View from Convento de Cristo once a Templar stronghold
Friday, May 29, 2020
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
Thursday, May 21, 2020
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.
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
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| The tree |
xxoo me
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
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
xxoo me
Monday, May 18, 2020
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
Stay well. xxoo me
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
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
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
Monday, May 11, 2020
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
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
Thursday, May 7, 2020
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
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
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
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.
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
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.
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| Freshly cut grain. |
xxoo me
Sunday, May 3, 2020
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
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
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