The excitement!  The excitement I tell you!  The Italian authorities have just conducted a huge raid on the mafia, arresting well over 300 people around Italy including ONE OF OUR NEIGHBORS!  They nabbed him at 4 am this morning evidently.  We don't know the guy as he doesn't live in our complex but in the townhouses across the road.  He is the assessor of the region of Piemonte who bought votes and took kick-backs for favors.  Naughty man.

In other news, GP and I have finally, after 35 years, gone to the Opera.  We saw Carmen and it was wonderful.  I haven't stopped tapping my little feeties since.  Now that I am not tied to the academic schedule, we could go to the matinee at a cost of 30 euro instead of the evening performance at 100!  Oh to be able to sing or dance....  Just not in the genetic mix.

Well another Christmas is almost here.  We are sticking close to home, forgoing our usual New Year's trip, as MIL is getting more anxious being alone nights.  Sooo for NYE, we are going with the hiking group on an evening snowshoe high up in the dreaded mountains.  Oh what a joyous way to bring in the new year... Fortunately there is food involved.  We'll come down from our trek to a late dinner and cheer at an alpine hut/restaurant.  Lots of wood and roaring fires kind of place.  And free flowing wine.  LOTS of free flowing wine.

So I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful start to 2020.  xxoo me

Greta Thunberg was in Torino this last week.  She was greeted by a group of Gretini (a play on the word "cretini" or cretins), young Italians who are her avid followers.  Poor kid came on a day of pouring rain and public transportation strikes.  They had her dressed in a much too big yellow rain jacket under a much too big umbrella addressing a minuscule crowd, as not even environmentalists wanted to brave the deluge on foot.  Oh well, she got to meet the mayor; a woman whose platform included turning Torino into Italy's first vegan city.  Ha.  This is the land of salami and prosciutto.  I think not.

Speaking of weather, we had 10 minutes of snow the other day, during which time I had the chance to take a photo of our little garden and send it out with Christmas greetings.  It's all gone now and we are back to grey and drizzle.  It has not been a pleasant fall. 

And speaking of vegans, the daughter has decided to go vegetarian which is fine, (we've been trying to cut back ourselves - cholesterol problems), except that we are coming up on the holidays in Piemonte, the most carnivorous of times.   Our traditional Christmas lunch starts with salami and plates of hams and other thinly sliced pieces of pig.  This is followed by salami cotto, a big fatty boiled sausage cooked with lentils.  The pasta dish is agnolotti, tiny ravioli stuffed with meat and cabbage topped with ragu, ie: meat sauce. All of this comes before the main dish, some sort of huge roast.  See the problem?  As I have taken over the role of hostess I have some flexibility so have spent the past few days devising a menu and reviewing it with all involved. I'm going for a lot of appetizers and two pasta dishes and skipping the roast all together.  Figure if I stuff MIL with enough cheese early on she won't miss the meat later.  Wish me luck.

AND speaking of meat...GP has been craving lamb recently and it's very difficult to find in these parts as it is not part of the traditional diet apart from at Easter.  Yesterday we were at the great market in the city and after searching high and low through the butcher's section, still couldn't find any.  Suddenly I spotted a woman in a head scarf (don't judge me) and we followed her.  She led us right to a Halal butcher with all sorts of lamb!  The huge numbers of immigrants to our parts have brought in all sorts of goodies not previously offered.  There are stands manned by Africans selling vegetables and fruits I can't even identify.  Enormous tuberous things, spiky things and some really smelly things.  There are women making and selling flat breads and mini stands piled up with mint and cilantro, the latter impossible to find here not many years ago.  Much to their chagrin, Italy is becoming multi-cultural.

I've settled into a lazy pattern with this semi-retirement thing.  I wake late-ish, drink coffee and check the news online.  I play housekeeper for a couple hours, sorta cleaning, cooking, or ironing.  I have private tutoring in the afternoon for an hour or two and go to yoga or exercise classes four times a week. Then I come home and sorta do things again until I can reasonably throw myself on the sofa with a glass of wine and watch my newest addiction:  Garden Rescue!  I am a slug.  I'm hoping to become motivated to do some of the many creative things I've been saying I'll do when I finally have time.  Maybe it will be my New Year's resolution.  xxoo me