We had another few interesting days this past week.
On Friday, my neighbor Justina invited me to join her and her friend Eugenia for coffee in Vasto. Now, to an American, that sounds a little strange. Drive 30 minutes for a cup of coffee? But such is life in Italy. Coffee is very important here.
Actually, Justina needed to fuel up her car, which uses LP gas, and they both needed to stop at the grocery store. First gas, then coffee, then groceries. I have to say, the coffee was good, but the pastries were amazing. This is one café worth driving 30 minutes to. I had the fruit tart and they had the pistachio cream. Next time I will get the pistachio cream.
That afternoon, Mike and I had a video call with Mike’s mom. She’d been in the hospital with Covid. At 91, we were quite worried about her. She seemed in pretty good spirits, just like Evelyn usually is. As I write this, she’s home now, and quite happy to be out of the hospital.
Then at 3:30 I joined up with neighbors Maria and Angela and we headed off to the town of Scerni to the hairdressers. Now, a lot of things here are different from the US, and this experience did not waver. I expected that the three of us would take about three hours. Nope. Here, one stylist does color (Angela had hers done), another shampoos, another cuts, and another styles.
It’s like a production line. I do have to say, though, that each are definitely specialists. I’ve never seen a stylist use a pair of scissors like the gal who cut my hair does. She was amazing.
I like my hair cut, even though it’s a little bit shorter than I wanted. Ah, well, hair grows.
Since it was Friday, it was Porchetta Day at the local bar/market. While I was at the hairdresser, Mike rode there with Paul and Justina. Angela dropped me off there even though it was bit out of the way. There were several people there, and as the evening wore on, even more people showed up. By the time we left, Australians, Brits, Americans, and South Africans had all gathered for a fun evening. It was a lively group!
Lately we’ve had some problems with Pamela’s car. It’s been such a good car for us. But one day the electrical system failed. The hatch wouldn’t lock and then the brake lights stopped working. Our neighbor Paul discovered that it’s a common problem with this particular model. He called his friend Mario who has a very sophisticated computer that analyzes car issues. While Mike, Paul and Mario fixed the car, Justina and I and Mario’s wife Wendy had drinks and some fun girl talk. Then we all sat around together. It was a fun impromptu party!
I believe I’ve talked about our plum trees. They are over-abundant. And I am overwhelmed. I’ve never canned anything before. Totally a novice. Maria lent me a how-to book, and since I’ve always said, “if you can read, you can cook,” I took a deep breath, and ventured forth.
I made plum jam (the plums are greengages, or white plums) and a plum crumble from a recipe that my friend Marsha Shiflet sent me. So delicious! I am very proud of myself.
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