Cinder and I have ventured a little farther from home over the past couple of days.  We always start our day with a stop at the caffe, because now Cinder is treated like a local celebrity when she comes in.  Massimo’s wife gives her a piece of prosciutto and she gets lots of attention.  In other words, if I don’t take her to the bar, she drags me there.  We explored the local bookshop, which has one rack of books in English.  I bought a couple of books and chatted with the owner who promised to keep the English titles stocked.  Cinder browsed the racks, trying to find the meat offerings.

In my quest to make my porch look as pretty as my neighbors, I went in search of flower stands (fioriella) to perch over the railing and hold flower pots.  After a few wrong turns, we found a store that I know we’ll go back to many times.  One side of the store has dog food and supplies and the other half of the store is a nursery with all kinds of planting stuff.  I bought the holders and some I/D for Cinder.  The Purina I was forced to buy at the local supermarket was threatening to renew the stomach troubles she’d had before we got here, so I was quite thrilled to find a low residue dog food for her–especially since I haven’t had the heart to say no to her morning prosciutto routine.  The store owner had recently moved from Roma and she and her husband were quite welcoming, dragging their shepherd out from the back to meet Cinder.  An elderly gentleman, he and Cinder may have commiserated about the hilly terrain and their old bones as they gave each other a sniff and the once over. (All the dogs we’ve met so far have been un-neutered males, so Cinder has made an impression on them as well.)

Loaded down with purchases, I decided to wait until the market on Thursday to actually buy the flowers.  We tramped back up the hill into town,  had our lunch, and then sat in the sun.  I use the afternoon as my writing time and Cinder has her daily stare down with Theo, the orange kitty from next door.  My neighbor, Mariela is very friendly and comes out of her yard each day when she sees us.  She’s been slowly pumping me for information and today finally cut to the chase.  “38,” I tell her in response to the question I’ve been getting quite often:  “How old are you?”  I’m not sure if it’s illegal to be single here, but there does seem to be some urgency in everyone trying to pair up.  Mariela had already informed me that her one son was a veterinarian, and today she brought out the big guns and told me her other son was a lawyer.  Of course, I’d just gotten done telling her that I had quit being a lawyer because there were too many assholes (stronzi) in the profession, so I’m not sure if she’s still thinking of me as daughter-in-law material!  I feel the need to make sure I look okay when I’m sitting outside, just in case my “intended” comes calling.  I’m having fun and Cinder seems to be enjoying her social time with Theo and with Otsi, Mariela’s big black and white dog.  They sniffed each other yesterday and now when she walks by his gate, he kind of gives her a lovesick look.  It’s pretty damn cute.

I’m off to wrestle my duvet off the clothesline as Mariela informs me after a quick look at the clouds that rain is coming.  They look pretty and fluffy to me but what do I know.  At least taking the sheets off the line doesn’t require quite the effort that wrangling a heavy, sopping wet one onto the wire does.  It was amusing earlier when I was sitting on my bench writing and an American couple came by and were taking pictures of the laundry hanging at all the windows.  “I wouldn’t take a photo of mine,” I told them, startling them with my English.  “I just got here and I don’t think I’m doing it right!”

Cinder's new "friend" Theo who she's fascinated by

Mariela's dog Otsi gives Cinder a look of longing...