Free electricity

Before we went to Italy in September our electricity provider was occasionally offering us free power for one hour at specified times when there is plenty of renewable energy available.  We were given at a days notice and any electricity above our average usage at that time of day was free, we of course signed up and managed to grab a maximum of £4 worth of free electricity.  We missed out a few times while we were away but yesterday got an email to say this morning, for 2 hours,  7 am to 9 am we could again use the offer.  We didn’t need asking twice particularly given twice as long to use as much as we could.  Mr FF set the alarm and at 7 am precisely switched on our emergency oil filled radiator, after he worked out how to do so as it hadn’t been needed for some time. He then got back into bed saying the kitchen would be roasty toasty by breakfast time.

I however had other plans, I got up and :

• Completed and tumble dried a load of washing
• Put the immersion on for a tank full of hot water
• Hoovered with the big Dyson
• Charged every thing that could be charged, phones, cordless vacuum etc
• Ran the dishwasher

We both had a steam session that really warmed us up. We also ran the bathroom underfloor heating that never gets used and the heated towel rails too.

By the time we sat down for our porridge, cooked in the microwave within the free zone, we were extremely hot as the outside temperature had warmed up following yesterday’s snow and ice and we had more heating in the apartment than normal.

This offer is a big improvement on last years when we had to save power by turning off as much as possible for an hour at peak times to receive a credit.  I got sick of sitting in the cold and dark for a few pounds and called a halt, particularly when I discovered MrFF sitting in the office with the computer on. I’ll be interested to see how much free power we used today, we should be notified within 7 days, I’ll let you know.

Home

Our journey from Lazio to Yorkshire was smooth if long, good stopovers, beautiful scenery and nice weather.  We were fully unpacked in a couple of days and are now back in our Yorkshire routine enjoying cold sunny days, a little snow, a lot of coziness.

I got an appointment with my dentist about my broken crown. He said it’s not good news it’s catastrophic, so much for keeping the patient calm.  The post that supported my front crown has almost disintegrated and I need an implant that will take 4 months or more to complete and cost me £3,500.  Since I dread having a gap at the front of my mouth he is making me a denture to fill the space, he says I will hate it.  I go next Tuesday to have the tooth out, meantime the crown is much wobblier after he took impressions, at least it didn't come off when he removed the mould.  I’ve had 3 weeks of slowly eating soft food with twinges every time I accidentally catch the crown. The only redeeming feature is that I have lost weight, my size 12 trousers are hanging off me but no doubt once I can tackle a mince pie they will fit again.

I need new lenses for my glasses as the photochromic film broke down in Italy, I am getting my haircut this afternoon, tomorrow my Covid vaccination.   

We think of Grigio a lot, the sadness is still there but not as raw.  So far Mario is going to the house to top up the cat feeder for Vincenzo, who may be up above us with Giovanni but he will be leaving soon for winter in Rome.  

So it was a mixed visit this time with a lot of worry and sadness but we were delighted with our oil harvest.  We brought most of it home so we have enough for ourselves, for gifting to friends and family and some to sell.  Let’s hope next years crop is equally good and that our spring 2025 visit is a happier one

Grigio

We had our beautiful little cat put to sleep today, she was born in our garden and until she went missing for 8 months earlier this year was always around even when we weren’t.  

The vets did offer further treatment but their suggestion of removing all her teeth followed by monthly injections was impossible.  We leave for our drive back to Yorkshire tomorrow.  We have no one to care for her, to give her daily medication, tempt her to eat, take her to the vets, even from a really good friend that’s just too much to ask. Besides they said there was no guarantee this treatment would work and so far after 6 weeks on medication she hadn’t improved.

At the weekend she wasn’t so good but she picked up from Monday and was eating well again.  Despite all her problems she never stopped purring and she was out in the garden most days enjoying the sun.  But I knew we had to let her go and I thought it might be something of a relief that her suffering was over, sadly it doesn’t feel that way now it just feels incredibly sad.

She was the worst of patients, fought with us when we tried to get her to the vets, twice making us late for appointments, then she fought with the vets refusing to cooperate in any way.  She could tell every time I intended to apply her mouth gel, even when I approached her with it in my pocket she’d immediately run for cover. She was stubborn and stoic and absolutely wonderful, we loved her very much.  Our time together was short and leaving her for months to the automatic feeder and outside shelter was horrible but I know she had a better and longer life than the majority of cats round here.

She is buried in the orchard beside her favourite olive tree, the one that she could climb the highest, bless her heart.  We miss you our darling Grigio.

Good news, bad news and really sad news

Our olive harvest was our most successful so far.  We hand picked 398 kilos of olives over 5 days which gave us 49 litres of oil.  For an Italian that’s a years supply,  for us it’s way beyond our needs but we are grateful to have so much.

Last Friday one of my front crowns became loose.  Next day I managed to get an appointment with a local dentist, he opened specially and wouldn’t take any payment for the examination and x rays.  It seems the post inside the crown, my original tooth, has a partial crack and I’ll need root canal work or an implant, which obviously I will get done when we return to Ilkley in about 10 days time.  I asked the dentist if he could add some cement to keep the tooth stable I hate it wobbling, but he said that could risk infection.  However I hope I can find one of this dental repair kits just in case the crown comes off, I dread having a gappy smile.  I am cutting my food very small and posting it into the opposite side of my mouth, brushing my teeth is tricky.

Grigio has had good and bad days.  As instructed I reduced her medication by half but after a few days she started going backwards so I upped it again.  She recovered, is eating well and seems happy, sitting out in the sun, scratching fence posts and the sofa, climbing onto my knee or snoozing in front of the stove. I promise she isn’t suffering at all but we have no one to care for her when we leave, she cannot continue on this level of steroids permanently and even if she was well her condition could recur at anytime.  The vets have tried to find someone to take her while we were away, I have approached a shelter, there is no one.  So before we leave next week we will have to take her to be put to sleep, it’s the kindest thing to do but I cannot bear it. 

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 while again stressing that we must not crush or break it.  Thanks a lot.