COMPLETELY FRIED

Picture today: As the 2-day storm continues to rage outside, we congratulate ourselves on not being where the snow is falling. Yes, it is weird weather, with driving rain, occasional hail, even sporadic thunder and lightening, and cold (only in the 40’s) but we are warm. We make several batches of limoncello (lemon liquor) and cinnamon liquor, called cannellino. We use the giant citrons that Paolo gave us to make up a batch of “cedrocello” that we will have ready to bottle next month, anticipating after-dinner toasts with the April guests with Jr and Jo’s travel group that will enjoy this, and the June guests with Sue’s group. We sit on the new couch that we FINALLY had delivered after FINALLY deciding to buy one, and then FINALLY deciding which one to buy. Our new computer, the one that we FINALLY bought with the Best Buy warranty refund, that FINALLY is working ok after the virus last week, sits on the desk, in rest-mode with a glowing aquarium as its screen saver.
Then lightening strikes. The new computer is completely fried! And so it goes. Stay tuned for more adventure from Paris in two weeks.

A LITTLE LATER...You know that $65 euro Surge protector we bought?? It works! Just have to change the power supply motor when lightening burns it out....

WEATHER WOES

There is littel to gripe about here, but the off and on storms have been dramatic.

NEW COMPUTER, MANURE

That is what we have been busy with. The weather has been bright, mostly sunny, but COLD, down into the 40s and 50s. The rest of Italy is shivering with snow and ice, and we are lucky, we are just shivering. And so I do not have much news as such, but here are a few pictures and some shots of plants surrounded by well matured sheep manure, a wonderful gift to us from Paolo. The plants are loving it!

MUD DAMAGE

The days have been lovely and we have had a good time going for walks and taking lots of pictures. We heard from our friends this weekend that the stairs down to the beach (that I had pictured here previously) were hopelessly lost, but we did not see the extent of it till today. Hopefully, the proposed new stairs will be built near us, where there already exists a broad gentle incline, now going off to nowhere, but quite conceivably able to connect to the beach.
When we looked up at the path, the dried mud that we noticed had worked like a glacier, carrying away rocks and wooden timbers till there is no way to walk on the path anymore. This is part of the Sicilian phenomenon of “frana,” the collapse of existing structures due to excessive amounts of water falling all at one time, which undermines the foundations of roads and buildings and turns the soil into a sticky, viscous mud. So our daily walks are limited to roads and well worn paths. I stepped off of the path to take photos today and I need to get the dried “fango,” the slippery mud of these parts, out of the grooves in my boots. This gets worst before it gets better, and that is what officials are afraid of. We have had a lovely spell of weather now for three weeks, but the persistent rain for a month before could come back at any time and take more buildings and roads with it.
MUD

A DIP IN THE MED

We really did go swimming yesterday! The terme was closed for "cleaning" so we went for a swim at the beach. But it was VERY cold.

NEW ADDRESS

Thanks to all those who shared my rant. Here is the outcome, a mailbox that SHOULD work! Send snail mail to:

COLLIER/JONAS #310
MAILBOXES ETC. 162
VIA DE GASPERI 105
92019 SCIACCA
(AG) ITALY