Yes, it’s pouring down with rain here and thunder has been rumbling across a leaden sky all morning. And, when we came back from morning coffee in Fiano, the electricity had gone! It was so dark and gloomy we lit a candle and placed it on the coffee table! Funny how, even in Tuscany, we have the same dilemmas as every other country that normally has electricity, what shall we do now? There was enough light to see but not to read. We contemplated lighting the log fire, but it wasn’t cold enough. Then, the moment we decided to relax and sit in the rather pleasant candle light to talk, it came back on again!
Despite unpredictable weather, October is a very popular time for visiting Artist Groups; some are currently packed into the holiday cottages just up the lane. The forecast is so bad this week that I am starting to feel sorry for them. I use to get a little irritated by the fact that they had positioned their easels so that they could paint the vineyards with our home in the middle, or in our gateway so that they could paint our view! But I have discovered something called tolerance, I can’t say I feel the same about the hunters though, but that’s another subject! foto ancoradelchianti.
But I cannot deny that right now the Autumn vines are a site to behold and a joy to paint. This picture was taken by my friend Ute who works at Villa Il Pozzo, just down the road. Every year I see the vines changing colour and there is one spot coming out of Fiano that is glorious, but difficult to photograph. So with Ute’s permission, I am sharing her foto which was taken from Villa Il Pozzo just a few days ago. Absolutely gorgeous. http://www.villailpozzo.it
Meanwhile, the banks are full of golden yellow wild crocuses. Also the ground is throwing up an amazing number of different fungi, a fascinating time.
And, at last we have Tartufo Bianco, White Truffles, being served at Paolo’s restaurant C’era un Volta and are now just about affordable. I set up the table ready for the arrival of my plate so I could photgraph it for you. Then to my horror my man said ‘What are you doing? You’ve just scoffed two huge mouthfuls without taking a foto first!” So I must apologise, I just couldn’t wait as it was our first taste of the season, food of the gods, that’s all I can say. So sorry about the gap in the middle!
So, what to do on this cold wet Sunday? I know, some on-line window fashion shopping will sort me out. Somehow, Italian men and women fashionisti seem to be recognisable wherever they go. Oh, we say, they must be Italian! Now, I love Italian Fashion, as you know, but somehow despite being very Italianised I still can’t quite pass myself off as anything other than English. But I can dream, can’t I? foto whowhatwear.co.uk
Anyway, perhaps we should light the log fire and have a nice glass of wine before lunch. How about you?
Do get in touch, I love to hear from my readers. Hoping you are well and safe in your little bit of the world.
Salute June
Ps Visit my author website at http://www.junefinnigan.website
Before I start, I must apologise. I have spent most of the weekend watching the Rugby World Cup, instead of writing to you. So I trust you can forgive me for making this blog a little shorter than usual as it is already lunchtime on Sunday! What a great match yesterday, England played incredibly well, the poor All Blacks couldn’t even get a look in. So today’s match between Wales and South Africa was rather an anti-climax. Anyway, now we know that the final next weekend will be England vs South Africa. Make sure you diary date to watch it! Foto UK Telegraph
I must also mention that the local farmers
Well, must dash off to lunch, but will add a little more to this blog when I return. OK, I’m back and ready to tidy this blog and get it off to you. But before I go I thought you might like to enjoy this bottle of Sticciano’s Cantastorie Rosso with me, which my man and I had with lunch at C’era una Volta Ristorante. Ooops sorry, we finished it off. Oh well, perhaps next time!
Most of you will know that early morning coffee at our local bar, is an essential start to our day. The other benefit of this is, over the years, having met some lovely locals; some very interesting and talented. One of these is the beautiful designer and artist, Gloria Campriani. Gloria was born in Certaldo and her studio is still here.
For many years Gloria worked with well-known names in the fashion sector and this experience led her to choose yarn as one of the main medias for her artistic career and the use of recycled materials now plays a big part in her creations. I love her work. Fotos provided by Gloria. Visit her website 
And, by amazing co-incidence, this weekend is the Festa de Lane (wools) di San Martino, in Florence. You will find everything you can imagine related to and /or made with wool. Don’t you just love hand-knitted stuff? I do. Did you learn to knit? I had the basics as a girl, but all my creations came out five times too big! Scarves a mile long, and so on!
Over coffee this morning, I spotted in La Repubblica, this advert for Berwich pantalone, that’s trousers to you and me, but it was the winter knits that caught my eye. I’d love to get the waistcoat for my man, but he may not like it as much as I do; I’ll have to ask him. What do you think? Visit their 
Then I saw these beautiful hand-made shoes by Fratelli Rossetti. Wow! They are just things of beauty; if you are into flats like me, there’s no need to be dull for the sake of comfort, not here in Italy! They have a shop in Florence! Yes! Here is their 
Meanwhile back at our lovely converted monastery farmhouse, we are surrounded by autumn coloured vineyards. This one is just to the left of our front gate. Some of the most beautiful views are to be had right now. despite the grey skies, high winds and rain.
And, last Tuesday we finally lit the log fire, having gone into denial for a couple of weeks, refusing to believe it was cold enough. And what a joy it is, snuggled up on the sofa with my man, gazing into those warming flames! Ah, life eeez good!
Anyway, enough of that, lets look back at the week, after all, that’s why you are here. Well, like most other countries in the world, Italy celebrated Halloween. In fact, the Italians go crazy for it, young and old dress up in the most outrageous costumes and parade around the streets wearing death masks! The next day is All Soul’s Day, or Day of the Dead, when everyone remembers their dear departed family and friends. The graveyards here are quite spectacular, always lit by red candles or lights, and masses of flowers both fresh & false, so the effect is a glittering welcoming place. There is a mix of concrete buildings where the dead are laid one on top of another, family tombs and graves in the ground, all attended regularly and kept bright and cheerful. I think some of the larger cemeteries should be included in Cultural Tours; I’m not sure if that would be allowed, but you can nip in and walk around anyway. Foto La Repubblica.
In the run up to Halloween, all the shopkeepers enter into the ‘spirit’ of things, including my man’s favourite Panetteria in Certaldo. In the picture, you will see the staff behind the counter wearing little hats and the counter loaded up with cakes and goodies for the festivities. On Saturday mornings, whilst I do the fruit, veg and cheese shopping in the mercato, my man pops down Via Giugno to get bread and sometimes Pizza for supper. He says, it is the best bakers in the whole area! Foto P Finnigan.
Meanwhile, back in our little bit of the Chianti countryside, the last two weeks has been busy with olive picking. Foreign faces are everywhere; some come for the much-needed work, whilst others treat picking olives as a fun holiday. Brightly coloured nets are spread out under the trees and not one little olive will be overlooked. Sadly, the harvest has been rather small this year, following the terrible summer drought. However, the resulting oil is absolutely delicious. Foto J Finnigan.
There has also been lots of tree felling. Mostly small-leaved oak trees, that are now in a big pile a few yards from our front gate. It’s a sad sight, I always feel a little bereft at the thought of any tree being chopped down, but I guess the woodland does need managing to some degree. My man bought a new chainsaw last year and he has yet to use it. The temptation to go out there with his boy’s toy, is eating away at him! He reckons we could pretend that we thought it was our own log delivery! O Dio! Anyway, behind the pile of logs the vineyard is looking very beautiful and it won’t be long before all the vines are bare. So we should relax and enjoy it, not think about pinching other people’s logs! Well,on the other hand….. Foto P Finnigan
Gosh, it’s nearly lunchtime and I should go and get changed. It’s currently thundering and raining, so we need to go over to C’era una Volta’ in Lucardo and enjoy the hot food, wine, the company of good friends and forget the weather. On arrival my man orders some fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil and toast, because he wants to taste the new stuff. The oil is Paolo’s own and the colour alone tells you how recently it has been cold pressed. Yummy! Foto J Finnigan
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