Saturday, May 21
This week was spent mostly organizing. Kinda frustrating and tiring, but ended well. We brought more things to House Two from House One. We rearranged some things at both houses. Spring really makes the grass grow, so Mike has been mowing. I insist that he only do one yard a day. And take several breaks. Tomorrow I will pull weeds to clear them from the beautiful flowers.
I attempted to bake something in the oven, but couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. The stove is gas, but the oven is electric. And rather sophisticated. I found the instruction booklet that Julia left for us and have read it a few times. I think I’ll make a photo copy of the key pages and keep them handy on the counter.
I spent a good deal of time being frustrated with Vodafone. I have definitely concluded that both Mike and I are both cell phone disabled. We had gone to Vasto to the store where we bought the SIM card to ask how to check the account online. Even Google translate was no help to us. And we learned that the MyVodafone app is not available in Italy. One has to go to the web on a PC. But when I tried to get into our account, no success. An online chat person had me open a new Google account tied to my Italian phone number. With that, I was finally able to get into the Vodafone account. But I still cannot set up the credit card. So, I am thinking that next week we will travel to Lanciano where there is a larger Vodafone store and hopefully someone who can help.
On Thursday, Maria, Robert, Mike and I drove up to Gissi for lunch. Maria had been wanting to go to this particular restaurant for years. It’s called Ristorante N’donio. They have a fixed price menu and each day the waiter will tell you what your options are. Antipasti, primo, secondo. We all had antipasti, Mike, Robert, and I ordered the ravioli with spinach in a saffron sauce with sausage. Maria had a pasta in a tomato sauce. I don’t know how the others managed to clear their plates. Half of mine came home with me. No need for dinner that day.
Our Italian neighbors, Angela and Guiseppe, have a new grandson. On Friday afternoon they invited all of us to their house to celebrate. Prosecco, cookies, and blue confetti from Sulmona. To explain, confetti is sugar-coated almonds that come in various colors and flavors. Since Roman times, the confetti of Sulmona have been used to celebrate the most important milestones of one's life, as a symbol of greetings and best wishes. I remember my grandparents throwing them (instead of rice) at newlyweds as they left the church. But the candies are much better eaten. Anyway, Angela had a big bowl of blue confetti to honor her new grandson. Delicious.
On Sunday we will return to Gissi to visit the Museo Storico Etnografico. It is only open on Sundays at 5:30 pm for a few hours.
Today we discovered that the cherry tree had ripe fruit. And the cherries are delicious! The plum trees look promising, but the fig tree seems happy to just have green leaves.
To see more photos, click here.
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