I am celebrating spring. The cherry trees are blooming and the Mimosa. The Japanese magnolia, always first, is blooming everywhere. Most of the trees have obvious buds now. The weather is springlike with cool temperatures and showers interspersed with sun.

We had a meet up for Sunday pranzo with my friend Doug up in his amazing home. It was the gang of six. A perfect day and we welcomed primavera. It was the final day of the Olympics and he made the signature dish from the north of Italy which was served everywhere from the cafeterias at the Olympic village to 3 Star Michelin restaurants in Milan. It is called Pizzoccheri and is made with buckwheat pasta (homemade by Doug), potatoes, garlic cheese topped by butter. A real calorie bomb. But good! 😋 plus a refreshing salad to make up for it and a beautiful lemon tart. Thanks Doug for a fun time and it was lovely seeing the “gang”.

I have been out and about a bit. I went into centro last week and met up with the local cat carer, who is also a lawyer. She has 7 cats of her own but cares for the Umbertide registered feral cat colony which presently numbers about 40. She was sweet. I gave a donation for one of the ferals who is in the clinic and sick. No one knows if he will make it. We met at Bar Mary, where else? One of the houses erected for the colony. Photo by Marta.

And here is a pic of the Saturday action, along with a tree the likes of which I have never seen.

Tuesday night was the Quiz Night benefit for Books For Dogs. They have it in a local restaurant. The questions are in English. It always sells out. It is very fun and we have a team, this time it is all Americans. I think. Two people are new to me. We are at a disadvantage since the questions are compiled by a British person and they can be British centric. So best to have a Brit or two on the team. It is all for fun and a good cause so who really cares. The tickets get you a free wine and some snacks. Here are some pics of the action.

Sadly our team, Perché, came in last. Next time we will have to try to find a few other nationalities to join up with.

Today I went to my first session of private PT. I came to the conclusion I need some help to strengthen my muscles. My therapista is Ricardo. He was quite nice and we communicated in mostly my poor Italian. The words used in this new activity are new to me so I did a lot of improvisation. I now have a program, and “compiti” — “homework”. I vow I will exercise everyday. Another appointment next week,

Happy primavera a tutti!