Seasons Greetings!

Ain't that pretty? We went for a stroll in the center of Torino the other evening to see the Christmas lights. They were few and far between compared to past years. Communities are tightening their belts with the energy prices as high as they are. Street lights come on an hour later and are off an hour earlier. All public building thermostats are kept at a balmy 64 degrees. Public workers tried striking but they were up against national regulations so it was a no-go from day 1. We are all waiting in fear for our monthly electricty bills. Here at home we keep the heat down under 68, only use the washing machine, vacuum and iron after 7pm when costs are down. I'm using the oven very little. But no complaints. No one is shooting missiles at our homes and I'm not sleeping in the basement.

The daughter is here through the holidays. Sunday we visited a lovely town about an hour and a half north of here called Candelo. It sits within spitting distance of the mountains but strangely is on the edge of Italy's rice growing region. It is from here that the best risotto rices come. The town has a walled medieval center with it's original tiny buildings used as studios and shops for artists and crafters, restaurants and bars. Every Christmas they hold a Christmas fair with food stalls and activities for children. It was very pretty but packed. The older I get the less tolerant I am of crowds. Especially crowds of children. Especially crowds of tired, whiny children. Italian children seem to be particularly whiny. div class="separator" style="clear: both;">