Have I mentioned the lovely little sadistic Brazilian woman who is teaching Pilates at school?  Her name is Rosie, such a sweet name, and she's married to our new PE teacher.  She probably weighs 97 pounds soaking wet, wears her straight black hair in cute little bow barrettes, has big round glasses that make her already large eyes enormous.  She's adorable and the devil.  I've been going in to school an hour early twice a week since the end of September for her classes.  I thought that after a few weeks the muscles would adjust and the pain would go away,but no!  It's constant.  Every time I stand up or squat down, (oh how I've come to hate the word squat) I moan.  I had a class yesterday morning and it was a particularly tough one with lots of abs.  So last night when I noticed aches and pains I didn't think much of it.  We had friends over for dinner and as they were leaving I suddenly felt a fever come on.  It was so fast!  I'm home in bed today, all hot and cold and head achy.  So much for my vaccine. 
Speaking of vaccines, this weekend we are taking my mother-in-law out to lunch to celebrate her Saint's Day.   Saint's Day, Onomastico, is the celebrated day of the saint you are named after.  Every day of the year has a saint or two, and every name has some sort of derivative to connect it to one of these saints.  Saint's Days are much more celebrated than birthdays.  Tomorrow will not be a happy occasion.  It is her first celebration without Aldo and she has chosen to go to lunch in the same restaurant where last spring they celebrated their 60th anniversary.  The woman likes her pathos. 

xxoo me

It's wrong!  Wrong I tell you!  It is supposed to be Christmas season but it's hard to get in the mood when it's 50 degrees and pouring!  The leaves have finally fallen, I think from exhaustion, but the fields are still Irish green from all the water.  The most googled words in Italy these days are "bad weather".   Not joking.  2014 has had 4 times the normal annual rainfall and this November was the wettest on record.  All I want to do is cuddle up under covers and read.  The only time I feel like venturing forth is at night when grey skies matter little.  Last night we went out to dinner with colleagues of GP's for a nice fish dinner in an area that was once "no man's land."  Up until the Olympics this was a high crime, poverty stricken, immigrant populated area.  It has since become chic and there are tons of restaurants, bars and renovated apartment buildings.  It's a very cool area in the heart of the old center near the church where they house the "Shroud of Turin".  In fact the restaurant is called "Spirito Santo" or "Holy Ghost".  It's now high food intake season so I have to control myself.  It's way too easy to pack on the pounds and way too difficult to take them off again.  For vacation we have decided on the northeastern part of Italy, Gorizia and Trieste, and Slovenia, with New Year's Eve in Ljubljana.  I'm praying it will dry out!  The tree goes up today and I'll do some baking.  I'll close the curtains and pretend it's snowing.  xxoo me

Italy has very strict employment laws to protect workers and employers alike.  As once one is employed with a "permanent" contract it is almost impossible to be fired, employers are hesitant to hire.  Consequently there are a lot of temporary contract workers out there.  To prevent the workers from being taken advantage of, by law after 3 years the company has to let you go or offer a permanent contract.  In our school, assistant teacher contracts last 3 years.  (Teachers tend to be foreign and stay only 2 or 3 years anyway). After 3 years an assistant disappears and a new face appears.  This is my 3rd year and I have an assistant status.  I went to the big guy yesterday and said I'd like to stay on.  I was hoping for one more year while Grace finishes up with some sort of consultant or tutor contract.  Instead he offered me permanence.  I don't want permanence.  I have no intention of staying there once Grace is out of school.  Of course I said, "Oh, how wonderful!"  There is so much bull flying around that school that a little more won't hurt.  Today the head master brought a guest into the library while touring the school.  He went on and on about our collection of classics, (OLD yes, Classics, no), about our students doing most of their reading on tablets as we are aiming at being a paper-free school, (we have NO e-books and teachers photocopy textbooks as new ones aren't in the budget), and our expert media personnel, (our internet is down on a weekly basis).  I just smiled and waved.  Not gonna risk my contract until it's good and signed.

Grace leaves with the Model UN group for Paris in the morning.  Four days in the City of Lights arguing Human Rights and such.  I went to the Museum of Art in Boston once in school.....

xxoo me