we are still alive ;-)

first some flowers from today (yes in november!) for the readers of this blog, not finding anything new - for months - sorry, no clue how it happened to be already in november, but i better put a new post up here before someone thinks we left to a new shore.

the summer was very dry, all i remember is watering, watering, i had days with 4 hours standing holding a hose in my hand. the flimsy water pressure is not helping with this chores. the garden went from green spring into dessert. what did not make it out of the seeds in time got baked - like the moonflowers/datura. they germinated after the fall rain and i have NOW! 30 cm tall seedlings.....who knows, maybe i get them to flower.

Jon played at our german neighbors road party, that was still with the old computer.

the veggies this year were also sparse, because we still have the tomatoes from 2 years ago in the freezer. but than there was Jon's dead computer and long days and nights fixing, ordering parts and building a new one and get the music back onto it. the little casa had to wait for all that to get in order.

 here is our major, praising the foreigners in his beautiful town Gualdo in italiano,

we went to several festas, especially to Gualdo, it had it's first big august filled with festas. Valentina, our neighbor, getting so many different events organized - including a day for the stranieries / strangers with different food, poetry, Jon and Flavia playing/singing and even me selling some of the stuff i collected over my life.

 

the buy of the summer : my complete suit sandfly proved - here helpful to get a hornet nest out of the shutter box in the livingroom

 a wonderful event in Gualdo with dance music - and a brother handy to make me something like dancing, big fun

San Ginesio is the best place for a late pizza on the piazza without cars, but dogs and kids playing at midnight  

i had 2 more ladies asking me to help to find renters for their unused houses. i gave it a try and was VERY busy especially on one saturday - i cannot remember 16 dogs and 8 people, that was an interesting experience: who are these people calling and which house did they rent. actually it went totally smooth just my stomach got totally twisted. so no more of that. after all we are in this gorgeous place, to increase our happiness, calmness and peace. the money part is absolute secondary.

another warm summer night in gualdo with loud music and good food.

 

 here we are in the neighbor town Sant Angelo in Pontano with a big band performing 

that was just a wonderful event : a duck-race in a tiny village just 3 km away.

 

the wine harvest this year in our little road was with perfect weather and lots of helping hands

 

 the grapes got squeezed and into the cellar right away

 

 this is a very special event we planned many months ago: a 10 day meditation 300 km away from here. it was a classic retreat with silence, no meals after lunch and minimum 10 hours sitting meditation. we got instructed by videos from Guenka, the founder of this vipassana meditation centers. the course is completely free. everything is based on donation ! after you went through the course and want the next ones have the same possibility you can give money. the food was vegetarian and excellent. Jon got his meditation much more deepend and i got my mind slowed down enough to forget to think for 10 minutes - that is a big accomplishment, even i have much more to go to reach Jon.

 with new power Jon started to work on the roof. he put up the last row of terracotta tiles on the edge.

the upper row of new bricks in the upstairs bedroom are already mortared over - looks like a real wall ;-)

 

these are still photos from the downstairs ceiling the last patch get mortared over 

after that my job was to get the beams painted. 

the chimney blocks are already stacked and  Jon cuts the exact fitting hole into the roof - kinda strange thing - a hole in this perfect ceiling

 there it is,-  a piece of the roof cut out...

and here is a photo of the new porcelain pieces for the  tiny bathroom - extra short and compact.

and the place where they will hang, already strongly connected to the wall. the new window sill is also in place

 

last weekend was the castagnata in Gualdo many people came to munch the hot maroni and the vino brule, hot wine with spices like the german glühwein. very good