What a beautiful day it was today. A real taste of spring. A friend came up to visit from Perugia. She brought me gifts of food and a pretty yellow beret. I will wear it jauntily š. We also took a walk. Very close to our new house is the public swimming pool (indoor and outdoor) plus tennis courts, the soccer stadium and a beautiful park. We headed for the park, Parco Pineta Ranieri e Bosco ādel Macchioneā.
We messed around on the fitness trail. The park is a pine forest. It is up on a hill with good views across Umbertide. There are lots of picnic tables. The park was empty save for a couple of runners. Surprising on such a beautiful day. Here are a couple pictures of the flowers along the way.


The Asian magnolias are blooming now. Here is one on our street.

I had made yet another instant pot soup in the morning and just left it sit. It stayed hot so when we returned from our walk we had a couple of bowls for our lunch.
On another note, we think we might have found the source of the bad luck in our house. In the (non-existent) kitchen we found a horseshoe hanging above the entrance. It was only visible if you went inside and looked up. And it was hung like thisā¦

Does that bother anyone other than me, Luther and my friend? Well it SHOULD. So we took it down. No wonder weāve had bad juju. It will be re-hungā¦like thisā¦

I hope everyone had a nice Sunday. Ciao for now!
Hi Karen, ugh, by this time of year I am done with winter. And itās nice cause here it is pretty much gone now. Horseshoe issue provoked a couple funny comments!
Well, I’m glad you solved the horseshoe issue! š
The magnolias are beautiful! Nowhere near being ready to bloom in Toronto yet…. just had another blizzard last Friday night. ACK!
Thanks Louann, for the nice words. They say time heals all wounds. Iām sure that is true. I know you must miss your Craftsman house. It was just the way you wanted it. So was my old apartment. But eventually I will beat this place into submission! Make it mine. Itās on the way. Iāll keep posting updates.
Lynn, Iām not superstitious either.
How wonderful there is a lovely park walking distance from your new place! Love following your progress on your apartment. It looks beautiful. In time, youāll remember fondly your old place but you will know you made the right choice and will enjoy the efficiency of the lift and big terrace. This year we sold our big house in Washington State that weād lived in for 20 years. It was a 1925 craftsman that weād done all kinds of improvements on and made it beautiful. But we realized at age 70/73, it would get harder to care for and it was so hard and sad to sell. But we did and bought a stand-alone 1250 sq ft 2 bedroom condo. We remodeled to update it it as best we could but we still loved our old home!! But we are accepting the reality of having someone take care of the grounds, painting, roofing, replacing gutters and windows as needed. There are pluses of a condo especially when we leave it for 6 months at a time to live in Italy! We are at peace now and know we did the right thing at the right time. You will too!
Whenever we have moved into another house we pray out whatever might be there from the previous owner which isn’t good. Never heard about hanging a horseshoe but I don’t believe in superstitions!
Yes mam!
Hey Jane, canāt wait to see you! Iām sure youāre looking forward to it! See you soon!
Now the horseshoe looks like a smiley face! Canāt wait to be home in 2 weeks!
Hi Ken, so, I read this and now Iām confused. I always heard the horseshoe had to turn up so the luck wouldnāt run out. But this seems to intimate that flowing out and surrounding the house is good. Hmm. Now we have to consider how we will rehang the shoe! Thanks, I think!
Hey Matt, I dunno, that might continue the bad juju.
Hi Frances, yes, it was a near thing! Whew. Got it all fixed up! I love springtime!
Chuck and Eden, Yes, it will be hot by then! And nice!
Nina, wow we finally figured it out!
I thought I remembered that they should be hung pointing down so I looked it up and found this. I always enjoy your writing. Thanks for sharing.
According to this superstition, ends pointing down simply means that the good luck is able to flow out and surround the home. If the horseshoe is hung over a doorway with ends up, it will catch good luck. Hung over a door with ends down, it will let the good luck spill over the door and stop evil from entering.
Ha! So much for the “bad juju.” I believe I might toss the horseshoe out the window and pray you don’t hit someone below.
Hooray for correcting that horseshoe! My grandmother taught me how to correctly hang one above the door.
The flowers and trees are lovely. Here in northeast Georgia, the same ones are blooming.
Eccellente! Aspetta la primavera fino a maggio.
Good call on the horse shoe!