Look What Followed Me Home! Can I Keep Him? Can I???

November 30, 2006 Today we took a walk up to a house we are looking at near the cemetery and Larry spotted a fawn! The baby deer came out from between two houses and just stood there. Larry, too, was frozen on the spot--not wanting to startle the deer. Then I reminded him that he had a camera in his hand.

As he began taking pictures the deer came right up to him and even tried to touch the camera with his nose. As we started walking up the hill, the deer followed us for a little while. When we came back down, we didn't see him again. We thought that maybe he had lost his "mamma" during hunting season and was looking for her.

We did see a woman across the street and she told us that Colombo (from one of the houses whose yard the deer had been standing between) had found this tiny, orphaned baby deer a few months ago and brought him home! Even so, it was an exciting moment!

Another Trip to Urbino and Then Another!

November 27, 2006 Before I start with our trip to Urbino I need to give you a little idea of what happened in the days before we went.

On Tuesday, Larry turned on the lights in the living room and there was a flash and then all of the lights downstairs went off. He thought there was a short in the chandelier so he rerouted the wires so that we could have electricity downstairs. Everything worked except for that light and a small problem with the TV. It would work, but only one channel came in and it was fuzzy. We figured that was no big problem so we didn't rush to let Paola know. On Wednesday night, I plugged in a little electric heater in our bedroom. Larry told me the cord was too short, but I plugged it in and it came on so, of course, I left it on. The next morning it had shut itself off. Larry said it was because the cord probably pulled out a little because the cord was too short! He brought me an extension cord, but when I tried to unplug the heater I couldn't get it out. As it turns out, it didn't pull itself out a little--it melted inside the outlet! So, on Thanksgiving Larry replaced the plug on the heater and was in the process of replacing the outlet when one of the wires dropped down and shorted across (I'm not sure what that means but I'm sure most of you will!). So, now we have NO ELECTRICITY! I have a pie in the oven and still need to cook the turkey! Luckily, Larry was able to get the downstairs going, but we still had no electricity upstairs. Thursday night we used a flashlight to find our way up to bed and to shower and shave the next morning (well, Larry shaved, I didn't). Then we were off to Urbino!


Now, back to my Urbino story! Last month, as you may recall, we went to Urbino on Tuesday, October 17th for our appointment to turn in our papers for our permesso. We had been told it would take about a month so we decided to wait 5 weeks to be safe before going back. On Tuesday we rode the second bus to Urbino which we thought would be free of students, but would require a change of buses. Instead, it too, was full of students and we needed to change buses both in Sassocovaro and Casinina. Also, when we got on the bus we let the kids on first and ended up standing until we got to Piandimeleto when some of the kids got off. We arrived in Urbino at about 5 minutes before the questura opened only to find it was closed for the day! So, for 4 hours we wandered around killing time and the only thing accomplished was Larry and I each bought a hat from a woman who told us we looked "bellissimo/a" in them! We did have some pretty good pizza at "La Buca" which is a very small hole-in-the-wall type of pizzeria! We caught the double-decker back and we rode in the first row of seats on the top! That was kind of neat, but every time the bus went by a tree we would feel we were going to get smacked by the branches.

We couldn't go back on Wednesday because I needed to pick up my turkey and, of course, we couldn't go on Thursday because it was Thanksgiving, so off we go again on Friday. We took the double-decker that leaves at 6:55 and arrived with about a half hour to spare. This time the questura was definitely open with about 20 people waiting to get in. When the rude man asked for receipts I handed him ours and he took a quick look at the date and handed them back and said it was too early! I asked when and he said "forse prima di Natale" (maybe before Christmas). So now we have 4 hours to kill and what to do? Before we left, I went back in and asked the man what days they would be closed next month and he told me they were always closed on Tuesday and Saturday. I tried to explain that last month we came for our appointment on Tuesday and he said, no they are always closed on Tuesday! My receipt says October 17th, which according to my calendar was a Tuesday, but oh well!

As we walked up the steep hill into Urbino, we saw a pharmacy announcing flu shots. We forgot to go on Thanksgiving to get ours and the next time they were offered in Belforte was on the 30th, so we decided we'd get them in Urbino. Larry tells the woman we'd like flu shots and she says fine and leaves, but doesn't ask us to go with her so we think that she is going to give them to us in the lobby. We began to take off our jackets and when she came back and saw what we were doing she got this weird look on her face. Then she asked if we wanted them done there? They don't have a medico so we bought the vaccines to take home! It was about 17.00 euro for both of them. (Larry did a wonderful job of giving himself and then me the injections!)

After wandering around until the bus came, we headed home. I called Paola to let her know about our electricity problems and she said she would come over to see. When she arrived Larry was in the living room trying to get the TV channels to work without much luck. Larry explained the two different problems and she went to the circuit box and Larry showed her how one of the circuits would reset but the other one wouldn't. She pushed it in and out a few times and told us it was bad and her dad would have to come replace it. And then when she pushed it in again the power came on upstairs! We were so excited and embarrassed by that! Thankfully, no more bathing in the dark, but embarrassed that we called her over and it seemed as if nothing was wrong!

She brought me a CD of Italian Christmas music (as a gift and would not let me pay!). She also brought us a centerpiece and a garland for decorations. Oh, and a "rosmarino" plant! So we sent half of our apple pie home with her!



By the way, after Paola left Larry went back to try to fix the TV and all the channels were back where they were supposed to be!


Oh, and here's another couple of pictures of the castle as you know what they (meaning Larry) say--you can never have enough pictures of the castle!

Larry's Walk to Frontino

November 27, 2006 Last Saturday Larry walked to Frontino (about 8 miles from here). As he left the house he said I'm going for a long walk--which is something he does everyday so I didn't think about what he may mean by that. He was gone for about 4 hours and I was trying to decide who I would ask to drive me up to the top of the hill to see if the sheepdogs had gotten him, when he waltzed in!

Frontino is a walled city and not very big. These are just a few of the pictures he took. I will let them speak for themselves!!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 23, 2006 First, we'd like to wish all of our friends and family a wonderful Thanksgiving! Please know that we are thankful for each and every one of you. Now, on to the tale of Twas The Day Before Thanksgiving!


Last week I went into our local "macelleria" (butcher shop) to order a "tacchinello" (little turkey) for Thanksgiving. The woman told me that she could order a thigh (with part of a back), but to get a whole turkey I would need to go to the "campagna" (country) to find one! I assumed she meant I would need to go to a turkey farm or something so I just ordered the thigh. On Saturday we went to visit a friend in a town about 18 miles from Belforte (Macerata Feltria) and when I mentioned to her my wanting a turkey she told me to ask at the macelleria in her town. Sure enough, the man told me he could have a turkey on Wednesday. Now, I need to mention that on the Expats in Italy website there has been a lot of discussion about turkeys. The general theme has been that the turkeys here are huge and you usually get one twice as big as you wanted. I asked him how big it would be and he said about 2 1/2 kilos! That is only about 5 lbs so I was sure that it would be a lot bigger than that.


Yesterday, Paola took me to Macerata Feltria to pick up my turkey. My first impulse when I saw the turkey was to laugh! I am telling you that this was the smallest turkey I had ever seen! My next impulse was to shudder when I saw that it still had its head and feet attached! I could not even look at it again until the butcher cut those off. Then he holds it up for me to look at and I noticed that the neck is still attached--so I had him chop that off too, but to wrap it up with the turkey. I could not see how this turkey could possibly have enough meat on it for even one meal. When the butcher rang it up the receipt showed that it weighed 2.5 kilos--about 5 1/2 lbs! The cost for this beauty? 30.00 euro!! That is just under $39.00!!


As we were driving off I was thinking how lucky we were that there was a turkey thigh waiting at the butcher shop in Belforte to go with this "turkey!" Larry went to get it while I was out with Paola and when I picked up the bag it was in I noticed that it was quite heavy. It turned out to be a thigh and a leg and it had to be the biggest thigh/leg I have ever seen! To be honest, I was a little worried that it would be tough since it was so big even though the butcher had assured us it would be tender. I don't know the exact weight, but I can tell you that it was at least 2 kilos! I checked the internet for how long to cook turkey legs and found a recipe that called for 2 turkey legs & thighs with an approx weight of 4 lbs! We had that easily with just one! The total cost for both turkey and thigh/leg? $51.00!!



I ran down to the store to get some last minute items and I told the woman there about my turkey and how it had come with the head and feet. She told me that they leave them on so people can make soup out of them!!! I don't believe I will eat turkey or chicken soup here, ever! Although, Larry did say if anyone wanted any he would make it and bring some back to the states for Christmas!




Just to give you an idea of how these two turkeys compared--check this out. You may notice all the feathers? I had to practically tear the skin apart to get them off! This is the first turkey I have ever cooked that I didn't take even one bite of the skin! I told Larry that neither Tracie nor Danielle would have touched the turkey much less cooked and eaten it! (Note the feathers around the end of the leg!)



My next plan for dinner was to make an apple pie. They have great apples here and I bought enough to make a pie. There was one problem--no pie pans here (or at least in Belforte). So I bought an aluminum pizza pan and folded up the sides to make my own pie pan! It doesn't look very attractive, but hopefully will still taste good! I had plenty of dough left to make my mom's famous crust with cinnimon and sugar on it. We finished that off before we even had the turkey in the oven!




I decided to cook the turkey and the thigh and put the leg in the freezer and use it to make soup next week. I made Larry cut the end off the leg to get rid of the feathers! He did not like that chore at all.


Here's a look at how our turkeys turned out and the apple pie too! The turkey tasted great, the gravy was okay but not scrumptious, and the pie was delicious!

Bummer man, just when I went to add the picture of me holding the turkey and thigh I realized I had accidently erased it! So, I guess you will just have to see me eating the pie!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!































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The Signs of Autumn

November 16, 2006 We just would like to share a few pictures of the trees around Belforte as they begin to prepare for winter. With maybe another view of Belforte and the castle thrown in for good measure! Just can never have enough pictures of the castle! Enjoy.

The Olives are Prepared!

November 12, 2006 We have prepared our olives using the local recipe. After the olives started to look a little puckered Paola came over with the "finocchio selvatico" (wild fennel) and showed us what to do. It is very simple. You roll the olives between your palms to clean them and then put them in the jar. You peel about 1/2 an orange and 1/4 lemon, cut the peel into medium size pieces and add to the jar. The fennel (stock--it is the thin green piece in the photo) is cut into 1/2 inch pieces and added to the jar. Then you add 2 cloves of garlic (cut in half). Then about a handful of "sale grosso" (like rock salt). You shake the jar once a day and leave it for about 20 days or until the insides are dark. Not quite sure how long you can store them that way, but since we only have 2 kilos I'm sure Larry will have them eaten before they go bad! I do know that you leave them in the jar until you want to eat some and you just take those out, wash them off and add oil and whatever spices you want.



The next day, I prepared the ones from Felice's trees. Many had turned from green to a light red, but by the next day the salt had changed them to a shade of black!




Paola also brought us another "dolce." This time it was an apple torta (cake). The cake part was similar to pound cake, but not as sweet. The apples are sliced very thin and placed on top of the cake. It was very good and was completely eaten by the next day! Today I am taking her some chocolate chip cookies that I made!

Veteran's Day

November 11, 2006 Today is Veteran's Day in the U.S and on Saturday, November 4th, Italy celebrated its Veteran's Day. Here it is called "Giornata delle Forze Armate" and the locals call it "giorno della caduta" (day of the fallen). There is a permanent memorial in the park that has the colors of the Italian flag and the names of those who were "caduti" and "dispersi" (fallen and missing). On one side are the names from WWI and on the other side are the names from WWII. Last Saturday, in front of the memorial, the mayor gave a speech and then read the names of all of the veterans. After each name was read, the crowd responded with "presente." The kids from the elementary school recited poems and sang a song or two.

Our Olive Adventure

November 6, 2006 Several weeks ago, our friend Felice took Larry to his "campo." He showed Larry his 5 olive trees and told him that we could pick them because he wouldn't be here and he didn't want them to go to waste. When I asked Larry where his land was he told me above Ako's house (Ako is Japanese and was a student when we were at the school last year--she fell in love with Belforte and an Italian and stayed!). My mistake was in not asking how far above Ako's house it was. About a week and a half ago we went to check the olives to see if they were ready to be picked. The first part of the walk was up a steep dirt road that had dried tractor tracks on it. The tracks at least helped keep you from slipping back. Then we went across a freshly plowed field and then through a brier patch! I was slipping and sliding in my shoes and trying to find anything to hold on to. When we finally reached the trees I told Larry that I would only come back one time so we better plan it well.

Our original plan was to go this past Friday. We woke up to a very cold and blustery day so we decided not to go. Saturday was equally cold and we were not looking forward to the walk. At market, I asked the mayor's brother if olives on the tree would still be good after the last 2 nights that had hit 0C/32F and he told us no! So, we bought 2 kilos of olives and decided to try preparing them and not even try going back to Felice's campo. The 2 kilos cost 8 euro and it seemed like a bargain compared to the walk! Still, we wouldn't have the whole experience.

The fruit/vegetable vendor told us how to prepare them, then he confirmed it with an old lady that walked up. The first thing we needed was a newspaper to lay them out on. I went into the tabaccheria and told her I needed a newspaper--not for reading but for olives! She told me to buy Il Messaggero because it was the cheapest! So we took the olives home and laid them out on the floor in the kitchen so they would stay warm. We need to leave them for 4-5 days until they get a little puckered. Or at least that is what I think the man meant when he told us to leave them until they looked--and then he puckered up his face! The woman at the tabaccheria also told me how to prepare them and later in the day, Paola also told us. Everyone said the same thing--the peel of an orange and lemon, garlic, wild fennel, and "sale grosso non fino." The amount we need is about an open fists worth!

Today is Monday and it is a relatively beautiful day! I stopped at Carlo's store to buy a jar to put the olives in and I asked his dad about the olives still on the trees. He said they would be fine! So, after lunch we walked up to the campo prepared to pick olives. Now, we don't have a ladder and even if we did, we would not have wanted to carry it up to the trees. We also don't have any buckets. So we grabbed a bunch of plastic bags and headed out. We went up a different way and it was much easier. I had on my new 30 euro hiking boots so no more slipping and sliding. We got to the trees to find that the majority of the olives were still green! We found one tree that had a mixture so Larry held the branch down and I picked the olives! Another branch was loaded with ripe olives, but it would not bend and they were to0 high to reach even climbing part way up! After all of that walking, we got maybe 3/4 of a cup of olives! If you look closely you will see them to the right of the other olives!

I don't know if we will try this again in a week or so to see if the rest are ripe. Believe me, it is a lot of work just getting there then the work of picking the olives and carrying them home!

Walking in and Around Belforte

November 3, 2006 Well, I guess winter has arrived--this morning it was 33F when we woke up! Larry's barber had told him last week that winter would start on Nov. 1st and Veronica told me it would start on the 2nd--she was right! Yesterday between noon and 1:00 pm, the temp dropped 10 degrees! It looks beautiful today, but right now at 9:00 am it is still about 35F!

Today I just want to take you on a walk around Belforte. All of these photos were taken within walking distance of our town.

There were several of these "fossils" on the road the day we went looking for funghi.



The leaves are changing everywhere, but these two trees in Piandimeleto really show the colors.



These snap dragons were found on the road "alla cima della collina" (to the top of the hill). At the top, you can see what kind of a hike it was! You can't really see much of the view, but you can see how steep the climb was!


Another day we walked "alla cima della collina" on the other side of Belforte. The views are just as beautiful on this side. These were taken on the way to Viano.


Even the grapes are changing colors!



One day we found these cat tails on this same road.





These leaves look like they are butterfly wings!







We finally got the sheep to pose for the picture!






Finally, if you look all the way across Belforte and toward the left you will see a yellow building and to the right of that, a white building. Above that and in the middle, you will see a house. Now, if you look above that house and across and above the plowed field, you will see where we plan to go tomorrow to pick Felice's olives! Wish us luck.

Dinner in Sassocorvaro

October 24, 2006 Saturday night we went to have dinner with the rest of the volunteers from the Festa. We had only helped a little with the chestnuts (and found out later that many of them had exploded!) and Larry had helped set up some tables, but we felt kind of funny about going. Felice had made such a big deal about the free meal we told him that we would walk there with him. On Thursday, I went over to Paola's house and she told me that this year the dinner was to be in Sassocorvaro because it was too cold at the palestra (gymnasium) in Belforte, which is where it is usually held. She wanted us to go with them and we didn't know what to do because Felice wanted the three of us to go together. Sassocorvaro is probably about 15 km away. much too far to walk, but after all, it was because Felice had taken us to work on the chestnuts that we were invited in the first place. We see him almost everyday so we decided we would talk to him about it when we saw him. Finally, on Saturday, when we still hadn't run in to him, Larry went to his house to tell him about the change. He wasn't home. He had told us that his son was supposed to come down from Bergamo (near Milano) on Saturday to pick him up and take him back to his house so we thought he'd already left. Paola, her daughter Carlotta, and her husband were supposed to come over at 7:45 to pick us up and at 7:30 the doorbell rings and there is Felice dressed up in his finest! So we tell him about the change and you can tell he is upset--no one had told him. Larry called Paola's house and her husband told him that a group of people were meeting at the bar to drive together so Felice could go down there. After Felice left we felt so bad. I told Larry that if Felice couldn't find a ride I would stay home so he could ride in my place. We saw him coming back up the road so Larry went out to tell him that he could go with him, but he told Larry that he had found a ride. We were so relieved!

The meal was fantastic (and free!). There were bottles of wine and water on the tables when we got there. They brought out platters of polenta with mushrooms or sausage, bruschetta and crostini (kind of like bruschetta but with mozzarella cheese and pancetta (like bacon) on it). Il primo piatto was pasta with mushrooms (of course I picked through the mushrooms to get to the noodles), il secondo piatt0 was filet of pork and rolled pork roast stuffed with tartuffi (no, I didn't take any of that!), salad, and dessert! Even eating only the things that I liked, I was stuffed! Larry and Felice both ate a ton and Felice drank enough to last a lifetime! The people around us made a great effort to include us in the conversation and we talked about mushrooms, tartuffi, Halloween (they said a few kids will come trick or treating), music, and dancing! In fact, there was a large dance floor that people kept trying to get us out on! Poor Felice, he wanted to dance, but couldn't seem to find anyone to dance with him! I would have danced with him, but I can not dance at all and would have made a fool of myself! In fact, Daddy always said that I was as graceful as a goose and I always took that to mean that I was not graceful. But I was just thinking that geese look very graceful when you see them flying so maybe all this time I really have been graceful! I guess maybe I should have danced with Felice after all! Once again, they were doing line dancing to all kinds of different music, some very fast music, too! They also did some very fancy ballroom type dancing!

We had a great time! We finally left at about 12:15 and there were young people just showing up! Hopefully, we will be invited to more of these get togethers!

***BTW, Larry is still breathing! Friday night we went to a class on wild mushrooms and we were happy to see that all of the mushrooms Larry ate were good ones! We were given two big books with colored pictures of all the mushrooms in Le Marche. The books tell you if they are edible or not! I guess we will lug the books around with us next time!