The Faerie House and The Wine of Cana

We were getting dressed this morning, when we heard a knock on the door, and, since Joe was still in his birthday suit, I yelled, “Aspetta un momento!” but the door opened anyway. Agnese got an eyeful, but was absolutely nonchalant about it. Ettore giggled.

While Elena and Mariella ran errands in town, Teresa’s parents, Pina and Antonio, dropped off Rachele, who had finished her tennis lessons. Teresa’s parents are adorable. We talked about the Sacra Cuore activities. An exception was made to hold this Festa, since two bishops were involved. All public festivities have been restrained, out of respect for the Ukrainians—it’s bad form to celebrate during the time that others are suffering. Private, smaller, family celebrations continue.

Rodica, the daughter of the Romanian couple caring for Vincenzo’s mom, and Sofia, Andrea’s daughter, came to swim with Rachele and Agnese; four girls together playing made Ettore feel a bit left out. 

I remember a childhood day when two friends came over to splash in my inflatable pool. I neither wanted my little sister in this playtime, nor was there space for her. My mom set up a bucket for my sister to play in all by herself, and for some reason, she was happy with that. My sister’s moment then was Ettore’s today. I set up a separate little play pool for him, and looked up how to make paper boats. They floated, but it’s apparently more fun to fill them with rocks, so they lasted about two minutes. But, we discovered that upside down DUPLO blocks make awesome boats.

Elena and Mariella returned; Elena joined us for a while at he kiddie pool, before trampoline jumping with Ettore. Then Ettore got to hold his baby brother, and did a great job.

Soon it was lunchtime; pasta with pancetta and panna, salad, and chicken cutlets. Good, despite dairy-based sauces not being my favorite.

While everyone rested, Joe and I took off to Etnapolis (specifically, Leroy Merlin, a Lowe’s equivalent) to get a few things, and make a nice passeggiata in the air-conditioned space. It was from there that Joe got updates on his grandson, Everett, and we’d appreciate your continued prayers for him.

Back home, Alessandro greeted us and asked if we’d be up for a walk to the Faerie House. Actually; it’s an old parrocchia, where the priest for the mother church in Biancavilla lived. After that, a man who was known for his botanical/medicinal prowess lived there. The grounds, though now overrun, are filled with rare plant specimens. In fact, the (deceased) botanist’s son was a well-known pharmacist in Biancavilla. There is a small chapel on the property. It was dubbed The Faerie House by Rachele when she was little, because the exterior front is shaped like a Tinkerbell crown. It is abandoned, but won’t be sold or changed because, as Alessandro put it, “It’s too important a history”.

We made a long tour, starting with a pretty nature hike, then the Faerie House, and lastly, Vino di Cana. “Wine of Cana,” as in the Bible, where Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana. I’ve noticed the sign since we arrived, and was curious about it.

Vino di Cana is restaurant, a biological/organic wine producer, and the home of a generous, hard-working, loving family who takes in children who have been abandoned or were victims of family abuse. They’ve been doing it for years. In fact, my favorite waiter Riccardo at Scandura was raised by this family.

The owner, Sergio, and his daughters, Maria and Marta, offered us wine, and pistachios from Bronte.

The Cana dog followed us all the way home, much to Ettore’s delight, despite all of Alessandro’s efforts to shoo her home. “Lei è innamorato di Rudolf,” he kept saying— she is in love with Rudolf, the summer-house dog we took on our walk. We closed the driveway gates on her once we got home, and after waiting a few minutes, she gave up. Young love. Sigh.

Dinner tonight was pizza, the long rectangular kind. We tried a few new varieties, with prosciutto, arugula, and red pepper taking the win for me.

At the end of dinner, I got another flashback to my childhood: Men arguing politics. Volume increasing. Women ignoring them. At the end of the day, we calmly returned to talking about food, and everyone was happy.

A final note: The US set a pattern today to strip many people of their rights—to love and marry who they want, and more. The new Angola. I need to get this citizenship business done very soon. My home country has disappeared.