Welcome to my daily journal, a look over our shoulders as we navigate our new lives in Italy. The journal reads from the beginning to end of each month. For previous entries, click on JOURNAL ARCHIVES to find the month you're looking for.

Evanne is also a contributor to ItalianNotebook.com. From time to time she writes about something of cultural interest about life in Italy. Take a look and you can subscribe to get a daily (5 days a week) snippit of life in Italy. Click here: www.italiannotebook.com

For those of you who have known us for a long time as Roy or Dad and Evanne, the names Nonno, Dino, Eva and Nonna may seem a little strange at first. We are grandparents of Marissa and Nicole of California, hence the Nonno and Nonna nicknames. Dino and Eva are our Italian nicknames, or sopranomes. If you've been reading the journal, you'll know about those changes, too.

In addition to LINKS in the column on the left, you will now find Dino's, soon to be world famous, collection of photos of Fiat Cinque Cento cars. Everyone needs a hobby and it probably keeps him out of trouble.

For previous entries, click on JOURNAL ARCHIVES to find the month you're looking for.

PROPERTY OF THE MONTH - NEW FEATURE! Each month in the journal we will feature one of the properties for sale on our web site.

This month's selection is a rare find. A beautiful large town house with a garden, terraces and views in the Historic Center of Amelia in Southern Umbria, one of Italys oldest and most charming towns. The house is on 3 levels, not counting the grotto/cantina. It has 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, huge kitchen and living room, two fireplaces a studio and a large improved loft that has two large rooms and a bathroom. Take a look!

lavventuraitalia.com/realestate/ame09

OCTOBER 2008

October 1
Do I need to remind you that I am a bit superstitious? For many years, I've tried to remember to utter the words, "rabbit, rabbit" as the first words out of my mouth on the first day of each month. I suppose that is to ensure that I will be fortunate that month. I remember this morning, as I turn over to remind Dino. His response is, "Ah, rabbit, rabbit". Now about that word "ah". Will it count? We'll find out as the month progresses.

There are clouds above a foggy Mugnano as we wake, but before we leave the house much of the sky overhead has cleared. We're traveling to Viterbo to visit the Prefectura about applying for Italian citizenship.

First we stop in Bomarzo at Quatrofoglio for cappuccinos, and it is a very attractive bar. It's the first time I've been inside this new bar on the outskirts of Bomarzo since we tried their pizza there just after it opened.

We drive on to Viterbo and Dino has his usual luck finding a parking space in a small lot located a block away from the main government building. Strangely, there are two cars waiting, but Dino drives right up and there is a space they have probably not seen. Va bene.

There is no wait at the Prefectura! Inside Mario sits behind the desk facing the door, treats us cordially and opens up his file of forms, showing us what we need to do. It does not look difficult. Dino thinks that is because the regulations for the Permesso di Sojourno, or permit to stay, are much more difficult. We're out of there in less than five minutes with our homework assignments.

There's wood filler to purchase for the new castagno poles of the pergola, which is not easy to find. Centro Legno does not have it, but OBI does. We stop to pickup a few groceries and then return home so that I can make ceci and pasta soup, which Dino loves. Now that it is fall, soup season is upon us.

This afternoon we are about to drive back to Viterbo to look for the cinque cento for Pietro's son. But Pietro calls to tell us they'll put it off until his next visit. So I change clothes and work some on the cestino (basket) in the painting standing against the fireplace in the kitchen. It is almost too tall to stand on an easel, at least for any painting of it with the exception of the lowest portion, and that part is finished.

I attempt to mix the "cocktail" that I drink every night...ten gocce (drops) of Laroxyl in a glass of water. But the dropper does not work, so I imagine that since the little bottle does not have much left in it, I can easily take the dropper off and measure an amount into the glass. I remember hearing that even with 25 drops, I probably won't have a problem.

What is Laroxyl anyway? Well, the doctor tells us that it's a preventative measure to keep migraines from cursing my life as often as they used to. So I pop off the dropper and pour what I think is a good amount into the glass. It tastes weird, but I follow it with a glass of water and think I will be fine.

I'm not really interested in TV, so turn in early and read only a few pages of my book before wanting to turn off the light. But in the next fifteen minutes I begin to have a reaction from the medicine, and by the time an hour is up I think I am having trouble breathing. Sorry for the drama.

Roy asks me if I want to go to the Pronto Soccorso (Emergency Room) at the hospital in Orvieto. I do, and somehow we arrive there to an almost empty department. I'm asked questions that I think are absurd: "Why did you take too much medicine?" is one I recall. No, I am not depressed.

A fellow in an orange jump suit comes in and mixes a charcoal cocktail that I am to drink. It's pretty terrible, but so what. They then put an I V tube in my arm and tell me to lie down on a bed that is as hard as a rock. When the drip is finished, we're told we can leave, and in another 25 minutes we're back home in bed.

Lesson learned? The dropper is on the bottle for a reason...

October 2
So about saying "rabbit, rabbit" early yesterday morning. The gods are laughing down at me. We get up on the late side and I'm feeling all right but a little weak.

I'm not too weak to pick the last of the tomatoes in the upper orto, and some of the remaining ones below. Dino drives off to buy more jars and tops, and I work on the painting. It's rather mindless, painting this woven basket design, and I stop after a while, thinking I'll return to it this afternoon. My work on the basket will definitely be finished before my return to Marco's bottega on Monday.

GB has determined that October 15th will be the date of his anniversary party for Italian Notebook, so if you plan to be in Rome on that day, join us at 10 AM at Galleria Alberto Sordi for a cappuccino.

Down in the valley, Spillo is asleep lying on the ground with his mother watching over him in the morning, but after pranzo he is full of pep and running around the pen. Maggiolino must be loose, for he stands next to the fence of the pen, and it appears a big water trough is there. He is wagging his tail...is he shaking of flies or letting Priscilla know who's boss?

I don't have a lot of energy, so take an afternoon nap, with Sofi in her bed by my side. When I wake up an hour later, I look up ANSA to see what they think is news in English, and cringe when I read what has prompted the City Council of Venice to crack down on trash in St. Marco's Square.

"Among other things it has employed so-called 'City Angels', a band of young women, to tell tourists to put their shirts back on, stop putting their feet in fountains and have their picnics away from the most popular sites." Read the entire story:
http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2008-10-01_101223201.html

While I've been resting, Dino has finished bottling our last batch of tomatoes for the year, and we'll have thirty jars to last us through the winter. If it had not been for eating so many of the tomatoes when they were ripe, we would have had more jars. It was worth it, certainly.

Tonight Dino measures out the drops of Laroxyl for me into a glass, and now understands that the dropper really does not work. I'll just take more time with it in the future and everything will work out.

October 4
We decided to get up to watch the U.S. Vice Presidential Debate at 3 AM, and it was worth it. There were no gaffes, Sarah Palin was her usual folksy self, but Joe Biden did as good a job as he needed to.

We've become friendly with a group of muratores who are Albanian and yes, they are integrating into Italian Society. Here's a bit from the NYT, in case you'd like to read about them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/world/europe/03italy.html In the Italian popular imagination, Albanian immigrants are more often depicted as scofflaws than as upstanding members of society. Anti-immigrant sentiment runs high, and many Italians blame foreigners for what they say is a rise in crime. In recent months, there have been several highly publicized cases of violence against other immigrant groups.

But amid the turmoil, families like the Murrizis are quietly integrating into middle-class life in ways that Italy is only beginning to acknowledge. Like new shoots grafted onto an old vine, they are fast becoming an essential part of the country's most valued traditions, including winemaking.

The Murrizis work full time for the Salcheto winery, based in nearby Montepulciano, planting in spring, pruning in summer, picking in fall and preparing the vines in winter.

They are the new face of Italy, and Italy is slowly recognizing them."

Speaking of immigrants, we have an appointment this morning with our new commercialista (accountant) in Avigliano Umbro. When we drive into town, we see a sign that says the town is known for its embroidery, and ask Alessandro what that is all about.

He tells us that many years ago there were some grandmothers who made beautiful embroidery, but now there is hardly anyone who does anymore. The town is the brunt of jokes from neighboring towns. I read that The Filo d'Oro Avigliano embroidery association was founded in 2003 with the aim of safeguarding the strong local tradition in embroidery founded in the 1930s. Sister Giacinta runs embroidery classes from May through to September. Info: Associazione Filo d'Oro Avigliano Corso Roma, 50 á 05020 Avigliano Umbro (TR) á Italy Tel. 0744 933600 á Cell. 338 7788084. When we come home, I look up the town, and although there is a claim that at least Sister Giacinta keeps up the tradition, something else catches my eye...

In the forest outside Avigliano Umbro there are about fifty large tree trunks in a fossil forest, discovered in part during the 17th century. Origins place them back two million, yes million, years ago. Let's return with Tiziano for a tour and a notebook story.

I fix a stir-fry for pranzo. Is it my imagination, or does the Asian food not interest me any more? Perhaps it is the soy sauce, but I'm actually wishing I had made a pasta. Was it the Laroxyl or am I becoming Italian?

We stopped at Nando's earlier to find out about the castagno poles that will top off the pergola, and they won't be ready until late this afternoon. There will be nine of them, with a palombello on each end. It is all I can do to wait a week to drive to Chiusi to pick up the four wisteria. Perhaps I can convince Dino to drive me there earlier...

Dino does return to Viterbo for the screws, and if he takes Pandina he might just return with the wood and the screws before dark.

No, the wood is not ready. It will be ready tomorrow morning, so I won't be surprised if the pergola is finished by tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, the measurements are almost always wrong. So we'll let you know tomorrow.

I have Italian Notebook stories to write that I've promised, but Felice is waiting for me, and I must finish the cestino before Monday. Earlier this evening I counted twenty-five stories for the Italian Notebook. I have another fifty in the pipeline, with more ideas every week. This is such an incredible country, that researching the nuggets of gold hidden around almost every corner makes me happier and happier to be living this dream.

Of course, an hour in front of the TV watching Congress make a mess of the U.S. Government adds to my disappointment of all of the politicians. The revised bailout plan is so full of pork-barrel spending that they should all have their heads examined. But it finally passes by a good margin, and those taking credit for it are probably wondering, "What have we done?"

October 4
With the weather forecast "partly sunny", I see plenty of clouds overhead. As the morning wears on and Dino drives in Pandina to pick up his nine palombelli that are 3.6 meters long each, it begins to rain.

Dino returns and moves the wood to a spot near the pergola, and then comes in out of the rain. What follows is thunder and lightning, plenty of wind and cries from Sofi. She's really afraid of the loud noise.

Inside the kitchen I work on the cestina, and am sure that I will be finished enough with it to go over the design with Marco on Monday afternoon. After more research I've painted over his eyebrows and will repaint them with a very fine brush. My first attempt was not accurate enough. Perhaps I'll work on them tomorrow.

I'm sure Dino is very disappointed with the rain, for he'd love to screw the palombelli onto the top of the pergola. There's not a chance that that will happen. And this afternoon I have an appointment with Danieli. So I'll possibly finish my latest book. It is a wonderful day for reading.

After pranzo, Dino drives me to Danieli's and the price for coloring my hair is quite remarkable: €30. In Mill Valley, a similar procedure would cost $105. He works out of a room in his house, and that's all right with me. Today he moves the TV into the room and we watch National Geographic as well as the last inning of yesterday's baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the California Angels. It's a strange juxtaposition of cultures, but I leave smiling.

There is a big news story about people having difficulty renewing their Italian Permits to Stay. That is probably why we are having trouble renewing ours. The latest is a financial statement requirement, as we are pensioners, and we hope to have that cleared up in a few days. Otherwise, we have no idea what the delay is, but are not particularly worried. GB tells us a friend of his waited 19 years for his permit, so what's the hurry?

The Barberini Sisters have a wedding reception booked in Mugnano's Palazzo Orsini, probably today, and it's too bad that the weather is so bad. At least it is not raining when we return at 4 PM, but as of now we don't see any cars parked in their lot next to their land on the flats below the village.

We walk with Sofi up to the borgo to take a look at the sposa (bride) walking to the church. We think she is at Bruna's house, on the little street leading to the recently restored main church. We're like our neighbors, and laugh to each other about the times we've seen locals in other towns standing by the churches before a wedding, to get a look at the people dressed up for the wedding. It feels natural to now be one of the "locals".

The time for the wedding passes and we're bored, so walk home and Dino builds our first fire of the year. It is cold and damp outside, and the fire is beautiful. We celebrate it with a glass of the red wine from Cetona.

Sofi and I go to bed early; I'm strangely tired. But during the night a headache returns, and I think I remember having a headache last year after the first fire. It has something to do with smoke. Migraine headaches are strange, and there are a number of root causes. I know smoke is one, as is a change in the weather.

October 5
I still have a migraine in the morning, and Dino walks up to church without me. Afterward he takes Pandina to Nando's to load up on free firewood. Outside the lumberyard is a stack of free wood; they're remainders after poles and planks of wood are cut from the trunks of castagno trees and sold.

We're watching every penny these days as our savings dwindle, and the more we do the more I feel at one with the Italians of yore, who learned how to stretch a lira during the difficult days of WWII. This worldwide financial crisis has become a new war of sorts. "Sempre avanti" I tell myself. "Always forward".

It's a Brigadoon morning in Mugnano; bright clear skies at first light give way to a blanket of fog overhead at 9 AM. It's like this often during fall, with Mugnano rising from the fog like Brigadoon late in the morning; by noon it will be clear and Dino will be in the garden, screwing the new castagno poles to the top of the pergola.

Elsewhere, an emergency meeting of the heads of France, Germany, Great Britain and Italy has taken place. Sarcozy of France issues an interesting statement: "We want to put down the foundations of a capitalism of the entrepreneur and not of the speculator. We want transparency; we want moralization. We want the creation of value. We want people to have confidence," the French leader and summit host said.

"He called the crisis "an opportunity to build something," and said EU leaders hoped it would open the door to "a new world that has fewer of these things, these problems."
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/10/05/europe.summit.economy.sarkozy.ap/index.html Italy acts as if it is void of any banks with real financial trouble, and we're told the country may come out of this relatively unscathed. But its people, at least the older ones, are gearing up to be ready for it just in case.

I'm an optimist, so am hopeful that what Sarcozy has to say will bear fruit. I'm really disgusted at the financial mess in the U. S. and can imagine what people living there are thinking. We're invited to a Norwegian dinner at around 4PM at Pietro's, so snack at l'ora di pranzo and then Dino returns to the pergola. By now it is clear and cool, and he's in shirtsleeves taking on the final part of the project.

Inside, I finish the first pass at painting the cestino, and except for the handle and rim around the top it is finished enough to take to Marco tomorrow. So tomorrow morning I'll work on Italian Notebook stories. There are plenty in the pipeline and plenty to finish.

We're thinking that Americans are sick of all the campaign ads on television, but we actually search for them, for there are none here on Italian TV. Can you imagine? This is a real difference from living in the U. S. We also receive almost no "junk mail" and no catalogues. It's as if we're living in another world. Well, I suppose we are.

We've just returned from the most marvelous meal, a Norwegian lamb and cabbage dish, with meat so tender it falls off the bone. Pietro, ever the dreamer and ever the creative thinker, made a dessert of figs, grapes, plums from the garden in a mélange served over a very soft piece of creamy cheese. Heavenly.

We've received the most moving thought provoking email from a friend, and would love to share it with you. Do take a few minutes to read and listen to it.

http://bkconnection.com/thefivesecrets/index.html

When people ask us why we are here, this message answers much of it. Every day and in almost every way we are mindful of the gift of living here, our passion to be here and we are always happy to share what we have experienced. When you have listened to "the five secrets", do email us and tell us what you think of what you have just heard. I don't know about endorsing the book, but I do endorse the message.

October 6
You probably know about all this, but we've just heard from friends in Rhode Island: "You are so lucky to be away from it all. On the day of George Bush's exit the nation is planning a "Synchronized Flush". Everyone should flush their toilets upon his exit!" Well, what time will that be in Italy? It may be a worldwide flush...

Back here in Rome, according to the Associated Press, " Pope Benedict XVI's "In the beginning" started off a weeklong Bible-reading marathon on Italian television Sunday." This televised marathon Bible reading featured more than 1,200 people reading the Old and New Testament in over seven days and six nights, including Oscar winning film director, Roberto Bengini.

It began with the Pope reading from Genesis with the opening verses about the creation of the world and ends when CardinalCardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's No. 2 official, reads the last chapter of the Apocalypse. Wonder if we'll all then disappear in a puff of smoke...

Addressing faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, Benedict noted the televised marathon would run parallel to a worldwide meeting of bishops on the relevance of the Bible for contemporary Catholics. The meeting of 253 bishops, known as a synod of bishops, will run from Monday through October 26.

A very bright sun breaks through a thick fog, and with an ample wind I watch the fog dissipate and only cotton ball tufts of fog remain. The day looks promising.

The cestino does not look bad, but we'll see what Marco has to say about it. Since he's hardly ever complimentary, I'm not optimistic. With work to do on Felice's face, the handle and top of the basket and the artichokes, I'll surely be painting it until just before we leave for the United States.

I'm pleasantly surprised by Marco's reaction to my latest round of work. He comments that I have spent a lot of time on the cestino (basket) and gives me an idea of how to make the right side of it look better. Today I work on Felice's face and neck, and before I'm through we've redrawn his cap. During the next two weeks I'll put more artichokes and leaves in the basket, with some spilling over the front and finish the details on the basket itself. I am not to work on his eyebrows until the forehead is completely dry.

Felice stands in the living room tonight, for we're burning free wood and Dino wants to see if it's worth picking up more of it. It is. The wood is castagno and burns slowly. So we think we've saved a bit of money on that front. Since I paint in front of, or next to, the fireplace, it's not a good place for the painting to rest.

Invitations are in for the first year anniversary of Italian Notebook, and we'll certainly attend it at Galleria Alberto Sordi in Rome at 10 AM on the 15th of October. It should be fun and you're invited.

October 7
Bob Herbert of the New York Times writes an interesting Op-Ed: "What we haven't paid close enough attention to for many years ... is the fact that there haven't been enough good paying jobs to sustain what most working Americans view as an adequate standard of living. This is a fundamental flaw in the U.S. economic system."

But what is "an adequate standard of living"? These days it appears people in the U.S. are still expecting to live the lives portrayed in television ads. I think we've all been thinking that somehow "it" (the economy) will just get fixed.

Back here in the Roman countryside we're getting back to basics, and it's a life less complicated. Although we live on U.S. dollars (sigh), living a simple life really does appeal to us. And because we're not of the demographic U.S. advertisers seek, we have no idea what "pitchmen" are hawking these days.

In the near valley, Pepe is chopping firewood, and a buttermilk sky (yes we have the sky, but cannot find buttermilk anywhere in Italy) above. Silence is broken by the sound of a kitten and a cacophony of birds.

I'm to cook a few slices of thin pancetta (47 cents) in the summer kitchen and then make a spinach salad served with a few slices of pork loin (a package of six slices for less than €3) and a little of my gingered figs on the side for pranzo. Substitute bacon for the pancetta and it's a meal I'd also fix in California.

So it's possible to live a simple life in the U.S., although we chose to live ours here, away from the "shopping, shopping malaise" we were battered by at every turn. We'll be confronted with it again next month when we return to San Francisco for Thanksgiving, and are gearing up for the anxiety.

We do miss our family there very much. Dino will spend a lot of time with our son and I will spend time with the girls and painting a few canvases, but there will always be the temptations. We'll be staying quite near San Francisco's Stonestown Mall. The good news is that we're now traveling Economy Class and will only be able to take one suitcase each. That will severely limit what we can indulge ourselves with.

Time these days is spent writing Italian Notebook stories and painting. If I did not have these activities, what would I do? Probably walk Sofi more and...I can't imagine not dipping into some kind of project. I don't see myself sitting around in the afternoons as the women do in our village. But when my sight is not good and I don't have much energy, I suppose that is what I will do. Let's not dwell on it now....

My story on Roman Aqueducts is published today in Italian Notebook. To satisfy frenzied readers who can't take more than a minute or two to read a story, the stories are all very brief, giving the reader a small tidbit. But when I write a story there is lots to tell; most of it never finds its way to the Notebook.

Today, for instance, I write a piece about Villa Lante in Bagnaia , located about twenty minutes from us. Although it is one of the most famous Italian gardens in the world, I decline from mentioning more about the wonderful table built of pepperino stone, its center carved out so that water could course through it.

"Both sides are decorated by masks, pouring out water that is channeled below along the sides of the table. At the center at the same level of the table itself sits a long narrow tub by which the viewer's gaze is drawn toward the fountain of Giants that provides a backdrop and links the different levels on the natural slope." This information is provided by signs placed strategically off to one side.

Now my gaze would be drawn to the water, coursing through the tub at the center. What an incredible table to sit at and have a meal. "Pass the salt" would not be practical here, for it would wind up "in the soup". That reminds Dino, "Is the tub in the middle for people to throw things in that they did not want on their plates?" The idea of it is all quite fabulous.

Let's get back to Cardinal Gambara (translation: shrimp!) I have no idea if he was a man of some stature or not, and wonder if he was teased by his name...probably not. Remember that Pope Pius IV made him a member of the Inquisition in charge of heretical literature...

We are told that he loved to entertain, and loved to eat al fresco (outside); hence the spectacular table. He went rather overboard, however, with his family crest, which looked more like a lobster or a scorpion than a shrimp and showed up everywhere, including at the top of the watercourse, with its two claws poised to grab something from the water as it flowed down hill.

A nearby sign tells us that the chain for the movement of water was formed by velutes that all joined together by water that bubbled out from the gills of a shrimp. Is this what you expected to hear about Villa Lante? Its exquisitely designed box formed partierres and its centuries 0ld plane trees moved and seemed to hold out their arms Halloween-style; these are the stuff scary stories are made of.

Earlier, on the drive up to Villa Lante, I spoke with Dino about the lovely wild ciclamini (cyclamens) that grow on the shady banks of the roads, and sometimes even on the ground beneath some of the metal protective barriers on the sides of the roads.

So on the way back, he keeps his camera open in one hand, ready to stop for a photo. Here is what he found:

I'll have to stop writing for a minute, for the power is off, and Dino walks down the street to find out if anyone else has no power. There is no power, but one neighbor tells Dino that he saw a puff of smoke coming out of an electrical pole near the tower.

Being a good citizen, Dino calls ENEL to report it. A man at the other end asks him his client number! Dino fishes out a statement and reads it to him, but the fellow cannot locate the number. Following is a heated discussion between the two, in which the fellow tells him that he has not called ENEL Energia. "Io c'e la fattura. Detto Enel Energia." It's so "f..!@#$%%&$! up" Dino steams...It has to do with the deregulation of the energy system in Italy. He calls the number back on his fattura (invoice) and hears a long recorded message; then hangs up and decides to return down the street, probably to commiserate with our neighbors. Thankfully, it is not yet 6:30 PM and the sky is still bright. Get out the candles and turn off the computer. Bye....

Dino finds Donato, whose power is off, and Donato calls the report in. Evidently Donato is not on an energy saving program. Here and there houses are on or without power. Luigina, Nando, Donato are all out, as is Giustino and our house. Maria up above has power.

Twenty minutes later, as the sun begins to set, it is as if the cavalry have arrived...Imagine the sounds of the introduction to Hopalong Cassidy and you have the picture, although today it's a white van with smoke pouring out its exhaust. Dino walks up Via Mameli with a flashlight, just in case the technician can't see what he is doing.

"Don't damage my roof! " the man with the big dog calls out, as a technician climbs up to find the damaged wires. In ten minutes Dino returns with his flashlight, and as he builds a fire in the fireplace there is a click and our power has returned. Sofi will not miss her evening meal, so she dines by candlelight!

So little Mugnano has had its excitement for the afternoon, and if you ask me it's enough excitement for a whole week.

October 8
We did not watch the U.S. presidential debate at 3 AM our time, realizing that it will be played back numerous times during the next few days. When I am in the kitchen at 8AM, I turn on the TV in the midst of one of its replays.

Although it appears to us that there was no clear winner, meaning Obama will probably get the credit in the national polls, good ole FOX declares McCain the winner by 85% to 15%, based on listeners emailing in right afterward. So why do we watch FOX? That's easy. We only have FOX and CNN here via satellite and no mainstream U.S. channels, and CNN does not even replay the debate. Let's see what the pollsters have to say...

"Guasto!" Dino hollers out to the technician from ENEL just as I am making a zucca(squash) and tomato soup with zenzero (ginger). Take your pick. The word he chose could mean either: ruined, spoiled, wrecked, a breakdown, corruption, discord. Although he's telling the fellow that our corrente (power) is off, it seems an apt word to use for the worldwide financial crisis, or for the government of Italy.

While the power is off I continue to repair the things on the painting that aren't just right. I've altered his hat and will be spending the next week reworking part of his cestino (basket). Marco has told me that a major part of it is quite good, so that's encouraging.

Power miraculously returns at the stroke of 1 PM, or ora di pranzo, so that the workers can go home to mama for their pranzo.

A CNN poll states that 54% of watchers said that Obama "won", while 30% said that McCain won. We don't really care. Dino tells me he is excited about Obama and I ask him why. "Hope" he tells me. Since I am a dreamer, I like the idea, but whatever practical sense I have about me wonders about whether he has the right team to implement his lofty ideas.

Elsewhere in the world, financial markets are in upheaval, although U.S. markets seem steady. We seem so very far away from all of it, as Maggiolino honks and honks so loudly that we're more interested at this moment at what is going on in Pepe's campo below.

The weather has cleared and it's a really beautiful day.