Mamma Americana

It's dead! No, It's alive!

I awoke Wednesday morning to a quiet kitchen. As soon as I opened the fridge I understood why. A tropical temperature greeted me as I opened the door. Our refrigerator was dead. And it had probably kicked off the evening before, judging by the state of sogginess in the freezer.

Old Bess was a white side by side Amana that I had found in the local flea market paper, La Pulce(The Flea). We paid €250 for it in 2003; she was 10 years old. It seemed a miracle at the time. An american, looking for an American fridge, and one just happens to pop up. I was thrilled.

We needed a new fridge ASAP. So Eleonora and I set off with my father-in-law to look for a new one. It took us all day and most of Florence to find one. We ended up buying a Samsung side by side. Delivery was scheduled for Friday morning.

In the meantime, our electric water heater was on its last, drippy, rusty, legs and needed to be replaced. The plumber came out on Thursday evening to replace it. While he was working, some water caused a short circuit and our power went out. The power came back on, and lo and behold! Our fridge came back to life. Just like Frankenstein, she needed a good jolt. 

At this point however, we had already ordered and paid for the new one. Plus the old one had just up and quit without any warning and was approaching 17 years. It was no longer reliable. The new one has an A+ energy rating and is super quiet. I love it!

Pics. from Samsung's web site.

Cicadas and a small Ikea kitchen hack

I wanted to write about cicadas last week, while the temperature was soaring, but didn't get around to it. Over the weekend a storm moved in and cooled things down considerably. As I write this I can only hear a few cicadas singing outside. Not the usual din, but they'll be back at it in no time. 

For anyone who lives in an area with cicadas, they are part of summer's soundtrack. Their arrival means that summer has officially begun. Although it can be irritating at times, I've grown to love their song. Here is a picture of a Tuscan cicada. And you can hear their song too. Not sure if it's the right species, but you get an idea of what they sound like.

On to the hack. I've had this kitchen hutch for a couple of years. At first, I liked the open shelving. The dust finally got to me though, and I decided to cover it up. I couldn't find it on Ikea's web site, so they must not sell it any more.

I sewed up some "curtains" using a small gingham print. Then I sewed some velcro to the tops and used adhesive velcro on the hutch.

No more dust or clutter! Yeah!

Our Italian Cat

We have a beautiful cat that we adopted back in early 2001. He was about 8 months old when we got him. He was probably the cutest kitten ever. He's by far the smartest, most affectionate cat I've ever had the privilege to live with.

Eleonora adores him and the feeling seems to be mutual. The other day she noticed that his food bowl was empty and...

"Hmm, what would kitty like to eat?"

 "Pasta of course! He is an Italian kitty after all."

Kitty: "Oh boy, food! Wait a minute, what the?"

"Hey, a little help here!" 

Fall Decorating

Here lies the body of our Anna

Done to death by a banana.

It wasn't the fruit that laid her low

But the skin of the thing that made her go.

                                                 

grave in Enosburg, Vermont

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, except Christmas. Now that I've got a little one I have an excuse to really get into the spirit. I want her to grow up enjoying Halloween just as much as I did. Hard to do in a foreign country, but Italy seems to be adopting Halloween customs. 

In the ten years that I've been in Italy I've seen Halloween go from just another reason for adults to party at the discotech, to seeing actual trick-or-treaters! The children say "Dolcetto o scherzetto" inverting the words to say "Sweet(treat) or trick". The supermarkets sell carving pumpkins and face paint. It may be just another commercial invasion of american culture, but it sure puts a smile on my face. Besides, Halloween goes hand in hand with All Saints and All souls days.

The catholic holidays of Tutti Santi (All Saints) and Tutti Morti (All Souls) are celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, respectively, with the 1st being a national holiday. These holidays are similar to the Mexican Day of the Dead, having the same catholic origin. People visit the graves of their loved ones, bringing flowers and cleaning up the headstones. The mood is usually somber. The florists are always accused of ripping people off this time of year, and they probably do.

Console table in our foyer.

Fireplace in living room