Category Archives: everyday life in Umbria

And now for the winter…

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The season ended yesterday on the Epiphany— the Epifania in Italian. The last day of the twelve days of Christmas. Commemorating the visit of the magi. Also called Three Kings Day. Sunday was the day that La Befana visited all the children. Read about it here. I took down my tree and he is outside on the terrace where I hope he thrives.

The weather is pretty mild right now but we are heading into the coldest part of the winter. Time for soups, stews and chili. It never gets very cold here. Lowest is around -4C which is about 25F. We like to get a couple weeks of that sort of weather to kill the insects that otherwise plague the olive trees, but not enough that it KILLS the olive trees themselves! I trimmed my little tree back pretty severely. Olive trees are super resilient. I’ve seen them cut back to practically stumps and they rebound well.

I forgot to relate some sad news. One of our fish, Quo, has passed and is in the big pond in the sky. Now there is only Qua. She is asleep and I hope she survives the winter. I will get her a companion when it gets warmer. It’s sad to see Quo go because he and Qua got along so well.

Umbertide Christmas street art exhibit – Buon Anno!

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Every year for the last three or four, as part of the Christmas celebration, Umbertide hosts an outdoor art exhibit. It is on one of the main shopping streets, Via Garibaldi. Yesterday, since it was fairly mild out, I walked down the street, admired each painting, and took a picture to share with you all for New Years. There are quite a few entries. I now can more slowly look at them at leisure too!

You will notice that there is a religious theme here (of course). Some I couldn’t figure out how it fit, like the one with the rabbit. Rabbit? Shouldn’t that be Easter? Oh well.

You will also see that our own Saint from Assisi, San Francesco, plays a big part in these paintings. There are a lot with birds and St. Francis. He famously preached to the birds. He loved all creatures. The legend of St Francis and the wolf of Gubbio is one of my favorites. We have even visited the church under which the wolf was supposedly buried. It is only a legend, after all right? Then how? 😳 Read the legend in the link to the end to see. I counted 13 works below that feature St. Francis and the wolf.

My friend, Kathleen Mack has a painting in the exhibition. I promised her I would take pictures since she isn’t here right now. She has an apartment in town and comes for the Schengen shuffle, 90 days here, 90 days in the U.S. I will put hers first and then do all the others for your new years enjoyment! She chose San Francesco and the wolf as well. A couple have captions.

I note they mis-spelled her name.
Nicely done. Love Mary and Joseph’s awed expressions.
The rabbit.
A Presepe

I took a picture of the artists as well. Here they are.

Finally, the obligatory food report. 😁. Yesterday I tried a new recipe called Hoppin John Soup. I like regular Hoppin John for the new year but this was better to me. And if anyone is curious, no, you can’t get black eyed peas here. We have some beans that look like them, but they don’t taste anything like them. I have a small stash of them I brought over.

Finally, on New Years Even we are supposed to all wear red underwear, and eat cotechino with lentils for luck! I kinda think in 2025 we are all going to need that!

Buon anno a tutti!

New Supermercato in Umbertide!!

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Big days in Umbertide. We had heard rumors for years about a new super store coming to Umbertide. We waited, and waited. They had been repurposing the old Molino Popolare facility. It is a big piece of land on the main road south out of town. The old mill had been defunct for a long time. They tore down, and cleaned up all the small superfluous buildings but left the big four story old mill building. Rumors had it that would become loft space. Anyway, we had noticed them building a new road etc, but somehow, seemingly in the dead of night, someone snuck in a big, shiny, new supermarket! An EMI to be exact. Today we went over for a look see inside. It is open all day Sunday, not the usual here.

Front of store
From the back, to show the old mill building.

We went inside and applied for the EMI membership card so we could get the discounts. Then we explored. For you Americans out there this will seem mundane for the most part. But much of it is very unusual, especially for our smallish town. Here we go, captions if needed.

Interior of store
Fresh squeeze-it- yourself orange juice. Yay!
I guess I’ll try the guac someday.
Can you feel me rolling my eyes?! 🙄 puleeze.
Lots of fresh pasta both here and in the case.
Well it is almost Christmas after all…time for panetone!
Hah! Hamburgeria.
Aging beef
Prepared seafood. Fries with eyes! The fresh seafood looked great as well.
Prepared foods.
Disappointed in the cheeses. Nothing interesting.
Pizza by the slice.
Here’s something you don’t see here…donuts!
Freshly baked bread.
In the US the biggest aisle is cereal. Here….it’s pasta of course!
Prosciutto for Natale!

Luther gave the wine selection a three🫤. I found a few nice things. I bought a rack of lamb from the butcher. I found pork tenderloins which I haven’t seen in a few years. I bought three! I bought fresh bread and a few other things. There was no international section which I had hoped to see. Overall, it is a nice store. More variety than the Coop. But not a great store.

Cinghiale stew

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The weather has gotten cold and damp. We had our first hard frost. The days are so short now. But the Christmas lights have been going up, which are cheery, and I saw pictures of the Christmas tree going up in the piazza. The big tree lighting day is December 8 on L’Immacolata Concezione, or the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Photo credit Helen Harrison Jefferson

Cinghiale! That well loved beast which runs wild here in Italy. Well they are well loved for their meat but little else. I don’t know any hunters, but I have a store here in town that carries the meat. Occasionally I buy it and make a warming stew or ragú. Yesterday it was a stew.

The raw ingredients.
It has to marinate for at least a day

The meat can be tough. And it can have a strong taste. So it must be marinated a good long time. I used celery, carrots, onion, juniper berries, rosemary, bay leaf and red wine. When ready I drained it from the marinade. Meanwhile I chopped a carrot, celery, and onion which I sautéed until it softened. Then I added the meat and cooked until no longer pink. I added in more rosemary and bay leaves and then deglazed with a robust red wine. I used Primitivo which is said to be the grape from which Zinfandel evolved. Once the alcohol had evaporated I added some of the marinade and a little water. Then I covered and braised it in the oven for 2 hours, checking every so often to be sure there was still liquid. When it was done I thickened the sauce and checked for seasoning. It was meltingly tender and delicious. The recipe said serve over polenta but Luther isn’t a fan so I used mashed potatoes.

The finished dish.

It was delicious. 😋

Thanksgiving 2024

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We had some wild weather last week with strong winds and rain. After the storms, all of a sudden all of the surrounding mountains changed to gold. I couldn’t get a good picture but this is our Monte Acuto. Doesn’t look so golden in this one but take my word for it, it is!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We had nice weather, we got to see a lot of friends and we ate lots of food!

We were guests of Susan and Gary at a table with nine people. Luther and I treated everyone to the wine. We had four italiani and five americani. We are all old friends. I sat at the end of the table with the Americans who mostly don’t speak great Italian. Me, Roger, Gary. Luther was seated next to Antoinetta. She is mother to our old Geometra, Manuele who did our first renovation here. Manuele’s wife, Barbara came with her mother in law. Then there was Fabio, our most enthusiastic thanksgiving Italian friend. He wonders why we only do this once a year?! And his girlfriend Chiara.

As always, we went to Calagrana. They always have a Thanksgiving lunch every year. The dining room was full. Quite a few British friends also like the feast. Here is the food starting with a plate of four little bites.

Then a gamberi appetizer served chilled.

The main event. A Tom turkey who weighed in at 18 kilograms or about 40 pounds. The entire dining room was fed from this bird. They made a smaller one just in case, but it wasn’t needed.

The turkey was probably the best I have ever had. The entire thing was moist and delicious. There were many sides. A roll of sausage, dressing mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans. I provided the cranberry sauce. I used up my last cranberries on this one.

For dessert we had a delicious, and light, semifreddo.

After dinner we had a delicious coffee with cognac and whipped cream. I didn’t get a picture.

It was a really nice lunch. It was so good to see everyone. I am very Thankful for my life here in Italy and all the blessings we have. I miss family on this holiday where families are the most important part. I hope all of you folks who read this journal had a wonderful day as well.
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Baci e abbracci a tutti! 💕

A visit to the hospital

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I had a routine checkup today. I normally I see this doctor here in Umbertide but I could only go private to choose her as my doctor at the bigger, newer hospital in Città di Castello. I am never happy going to doctor appointments here. Especially if I am not familiar with the hospital. I wanted to see only her so I bit the bullet and made the appointment.

So, first thing one must do is pay for the appointment. You go to the CUP counter there. You pay and they give you a receipt. I paid €132.00. For an appointment and an ultrasound. Then you must find the department and doctor. Never easy.

It was a bit of a wait but it was also kind of sweet. This waiting room was just outside of the obstetric ward. While we were there a new dad and a very worn out looking mom slowly, slowly came down the hall with the new bambina in a rolling crib. A little girl. Waiting for them were both of the mom’s parents and one of the dads’s parents. Oh my. The emotion. It was pretty incredible. The pride that the parents had in their daughter for giving them this grandchild was just — wow.

Finally I saw my doc and she gave me double kisses when I arrived. It is the Italian way.
She said they had had three babies born that day, and that that was a big day. All was fine with my checkup and we headed back out. All doctors offices and hospitals have a lot of religious icons. This office has this.

Just another day in the life.

Books for Dogs – Libri per i cani

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As an addendum to my last post about the appalling practice of catching, killing and/or eating songbirds in the north of Italy. This is practiced everywhere in Italy but the Brescia area is a natural place because of the north south valleys that are natural migration routes for the songbirds. I hope anyone who sees this in their area will turn them in. It is illegal. And cruel. A couple people asked for the name of the group so I thought I would publish the link. They take volunteers (but there is a rigorous fitness test). I will just donate some money. Committee Against Bird Slaughter. They also have a Facebook page.
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Yesterday I volunteered for the first time at Books for Dogs/Libri per i Cani. I helped them out years ago, before they had an actual store. It was time I try again. They sell donated items to support two Canili (dog rescues) here. They have all sorts of things. You never know what will come in the door. Could be an Armani designer blouse! Or a lawn mower! Right now it is all about Christmas. So I was just kind of learning the ropes yesterday. I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to stand up that long. My back complains usually. But I did fine so I will do it more regularly.
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Today, Sunday, I decided to use the things I bought yesterday at the market before going to volunteer. I got 2 pieces of zucca. That’s the word for most all types of winter squash and pumpkins. I also bought cavolo nero — black kale. I roasted the zucca until it was soft and cut into pieces. I sautéed an onion and garlic, then added the chunks of zucca, a chopped jalapeño and vegetable broth. I simmered for a while until the zucca was completely soft. I used the wand blender to purée. Next I added black beans, corn kernels and chopped green pepper. And finally the chopped kale and a rosemary sprig. I cooked it about half an hour and it was done.

Later tonight I will grill a whole orate on the fire which I built today. It was a good day for a fire. Gray and dreary and chilly. Very cheerful!

The Raccolto – harvest

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OK guys, I’m officially old. Luther and I went and helped our friends with the harvest. I am proud to say we did five trees ourselves. But it did take it out of us. Still we really enjoy participating. I think of the millennia of people who went before us doing the exact same thing. Tradition.

To top it off it was one of the most spectacular days EVER. And I thank my friends Joanne and Mark for letting us enjoy the sun and perfect temperature at their beautiful home. They live in the mountains.

To understand our area is to understand that we are in the Tiber valley. The chains of mountains run up on either side. So for us to go just about anywhere we have to cross over mountains. Our friends live in the mountains but also across quite a long small road with a ton of switchbacks and hairpin turns. In the morning, in our valley in the fall and winter, it is always socked in with fog. A bit dreary. It burns off at different times but usually by eleven. So this morning we left in the fog. At 9am. As we drove up into the heights, we crossed through the clouds and then…the fog disappeared. 💚

It really is a beautiful drive. We could look down on the valleys and the clouds filling them. The road eventually runs along the spine of the mountains and you get views for kilometers in both directions.

So, back to the harvest. When we got there it was quite chilly but sunny, because they are up fairly high. They live in a former monastery from around 1300. It was a ruin when they bought it and brought it back to life over time. Here is a picture of the view. You can see the white cloud in the lower areas in the distance.

This is the olive grove. I think they have maybe a hundred trees. Perhaps a little less. There were eight of us doing the picking. Plus a two man crew who do this for a fee. They bring the equipment used to shake the olives from the tops of the trees. We rake the olives from the lower branches. We picked from 9:30 to 1:15 and then we had a fortifying lunch of hamburgers and grilled wursts, along with hummus, salad, and fruit salad for dessert. Thanks Joanne and Mark!

The helpers, who know olives, said they would probably get about 650 kilos of olives. I know from a few years of harvesting that the trees were heavily laden. It remains to be seen how much oil will come from this haul.

This was a good distraction for us today. I don’t talk politics here, but I’m sure you know how I roll. And needless to say, I’m disappointed today. But, it is what it is.

Election day

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I don’t know about you, but I’ll be glad with this thing is over. I am sure it is a LOT worse for those of you who are living in the U.S. what with all the robocalls and political ads. I am sure it is relentless. At least that part will be over after today! Here I watch the news, in the evening only, on Sky which has most of the U.S. non-network channels. It is scary. And stressful!

I am happy I will be distracted Wednesday because we are going to help friends with the raccolto — olive harvest. It is a huge deal in Umbria. Just about everyone has an olive grove of their own if they have any land. And they are happy to let their friends help them. The region is known for having some of the highest rated oil anywhere. It is bright green and grassy with a distinct peppery taste in the throat. The new oil is just incredible. Unlike anything I had ever had before moving here. Here is a picture from the mill where I watched the pressing process in 2018.

So today we harvested our tree! We too have an olive tree on the terrace! I think you all know this. And is loaded with olives this year. I don’t want them to go to waste so we harvested them today and will donate them to our friends tomorrow and their harvest. It will kind of be cool to know that a wee bit of our own olives are in the oil we will get. 🙂

Last night we had a delicious cannellini bean soup with cavolo nero (black kale). It was delicious.

Hang in there everyone. Try to distract yourselves. Meditate. Do yoga. Take a Xanax 😉

🩵💙🩵

Giorno di tutti i santi – All Saints’ Day

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Today is a holiday, and so is tomorrow. Everyone goes to the cemetery to visit with lost loved ones and bring them flowers. It’s pretty quiet in the hood. Monte Acuto greeted me this morning. Looking good!

Last night was Halloween. It is becoming more popular here and the kids go around to all the shopkeepers to collect candy. They don’t normally come to homes. But that didn’t matter to me because I have always been all about Halloween. I walked down to a nearby store and bought some candy. The afternoon was beautiful. I love the autumn sunlight slanting in and making great shadows.

The citrus are arriving from the south.

I carved a small pumpkin and carried him down to the lobby of our building. I set him on a stool with a basket of candy.

My thinking was the kids could see him through the window and then ring a bell, (maybe ours?) to come in. But we got no bell rings. 😞 So, a couple hours later I went down to retrieve him and the stool and basket. Big surprise. Almost all the candy was gone! Maybe the two girls in our building, maybe, another neighbor let kids in. Doesn’t matter. I’m glad.

It is getting to be chili weather. Pun intended. So I’m deciding which kind to make first. Hopefully next week we will be helping our friends with the raccolta – harvesting of the olives. A centuries old occupation around here. I love being a small link in the chain. 🫒 🫒 🫒

Happy November to all. 🍁 🍂 🦃