Junefinnigan's Weblog

Benvenuti and welcome to all my Lovely Followers around the World,

It is Sunday morning in Beautiful Tuscany and we have returned from Fiano having enjoyed morning coffee and a chat with three visiting hunks from Milano.  Paolo’s (his English was excellent) father lives locally and his mother in Montespertoli.  I thought there had to be a good reason to visit our part of the world during an August heat wave, as every other Italian that can, has gone off to the coast or the mountains.  These nice looking young men apparently live near Lake Como, which is one place I would really like to visit.  anyway, I picked up another pack of bottled water and headed home with my man who is now stretched out on the sofa with a fan whizzing around full blast, and ready to take off, in the sitting room.  Yesterday, we realised that our air-conditioning unit was getting very hot, only to discover that the filter tray was completely blocked.  You may all like to check your own units!  We have had the out pipe stuffed up our chimney, but now we have realised that the hot air is heating up the metal flue and radiating the heat back into the room!  Saints preserve us!  Foto – The Relentless sun at Osteria La Case Chianti, from website.

Reading the papers I see that the Chinese and Japanese tourists continue to flood into Florence, that beautiful city that anyone with any common sense, avoids during the heat of summer.  The only difference is that it’s not the guide holding up the brolly for the faithful to follow, it is the tourists themselves that have converted their brollies into sunshades!  Foto La Repubblica.

Anyway, I’m sure my story is very similar to all you other poor souls fighting the European heat wave.  I watered the pots at seven o’clock this morning and made sure the two water bowls were full for the wildlife.  We have a large old black bucket outside our fence for the larger creatures (wild boar, deer etc) that cannot get into our pond, which is rapidly disappearing anyway.  And a smaller one for the cats, family of pheasants and visiting hare that manages to get under the fence.

Well, what else have I got to tell you.  Quite honestly, it’s been too hot to spend much time doing anything other than an early morning coffee at Fiano, then shutting ourselves in until dusk!  But I have had some new ideas for my fourth book ‘Assassin’s List,’ which is finally coming together.  Also, I must find the energy to keep up the strumming practice on my lovely Fender guitar, which sits on its stand in the corner of my study, begging to be played.  I need to change the strings to some that are better for learners, thank you John, but am frightened to death of trying to do it myself.  So I must wait for my band member Stefano to surface from his summer break!

So, what are you up, to apart from staggering around with your tongue hanging out and using up whole packets of wet wipes to cool yourselves down?  Perhaps Iceland would be a good idea.  My man and I did discuss moving out of Tuscany to cooler climes for a month in August last year, but here we are again, still here. Life’s events can tend to get in the way and prevent any well laid plans from happening!  Actually, I can recommend a hotel there, Iceland that is, its called Hotel Ranga, my daughter stays there regularly.  Foto from website.  Go to  Website

Gosh, am I rambling?  That’s what this relentless heat does to the brain!  I’ve even started talking to Izzy Lizard; he dashes from his vantage point above left of the cantina door, races across the side wall and hides behind the compost sacks.  But the last couple of weeks, I’m convinced he has been devising a cunning plan.  He’s started making strange cackling sounds that to me is talking, but not in a very friendly way.  So I talk back and say nice things to keep him relaxed.  Today he stopped halfway across the wall and stared at me!  I smiled, then he went behind his sacks, cackling away,  until I had finished sorting out the laundry.  He’s quite big and fat, so I think he’s the one keeping the insects down. Perhaps he thinks I’m after them too!

OK, must get this blog off to you.  Sorry about all the gobbledygook, that’s the way it is at the moment!

Have great week and do drop me a line, and/or visit my official author site at June’s site

Salute June x

PS  In this hot weather make sure your loved one is provided with plenty of chilled drinks and pampering.  Amore is the one thing that keeps us sane at times like this!