Category Archives: everyday life in Umbria

Corona virus 32

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124,632 positives in Italy. Up 4%. 15,362 deaths.
1,210 positives in Umbria. Up 2.6%. 41 deaths.

300,915 cases in the US. 8,162 deaths.
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A byproduct of the shut down in Europe (and China and…well, just about everywhere in the world!) is a reduction in air pollution and noise pollution. In my mind, it is an amazing thing. Do you think that Mother Nature is really pissed about what the human race is doing to her world? Do you think maybe this is her way of fixing it? Hmmm. Boredom makes for strange musings…

Here is an excerpt from a short blurb I read about Paris.

Parisians confined to their apartments by a lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus can at least now open their windows and breathe fresh air, listen to the birds and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep.


That’s because air and noise pollution have fallen sharply in Paris, where streets are largely deserted, empty of the traffic and tumult that usually drown birdsong and choke the air near landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.
“

We’re really witnessing an improvement in air quality, including pollutants responsible for global warming,” said Karine Leger, head of the Airparif agency, which monitors air quality in the greater Paris region.


The same is true for noise pollution. At street level on some of Paris busiest thoroughfares, noise levels are down to as little as six to nine decibels at night, some 70 to 90 percent lower than normal, according to Bruitparif, which monitors noise quality.

PARIS, FRANCE – MARCH 17. (Photo by Veronique de Viguerie/Getty Images)

What do you think?
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Buona domenica to all..and I was reminded it is Palm Sunday. It is normally a hugely important day in the clerical calendar here. The bells are tolling outside as they normally do on a Sunday…calling the faithful to mass. I can’t imagine what a hole this quarantine is making in some folks lives.

It also reminds me where I was last year on this day. I was in Catania, Sicily. I will read my trip report (https://nancygoestoitaly.com/sicily-for-easter-week-with-friends/) and relive better days…even though I was sick on that trip, I was traveling somewhere…

Photo courtesy of Tom Gilmore in nearby Castel Rigone. Spring daffodils, one of my favorite flowers.

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Have a nice Sunday at home everyone! Stay safe. Faremo insieme!

Corona virus 31

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119,827 positives in Italy. Up 3.9%. 14,681 deaths.
1,179 positives in Umbria. Up 4.5%.
Umbertide had 25 cases and 2 deaths (as of March 30).

266,671 cases in the US. 6,921 deaths.
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Reading newspapers. Grabbed a few quotes. The problem in the US is pretty enormous…these are random comments/quotes from random governors and mayors and officials around the country.

This thing is going to come for us all…

“While we do not know for certain what the future holds, or how long this disruption will last, we can all rest in knowing that God is in control”

“I feel like the entire country ought to be under a stay-at-home order..”

Current and former emergency management officials said the delay would cost lives.

….the fact that the numbers could get that bad that fast,

He singled out the South, saying, “It’s almost a different approach, waiting to know it’s bad. I’m afraid that by the time they have reports of cases, it’s already too late.”

“We needed to be where we are now three weeks ago,” said the official

The series of new orders announced this week leave about a dozen states without sweeping restrictions limiting travel to essential needs.

Kemp (Georgia governor) said he learned Tuesday that the virus was “transmitting before people see signs.”

Um but… Governor Kemp…do you not know how to read? It was clear. No excuses…For weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others have been warning about the disease’s spread in the absence of symptoms. – Nancy

“It would have made sense to start substantial social distancing in early March,” the mayor said. “But there was no messaging for that. And no one saw the threat it became literally days later.”

…many are now left to wait and wonder if the latest restrictions came in time, and what lies ahead for the Sunshine State.

“I have zero doubt that there are hundreds if not thousands of cases we don’t know about,” Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said in an interview.

Hanage, the Harvard epidemiologist, worries that many areas of the country no longer have enough time to dodge the viral freight train that is coming, including the Sunshine State.

If the message from trump and his administration, had been clear, unambiguous and succinct the US would be in a different place now. But the messages from the top could not be MORE confusing or misleading. So a lot of people are being confused. Sadly, maybe leading to their demise or their family members demise, from the virus.
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Tonight we are eating something Luther bought on his hunting and gathering trip a couple of weeks ago. It is a whole chicken stuffed with pork. It was surprisingly good. I would not normally buy this, but I had asked for a chicken and apparently it was the only one they had.

Before cooking

After cooking

Surprise! It was boned

On the plate.

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So, Saturday…another day, just like the other day. It’s sunny out. No clouds to be seen. It is cold but it will warm up. It is greening in the fields and the trees by the river are leafing out. Afternoons I’ve been opening the terrace door. I put the lemon tree back outside. Maybe we are past the freezing at night stage. I’ve done my morning chores and had a cup of coffee. It’s 9:30. Now what shall I do? 

Actually I have a few plans. I will continue my kitchen work. I’ve finished the spice cabinets and now I’m going to move to the upper cabinets and the drawers. We did get a nice call from Vera yesterday. She is going crazy too. The town where she lives, Mercatale, is small. It has one small grocery store. Plus a butcher. There are probably other things but she is pretty much limited since we are all stuck in our town or Comune. Now that I think of it, her town is in the Comune of Cortona. It’s a pretty big area. If I were her, I’d be venturing a bit farther. But maybe not. If the cops stopped her she’d have to justify being far from home.

It is kind of the luck of the draw as to who has what resource. Our nearby Montone friends are stuck with one small Alimentari. And a butcher. And the police WILL stop them if they try to leave their hill. Too, bad because Umbertide is very close with all needs.
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Stay home my friends! Stay safe and well…

Corona virus 30

4 Replies

115,242 positives in Italy. Up 4.2%. 13,915 deaths. It has leveled out. Top of the curve.
1,128 positives in Umbria. Up 3%. 39 deaths.

236,339 cases in the US. 5,648 deaths.
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Quiet day today. Still. Silent. Cool and clear. I did some work in the kitchen. I wrestled with my WordPress Menu issue. I finally gave up and asked my friend Roger, who’s a WordPress expert, for help. He fixed it, lickety split. Thank you Roger! So now my top menu has a new item called Recipes. Under that item will be recipes of things I have made and talked about here on the blog. Right now there is the Lentil Spinach soup recipe, and the oatmeal cookie recipe.  I’ll add the pasta one from last night too.

Last night we had some of the left over Chipotle pork. I made fresh salsa, black beans, sautéed onions and peppers. And we built ourselves tortillas. Quite yummy. But not worth a picture.
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I read that some other states have finally seen the light and closed down activities. They will pay for waiting I am afraid. And there sadly still remain five (last count) states who have not shut down anything.  Florida announced today but they exempted the Churches. Packing the pews shoulder to shoulder and having large groups breathing together in a room is SUCH a bad idea. Even here in Italy where regular Mass is a fact of life they have stopped services. I hope the churches get smart on their own and close. For their congregants sake. Fools!

Here in Italy the government has extended our lockdown until April 13 when they will reassess. I am reasonably sure it will go to May at least. What a way to spend spring.

I just finished my weekly Italian lesson. All is tranquille in Casa LUNA. 
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Ciao for today. As always, stay home, stay safe…faremo insieme. 💕

 

Corona Virus 29

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1095 cases in Umbria. Up 1.5%. 37 deaths, no change.
110,574 cases in Italy. Up 4.5%. 13,155 deaths.

210,271 cases in the US. 4,469 deaths.
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Dinner last night. Orecchiette pasta, one of my favorites from Puglia, way down south. The name means “little ears”. It has a nice chew to it and does well to hold sauce in its little cups. I had purchased a big batch of fava beans at the store last week and Luther shelled them. Then I parboiled them and peeled them. They are a pain to make but, oh so good. I put them in a frying pan with garlic and oil. I also had saved the stalk of a broccoli head. Hate to throw it away. And I cooked it until soft and whizzed it (with my emersion blender) with a little water to make a thickener which I added to the beans. I tossed in the cooked orecchiette and finally a couple handfuls of spinach leaves and tossed until wilted. Topped with Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan) it was a nice yummy springtime dinner.

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This morning dawned bright and clear. And cold. Did I mention cold? But that’s OK. Next week the weather we can’t go out into is supposed to be beautiful 😂.

Anyway, I always look out the window at the Piazza even though there is usually not much happening out there. But we do have a Unicredit bank. Now and then, I’m not sure what triggers it, there are a bunch of people waiting. I liked the composition of this with the bright sun casting shadows and the people, almost like pieces in a chess game scattered about.

So not a lot happening today. I will continue with my kitchen cleaning. I was pleased with my endeavors from yesterday.

I have also been really struggling with this WordPress interface. I upgraded and I so so so Hate the new knew one. Really hard to use IMO. I also managed to screw up my main menu and cannot figure out how to fix it. So, for the time being, if you want the recipe for the Lentil soup it is (stupidly) on the Main Menu. Please grab a copy.
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Stay safe everyone, stay home. Faremo insieme! 💕

Corona virus 28

5 Replies

1,078 positives in Umbria. 2.5% rise. 37 deaths.
105,792 positives in Italy. 4% rise. 12,428 deaths

Still dropping.

174,027 positives in the US. 3,415 deaths.
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I went to the pharmacy to refill my prescriptions. This is one of the three things we can leave our house to do. There was no one inside and no one waiting. They let one in at a time. There is a box marked in tape on the floor where you stand. You lean in with your boxes to refill. The pharmacist holds each new box up to see. You can’t pay in cash, only with a credit or debit card. Lean in to take the boxes. Arrivederci. And I’m on my way. Quick trip. Being outside in the cold air felt marvelous!! Too bad the pharmacy is so close to our house 😢
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I have to admit, yesterday, I hit a wall. I felt very tired, sad, discouraged. Up to now I have been OK, but the thought of another month (or more!) in this house. Well honestly, it is depressing. I can’t even get excited about cooking. Now, for me, that’s serious. I don’t want to be a downer to others. But I also want to be honest. And I think it will be a problem for all of us who are locked down, in their house, away from friends and family, unable even to go outside for a walk, for weeks. I’m sure what I’m feeling is/will be normal for many.

So, now my job is to figure out how to overcome this. I’ve got to try to pull myself out of this funk. And I will. I think I will start by coming up with a list of tasks to work on. Things to accomplish each day. A goal. And a schedule. Not too much, but something each day. I think this will help me feel like I’m doing something other than sitting here reading the news and Facebook. Something that will make me feel I’ve accomplished something.
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A new day. Clear and cold out. Slept a little longer than usual but then, where do I have to go? One thing I’ve read though, is that routine is important. Getting up at a normal time, dressing, bathing, chores…all good for the mood. For the sense of control. I feel a bit better today. I’m throwing myself at my kitchen cabinets 😀

I have a lot of spices and herbs. And I’ve got these cool cabinets with sliding glass that close some of them up. I suppose some would put pretty things in there. Not me, I put my spices and condiments and ingredients, near to hand. I’m taking everything out, making sure it’s cleaned off, cleaning the surface inside, and organizing them properly.

Spices. Glass is open.

To show you how the glass slides back to cover the bottles.

I buy a lot of my spices from Penzeys in the US. I have them sent to Cindy or a friend to bring over later. They have the best and biggest selection. Anyway, when I buy them they always put in extra stuff. And it is usually something hard to file among the other jars in an orderly way. Like Jerk seasoning, or steak seasoning. Usually blends which I don’t use so often. Anyway, I’ve got to figure out how to organize them.

The other cabinet, of the same type, is full of things for different foods and for baking. Balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, Worcester sauce, hot sauces, honeys, baking powder and soda, corn starch, vanilla etc. so it is next for this afternoon.

It has been a while since I made any soup and that is our normal lunch staple. So today I made Lentil soup with spinach. It smelled sooo good while cooking as it has cumin and cayenne in it 😋. I did fiddle with the recipe…no surprise there!

And, finally, lunch!

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Stay home guys. If I can do it…you can too! 🤞😉🙃🙂

Corona virus 27

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Total positives in Umbria 1,051 up (just) 2.7% – deaths 33
Total positives in Italy 101,739 up (just) 4.1% – deaths 11,591

Another amazing drop in the increase. Well done, our team!

Our first death in Umbertide. A 91 year old in a nursing home. The number of cases continue to rise here. And in the next town north of us, Citta di Castello, they have had 10 deaths.
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News from Italy
Wow, I’ve been posting 27 days about the Virus.

So our date for our lockdown to (maybe) end was April 3 here. They’ve got it set up they can reassess every 15 days. The big newspapers are saying the official proclamation will come out soon, and it will say they will extend to April 18. And maybe to April 30. 🙁

Part of the reason is the number of people trying to flaunt the law. The police have checkpoints all over Italy. They check your papers to see if it is a legitimate trip. In past couple days they stopped 200,000 people for controls. 5,000 people were found to be out illegally. They get a big fine. They also get tested. Of that 5,000 — 50 tested positive for COVID-19. FIFTY. Because of them we will get extended probably. Thanks so much you assholes!😡

Other part of this news is that when it finally ends. It will be a staged ending. Piano, piano as they say here. Restrictions will slowly diminish. The last things to reopen will be the Bars and Restaurants.
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Dinner was my cooking tonight. Chipotle pork with mashed potatoes and salad. It was very yum.

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Today is blustery, gray and cold. We had a front come through yesterday. I plan a trip to the farmacia in a few minutes. Otherwise it will be a quiet day.

Stay safe everyone.

Corona virus 26

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  • Umbria total positives 1,023 — up 5.5%
  • Italy total positives 97,689 — up 5.6%
  • 135,029 cases in the US

I went back and looked at these blog posts I’ve been doing. When I started doing percentages the highest growth in one day was 35% and now we are seeing 5%. So we are on the downside of the curve. The cases will continue to grow, until there is herd immunity, or a vaccine. In the meantime, the hospitals will be able to handle the fewer cases that need care. It was the goal. Yay us!
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Big news I read this morning is that the US administration has finally seemed to grasp the magnitude of this crisis. They admitted there could be 100,000 deaths but that was not too many (hmmm). But since there are already more than 2,400 this number is probably low. Also the shutdown extends to April 30 with normalcy hoped for by June. These are all good steps. At least they’ve backed away from that disastrous Easter date. I do think normalcy is a long way down the road.

I am sorry people still are not getting it. Two examples:

California they had to close all the state and federal parks and all the beaches in California because so many people were flocking to them that it was impossible to keep proper personal distance. I say GOOD. If it takes this to make these fools stay home then that’s what it takes. Seems the only way to stop people from mingling is to take away all they places they could mingle. Sigh.

And my friend in Myrtle beach told me the cases there doubled overnight with their first death. And yet, her neighbors — no words…Here is what she said…“I really don’t understand how some people think…this morning I saw our neighbors standing in their driveway with a cooler and beach chairs and a SUV pulled up. All four people were loading the car up and they all got in TOGETHER and drove off! I guess they think they are above it all and won’t get sick…people like that just can’t abide by the rules – they are the ones who will give it to someone else”

I completely get what she’s saying. Too many people are STILL behaving recklessly.

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Dinner tonight courtesy of Calagrana. Lamb shanks.

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After dinner I had a Zoom meet up with my book group. It was very fun. They are my besties from 20+ years ago. I miss our meetings full of good food, wine, laughter, and serious talks. Oh, and books…we read books 🙂 Today there were six of us. I haven’t used Zoom before. It is a good platform for what it does. I find it difficult to talk without talking over someone but otherwise OK. I know lots and lots of people, neighborhoods, work groups, friends, even trivia contests are taking place now on Zoom. It works well for our present situation! Anyway, it was great “seeing” everyone. I was pleased we could all squeeze together with our nine hour total time differences.
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It’s morning in Italy. A new day in paradise prison. Weather will take a turn for the worse after today. It will get cold again. Stay safe and home everyone! It will get better. But we all need patience. 💕 And maybe a glass or two of wine ☺️🍷🍷
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Corona virus 25

5 Replies
  • Umbria has 969 positives and 28 deaths. This is a rise of 9.6%
  • Italy has 92,472 positives and 10,023 deaths. This is a rise of just 6.9%.

Wow, it’s dropping, it really is. (!) The reduction in the number of cases is ahead of the deaths but that’s to be expected. It takes someone on average about a week to die, so there’s a lag. Not to be callous about it, but it is a fact.
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Another very good Atlantic article .
The missing six weeks: how Trump failed the biggest test of his life

Quote below. And at the same time, South Korea acted decisively and have controlled the virus.

When the definitive history of the coronavirus pandemic is written, the date 20 January 2020 is certain to feature prominently. It was on that day that a 35-year-old man in Washington state, recently returned from visiting family in Wuhan in China, became the first person in the US to be diagnosed with the virus…

…It was not until 29 February, more than a month after the Journal article and almost six weeks after the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country that the Trump administration put that advice into practice. Laboratories and hospitals would finally be allowed to conduct their own Covid-19 tests to speed up the process…

…Those missing four to six weeks are likely to go down in the definitive history as a cautionary tale of the potentially devastating consequences of failed political leadership. Today, 86,012 cases have been confirmed across the US, pushing the nation to the top of the world’s coronavirus league table – above even China.

It is more than 110,000 now (since the article just 2 days ago). It doubles every 3-4 days…you can imagine what it will become. I have to hope, that sooner rather than later, everyone in the US, no matter their political persuasion will come to believe this is real, and it is a juggernaut.

My happy spot for the US is the amazing Governors/mayors of (some of) the States/cities. Due to the lack of coherent leadership at the top it has fallen to the States. And they are rising to the challenge.
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I finally baked my cookies!

The recipe is one from a David Libowitz. It is probably the best Oatmeal cookie I’ve ever had.
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I was talking to a friend a couple days ago. We asked each other “when this is over will you feel comfortable going out?” We each answered no. And the double kiss greeting in Italy? It may take awhile. This is incredibly sad, as it defines the Italian culture.

I think I’ll call the syndrome PCVSD. Post Corona Virus Stress Disorder. I’ve been reading that it may well be a real thing. People will/already do, have agoraphobia. They don’t want to leave their safe place, their house.
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Today is gorgeous. Watery sunshine. Birds are singing in the little forest behind us. The House Martins are flitting wildly about, as they do. And I got to go outside for a bit to pick up our weekly Calagrana dinners and wine. After lasts weeks run in with the Carabinieri I was nervous. And I was by myself. Drove fast, fast across the bridge and parked behind a bush.🤣 Right away Ely arrived with the food. Then, Gary, then Paul with Georgia (their pup) and finally someone else I don’t know. We all rushed about, unloading-loading, but I, for one, was deliriously happy to see people. Even if from / feet apart 😳. It felt wonderful. ☺️
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Buona domenica everyone. We had good news here so you will too in the not too distant future — if everyone self quarantines. Stay home and safe. Forza America. Forza Italia.
💕💕💕

Corona virus 24

3 Replies

884 positives in Umbria. Up 10%. 21 deceased.
86,498 positives in Italy. Up 7.3%. 9,134 deceased.
Now over 100,000 positive cases in the US.
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Really good article in the March edition of the Atlantic. “How the Pandemic Will End”

Quote from the article that I thought summed up the American attitude that will lead it down a dangerous path:

“Aspects of America’s identity may need rethinking after COVID-19. Many of the country’s values have seemed to work against it during the pandemic. Its individualism, exceptionalism, and tendency to equate doing whatever you want with an act of resistance meant that when it came time to save lives and stay indoors, some people flocked to bars and clubs. Having internalized years of anti-terrorism messaging following 9/11, Americans resolved to not live in fear. But SARS-CoV-2 has no interest in their terror, only their cells.”

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On a lighter note:
Dinner last night was….pizza!! I had a feeling calling early would be a good idea. I’m guessing there are not a lot of people to bring the pies. We called in our order at 6:10. We were told to expect it about 8:30. It was good pizza. Not the absolute best but very good. Nice chewy crust with a good char. Good toppings.  I always go vegetarian with pizza. They had a good many choices for me.

Yesterday I started walking up and down our stairs. It is a good workout. My knee didn’t complain too much. Luther did 15 times. I only did 5. I want to start slow. I don’t want to hurt myself. Our neighbors are doing their 86 stairs 10 or 15 times. Free stairmasters!
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Saturday
It is a beautiful day. Temperatures have come back up some. I am just back from my turn to go grocery shopping. I had my mask, and good thing because EVERYONE was wearing one. I would’ve felt naked. And they give out plastic gloves. There was no line!! I walked right in. Only concerning thing is that people weren’t being very good about the 6 feet distance thing. Hardest thing was to get the plastic bags for the vegetables open while wearing plastic gloves! I got my groceries. Stripped off the gloves, my hands were soaked with sweat. And took off the mask…so hot!

When I got home, I washed all the items I had bought. And washed my keys, phone, wallet, credit card and then my hands. OK call me overdoing it…but I feel better that I can touch all the things I bought without worry.

Here is another poor locked down inmate of Umbertide. I took the whole building first so you could see how tall it is. And then a close up.


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Sometimes it is good to go back to good memories. For me, my blog is a journal of sorts. In it I save all my adventures good and bad. Among them are a LOT of trip reports. So today I went back and re-read some of them. I re-lived them. For a time, I was released from this house. Able to be other places…someday we will travel again…

Speaking of this, we have some trips planned. One in Early June I’m pretty sure will need to be canceled. One in July/August to Germany. This one most likely will need to be cancelled. But I’m willing to wait to see how it goes between now and then.

We also had planned to welcome some visitors. Luthers brother, Mike and his family were planning to come. I was very excited. I’m guessing it will have to be postponed. Other old friends, Vicki and Tommy were coming in May. Of course that trip is postponed too. Very sad as I look forward to visitors. But it will get better. And I’ll see them all soon.
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As always folks, stay home, stay safe. We’ll get through this! Andrà tutto bene!

Corona virus 23

2 Replies

802 positives in Umbria. Up 12.5%. 20 deaths.
80,539 positives in Italy. Up 8%.
Slight uptick. The top of the curve will be a little up-down I guess.
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Sadly the latest figures from the US show the virus has grown and the cases have surpassed Italy and China. It’s now the world leader. As I’ve mentioned before, it will grow very fast from here. There’s no stopping it. But it can be slowed if people stay apart, and stay home. The point is to decrease the cases so the hospitals have the capacity to treat the sick.

I believe some people think the US will win against the Virus. It will not win. No matter what the people in charge try to do. But it can and will get worse if they open up too soon and encourage people to get out. And get together. Very, VERY big mistake.
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Notes from self isolation
Last night was another very yummy meal courtesy of Calagrana.
Fish pie! Chock full of seafood. Shrimp, white fish, salmon and mussels that I could see. Topped with mashed potatoes. Mmmmm.

We placed another order (Calagrana) for pickup on Sunday coming up. This time we chose the Spicy Baby Chicken and the Lamb shanks. Each a meal for two.

Luther came to me this morning and announced that he had stupendous news. A pizzeria is now delivering pizza in Umbertide!! He’s very excited. He loves pizza. Maybe we will try it tonight.😋

Today was our weekly Italian lesson. We each get an hour one-on-one with our teacher via Skype. Used to be in person before.

I finished getting all my US income tax stuff together yesterday and sent that in. Always a relief.

As I said, oatmeal cookies were in my future and today I will make them. Pictures tomorrow.
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I worry for my friends and family in the US. Please stay in and safe. We can come out the other side of this thing if we stand strong together, but apart…Faremo insieme! 💕