Carnival is so much fun!

We’ve had a great time for the passed few weeks! Having a house has been a fantastic change! Though it is only temporary, it’s nice to finally unpack my bags. Jonathan and I have been living out of suitcases for the passed two years, and are glad to finally have drawers. It’s made me really think about what I want in life and where I want to end up. I love living in the country, despite all the work that comes with the lifestyle!

Living in the country, you are never bored, (especially with a puppy…Nomade is lying at my feet right now, wondering when lunch will be served. The rule is that she eats after we do, and Jonny went to Bari this morning, and I’m waiting for him to eat, meaning she’s also waiting. She keeps sighing, it’s pretty cute). I spend a large part of my day cooking, and cleaning up, but I try and keep the complaints to a minimum. Here is a typical day now that we are pretty much settled in the trullo:

Lately, Nomade wakes me up at about 730 in the morning. She usually does so by liking my nose, or by frantically sniffing whatever limb may be sticking out from under the covers. After a few whines and moans I get up. I turn on the electric heater in the bathroom and the hot water heater if one of us wants to take a shower. Then, Jonny or I tend to the fire. There are usually a few embers left from the night before, and one of us acts like a caveman to get some heat going. Then, it’s time to bring wood into our big container in the kitchen.

Then, it’s coffee time! I make Italian coffee using the espresso machine we bought in Australia. We eat a simple breakfast. Nomade eats breakfast. Then, dishes, and sweeping. There will be lots of dust all over the place and little branches from bringing wood in. If it is raining, a little mopping is in order. Then, I usually like to sweep the bedroom and the bathroom. The plaster is peeling from the bathroom walls, so there are little white chunks on the floor in the morning. Nomade isn’t allowed in the bathroom, so I don’t need to mop there everyday. It’s not as bad as it sounds, I am just a little finicky.

After a few card games, some dancing in the kitchen and either a trip to town for food or the Netti’s home for a hello, I make lunch. I’ve been trying new recipes from a book Jonathan’s mom gave me for Christmas. I love cooking here, because the ingredients are so fresh! The Netti’s give us some herbs and veggies from their garden every week, and I make whatever I can with them! We stayed with them for 3 weeks, and Marisa (the mama) really inspired me! They eat so well. The first dish will be soup, pasta, or some sort of veggie dish, the second will be the meat and cheese dish. Then, we eat more cheese, or walnuts. Finally, the big bowl of fruit comes out for dessert. I like eating this way, and have adopted it. I’ve been having a lot of fun cooking. This week’s highlights have been a wonderful carrot cake (with Netti carrots, cloves, walnuts and lemon), an onion gratin (with Netti onions and thyme) and pancetta wrapped chicken breasts served on leeks (well, here only the thyme was from the Netti’s). One other great, and very simple, success was pancetta wrapped mozarella braids.

Pancetta is nothing like bacon because it is sliced paper thin, and is so delicate it can be eaten raw. Also mozzarella here is nothing like what I was used to in Canada...it's amazing in Italy. Hand made fresh mozarella is so wonderful, it makes me want to live in Italy forever. No joke. We get our greens from a super nice green grocer or the market, our cheese is from the cheese makers, or what we made on Sundays with the Nettis, and our meat is from our friend Elena’s butcher shop. Even Nomade gets to eat fresh meat from there. I love cooking because whatever I make usually ends up being pretty good because of the quality of the ingredients.

After lunch, we take Nomade out for a stroll, or go to the Netti’s for card games. I always love to make it down to the poneys' pen to say hello to Liduina, the one who loves cuddles.

I have started oil painting again, and I’ve been trying to get a few hours of painting in each afternoon. I am looking forward to warmer weather so I can paint the landscape outside. As the day goes on, I usually sweep some more in the kitchen and then play with Nomade. We either play ball outside, or with her beloved stuffed animal: Monsieur Nounours. She’s really getting into tug of war, and I’m starting to have trouble because she’s so strong. She’s just over 5 months and already almost as tall as her mom, Gitane. I think Nomade is going to be a pretty big gal.

Jonny and I are appreciating this time. Neither of us are working, and are using our time to discover new things. Like cheese making, archery, mechanics, fire building, dog training, oil painting...and whenever an opportunity to try something new arises, we take it!
I like to make dinner pretty late. Afterwards, we either stay in and play games, go to the Netti’s and play games, I play guitar, or we go to town for a carnival event. The floats at the parade were amazing! They have a parade everyweek!!
So that’s a day in my life right now.

Yesterday was the horned men holiday. The concept is that men who have been wronged by a woman grow a set of horns on their head. On February 11th, there is a big celebration in the piazza (same place where the bear declared a longer winter) where the men have their horns removed. We showed up, and the place was packed! It was much warmer than on the bear night, so a lot of people showed up. There was noise, shouts, laughter…it was a party! There were many men costumed in black and red capes and high top hats equipped with horns! We had a little look and I convinced Jonny to have his horns cut off.

As I was taking his photo, the top hat men called me over. Nowadays, women participate too! I was a little shy, but had fun! After your horns are removed (they stick masking tape with red dots on your forehead prove you’ve gone through with the procedure) they give you a certificate and move you to a “full body scan”. After, you can even test your strength. I was a deer, Jonny, a ram. Afterward, we went for a walk around town. It was very nice.

I made pork schnitzel for lunch. Jonny approved.

This weekend is Valentine’s day. It should be fun. Marisa invited us over for lunch on Sunday, and we're going to check out the carnival parade afterwards!

MC