Ski lift

Things are a little out of control here. We are so busy we do not have time to even get on the Internet. It has been weeks since I played Angry Birds. I have not come close to reading all my books and we can hardly get around to watching a DVD at night.

We had another unexpected excursion yesterday. We went to ask the Danish neighbors if they would come to lunch. It was a blazing hot day by ten in the morning. They told us that they were thinking of going to the mountains where it was cooler. Did we want to go? We did not say no to that. We drove, in their car, up to Rocca d Mesas and then to the ski area. We took the lift to the top where it was 10 c less than in CVS. 23 compared to 33.

There was an excellent restaurant at the top. They are well know for their polenta, but I do not really like it. Jim and I split a pasta dish and an antipasto. It was great. I had a piece of cake with “fruits of the mountain”. There were blackberries, currents or lingonberries or both. I am not sure, but I am sure it was delish. After we took a walk to the bottom of another ski lift and paid a little to come back up. It would have been quite the climb. At the top again we sat out in the sun in sling back chairs. Sublime. Finally we took the lift down and got home in time for the 5:30 concert in the church.

It was much steeper down than up!












We were sadly misinformed or misunderstanding. At 5:30, as we were approaching the piazza, we saw our friend. He is in the singing group and was just heading home to change into his outfit. We went ahead and sat down in the cloister to wait. 




At 6 pm there was still no one there, but our friend was back and he brought us some wine and bread covered with tomato sauce. Jim said no, but I said yes and ate it all. That was my dinner.

AT 6:30 our friend brought over his camera and asked me to take pictures while he sang. At close to 7:00 he got up and started talking about the group. He thanked everyone, including the Americans, for come to hear them and for coming to Castelvecchio.

Our friend is the last guy on the left. He is a lifesaver.

We were very tired from a day in the mountains and Jim had thought he would go home after a few songs, but no way after being introduced. Before the second group was finished, the bells for eight o’clock from two different churches started ringing. They had to stop and start over, but that was their last number. It was a lot of fun.

Monday

We were supposed to help our Danish neighbors stack their 5 tons of wood on Tuesday, but it came today at 6:45. Sadly,  we were expecting the plumber at 9:30. We went up to help until he arrived, but he came immediately thereafter. Back we went to our house. We will need to buy a new hot water heater next summer. I think it is better to wait until then rather than to get it now and it does nothing for 9 months. Ours was cleaned and inspected and is safe, but the company has been out of business for 10 years, so it is better to get a new one: 700 to 800E, but it was a miracle that it worked at all and we have used it now three years. And they were almost done moving wood when we got back. Score!

Tonight Jim and I are going to Gagliano to teach a two hour drawing class to the Wayne in Abruzzo students. We are going to draw the castle. Jim got some art supplies at the hardware store to show that you can do art with anything. I sort of disagree, but I wish I believed.

After that is another concert at 9:15. Should we go then or wait? What do you think? I do get internet connection there so maybe we will go on time. I have six bug bites on my face from last night. More zirtec is needed. The moskies seem to never end. Our other friends are going to get something that puts an electronic field around their bed. We are all somewhat desperate. At least my eye is not swollen shut and I am resisting the urge to scratch my face. It doesn’t help anyway. My ankles have a tattoo of scabs from scratching bug bites.

I believe that we identified some of the night time dog barkers. Three little dogs live next door to each other. When a person walks by, the first starts barking, then the next and the next. The first cannot stop, even though the person is gone, because it cannot be outdone by the second barker. And so it goes. How they have a voice left is beyond me. They live by the fountain and people are coming and going there all day. I can hear them now.  Oh yea! Time for lunch.