Doggy Domenica

It was almost 9am this morning when we woke! Reggie hadn't made a sound and still didn't when Helen went down the stairs to see if he was still alive - what a treat for a Sunday morning!

After we'd all got up and had some breakfast, we headed into Pescia to walk Reggie along the river, followed by a last-day-of-the-holidays coffee with Mom.

After leaving the car on the road next to the river, we dropped down onto the river bank so that Reggie could have some time off the lead to burn off some extra energy. The mild, spring-like morning seemed to have brought out all of Pescia's dog walkers, and with the exception of the first (always) empty stretch, we couldn't get far without stopping to say hello to another dog and its owner.

As we approached the bridge on the way out of town by Lidl we bumped into the lovely old man with his little dog in a pink jacket who had asked us some time back about having Reggie immortalised (my words, not his) on a 'dog wall' in Pescia. We had bumped into him last Sunday as well, and spent a long while chatting, but on this occasion, he was deep in conversation with other people, so we exchanged only brief pleasantries as we passed - although Reggie and his little dog would have liked to have stayed and played with each other for longer.

As we crossed over to the other side of the river, we saw another of the river's regular visitors sitting happily in the middle of the water on a rock, that was until I got a little too close with the camera.

When, after walking up and down the river then heading back towards town, we reached the Piazza, we headed for Bar Pulter and grabbed the only free table outside. I left Mom, Helen and Reggie sitting outside at the table while I went in to order cappuccinos. As we sipped our coffees, the group occupying the other tables at the outdoor seating area grew steadily, as did the numbers of greyhounds! We appeared to be in the midst of some form of Sunday morning greyhound appreciation society - we marvelled at the studded collars and knitted fluffy coats (jumpers?) they were wearing and at how svelt they looked in comparison with Reggie, who seemed stocky in comparison. While 7 of the dogs simply stood motionless and silently while their owners gossiped and drank coffee, one of the group - which may have been an Italian greyhound or a whippet - took offence to Reggie sitting one table across from him and spent most of the time growling at him. Reggie barely gave him the time of day and simply lay down at our feet - it's not often that we get to feel like our dog is well behaved, but this morning gave us some perspective on that front!

After a couple of coffees, we headed home, stopping off at Amanda's on the way past to pick up some lunch (pork slices cooked with mushrooms in a tomato sauce, some pieces of chicken that had been stewed in a tomato-based sauce and some peas with pancetta). We ate our delicious lunch on the patio in the gently warm sunshine that had made an appearance just in time for Mom to get her last dose of vitamin D before flying back to England this afternoon.

A post-lunch cup of tea in the sunshine before setting off for the airport.

After lunch, we loaded the car with Mom's case and headed to Florence airport. Helen and I took Mom in to get her checked in and waved a sad goodbye at security before going back to give Reggie a toilet opportunity before repeating the hour-long trip home.

It has been lovely to have Mom stay for a couple of weeks, she is a very low maintenance house guest, she just goes with the flow and likes to be busy, so as well as helping out around the place she's fitted into life here and rather enjoyed it - Reggie has certainly enjoyed the extra attention too.

By the time we got home the warm lunchtime weather had tuned to grey and damp weather - it was hard to believe it was the same day. That put paid to any plans for outdoor work, so instead we lit the fire and spent the rest of the afternoon making a batch of leek and potato soup for the freezer while a tired dog lazed on the sofa.

Tomorrow sees a new set of guests arrive in the form of another pair of HelpX helpers and their little dog, who have travelled together from New York to Italy. We're looking forward to meeting them and to a fortnight of accelerating progress on work around the place with two extra pairs of hands to help!