Category Archives: Friends

Summer, here we come!

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The weather is picture perfect right now. Quite warm, 31C or 88F today and getting hotter. Our terrace is the perfect extended living space. Last night we inaugurated eating dinner outside, and then watching a movie. 🙂 It was lovely. Luther smoked a cigar but I really think he has decided that cigars are no longer a big part of his life. It is hard for him to transition. But it’s a good thing. Maybe now it will be an every-now-and-then thing rather than an every night thing.

Today is a holiday here. Republic day. The day, in 1946 when they voted that Italy would become a republic. Nothing is open. I had a basket of the kumquats that I harvested from my tree sitting on the counter for a week mocking me to use them. I found a recipe for kumquats and apricot chutney. So today I amused myself making a batch. It’s quite tart and a bit piquant. I think it will go as a relish with many things.

Last Saturday night we had rather an unexpected experience. Goes to show we can still mess thing up after all these years 😁 We used to have a restaurant in town called Locanda Appennino. It had a lovely outside summer terrace which sat right on the city walls. Sadly it closed several years ago. Recently friends told me it was open again under new management.

We had friends visiting in town who own apartments in the countryside and we always try to have a meal together when they come. I made a reservation at this new place for us all. Or at least I thought did. I first called the number on the Internet and ended up with the old owner who said they were closed. But I “knew” they weren’t! So I found another number and called it. I made the reservation and let our friends know.

Saturday we went into the restaurant and looking back on it now, they didn’t seem to have a reservation for us but said if we came back they would open up the terrace for us. So we did that and returned.

The place was a little basic (understatement!). I think it must be a work in progress. The owner and cook were your basic, rather “rough” Umbertidese. But sweet, as all Umbertidese are. They told us what they had. Basically an antipasto assortment, a primi which was tagliatelle with ragu, and a secondi of pork. We had one vegetarian so we asked for a non-meat pasta which they made for us. The wine was red…or white in re-used bottles.

The antipasto was good and varied. We had cheeses, meats, roasted baby onions and radishes on platters to begin. Then a plate of the thinnest sliced eggplant ever (super good), and a plate of bruschetta fegato, (liver). Oddly, no bread. In the end, we all got fed and had a laugh. 😆

At nine o’clock I got a call from the other Locanda Appennino. Yes, there are two. I was so embarrassed that I had reserved a table for six on a Saturday night and then was a no show. I never would do that. I even told him when he asked where we were that we were there now, eating. Until we figured out the confusion.

We are finally enjoying summertime in Umbria ! 💚

Chinese store

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Last week was pretty busy. I finished the final medical tests my doctor prescribed. I visited Ely, at Calagrana to pick up a chair a friend had left for me. It was early because I had gotten blood taken for the test at 7:15. The morning was lovely and I don’t think there is a more perfect, calm and beautiful spot than Calagrana’s terrace. Ely made us a couple of cappuccini and we sat on the terrace and had a nice talk. We should do that more often.
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I also needed to pick up a couple of demijohns and a terracotta pot I bought from a lady nearby who is continuing to downsize her home here. They have lived here a long time but moved back to Maryland a few years ago for health reasons. They can’t yet let their home, up above Umbertide, go. I don’t blame them. It is pretty up there. You can see the city in the distance.

She also has cacti which were blooming. I am planning to make my planters, which are not irrigated, into a succulent garden and she is going to give me some of the cactus.

Next I did something I seldom do. I visited the Chinese store. You’re probably scratching your heads aren’t you? But this is a “thing” in Italy. I don’t know why I have never written about this before. Every town of any size in Italy has their version of a Chinese store. Owned by Chinese people (obviously) and full to the brim of all kinds of things. Too many to list but to name a few: office supplies, toys, kitchen tools and supplies, clothing, pool toys, pots for plants, art supplies, etc. To shop here is to get cheap stuff. Don’t look for quality or tasteful things. But for everyday things that people need, you can be pretty sure you can find them here.

What did I buy? Well, I bought a new wooden scraper spoon, some shelf paper, and a bunch of new clothes pins. Boring but necessary things. So there you have it! Another odd thing you’ll find in Italian villages and towns.

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Otherwise, tomorrow I am getting cataract surgery. I’m very excited. I may not have to wear glasses anymore! And today we also did some planning for a short trip over to Sestri Levanti in Liguria for our anniversary. We went one other time, staying at Vis-a-Vis (thanks Matt🙂), just after Covid, and wow, what a difference between then and now. Then we had our pick of any room we wanted. We had two balconies, one sea view, the other town view. This time, I had a very hard time finding a nice room with a terrace and view at all. Back then, no one was traveling. Now, that’s not the case. It is the opposite. Anyway, it is not exactly on our anniversary, but we will celebrate as though it is.

That’s all the news fit to print. Enjoy spring. Our weather has turned glorious! Enjoy yours, and Happy Memorial Day.

Back to everyday life

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It’s good to be home, even with this crappy cough. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow but I’m doubtful she can help. It is just una brutta tosse, a bad cough, that keeps on giving! I had a surgery scheduled yesterday for a cataract but had to cancel because of it. I was disappointed because I’m looking forward to perhaps not having to wear glasses! How exciting.

Anyway, the weather is pretty good now. Not super warm but nice. I visited the Umbria Iris farm again last weekend with my friend Doug. We also had un caffè in the piazza and shopped the market. I’m very happy to have fresh eggs readily available. But that’s only in the spring when the chickens are really laying. I love fresh, free range chicken eggs. Fifty cents each.

Iris farm. Views are to die for. The maintenance on this place must be daunting! And the money invested incredible. Very nice to visit.

Doug bought three of these.
Iris’ for sale.

The day after we returned home we had our new handyman, called a tuttofare in Italian, Roddy, come and do the work we needed done around here. It took almost three days! The biggest part was the five windows that faced the weather that needed to be sanded and resealed. He also hung pictures for me and my curtains. And he replace a piece of wood that had been removed by another “helper” who never returned and he painted the two planters that looked really bad after their paint had sluffed off. It feels so good to get all the maintenance, and also things that I had waited for, for such a long time, done.

Here is the contact info for Roddy Gee owner and proprietor of Umbria La Vita. Www.umbrialavita.com
+39-340-162-8854
umbrialavita@gmail.com

I chose a new color, a light gray. The former owner was into pink. I am NOT a pink lover. So the new color really makes the old pink look crappy. Sooner or later that must be painted. But they look spectacular. 😁

We had aperitivo with our friends Christie and Jane and some of their friends one evening. It’s always good to see friends. 🙂

We also had our new friends Sarah and Don, who just moved here (!) over to our house so we could look over their applications for their first Permessi di Soggiorno. The beginning of a long road. It is always so nice to have new friends move into town. And we love helping them with the arduous process. I can’t wait to see their progress in their new home in the Niccone valley.

For me, I have a long list of things I want to get done. It is planting time and I need to get the energy to go out and get soil and plants for the planters. That’s tops on my list. Here are the baby olives on our little tree.

I will be working at Books for Dogs this Saturday. I will visit the market before work. We are in a transition season. The spring veggies are slowly showing up. Yay for the change of seasons.

Ciao for now!

Bathroom

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Hi everyone! I haven’t written a post for a while. I’ve been a bit busy with doctor appointments. I mentioned one small thing I wondered if there was medication for to my doctor. Well, from there it has spiraled right down the rabbit hole!

First, I will say I am feeling just fine so don’t worry. A couple small things not quite normal in my blood tests led to further blood tests and I mentioned my sister is being treated for Multiple Myeloma right now which does raise my risk level. So in an abundance of caution she recommend I visit a hematologist. Which I did last week. She didn’t seem concerned (definitely not Multiple Myeloma) but she wanted MORE blood tests, an ultrasound and a chest X-ray. Each thing needed to be done separately and entailed a trip to the hospital in Città di Castello, about 20 miles north. I like the hospital, there’s easy parking and there is zero traffic so it’s not terrible. Anyway. I’ve done the X-ray and ultrasound and the technicians both said no problems found. So just the last blood work to do. I guess I’m glad they are so thorough but it’s a lot of trouble! So that’s my world right now.

Otherwise, we have been having typical March weather it’s been warm for a while but now we are having a cold snap. It will go below freezing tonight so I covered my citrus trees. But I have a wonderful little display of Narcissus which are beautiful and up-lifting. Completely enjoying them.

Bathroom. Well, it’s been moving slowly but we are getting closer. My architect has returned from a trip to Sri Lanka on an architectural and garden tour. Maybe things will begin to go faster now. So the progress so far. Almost all the tiles are done and the floor is done. There is a niche in the wall I wanted and they were going to frame it in the same stone we are using for the shower and sink counter. Well, they cut the stone wrong so it’s waiting for the new pieces to be cut. Then the walls will be finished. Irma said the cabinet for under the sink is finished and they will be putting that in this week. The glass guy will come soon to measure for the glass and mirrors. Next week the plumber and electrician are being sorted to come. So we are getting there but aa always…piano, piano.

We have had some fun too. We invited friends who live here part time over to lunch last week. It was great fun. We met a new couple from Australia for aperitivo, also part timers here. They have a villa nearby and I am excited to see it sometime when they return. Other friends are just beginning to return for the spring. All of them part timers here. Winter is always very slow.

So that’s all the news fit to print! Take care everyone. Ciao!

Feels like springtime

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We are heading into a slight warming trend. The earliest fruit trees are blooming pale pink. The almonds are white. It’s uplifting. We decided to go to Calagrana for lunch. They have begun to open for Sunday lunch again. It was fun. There were three tables of English speakers and two tables of Italians, one of which was 14 people. So I think we English speakers were overpowered today. This is a change from the past when it was primarily English speakers. I’m actually very happy about this. We saw some friends from North Carolina who have a home here. And the other table were all Books for Dogs people. The big Italian table were having fun and VERY loud. As always, the women sat at one end of the table, the men, at the other. 🙄

The food was delicious. I chose the Crostone topped with roasted peppers, anchovies, capers and tomatoes. So good. The combination of sweet peppers and tomatoes, tart capers and salty anchovies really worked. Picture by Ely of the ingredients.

Luther had the house smoked Umbrian trout with pickles and toast. No picture. Our second course choices were lamb chops for Luther and Guancia (beef cheeks) on puréed potatoes both really good.

Calagrana had a tough week this week with the loss of Archie, everyone’s favorite terrier. He worked the front of the house and had his own bench, which if you sat there, you shared with him. He had been at Calagrana for all the years I had been going and I really missed his sweet little self today. 😔 RIP Archie. 🌈

Bathroom. Last week they began the process of waterproofing the floor and walls. This is the future shower space. We are getting closer to the “pretty stuff” 🙂. Here are the latest pictures.

Buona Domenica a tutti!

Bathroom

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I promised some photos. The first two are of the bath after the appliances and plumbing was disconnected. The next one is today after all is gone.

Now, it’s ready for the plumber who’s coming on Monday. Then I think the muratori (wall guys) will come back and smooth the walls and floors and finished the enclosure for the toilet. After all that, the pretty stuff happens 🙂.
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Our weather has been quite mild for the last couple of weeks and lots of rain. Weekend coming up. We have a few things on. Tonight we are going to our Italian family’s house for dinner. This is Vera and her husband and a Danish couple that she works for. We’ve met them before. They are wealthy and that’s hard to do in Denmark! Tomorrow, I’m working at Books for Dogs then I’ll go to the market. Sunday we are meeting American friends who live nearby for lunch at Calagrana. They are the ones that we help with the olive harvest every year. Calagrana is closed for the season, but they open now and then for a lunch or dinner and we get an email when they do. We have not been since Thanksgiving, so I am looking forward to that!

Buon Weekend! (Yes that’s really a thing they say here. Much easier than fine settimana!)

Checking in

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Hi all. I thought I would check in with the few interesting things we have been doing. Being winter, and pretty darn cold, we haven’t been doing too much. I have been volunteering at the Books for Dogs/Libri per i Cani shop. It’s pretty fun. I work on Saturdays, either early or late shift.

Today the bathroom renovation began. The plumber came to disconnect all the appliances. So all the sinks and shower, bidet and toilet have been unhooked. Monday the true demolition will begin. I am not sure how long this job will take. I do know Irma has received all the materials for it, so once demolished I would think they would begin installing the tiles, sinks, toilet etc. The electrician must also come. Then the plumber comes back. Maybe a couple weeks? I’ll post pictures in my next post.
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On the cooking front I have made some wintery dishes. Chili, always a favorite, with borlotti beans. My favorite roast chicken from Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. So simple but so delicious. Then over the weekend I made a Kimchi Soup. Yeah, I know it’s not Italian, but I love those exotic tastes on occasion and this one pushes all the buttons. Luther thinks he doesn’t like kimchi, but when it’s used as an ingredient it is more acceptable. (He liked the soup 🙂) There are lots of discussions on the Facebook Expat groups about foreign foods. Many people are adamant that when you come to live in Italy you embrace the food. Others say they miss flavors of home and it’s perfectly ok to use them. And the third group also misses all the diverse cuisines of the world that are available in the U.S. For myself, I love Italian food, I also love comfort foods from home, and I love exotic tastes. So here is my kimchi soup in pictures 🙂

The recipe called for bok choy but that’s not found here. So I used bietole which is like chard, and very close to bok choy. This soup came together very quickly. It was bright and spicy tart and sour. Very yummy
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I met with a friend, Elizabeth Wholly this morning, for a caffè. My favorite bar is Bar Mary as my long time readers know. It is in the piazza. And in summertime, it is great to sit outside with a spritz or a coffee and watch the world go by. But in the winter, they only have one pretty barren back room and mostly the tables are filled with the old men playing cards. My go-to wintertime bar is Antico bar Giardino. It is just outside the piazza on one of the main roads through town. It, too, has a lovely garden, hence the name, but it also is cozy with deep upholstered sofas and chairs, quirky tables, many different rooms, vaulted ceilings nice barriste. Coffee is good, pastries tasty, nice wines for aperitivo. They have apericena, (drinks with snacks) in the evening. They also have a warm stufa 😁.

Stay tuned for the bathroom renovation!

Christmas 2024

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Christmas this year was a bit different. As you know from all the past Christmas posts we normally stay home for the day. This year, we were invited to our friends Susan and Gary’s apartment in Florence. They have been there a few years and we had never seen it. Susan had planned a Christmas luncheon for 11 already so just added Luther and I into the mix.

We stayed in a much-too-big for us apartment that actually shared a wall with their apartment so it was easy to go back and forth between the two. And we had to because we used the oven and refrigerator in our rental as well as their own kitchen. Here is the view from the bedroom of the rental. It is the Uffizi museum, just across the Arno and far to the left is the Ponte Vecchio so you can’t get a better spot in Florence. Next photo is the Uffizi straight on with the tower in the big piazza behind it. All was quiet on Christmas morning.

The Christmas lunch was being catered by a restaurant that Susan and Gary enjoy. One of the owners is American so they do turkey and fixin’s American style. The restaurant owner arrived on his motorcycle with the big box of food strapped on back. He delivered it to the kitchen and proceeded to take out all the dishes, multiple courses and sauces and explain what to do. Well we all nodded and said va bene and then we all promptly forgot what went with what and how it was to be used. After several phone calls we thought we had it all straight. We were lucky it was so cold and that they have an outside space just off the kitchen. We used it as an auxiliary refrigerator.

Then we sat around the kitchen table and worked out a step-by-step timeline for the meal. It took a LOT of time. Turns out it was invaluable on the day of the feast. There were so many different moving parts and courses that for us six to get it all done and in an organized and timely fashion it was necessary and we referred to it constantly.

I took a picture of the ballroom which was going to be used as a dining room this day. Susan and Gary had worked very hard to get tables and chairs and decorations and everything all set up. It is a beautiful room, check out the frescos.

We had a chance to meet all of Susan and Gary’s new friends. We enjoyed meeting them. The description of the meal. Appetizers: there were three, a mushroom strudel with a cheese sauce, smoked salmon on toast, and artichokes with a delicious garlic sauce. The next course was Cappeletti pasta cooked in a rich broth and it was served next to tiny meatballs. All of that was submerged in the broth. Main course was served buffet style. Turkey, dressing, vegetables gravy. Only one picture.

Here we all at table.

It was a lot of fun. Thank you Susan and Gary for a lovely Christmas. It was wonderful to share the holiday with you and your friends and sister Sarah!

Next day we took the train back home. It takes just 1.5 hours to get to Florence from the station that we use in Umbria.
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Here is my annual Christmas Card. I hope 2025 is a good year for us all. Happy Holidays to all my friends and family!

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 trip to the wine country for lunch

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Today was a gorgeous autumn day. Crisp and brilliant sun with blue skies. We had planned another meet-up of the Gang o Six. A longstanding group which enjoys lunch together every so often. We wanted to see each other and have fun and this seemed like the time to do that.

We went to Osteria di Sagrantino at Doug’s suggestions since our first choice was closed for vacation. It turns out it was a great choice. It is just my favorite type of restaurant. Not pretentious at all and straight up, seasonal, good Umbrian food. Nice people. Great local wines. It is set among the famous Sagrantino vineyards which are all flaunting their autumnal colors. They are nearly past their peak but still very pretty.

Here is Osteria di Sagrantino. Nice outside space for summer. Inside cozy and an enoteca with a cheese and sausage display for sale.

My first course was Lonzino with Torta al Testo. I had not heard of Lonzino before. Lonzino is an air cured pork which is very thinly sliced. Not smoked like so much is here. It was served with the traditional flatbread of Umbria, torta al testo. I really enjoyed it.

Doug got the Vellutata di Verdura. It was a pretty puree soup of roasted seasonal vegetables.

For the next course most of us got the Tagliatelle con Funghi Porcini. Also called Cèpes in France, and Steinpilzen in Germany. A seasonal delicacy, the mushrooms are not cultivated but are foraged in the wild. Very meaty and delicious.

I forgot to take a picture of our desserts. They had three and we got one of each to share. A cheesecake with pears poached in sagrantino wine. Tiramisù. And a torta al cioccolato with Amaretto cream. All good.

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Today I had coffee with Joanne who brought our six liters of oil from the olives we helped harvest. Thanks Joanne and Mark!

And kindly Doug was nice to share a liter of his just harvested oil. Thanks Doug! We had some bruschetta with the two new oils. Both were delicious and both were quite different.

The distinctive green of the new oil on the bread. Yes, I took bites before I took the photo!

A la prossima…