Sunday October 2, 2022
October is here and we have passed the six-month mark in Italy. We’ve seen a cold March turn into a cool April and then “click” summer turned on and we were glad we had air conditioning. Then after a hot, dry summer, “click” September came and it cooled off quickly. The beach concessionaires started closing up and the umbrella covered beaches emptied quickly. We have not yet turned on the heat setting on our air conditioners but the blanket got put on the bed. We still get warm and sunny days but the evenings are cool and we’ve broken out the sweatpants. Rain and thunderstorms are becoming more frequent.
We are looking forward to the arrival of our daughter, Maureen, and her husband Todd. As I write this they have arrived in Venice and after a stay in Padua we will pick them up at the train station in Vasto. A couple of days to show them our house, village and Abruzzo and then we will head south to Puglia in the first road trip in the new car. Margaret and I have not been south yet and we are looking forward to Bari and the sights there. Many pictures to follow, I’m sure.
Personally, after six months in Italy, I am pretty comfortable with life here. We’ve written about our neighbors and friends and they have made a huge difference in our first six months. My next goal will be to restart learning Italian and become less of a foreigner. If I can start to speak Italian with Margaret it will help us both, especially as Margaret starts her push for an Italian driving license.
We are anticipating the arrival of our first harvest season. We have harvested all the plums we could, the fig tree is out of control, the walnuts are not dropping in great numbers but soon, the olive trees may have suffered from the lack of rain and we will see how that goes. I have watched several YouTube videos on how to open Pomegranates but the few we have are also not doing well. I may have to wait for the fruit markets to have them in stock. And after harvest comes the tree pruning season. I will need to trim several trees and bushes to keep them healthy and productive. Again, looking to the neighbors for tips and techniques to get that done.
Having the dollar and euro get to par value saved us some money when we bought the car. We rolled over the money from selling our Honda CRV and used that to buy the VW T-Cross and avoid the hassle of trying to get a car loan in Italy.
That’s all from me. Best wishes to all.
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