Tuesday 1 - Helen 0

Today was always going to be a bit of an anticlimax after yesterday, but Helen found the day unbearable, not sure why but a general irritability, inability to concentrate and lack of patience ruled her day, not helped by a particularly long and tedious paper she was wrangling with today.

I spent the morning on the internet doing a whole load of surfing (work-related I hasten to add), as well as composing that epic blog post (which long-suffering Helen then had to attempt to bash into some sort of shape), and before I knew it lunch time was upon us.

After a later than normal lunch, I headed out and left poor Helen - who I know would have loved to switch the computer off and come out shopping with me - to trudge back into the office for the afternoon.

I won't bore you with too much detail on my running around Northern Tuscany, but I procured 25 chestnut fence posts for a knocked down €4.40 each because they were less than straight, then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to locate a gas heater for the apartment, a plunger for the blocked downstairs bathroom sink, and a post driver for aforementioned posts.

I had downloaded a picture of a post driver onto my phone in order to help with my search and explanations - everyone I showed it to seemed to understand what it was, but had no idea where I could buy one. I was offered various alternatives, and in the end opted for the device that looks like a giant corkscrew to drill holes into the ground with, as I already had a sledge hammer but don't really want to smash the posts into splinters with it. Time will tell how that will go.

I found a Plan B gas fire, but it's not really what we were after, so we'll allow ourselves a little more looking before we plump for that option.

I bought the sink plunger in the same hardware store as the post corkscrew thingy came from. This place has to win an award for most eclectic stock in the area - it's no wonder we struggle to work out who sells what when, in the same shop, you can buy a large screw device for making holes in the ground for fence posts, alongside car spray paint, cat food and flea treatment, and shower gels and shampoos (for people)!

When I finally made it home from my half-successful trip, it was coming up to 7.15pm and I found Helen working on the driveway at clearing the debris from the lower part of Goose Island. She admitted herself that even the change in work hadn't improved her enthusiasm and she needed no persuading to down tools and retire to the patio with me.

As the sun went down we were treated to a beautiful cloud display in which some of the edges of the clouds took on some of the colours of the rainbow - we've never seen it before and attempted a photo, but it doesn't do it justice.

Zoomed in - you can just see the pastel pinks and greens, although the photo still doesn't do it justice.

We made a quick trip to check the post before it got too dark. Amongst the dull stuff there were two items of post that put a big smile on Helen's face:

After the light faded and we'd done the usual routine of watering the plants, emptying the dehumidifier etc., we went indoors for dinner which Helen had already prepared. Weeks after deciding we'd like to give it a try, and after about four days of putting it off for one reason or another, we were finally going to eat panzanella - a Tuscan bread and tomato salad. Very tasty it was too!

Panzanella!

We then vegged out on the sofa for an hour, accompanied by a very snuggly Florence, before bed called, hoping that Helen wakes feeling better tomorrow.