my blog
I need to tell you something...
Last year, I had a parent/teacher conference in the local Italian school. When I asked my daughter's teacher how my little girl was doing, she replied,
“Well, Signora, she's never going to be a writer.”
The words hit me like a freight train.
I swallowed and kept listening. She got 6 our of 10 for her Italian, a grade I was reassuringly told...
I am so ready for Spring that I have become addicted to weather reports. I have three apps on my iphone, numerous bookmarked sites and I flick through the weather channels more often than I check facebook! I'm convincing myself that Spring really is on the way. Even as the gale howls outside, I'm itching to reach for my white jeans and paint my toes Cancun Fiesta*.
As I stare at the snow on the...
16 years ago, my man and I decided to buy a pile of rocks in Tuscany. No roof, no floors, no stairs, an old tractor in the cowshed, a toilet al fresco... it was the most exciting thing we had ever done and would change our lives forever.
Our plans, however, met mixed reviews.
“How ridiculous! You'll lose a fortune. You can't trust Italians, you'll be ripped off.”
“Why do...
There I was grocery shopping again when the phone rang. It was my husband's assistant, the fabulously efficient Paula.
“Come on Kate, you are being really quite slack. It's been a while since your last blog.”
Give me a break, I thought, it's nearly Christmas!
I questioned why I hadn't written anything for a while. Then I realised, I'm a misery.
Why? Because it's Christmas.
Even...
Last Monday, I was sitting in the Olive Mill waiting to press our 2011 crop . And No, it's not like 'Under the Tuscan Sun'. It's cold, the air is hazy with fumes from the olives and the machines are really, really noisy. Oh, and I'm the only woman amongst many elderly Italian men.
I do this every year but this year is different. The mill is eerily quiet.
I phoned the press last week and couldn't...
As the summer draws to a close, I've been reflecting on our first year of renting the barn.
When I suggested the idea, the whole family threw their hands up in horror.
“Do you really want people knocking on the door in the middle of the night asking you to unblock the loo?” Good point. I must say standing in my nightie armed with a plunger wasn't appealing.
“Mummy we won't...
