Just finished napping after finishing dishes after finishing lunch.  Best I go back to hiking weekends.  xxoo me

Well the Italian government has fallen - AGAIN.  It won't affect our daily lives so it's no big deal.  I just find it funny that an entire congress will just throw up their hands and say, "That's it!  I'm outta here!"' and walk out.  Oh well.  We went to dinner at some friend's last night and though much of the conversation was politics, no one was at all worried about the prospect of not having a sitting government for the next who-knows-how-long.  I have no idea what it's all about.  There are so many parties wrestling for power and so many different high government offices, I can't keep track.  And to be totally honest, I don't really care to.  I am certainly not going to vote here because it would be a blind, uneducated guess.  I'll leave Italy's future up to the Italians.

Our dinner was marvelous.  Gianni works for the telephone company but would love to be a gentleman farmer.  They have a hilltop house with a vegetable garden, fruit and nut trees.  They make as much of their own food as they have time to do.  Last night there were vegetables they'd grown, bread and gnocchi he'd made, a nut cake from their own hazelnuts.  All they need is to be making their own cheese, (they had some made by a friend in Sardenia), and they'd be all set.  Everything was yummy and I ate too much.  It is now 9 a.m. and I'm preparing a roast for Sunday lunch with the grandparents.  Such decadence. 

Sunday mornings are the only guaranteed quiet time in Italy.  It's because they're wedged between two big meals.  Saturday night is the evening when friends get together, which inevitably means dinner, and Sunday lunch is the traditional family time.  Right now everyone is either sleeping off last night or preparing for today.

It finally rained last night and has cooled down some.  There is the slightest change in color on some trees.  I do miss our brilliant Maine autumns!  xxoo me

There was a teacher's workshop yesterday so I skipped school and drove into the city to have a haircut and to go to the market.   I'm not sure I was allowed the day off.  I guess I'll see if I still have a job on Monday.  Grace and friends went in for the day as well.  I dropped them off and went right to "Mario" my hairdresser.  A teacher at the school recommended him last year and referred to him as "super Mario", which he is!  He's adorable and pocket sized.  We should all have one.  After my appointment I met a friend and we went off to the market to buy fruits and veggies.  I left with four bulging bags filled with huge porcini mushrooms, plums, peppers, apples and a big cauliflower.  All for about $10.  I forgot my nice market bags so I had to tromp back across the city with the vendor's plastic bags cutting off my circulation.  My pinkie is still numb.  I'm cooking for the grandparents this weekend so have to be prepared.  Today I'm home and seriously considering a nap.  It is oppressive weather.  It's still warm enough to be summer but it's tired.  Everything is dry, dusty and floppy, (rather like me).  The forecasters have been talking rain for a week now but like everything else in Italy, short of the driving, the weather is very slow in changing.  A rain takes ages to build up, getting grayer and heavier by the day.  As I haven't done much housekeeping since I've been here, I'm hoping it does rain so I have an excuse to stay home and not do one of our tremendous walks.  Too draggy.  Speaking of housekeeping, the woman upstairs from us is seriously nuts.  She's been vacuuming for 2 hours.  2 hours of non-stop vacuuming, moving each and every piece of furniture.  The apartment is the same size as ours.  I haven't accumulated 2 hours since I got back.  Maybe there was a freak Saharan sandstorm or an Okie dust storm while I wasn't looking.  Tonight dinner with friend's at their place.  I have made a killer plum upside-down cake.  Hope it tastes as good as it looks!  xxoo me