I've been here a week.  Technically I am still in quarantine but I have been getting out almost every day for a walk.  As there are so few people on the streets in this area I have no problem avoiding "contact".  Many evenings we've gone out to peek in windows as G's place is easy walking distance to some fabulous neighborhoods.  London is globally the city with the highest number of wealthy citizens and there are so many extraordinary residential areas.  I wish I could press my face up against their windows and have a looksy around their enclosed gardens!  But G won't let me so I have to behave myself.  Damned sense of propriety.   Wonder where she gets it.  G starts work again on Tuesday so I am going to begin with my explorations.  Though everything is shut up tight I can still wander around parks and look at the architecture.  Still don't have a return ticket and as Italy even more locked down than here, no reason to go back yet.  I'm lucky to have that option.  Stay safe!  xxoo me

 So here is this WET country, (hasn't stopped raining since I got here), and where there is a new virulent strain of the virus, maybe they would have fewer cases if they actually WORE MASKS!  It's insane to see most people bare faced including ALL of the cops and firefighters!  There was an incident of some sort across the road today and the fire department was called.  2 trucks, 6 firemen, no masks.  I've seen various policemen and traffic cops on my 2 trips out to grab food.  Not a mask among them!  I'd say maybe 1/3 of the people out and about wear them.  Max.  It's nuts.  

We are hoping to go see Christmas lights tonight.  The place to go is Oxford Street down to Piccadilly Circus.  There shouldn't be crowds as nothing is open but probably will be.  And the rain is still coming down.  Wow.....

xxoo me

 Holy Toledo!  What a harrowing day yesterday.  Just as I was zipping up my suitcase for my trip to London, the news reported that Italy, like Holland and Belgium before them, was cancelling all flights to and from the UK due to the new and more virulent strain of the virus.  Up until my plump behind was firmly planted in that airplane seat I was sweating bullets, not sure if I'd be getting out or not.  Our flight was the last flight before the shut down.  I flew into a scarily quiet London.  It was only 9:30 pm and the streets were empty.  There was a long line of empty taxis outside of Paddington Station, all hoping for a fare.  I was the only person in sight.  There was so little traffic, the cab made it to Grace's in record time and cost me half what I usually pay.  Now I'm hunkered down on the sofa looking out at a typically gray, rainy day and grateful to be here.  The coffee's good, there are two kinds of Babka in the kitchen, cinnamon and chocolate, and BBC on the telly!  All is good.  xxoo me

 From the sea to the mountains!  Today was our first snowshoeing excursion.  Who knows when we'll have our next as we are due to go into complete lock down again as of Monday the 21st.  It's for this reason I have changed my flight to London and will leave the 20th.  When will this all end one wonders.

 

 

We started out early morning and it was COLD.  The advantage was that there was NO ONE to be seen.  

 

It was another glorious day.  At least in the mountains.  Torino and surrounds were brown with smog even after the months of limited traffic. 

On these, the shortest days of the year, the valley below is all in shadow shortly after noon.  The temperatures dropped and I practically ran all the way to the car.  Going down is SO much easier!

xxoo me

 Here's Noli in shadows as the sun was setting last Sunday.  What a beautiful day.  It was the first day we were out of lock down and could leave our communities.  Unfortunately we weren't the only people who thought of going to the sea.  The town and hiking trails were packed.  We scooted off the trail up into the hills and sunbathed for a couple of hours.  The weather was gorgeous; warm, sunny and dry.  Now it looks like we'll be locked down again because it seems that after 6 weeks of no liberty, strangely, people went out in mass when the flood gates opened!  Who woulda thunk?  I got in a walk today with a friend and hope to get a day in the mountains before the gates close again. 

 

And here I am with my enormous backside.  Thank you Covid for all of the beer, the wine, the baking and cooking.  Thank you for the lack of exercise, the hours of netflix, the frequent naps.  Thank for the 20 pounds that will take me fricking YEARS to drop! 

 Whatta year.  xxoo me

 

 

 

There are two really traditional Christmas cakes here; Panettone and Pandoro.  Panettone originated in Milan, Pandoro in Verona.  A good Panettone is nothing like the boxed stale cakes we find in the States.  They are yellow from the dozen eggs used to bake them, fluffy, soft with a wonderful toasted top and dotted with tangy, sweet dried fruits.  Pandoro is somewhere between a basic yellow cake and an angle cake.  Very light and covered with powdered sugar.  This is Racca, a wholesale pastry-bakery that caters to bars, restaurants and folks off the street.  I wish I could post the perfume walking into this place.  Because it IS perfume.  So so GOOD.  We buy our annual Panettone from places like this, fresh out of the oven.   It is still wrapped and sitting on our table.  I am trying to resist ripping into it as tomorrow is MIL's "saint's day" and we'll be having a big dinner with her.  We've given ourselves until Sunday.  I shall persevere!

xxoo me

 It has been gray and overcast since I got here a month ago.  Either the smog or the clouds have kept the Alps hidden from view.  But last night we had a long hard rain and today under black clouds the mountains are bright and white.  Sometimes it seems as if they crowd in on us, huge and and higher than Torino's few tall structures, spanning the entire horizon.  It's always a surprise to see them after an absence.  They take up so much space.  

 

a back road church

the mountains after a rain

I took these picture on my way to have lunch with MIL.  I have made it a habit to visit once a week, just we two, for lunch and a chat.  Mitch Albom had Tuesdays with Morrie.  I have Wednesdays with Amalia.  I'm recording the recounting of her life.  GP is little interested in his family's past so I've taken on the role of Story Keeper.  Maybe someday the daughter will be interested.  Maybe someday I'll write it down.  But in the mean time she loves to tell me how she was the winner of the Miss Carignano contest when she was 16 or how she had a bit part in a docu-film made in town.  We eat a little lunch, have an expresso and a chocolate.  It's nice.

Stay well, xxoo me

 OK, so that last entry where I said upgrading to orange zone from red would mean I could leave the "community"?   Well not so much.  It just means shops can open and we can travel around without our auto-certificates that explain why we are out and about.  So still no seeing anyone except GP, MIL and one little girl and her family.  Said little girl has been my student for over a year, starting before COVID.  I tutor her in Literacy and English.  This is the student I mentioned in an earlier post.  Every weekday I walk back and forth to their place which is about 40 minutes from here and gives me both exercise and time outside.  They are a true "modern family" as she's being raised by her grandfather, his wife, various his, hers and theirs young adult children and partners, an old granny that belongs to someone, a housekeeper, a couple of nannies or babysitters, (one at a time), a giant lab and the tiniest chihuahua I've ever seen.  By American standards their home is not that large but it seems to have endless rooms and entrances and I never know where people are popping in from.  I think at one time it may have been the stables and livery quarters for the enormous villa behind it.  I don't actually have anything to do with all these people apart from the little girl and her grandfather but I see the others passing by windows and going in and out of doorways on one of the attached ells.  This walk is often the highlight of my day and I'm p'd that it looks like a long stretch of rain coming up!  I DO NOT like walking in the rain.  Here are some pics from today's outing.

The Monastery next door to student's place

MonViso over Torino

Heading down the hill

Almost home.  Our neighborhood church.

Stay well, xxoo me

 I have a gardening client!  Our neighbor has a landscape business but doesn't do the small stuff.  In fact his tiny plot of land behind the condo is only raggedy grass and an overgrown yew.  I am trying to convince him to let me at it but to no avail.  He's like the plumber with a dripping faucet.  A client for whom he's done some tree work asked if he could clean out some flower beds and plant bulbs for next spring.  Their 80+ year old gardener has dug his last hole...  Eric passed my name on to them because if there is no power tool involved, he is not involved.  They live across the way which is very convenient.  They have a lovely big dog with a head like an anvil which is wonderful.  And they feed me cake which is the best!  Yay me!

The lock down has gotten the numbers in the area down to the point where we may go from "red zone" to "orange zone".  With that change I can actually leave town and take a walk with friends, none of whom I've seen yet.  It also means we could go to the mountains which has it's downside for me as it means that walking up thing.  Damn.

Stay well.  xxoo me

There's a lot of nothing going on over here.  I wake up mornings to the sound of men working two feet from my bed.  A little irksome.  Especially as I've seen them.  I've seen no friends as they all live in different towns though only a few minutes away.  I tutor a couple hours a day both in person and on line.  Apart from that I spend way too much time reading the news and getting more and more depressed about the future for my loved ones, the state of the US, the state of the World.....  

The November weather hasn't been helping my mood any.  In a frequently gray place November is the grayest month.  Yesterday we had lunch with MIL at her place.  As it is in a different town and we can only visit one at a time, we drove separately and arrived 15 minutes apart.  It's ridiculous but necessary.  People are being stopped and fined for breaking the lock down rules.  I parked in a square in front of the town's oldest and largest church.  On any normal Sunday the square would have been swarming with post mass talkers and walkers.  The bars would be open with people drinking coffee and aperitifs before going home to a long Sunday lunch.  Instead the church doors were locked tight.  There wasn't a soul to be seen.  These are gloomy days my friends!

Stay well.  xxoo Me

 So this is how things stand here.  We're in a red zone.  We're in lock down again though not as complete as last spring.  We are permitted to get out and exercise and more businesses are permitted to stay open but we are not permitted to socialize in any way shape or form.  I begin my tutoring today but as I'm working under the table I have no excuse to be going to my student's home.  I've decided, (as I have to lose weight after a calorie fueled summer in any case), that I will walk back and forth to my lesson and wear exercise clothes.  If I get stopped I'm out for a run.   Or a fast walk.  Or just a walk.  One look at my jiggly backside and they'll believe I need it.

When I left here at the beginning of July, workers were about to start painting our building.  Workers are still painting our building.  They have finished the front apart from some trim (and the possible repainting of the balconies because of some drama about the color which is a shade paler than the rest of the building).  They've set up scaffolding in the back on our terraces.  There's been drilling and banging and various men moving around outside my windows which can be quite disconcerting considering I sleep in the buff and tend to walk around in undies a lot.  I expect to hear screams of terror some day from some curious house painter.  That'll teach 'em.

Christmas is another worry.  European countries are closing borders and requiring quarantines.   Flights and trains have been cancelled.  Panic is setting in for the holidays.  The daughter may well not be able to come back for Christmas as she would then have to quarantine for two weeks upon returning to the UK.  As she has to work when she gets back, that's impossible.  So I may go there.  Being locked up for a couple weeks doesn't affect my life significantly.  That is IF I can get a flight and IF I am permitted into the UK.  I don't relish the idea of a wet, gray, lonely Christmas for the two of us in her apartment.  But the alternative would be leaving her there alone as her roommates will have left for a few weeks.  Maybe we'll do like the Jews in NYC and order Chinese food and watch movies.

So that's what it looks like on this side of the pond.  xxoo me

 Oh happy day!!!  The calls and e-mails have been coming in from European friends saying, "Well thank God THAT chapter of America is over."  I warned them we still have til January for Trump to put on his s@#% show.  It's amazing how relieved Italians are that Biden won.  The newscasters are giddy!  The first good thing 2020 has delivered.

Back to watching the news.  xxoo me

 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  (Must distract myself.)  (Will write on blog.)

So we are in lock down again.  This time we are permitted to get out and exercise at least.  The priest at MIL's church has tested positive.  The same church where she volunteers every Monday in the office. She records the dead.  She's fine.  She's Teflon.  

AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!  AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  (Concentrate!)

 

The lovely rehab I did on my garden ain't looking so hot.  What the intense Italian sun didn't roast is weed covered.  When it clears up I'll get out and try to whip it back into shape.  We've also decided to repaint the apartment.  The fun never ends.

GAHHHHH!  AAAAHHHHHH!  NO NO NO NO!!!!!!  (Sorry.)

I've been back 3 nights.  I've already carved a hole in the wine supply.  My diet plans have tanked.  I may not survive 2020.

xxoo me

 I think my computer is haunted.  Or possessed.  It sounds as though there is a teeny squirrel behind the screen scratching and tapping to get out.  Quite worrisome.

Anywho.  I'm back!  I flew in yesterday from London.  The trip was one minor disaster after another.  It was my favorite flight from Stansted to Torino that leaves the UK at 6:40 am.  I have to leave Grace's place about 3 am to make it.  The bus I normally take to the airport was sold out as they are seating only 50% and I hadn't booked early enough.  I had to take a cab service.  Ryanair is cheap for a reason.  It's only worth it if you are flying with a toothbrush and a change in underwear.  NOT with a huge suitcase and a carry on.  I had paid for the suitcase ahead of time and tried to avoid the carry on by stuffing the suitcase full but it was overweight so had to take out a bag I have and pack that with the excess weight and then pay for a carry on as well.  My cheap flight wasn't so cheap anymore.  While lining up at the gate, all masked and paid up, a few of us were accosted by an airline employee for not wearing the appropriate mask required (as of 5 minutes earlier), (I'd checked the night before), to enter Italy.  It had to be the blue paper surgical type, not the pretty autumn themed double layered cotton one I was wearing.  No proper mask, no flight.  WTF?  Fortunately I asked around and one of the other passengers had an extra which she reluctantly gave me.  At the airport in Torino we were given three options:  to be tested immediately at the airport with results within 3 days thereby avoiding quarantine if one has negative results OR to be tested elsewhere and quarantined until a negative result is sent to the local authorities OR 14 days quarantine.  I was tested free of charge at the airport and will be contacted sometime in the next days.  It was quick and easy and free.  The quickest, easiest and free-ist part of my trip!

The squirrel is dead.  No more scratching.  Weird.

I will have much to keep me busy the next few days as I left GP alone here for 4 months and he's moved things and not kept up with my standards of tidiness.  He says it's orderly but it's HIS orderly, which is wrong, not MY orderly which is right.  

Have to go straighten out the flatware.  More tomorrow.

xxoo me

Step one of my trip home complete.  I have made it to London.  The flight from Milan was almost empty with 1 person per every other row.  All masked, all the time.  At passport control, and at 2 other points, they checked our immigration/Covid form that we'd had to fill out ahead of time.  I caught a train from the airport to Liverpool Station and Grace met me there, then we ubered back to her place.  Masks all the way.  However this afternoon we took a walk and nary a mask to be seen once out and about.  Some shops employees wear them but do not insist that customers do.  In fact almost no one does.  I will stay far away from everyone!  xxoo

Tomorrow is my last day here til???  My garden has become very lush and is now doing what it always does once summer sets in: wilts.  It is hot, hot, hot, and humid.  We hide inside in the afternoons and don't venture out til the sun is behind the hills. 

I think traveling will be "a trip".  See what I did there!  Haha.  Anywho.  Check-in is 2.5 hours before the flight to provide for distancing.  Before going to the UK I have to fill in a form stating where I'll be staying, all contact info and promising that I am not ill nor have been around anyone who is ill.  Then my flight to Boston on which I plan to hide, masked and gloved, under my windjacket for the entire 5 hours.  But I'll get home.  Phew.

xxoo me

For anyone who has ever dreamed of opening a bed and breakfast in the Italian countryside have I got the place for you.  Yesterday we spent the afternoon and evening at the county home of our neighbors parents.  They bought this property in the 70's during the boom days of the Italian economy and slowly added to it over the years, accumulating an entire hill.  Apart from an enormous old farmhouse, there are vineyards and fruit trees and gardens.  There is also a huge indoor/outdoor swimming pool where we all played volleyball for hours.  This place is incredible and it gets all of my garden and house design juices flowing.  But for the fact that I have no desire to take on a new occupation and tie myself down here.....  And its CHEAP.  Italians aren't interested in big properties anymore.  There whole package is going for about $500,000.  We ate dinner on the covered veranda and watched the lights come on in all the little villages on the hills.  There is a view of MonViso towards France and endless hills all around.  Man.  Anywho.  Just a few pictures below.

the front garden

early evening

the main house

setting the table

 xxoo me

We had two glorious days at the sea.  We went to Noli again.  My favorite little town on the Italian riviera.  We stayed in a B & B up in the hills in a tiny village called Tosse which means "cough" and that's about how long it takes you to drive through it.  These hills are olive country.  They grow in sliver rows everywhere.  But for that matter so does everything else.  It is a mass of green and brilliant flowers growing out of every crack and crevice.  The place we stayed has three rooms and a small apartment they rent and it was absolutely charming.  Breakfast was outside on the terrace under a bougainvillea. Tthe stone walls were covered in purple and pink vines I couldn't identify.  The owner grows every known variety of sedum in shells and pots and cups, even a thimble!  I could have stayed a long time.  The sea was a perfect turquoise and tourists are just venturing back so we didn't have to put up with the usual crowds.  All in all it was lovely.  Sigh.

Now we are back and I am getting ready for my departure with a few snags.  I should have flown to London on the 3rd but there are no buses or trains from Stanstead, (the airport I fly into), until 2 days after I get there.  A taxi would cost me about 200 pounds.  Maybe not.  So I changed my flight to the 5th hoping that public transport will be back in action by then.  If not I may have to change my flight again and fly into a different airport.  Whatta pain in the a**.  Upon getting home I will be surrounded by neighbors coming up from all of the worst virus hit states; Texas, S. Carolina and Florida.  Fortunately I don't talk to any of them anyway.  Hahahahahaha.  Not kidding. 

Here are a few pics from our little break.

breakfast

sedum

more sedum

The door to the owners home

A view of Noli's two church spires and castle

blue, blue and more blue

xxoo me

Our orange tinted river

Tomorrow is my 60th birthday.  How in God's name can someone as immature as me be 60?  I am eternally 12.  And that's pushing it.   My great plans for this auspicious occasion have gone amuck.  I had hoped to have a wonderful trip somewhere, a once in a lifetime something, but this fricking virus has messed with my birthday!  The nerve.  But at least thing are calm enough here that we are venturing forth and taking MIL to a restaurant tomorrow night.  We will be seated OUTSIDE, with MASKS, but still it will be an adventure.  AND what's more, we are going away, minus MIL, to the sea for 2 days, 1 night.  Hey.  It's something.  The check-in process for this place is insane.  We have to pre-check-in on-line, book a time for arrival to avoid others, then wear a mask when not in our room and pay only the exact amount in cash so as to avoid touching anything.  But the view is wonderful and I'll get to swim.  More to come.  xx oo me

Still raining every afternoon.  Great dumpings of water.  At the moment it is AGAIN hailing.  My poooor little garden.

Behind the condos they've been working to prepare the villa and gardens for the new occupants.  I mentioned before that it had been bought by a charity that runs rehab houses.  I can't see what they've been doing to the building though we can certainly hear them banging and drilling away, but they have pruned and cut back the trees in the gardens tremendously.  What up until a week ago was a lovely dense wooded area, giving us privacy and sorely needed shade, is now much more open.  We can see the roof lines of the houses on the other side of the property and see the heads of the gardeners as they go about their work.  I hate the idea of losing the little privacy that we had as previously we could sit on our terrace and not be seen.  Now, if the new "guests" choose to, they could peek over the back hedges into our gardens because the land behind us goes up hill.  I am not pleased.

MIL has had a little accident again.  Somehow she has managed to fall off a step stool she was sitting on.  She tells us she was sitting but we will soon discover that this 88 year old rotund woman was standing on it dusting her ceiling lamp.  Every time there is an "incident" she doesn't know HOW it happened.  Until she let's it slip.  Oops.  She is fine but bruised.  Still going to the market tomorrow with her mask on her chin because she hates feeling that she can't breath.  She'll outlive us all.

xxoo me

It hasn't stopped raining.  Not just raining.  POURING.  Absolute rivers of orange water are running off the hills, down our road and into the Po river.  The soil here has a lot of calcium which turns the water a chalky white and the trees are all in bloom leaving yellow and orange pollen on every surface.  The combo, orangey rivers.  And I itch.  Damned plants.

On another note we have spent all day, literally hours, trying to re-organize my trip to The States.  With the occurrence of the pandemic came all the trip cancellations.  With all of the cancellations came vouchers.  Trying to utilize these vouchers has proved oh so slightly stressful.  We have vouchers open with 4 different airlines, Iberia, KLM, British and Ryanair.  We can't just re-book the same flights as airlines have reduced the number of flights and some airports are still not open to most traffic.  One of those airports is ours obviously.  I have to fly out of Milan which in itself is a pain in the butt because it's an hour and a half away.  I had to re-buy my tickets to the UK (at 4 times the price) because Ryanair still hasn't issued it's vouchers at all.  Hopefully all of the quarantines I may be subject (London, Maine) to will be over by the time I get there.   So if all goes as planned I will be home from July 12th thru the end of October.  And I'd BETTER NOT GET SICK!  Life used to be easier..

xxoo me

We are having an absolute symphony of thunder!  It sounds like super sonic jets passing and waves crashing and a fire crackling all at the same time.  I love a good thunderstorm.

Alas the rain will bring out even more snails.  Even more I say because I am already waging a war on them sons-a-bitches!  The snails here get enormous and are freaking EVERYWHERE.  They eat my basil and potted annuals no matter where I put them.  They get up onto our outdoor table and our windowsills.  The climb all the way up onto out front balcony for chrissakes!  They are like little Edmund Hillarys slowly making their way up to great heights.   I've taken to going out at night before I go to bed and stomping on them with my gardening shoes.  It makes a very satisfying crunch.  My neighbors are dismayed and say that I should just throw them over the back hedge into the park but THEY COME BACK.  I've tried the coffee grounds and eggshell tricks but they outsmart me every time the little bastards.

So this is how I pass my time while the world is in turmoil.  I feel very far away from it and that makes me anxious.  I would like to be walking out with the protesters in BBH today.  I would like to be visiting friends and family (from a safe distance).  I would like to be home.   Unfortunately it is not yet to be so I'm back to massacring molluscs.  Are snails molluscs?  


xxoo me

The combination of retirement (sorta) and "stay home" has led to lots of free-time.  How is it I used to fit so much into one day?  Just last year I would be away from home at least 8 hours a day for work.  10 if I had "after-school" activities or exercise classes.  And yet I kept the apartment clean and did the shopping and cooking at least as much as I am doing now.  The hubby and I pretty much divide our duties.  I do my best NOT to iron and he avoids cleaning the bathrooms like the plague.  Now I am trying to fill my days and somehow, doing nuthin', they pass.  Thankfully the weather has been lovely so there has been a whole lotta weeding, a blade of grass at a time.  We now have 15 days of rain coming up, according to the weather gurus.  If I survive this I'll be fine.  Mid-June I'll hopefully book my flights home.  I hope the US has calmed the F*#@ down by then!  xxoo me

Well the daughter has returned to London and left a big hole behind her.  It was actually a lovely lazy 2 months.  We sat in the sun and read and cooked and sunbathed day after day.  Alas.  She's back at work and getting on with her life.  I feel as though I am still in stand-by.  I'll wait another couple of weeks to see if there is a fall-out from the states opening.  Then I'll check into flights that should be more numerous in June.  What strange times.  xx oo me

Our neighbors to the right of us have a tall palm tree in their garden.  This year two mourning doves have decided to place their nest in it.  If you've never heard large birds crashing in and out of a palm all day this would be eye opening.  The racket they make is unbelievable.  You know those adventure films where a large man fights his way thru a jungle with a machete?  Ya.  Like that.  All day. 

The tree

Yesterday I did a video with actor neighbors who have, obviously, been stuck at home.  No one knows when they'll get back to theaters and studios so they have been making all sorts of videos and doing whatever it is one does with these videos.  I am so savvy.  Anywho.  So they asked me to read a fairy tale in English while Iliana read the same story in Italian.  It was fun.  I'm sure I will make millions. 

xxoo me

The noise is back.  How sad.  For the past couple months it has been wonderfully quiet here.  This evening with the windows open we can hear the full spectrum of background city sounds.  Distant but present.  The trains are running and cars are passing on the main road below.  Today the builders were back at work renovating the villa behind us and the neighborhood was awake again with car alarms and slamming doors.  And I'm sure our unusually clear skies with haze over once more.  Oh well. 

xxoo me

No more day counting.  As of today we are about as free as we are going to get for who knows how long.  I started back up with lessons at my student's house.  I COULD book a hair appointment but am choosing to wait though it looks like I cut my hair with the lights out.  I COULD go shopping for something other than groceries but neither need nor want anything.  I COULD go to a bar or restaurant but have no interest in eating behind plexiglass.  So nothing much changes.  Grace has booked her flight to London for the end of the month.  I'm still waiting.  I want to see what's going to happen with everything opening, here, there and everywhere.  MIL has restarted with her routine.  Today she spent the morning at the church recording deaths in the ledgers.  She was very excited as she had to catch up on all she'd missed over the past two months.  There were lots of dead people. 

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day whatever. 
F@#* F@#* F@#*.  This afternoon the three of us went to a local clinic to be tested for antibodies.  The hope was that we had been exposed, had the antibodies and could be a little less worried about becoming infected.  Nope.  None of us have ever had the virus.  Not even Grace who was living in London, taking public transportation, going to the gym and working in a cafe where her "bloody" manager had the virus!  Then she took the underground to the bus station, a bus to the airport and 2 planes to get back here.  Don't tell me she wasn't exposed!!  How is that possible when this is such a virulent virus?  Say that three times fast.  Virulent virus, virulent virus, virulent virus! 

Stay well.  xxoo me

OK.  Day 60 something and I'm not counting ANYMORE! 

We are going into a rainy period for the foreseeable future.  That means staying at home IN THE HOME!  Man oh man.  Lots of yoga.   Lots and LOTS of yoga.  Fortunately numbers are going down and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Looks like June is the magic month.  Grace is thinking of returning to London sometime that first week.  I'll fly to the US when she is out of quarantine which is a must for anyone entering the UK from outside the Common Travel Area (the UK, Ireland) and France.  Why the hell does France get off free?  What happened to that famous English French antagonism?  Huh?? 

So maybe I'll be back in July.  If there isn't a flair-up.  And they let me into the US.  And out of Piemonte.  And I'm still sane.  (no comments)

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 57:

One good thing coming out of this time, (and there have been a few), is that it has led to MIL cleaning out her various storage areas.  The woman is like a squirrel.  She has untold hoards of things stuffed into every conceivable cupboard, drawer, shelf, closet, basement, garage.....  Visiting her in her small 2 bedroom apartment one would never believe the "goodies" behind every door.  She has table settings for 12 and glassware for an army.  She has 3 pasta makers.  THREE.  And she doesn't even make her own pasta!  She has more pots and pans and cooking utensils than she could ever possibly need.  And all of that is just in the enormous cabinet in the dining area.  In the guest room is a wardrobe covering one entire wall.  In there is another treasure trove.  She has piles of sheets and towels that must be 50 years old but have never been used.  She has drawers filled with table linens and scarves and gloves and old wallets and bags.  Many things are still in their original packaging.  What's not unused is used to the point of no return but she won't get rid of anything.  Or wouldn't.  GP has been nagging her for 2 months now to use this time to do some shoveling.  He has started to bring things home with him that we then evaluate and either keep or pass on.  Tomorrow we are going to her place to a good look-see.  She is in a very good mood.  Today was market day, tomorrow we visit, and next week she can start going to mass again.  Yay MIL!

Stay well.  xxoo, me

Day 55:

Step 1 into "opening Italy" has begun.  Does that mean lock down is over?  Not really.  We still need to carry our documents and the form that explains our being out and about.  Most shops and businesses remain closed.  We can visit with family so yesterday evening was our first time hosting MIL since this all began.  It's been over 2 months.  We had a lovely dinner and she was very pleased.  Unfortunately, even after all this time and all the 'splaining that GP has been doing, she still hasn't grasped the situation.  She is all set to head out into the world this week and do battle with the merchants at the market.  As she has asthma and is a wee bit overweight she has problems breathing and does not like wearing a mask.  Plus she will say they can't hear her order with her mouth covered.  Doomed. 

Today Grace and I got out for our first real walk!  We drove to an area behind the hills and met up on the sly with a friend of mine and her dog.  We walked for over an hour and it was lovely.

Freshly cut grain.

Unfortunately a bit further up the path from this photo we came across a dead boar.  Down wind there was one ripe funk.  Ah well.  So much for our perfect outing. 

xxoo me

Day 53? 

Losing complete track of time as well as my mind.  My flight to the US in June has been cancelled.  They will give me a voucher but only for the value I paid.  I always look for the best deals when flying so it wasn't much.  Flights back and forth are now in the thousands for any decent connections.  I don't think I'm up for spending 18 hours in an airport in Romania.  I'm torn between reading the news constantly, needing to know what's happening so that we can make decisions about our future and never wanting to read another thing about this damned virus.  Sometimes I'm a nervous wreck and the next minute I feel complete apathy.  

As of tomorrow we can take walks and jog anywhere in the region as long as we maintain social distancing.  We can also visit with family members.  GP is bringing MIL over for dinner as it is in fact her birthday!  She is very excited poor woman.  I haven't seen her since February and Grace since the holidays.  We still can't visit with friends but there are ways around it.  Tuesday afternoon Grace and I are going for a walk in the hills and meeting a friend and her dog, Bob, on the path.  We'll distance etc but at least I can speak to her in person and not just on the phone.

Nothing more to report.  Over and out.  Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 51: 

51!!  Nuts!  Fortunately from Monday will be able to take long walks - legally.  Yay!

Fruits of my last "illegal"  walk.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 49:

Things are bad.  We are breaking into the really good stuff.  The saved for a special occasion stuff.  Tonight we had this:   https://www.masxarot.com/en/cava-gran-reserva/
Great wine.  Special occasion.  Wednesday.

Our desperation has also led us to giving nicknames to the regulars we see on our furtive walks into the countryside behind the condos.  We have the Anchovy, the Farmer, the Wall guy and Ryanair. 

The Anchovy is a woman jogger who does in fact resemble some sort of bluefish.  I said Mackerel, GP Anchovy.  He won.  She has a very narrow face with pale protruding eyes.  Her hair is silver and blue/gray and tied back tightly.  She has no lips.  Bluefish.  When we pass her GP says "Ciao Anchovy" in a mumbley sort of voice.  She has never stopped and slapped him so I assume she only gets the "Ciao".

The Farmer is a nice old guy with an extremely energetic little black and white shepherd of some sort who lives in a lovely old farmhouse on our walk.  The house is a gorgeous salmon painted old place and is surrounded by fields and orchards so we assume he is/was a farmer but possibly not. 

Then there is the Wall guy.  The Wall guy is a lithe young guy that obviously is a free climber when not stuck at home.  Along the dirt tractor tracks we walk there is a stone wall that backs onto a monastery/retirement home.   The wall is about 7 feet high and takes about 3 minutes of brisk walking to pass.  I have no space and time intelligence so this is how I measure.  Wall guy grips the protruding stones with bare fingers and special shoes and crab walks back and forth along the wall.  I cannot even hold myself up.  I've tried.

Ryanair is actually a neighbor of ours.  She lives over our across the hall neighbors.  She's Venezuelan, multilingual-ed, lovely woman and a complete hypochondriac.  Not that there isn't reason to be in this day and age.  But she takes it to a new height.  When she sneaks out for a walk she not only wears a mask but a scarf wrapped around her head, a hood to keep it all in place and sunglasses even on a cloudy day.  She looks like a terrorist. 

One must find amusement where one can....

Stay well.  xxoo me

PS.  A tremendous roll of thunder followed by a squeak just came from our bedroom.  GP, who has been doing some classes via Skype, leaned back in my yellow painted rattan chair and snapped the legs.  He is rolling about on the floor.  I am not pleased.  I will not help him up.

Caveat:

There ARE cases of Italians beginning to sue the government but not so much for the extended lock down as for the heavy fines being inflicted upon people who break the law.  They say it's excessive.  Gotta say, were soccer on TV there wouldn't be a peep outta anyone..

Day 48:

We've had 2 days of pouring rain and thunder showers.  Have been bundled up on the sofa reading for 48 hours. 

Yesterday GP showed me a headline from Breitbart, (the freaking scary right-wing "news" outlet), that claimed that Italians are up in arms about the long lock down.  It claimed that throngs of people are demanding Conte's (Prime Minister) dismissal.   Talk about fake news!  In general there have been NO issues with the lock down here for two principle reasons. One:  Italians have never had a problem with staying home from work and school as long as they are well fed.  Two:  The North has been so devastated by this damned virus that people are scared shitless and think staying home is a FINE idea.  The few protests that have taken place have been organized by the anarchists who use ANY reason to get out in the streets and scream and break windows.  Shit, every other TUESDAY is a good day to riot!  And by the way, they ALWAYS wear black masks or bandanas on their faces so technically they are abiding by some of the rules...  I'm thinking Breitbart wants to show that other countries are against the severe lock downs so the protesters in the US are not alone.  Sorry.  They are.  At least don't link Italians with those delusional inconscious people cause it just ain't true.

Anywho.  Just saying.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 46:

This is what I've been doing; remaking my little garden.  I'm calling it a keyhole garden as the area lined with brick edging forms a keyhole and the idea is that once everything I've planted grows to size it will be full and lush and one will only have a little view thru to the back where there is a small stone sitting area with GP's BBQ raised on an alter of sorts.  (His priority, not mine).  I have 2 olives, 2 kiwi, a lemon and an apricot.  I have pots of tomatoes and a full herb garden.  If I'm stuck here I want to have something to keep me busy!

I've been keeping up on flights and the reopening of Countries and States.  I'm worried that Maine will see a terrible increase in contagion once all the summer people start flooding in.  I realize everyone just wants to return to normal and businesses are hurting badly, but let me tell you as a witness to one of the world's "hot spots", it ain't pretty.  All day long we hear ambulances.  Every evening at 6 the news announces the numbers: the newly diagnosed, the hospitalized, the deaths and thankfully the "cured".  But are they cured?  Can they be reinfected?  Nobody knows fer Chrissakes!  Hopefully I will be able to get home this June and I will be self quarantining for 2 weeks.  (Will someone bring me food?)  I just pray that people do not take this too lightly.  No place is immune. 

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 45:

This says it all.  Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 43: (Yesterday was 42 not 41.  I SAID I'd lost track!)

Here is another shot of the green hut in a small vineyard across the road.  I've always loved this little snapshot view with the hills behind it.  Those things that look like telephone poles are actually for staking the wires that hold up the wines to the grape plants.  They are much higher than usual and the wires are very high as well.  What IS this man up to I ask?  I took these shots yesterday when I walked down to our mini supermarket. 

Rumor has it that as of May 4th we will be able to go out and about (in masks and with social distancing) within the region.  As the region of Piemonte goes right up into the mountains it means hikes and lakes!  Yay!  Businesses will be allowed to reopen following a strict step by step plan.  This is all good news.  The bad news is that the experts here, just like the experts everywhere, are saying that we can expect another bout of virus in the fall.  Joy.  Let's pray they have found a cure and a vaccine by then.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 41??

I've lost f@#*ing count. 

After two days of rain the beautiful weather is back which is nice but doesn't change the fact that if I don't get the hell outta here before the real heat arrives I will go batshit!  Was looking at inflatable pools on Amazon today.  It has been announced that in mid May they will announce the guidelines for travel within Europe.  So travel within Europe will probably not start til sometime in June.  Travel out????   Aaaaarrrrggggghhhhh. 

I've been trying to think up projects for MIL to do as the poor woman doesn't even have her church or market days.  So far she's made me some coasters from old napkins and a duvet cover from a couple of sheets I picked up.  She's a wonderful seamstress.  Unfortunately I can't even buy any fabric for her to make me table cloths or dish towels or something.  Maybe I'll go back on Amazon.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 39:

It's a time for doing all of those popped into your mind and out again, postponed and avoided little jobs.  We fixed a door that didn't close well.  I've sent MIL some sewing projects to keep her busy that I've had in mind for a while.  I am finally going to learn all those names for the yoga poses I've been practicing on and off for 15 years.  And in some moment of complete desperation I may even put my digital photos in order.  May.  I've also decided that I could live the rest of my life in sweats and slippers.  Flip flops for warmer weather.  If they put plexi-glass separators up in restaurants and bars I'm not going.  Don't need clothes.  If theaters and cinemas and festivals are cancelled, don't need clothes.  If work is via Skype, shopping is online, socializing is at home and travel non existent, don't need clothes.  I may just donate everything except the leggings and baggy Ts.  The stretch goes well with my expanding waistline.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 38:

Yesterday I put on pants.  They were tight.  Today's baking was soda bread.

Today Grace asked me to trim her hair.  I knew that no matter what I responded, I was doomed.  If I said no she'd be angry for my refusal.  If I said yes, which I did, and didn't do a perfect job, which I didn't, she'd be angry because I'd messed up her do.  You can't win with your kids. 

GP hates cats.  Ok that's an exaggeration.  He loves to torment cats.  It's genetic.  His grandfather, who was the sweetest Jimmy Durante look-alike, was horrible to cats.  He would grab them by their tails and swing them around and send them sailing.  This is how GP grew up seeing felines treated.  Mind you there were once a whole lotta strays around here.  Our neighbors to the right, Eric the gardener and Ileria the pharmacist plus 2 kids, have a lovely grey kitty whole flits back and forth from their house to our neighbors on the other side.  She flits very quickly.  She is terrified of GP who jumps at her or sprays her with the hose.  Grace and I have been trying to get her to stop and play with us.  She is too suspicious.  Can't blame her.  He is an evil man. 

xxoo me

Day 36:

Oops.  Missed yesterday but as absolutely NOTHING IS HAPPENING, no great shakes.  One ditty is that Grace is becoming our barber and hairdresser.  Yesterday GP, who was beginning to resemble Einstein, bought an electric hair clipper and had her shave his head down to the nubs.  My next foray forth into the world will see me returning with an in-home highlighting kit.  Results may be interesting. 

The beautiful weather continues.  There numbers remain stable.  We are is limbo.  I'm afraid we will all become jello brained.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 34:

Things have taken a turn for the worse.  Not the virus.  That seems to be giving up it's strangle hold on Northern Italy and is heading off to other parts of the world.  No this is something else and it is dire indeed.  Crazy dude upstairs has taken up singing again.  Loudly.  With the windows open.  Today is was an hour of "Unchain my heart".  Of course it took me an hour to figure out that's what he was singing.  Over and over.  "Oooonchen ma arrrt...".  He is also smoking more.  It's probably the stress of being home with his OCD wife and Italian Alex P Keaton kid.  He stands out on his front terrace, (above OUR front terrace), and smokes.  He then tosses the butts down where they often land on the terracotta roof of the entry way.  The problem here, apart from the grossness of this, is that the roof is covered with dry pine needles from the big trees lining the path.  Someday he's going to start a fire.  Fortunately we will be able to escape being on the ground floor but they will break their legs in the jump to safety.  AHAHAHAH!  (evil laugh)  Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 33:

Our lunch with the neighbors at a distance was a grand success.  The only problem was that I can no longer drink wine at lunch.  I was out on the sofa for 3 hours.  That's after only 2 glasses of Rose'!  Oh how far I have fallen... 

Happy Easter all.  Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 32:

Grace is making hummus and falafel for dinner.  It's a warm sunny evening and I'm on the front terrace with a glass of wine.  If the world weren't a flipping mess this would be lovely.  I hope everyone has a peaceful, healthy Easter weekend.  Stay well. xxoo me

Day 31:

She's free!  She's free!  The child is out of quarantine.  She spent the day on the back terrace and is brown as a nut. 

Easter weekend is here and Italy is in mourning.  Not only for all of the victims of the virus but for the loss of their favorite holiday.  Easter is as big here as Christmas with a family lunch and giant chocolate eggs.  Monday is Pasquetta, or "Little Easter", and traditionally families go for picnics or spend the day at a beach.  Alas not this year.  We'll all be home with our respective families, lucky if we are together and healthy.  We are going to have a 4 terrace across BBQ, eating at our own tables and our own food but yelling back and forth over the hedges for socializing. 

Hope the end of this bleak period is near.  Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 30:

Is this really our new normal?  What was once a 45 minute excursion is now a 3 hour a trip to the supermarket.   They are saying here that we will continue to use gloves and masks.  That handshakes and cheek kissing, (so Italian!), are a thing of the past.  That everyone must be prepared to go into lock down at a moment's notice.   Buy those freezer chests now!   Ugh. 

One up side is that I definitely look younger in a face mask.  It covers all of my sagging lower face.  One needs to find joy where one can....

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 29:

We are permitted to stray 200 meters from our place of residence.  In my case that means up the hill a little to the beginning of the countryside.  I wish I could take a LOOOONNNGGG walk as this is the best time of year here.  Everything is blooming and smells heavenly. 

The outer limit

Tomorrow is the prisoners last day of confinement.  After that GP returns as well and I am hanging up my apron for a while.  I haven't prepared this many meals in years.  I will go on to other projects.  I don't know exactly what yet but I'll think of something.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 28:

Nothing.  Nada.  Niente.  Nyet.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 27:

So much for social distancing. The kids in the condos are going nuts and have started venturing out into the common garden to play soccer.  As long as it is just "our" kids it's one thing, but a boy from elsewhere made an appearance here yesterday and has some people worried.  Obviously not the parents of the kids who have been let out, (and just can't take being locked up with their offspring any longer), but the parents of the kids who have not been let out and whose kids are out on their balconies watching this fun play and whining to be freed.  One of these parents came down this evening when about 6 kids had gathered and gave them a talking to.  It's the parents who need a talking to.  Kids think they're immortal.  You can explain about germs on soccer balls and spit flying when they're yelling all you want.  They just want to socialize and burn off energy.  My unbroken down cardboard box has taken a back seat to this new crisis on the whatsapp group.   So much excitement!  xxoo me

The degenerates

Day 26:

Numbers down again here.  Thank God.  Over the hump??  However they are saying that we can not expect to be out of "Stay at home" completely before June probably.  As the US is easily a few weeks behind us and the government has no consistency to control matters, I'm afraid the situation there will go on well into the summer.  Man oh man.  Be careful all you out there!

xxoo me

Day 25:

Bandits blew up the ATM machine below MIL's bedroom window last night.  She and all the neighbors were out on their balconies within seconds.  Very exciting.  Her favorite new activity is watching the daily mass from her local church broadcast online.  That and German soap operas.  Dubbed obviously.

I have been shamed.  Our condos have a fenced-in area for our trash and recycling.  (Everything is recycled here which is a very good thing.)  Yesterday I took out our paper in a cardboard box that I FAILED TO BREAK DOWN, thus taking up TOO MUCH SPACE.  Well a photo of the offending box went onto the condo's Whatsapp group and what can be seen?  PAPERS IN ENGLISH!  Caught me.  This morning GP woke me up with a message and the photo saying, "Is this you by chance?"  I have been shamed.  I walked the walk to the recycling and whatta ya know?  The garbage men had picked everything up!  Raspberry to everyone.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 24:

I got out!  I got out!  I WALKED to the supermarket.  I decided that if they stopped me I'd tell them my car wasn't working.  I can't take it to a mechanic, can I?  It was great.  The line at the supermarket was longer than last time.  But the shelves were stocked.  Even with toilet paper!!

Weather turning for the better so my horizons are expanding a bit.  The little garden beckons. 

Stay well, xxoo me

Day 23:

I'm trying to set myself a project for every day but with limited space there's not much I can do.  I thought I'd change out my winter wardrobe for my warmer weather gear but as I've been living in sweats for the past month with no end in sight, what's the point? 

So today I took out the trash AND the recycling.  Yes.  It was that kinda day.

Numbers holding steady on the virus front.  I'm praying we've seen the worst of it.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 22:

Finally some good news.  The number of contagions is falling and the people recovered is higher and higher.

I haven't worn a bra in 3 weeks.  Picture this: A nearly 60 year old me, yoga, slapping my face doing downward dog.

GP has escaped from his mother.  He told her he was popping out to the butcher's and has been hiding out here most of the day.  He keeps finding reasons not to return; a shower, a cup of tea, a documentary on hyenas...

I am thinking of taking a walk tomorrow carrying a shopping bag.  Should the police stop me I'll tell them I'm off to the supermarket.  On foot.  If I don't get out and get some exercise I'm going to meld into the sofa. 

That's all for now.  Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 21:

I've been writing this for THREE weeks!  Gah.

Now this where things get really hairy.  I've finished the shows I've been watching and none of the ones I'd like to watch are on my Netflix!  Netflix is different in every country.  Who would have known?  Damn.

I've been cooking up a storm.  With Grace in quarantine and me in lock down, I'm doing my best to create yummy meals that are healthy (fight off bad stuff), low fat (no exercise), and vegetarian (Grace threw a curve ball).  So I've been trying all sorts of new recipes.  GP had been the principle chef for some years now.  When Grace left for college I lost interest in cooking and have been doing ever less.
But now I'm whipping up soups (home-made tomato with tortellini, white bean broccoli and spinach with arborio rice), and salads (kale, black bean with home-made salsa adobo) and pizza!  I've made oat bars for breakfast and Irish soda bread!  Next on the menu is Mexican and Thai.    I am a flippin' thrill a minute!

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 20:

Same ole same ole. 

Stay well, xxoo me

Day 19: 

It was sunny today.  YAY!  It means getting OUTSIDE!  As I've done just about all that can be done in my garden until everything really starts growing, I'm thinking of taking my clippers out to the communal front gardens and trimming back the dead wood on the bushes.  That will busy me for an hour or so.

Having Grace locked in her bedroom and never coming forth has taken me back to her teen years here.  The only difference is that she would come out to eat.  I have been slipping her meals under the protective plastic.  It's only been 1 full day.  This is going to get old fast.

Another 900 or so dead in the last 24 hours.  Every evening at 6 the government puts out the official number of deceased.  We are running out of old people.  There have been the first deaths in MIL's home town.  She is taking it more seriously now.  Though she still has some odd ideas.  Her priest called to check on her today.  Up until the lock down she had been volunteering every Monday morning in the church office and she and the priest have become very friendly.  MIL told him to "drop in when he takes his daily walk".  Gian Piero almost had a coronary.  He told her no one can "drop in" because we are all in lock down and, by the way, Don Giuseppe isn't out walking every day either!  Her answer?  "The virus won't touch Don Giuseppe.  He's a priest."  Uh huh.  When GP called to tell me this he was hiding in the bathroom.  Evidently his privacy is not something she has learned to respect in all the years he has lived away from home.  When she hears him on the phone she walks in the room and listens.  He'll be spending a lot of time in the bathroom.

Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 18:

Evacuation Grace is onto step 3.  She flew from London to Rome last night and had an over nite in an airport hotel.  She is now going to check in for her flight to Torino.  I'll be leaving in a couple hours to pick her up.  The police are stopping people on the motor way to see their auto-certifications regarding travel.  I have mine plus a copy of her passport and airline ticket for proof.  3000 euro fine if out and about without an approved reason.  We've prepared her space as tho there was bio-hazard

double plastic sheeting

which I guess there is...

I have her!  Operation Evacuation Grace has been a success.  She is now tucked away in her room and I'm laundering her clothes.  Shoes and bags outside.  All door handles re-sanitized.   Still can't believe how bizarre this all is. 

Off to wash the floor.  Stay well.  xxoo me

Day 17:

The Russians are coming the Russians are coming!
In 15 cargo airplanes containing:
anthrax expert who also happens to be number 2 in the army
120 specialists, all officers in the military
100 ventilators
200 masks
1000 hazmat suits
machines for testing

Obviously there is an ulterior motive in all this aid.  Probably the destabilization of the EU.  Possibly testing and seeking methods to prevent Russia from going the same way as Italy.  Within 24 hours of arrival here, Moscow went into lock down.  Coincidence?  I think not!  But whatever the motives their help is both necessary and appreciated.

Read this article and pass it on:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/coronavirus-us-second-wave-pandemic-trump-loosens-restrictions-easter

To top this all off, our lovely spring has gone south.  It's f#@*ing SNOWING!!

xxoo me

Day 16:

Evacuation Grace prep is under way.  Today I gave her room and bathroom a good going over and cleared out all my stuff that had accumulated in there; yoga mat, art supplies, teaching materials.  I seem to have spread out since she moved to London.  I'm like mold, growing into all the corners.  I've chosen a selection of books for her in hopes that she doesn't spend the entire two weeks on her computer (which is perfectly feasible).  Maybe I'll pretend we've lost power for a couple of hours a day.  The main switch is by the front door.  She'd never know I did it.  Waahahahaha!!

Watch the video below.  It's shot from a drone in a neighborhood across the city from us.  The streets are empty.  This is a city of a million people.  Wow.  If you look very carefully in the shots where you see the hills, way over to the right, half way up, I'm there waving at you!!

https://video.lastampa.it/torino/a-torino-un-intero-quartiere-canta-all-unisono-l-inno-d-italia-dal-balcone-il-flash-mob-visto-dal-drone-e-da-pelle-d-oca/111862/111870

 So they are saying that the US may be hitting peak period in 3 weeks and yet the president wants to back off shut down in 2?  Whaaaaaaat?  Will somebody pleeeeeeease tell that cretin Trump to SHUT UUUUP!

A thing to consider when people don't take this virus seriously; and when Americans think that our healthcare system can handle it; and that the reason things are so serious in Italy and Spain is that they are 3rd world countries; is that WHO (World Health Organization) ranks Italy's healthcare system as 2nd in the world, Spain's is 7th and the US's is 37th, right after Costa Rica.  The quality of healthcare is not based on the wealth of the nation but on how important the nation deems the health of their population to be.  And there you have it.  Hold onto your hats people.  These next few weeks ain't gonna be pretty.

Please be well.  xxoo me

Day 15:

Evacuation.   That's what it seems like trying to get her here from there.  There are limited flights now and they fly to very few airports.  Internal transport is also halted.  Flights to Torino are iffy but there is ONE daily flight to Rome.  So if she flies into Rome, how does she get to Torino?  There MAY be one flight or one train in the morning, but the flight from London arrives at night.  That means staying in a hotel at the airport.

Once she gets here she is in isolation.  And we will follow the rules.  I don't want to get ill as doctors and hospitals are off limits.  Also, they are checking on people to insure that regulations are being respected.  She will be limited to her bedroom and bathroom.  The condo being small, I will actually have to seal off her area with a plastic sheet.  All of her clothing has to be washed with disinfectant and bags, shoes wiped down and left outside.  I'll have to disinfect the entire apartment once she's in place.  I'll feed her by sliding a tray under the sheeting.  Fortunately she has a nice big window and gets lots of sunshine.  If the weather is pleasant she can leave it open and I can sit on our front terrace and speak to her thru the screen.  To prepare I'm making up a two week meal plan and will do a big shopping before she arrives.  I'll leave her a pile of books and a yoga mat. 

Other news.  The Czech Republic stole our masks.  Supplies sent via CR from China were "inspected" and half were confiscated!  Italy has made such a stink that the Czechs are now replacing them.  Hospitals in crisis have no room left for all of the patients that need IC treatment.  Germany has agreed to take 6 patients from Italy as well as some from France.  Military planes flew them out this morning.

This is very bad folks.  It is being suggested that this may all go on for MONTHS! 

Evacuation is on!  G has a flight Thursday that takes to Rome.  After an overnight at the Hilton in the airport, she flies here Friday.  (Ready to be wrapped in in plastic and stored in the freezer for 2 weeks.)

xxoo me