive game. It is fun sitting in the GESCOM (sponsor) seats and chatting with Alison and Jan. Brooke plays, even though she is has a fever, and makes a great contribution, including 9 points. Brava!
I do, however, come down with a migraine, so it worked out that they could not have cena together. Tonight I have a date with difmetre and the pillow...
February 11
We never made it to Omamia yesterday, so on Thursday we'll try again. This morning Dino works more outside, and we agree that we need Mario and his brother, Silvano to come to excavate the rest of the area. It's too much work for one person to dig and also handle the carriolo (wheelbarrow), and I'm no help at all in taking the carriolo down the stairs to the far property.
We're having plumbing problems with the faucet in the kitchen, so Enzo sends his assistant to fix it after pranzo. By then I'm on my way in the Alfa to Marco's bottega.
Today I do a study (sketch) of a little girl, and Marco finishes it off in white chalk. Next week I will return to painting again, but it's very important that I pay particular attention to drawing first.
Back at home, Dino is not here, nor is Sofi, so it's a little strange going into the house and hanging out by myself. They arrive soon after, and we spend the rest of the evening together by the fire. When I left Marco's it was 1.5 degrees Centigrade, and the temperature rose to a mellow 4.5 Centigrade by the time I arrived in Mugnano. I suspect it will be very cold tonight.
While at the house in Tenaglie, Dino met with a muratore who convinced him that the slope is too steep for gravel, so we are back to the original paving, a job that will cost more than the client wants to spend. We don't blame them. We're still waiting to hear if the original muratores will return this month to finish their work.
February 12
Mario and Silvano arrive to dig dirt, and in four hours do all the digging we need, and have time left to grade the path in the far property.
While they do their digging, Dino continues work on the tufa borders. We've agreed to take one step up to the area that was formerly the lavender garden. We also drive out to a local shop that sells garden pots, and find the perfect one for the peony. Dino drills out the bottom of the pot, digs around the plant leaving a 40cm round hole, and digs down so