HOME SWEET HOME

It is good to be home. Our US trip was tiring, and our bodies have finally acclimated to being back. We have been taking daily walks and we have worked on the house and garden everyday and I have finished weeding the damn oxalis out of the garden-finally!! It rained a lot while we were gone but today was the first morning of rain since we came back. When the sun came out I managed to retrieve 42 slug/snails out of the garden and smash them in the driveway. Since they had feasted on my broccoli they were quite big. They ate so much that the broccoli was tiny, to the point where Franco upstairs said, “Che carina, bonsai broccoli!” (“How cute, bonsai broccoli!”). The magenta bougainvillea bush is huge and productive and big bees and wasps frequent it daily. And I take frequent cuttings of geraniums when we go for walks since it is the most reliable and constantly blooming flower here all year long. At last count I had two dozen pots of geraniums in various colors and styles. The basil is finally dying down, though I have mint, parsley, salvia, rosemary, chives, and lavender the whole year too. And Steve picked up my Christmas poinsettia for me today.
Thursday we spent a quiet Thanksgiving here, swimming in the therme pool, attending an art show, and eating a great dinner at a favorite restaurant. Our old kitchen sink was rusting and actually developed a hole, so we had a new one installed yesterday. We have seen Paolo busy with chores on his little farm here, and I took a few pictures of his ingenuity in keeping things handy and together by his Rube Goldberg-style methods. Steve dropped over to Agape, the sheltered workshop that Giusy goes to, to see the group making dozens of little rice balls (arancine). I am not sure what they do with them, but I bet it is for a party that they will invite parents and friends to.
Most days are in the 60’s to low 70’s, and nights get down to the 50’s. We have stayed comfortable despite the lowering temperatures and I have managed to sunbathe/nap in the backyard away from the sea breezes most afternoons. November is the first month of winter, so we count ourselves doubly lucky that we escaped a winter blast while in the states and that we can stay comfy in our summer villa here. Of course that means putting rugs down on the tile floors as well as using our heaters, dehumidifiers, and thermal curtains. I actually prefer these temperatures to the brutal heat of summer and the overheated dry houses in the states. It gives me have more energy to do all the things I want to do too.