Saturday, October 29, 2005

MISTAKE!

Yesterday was another gorgeous day. In the morning I was working around the house when I heard a loud rumbling sound and looked out of the door to see a giant crane on tracks passing down the ditch near the side of our house. I did not think much of it, but then Steve came in from town and said he had seen two cranes working on our hillside, probably forming a path for eventually attaching our side steps to the steps damaged in the landslide in the middle of the Residence’s property. He mentioned that he did not know they were going to do that, but he had heard this stupid idea (among many others) tossed around at the annual meeting. Later as we swam, I made my way over and was surprised at how much land they were taking out and how steep the sides of the cut were-as if not planning for rain and like there would not be another landslide there again. That was not my idea of stabilizing the hillside!
We thought little of it until the Andaloro brothers from Palermo, who own several of the apartments in the level above (that we have had friends rent), came to see us today and asked if we knew what was going on. We laughed and said sure, the stairs were being stabilized after the landslide last winter. Then Calogero said, “No, seriously, do you know what is going on? Because I have called the police, and we do not know who has authorized this work or why they are taking earth away from our hillside and destroying the bottom of our stairs. I just talked to our engineer and this is NOT the work that we applied for a permit for. It is NOT us that is doing this work!” Things were even more frustrating because the Carabinieri could not guarantee coming because they do not do field work on Saturdays, and the local police do not have office personnel on Saturdays.
Apparently, someone else is doing this work by mistake and no one can find out who. The police eventually arrived and took down the licenses of the cranes and the relevant information, but a lawsuit was mentioned as the only way to stop the work and the hillside is now in more danger than over of falling over onto the home below it once the heavy rains start. The pictures are of the Andaloros and Emilio and his son Nanni discussing the problems that result when you turn your back and head back to Palermo!
Seeing it from the bottom the next day, I am sure they took out half of the hillside that belongs to the Residence, roughly from the blue door over. And who knows what else besides the plantings that stabilized the hillside, and the bottom of our drainage sytem and steps.
Meanwhile, Limoncello is learning to fly around outside of his cage and to elude us giants when we try to put him back in. In an attempt to lure him back, I have put a plate of food in a convenient place, only to have him step into it when he feels like snacking. He also has learned how to take rides on rugs when I put one nearby. He’ll step onto it and I’ll drag him around nearer to his cage. This reminds me of having a two year old around! Only not nearly so much work or fun.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

SOFT FALL

Even though we swim daily, it is fall, but a very soft fall. The wind and the water this fall both feel soft. And the level of our activity has taken a soft fall too, now that Jess and gang are gone. She arrived back in the US last night and I am relieved that she got back safely and that her European adventure is over. We have yet to hear from John Camera, but assume he will check in soon too from his Naples and Turin visits.
Meanwhile, we have tried to regulate our sleep patterns to the fall with its beautiful morning light and earlier darkness in late afternoon. Because we got up so early to take the kids to the airport, then slept during the day, we have been up at all odd hours. The sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular and I cannot stop taking pictures of it all. The night-blooming cactus seems to have mistaken summer and fall too, and is blooming like crazy, and then closes up in the later morning light.
The beach after the siroccos was a mess, with mounds of seaweed everywhere, and so we despaired of swimming again this year. But the last few gorgeous windless days have been just what the beach needed to calm back down. The water was clear and delicious today, and Arial and Steve both enjoyed it. Limoncello has enjoyed the porch each morning and even had a cat friend visit several times (remember, he is a true Tweetie Bird). Now he perches up on top of the cabinet to discourage his visitor from getting too close.
I made lasagne and we visited Joe and Brigette and enjoyed their hibiscus garden again in exchange for a little American lasagne. Here it is not the same as in the states at all-they use egg noodles and béchamel sauce and lots of vegetables like Spinach and zucchini, more in the Florentine style. I have been cooking with all the basil recipes I could find as my basil after our return from the states grew like a small tree! I made the last of the pesto Trapanese today (garlic, tomatoes, basil, almonds, oil), and boy was it good! Gardening lately without the extreme heat is a lot of fun. Our lettuce is almost ready to harvest. The blue that you see on the ground is the snail repellent they use here.
Sunday we visited Claudio’s dirt bike track and noticed improvements, including a US flag and advertisers! We wish him well. May all the falls there be soft falls like our soft fall here in Sciacca.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

THE LAST FLING-SAMBUCA AND SELINUNTE

Thursday was an active day. We had wind, clouds, and threatening rain, so we scrapped Erice/Segesta plans again and stayed closer to home. I did not remember that Jessica had missed seeing the Greek temples at Selinunte the first time they were in Sicily, so that nearby destination seemed a fitting ending for this trip. I am glad we decided this because it meant several hours less in the car. And in the end, John and Jess liked the Agrigento ruins but I think they preferred these.
But first, since Steve and I like it so much, we went to the nearby little hill town of Sambuca di Sicilia, and we walked through the art galleries, museums and theatres there. The town seems so proud of its treasures, and we meet the same kind people over and over again. After seeing the Greek vases and artifacts from nearby archaeological digs, of course we regretted not seeing the Agrigento museum this trip. Ah, well, next time.
Next we had a final seafood lunch at Baffo’s Castle outside of Marinella, and Jess liked the knights in armour there. Then they wore themselves out scrambling over the ruins at Selinunte. I did a lot of watching of the activity. Last minute wine and souvenir shopping was next, and John took a farewell swim in spectacular Sirocco waves while Jess sipped green tea and downed vitamin C to help out her cold. Yes, Steve and I both have sniffles this morning.
We had our last pizza with the kids and warned them that pizza in Rome just does not compare. And it’s now official. Last night’s Scopa game saw the girls beat the guys 4 out of 4. I won two nights, Jess two. Steve got John some Scopa cards so he can practice more for next time.
I had read that there was a strike scheduled for Friday morning, so we worried and made phone calls and plans and tried to figure out what to do. It turns out that it was a teacher’s strike this time! But just to be safe, by 4 AM we were all up ready and out of the house. The picture of Jess and I is at the Palermo airport at approximately 5:30 AM where their Windjet plane flew them to Rome. All is well-they called from the hostel they are staying at. I hope the rest of their trip is as fun and eventful as their stay here!

Friday, October 21, 2005

FIRE! MOM AND BRIGETTE COOK (HOME GROWN)

The beautiful weather has changed into Siroccos and brought some surprises. We had a bit of excitement during a Scopa game the other night, when I stepped outside to listen to what I thought was loud rain. Instead, it was the sound of fire crackling. The valley outside of our house was on fire! I called everyone outside, Steve called the neighbors, who had called the fire department (all three trucks!), and they soon arrived with hoes, wet blankets, and Indian pumps to put it out. But it was a truly awesome sight while it lasted, even though we felt pretty safe because the wind was blowing directly away from us. As the fire crept up the hillside, it did make me a bit nervous. The next day as we surveyed the burned area, we saw that it never really did get that close to us.
The next day, since we did not want to travel to Erice and Segesta in the clouds and rain, we opted for an “at home” day. I decided to pick the last batch of green peppers from the terrace planters and make baked stuffed peppers for our guests. Jess recorded the event and the fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato salad, and the last of the cucuzzi squash that we ate. Then Brigette and Joe hosted an evening at their house and Brigette made us home made wood oven pizzas. What a cook! We all enjoyed a fun time laughing and talking about life in Sicily and the language that Steve and I are trying (sometimes quite unsuccessfully) to learn. Brigette’s dessert apple pizza is always incredible, and we all stuffed ourselves accordingly.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

JESS AND JOHN IN SICILY 2

Our pizza at La Grotta was very pleasant last night. Afterward we walked around town and enjoyed gelato and the main Piazza Scandaliato and the warm Sicilian night. We wondered why no one was out walking in a place that used to hold hundreds of people for their nightly passeggiata. Last night there were only about 20 people in the huge expanse. Perhaps people got used to walking in different areas after the months and months that it took to finish the work on the piazza last year.
Today we got an early start to spend our first cloudy day in the interior. Again we headed toward Agrigento, past Caltanisetta, and then on to the new Pietraprezia exit, finished after YEARS of work. Is this not a common theme here? We found the Angelo Mancuso family well, with TWO new grandchildren on the way! The youngest daughter in the family, Ketty, lives in Switzerland with her husband Vincenzo, and is expecting her first child in November (her due date is Jon’s birthday, Nov, 18). Lindora, who now lives upstairs in the just-finished apartment with her husband Salvatore, will have her second child in May. The oldest daughter, Patricia and her husband Germania left before we could get a picture with them, but here is the family with Jess and I. We missed seeing the oldest grandchild Dalila this time!
Then we headed to San Cataldo to see Marianna and Jack and their daughter Veronica. We ate a typical Sicilian meal at a wonderful restaurant there, La Pantera Rossa, and Jess and John got to try such classic antipasti as buffalo mozzarella, smashed spiced olives, eggplant torte, potato frittata, a wonderful breaded and fried pumpkin and onions, various sausages and cheeses, panelli (fried chickpea flour squares), and fresh sardines. Our pastas were pasta con sardi, a fettuccine with wild fennel and sardines topped with mollica (Sicilian bread crumbs), and a bottini with rucola, buffalo mozzarella, and tomatoes. For dessert, we had two classic sweet ricotta cheese dishes, a hot pastry that was flaky yet substantial, and a cassata with pasta reale (almond paste) coating. Jack and Marianna are exporting gourmet Sicilian products to Montreal markets, so if you get up there, look for Sicilian Gourmet products. We enjoyed seeing their office space and John, Jess, and Veronica participated in an English class! And then we saw their lovely home and we know why they left sunny Sciacca for this vibrant interior town.
The rain cleared as we approached the coast and home. Tomorrow we hope to head to Segesta and Erice. We will have pizza home-made by Brigette tomorrow at Brigette and Jo’e's house!

Monday, October 17, 2005

JESS AND JON IN SICILY

Not Jon, but John Camera, a friend of Jon Collier from Boston. He is currently working in Cambridge England, and so Jess joined him and flew to Palermo for this Sicilian adventure. That’s her at Logan airport ready to fly out, and then the gate for Hogsworth school at Kings Cross (from Harry Potter). They arrived just after some sirocco winds set in, so we wondered if the weather would be bad their whole stay. But so far it has been gorgeous, mostly warm and clear, and the nights with the almost full moon have been stunning. Limoncello has enjoyed sitting in the sun and chirping away. He can really sing now!
Besides being at the beach and John’s marathon runs, they have done the usual Sciacca things; getting wine, making bread at Paolo and Ignatizia’s, going to market, visiting the top of San Calogero for views, and yesterday, the ruins in Agrigento. Check out the menu with the beer milkshakes! And John is so tall he could not fit into the necropolis in the Valley of the Temples there. Jess’s friend Evn was here from Siracusa and started them on learning Scopa, the Sicilian card game. So we had our first Scopa tournament last night and Jess won. Tomorrow we will journey to Pietraprezia, Mancuso hometown, where we will see my dad’s cousin Angelo’s family. I have just learned that his daughter, Lindora, is pregnant for her second child. She is thrilled, and I wonder how Mirianna, her adorable first child, will react.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

THE END?

I had my first Jacuzzi and was it nice! However, there was a hole in the silicon seal so there was water all over the floor afterwards. But still, it was a nice relaxing tub. My daughter Jessica arrives the day after tomorrow and so we are pretty thrilled that almost the whole bathroom job got finished when they said it would. But there are no towel or toilet paper hangers, no storage, no door frame yet. Hey, we can live with that!
Yesterday the mirror arrived and was installed, the installers sealed the aforementioned hole with silicon, the light got attached to the electricity and hung, the holes in the bedroom and bathroom wall were stuccoed, and we got the inside window (which had swollen in its time outdoors) to close. Not bad as a finale! So attached are some before and after pictures, and it is time to take another little soak.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

DAY 7

Today was just an anti-climax. It was basically laying in the grout and taking off the gesso and cement pieces, and then laying in the electrical wires and finally making them live. Although the finished product is lovely, we are exhausted and cannot wait for tomorrow to get all of the fixtures in. We have cleaned and cleaned and know we will clean some more until all of the dust wears itself off or until the next job by a muratore. The last bad thing was a hole high up on the bedroom wall, when the electrician Andrea went to connect our (finally) grounded electricity in a “tubo” high up on the wall. It was late enough in the day so that only a first layer of cement got thrown onto it. And yes, we will need someone else (a “pintore,” painter) to come in and paint all of the spatters of cement on the walls. Why don’t we think to ask about that ahead of time?
But the sunset was lovely and clear and San Calogero(or Mount Kronious) looks more like a fairyland than normal tonight. We heard the German band for the fourth year straight practicing the first week in October. I took videos of the birds nesting for the night just down the street past our old house in Sgr Sanita’s yard. Life is good.

Monday, October 03, 2005

DAY 6

Today was rainy and cloudy and we missed seeing any solar eclipse, although it did get prematurely dark. It was a long weekend-the plumber mixed up the pipes and so we had a blend of hot and cold water coming out of both taps. And showering outside in a bathing suit with cold water is hard! But we seem to have gotten the water fixed. Today also the walls are done, the floor is done, most of the trim is done. Tomorrow is finishing work and curing and hardening the cement and then the fixtures go back in Wednesday!