Brian & Sue back and they brought the fungicide with them and Annie returned the next week so we borrowed her sprayer (we've one on order but won't arrive until late April) to get upstairs titivation of the upstairs ceilings, north walls etc under way. Spraying will a) save Mike going up and down a ladder every 2 mins, b) give an even coat of paint c) be more economical. The painting list grew and grew as each fix showed up more and more areas to re-do but a little each week, along with mowing and strimming, proved to be an easy approach and the interior paint work was done by the middle of the month. The pergola and gates look much nicer in their new coat of green paint along with the external light stands, very green but bright and clean.
The change in the hour seemed to herald the arrival of summer, 29c by the pool, wearing shorts and t’shirts and eating outside and digesting on the loungers became the daily norm. The golden plum was smothered in blossom, although last year it produced just 2 fruit. The Victoria plumb had few flowers as it had a hard trim, the green-gauge had no flowers at all it hasn’t produced fruit since we planted it 5 years ago, wonder why.
We endured freezing winds from Easter Sunday till Tues eve, the poor plants suffered, toms wilted, geraniums shocked and the 3 mins of snow on Monday morning surprised everyone. From t-shirts to thermals and coats in a week. So spent the days interior painting and swapping furniture about as we made the mistake of looking behind the clock on the stairs and when we looked again Mike realised he'd missed painting around the window at the btm of the stairs. Not all work as we were invited out for Easter day to Brian & Sue’s, Ann, Adi & Luciano (neighbours) also came, they provided the lamb which was maturer than most Italian offerings and much nicer, Sue did everything else. We did some chocolate chick baskets as table decorations.
Easter weekend there was a large market in Citta della Pieve, the passion “play” where locals stage still tableaus of scenes from the bible under one of the old palaces, now the police station, post office and municipal offices. For the first time in 12 years the fountain in the square poured wine instead of water. Government owned museums and attractions, coliseum & Orvieto underground etc, were open free of charge.
We were keeping up with the garden jobs, despite the porcupines digging up bulbs and plants as fast as we planted them, internal painting etc feeling confident all would be in place for visitors in Junre when a telephone call caught us unawares on the 17th. Pa called to say mum has broken her ankle and is in hospital !! It wasn’t a complicated break and didn’t need an op so they still hoped to visit in 6 weeks but they were going via Milan as they'd booked a 12hr scenic train trip to Switzerland and a day looking around the city but not sure if they're up for it. She'll be hobbling & Pa may need his 2nd hip operated on, so no hiking, hill climbs or hang gliding.
The same week both Ann and Jean went down with bronchitis & the postman arrived 4 hours early on the 2nd week having not delivered for 4 weeks, with 1 Easter card, 1 bank statement and 1 Xmas card, the stamp on the back says its been via Paraguay- did they miss read Perugia? Plus we got the fan boiler from Poland and after a bit of a wrestling match we got it fitted to the boiler and tested another job ticked off the list.
Mikes birthday we went to the airplane meeting at Castglione del Lago, then the following day air museum at lake Bracciano Located on the south eastern side of lake Bracciano the 4 hangers are full of planes that begin with a replica of the Wright brothers and continue through the first world war, triple propeller types, some with propellers front and back of the engine mounted on the roof , racing planes and jets. There's a reasonable cafe, souvenir shop and loos. The site is still controlled by the military so you have to drive through a controlled barrier to get to the parking areas.
They are restoring the 2 hangers containing the second world war planes and jets but this should be completed by 2016, but as it is FREE worth a visit for any enthusiast.
We were also treated to the sight of 20 Ferrari's parked out side as the club were meeting there.
Then the next night the asparagus sagra in Pietrafitta with friends Not a bad birthday despite sending his new quad-copter over the house into the largest bramble patch in the valley . It did take some interesting pictures on the way and our roof looks fine!
Strong winds and rain arrived the following day, so back to the paint brush.
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