Looking at the deep snow parked outside our windows here in Maine. Hoping it keeps melting. It has about three feet left to go. I know, “piano, piano” this too will pass. Our neighbors in Panicale, Umbria don’t see snow on a regular basis so it has a certain novelty to them. And after a snow fall, you can depend on someone to be grumping about it and you can also depend on someone else to say brightly “ricordi, sotto le neve c’e pane.” The corollary and only sometimes used as the rhyming finale is the less romantic, darker “sotto l’aqua c’e fame.” Snow does melt and feeds the crops which feeds everyone and of course it is better than too much water. So. Snow, good thing. In moderation.
Snow has melted enough here in Maine, that even though it is still deep – so deep you can’t slog thru it with boots – you still can’t snow shoe on it. Funny time. Time for it to go. And speaking of going. . . we are. To Italy next Saturday. March 19th. We’ll be in Panicale, Cortona, Siena for a couple weeks. Yay! Non vedo l’ora!
Every where I look we see things that point us to Italy. At lunch at my sister Gin’s next door today, we saw her Araucana chicken eggs in ceramic egg cartons we brought her from Cortona one time. Love the soft cream color that seems to be The Color of Cortona in the ceramic dept. And aren’t the eggs great? Not dyed. Just how they are. Almost too pretty to poach. Yes, we are ready for Italy and even Easter it appears from these eggs.
OK, See you in Italy! And soon!
Stew Vreeland
I’ve encountered your site as I search info on Umbria in anticipation of a May trip to Rome (my old true love) and Umbria (first time). I see I will need the next 2 months to go thru your writing!
Buon viaggio, spero che abbia una bella visita! I look forward to reading about it on your return.
Love your blog, I hope you keep it up while you are in Italy! I’ll be in Cortona myself this August/Sept, teaching a jewelry workshop and taking my students to the local flea markets. We’ll finish with a weekend in Arezzo Sept. 3-4, for the antiques market and the Joust of the Saracen! Men in tights… waving flags… dashing about on horseback! Does it get any better than that?
Sharilyn