Our olive harvest has begun

We started picking our olives on Monday and were delighted by the quantity of fruit. From 4 trees we harvested about 90 kilos, almost enough for a mill run.  The next day wasn’t quite as good. We disturbed a hornets nest in the orchard and both got stung, luckily only once each.  One of us was laid in the ground howling like a dog and banging his head where he was stung.  I said oh I’ve been stung on my arm.  Actually the stings were very sore for the rest of the day, we were lucky it wasn’t worse. Last night MrFF well protected by layers of clothing sprayed the nest and today it’s empty.

However we have frustratingly been rained off picking today and may be tomorrow too, Friday we take the cats back to the vets.  So we have delivered what we have, 133 kilos from 8 trees and there are 16 more well ladened ones to pick.  It’s one if the best crops we’ve had for years, I put it down to us stopping Mario doing his vicious annual prune though am sure he’d disagree.  He’s already cross with us for getting Vincenzo sterilised.

I am unable to upload photos today, visualise a man up an olive tree with a rake and a big crate full of olives. 

Grigio update

It’s been a roller coaster caring for Grigio and giving her medication.  Some days she seems to be recovering, other days she seems almost as ill as ever.  We finished the anti biotic and cortisone treatment at the end of last week and I expected she’d be much happier.  Friday she ate most of the day so I was happy, Saturday she ate nothing at all and while she wasn’t as miserable as she had been she wasn’t interested in going out and slept in her basket most of the time.  

This morning I tempted her to eat a little wet food after which she climbed onto my knee purring.  Over the day she’s eaten more and slept outside in the sunshine. Tonight I tried her again with fresh liver which had been recommended for her anaemia.  Friday she wouldn’t touch it, Sunday she had two helpings, it could go either way tomorrow.

We are back at the vets with both cats on Friday.  Meantime we are about start the olive harvest, the forecast for this week was good, now it’s not so good.  Italian cats and Italian meteorologists they are both fickle.  Maybe they think it makes for an interesting life, I could do without it especially as we shall be leaving sometime next month and we need both to be on top form.

Vet visits 3 and 4

We had a stressful return to the vet on Thursday.  Things didn’t start well when Grigio refused to come out of our carrier, despite it being it tipped on end she clung to the inside like a rock climber and eventually had to be shaken out.  We were invited to watch the ultra sound. Neither of us recognised anything on the screen and assumed all the little blobs we saw and the bleeps we heard were bad news.  Eventually they told us she had a lot of worms and parasites, particularly in her lungs.  This was a shock as I do monitor them both for worms and had seen no evidence.  Presumably this infestation is a result of Grigio fending for herself for 8 months and eating what she could find.  The lung parasites are particularly worrying as they are causing inflammation and damage hence her high white cell count as she fights the infection. 

They then showed us her xrays which confirmed her lungs were not at all healthy but even worse that she has 3 pellets inside her and had at some stage been shot. We were furious about this although the vet said she is not in any pain or at any risk so they won’t do anything.    She had worm treatment and is continuing the anti biotics but also now has cortisone for a week plus a one off large tablet that must be taken whole. So far we have failed to administer it as I worry about chocking her, she has refused it several times in food.

We also asked if they would give Vincenzo a health check and if possible sterilise him which they offered to do next day.  Vincenzo is a different cat altogether. He  happily went in and out of the carrier and let the vet handle him without fuss.  He was given the same worm treatment and the large tablet, which he gulped down with some tuna this morning. Yesterday he slept all afternoon and evening, asked to be let out around 1 am and was waiting at the door for breakfast when I got up.  What an obliging boy he is.

Both cats go back in two weeks for another worm treatment and a check. If we can just get this tablet down Grigio’s throat the worst should be over.  We did ask if the vets had one if those devices for firing tablets into the cats mouth, they’d never heard of that and agreed it was almost impossible to get a cat to take such a large tablet which again stressing that we must not crush or break it.  Thanks a lot.

Wild life

Yesterday I discovered in our orchard a dead porcupine.  It looked as if there had been a fight as some distance from the body were many quills, I collected the best ones.  The large body had been partially eaten and was very smelly, I did wash the quills.

This morning I went again to check and it had completely disappeared,  not a scrap of fur or a single bone remained. I wonder what creature could have carried away such a heavy carcass given the difficulty of negotiating fences and steps on our land.  I know wolves have been heard above us which is a worry particularly if they have young.

Last week we took Grigio to the vet as she wasn’t eating and seemed generally miserable.  They gave her a thorough check under anaesthetic, removed some damaged teeth and cleaned the rest, tested her for HIV and leukemia, both negative, and sent blood for analysis.  She is on anti biotics as she has some mouth ulcers and a vitamin supplement, she has made great progress. 

At the time we had friends from the uk staying with us, one if whom is a retired medical professional, and a cat lover. She was so helpful advising us what questions to ask, helping administer the medication and taking away some of the stress.  I am not sure it was the relaxing week they expected but we were grateful they were here.

Unfortunately Grigio was called back to the vet earlier this week when her blood test showed a high white cell count caused either because she is fighting an infection or by a lymphoma.  She is much improved after the anti biotics, she seems well and happy so we hope for the best but this afternoon we have to take her back for an ultrasound, keep your fingers crossed for her.

Getting there

The garden is hardly returned to glory but it is becoming acceptable under the circumstances, some colour, some new growth and a lot of bare earth. 

The pots I have salvaged have not a single flower but hopefully they’ll survive the winter and perform again next year.  The kumquat is leafless but new shoots are appearing, meantime I am glad to have so many pots of large spider plants to brighten up the terraces.

Happily I have discovered 3 agapanthus that had been buried quite deeply as the creatures flung soil about digging their massive holes in the borders. I am not blaming any animal in particular but I have picked up 12 porcupine quills whilst working.  They could have planted by those shifty badgers, who knows.

The strangest discovery I’ve made relates to my lemon tree that started producing fruit a couple of years ago.  I was checking it and discovered not only new small lemons but small oranges too, I assume oranges they could I guess be grapefruit.  Definitely just one tree that I bought at least 15 years ago when it was small, labelled lemon.  It must have been grafted, I cannot wait to see what develops .

Meantime the lower lawn has been turned into a honeycomb of molehills, cracks and raised turf.  It looks like we've had a mini earthquake or some giant creature burrowing underneath it, it’s spongy to walk on and we worry one of us might disappear down a sink hole.  I try to remember that Giovanni tells me this is the animals territory and we are the incomers but I do think they are taking liberties,  they could be devastating the whole of the mountainside instead of our 3/4 acre of cultivation.

First days in italy

We arrived at our house on Friday evening after a fairly stress free journey. Even the dreaded day on the autostrada was calmer than normal as we had a whole stretch before Genoa that was cars only so very quiet.  MrFF found it necessary once again to drive over the St Bernard pass, if it’s open he’s on it.  At the top it was minus 1.5 degrees with snow drifting around in the air.

We avoided a 10k queue on the last few miles by diverting towards Tivoli. It cost us an extra half hour but we heard afterwards traffic was stopped for 3 hours.

We hadn’t been in the house 5 minutes when Giovanni phoned, he must have heard us calling the cats.   He said Grigio and Vincenzo were at his house and we’d be reunited the next morning which was a little disappointing but what’s another 12 hours when we hadn’t seen Grigio for 10 months.  The cats however had other ideas and within an hour they were at the terrace door.  Grigio was quite thin, I could feel her spine, and her fur was knotty and dull but she’s been eating well and been brushed regularly, the shine is coming back and we are so happy she is here. Vincenzo has grown a lot and looks really well, maybe he’s got into the habit of head butting Grigio out of the way to get to food, he’s currently under training to stop that.

The garden has been devastated by porcupine and badger, I have lost a lot of plants that had tuberous roots, dahlias, agapanthus, gladioli, even a large phormium I grew from seed had been uprooted and left to die.  I have at least 6 large empty pots and nothing is flowering in the ones that survived.  However, all the shrubs and trees seem ok, the olives look well  nd we are told the harvest will be good this year, time will tell.

The weather is good, usually warm sunny mornings and maybe some rain in the afternoon.  We’ve worked hard mostly outside, the front hedge is cut and I’ve done basic dusting and mopping inside.  I will get round to cleaning windows and the finer details soon as we have friends staying with us in about 10 days time after which I fear MrFF might start another project, watch this space.

Last days in Yorkshire

I am writing this in France where we are relaxing after the first stage of our epic drive back to Lazio.  We left ilkley late Monday afternoon, took the midnight ferry from Dover and after rest and refreshment stops en route arrived in the champagne region early Tuesday afternoon.  The driver took several sleep stops, MrFF can fall asleep to order, I can only sleep in a bed at night so I didn’t get any sleep for 36 hours and was a little tetchy when we stepped out for dinner last night.   I am rested now, we plan to take a walk as the sun is out after a wet start to the day.  Later we will have swim and a sauna, a quiet evening and back in the car tomorrow morning.  We are getting closer to those cats.

Before we left we had a delayed celebration for MrFF’s 76 birthday.  We took the little Dales minibus service that only seats 15 so you have to join the queue in good time, to Bolton Abbey,  see below.

From there we walked 10 miles of the Dales Way home, mostly following the river Wharfe. It was a sunny t shirt kind of day, we stopped in Addingham for a birthday lunch beside the river, here is the view from our terrace table, sorry about the glare from the glass balustrade.

MrFF offered the option of then taking the bus back to ilkley but I was happy to keep walking and we were home in time to watch a mountain stage of the Vuelta a Espana.   It was a glorious trip that made it even harder to leave Yorkshire but we did and tomorrow evening we should be in northern Italy for our final overnight in Aosta and at our house Friday evening.  Today we are enjoying the calm and the memory of our lovely walk a week ago.

Invincible Vincenzo

 

Giovanni sent us this photo taken one evening of the amazing Vincenzo, the cat who is afraid of nothing, certainly not a young fox.   Giovanni told us a while back that Vincenzo was king as he had tackled what translated as a ferret, now he says Vincenzo is a wolf.  We are so happy that the little cat who appeared in spring is spending his days with Giovanni and his family, they all seem very taken with him and I’m sure it’s reciprocal.  During school term Giovanni is on his own during the week, it’s only in the holidays the grandchildren are with him so I am sure he enjoys having a little cat companion.

Below is the most recent photo Giovanni has sent, he calls it family reunited. Bottom is Grigio, next Vincenzo and finally the cat we think is Vincenzo’s mother.

Grigio apparently comes and goes, Giovanni sees her every few days, she regularly calls by our house where she is caught on the camera and she also spends time with Anna who is resident for the summer at the bottom of our road.  Grigio just has to stay around another week or so as we plan to leave next week for Lazio.  Of course the downside is that we will only stay until early November, by which time the summer residents will have gone back to Rome, our cats will be alone and reliant on Mario regularly topping up their automatic feeder.  That needs consideration. For now we are grateful the cats are well fed and very excited to see them, what a reunion that will be.

Happy workers = happy customers

A shop in Waitrose, a smart UK supermarket chain,  always makes me happy, contrary to a shop in Lidl which is a regular and depressing experience when we are in Italy.

Yesterday driving home from a delicious and chatty lunch at friends we called at Waitrose early evening for a few essentials to take to Italy.  At the till we were served by the nicest gentleman who chatted about our purchases, which he thoroughly approved of and their destination in Lazio.  We then chatted about Waitrose, he said he worked there part time to fill in his retirement and loved it for 4 reasons.  He works with a great bunch of people, he loves the customers who come in and chat, he works in pleasant comfortable surroundings and sells lovely shiny things.  It was uplifting to listen to his positivity, he was a great advertisement for Waitrose, and I will give them feedback to this effect.  I imagine they look after their staff well as they are part of the John Lewis Group but I doubt the man was earning much above minimum wage.  Compared to all the workers currently demanding big pay rises, and some like train drivers still striking when they get them, he was a breath of fresh air.  

We have our own local supermarket Booths in Ilkley which is equally pleasant, staffed with nice people, lots of local products and within walking distance so I use that regularly.    We have to drive to Waitrose so generally call in if we are passing otherwise i’d be there every few days chatting to our new friend.  

Knit yourself happy

Interesting article in The Guardian confirming what I already knew, that crafting gives greater life satisfaction than having a job.  

Among other results the team found engaging in arts and crafts was associated with an increase in happiness on a par with ageing by 20 years (as Keyes notes, wellbeing goes up slightly with age), while the sense that life was worthwhile was more strongly associated with crafting than being in employment.  

I could have told them that, knitting isn’t 9 till 5, you are your own boss, creative, productive, no commuting, no performance reviews though we can be quite critical of our work, calming, I could go on.

So I have been working away at my wellbeing knitting up left over sock yarn.  The first pair worked well as I had almost enough of the multi coloured yarn that I supplemented with some blue.  The next pair I’ve started is more challenging. 

One sock is complete, it’s lovely but now I am wondering if I have enough of the same 3 yarns to make a match.  Not that it matters, there’s no one overseeing my work and no customer complaints number to call and hold on for a week listening to irritating music if you want to criticise my self expression.    

We’ve been away

We had a few days away last week staying with friends in North Yorkshire.  They live in an idyllic little village with a river running through the village green, a smart pub with restaurant and rooms, lovely old houses and pretty gardens, what more would you want. Well maybe better transport links and a small village shop but still.

En route we called briefly to see friends near York, we always like a visit there to see them, their pretty well stocked garden and their two adorable cats.

With our hosts for 3 nights we took walks round the village, sat out in their sunny garden, chatted a lot and relaxed. Together we visited Helmsley walled garden which was a delight and enjoyed a delicious lunch in the cafe, I can recommend it all.

We also found to time to visit friends we hadn’t seen for 35 years.  We received the warmest of welcomes and had a wonderful time, it was uplifting.

On our way home we called at my brother’s where happily both our nieces and 3 of our grand nieces were there to see us too.  We had lunch in the sunny garden and had fun with the little ones.

So lots of people seen, we really enjoyed our days away but as you will have gathered I took no photos at all.

Back in Ilkley we’ve had sunny days and some relaxation on the balcony when we are not glued to the Olympics.  The spare bedroom storage has rather slowed, the drawers are still to fit and we need to source handles and knobs.   MrFF has been busy with our broken boiler and we have had replacement parts fitted to 4 gas flues that run through our loft, our own and those of the 3 apartments below us. According to our lease the flues are our responsibility but MrFF discovered the leaks into our loft were a result of management’s lightning conductor installers drilling our flues for a fixing, which should never have happened.  It’s taken 3 years, during which time we have had to deal with the water ingress, to resolve this, up till the day before the contractors were due the negotiations continued, it was exhausting.  We are leaseholders with a share in the freehold, we are treated like anti social tenants but fortunately we have the strength to stand up for ourselves.

We haven’t had news of our Italian cats for a couple of weeks, we assume they are safe and well with Giovanni and enjoying the August holidays with his family.  We had a major badger invasion in our garden, the pots we thought we’d protected with high netting had been turned over and the contents taken out.  On the security camera at the back door we’ve seen black squirrels, a small fox and a badger eating the cat food Mario leaves in case Grigio comes down, it’s a wild life haven.  The garden looks very dry indeed, I am expecting fatalities when we return.

So another month or so we will return to Italy, I cannot wait to see the cats, maybe not so excited about the garden but being there will extend the flip flop days I am currently loving, I am such a lucky girl.

Whites and brights

My balcony troughs of white flowering plants are coming along nicely,  lots of buds to open and the campanula spreading out to cover the compost.

I am particularly taken with this delphinium which I think is Dark Bee.

I have always loved white flowers, they feel so calm and in the evenings take on a magical luminosity. All of which contrasts nicely with my love of bright clothing. I read somewhere that if you wear black you disappear so as I get older I don’t steer away from vivid colours.  This applies to my knitting too, I am currently using up oddments of sock yarn and enjoying sorting the various colours into some lively combinations, these are the current pair,  I have even brighter ones planned.

However sock knitting isn’t quite as calm as usual because I worry that I might not have enough yarn to make a matching pair or even finish a pair, which is silly.  I have plenty of leftover oddments and where did it say a pair have to match.

The Book Worm

I reserved this book at the library after a friend’s recommendation.  This is a great library service that costs nothing, they send an email when the book arrives and allows several days for collected.  I was quite surprised when I called in to collect a knitting books I’d also reserved to be told there were two books waiting for me.

I was even more surprised to see how large the latest book was, a hardback of almost 600 pages, particularly as I was not very far into my current read. I worried that I wouldn’t get onto The Lincoln Highway for a few days, not finish it within the allowed 21 days then not be able to renew it as it would be reserved.  

You will be as amazed as I am to know that I read my reserved book in 2 days.  I think the first night I read beyond midnight and next morning opened the blinds slightly to start again reading beside a sleeping MrFF before 6 am.  I think I stopped at 8 and had another hours sleep before starting the day.  I read on the balcony in the sun and did more or less the same the next day finishing that night, or maybe the early hours of the next morning.  

It goes without saying that I was totally engrossed in this book, it was a wonderful read with a wide range of engaging characters, I loved it.

So far I have continued the routine of waking early and reading,  probably due to the sunny mornings and warm days we are still enjoying.  I remember having friends staying with us in Italy many years ago.  I was up before 6 and found the wife sitting alone out on the terrace with a book still in her nightdress, give it a try indoors or out early morning reading really is delightful.

This afternoon the same friend who made the recommendation came round to lend me a book she’s just finished.  This one has 805 pages, just when I’d selected two more books from the library and am in the middle of another.  She did say I could keep it to take to Italy, phew that takes the pressure off.

The day our cat came home *

I never thought I’d be writing this post though I have longed to be able to for months.  Up to last Friday our little cat in Italy, Grigio, had not being seen since Christmas by Mario who feeds her in our absence, we asked him to keep putting food out. We searched for her when we returned in April, calling her every day from the house and whenever we went out for walks until we left in June but there was no trace of her.  

Last Friday Mario messaged us to say he’d been to the house, everything was fine, the irrigation was working and Grigio was there.  We couldn’t believe it assuming it was mistaken identity, we’d seen a cat that looked rather like Grigio on the security camera earlier that week but it’s wasn’t so clear and we dismissed it as yet another stray.

Mario suggested we check that evening’s recording, there was a small grey cat fussing round his legs and mewing, he picked it up and held it to the camera, this was no stray and it definitely looked like Grigio.  Mario gave her food from the stock we’d provided just in case and left the feeder out by the back door where we could monitor it.  Grigio was back next morning for breakfast.

We told Giovanni who is already feeding at his house Vincenzo the young ginger who appeared this year and the cat he thinks is his mother. Giovanni is so kind he said Grigio would be welcome at his house too and there is enough food for them all, I’d dropped off a couple of bags and some treats before we left.

It was hard to sleep that night but lovely to wake up knowing our girl was home and safe.   Saturday afternoon we received a photo of Vincenzo and Grigio dining side by side whilst being stroked by Giovanni’s grandchildren. Sunday they were having a birthday party, Giovanni said for the whole family including the cats.   It’s a dream come true, for us all because apparently Vincenzo enjoys 3 meals a day and Grigio won’t stray far from that routine. 

We plan to return to Italy in September, if we can wait that long.  I suppose we will never know where Grigio has been or how a little cat, the runt of the litter, who was born in our garden 7 years go, had never strayed from our property and never had to fend for herself has survived 7 months in an area of mainly unoccupied houses.  We are so happy that she has, bless her heart and yes it’s definitely her because we recognise the kink in her tail.

* sorry the football didn’t 

Stuck in our ways

When I retired I loved the novelty of my time being my own with no schedule, it felt like freedom.   15 years on I seem to have set my own routines. Nothing major of course but I do like to do things a certain way, like not tackling Wordle until I’ve washed the breakfast pots and brushed my teeth. Speaking of breakfast, throughout my working life I always set breakfast before I went to bed. I stopped for a few years then started doing it again. It was something my Mum always did and I followed her example, I really enjoy getting up to see everything waiting on the table for my favourite meal of the day, such a good start.

I make the bed as soon as we get up, hoover and tidy our apartment in the morning.  Little rituals that happen automatically.   I suppose we are creatures of habit and our good habits make us feel organised and grounded.  

It seems MrFF’s routine is always to have a disruptive project on the go. All week he has been working on the spare bedroom wardrobes, I am desperate to put things away imagining the room restored. He tells me the dressing table in the recess to the left will be the last part of the work because as soon as it’s made I shall be installing my non urgent toiletries.  Quite right I will, possibly before I brush my teeth because I can still do spontaneity.

He’s only gone and done it

A record 35 stage wins on the Tour de France.  I was one of those who wanted him to stop when he equalled Eddy Merckx’ record because I didn’t want him to keep putting himself in such danger or me under such stress every time there was a sprint finish.  I was a wreck yesterday, luckily Cav and his Astana team were in full control.  A fairy tale ending for a man who has overcome such adversity, he is inspirational and will always be my favourite rider.

It’s another sprint stage today, please just stay safe Cav.

Back to ourselves

 We are recovered from Italy and fully entrenched in Yorkshire life.

I have planted up my 2 new balcony troughs with a selection of mostly white herbaceous plants from the lovely local nursery that I can walk to and from, £1 each and they make me happy. 

Last year I bought white lavender and shasta daisies for the tall pots at the same price, this year they are sizeable.  My only issue with small plants is whether they will spread and flower before we leave again but really there is plenty for us to enjoy now.

We are both back into walking, we’ve had friends round for dinner, MrFF has started his latest project adding more storage and a dressing table to the spare bedroom.  Any work in a small top floor apartment, building or gardening, brings extra challenges and disruption but my goodness we’ve had plenty of experience over the years especially with building work.  Someone asked me the other day why we don't have a handyman to do this sort of thing, we do,  it’s MrFF who I know will make an excellent job, be as clean and tidy as possible and do as he’s told.

We are watching the Tour de France live, so far it’s been amazing apart from me fretting about Cav, soon to be Sir Cav, as he attempts to beat the record for most stage wins on the Tour ever.

Giovanni is in touch regularly, he seems to relish having Vincenzo for company.  Sunday he said Vincenzo was completely exhausted having spent the morning eating, there was a photo of the dear little cat spark out.  It seems that as well as the cat biscuits and treats I provided he is getting lasagna, chicken and lamb, and I imagine lots of attention when Giovanni’s family visit at weekends. 

The weather has turned a little cooler than I’d like and the rain is a bit unpredictable, I got quite wet but never cold on my walk yesterday, but we feel settled and content back in Yorkshire, for a few of months at least.

Home again

We arrived back in Yorkshire last Wednesday evening, that journey from Lazio doesn’t get any easier.  Our first two overnights were in Bergamo, we’ve discovered that getting back in the car for the day 4 mornings in a row is just too much.  So we had a lovely second day swimming in the pool and relaxing on the sunny balcony of our apartment before heading off for dinner in the old walled city.  We left early with the intention of strolling to the restaurant, we weren’t exactly sure where it was and of course it was at the very top of the town.  We ended up taking the funicular up and down the last stretch but we still walked over 6 miles, it was beautiful.

Back in the car next morning we drove to the champagne region of France to an elegant small hotel that was new to us in a pretty little village that we found time to walk round,  it didn’t disappoint.  

Our room was spacious and calm, we had an excellent dinner and fortunately breakfast started at 6.30 so we left in good time catching an earlier ferry than we’d booked.  Just over 12 hours after leaving our hotel we were home.

We are taking a long time to recover, fortunately we brought the sun back with us and have been sitting out on our balcony resting, taking gentle walks and watching a lot of football.  We have the bifold doors open all day and the windows are open day and night, it feels like we are finally on holiday after all the work in Lazio, which is now having a heatwave with temperatures in the high 30s.  This week we have friends here on two days, MrFF has a walk with his group and on Friday fittings arrive to build more wardrobe space and a dressing table in our spare room, holiday over.

Best news of all, our little cat Vincenzo has moved up the mountain to live with Giovanni as we all hoped he would, we left food and treats there for him and Giovanni sends regular reports. 

The closing ceremony

We plan to leave our house in Lazio on Sunday, preparations have begun and some bookings made. We are going back to Bergamo for a couple of nights, last year I had terrible eye problems that spoilt our visit so we are trying again.  We will have one night in France then take the ferry Wednesday to be home in Yorkshire that evening.

So there’s work to be done before we leave.  MrFF was up before six this morning to strim the rest of orchard and burn all our hedge clippings and cuttings.  We have to burn these on site and any fire must be extinguished before 9 am, he’s well on target so we don’t expect the police helicopter to be circling.

The garden is looking good and the new irrigation for my pots is almost ready for a trial run, not that I want to move everything under the spray just yet.

The rest of the garden will survive, it won’t be beautiful when we return but it will come back. I am a little worried for some large yucca cuttings I was given.  I’ve put them in the orchard and watered them for almost two weeks but it’s been very hot.  They are quite robust plants so if they make just a few roots they’ll be ok. I hope so, I have visions of a tropical border where we used to grow our tomatoes.  MrFF is not so keen and has plans for new retaining wall that could accommodate them

Vincenzo the little cat is here most of the time but still visits Giovanni daily.  When we leave I am sure Vincenzo will just move up the mountain so I’ll take some food and the treats he likes to Giovanni and make sure that Mario steps in if needed to for feeding duties.  Giovanni hopes his grand daughter who will be at staying in August might adopt Vincenzo, he’s a calm friendly cat who deserves a home.  

We’ve made huge progress while we’ve been here, it’s a relief to have the garden room finished and it looks better than I’d hoped.  Of course we’ll come back probably late September to a dirty dusty house and a wild garden, the prospect of more projects and the olives to pick.  Don’t mention the planning violation, we’ve heard nothing despite a meeting with our geometra who was going to the regional office to inspect our documents.  Six weeks later he’s still waiting for an appointment.  MrFF was chatting to a lady in the village who had a similar though smaller problem, she said the same geometra took 3 years to resolve it. So just over 2 more years to wait.  

A water solution

The weeks here go by so quickly.  We wake early to beautiful clear sunny mornings, sit out for breakfast and contemplate the day which seems endless.  Before you know it we are eating dinner then falling asleep in front of the 10 o’clock news that’s on at 11.  

In between there has been more progress in the garden room.   I finished oiling the terracotta floor tiles and MrFF is renovating the solid wooden doors.  Much of the brown furniture has left the building including this beer keller type arrangement, a really nice man from the next village was happy to have it.  For now we have the old wooden garden table and chairs, much more in keeping with the light airy room.

Naturally rather than relax and enjoy our efforts we are thinking of returning to Ilkley.  The sooner we leave the sooner we can come back, the heat is starting to build, 30 degrees today when we went down into the valley for provisions and worst of all the mosquitoes are back.  I am disappointed to be leaving the garden now I’ve regained control as so many plants are yet to flower.  I have hardly bought anything new this year, a tray of trailing geraniums that just started to bloom this week 

and a yellow portaluca that I’m not so keen on.  But I want to see the plumbago open, the hydrangea that I thought was dead but is showing a few green shoots come back to life and these geraniums that I’ve had for several years are almost out but not quite.

So today I had a word with MrFF about the possibility of some irrigation for the pots.  Much tutting and head shaking from him as he doesn’t want to leave the water on inside the house, pleading from me.   We have a solution, we will leave all the pots at the front of the house where they’ll be in shade most of the day and netted off from badger invasion.  He’s already bought the plumbing parts and started work on some sort of isolation valve so there will be no water entering the house just supplying the garden tap.  He will then connect a timed sprinkler for the pots.   However at present it looks like he might be installing the Trevi fountain

The garden room

I quite like pretentious room names.  In Scotland we had a large room above the double garage that we called the morning room because it got the sun am. I know a keen weaver and spinner who called her workroom the loom room, you get the idea.  The garden room sounds better than the room under the balcony and makes it acceptable to be a mix of outside and inside.

So the garden room is coming on, it’s decorated, cleaned and partially restored.  I’ve been applying linseed oil to the unsealed terracotta tiles, i love the smell of that stuff, and they look much better.  MrFF has cleaned and repaired the fireplace, it was pretty awful with crumbling plaster and mortar splattered bricks.  

The room was full of brown furniture, we donated the table, bench and chairs to someone opening a taverna down in the valley, the brother of our local bar owner. We have a white wooden garden table and chairs that are far too heavy to move in and out that we can use instead to fill the space, I doubt we will ever wish to traipse our meal downstairs.

I am toying with the idea of chalk painting the large dark dresser as there is far too much brown in the room, it needs lifting and the change would be worth the effort.

Between the spiral stairs and the room we have made a library.  I enjoyed dusting and re-shelving all the books, most of which I’ve read. 

There’s still work to do and it feels rather make do and mend but when I remember that two years ago water was pouring from the ceiling and the walls were black with mould it does feel like progress.  It’s not the beautiful space it could be but neither is it the embarrassment it was, for now we’ve spent enough time and energy on a room we have never used.

Oranges and Lemons

A slight blip in posting as I was logged out of my account, all fixed now and nothing compared to the hassles of Italian life which goes like this.

Two weeks after our meeting with the geometra who as usual told us what he needs to do, nothing has been done.  

The room below the balcony, which I have decided to call the garden room, is almost finished.  It certainly looks better than it did when water was pouring in and the walls were covered in mould but the floor, which has unsealed terracotta tiles is not great and neither is the old furniture in there.  I may do a post to show you.

MrFF ordered some aluminium posts to support a new sun sail for the balcony, to be delivered to our house as they are quite large.  Delivery was due on Monday, by Monday afternoon delivery was due Tuesday.  On Tuesday the tracker said our address was invalid and the courier awaited instructions from the sender.  We’d provided our full address plus what three words identification and our Italian landline number to make sure they’d find us.  So MrFF sent to the supplier a copy of a letter from our Comune that showed our address, they replied that delivery would be on Wednesday, we knew it wouldn’t.  Today Thursday the tracker says the courier is waiting for instructions for re-delivery which is odd since the have definitely not been here to try to deliver, and we have camera evidence, or even tried to phone us.  I am thinking the couriers should offer different delivery options - this year, next year, sometime, never.

In happier news the sun is shining and yesterday we had a morning doing nothing before returning to the work.  The garden is great and my lemon tree is filling me with joy, lots of beautiful large lemons and it’s covered in blossom and bees for the next crop. Not only that, my single orange is gradually changing colour and there are a few more flowers on the tree that I have nurtured for 20 years.  There are also a few flowers on the little kumquat, but the bees are so busy on the lemon I worry the latter two won’t be fertilised.  

We had a wonderful Sunday lunch with friends, so nice to be out socialising after all the decorating and cleaning.  I came away with a large bag of bitter oranges from one of their many ladened citrus trees.  I made 15 jars of fresh fruity marmalade, the taste isn’t quite the same as Seville oranges and it was a challenge getting a set but I was determined.  With all the challenges here I have to be.

Italian update

We’ve been here just over two weeks now and progress is good.  As usual the garden has been my priority.  I’ve lost a few plants, the badgers seem to take the tuberous ones so little sign of irises or dahlias, but generally everything is thriving.  My single orange is still on the tree and changing colour, it also has several new flowers which I hope will set.  My lemon tree is amazing, having been told it would never grow at our altitude, 750 metres, it’s full of fruit, new flowers and happy bees.

MrFF has been busy in the room below the previously leaking now retiled balcony Over the winter the walls and ceiling remained dry so he’s removed the old black mold, which fortunately was superficial and is busy redecorating.  He’s happy to work on his own with me joining in as required to do the cutting in round skirtings, switches etc and help with the cleaning, there was a lot of sanding down that filled the room with dust.

We’ve never used this room which is a pity.  Its huge room and opens onto the lower garden, it’s very private and slightly cooler in summer than the rooms under the roof.  I’ve always had a desire for a day bed in there or maybe a hammock for afternoon snoozes. 

Sadly there is no sign of Grigio.  We’ve walked out and called her a lot, it doesn’t look good as she hasn’t been seen since Christmas.   Meanwhile a youngish ginger cat has appeared.  At first we ignored him but since we have cat food to spare it seemed mean not to give him some, we are a soft touch.  He’s quite friendly, we can stroke him and pick him up, but he doesn’t hang around too long after he’s eaten. We get the impression he has a home which is fine, we like to see him but are glad he doesn’t rely on us.  We really don’t want any more of the stress of leaving a cat for months on end however well we provide for it. So for now we have Vincenzo our time share boy who is very sweet, we are trying not to get attached.

Finally we have a meeting with our geometra on Friday early evening about the planning violation.  He seems incapable of action, so far as we know he hasn’t made any approach to the Comune since we asked him to help us last August.  However his recent email acknowledged we were returning to the village after Easter so he was on programme, his own programme which bears no resemblance to ours.  

That’s just the way things are

When we were in the UK we saw on our Italian security camera a man wearing an unidentifiable high viz uniform call at our back door, leave and come back again with something in his hand.  His car or van was obviously parked up the road so we couldn’t identify that. 

A few weeks later the same man was back, this time he again went back to his car and return with a screw driver spending time at the back door, which is where our electricity meter is housed.  We have a smart meter so there is no need for readings to be taken, besides if he wanted to just read the numbers he wouldn’t need a screw driver.  As a precaution we asked Mario to check and the house was fine.

However this time MrFF took from the camera a still of the visitor which he then sent to our provider asking if they could identify the person and explain what he was doing.  They replied, eventually, saying they couldn’t respond because MrFF had written in English, it must be a special law that utilities cannot use translator. MrFF sent everything again in Italian and this time they replied, in their own good time, that it wasn’t their department and we needed to contact the distributor.  Third time lucky, not, we got no reply at all from the distributor. 

When we arrived at our house last week MrFF discovered that the lock on the meter cupboard had been tampered with, broken and inoperable, so much for the screw driver.  Maybe it’s also a rule that keys cannot be taken out of the office.  MrFF wrote to the distributor complaining that we no longer have access to our meter and are unable to isolate our electricity supply should we need to.   In fact if the meter trips off, as often happens, we have no way to turn it back on without breaking the door open.  We got no response.

Mario arrived with our mail and there was a letter from the electricity people, dated 2 days after our complaint, saying they need to change our meter urgently and we should make an appointment.

If they’d asked us to make an appointment before the first visit and said they didn’t have a key for the cupboard that they provided we could have arranged for Mario to give them access.  Now we have no idea how the man intends to open the meter cupboard and doubt if he going to replace the lock. I know I am being too logical about this, we’ve only been back a few days and I have yet to adjust my brain into Italian mode but now as the usual senseless challenges return we really feel we’ve arrived.

We have arrived

Boxes and cases litter the house which needs a really good clean.  However I have been weeding the garden and sorting the balcony pots, MrFF has got the comfy chairs out so we can recover from our journey in the sun.

Sadly no sign of Grigio, we keep calling and will walk out later in case she’s moved elsewhere.