Part 11 Wrapping up December 2017, making room for 2018
At last I am arriving at December. And it feels good to have revisited all the pictures I took in a year to document the little pleasures, the wonderful visits of friends and family and life as it happens, with my iPhone, just because it is easy to carry when you are hiking up a mountain with two dogs on a leash (and mostly off) and a thick wintercoat on. And otherwise too.......after I finish this post though I will be taking my camera out more again. I learned a lot about how to take better photos with my phone and it is amazing how many little features the phones have, that most people don't know about. It would be fun to teach a short class on Phone photography and everyone would enjoy their pictures a lot more........a thought for 2018!
Of course we start every day now with a good walk with Boris and Lola. They have become a really enjoyable set of dogs. Lola has inherited a lot of Border Collie blood from her mama and is always alert and active. Boris takes more after his father, which is an Australian Shepherd mix. Boris becomes active only when he deems it necessary, otherwise he is lying around being lazy and runs off his energy when we go up the mountain.
On our walks they regularly disappear following their noses and it is not always nice what they find. We do have wolves roaming around after all, so unfortunately every now and then they find a carcass of a sheep, a deer or just the left overs. I am getting used to it by now as being part of life, but initially it filled me with a mix of pity and anxiety. So far so good. We have not spotted wolves, just their tracks.
December started with the Mercatini di Natale, which I blogged about earlier. Though small it creates a nice Christmas atmosphere in the village. After being long enough out in the cold we warmed up around the fire place at the Principessa's house.
I had an idea in my mind to clear out boxes that are still waiting to be unpacked and clean the house before we would go into the new year. That was a much bigger task than I had foreseen, so not everything on my list got done. Lex built some wine racks and we unpacked some boxes with photo albums. It is so much fun to go through all the old photos, even though we figured we soon need to put them in new albums. After thirteen years in the Middle East and 10 moves in 20 years, most of them are falling apart because the glue dried out. Nevertheless I realized once more how important (printed) photos are and how much fun it is to go through them every now and then, so here's a few of them................ First thing on the list is get some bookshelves to put the albums in.
Lex kept himself busy around the house, learning how to work with a chainsaw to clear up trees that had come down roots and all during the last storm. We had another storm that flooded our terrace and blew branches and bushes all around.
On the warmer side of things I had the honour of joining in on a wonderful evening at Palazzo Torriani, where owner Anna Maria and daughter Mariaemilia were hosting an evening around the fireplace to listen to fairy tales being read, with afterwards a 'degustazione' of their home made sweet and savoury delicacies http://www.palazzotorriani.it/it/
Halfway through the month we went on a long weekend trip to Rome with friend Susie. She found a nice small appartment right behind the Foro Romano, the ideal spot to explore from, just walking, wandering, watching, finding little gems off the beaten track and dream away what kind of photoshoots I could do in a city like Rome, with beautiful dresses that I discovered here and there......dreaming........
We had some amazing food in gorgeous modern restaurants, and in traditional ones, both equally enjoyable. I discovered that 'Cacio e Pepe', a pasta dish with cheese and lots of black pepper is THE dish of Rome............I tried several, every single one is different, so now I know where to go for the one I loved most!
It was a great time to visit Rome. There are always tourists, but this time of the year a lot less than in other seasons. The weather gods were good to us, so we spent a lot of time walking, with the much needed pause in between to savour a nice cappuccino, prosecco or even an Irish beer in a pub where as soon as you step in, you think you were teletransported to Ireland. We had a great conversation with two Irish sailors, that had just arrived in Rome to assist the boat-refugees.
We had to visit at least one or two well-known places, so we went to the Pantheon, which we had not seen before, and the Colosseum is unavoidable. I loved it by night! Somehow it is easier to imagine what it was like back then......
On our way to a wonderful lunch we ran into a bicycle rally with hundreds of Santa's. And someone had left his shoes somewhere at a side walk......I did not want to think too much about what story could be behind it.......
When we returned back to Marradi it was time to set up the Christmas tree just before our sons would arrive. Every year I still try to find a real tree, even if it is a small one. I love the smell of pine needles and I even don't mind to clean up afterwards. I decorated it in the style my mother used to do it when I was a child. She loved the silver coloured decorations and was stubborn in it. As a young girl I saw different colours becoming fashionable, and thought my mom was too conservative. Now I love to do something different with the things I have, and this year I decided to have a 'childhood' tree.
In wintertime we still go have a heartwarming meal at our favourite La Colombaia. The food doesn't just make your mouth water, it is a treat to the eye too......and everything is adjustable to my semi-vegetarian wishes ;-) ....afterwards we can gauge the weather in Romagna, just in case we need some sunshine.....often we are right on the edge of different weather systems.
Two of our boys arrived on the 21st. The weather was cool but nice, the dogs went crazy, getting cuddles all day long now. Jelle tried his bouldering skills on the wall of my studio, which looked like Santa Claus practicing to get on roofs.............and Joren practised 'planking'! We were invited to aperitivo and dinner at our neighbours' home, where the boys had to practice their Italian skills. With hands and feet and some vocabulary picked up along the way they managed well!
We had some great walks in beautiful weather up the mountain and the frost overnight created some natural art work ..............
Mike arrived on Christmas Eve, so Christmas we spent with the five of us, talking, catching up in front of the fire place, cooking dinner together, watching a movie, playing a game, having some good conversation, in short, relaxing!
After Christmas the boys returned to Holland for the New Year, to celebrate with (girl-)friends. It started snowing again and we started preparing our New Year's Eve party, which has become a tradition since we moved here. I spent the 31st in the Dutch tradition of making 'oliebollen' (deep fried filled bread dough in the shape of balls) and 'appelflappen' (doughnut shaped slices of apple, dipped in dough and then fried). Heavy stuff, but a good layer in the stomach for the Prosecco's at midnight to ring in the New Year.
We had a blast, everybody brought some food and prosecco, we played music, sang, danced until a good bit into 2018! We really feel grateful for having such a nice crowd of people around us that love celebrating with us.
All in all a wonderful end to 2017 and start of 2018. I hope this new year will be filled with love, light, good health and dreams being realized. Happy New Year to all. (My mother always said you can wish happy new year the whole month of January...........after all it is all about the intention)!
Of course we start every day now with a good walk with Boris and Lola. They have become a really enjoyable set of dogs. Lola has inherited a lot of Border Collie blood from her mama and is always alert and active. Boris takes more after his father, which is an Australian Shepherd mix. Boris becomes active only when he deems it necessary, otherwise he is lying around being lazy and runs off his energy when we go up the mountain.
On our walks they regularly disappear following their noses and it is not always nice what they find. We do have wolves roaming around after all, so unfortunately every now and then they find a carcass of a sheep, a deer or just the left overs. I am getting used to it by now as being part of life, but initially it filled me with a mix of pity and anxiety. So far so good. We have not spotted wolves, just their tracks.
December started with the Mercatini di Natale, which I blogged about earlier. Though small it creates a nice Christmas atmosphere in the village. After being long enough out in the cold we warmed up around the fire place at the Principessa's house.
 |
| Found myself a nice warm coat ;-) |
I had an idea in my mind to clear out boxes that are still waiting to be unpacked and clean the house before we would go into the new year. That was a much bigger task than I had foreseen, so not everything on my list got done. Lex built some wine racks and we unpacked some boxes with photo albums. It is so much fun to go through all the old photos, even though we figured we soon need to put them in new albums. After thirteen years in the Middle East and 10 moves in 20 years, most of them are falling apart because the glue dried out. Nevertheless I realized once more how important (printed) photos are and how much fun it is to go through them every now and then, so here's a few of them................ First thing on the list is get some bookshelves to put the albums in.
 |
| Joren and Maya climbing out of a crater in California 1996? |
 |
| Our Omani twin cats Sushi and Dingus. Sushi is still with us, Dingus only lived 6 months. |
On the warmer side of things I had the honour of joining in on a wonderful evening at Palazzo Torriani, where owner Anna Maria and daughter Mariaemilia were hosting an evening around the fireplace to listen to fairy tales being read, with afterwards a 'degustazione' of their home made sweet and savoury delicacies http://www.palazzotorriani.it/it/
Halfway through the month we went on a long weekend trip to Rome with friend Susie. She found a nice small appartment right behind the Foro Romano, the ideal spot to explore from, just walking, wandering, watching, finding little gems off the beaten track and dream away what kind of photoshoots I could do in a city like Rome, with beautiful dresses that I discovered here and there......dreaming........
We had some amazing food in gorgeous modern restaurants, and in traditional ones, both equally enjoyable. I discovered that 'Cacio e Pepe', a pasta dish with cheese and lots of black pepper is THE dish of Rome............I tried several, every single one is different, so now I know where to go for the one I loved most!
It was a great time to visit Rome. There are always tourists, but this time of the year a lot less than in other seasons. The weather gods were good to us, so we spent a lot of time walking, with the much needed pause in between to savour a nice cappuccino, prosecco or even an Irish beer in a pub where as soon as you step in, you think you were teletransported to Ireland. We had a great conversation with two Irish sailors, that had just arrived in Rome to assist the boat-refugees.
 |
| Photo credit Susie Macklem |
We had to visit at least one or two well-known places, so we went to the Pantheon, which we had not seen before, and the Colosseum is unavoidable. I loved it by night! Somehow it is easier to imagine what it was like back then......
On our way to a wonderful lunch we ran into a bicycle rally with hundreds of Santa's. And someone had left his shoes somewhere at a side walk......I did not want to think too much about what story could be behind it.......
When you then enter in a wonderful warm and 'accogliente' restaurant, you have to feel priviliged.
When we returned back to Marradi it was time to set up the Christmas tree just before our sons would arrive. Every year I still try to find a real tree, even if it is a small one. I love the smell of pine needles and I even don't mind to clean up afterwards. I decorated it in the style my mother used to do it when I was a child. She loved the silver coloured decorations and was stubborn in it. As a young girl I saw different colours becoming fashionable, and thought my mom was too conservative. Now I love to do something different with the things I have, and this year I decided to have a 'childhood' tree.
In wintertime we still go have a heartwarming meal at our favourite La Colombaia. The food doesn't just make your mouth water, it is a treat to the eye too......and everything is adjustable to my semi-vegetarian wishes ;-) ....afterwards we can gauge the weather in Romagna, just in case we need some sunshine.....often we are right on the edge of different weather systems.
Two of our boys arrived on the 21st. The weather was cool but nice, the dogs went crazy, getting cuddles all day long now. Jelle tried his bouldering skills on the wall of my studio, which looked like Santa Claus practicing to get on roofs.............and Joren practised 'planking'! We were invited to aperitivo and dinner at our neighbours' home, where the boys had to practice their Italian skills. With hands and feet and some vocabulary picked up along the way they managed well!
We had some great walks in beautiful weather up the mountain and the frost overnight created some natural art work ..............
 |
| Joren's version of 'planking' |
Mike arrived on Christmas Eve, so Christmas we spent with the five of us, talking, catching up in front of the fire place, cooking dinner together, watching a movie, playing a game, having some good conversation, in short, relaxing!
 |
| My men!!!💕 |
 |
| Food gets 'dressed up' in our family |
After Christmas the boys returned to Holland for the New Year, to celebrate with (girl-)friends. It started snowing again and we started preparing our New Year's Eve party, which has become a tradition since we moved here. I spent the 31st in the Dutch tradition of making 'oliebollen' (deep fried filled bread dough in the shape of balls) and 'appelflappen' (doughnut shaped slices of apple, dipped in dough and then fried). Heavy stuff, but a good layer in the stomach for the Prosecco's at midnight to ring in the New Year.
We had a blast, everybody brought some food and prosecco, we played music, sang, danced until a good bit into 2018! We really feel grateful for having such a nice crowd of people around us that love celebrating with us.
 |
| The recipe for Appelflappen in my traditional Dutch cook book |
 |
| Bubbling dough for 'Oliebollen' |
All in all a wonderful end to 2017 and start of 2018. I hope this new year will be filled with love, light, good health and dreams being realized. Happy New Year to all. (My mother always said you can wish happy new year the whole month of January...........after all it is all about the intention)!
 |
| Borrowed from an unknown (to me) artist |
Thank you for reading my blogposts, I hope you enjoy them!
Jee. ik begrijp dat je al deze foto's met een I Phone hebt gemaakt. Mijn toestelletje haalt het daar niet bij. Benieuwd naar het recept van de bloemkool met granaatappel, walnoot enz, ;) . Zo te zien had Mike zijn kookskills met kerst aardig ingezet! Heerlijk om ook samen te koken. Bijzonder wat zo'n dorp allemaal te bieden heeft: een voorleesavond met sprookjes. Love it! Het geeft ook het beeld van hoe je je Italiaanse sociale activiteiten voorstelt. Ook zo'n manier van oud/nieuw vieren. Sfeer, die mij erg aanspreekt. Rome....het lijkt mij geweldig om een keer de route te volgen van de film 'la grande belezza'. Genoten van je 2017-verhalen Ellen! Pic of the blog: de omgevallen bankjes na de storm.
ReplyDeleteHi Rien, er zit altijd veel tijd tussen mijn (schrijf-)aktiviteiten. Bezig om de draad weer op te pakken.....en zie voor het eerst jouw commentaar. Leuk en lief! Zal het recept alsnog proberen te achterhalen. En de route van 'la grande bellezza.....ik ga zo met je mee!
Delete