The Day To Day Stuff

  Now that I am officially feeling just fine, thank you, it's back to enjoying my parallel life, here in Panicale. It's not that different from life in the States, just less water pressure. 

  It usually takes a good week to get our living space feeling like "home". We stash the things we don't need out of the way and add the things we like to have around. Sometimes I'll need to buy a big pan, or the kind of "rasp" for grating hard cheeses that I prefer... This year I bought a simple mandoline for slicing fennel super thin.

  We never know what the coffee sitch will be..we like a simple cup in bed every morning, so we work with the silver espresso makers every apartment comes with. This year, the kitchen is small, like always, but works really well. The oven roasts veg like a dream, and the gas burners all work perfectly.

My small but mighty cooking space.

  Now that I can enjoy my food again, I've been enjoying cooking at home. I like to roast veggies, and with the weather being cold and wet, it makes the house cozy, too.

  I had bought some potted herbs a couple of weeks ago, and have been using them almost every night.

Potato, onion and fennel with herbs and olive oil, ready for the oven.

Presto, part of a warm and fragrant dinner!
P.S.  I love parchment paper.

  Though the larger tomatoes available aren't yet ready, the markets have small "cherry" tomatoes that come up from southern regions of Italy. Sweet and tasty, they are perfect to add to day-old bread for our favorite panzanella salads.

I found an inexpensive set of these plastic bowls at
the local hardware store.

A yummy meal for a cold night in front of the fire.
We do not shy from the olive oil here. It is awesome.

  Each year here, I have had to learn how to use a different washing machine, as well as oven and heating system. It's a challenge, but I always feel so proud when I succeed with that first load of laundry! Seriously.

  Fortunately, the air is so dry here, clothes air dry in a day. No dryers, in most cases. Just too costly to run. I don't mind, I hang my clothes out at home, too.

What the...? And no dryer, as usual. We hang things on racks and out windows, on lines.

  With no outdoor living space this year, we appreciate having a small but lovely view from the kitchen windows. We are tucked on the second and third floor of the outside walls of Panicale, right next to the big tower, which you can see to the right in this photo, below.
  Just like at home, I can gaze out at a pretty view while doing dishes, or waiting for coffee to finish in the early morning. Perfect.

I often have to "shoo" away a pigeon or two from the window ledge.

  We like to drive around, just checking things out, looking for places to paint. On one journey nearby, we came across this sweet nursery last year. I have gone back several times, and we had some fun bringing our friends, Loreen & Christopher here last year. 

  This year, with spring being so late in arriving, there isn't much to choose from yet. I still want some color for the pots on our front stoop. I'll keep going by, just to see what they have new.

Lots of veggie starts, and some gift plants, but not what I'm looking for yet...our stoop does not
get much sun, so we'll see... I'll find the perfect thing soon.

  At home, we have a good routine of walking almost every morning, at the crack of dawn. Here, it's not so intense. We are trying to walk four days a week, and it's a much longer walk for us. And, oh, no way are we out there before 8 or so. It's just too freaking cold still. I hope it warms up enough to get out early a couple of times, because it is a stunning walk.

  We are really moving more and more to a state of "living" here, while we stay. We are meeting and socializing more and more with local friends, shopping like locals and finding our way here. The problems that come up are no different than at home, and we enjoy figuring things out ourselves. 

  If there is a "biggie" problem, Katia is a phone call away, but we honestly would rather work it out on our own. It's all part of the adventure, you know?

Walking this morning, early. It wasn't too cold.
I can't get enough of the olive groves....

 

 My "day job" while here is to document Johnny's work. This is fine with me. We are rarely apart, and he always has his painting gear with him. I always have my camera. It's a win-win. I find this particular situation a real challenge. I want to make it interesting, without being invasive to the work. Johnny puts up with it all, thankfully.
  Today, this morning, we had a great walk...not too chilly, no wind, and even some blue skies. It was a gift, and just in time. We were getting moldy.
  Anyway, he did a really fine oil on panel, and I truly enjoyed taking photos and a couple of short videos. I'll do a blog post for him in the next day or so. It takes forever to upload photos and all night for a video. True.
 It's all good...and I'm learning as we go.

Just doing my job, man.

 

 Last, but most certainly not least, the "day to day" stuff must include a routine that has niente to do with my home life. The daily stop for a morning cappuccino, or later in the day, espresso.
  This is something special that I only do here, and I like it that way. One more little thing to savor during the long months living "in-between".

Just a little pick-me-up in the afternoon......
(Jodi...recognize the gloves...they are enjoying Umbria!)