A Couple of Quiet Days (Oct. 20, 21, 2014)

Monday we spent a quiet day overall. Every time we go on an adventure, we seem to need a day or two to recover and stay relaxed. I think it’s because we get to see and learn so many new things that it takes a little time afterward to sink in and be processed.

I didn’t sleep well Sunday night and woke up at 4 am, and could not go back to sleep. My back was bugging me, which it sometimes does, from karate long ago. Anyway, nothing awful, but I was really glad to be hanging around Atri for the day. We decided to go to the Monday Marcato in the morning to see what there was. We came across a sweet owl table cloth and bought it for our table. It’s so cheerful and sweet and my mom loves owls so when we saw it and the colours went so well, we decided to get it. The lady only had one left and it was a bit too long, so we cut off a strip from it and put it onto the glass top shelf next to the table, as a runner. It looks really nice and every time we come into the house, we get excited to see our table of owls looking at us. See the photo below to get an idea. It is oranges, browns and yellows and picks up the chair seats, the yellow painting across from the table, as well as the touches of dark wood on the doors, floor, painting frame and chairs. 

Owl Table Cloth and Runner

View #2 of Table

We returned home to rustle up some lunch. We had lots to choose from as we still had lots left over from our big lunch yesterday with Graziano and Gabriella. Neither of us felt too hungry, because, as you know, when you travel and change your food, location and habits, your tummy can sometimes be a bit resistant. In any case, we have been working hard to balance our intake and tummy workings. Thankfully mom brought some Senekot which is a natural encourager that seems to work quite well. The only thing you have to watch, is that you don’t wander too far from home after you’ve taken it…….lol. So we went for mini walks and came back home for a visit, now and then. All in all a great result and we’re feeling a lot better!

For lunch we made ourselves some cut tomatoes, with some rice crackers, mortadella and prosciutto. It was just the right amount and filled the bill perfectly. After lunch, mom felt like having a little lie down. I worked on a drawing that I started a couple of days ago, that still needed a lot of work to finish. For a couple of hours, I drew and she read and slept. What a treat to be able to choose that for your afternoon. I feel so spoiled and very indulged….ahaha. 

Later in the afternoon, I went to the square and booked my accommodations for Bangkok. It seems so weird to think that this leg of the trip is coming to a close soon. I am so sad to think of saying goodbye to my mom. I wish she could just continue to travel with me. She is such great company and truly one of my dearest and best friends.

We Facetimed my brother and niece and nephew which was amazing, as always. They are so special and we miss them terribly. I was happy to catch them home, and not napping in order to have a great chat with them. They all look so well.

In the evening, we went for our usual walk. We walked for about an hour and a half and it was lovely. The weather was so pleasant and the air very still with no wind. We wound our way around and up and down town. We visited that park we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, then worked our way home. There, we had some tea with sambucca and mom had some risotto for supper. We walked again for a while, then came home, read for a bit and called it a night.

Last night I slept much better and we both woke up today (Tuesday), bright and cheery and totally refreshed. We had coffee, chatted and both showered. I did some hand laundry while mom was finishing, and now we are off to see what calls us. We passed by the grocery store, Conad and picked up some things we needed. We were going to try to see the jail as the couple of times we went to check it out, it was closed. In any case, we took so long getting started and doing the grocery shopping, that we didn’t make it to see the jail before siesta time when everything closes for a few hours. We had some lunch and then mom went upstairs to read, and  I took my drawing stuff, went for a walk to the park, and found a hilltop overlooking a valley. I sat there for an hour or so, and drew. 

When I got home, we didn’t do much, hung out and then went to the square for email and FaceTime. We rustled up some dinner when we returned, which was a nice light supper as we had eaten our heavier meal at lunch. We had finished off some more of the food from our big cook up. We ate the spinach, zucchini and added the ground beef we still had from our earlier spaghetti meal. Mom put in some hot pepper flakes which made it amazing. Some rosemary breadsticks that we found at Conad, accompanied the meal. We had some fun shooting ‘selfies’ while our meal heated up. We tried to get creative and put my cameral on its timer, then ran over for the shot. We ended up stacking two large pots, a dictionary and mom’s eye glasses which cradled the lens of the camera in a position pointing upward. It was really fun and we actually got some great shots.

Selfie #1

Selfie #2

Selfie #3

Our supper was some mortadella, prosciutto and some cheese stuffed appetizers we had bought to try, a while ago. They were good but a bit heavy. They were half way between a pizza pocket and empanada stuffed with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Truly a dieters delight……lol, but good.

We went out for a walk after dinner and clean up. It was another lovely still evening with a really comfortable temperature. We walked for about an hour. Mom is getting so fit and is going for longer and longer walks without tiring. She will be in tip top shape when Winnipeg gets her back. We returned home, read together in my big bed, then mom went to her bed and we slept. 

Thinking of all of you. Glad you are enjoying the adventures.

•