What Fills My Plate

Buongiorno tutti!  Another day in paradise, I hope you are well and surviving the hot days of summer. Today is a big day for us as the AirConditioner plumber arrives to bring our home a new and better AC.  It will be a 2 day job.  NOISE! The difficult part of this scheme to beat the heat is that we must sit in the kitchen with the door closed in order to keep the Taco, the cat, from escaping and bugging the workers.  We have a big fan to help us survive, but nothing else will be available.  So for the next two days were are prisoners of our own demise. A lot of the news lately is about Ukraine and Russia.  I have wanted to tell you my story about my trip to Russia in 1991, which was two years after the wall fell in Berlin.  Some of you younger folks are a bit clueless about this, but I am sure you have heard of it.  (Remember I am 78.)  The Soviet Union had kept half of  Germany basically trapped behind a wall with guards who were instru...

Greetings, we have returned from a cooler Austria, it was a tranquil weekend vacation.  Now the days are filled with heat and the humidity here in northern Italy.   I am watching two  things these days.  First the fires in Colorado are very bad, and my aunt has been evacuated, and a cousin has moved her valuables to a safer place in case her home is torched.  The area of the fires is very dry and the wind is the big problem.  Some fire fighters have perished, sadly.  The second thing is the situation in Ukraine/Russia.  I believe this will worsen when food items will not be available because there is no fuel for trucking, also water and electric power will lessen and Russians will become angry and frustrated with this problem.   Did you know that there are two countries inside Italy?  Yes, the Vatican is its own country and also the Republic of San Marino which lies  near the coast south of our home.  We have been the...

 Buongiorno, I have neglected the blog for too long.   It has been a  hectic month, seems like one catastrophe after another.  But now, on the morrow a small vacation will begin as we cross over into Austria to our go-to town of Mauthen.  The cat will be cat sit by Orietta's mother while we will cool off in that small non tourist village. Mauthen is just across the border and the drive over the pass is very scenic and curvy.  This border was a battle line during WWI.  Austria-Hungarian troops fought against Italians assisted with a battalion of British artillery soldiers.   They endured the harsh winters while  bombarded, spied upon and shot by snipers.  Millions died on the war front. On the north side (Austrian) as you descend into the valley below you pass a small cemetery which serves to remind one of those who gave their lives.  I must admit that my high school history teacher neglected to mention this war front and i...

 Buongiorno!  Another fine day with some misty clouds.  Have you had your coffee and roll today?  I did not, going full American with eggs, and toast.  Breakfast of champions!  I am curious as to what you ate for breakfast. Random thoughts today.  Yesterday I had an appointment in Monselice, which is a large village about 25 minutes from my home.  The village is medieval and so the streets are small, tight, and parking is... well, if you get a spot, you feel lucky.  I always drive around and around the block where I have the appointment until something large opens up.  The spots made by the city are small and I am so much of an American that I would suffer to squeeze the back of my car to back into a small hole.  Finally I found one and felt lucky.  From this spot I was able to look up and see an old ruined castle on top of the hill.     Once I was dining on the street in Paris and cars were passing by this tiny ...

            What a great day in northern Italy. The sun is bright, the sky is blue, the fields are green.  My cat sits in the window dreaming of catching the flying  insects on the other side of the window.  A window that is closed because the cottonwood trees are losing that little snowflakes of cotton that are floating  in the air.  Those snowflakes and the dust cause my allergies to spike making it difficult to breathe while my eyes feel like someone threw minced jalapeños into them.  There is hope as on Wednesday it is predicted to feature rain, and this will clean the air somewhat.  One can only hope.  It was a good weekend.  Everyone seemed to be out and about enjoying the sunny weather.  We went through our volcanic hills and stopped at the other side to see a small castle.  Then for "pranzo" we had lunch at a fish restaurant.  It was a nice day.    Here it is also poppy season. an...

  Hello from sunny Italy.  You can go out and feel the warm sun for most of the day here.  Rain predicted later this evening.   There are a lot of Italians out with a stop at their local bar.  (coffee, mostly.)  You see my espresso, which consists of a bit more than 2 large tablespoons of strong coffee. Here is a snapshot of my local coffee bar, you can see it is clean and it is time for most people to begin to leave and continue their day.  10:40.   I remain and write in Italian, working on my vocabulary list. You can also see few jackets, Spring has arrived!   The barista is busy cleaning tables and her working area.  Today she was busy and my request was met with a short comment.  This makes me miss the bar in Due Carrare where I went almost everyday for ten years,  Covid closed it.  I miss seeing my friends there.   It is difficult to make friends in Italy.  People who visit coffee bars ar...