School Holidays

In my new category “Only in Italy”, I will write about school holidays. I found out why the boys have this coming Monday, November 30th off from school as a holiday. When picking the boys up from school today, one of the teachers wanted to remind me that there was no school on Monday. It [...]

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The Foods of Tuscany

Being that today is Thanksgiving and a day of food and feasting in the United States, I thought it appropriate to discuss the foods of this area in Tuscany.  In Italy, each area has its own unique specialties and dishes, primarily at a regional level based on the availability of good local ingredients.   Tuscan cooking [...]

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You know the email joke…?

My neighbor Helen is making Christmas cakes. Apparently a British holiday tradition. She was telling me everything that she has put into it to make it: Raisins, dates, walnuts, citrus, and more stuff I can’t remember. It all goes into what sounds like a basic pound cake recipe, but what do I know? I don’t [...]

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Italian Math homework

This was Dante’s actual math problem last night: Se nonno aldo compra 6 damigiane che contengono 24 litri di vino l’una, quanto vino compra in tutto?  Se lo  imbottiglia in fiaschi da 4 litri, quanti fiaschi reimpie? Translation:  If grandfather Aldo buys 6 demijohns(??) that contain 24 liters of wine each, how much wine does [...]

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And They Were Singing “Bye, Bye Pumpkin Pie”

I cut up my pumpkin today. This morning I see Jole in her garage. She is wearing a long black, and wild-patterned housecoat over her clothes. This is a new apron, I’ve never seen it. I tell her I like it, it makes her look radical! She laughs at me, she has no idea what [...]

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What To Do With Another Pumpkin!

One afternoon Andrew and I headed out for a walk. We got no further than the front gate, when we heard a whistle and a call of “Viene qui, viene qui!” We look over and sure enough, my new best friend, Maurizio is waving us over to the corner of the garage where he parks. [...]

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A Cut and Color

Monday – 9:00am Helen and I are off to the salon she visits regularly in Sansepolcro to get our hair cut.  Helen says that we don’t need an appointment – that they don’t even make appointments.  You simply walk in and if they can take you then and there, they do.  But if there is [...]

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If You See Kay

I remember when I was a kid if you said the “F” word, you were in big trouble.  But we had a way around it and we thought we were so clever.  Mother:  “Did I just hear you spell F**k?”  Us:  “Oh, no, I said: If you see Kay…” Shortly after I had my first [...]

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The Big Chill

Today my intention was to spend most of the day writing since it was a 4:15pm day for the boys at school. However, I spent the better half of my morning removing the iceberg that took down the Titanic from my little refrigerator. How something that big grew in my tiny refrigerator and seemingly overnight [...]

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Autumn – L’autunno

Fall has arrived quite abruptly here. Not that it hasn’t been cold. Actually, for a week it was downright frigid before Andrew came. But, one day the trees were green and now all of a sudden they are a brilliant quilt of colors. It is really quite stunning these last two weeks. The sky has [...]

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