COUNTDOWN INTERRUPTED
I love dinner parties, when friends come over and spend lots of time sitting around chatting. What I don’t like, is when guests turn up early… There is truth in “works well under pressure” and it definitely applies to me. The last 15 minutes before the stated invitation time is when I get most done. Zoom round making sure all is clean and I have not forgotten the toilet brush inside the loo, take the sausage rolls out of the oven, ensure the sauces are in the right bowls, check the drinks are in the fridge and the ice cubes are set – so, when the guests arrive early, it is chaos… all the rings are on, the shopping bags are all over the floor, the candles are not lit, the apero table is nowhere near ready, the main meal is far from on track. HAPPY SAN VALENTINO all the same! Last night, I excelled in the art of zen, pretending all was as it should and sending people out of the kitchen clutching food and drink ;-)



Last night, everyone was asked to bring a small gift and a poem, here are the some of the ones that were exchanged:

“Ma l’amore che cos’e’?
E’ bravo chi lo sa spiegare…
Ma l’amore cosa fa?
Puo’ fare tutto ma non del male…”
In un giorno dove tutto rischia di essere scontate e banale…
Noi con il nostro semplice modo di stare insieme…
Trasformiamo il banale in “speciale”
Buon San Valentino
Federica

Ogni volta che lo appenderete
Ogni volta che lo guarderete
Sempre a me penserete!
Non saro’ ne bello ne brutto,
Ma sono sempre meglio di un tagliere di prosciutto
Accompagnato con un bel bicchier di vino,
Vi auguro un buon San Valentino!
Federico

Soffrire per amore,
Sentire un gran dolore
Sperare di trovare
Un nuovo alveare.
Siano felici gli innamorati
Che si sono gia incontrati
E festeggiano per benino
La sera di San Valentino
Cristian

Acqua e Vino
Burro e Salvia
Nutella e Ricotta
Una stella appesa ad un filo
Amore e Odio
Acqua e Fuoco
Avarizia e Generosità
Una luna piena rossa solo per te
Un occhio illuminato
Un fiore toccato
San Valentino innamorato
Olivia


Reading poems.


The boys, a salami and a capocollo.


Squashed?


Results.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Because being sensitive to beauty is not innate, many places have been ruined by horrible constructions. One such area is right next to the old family house of Ferdinando. A medium plot of land has had so many villas crammed onto it that it has lost all its appeal. Ferdinando could have done the same and sold his fields for a large sum of money, instead he chose to restore the house himself and keep most of the land around. He even refused to sell his ancient olive trees that he was being offered 1500 euro for (which is more than what most people make in a month over here). Thank goodness there are a few people like him around!


Ferdinando, his shaddow and one of the very old olive tree that he refused to sell.

In the olden days, you sat inside the fireplace and used the plate holder to eat your meal on!

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
Proactiveness was one of my resolutions. Ok, it’s not a word, but I put all my resolve into seizing every opportunity to integrate in this village. Having decided that one year in Cortona could not pass without me knowing more locals, I launched myself into a crusade to join every single gym class available. Unfortunately they turned out to be mostly for the over 60s… Undeterred by my first class (led by a male teacher – a replacement thank goodness – who could not stop giggling at me being there with a bunch of grannies doing stretching exercises and ending up being colder at the end than at the beginning of the class), I joined the second “elite” group in the smaller more expensive gym. It is still ok to run for 30 minutes up the hill before actually doing the class as the energy required is minimal, but at least now I know a few more faces (most of which do not actually live here at all…). Although this endeavour could be classed a failure, I am sticking to my resolution. Happy new year to you too, even if it is February!

WANT A HOUSE?
If you were wondering where to invest next and fancied purchasing property in the heart of Italy, I would recommend you visit the new Trasimeno Invest website. It is not yet totally finished but you can check out the Villa Romitorio to get an idea!

LOST AND FOUND
Suffering from terrible stomach cramps, Paola was rushed to hospital with suspected appendicitis. When she got to the best, biggest and newest clinic in Perugia, they decided that was not the problem. Emptied out and thoroughly cleaned, she was examined, prodded and sniffed by a variety of doctors, one of which found a lump. A lump, a cyst, three centimetres across. At this stage, Paola expected tests to figure out what the offending ping pong ball was and where it was located precisely. Instead she got lots of antibiotics and painkillers, eventually to be dismissed with a recommendation to go private to figure out what was wrong with her… nice to know that staying in hospital for nearly a week was totally pointless. Unsure if the cyst was gynaecological or intestinal, she booked appointments with the best specialists in both fields. After worrying herself sick, the date of the appointment with the gynaecologist finally arrived. Bracing herself for the worst, she entered the practice. Within 15 minutes, the doctor had defined that the cyst was in fact one of her ovaries…

CAKE CONTROL
Remember to say “rabbit” tomorrow!
Or was it “rabbits”?
Yesterday, I popped by to Nonna Bianca’s house as she had to give me some documents for the bank. She told me that she was not available when Cristian called because she had been taken out by her son to pluck chickens… as you do on a Sunday!
We got chatting and I was trying to find some innovative idea for the Hotel Santa Lucia that we are trying to sell or do something with. Since she always makes good cakes and likes to talk about them a lot, I wondered about opening a bakery. It takes Bianca 30 minutes per cake, she gets up at 5am and goes to bed at 8pm. Give her an hours lunch break, that makes 14 hours, the equivalent of 28 cakes. Add to that the fact that one cake cost me 29 euro here in Cortona… well, I think we have a business idea!
… and, she gets her eggs from the neighbour, in exchange for killing his rabbits… told you it was the theme of the month ;-)

AN OBSESSION
Once again, I was hit by the nations concern for fannies. I thought I was out for another ramble along the country lanes, checking out castles and old walls, but no… the idea of going to the thermal baths opened a whole new can of worms. Before we set off, I was checking the web for opening times and came across this site, which describes how famous San Casciano is for its vaginal irrigations!
1. What is one of those?
2. Does the mud or the water or the fumes get used?
3. Do they get reused?
Needless to say I was ecstatic to find that all the thermal areas are closed until February, and I am not going anyway until I get all the answers.



This is where it all happens...


The grannies standing in front of the castle which is private and can therefore not be accessed... cheers!


How about deforestation?


Fighine, down a dirt track, boasts Castello di Bufala, another private one.


The cat told us the Enoteca at Citta della Pieve was closed.

GERIATRICS
Thank goodness Gabriella and Federico were around to hang out with, otherwise it really would have been exclusive to the wrinklies! Cristian turned 30 on Saturday the 28th. That means I now live with an old man… Celebrations started on Thursday and will last a whole week. It is a bit like an Indian wedding save the henna painting; lots of eating, drinking, relatives and friends.
Here are some snippets:


The boys... or where they?


The girls.


I have a strong suspiscion that they think we are alcoholic...


All above 30.


The pink cheeks.


Not sure what she was on about this time, but reminds me of Scream!


Don't I look young...


Who spat the most over the cake?


Celebrating in Pozzuolo.

THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
It is snowing upwards, bit to the left, bit to the right, but clearly upwards. Nothing seems to be landing and I cannot really see a snow cloud, so why should I not start off the day blogging?
I was meaning to write a few days back, to celebrate the 21st of January with you: one full year since we returned from our trip. Now I will no longer be able to think, ahh this is December, so we were struggling to leave India and make our way through Egypt. It will seem still further away. That must be why I am in a desperate tiz to get the names on the digital photos. I ploughed through Malaysia the other day and today its going to be Vietnam. This year I will look back and recall when we left for Italy, when we found our flat, when the boxes arrived. Then it will be some blur as one contract followed the other, as I adjusted to life here and got the odd breath of travel by hopping to Egypt or Geneva whilst Cristian made his way to Pozzuolo and back. This has been the year of no true holidays and I think we are looking at another one along those lines…


The football match on Saturday (Pozzuolo vs Castiglione del Lago) attracted the press, including TV. This Thursday the team is having dinner and watching themselves on TeleEtruria… Fame!


Ju and Pa were explaining a dog story on Saturday night in the Percival Pub.


Paolo was supposed to be a field mouse...


We had not defined an animal for Michela.


Federico was also being a dog.


Montepulciano, where we celebrated on Sunday.


Pointing the way ahead from the top of a tower in Montepulciano.


The sky lit up for us.


The end of the weekend as seen from Cortona’s car park!

RESISTANCE
Voila, à deux reprises, j’ai simplement pas su résister… Tout d’abord, spécialement pour Cynthia, j’ai carrément été obligée d’acheter ce magnifique short ; ensuite, en un second temps, j’ai juste du le mettre sur le site. Il a fait baver le taureau mon nouveau caleçon, je vous jure : parole de poulette !
Je partage donc avec vous ma dernière acquisition – Val et Mimiche, promis, à la prochaine virée je vous laisse l’essayer.
Entre temps, mes petites adorées, je vous souhaite un top weekend, et surtout ne me raconter pas vos escapades montagnardes avec pistes ensoleillées à la clé ;-)


It's the rage!

SUSSING OUT TUSCANY’S JEWELS
On Sunday we went careering round the hills of Tuscany, finding new places to take you to next time you come and visit. Unfortunately we did not manage to combine our tour with wine cellars so will have to go out again next weekend!


Somewhere after San Gimignianello.


The White Robed Monks of St. Benedict's path home.


Step routine along the way.


Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore.

TANELLA ANGORI
Nothing to do with an angora rabbit, or any other fluffy animal for that matter, but completely related to some Etruscan lunatic who decided to stick several huge rocks together and then be buried under them. The Cortona equivalent of Stonehenge?
I passed it on my way to the video club, as most of you would pass a street lamp or a post office, that is what you have to contend with, living in such an area ;-)


How about a picnic?

SPACCHIAMO IL MAIALE
Somehow, Italy seems to be all about food. That is what you all thought it would be and what I really knew it was. The Nonna is always ranting on about her century old recipes, using exclusively dialect words, to stop most from figuring out what she is on about; the next generation is not as good as them, but they can get by. My generation on the other hand, has no idea how to slaughter a pig. So Cristian’s New Year resolution for 2006 is to take part in the “spezzamento” ceremony which is held at the beginning of each year. Zio (Wilmaro in this case) goes out and buys the beast. The family keep it at the back of the house for a while, then, when all the friends are gathered, they do the deed. The carcass is supposed to hang upside down for a while before it gets sectioned into bite-size pieces.

So last night, I had the great joy of being put to the test in front of the whole blooming family. Not quite Kho Lanta or any other of the more gory reality shows, but I still had to try the kidneys, the heart, the intestines, the blood, and then, just when I thought I had managed to not loose face, the Nonna started telling me how she had made the sausage I had in my mouth from the brain and the head… Was that an eye pressing against my tongue? Was the chewy bit some kind of single neurone????
You will be pleased to know that I did not spit it out, but had to drink lots of vino to wash it down….


No bits of pig, only art, to keep your stomach calm.


When it snowed...

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
When Cris eventually came back to Cortona to celebrate New Year with his friends, he found a very different side to the living room… The tree had decided to take a closer look at the tiles and jumped off the bookcase. Being a handyman, Cris immediately found a solution…


Before


After... notice the nailing directly into the furniture???

NOUVELLE ANNÉE
If you want to get insight into what I was up to on the 31st, check out:
http://nouvelanasie.blogspot.com/
Is it necessary to add that we danced till 8.30, opened the last bottle at 8.31 and got to bed by 9.30am…


The group and the sushi bar outfit.


Asia strikes a pose.


Stangulation by Cynthia.

PRANCING AROUND
After having the girls prance around the living room in my groovy boots – the best and possibly only way to round off a top class poulette evening at Valerie’s – Art Director and Creative Assistant spent new year’s eve getting rice all over the place, down the walls, under the carpet, on the chairs, in the hairs, nicely controlled with litres of superglue. Who would have known they were not directly from Japan?


A side of Valerie not many had seen before...


Mimiche hangs on for dear life.


Close up and personal with sushi.


Sushi rolls rock!


The full sushi bar effect.

ONE WAS ONE
Do you remember blowing out your first candle?
Strangely, on the day, Simone was more into the cake than into the candle…


Towering over chocolate.

GOT PAST...
Fluffy is going to be eaten. at some stage. for certain. just don't know when yet. so I thought I would share with you the joy of getting past Christmas without him/her=it being put in the pot.
I am now stearing clear of the back of the house, where the logs are stocked and where it finds shelter from the cold. I am in fact pretending it never existed.
Luckily, I only saw it in my dreams...
Buon appetito!

SAUSAGES
On my last day at the ministry, I was having difficulty attracting the attention of the guards at the door. On a usual morning, they would very happily hand over the keys to the office and return my wishes for a productive day - not today. After a while of hovering in the lounge area, I decided to let myself in through the electronic pod (checking if I have a low enough metal content to enter the building?) and knock on their door. As I swung in, I found myself nose to nose with a meter-long string on sausages... and lots of mammas, chanting the virtues of their creations. Easily distracted?
Happy Christmas.


sausages galore!

FLUFFY BIT
Just so you know, I am now the proud owner of one of those red-eyed fluffy bouncy things. Cristian has not had his hand under it yet so I am not sure about the gender, i am just hoping the nonna does not decide to put it in the pot at new year...

ROME IS...
Grumbling about the public transport system made it no better, so I walked most of the way to work, through the cobbled streets of Trastevere, up onto the banks of the river - which was threatening to overflow - down into the Vatican areas where people were pressing into bars for their morning coffee. When I asked my way, I was sent up to Piazza San Pietro. What an astoundingly beautiful sight. Rome is gorgeous.


This does it no justice.

WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE WANTED TO KNOW
Cristian spent most of yesterday feeling the genitalia of albino rabbits...
After taking the pheasant food market by storm, this new move relates to the "day of the rabbit" - an incentive to get people to buy pet food (with the pet included) or some amazing trick to try out something most people never get to do????

STRIKE TOMORROW

UNE PETITE POESIE

Le chat et l'oiseau

Un village écoute désolé
Le chant d'un oiseau blessé
C'est le seul oiseau du village
Et c'est le seul chat du village
Qui l'a à moitié dévoré
Et l'oiseau cesse de chanter
Le chat cesse de ronronner
Et de se lécher le museau
Et le village fait à l'oiseau
De merveilleuses funérailles
Et le chat qui est invité
Marche derrière le petit cercueil de paille
Où l'oiseau mort est allongé
Porté par une petite fille
Qui n'arrête pas de pleurer
Si j'avais su que cela te fasse tant de peine
Lui dit le chat
Je l'aurais mangé tout entier
Et puis je t'aurais raconté
Que je l'avais vu s'envoler
S'envoler jusqu'au bout du monde
Là-bas où c'est tellement loin
Que jamais on n'en revient
Tu aurais eu moins du chagrin
Simplement de la tristesse et des regrets
Il ne faut jamais faire les choses à moitié.

Jacques PREVERT

ALL OR NOTHING
I know, it has gone from blog mania (those who were following closely will know what I am on about) to radio silence... Big brother seems to be just around the corner and I might have to move to another patch. Makes no sense to you? It does to me though.
Check below though as I have added new pictures!!