Good day(s) sunshine

From the filth that was last week's weather, this week couldn't have been more different: blue skies, sunshine, and by the end of the week we were eating lunch outside and enjoying temperatures that veered towards (if didn't quite reach) 20C. Spring seems to be set on ushering winter out the door. While we enjoy the gentle warmth of the spring sun on our faces and drink in the delicious scents of plant life and soil re-awakening, in the back of our minds is the nagging knowledge that spring will soon come like an unstoppable steam train and before we know it the grass will need cutting (and thanks to our clearing efforts there will be even more of that to keep on top of this year), trees will need pruning, seeds will need planting and daily watering, weeds will need ... weeding, and everywhere we turn there will be additional jobs that need taking care of.

In terms of productivity this week, we have dug three more veg beds, put in some tidying work in our bathroom (we now have a lid on our toilet cistern for the first time in over 18 months - how posh! - and the beginnings of a new bath panel, as well as a freshly painted bathroom wall and refreshed silicone around the bath and sink), dug and laid a new drainage channel across the end of the drive (in an attempt to stop rain water cascading across the car parking area, where it builds momentum and washes gravel and dirt from the car park down the path towards the apartment), and done some tidying in our own garden.

On Wednesday night we were invited once again to our neighbours' house for dinner. This time it was to be a fish dinner, which suited us just fine - fish is something that we don't eat much of here, as it is both expensive in the supermarket and rare to find it on the menu in the local restaurants. So we were promised fish, and we certainly got fish! We started with gnocchi with hot smoked salmon and courgette, which was almost an entire meal in itself, but there was (much) more to come! Next, we moved on to pan fried sea bream with potatoes, then squid in a white wine and rosemary sauce, then pan fried king prawns with garlic and a side salad, then cheese, then fruit, then tiramisu, then castagnole (small, sweet doughnut-like balls made at carnival time of year, with a light fluffy interior and icing sugar sprinkled on the outside), then coffee, vin santo, and finally chocolates! It was all delicious, of course, but I think we need to remember our elasticated waistbands for the next time we are invited for a bite to eat! 

Once again, we struggled somewhat with the speed of conversation, combined with the fact that the dining area in our neighbours' house is quite echoey - not optimal acoustics for trying to decipher and keep up with another language. Nevertheless, on this occasion Stuart seemed to take it all in his stride and chattered away with Valerio and Rossana while I fell by the wayside somewhat. It's strange how it seems to go like that sometimes: some days we feel as if we are making huge progress and could almost call ourselves conversant, while other days we feel as if we will never make sense of it all and never be able to communicate - and it's quite common for one of us to be having a "good" day while the other is having a bad one, and then for it to flip the other way around. We just hope that one day we will get there with the language!

A short (and late) post this week, but here are some photos to compensate for the lack of wordage:

What a turnaround from last week.

With the weather warming up, the chickens are ramping up their productivity.

The start of a new bath panel - using the remaining leftover pieces of wood from the utility room floor.

Some of what we plan to sow this year!

We are now up to 11 veg beds. Roughly twice the growing space we had last year.

"Love you Dad."

Eight concrete channels and 16 bags of concrete delivered courtesy of Frateschi.

The site for the new drainage channel.

Drainage channel completed!

Good day sunshine.