13 Months: Coffee, cats & computers, convent aflame, cooking with Fernet Branca, cantinas, comestibles, copper, colours, castration and cooling off

Juliet writes:

Cara amici,

In England, Italy and many parts of the world, 13 is an unlucky number. So please allow me to start of this 13 month blob with a small tale of woe. Our kitten, who shall remain nameless (but is often referred to as Stinky), recently decided it would be great fun to play with a cup of coffee (left to near to Apple Mac by my husband, who shall also remain nameless). As espresso, sugar and keyboards really don’t mix, we were left without any form of communication with the outside world for over a week as boffins near Genova found us new parts. Now it is new and shiny and we are considerably poorer. It was actually lovely not having anything modern to play with for a week. No emails, no Ebay deadlines, no demands or pressures. Just Peter and I making our own entertainment (steady on!). It makes you realise that without other things to distract, candlelit dinners, a spot of opera and decent conversation are the norm. Although we are usually too knackered in the evenings for any such frippery.

Meanwhile, the jinx of 13 had obviously rubbed off on our nunnery abode as the delightful Nino (remember the toothless reprobate who started our garden fire disaster last year?) was back on fine form, setting alight to Giovanni’s shed with the flick of a cigarette. Having just returned from a nice lunch with friends (the rare advent of posh clothes) and spotted the flames, I ran up to our apartment to call Giovanni while Peter ran down to the field to get a hose. Nino, as usual, had wandered off, possibly eyeing up his next victim. 15 minutes later, the Adreanni family, P and I, Iva and even Nino (who returned with a pitchfork but no apology) were all go with rakes, buckets and hoses. And this was done in heels (me) and a smart linen shirt (P). Luckily it was an old shed and there was nothing of import inside. But it made us realise just how easily fires can start here in the summer (especially with pyromaniac locals on the loose) and we really do need to organise a proper watering system at Lecci.

Anyway, enough of tragedy. Let’s talk of jollier things – like Cooking with Fernet Branca. Thanks to our dear friend Penny, who is an avid bookworm, I received this novel written by James Hamilton-Paterson. And, having no computer, it was lovely to find the time to read. It really is worth a mention for two reasons: firstly it’s set very close to where we live, and where the author has an adopted home; and secondly, it has to be one of the most hilarious books I’ve ever read. I don’t usually laugh out loud when reading but by the end of this I needed hospital treatment. Beg, borrow or steal a copy. It really is a great read.

As to the moneypit; the small, dim light at the end of the tunnel is flickering brighter. Our fireplace is as good as completed (just awaiting the stone hearth front and sides from our local mason). Haven’t dared test whether it works as yet, but will no doubt let you know. Our beautiful stone stairs and window ledges have been cemented in and my Persian window (or at least the hole for it) as been smoothed over with traditional Italian plaster. The electrics and plumbing are now in on the ground floor, with the beginnings of the same in part of the cantina. Water and electrics to the garden will follow shortly. We don’t have the budget to complete the cantina at this stage, but we do need a laundry room/general working space, so Ivan has been busy hacking off the old rendering in one room, cleaning the stone and re-rendering it so beautifully in a much lighter colour. The old stone now shows up gorgeously. We love it, but then so does Ivan, who lovingly strokes it regularly, murmuring ‘bello stasso’ at every opportunity.

Peter has managed to source some beautiful cotto (at last) for our bedrooms and some different, cheaper ones for the cantina. We will hire a van and pick those up next week, along with our wood, new window and doors, washing machine (hoorah!) and hopefully the cantina windows too. Our mullions are coming along, although there was a minor disaster because the rubber mold broke so it is now fragile and much slower to do each one than they thought it would be. Hopefully we can pick those up (or at least those the top 6 that need the scaffolding) next week too. Our wine is also on its way. I’ve cleared out a space in the back cantina (quite a task given the amount of junk we seem to have accumulated). With the warmer temperatures, it should be ready to drink in a few weeks, so the editorial standards of this blob may go further downhill.

As to our work, my veggie patch is now crammed full of small leafy green things. I’ve managed to grow most things from seed but had to admit defeat with the tomatoes and peppers and a few other bits and pieces and bought young plants from a local shop when no-one was looking. Going on the premise of being clueless and not knowing what works and what doesn’t, I have tried to grow a little bit of a lot of different things. So we are now the proud owners of:

In rows: baby sweetcorn, peas, 5 different types of tomatoes, cucumbers, English green beans and 4 types of pepper (red, yellow, green and blow your head off)

In quarters: sprouts, yellow and green courgettes, aubergines both round and long, beetroots, radishes, sunflowers, artichokes, onions, 3 different types of potato, 2 types of lettuce, leeks and – most exciting of all for me (as impossible to grow in Blighty without cover) – watermelons and honeydew melons.

Thanks to Jim’s hole-digging expertise, I have also planted a pair of baby pear trees, two cherries and a couple of plums in our little orchard.

Fingers crossed that my fingers are green enough to produce adequate comestibles for a soup and salad lunch, followed by a small fruit compote.

P has been busy strimming (as ever), rubbing down the metal shutter catches and covering the vines in copper sulphate (blue stuff approved by the Organic Society). All grapegrowers in this region (if not Italy?) do this because the leaves are very prone to disease. I spent hours plucking off all the rotten leaves last week ready for the spraying. The locals also use the spray for some veg as well and a little goes a long way, but Peter is covered in bruises as a result because the spray canister strapping was too short, the liquid too heavy and hence all too tight/brutal on the shoulders. Why can the man not survive one day on our land without some form of injury?! His whole body seems to be cut, bashed, blistered and bruised. Good inspiration for a make-up artist working on a horror film.

We are united in our latest venture – painting the outside of the house. Because we love the warm tones of the old villas in Lucca and south Tuscany, we (well, L’Artista, as P calls me) have opted for a pale yellow first coat base, a stronger yellow applied on top with a special glove, followed by highlights of ochre dabbed with a sponge. I don’t make things simple do I?! But my philosophy is do a job well, do it once. And scaffolding is very expensive so we’ve had to crack on with it. It’s been so exciting choosing colours, although tricky because each side gets a very different light throughout the day. Much as I’m not frightened by snakes, creepy crawlies or flappy flying things, I do confess to vertigo. So I’ve been trying to conquer my terrible fear of heights for this task – not easy given the 4 levels of scaffolding, but I’ve managed to complete two top levels with the help of my wonderful hubby who holds my hand on the highest parts. If the final effect is rather wobbly, I apologise :o)

Our dearly beloved felines have been having great fun in the summer weather accumulating ticks on a daily basis and catching lizards or parts thereof. In the last fortnight, we’ve had 4 tail-less lizards, 3 lizard tails and 2 dead whole ones for presents. Aren’t we lucky? Other than that, they are fine. Still sworn enemies, but well enough. I do wonder how they will cope with the move to Lecci in a few weeks’ time, especially poor Weed who will have moved 6 times (original home, Battersea, Teddington, Carreggia, Carmine and Lecci). In a quick nature report, our beautiful eagles have returned, colourful butterflies flutter by frequently, the cicadas are in full chorus every evening and, two nights ago in childlike awe, we watched our first fireflies of the year. As they are out early this year, by Peter’s birthday our back garden should look like Blackpool Illuminations.

It’s certainly been amazing weather. 90 degrees or so most days. We have been pining for the grand pool, but it may take years to materialise at this rate. So our best buy of the year has been a rather large paddling pool (or dip pool as they, rather pretentiously, call it on the box and we have, rather pretentiously, adopted). I put it up the other day after some initial help from our builders (as always, taking great interest in everything we do) who advised us to put down a sand base to prevent tears. It has been a joy these last three days to hose down after a hot day of hard labour and jump in to watch the sunset with prosecco in hand. What are these accusations of a permanent holiday and luxury retirement? Ah, I think you may be right.

Baci ed abbracci (kisses and hugs), Juls XXX

Un anno, un mese: Timing, Tuscan plaster, Thumbs, Tasting, Tiles, Trimmings, Tree therapy, Ticks, Totally Tangoed

Juliet scribbles in haste:

Tanto lavoro. There really is. Just too much work. I should learn how to use my feet skilfully so I can paint or sand something with my toes while I type this.

After taking a week off (unannounced of course), Stepan, Vanya, Yuri and seemingly the entire national Ukranian workforce are now back with a vengeance and slogging away at Lecci. Maybe they have another job to go to, maybe they are fed up with looking at the view (or the owners), or maybe they now realise (after we have told them at least 100 times) that we really do have to move in on 1st June. Honestly, we are not particularly bothered about the reasoning behind the drive to finish it, just delighted that everything is moving apace.

We are now the proud owners of another two arches (one in the hallway and one on the landing), the smooth plaster is finished upstairs and nearly complete downstairs. At last, after a month of drawings, head-scratchings and master direction from a local English builder called Alan, we have the beginnings of a grand fireplace in the dining room. The interior stairs have been removed, making it tricky to carry heavy buckets of paint upstairs (especially after a liquid lunch). The new stone ones should be installed in the next week or so, as should the matching window ledges that have now arrived on site. P and I have set to work putting a coat of white paint on everything inside, to protect the plaster and give a better surface for the prettier colours. Poor hubby is in charge of the ceilings as I am too dwarf-like and so he has spent the last three days looking like a ghost. Many of the windows have been primed and the soon-to-be laundry room floor has been leveled ready for the boiler and other bits and pieces. We may even soon have a washing machine at Lecci – how posh is that?! We have told (ah but do we believe it?!) that our plumber and electrician return next week to continue with pipe laying and wiring. That really will be progress.

Outside, the naff old plasterwork has been chipped off, the stone cleaned and prepped and the new first layer of plaster applied (quite a task given the size of the house). I have spent a few happy hours in a local paint shop deciding which Tuscan yellows would work best. Got some cheap tester pots so will crack on with that anon. In fact I’ve got so many testers I could probably do the whole house in patchwork for a lot less money. Elsewhere, the patio area is half-leveled, awaiting Alan’s fractured wrist (another story) to heal before it is built. And – joy of joys – at last I have completed the pruning of the vineyard. I think even Hercules would have needed a holiday after that task. Meanwhile, P managed to carve a Dali-esque pattern in his thumb while attempting to cut some dead vine branches. Refuses to have stitches as I think he wants a big manly scar.

We had our first Lecci wine tasting last week with Leo and Elena. Very exciting! It still tastes young but the theory is that their cantina is too cold to mellow it further so we are going to put it all in demijohns and cart it off to our warmer cantina in the next week or so. 1,000 litres of Cerignano’s finest should fit in rather snugly between our kitchen units, all the window shutters and three pairs of wellies. How we are going to find the time, space or money to filter it, bottle it all up, stick on my labels and source enough cheap shelves to store them properly is anyone’s guess. Maybe intravenous drip is the best option.

Other recent challenges have included floor tiles. I had no idea that sourcing traditional, old-looking but not hideously expensive cotto tiles in the country that created cotto would be such a headache. We think we are finally getting there, but it involves two trips to Siena (what a tragedy!) Also, my dining room floor design is proving a bit tricky, as I don’t understand the strong Sicilian dialect and this is seemingly the only place that still does hand painting tiles in Liberty villa style that won’t cost the same as our actual house price. However, we do now have our lovely Carrara marble white and grey tiles for the hall and landing, the wood for the bedrooms (just need to stain 1,000 pieces - sigh) and the slate for the ensuite. So I think that’s pretty much all the flooring sorted, apart from the Siena and Sicilian jobs.

One of the most exciting things for me (I know, I need to get out more) is that we have managed to source some window mullions. Again, in a nation of skilled craftsmen with a history of beautiful, classical architecture you would think it easy. Ah, you mad fool for thinking that! We have been looking and enquiring for a year now and it has been a fruitless search. The making of ‘cornici’ has become a dying trade as Italians turn to more modern houses. So imagine my delight when Peter went out for some milk and came back with the name of a man who knew another man whose brother knew a workshop in Camaiore, near to Pietrasanta. After 4 phone calls, one house visit, much detective work and 35 trips along the same road, including going the wrong way up a one-way street, we found the workshop. It was shut up and overgrown. After chatting to a neighbour we realised that the old owner had sadly died last year. But all was not lost. Much of his equipment had been sold to a nearby workshop, so off we went, again the wrong way. Eventually we met Mauro, the lovely brother of the man who makes them, who informed us that they have just one salvaged mould. And what a beauty it is. It was taken from an old palazzo in Lucca so comes with history. And better still, it wont cost the earth to have 10 replicas made up. I can’t wait for those to arrive. Lecci will once again start to look like the grand old house it was.

Needless to say, because we want to get it right, every detail of our Italian restoration seems to be taking time and energy (I wont even mention the money!). Last week we realised we needed a break when we got strange looks in the supermarket for arguing loudly over which onions to buy, so we headed off to our local palazzo – Pescigola (see pics). This beautiful 400 year old villa is fast-becoming our sanctuary and inspiration when things get stressful. It is a perfect time of year to visit as the 100,000 daffodil bulbs were blooming and the peacocks, swans and other birdlife were wandering about. Peter got some therapy by hugging an enormous tree (see pic), while I managed to lower my stress-levels by studying the 16th century irrigation system in great detail. As we were about to leave, we bumped into the owner. Andrea is a delightful American lady from Boston (near where Peter’s brother and sis-in-law used to live). Her Italian husband Pasquale used to play at Pescigola when he was a child. It came up for sale about 5 years ago so he bought it (how nice!). They have sympathetically restored the magnificent gardens and courtyard and are now tackling the original kitchens. Makes Lecci look like a doll’s house and our troubles seem miniscule in comparison. We had a lovely chat with Andrea and it transpires that all three of their children have been/are currently attending Rugby school, P’s old haunt. Un piccolo mondo (small world) indeed. What with that, and a shared love of Puccini and all things arty, we may just end up firm friends.

In a quick wildlife report, I am pleased to report that our pair of eagles has returned now the sunshine is out. Our two bats continue to circle every night (they are very cute compared to the one that scraped my ear as I opened a door in an old ruined house we were nosying around the other day). Alan’s dog Ellie has become our new best friend, rivalled only by Iva’s three beautiful horses. I give them breakfast most mornings and I helped Iva to groom Lela ready for a show the other day. While I was having a girlie moment and plaiting her mane, he said I was welcome to ride her anytime. What a dream for me, if only I can remember how to get in the saddle! And finally, our delightful duo continue to fight with each other like cat and, well cat. We spend most evenings keeping them apart and throwing the little one into the ‘naughty room’ (guest bed) whenever she leaps on Weed or eats a whole roll of toilet paper. They manage to get a tick or two most weeks now, so I have become adept at tweezering the little buggers out. And how generous of my cats that they even gave one to me. Last week, in mortification, I found one in my leg, but luckily it was only small so a quick squeal and my fingernails saw the end to that little critter. It’s my only un-Buddhist moment when I dance around in my wellies squashing them to oblivion.

Talking of dancing, I end this blob with a little note about our first Italian lesson. No, sadly not verb declensions nor mastering Conversation Skills Level 3. But a belated birthday promise from a hubby 4 years ago… Argentinian tango lessons. Up a mountain in the middle of the back of beyond, there is a dance hall that could rival the set of Strictly Come Dancing. Why they built it, I have no idea, I’m just glad they did. So last Thursday, we met Andrea (not our plumber, thankfully!) and his partner Veronica, who whirled gracefully around to the seductive strains of violin for 10 minutes before instructing three very advanced couples on leg flicks and lift techniques, then turning his help to a clueless English couple. He is a very patient teacher, thank goodness, and we thoroughly enjoyed our induction into the Latin dance of passion. Peter did a great job in leading and only stepped on my bare feet once. Meanwhile, I had to do everything backwards and on tiptoe. Talking of which, it is our second lesson tonight, so I had better go and polish those killer heels.

Trina and Andrew – we can't wait to see you at Pisa tomorrow!

Ciao per ora, carissimi amici XXX