Week Two

Wednesday, 30 March 2022

We are in our second week here in beautiful Abruzzo and have been busy cleaning and organizing the house, getting to know our neighbors, and learning our way around.

Our back door didn’t open out all the way because the bricks were placed too high. This annoyed Mike to no end, so he spent several hours pulling some bricks out and replacing them. Thanks to neighbor Paul for lending Mike the tools he needed.

I’ve spent most of my time cleaning and rearranging the kitchen. Our neighbors Robert and Maria drove us to Vasto to a kitchen supply store where we bought new pots and pans, some cleaning supplies, a step ladder, and lots of other little things. They also took us to a hardware store that Mike will, I’m sure, want to return to.

We stopped at a little café for drinks (sodas). Italians believe that when you drink anything, you must eat too. So the sodas came with tasty little sandwiches. Nice, huh?

Maria invited me to join her for coffee with another neighbor, Angela. We walked through Pauls’ back yard to get there. He joked that he calls the “path” from Maria's house to Angela's the Coffee Road, like the Silk Road, only shorter.

We see on our weather apps that rain is due to come for the rest of the week. We were told emphatically by the neighbors to move our wood to the inside of the shed or house. Robert helped Mike cut up some of the larger pieces and put them on a wheel barrel. Mike was able then to move the wood to shelter.

You may be wondering what we’ve been eating. Well, aside from fresh cauliflower from our garden, I’ve fixed pork chops (they are cut very differently from those in the US), roasted chicken thighs, and lots of fresh vegetables. As usual, one meal turns into two. We did find natural peanut butter which makes Mike happy. Today I am craving fish so I hope we can get to a store. Many stores close from noon to 3:30 or 4:00, then reopen from 4:00 to 7:00 or 8:00.

One thing I’m getting used to is garbage collection. In Chicago, we have two large bins, one for general waste, one for recyclable waste. One night a week we roll the bins out to the street and they are collected the next day. Here, waste is picked up every day except Sunday. There are small bins for different kinds of waste. Monday is food waste. Tuesday is general waste. Wednesday is plastic and metal. Thursday is glass. Friday is food waste. Saturday is general waste. All waste must be in a plastic bag (yes, plastic bag).

I'm nagging Mike to write a blog, so hopefully you will see his soon.