Back to Work

Today, Monday, is a blustery day. The winds rattled the clay tiles (figuratively). We ventured out to get bread and some fresh produce, but that was all.

We had a simple lunch of mortadella, olive salad, cheese, and tortorella, followed by blood oranges.

Ettore came up, was in a great mood all day (but for one biting attempt—he’s in that group of 50% of all toddlers—and two ‘wanting mama’ moments, because she worked from home today since Matteo has a small fever), and has really ramped up his spontaneous English speaking. Elena is ready for me to start on Matteo.

We played, making Play-doh pizzas, and we fenced with mock epees, ate lots of snacks, and I handed out Junior Mints as rewards for great English sentences.

For a break, I introduced him to the old Popeye series, reinforcing the importance of eating healthy foods to make big muscles. He loves Popeye! With Popeye, Underdog, and Rocky & Bullwinkle on YouTube, why venture from the 1960s? These shows are classics. Come to think of it, he now needs to see the Jetsons. Tomorrow!



Elena got him around 7:30, at which point I started a risotto. I found tiny zucchine blossoms at the ortofrutta, and wasn’t in the mood to make fritters. Some arborio, pancetta, wine, and fiori di zucca later, and a steaming hot risotto was on the table. A tortorella and Pachino tomato salad accompanied it, along with wine. Simple but delicious.




Despite all that goodness, I’m in a funk and plan to do some crosswords then go to bed. Lots of ruminating to do. Also, I need to book my trip to Puglia. Hopefully tomorrow. I’d like to meet my friend Stacy there; she has a house in Molise near my grandparents’ hometown; I’ll see if she’s up for a trip south.

Not much else to say today but…

Good night.


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