Dreams from Biancavilla

A-B-C-D-E, F-U And your mom and your sister and your job And your broke-a$$ car and that sh*t you call art F*** you and your friends that I'll never see again Everybody but your dog, you can all f*** off [Song by Gayle] When we drove to the sea last weekend, Alessandro and family had this song playing in the car. The tune is in my head today. In the wee hours of the morning, Elena was in tears, Ettore was still awake, and I saw Giuseppe G pulling the car around and Elena bringing out Matteo. The baby’s temp had spiked to 104°F, and he was convulsing. Alessandro had Ettore in the swing, I ran to him and got that information as Elena and family headed to the hospital. Conclusion: Baby Matteo and Elena have Covid. Today is a day of keeping Ettore content  and entertained, as he misses his mom. “There were hardly any berries,” said Joe of the caper plants Two baby-bathing-sized bowls of these A dog’s life  View from our casetta Between treehouse and next level up We played and had happ

  My minions I’ve had this idea of making a good old-fashioned American lemonade stand with Ettore and the girls, but really; where would we put it? Who would be our customers? The stand wasn’t all that important, so let’s simply make lemonade! Mariella happened to have a cartload of lemons and a juicer. I learned a new word— brocca —which means pitcher. Seeing the blue glass one with raised polka dots reminded me of the one my grandparents had. They, by the way, added gin to their lemonade, because sugar is bad for you. However, I used sugar.  Nonno asked if I’m making granita; I said no—limonata (lemonade). He then told me my ratio was off; I had too much lemon juice for the water that would go in. Elena said, “Make it your way, Karen. He just needs to talk”. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, including Piera, Mariella’s housekeeper who was at the vigna today, along with Andrea. Andrea’s English is really improving. She was running laundry out to hang, looking pretty as usual. I asked Etto

Baccalà, two ways: fritta (flour-fried), and with tomatoes and potatoes. My two favorite preparations. The day began slowly, as is the norm here when it’s hot. Caffe, slow walks to the tennis court (for riding scooters and bikes, in the morning), playing and learning in the party center aka garage, drinking lots of water. Mariella drove to get Andrea, and on her return had a large piece of furniture in the back of her car. I called Joe over, saying we’ll help. Where’s it going? Up to our casetta (little cottage)!  There seems to be an endless supply of old furniture, none of which I’ve seen in anyone’s home here. This door-shuttered bookshelf needed reassembly. I saw the back piece was warped, and said there’s no way that’s going to work. “Aspetta’,” said Maria Teresa, with her hammer. Lo and behold. This synopsis covers the last 30 minutes of our comedy of errors. Maria Teresa rewarded herself afterward with a shower and a big snack. How she is such a twig, with how much she eats, is

Today is a kind of a nothing day so far. It’s too hot to do anything but swim, and, well, a pic of me in my swimsuit is not going to happen here. So there is Nonno. He’s out on the property daily, tying and trimming grapevines one day, donning thick gloves to harvest capers the next. He can tell you in great detail about the first heart transplant in Africa, and always makes a point to ask Joe and I interesting questions, so he can learn more about Minnesota. He’s a published poet, and in his younger days was quite handsome. Nonno, trimming capers (capperi) into the evening. Leaves and berries are edible; stems have thorns.  FYI I love capers. Why the “Ma dai, Nonno!” (C’mon; really?!), or “non sto parlando a te,” (I wasn’t talking to you) when he asks someone to clarify something, or “Basta!” (Enough!) for everything else? There’s that whole respect your elders thing, right? Having all of us living altogether, 24/7, for the last few weeks, I can tell you why: si rompe le palle, as the

Thank you to all who held Everett in your hearts and minds for a while. He’s leapt one helluva hurdle, but has a long road ahead. Here’s to new beginnings. Knowing that, if not a diversion, a change of scenery might be good for us today, Alessandro and family invited us to join them for a swim in the sea at Letojanni. The water was brisk and invigorating and the sun was scalding. If you watch Italian films, or are a fan of Roberto Benigni, this town may sound familiar. It is a tiny fishing village, barely known to others until a decade or so ago, and before that, was where scenes of Johnny Stecchino (1991) were filmed. We took off from the vigna after caffe with Mariella; Alessandro drove and all the gals sat in the back seat. We each got a turn to pick music. I choose Bohemian Rhapsody , Teresa chose a song from Anastasia, Rachele requested several Maneskin songs, and Agnese chose things I couldn’t understand, until one of her selections—Singing In The Rain. Joe went with the flow, a