A piece of cake... or two

4th February 2024

The most you can say about the past week is that it has been a bit on the expensive side, and not in a good way (if there ever is a good way). Tuesday morning we popped into the Post Office before our breakfast stop to pay the bill for the check-up on the fire extinguishers, a cost that paled into insignificance against the extra premium on Stephen’s tessera sanitaria. At least the cake in Pina made that particular medicine go down a little easier.

And that was it as far as the working week was concerned – well almost. Stephen had forewarned me that he wouldn’t be home till gone 8 on Friday evening, what with the usual last-minute dash to get orders packed and to the shippers. I was, then, pleasantly surprised to hear him open the door at the improbably early time of 6.15 – hear because I was lounging in the back room having my little snack before my 7 o’clock lesson.

This meant that we were all present and correct when the lesson finished for our date night at the pub – the date being with burger and beer. I hope you didn’t think I meant with each other. I’m very happy to report that this time, unlike the fated night before New Year, it was open, and that I didn’t suffer any ill aftereffects - no shivers, no cough and definitely no eight days in bed.

The weather has continued on the cold side but the skies during the day have been gloriously clear and Bella and Harry have been enjoying happy mornings on the terrazzo. Their time there today was a little curtailed, though, for while the sky was again a beautiful blue, yesterday being the feast day of San Biagio, the town’s patron saint, today, being the nearest Sunday, was the fiera, with a market on the lower road through the town and Avis selling caciù (or as they are really called when not naming them in the very local dialect, calzoni, which to add even confusion means trousers) to raise funds for their ambulance and first aid service.

We passed a very pleasant hour or so, starting with breakfast at Pina, again, (cappuccino and a very fine piece of crostata) followed by a stroll in the sunshine, exchanging greetings with a few of the many people out and about, buying the caciù as well as a new pair of snuggly pyjamas for me before heading home for lunch and a peaceful rest of the day. A perfect Sunday, you could say.