Week Twelve

Another week has shot by and I am now in the UK for the next 3 weeks or so.  A different environment, different duties, different roles to be played out... Sadly I have a problem with uploading some of my pictures today so I may add some more when I have resolved the issue..

Before I left Abruzzo, I had a lot of things to do on the land etc.K used the new cutter to mow the wild grass, and I followed around sweeping up the cuttings and piling them up on the back of the trailer, ready for bonfires.

I have entrusted my Cold Frame contents to K and he has his instructions about spraying the seedlings every day.  I hope they won't die, but if they do, no worries.  I have loads of seed packets left and will start afresh as soon as I get back.

I picked a few more spring flowers to brighten up the kitchen for the final few days.

 

I had lots of housework to attend to, amongst which was a bit of dusting of these cat figurines in the bookcase....

..and some more including  'In the Lobby'

Up at the crack of dawn on Thursday morning and K kindly took me to the airport.  A nice journey and got back in time to meet my mother for a spot of lunch, which was lovely...

 

I cycled into work on the Friday afternoon to do some prepping and copying and couldn't resist taking a few images of Broad Street, full of cycles everywhere!

On the way home I admired the lovely college buildingswhich are everywhere.

Prepping ahead for intros with my new classes I created a couple of new ones. A face Tagxedo full of info re me.  My students have to guess more details about the words enclosed.  They then create their own word clouds to share with the class.

..and then an anagram with the initials of my name.  This fab idea comes from the very informative blog post by  Recipes from the EFL Classroom.

I will invite students to do the same with their initials.

 

On Saturday,  K sent over a link to the Singing Nun, from Sicily.  I loved it so much that I have already viewed it 3 or 4 times.  Why, you may ask?  It is the stuff of dreams, isn't it?  How will Sister Cristina's life change? She is a devoted Catholic nun, who looks up to God as her teacher.  How is superstardom going to affect her life?  I am fascinated from a psychological and sociological point of view...

Will Pope Francis 'follow' her progress?  I think this is such a feel-good story and I love it!  I had dreamed of becoming a nun when I was a teenager... how would my life have been if I had followed that path??  Who knows... 

The amazing Sister Cristina in action on the 8-minute or so Youtube extract below.  Just watch the amazed looks on the Italian The Voice's judges!!  They asked her if she was a real nun.  She replied 'I am truly a real nun!!'

She chose the Italian rapper J-Ax to be her mentor over the next few weeks on Italy's The Voice.  I have a feeling she might WIN!!  Over nineteen million people have viewed this video on YouTube.  Below J-Ax cannot believe what he is seeing.  He said if she had sung in his church when he was a young boy, maybe he would have been inspired to become the next pope..

I will be following her progress with interest!

Roll on Week Thirteen! Full time F2f teaching for 3 weeks -  here I come!

Week Eleven

Freddy 
......continues to follow me around every time he sees me.  I wouldn't mind if that is all he does, but unfortunately he seems to have something against me because he flies at me, whenever he can.  This means I have to be a bit vigilant when I go out to my cold frame, as he almost got inside the other day!!
He in fact did chase me and attacked me on Friday, and drew blood.  He caught me on my finger and it really hurt!!  Thankfully, K came to my rescue and managed to shoo Freddy politely away...

The Garden
A lovely few days spent moderating online and out in the garden inbetween. The weather has been beautiful and quite warm at times.

Below some form of weed, or is it a kind of ivy???  It is growing all over the place, and not sure if I like it too much..

I am converting an area into a rockery / shrubbery and this is the initial stage below:

 

Everything is taken from cuttings, and also plants I already have in pots, succulent offshoots etc, so let's hope they all start to blend in together.  The 3 aloe vera cuttings might grow big, so I will rearrange things later if necessary.

Another area below which I hope will be a rockery.  It is full of rosemary at the moment, but I'd like to introduce a few more plants.  I have added a tub full of bulbs my sisters bought me for my Christmas present and I love seeing them bloom in this spot.

Cats
I have found evidence of suspicious cat activity in this concrete tub, which contains my friend Sue's plant gift.  I am going to have to make it anti-cat proof by adding netting ALL around it to prevent them from doing their business....
I simply threw some old olive tree branches across it to stop them gaining access overnight...

My Cold Frame
.... is my new best friend and I am making it very cosy inside.  I am using egg containers to put compost in and add seeds, so let's see what happens...The top closes so it acts like a mini greenhouse.

An old shelf has now been converted into a simple etagere, so I can put 3 tiers of pots on it.  

The egg containers are going across the old wooden posts in the ground, so no space is wasted! 

Old cat and dog tins are now being used as seed containers.

The veggie plot at dusk. I have started to use bamboo canes to demarcate the different areas ready for planting next month.

Fluffy.......
... has been in the wars recently and has been fighting to keep his Alpha Male title. Below a rather atmospheric pose by Fluffy as he quietly contemplates life....

Other poses below with the jungle area in the background:

 He could be a fim star in the making, lol!!

Apart from all the gardening, and being online, I have also been attending a few excellent webinars in the Spring Blog Festival and have really enjoyed each of the sessions, including Marisa's, Shelly's and Sylvia's.  It is always nice to support fellow bloggers and members of my PLN, whenever I can.

Week 11 has been a lovely week, doing what I enjoy most of all...

Roll on Week 12!

Week Ten

This week has been a very nice quiet one and that is the way I like it!   
K took the motorbike out for a spin yesterday evening and has kindly given me permission to add this photo here.

I just love all the colours of the sunset.  This was taken at the top of our road.  The predicted rain still hasn't arrived and fingers crossed it won't be too bad if it does come.  The road is beginning to move again, (yes, I know, it is a scary thought) and cracks are appearing across it again.

I created a tagxedo heart for a summary on Monday.

I highlighted a forthcoming Spring Blog Festival on my main blog here.  
I reused the image of the almond tree in blossom, as I like it so much!

It promises to be a great event and lots of presenters will be discussing the art of blogging, including Shelly Terrell, Sylvia Guinan and many more.

On Thursday I picked a few flowers to put in this sweet little jug I bought from a charity shop.  I like to add fresh rosemary twigs into the display.

I am keeping a constant eye on the bowl of olives I am pickling.  They were freshly picked off our trees in November and have been in a brine solution since then.  I have to keep checking the taste and changing the liquid from time to time, and tonight I think they are almost ready for eating!  They taste quite delicious and the sprigs of rosemary adds a nice flavour to them.

I recycled some plastic tubs which had contained food and made some plant labels out of them. Nothing ever goes to waste!

I created a Good Luck comic to send to 2 colleagues who are going to China for a few weeks to do some teacher training on behalf of the Lake School. Comics are a fun way to send all kinds of messages.

Our cutter hadn't arrived by Friday so I had to ring the company to ask where it was....It should arive tomorrow.

A lovely Friday evening spent in a local pizzeria with some friends.  It was great to catch up on their news and it all came to the princely sum of 10 euros each.  We had a huge pizza each and wine and beer to drink.  In the UK an equivalent meal would cost up to £20 per head, so prices can still be reasonable in Italy.

For an online weekend activity I created a rose Tagxedo to highlight activities I was doing over the weekend.  

A nice relaxing week, all in all!

Roll on Week 11.

Week Nine

Week nine started off well and I had a bit of free time to pick some flowers from the garden, which included a few daffodils, pink narcissi and flowers from the Viburnum Tinus bush, which is flowering at this time of the year.  The vase below is a gift from Tunisia from my friends Kamel and Pat.  I visited Sousse in 1988 and this vase is a lovely souvenir of that visit.

I started moderating a group of 16 teachers online, and I am looking forward to interacting with them on a daily basis for the next few weeks. Inbetween checking the forums I have plenty of time to devote to the garden and other household things.

K put up the cold frame he had bought me for my birthday present. I like it very much!

I sowed lots of seeds.  I am not sure if it is too early, but I have so many seeds that it is ok to experiment! If nothing happens, it won't be a big deal. I used part of an old wooden box to sow the seeds in 9 different compartments.  I always like to recycle as much as I can...

Tuesday 25th February
Five years ago today in 2009, my mother had her accident which changed her life, and in part, our lives forever. With great fortitude and positive thinking, my mother has made a good recovery and for this we will be eternally grateful.  This morning she has asked for the priest to say a mass of thanksgiving.  To say thanks to God for being alive.  I am sorry I cannot be there in person with the whole family, but we are with them in spirit. 

It is now time to look forward and try to forget the occasions in the past five years which were turbulent and extremely stressful for the whole family....

A phone call from Allessandro in Chieti to ask if we could collect the overbed unit we were buying off him.  It is of solid wood and originally handmade for him.  This is one of the 2 parts.  We have to collect the other bits on Friday. We are both delighted with this purchase as it is a fantastic piece of furniture and it reminds us of a) my former hall of residence Digby Hall, and b) K's grammar school.  Both places were decked in old, wooden furniture exactly like this one....

I am not sure where the unit is going to go, but we both liked it as soon as we saw it!!


Wednesday was spent in and out of the house. I took a photo of this painting in the house.  I like it because of the olive tree in the foreground and the bright pot of geraniums.

This triptych is an original photo that K took of Castel del Monte.  It is quite big and in three parts and it is hanging in the perfect spot. I'd like more of K's pictures of local Abruzzo scenes to hang up around the house.

Saturday March 1st 2014
One of my missions this week has been to start chopping up the branches of this tree and others, which came down in the recent bad weather and landslides.  

A landslide at the back of the barn...the earth has moved and hopefully the heavy rain forecast for all next week will not cause further damage the land around us...

Some of the big pieces of wood will be used for the fire.  It's a big job, and I am doing it bit by bit.  Some of the branches will be burned on the bonfire pile and then the ash will be scattered over the veggie plot.  Nothing will be wasted!!  

 

 A little black kitten playing in the wood pile above and below.

I bought a sack of horse manure 'Stallatico' and that has been scattered over the plot today.

Some cuttings of bay leaf and periwinkle are doing well.

Whilst pottering around I came across lots of little black insects lying under a gossamer-type film.  I have no idea what they are, but they are mostly hiding under dandelions... I don't like the look of them at all.  I wonder what they will turn into??

Sunday Lunch
A lovely traditional Toad in the Hole was cooked by K today.  He really has mastered the art of how to make the perfect Yorkshire batter, and it's absolutely delicious!
 

Roll on Week 10!