Appetite 4 Life - Camilla's Blog

"The nugget that got away" and other adventures by Sofia

Yesterday was an exciting day in the Pags household. And no, not the new baby making waves yet - but toddler Sofia in action -  taking centerstage!

Moffa was downstairs vacuuming the cars and Mommo was on the other side of the house with Sofia watering the plants in the garden, and Mamma (i.e. me) was inside the house getting a thing or two done. Did I tell you what a blessing it is to have such active "babysitters" when my belly is forcing me to just slow down and almost watch from the sidelines at times? I just wanted to get that in there, before you read the next paragraph...

All of a sudden Mommo comes inside to ask me if Sofia is with me. Oops. "Nope, I thought she was with you". Mommo was watering the (by now somewhat famous) albicocca tree and Sofia was up there with her potty. Mommo asked her to bring the potty back down, and a minute later she found the potty halfway down on the grass but no Sofia. 

Time to mobilize. Mommo trots up to the camper/husbilen/RV/mobile home, I call down to Moffa who has not seen her, but he starts walking around the house that way, our landlord Georgio is with the gas&water guy, and both of them head out with me towards the other logical places. 

Hens ready for some adventure

I go down towards the swing and the back of the property, and leave them to go into the chicken coop. Every afternoon Georgio opens the door and lets the hens out - happy hens, but not so happy me when I catch doing their business where I want to have easy walking access, but it's a small price to pay really for country living. So the gate is open, and within 30 seconds I hear Georgio shout that he's found her. I pass on the word to Dad, and via him to Mom and head in to find her happily standing in the middle of about half of the dozen hens that Georgio has, splashing away in their little birdbath, talking up a storm. 

Phew, to say the least. And the start of freedom in a bigger way for Sofia, one where she is enjoying starting to explore on her own, whereas previously she was always making sure someone familiar was close at hand. An excellent example is that just two minutes after I got her washed up and ready to go after her chicken adventure, she trotted up to husbilen with very determined steps - not even looking behind her to see if anyone was following, and refusing to acknowledge any of us calling her.

Should I put up the don't disturb sign?

A while later it's potty time, and there's nothing quite like a bit of fresh air to go with that. And some literature entertainment. So I'll let the picture speak for itself. But do note that her newfound friends from the coop are now wanting to get very friendly - and one boldly approaches the potty, until the inborn fear chases it away. Sofia is completely oblivious to the whole thing, and why not: she's engrossed in a good book by now. 

Fast forward to late at night and Jeff emptying the washing machine of the evening's load of various and sundry. He poked in a rag to collect the excess water in the rubber sealant of the door (frontloader, European style) when something very surprising caught his eye: a dark brown hard little nugget. Thinking exactly what you are thinking he smelled it. Nothing. Again. No smell whatsoever. A third time... ok, maybe a little whiff of what once must have been a normal #2 nugget, but now was the cleanest, shiniest and best disinfected little thing you could find. 

How was your day, by the way?

Tea party in our living room

 

I want to help pappa!

Checking out the lay of the land

   

   Can I use this?

 

This has been our living room for the past two weeks, thanks to my creative husband. The tent came down yesterday to make space for the family visiting for Easter. But it was also time... as with most toys, the fun wears out after a short while, so while it was fun putting it up, having lovely tea parties with various dolls and stuffed toys, it was equally fun to take it down with pappa yesterday. 

 

Would you like cake with your tea, Mr Giraffe?

 

Our little apricot tree loves the country too!

Sofia taking a close look

A little apricot plant was among our first purchases after we moved to Italy. It was our way of stating to ourselves that one day we would have a plot of land to plant it in! For almost two and a half years it has been housed in a pot, always in a pot.

Last summer, when we moved out to where we are now, we retrieved our little apricot tree from our friends who had cared for it while we lived on Piazza della Vittoria, our little apartment without a balcony. It remained in its pot throughout last summer, but got planted in real soil by the vineyard in the fall, when the weather had cooled down a little. Next to the hawthorn bushes. 

It is with great joy to us and to our landlords that we see our little apricot (or albicocca as we sometimes refer to it, it is Italian after all) thriving and blossoming! Sofia and I took a little walk up there today and while she had a hard time resisting picking the buds, we could both appreciate the scent that was absolutely lovely. 

Note the bee pollinating the tree

Spring has sprung

 Aaah... finally. I commented to Jeff last night that it has now been at least 3 if not 4 days since we had a fire in our blessed little stove. And today it really feels like the tide has turned. This morning I noticed some lovely white blossoms by the chicken coup (sad location I know), so Sofia and I went out to explore. In the sunshine we discovered jackets were just too much, so on the swing she enjoyed her newfound lightness and freedom from thick coats, and on the way back up to our house we found these lovely crocus flowers, braving the shade under one of the olive trees, seemingly just days ahead of the lilies that are budding further down the garden.

  

February 1, 2012... the day the snow stayed

We have seen snow in this area of Tuscany before, most prominently almost two years ago as we were driving home from the maternity ward in Cecina with baby Sofia, but then - as so often - by the time we reached Livorno the snow was gone. 

This time it is different. The winds picked up last night and were furious throughout the night, whirling snow around into corners and against the sides of the pillars of the house. This morning we woke up to this view: 

 It is supposedly about a decade since our landlords have seen this kind of snow here. That doesn't mean they don't see snow once or twice a winter, but it always melts after a couple of hours. Today it didn't. This part of the country stayed "closed", and people stayed home from work. No wonder, when I think about it: they came around with the grit/salt around 5.30 pm...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the temperature hovered just above freezing all day, the snow was just perfectly heavy and squeezable for a good snowman! Sofia was all excited, as he quite looks like the snowmen in her books! Note specifically the orangepeel mouth and carrot nose! 

We are now expecting it to dip below freezing tonight, which will mean that the snow will stay overnight at least, and we have to all wait and see what will happen tomorrow. But suffice to say that the roads will have been cleared and schools and workplaces will reopen again I am sure.

And like the other farmers, our landlord Giorgio went around with a stick this afternoon to relieve the branches of the heavy snow, especially the olive trees that can easily break, and the lemon tree, so laden with delicious lemons right now. Whatever happens, this day will go down in history. If nothing else - it will be the day when the fireplace was kept lit all day long! 

Planting hawthorn bushes

Mommo and Moffa brought three hawthorn plants with them down from Finland at Jeff's special request. This is a different kind from what is found in the US, he says, as there no one would eat the berries.

The Finnish kind, however, is very healthful and extremely high in vitamin C content. The berries are a yellow-orange, about the size of a blueberry. Eaten fresh they are quite sour, so we usually keep them in the freezer and pop a few for an extra vitamin boost during the flu season.   My mom also makes a nice juice of them. 

We have two females and one male, just as it should be, so we hope to be able to harvest some berries in a couple of years, provided that these Finnish bushes like the Tuscan climate... chissa? 

The actual planting was planned long in advance, as it had to wait until it was starting to cool down a bit here, and even better would have been to wait until after the rains, but the plants really needed to get into real soil, so the compromise was made on December 2nd. 

At that point Jeff and Giorgio had sought out the best spots for them, through several consultations, and we also put down the apricot tree next to them. Giorgio seemingly has plans to eventually take out all the vines and slowly populate the slope with fruit trees, so we feel that we've kind of started the process with these additions now. Put down some roots so to speak. 

Sofia enjoyed the experience a lot, helping pappa dig in the dirt. Of course mommo and moffa as the expert growers and godparents of these plants, were there to offer some good advice too.

Mamma stayed inside doing other things, figuring that four pairs of dirt-clogged shoes by the door afterwards were enough for one afternoon.

Now let them grow, let them grow, let them grow...

A piece of Livorno history in our home

The second hand shops in Livorno are seemingly thriving as just last month the fifth one opened here in our neigborhood. I stumbled upon it Saturday with Mom, and decided to pay a visit, and we made an incredible discovery. One of the historic movie theaters here in Livorno, La Gran Guardia Cinema on Via Grande, has now been closed for several years, and rumors have it that it is being remodeled for and by H&M. The majority of the original cinema chairs from the 1950s (or maybe even older, I haven't had time to research yet, but the style could indicate 1950s) have been sold to a hotel somewhere in the Arabic world, but amazingly enough, this little second hand shop had managed to get hold of a few chairs. 

While we got my grandparents' wooden furniture from Finland sent down earlier in the summer, we were still missing a few pieces, and we are still remodeling and deciding where things fit best. 

A couple of days ago Jeff decided that the buffet that we initially put in the entryway should go into the livingroom, as it had ended up being a clutterdesk more than anything, always filled with things you put down when you come in the door (know what I mean?). 

Instead we wanted to get some kind of seating arrangement there, a place to put your shoes on before going out this winter, and since we also have a fire place there, we thought it would be nice to get some chairs or a sofa, but space was a limiting factor. 

So now our entryway is looking perfect with chair 1 and 2 from row 4 of the historic Gran Guardia cinema in Livorno, and my Grandfather's coffee table matches them beautifully!

Alice's B&B in Rome

For our weekend getaway to Rome at the end of September, my entrepreneurial mother-in-law had found us a B&B owned by a Canadian-Italian family in the city of Rome. Called Alice's B&B, it is operated by Carol and Giuseppe on two floors of their family home just off Piazza Pompei, in south Rome, reasonably close to both sightseeing and the major ringroad.


They had just finished a thorough renovation, and the two rooms we had were fresh as can be. While there were evidences of IKEA shopping sprees, it was done with a mix of nice fluffy towels, color-coordinated soap bottles and shower curtains. We were the first ones to use the new kitchen (shared between three rooms), so some things were still not in place (such as a kitchen table) but it was otherwise very well equipped with everything from a water kettle and microwave to stovetop and dishwasher!

For breakfast we were given coupons to bring up the hill (a 5 minute walk) to one of the coffee shops there (not across the street as the website says). The coupons would get you one hot drink (cappuccino, latte or tea) and a pastry of what they happen to have that day. This is a typical Italian-style breakfast, and while most Italians seem to 'inhale' their morning cappuccino standing up, there are some chairs and tables for a slightly more relaxed "colazione". While buffet breakfasts are really nice if you have the time, I find this a good alternative to get started with your sightseeing early, especially if you plan to enjoy some heavier Italian pasta or pizza later on.


Giuseppe had some Italian dining recommendations within walking distance, for varying budgets, but we actually ended up running into an authentic Indian restaurant, which for us living in Italy was just heaven! Bombay Palace, on Via Cerveteri 25/27, about a 10-minute walk from the B&B.

 We had plans to use their parking garage for the additional EUR 10, but as it were we found parking on the street, and since we were there over a Sunday it was free. Having glanced in to the parking garage, I am happy we didn't use it, as it seemed very crowded, and possibly difficult to exit in a hurry as there were cars parked along the driveway.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Especially to friends and family with no command of Italian who are looking for affordable, clean and friendly accommodation within (healthy up-hill) walking, bus or metro distance from Rome's famous attractions. It doesn't have a common room (TVs are wall-mounted in each bedroom) for relaxing, other than the tiny kitchen, so it is definitely geared towards the tourist itching to see Rome.

Would I go again myself? Absolutely. I would however request a room towards the back, as on weekday mornings there is a bit of traffic (think garbage-collectors), and for some privacy we felt we had to keep the shutters closed all the time, as there are other buildings right across the street. But we were happy with our room this time, as it was bigger and needed to fit the baby cot they kindly provided for us.

P.S. And if you're wondering who Alice is? I don't know, but it certainly is a clever marketing tactic as B&B's go, as Alice will be right there at the top of any alphabetical list.