PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

It doesn’t seem possible that I am packing again so soon, but there are the waiting empty suitcases, miniature living spaces that we should be able to organize to live out of for over a month. Some things are just always packed while others are waiting in the heaps in far away corners that I make as I think about what to bring. There are always special things for loved ones and of course there are lists of things to bring back here for the next 6 months until we visit the states again. Then there are the maps, dictionaries, reservation and flight information, books to read and books to send to others. As the departure day gets nearer and nearer there are the plants to think about and the bird to give care to. And of course, we leave no food to rot in the fridge if we are wise, nor garbage to attract insects, etc. etc. We have a list of things to remember when we close up the house. Now if we could only remember that list!
This trip takes us to many places and different climate zones. That sure complicates things! But there are not many surprises since we have been to all the places before and since we pretty much know what to expect and how to deal with it. That does not mean we are always prepared for those little surprises that crop up every trip. I fervently hope that no wildcat strike delays things here in strike-happy Italy.
While we are preoccupied with these thoughts, some new things have been happening in our friends’ lives. Ignatzia’s sister Maria Sciortino has had her book published and it can be bought right now at amazon.com. It is a called “A ‘Pinch’ of Sicily-A Collection of Memories and Traditional Recipes” and it has dozens of authentic recipes that are possible to duplicate in American kitchens, plus many stories of what it was like to grow up in Sciacca in the middle of the century. I helped edit the first part and have tried many of her recipes, so I feel like I have a personal interest in much of this book. If you are interested in Sciacca, go out and buy a copy!
Brigette and Joe have finally gotten their papers making their American marriage 26 years ago recognized here in Italy. We have heard about these legal embroilments from many friends who have lived in the states and Canada and also here in Sicily. The complications of dual citizenship, renouncing citizenship, different names in different countries, and having legal documents recognized here are so extreme that they make our ordeals at the Italian consulate office 4 years ago seem like a walk in the park. And we were so astonished by the experience we went through that we really felt that we were unique! Not so. Anyway, congratulations to Brigette and Joe and their daughter Enza who now has officially married parents. We will have pizza with them before we leave and Brigette will take good care of my plants in my little greenhouse.
Steve’s buddies at the orthofrutica (fruit and vegetable) store are now communicating with their American relatives with Steve’s help as a go between. He is sending the American LiBassi family messages in English that answer their questions regarding their ancestry in Sciacca. They have traced their family back to the 1500’s! Steve is having fun with this as he knows the problems that not having a language in common can bring. For any LiBassi relatives that read this page, welcome and enjoy perusing scenes of Sciacca. Below are pictures of your cousin Loredona and her husband and their wonderful store.
Finally, we have had some really gray days lately where the sea and the sky are the same color and it is useless to go out into the cold for anything but a quick walk to the corner and back for exercise. On a chilly walk to the beach the other day we noticed that the seaweed from the latest sirocco filled the sand and made things look terribly uninviting. We invite the good weather back for our return in February and look forward to our new adventures in Amsterdam, Boston, Dunkirk, Tulum, and New York City.

RIDING AROUND

We are packing and trying to get little things taken care of before we take off in about a week. The weather has been cool and partly cloudy so no real temptation to spend a lot of time out of doors. One important thing we have to do is to put the lemon skins into alcohol to rest for a month before we make limoncello (the drink) so that we will have sufficient supplies for ourselves and our guests. I am just not sure about making it in the states as it is important to use untainted lemon skins for color and flavor. The same is true about using American lemon skins for the famous lemon cream pasta, although we do take the chance at Jo’s. We’ll also make a cinnamon liquor called ‘cannellino’ (from the Italian word ‘cannella’, cinnamon) at the same time.
Yesterday we went off to Palermo to pick up some prints we had left at Angelo’s store to have framed. The trip was lovely, for the acetesole flowers were out in the artichoke (‘carduni’) fields, the olive trees were almost all trimmed with the branches on the ground ready for fragrant fires. We got to check on the progress of our favorite building site, a long building being built around 2 small colourful rooms in the middle of a field in an agricultural area between Menfi and Sciacca. As you can see, the crane is bringing a tool cart up onto the roof in one of the pictures!
But it was raining in Palermo, and the horrendous traffic there made it all the more awful. We did a little walking around and seeing the sights before we went back to the frame shop. The fake blue and green palm trees on the main business streets were MOST ugly especially next to real palms and baroque churches like San Domenico in the picture. The fountain and statues they call Piazza Pretoria but that locals know as Piazza Vergogna (‘piazza of shame’ because of all the naked statues) is finally almost done with its major reconstruction. It is also just around the corner from Angelo’s shop, as is La Matoranna, the Norman church and convent known for its marzipan candy. In fact, In Sicily marzipan is either known as ‘pasta reale’ or ‘frutta di matoranna’ for the nuns who made it famous.
We especially wanted to talk to Angelo to invite him and his current heart throb to join us for Carnavale when we get back. We did get to meet her and have lunch at a wonderful bistro with them. Her name is Cincia (like Cynthia) and she is very sweet. Angelo has just turned 30 but is still the irrepressible kid we met so long ago in the bus to our hotel in Istanbul. His friendship has always been a delight-you never know what will happen with him next.
In fact, this morning I was surprised to see Angelo and his brother drive up in front of our house here in Sciacca. He had left his cell phone in our car and did not have any of our phone numbers anywhere except in his cell, so he had to drive all the way here to pick it up! While he was here, he looked at the Barchetta to make Steve an offer to buy it. Steve had thought of getting rid of it and was talking about getting a more economical car with less power but that we could take for rides around the countryside even with the top up. The paint job is being slowly chipped away with the sea air and the sun. Angelo has always liked this car, and so wanted to see it again. Who knows? We may be talking about a new deal in vehicles in the next little while!
Limoncello (the canary) seemed to miss us a lot for he spent a good part of the evening when we got back flying about and following us around when we let him out the cage. This morning he sat on the bell over the computer, next to my parent’s pictures, keeping an eye on Steve so he would not get away from him again.

TAKING DOWN CHRISTMAS ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE

That is the title of an old timey song by John McCutchen that I used to play while I took down holiday decorations. It was a lively tune with a repeated chorus (“takin’ down Christmas all through the house!”), but I don’t have that cassette anymore. Instead I am playing the sound track from Cold Mountain, which has a similar sound, as well as a song that has a chorus going ”Christmastime will soon be over,” repeated the appropriate number of times so I that eventually I can hum it mindlessly all morning.
And I like tradition, so I tried to wait till tomorrow, Epiphany, to take things down. But I got up very early today and it was cold and gray and I had some time and suddenly, I could not wait a minute more to try to get the house back to normal. I like having the decorations up, but they get to be too much after awhile, being a seasonal thing that I know will need to come down. And I have noticed that the decoration “littles” (as Jane would call them) multiply as if by magic. The stack of boxes and containers has doubled in the last few years, I think.
Here in Italy we have a good witch, la Befana, that brings toys to the good girls and boys on epiphany, Jan. 6, the 3 Kings day in the Spanish tradition. If they have been bad, she brings coal. She is really just a little old lady that needs to cover ground fast so she uses a broom. The story is that she was cleaning her house (like all good Italian “casalinghe,” or housewives do daily, so clean that they could eat off of the floor!) and the three wise men stopped by her house on their way following the star to see the Christ child. They invited her to come with them but she said she was too busy cleaning and she could not leave the house dirty. But later she changed her mind ran to catch up with them. And since then, she has spent her time wandering the earth giving gifts to good children as she looks for the child she missed when she got her priorities mixed up. I don’t know where the coal tradition ever eked its way in.
Anyway, La Befana was a day early in our house. This year, Steve wrote me “12 Days of Christmas” poems in Italian (sort of) and brought me bags of candy and treats each of the 12 days of the song, and then another hanging Befana to add to my collection with a big bag of candy today. I will keep her up a while to keep Limoncello company, but I gave Steve the bag of candy and warned him that the diet starts before the candy is gone.
Steve is out getting a suit coat at the big January sales with Paolo, who promises him a good deal because he is good friends with the store owner. Besides, since Steve is color blind, we were both a little leery about him going to do this by himself. Italian wools are so beautiful and the prices are so high, but then again, the styling is not to be seen anywhere for the price in the states. And you know how stylish we like to be!

BYE BYE 2005

Happy New Year! Here in Italy, there are various customs that might vary from region to region, but that are not too different from the states. For example, a New Years eve dish of lentils and pigs feet sausage (zampone) is common, but not the norm all over the country. Some people throw old things (like dishes) out the window to break at midnight, signifying “out with the old, in with the new.” Firecrackers and fire works are common, as are injuries caused by them. Lots of people go away for at least the weekend and spend the evening of the 31st out at restaurants eating, drinking, and dancing with friends. Vacations from this week till Epiphany on the 6th are common.
Most of the end-of-the-year stuff I have read refers to 2005 as an awful year. That may be in terms of world news and events. But despite some sorrows, frustrations and set backs (and a 60th birthday for Steve), our past year was pretty good.
We did not cover much new ground, but we did travel to some great places. We had two long Paris stays in January and in the fall, and we spent Easter in Madrid. The Pistoia Blues Fest in June allowed us to re-discover Tuscany and Florence. We returned to the states for a month in the summer and took a relaxing week with my brother and wife (who really needed it!) in Cancun in August. We returned to Germany in Dec and are packing now to go back to Amsterdam, then the US, and then Tulum in Jan-Feb.
Sometimes we miss our friends and family a lot. But this year we made some wonderful new friends and deepened some old relationships. It was fun to reconnect with old classmates from Dunkirk, and our mini class of ‘65 reunion put me back in touch with Chris and many others. The April Sicily travellers with Mancuso Tours also contained DHS class of ’65 grads plus other new freinds. We got to know Joe and Kathy, two more blasts from my childhood, when they sprung us from our isolation here one fine spring day, and then served us a gourmet meal in the heat of August back in the states. Getting to know Kathy and Fran better (from Saranac Lake) was wonderful,. And we got to meet John from Cambridge (X 2), Jess’ travel companion, and see his view of life for a few weeks. This year we have been able to spend fun time with Jess and less time with Jon but he promises to make it up next year with a trip here. And it was great getting to know my nephew Matt and Erin better after our trip together to Paris. Seeing Gene and Nancy again from our long ago Syracuse days was a special end-of-the-year treat.
Here in Sicily we met Jack and Marianna and Fabrizio’s family, plus Michele, a loyal driver and friend, and Salvatore, our favorite English speaking-bus driver. And of course Maria and Alfonso, and their friendship on 2 continents. I don’t remember not knowing Brigette and Joe and their daughter Enza, with whom we have spent so much pleasurable time this last year, and who have tried so hard to helped us speak Italian better. After we get done laughing about it, I never remember which is the right way and which is the wrong way! They have helped us in so many ways and I value their friendship a lot.
To others our home is no mansion, but with work we have made it a very comfortable nest for the two of us. My gardens are a constant work-in-progress, a source of food, exercise, and learning. As we make improvements, we know more and more that we have had made the right choices for ourselves living here. I know I see a big improvement in our ability to cope with the normal frustrations of life, but in another language.
To my disappointment, I have hit a wall in terms of my writing. But I am not in a hurry and I know that someday I will sit back down and get to it. At this point, the next steps in editing the book of short stories are a series of problems to solve, requiring decisions that I keep working on in the back of my mind all the time. I know what I want, I just do not know how to get there. I know that short stories are what I am most interested in, and what I want to write more of eventually. And for now that is enough for me.
Italians also sit back and take stock of the year-that-was. For me, it was not a bad year. May we all have a great 2006!