Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World,
After this morning’s fill of SKY and BBC world news, I realise that the only way to treat all this bad news is to concentrate on all the good things in life. Here in our little bit of Tuscany on the edge of the Chianti Hills, the countryside is bathed in morning sunshine. It’s cold and frosty in the shade, but wrap up warm and it’s perfect for a country walk. Then back to light the log fire! Ah, that feels better!
It’s just six days to Christmas and my thoughts turn to our lovely family and friends and organising some video calls. Also, there is much fun in doing some on-line shopping therapy; I’ve just ordered some new leisure wear from Next Italy where they have a huge range of labels on board. My man thought I should go for more colours, rather than my usual black. As he is treating me I have chosen navy, pink and green. I have also noticed some lovely stuff on James Lakeland’s UK site which are made in Italy. Sadly, if I order stuff from the uk I have to pay a heavy import tax now, but hey ho! I just love this really colourful Christmasy retro look frock; if you like it too and are in London you could pop in and buy it whilst the shops remain open! Otherwise go to http://jameslakeland.net
Dare I say it? Yesterday I discovered another hand-made Italian handbag site. All the Italian designers are up there now. This is a godsend if you can’t get out around the shops like you used to! I love this snowy white bag with colourful changeable strap and make-up bag/purse from Elisendra. Well, I hope Father Christmas is reading this! All the presents that I know about are under the tree and it all looks very inviting. http://www.elisendra.com
Oh, I must mention that my man collected his fig and walnut Panettone from Certaldo yesterday and it came in the most delightful box! The packaging here in Italy is wonderful and you are always asked if it is for a gift. Your purchase is then immediately wrapped in colourful paper and bows and place in a luxury carrier bag! No charge.
Well, I hope you’ve got your stock of wine in for the festive period. There’s nothing quite like a warmed bottle of Chianti Classico by the side of the log fire! Put out the cheeseboard and antipasti, pour the wine and away you go! Salute!
OK, time to go and get festive! If we don’t speak again before Christmas do have a wonderful time, stay safe and I’ll see you soon xx
Buon Natale June x
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!
Meanwhile, first thing this morning we enjoyed coffee in Fiano and picked up on the latest news in the papers. I was excited to read, for you other Rock fans out there, that Guns N’ Roses will be performing at ‘Firenze Rocks’ in Florence between 14th and 17th June 2018! And there’s more; also listed are Ozzie Osbourne, Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Pearl Jam and lots more! I’ll post a link for tickets as soon as I hear more. It was nice of them to check that these dates did not clash with my own concert, which is on 22nd June! If you would like a personal invite to my Garden Party Rock Concert in Tuscany, email me at june.finnigan@virgin.net Foto La Repubblica.
Continuing on the same subject, we must not ignore that fabulous Italian Rocker Jovanotti, who has just announced his tour dates for next year. My daughter and granddaughter went to one of his concerts in Florence, and raved about it for weeks. The tickets are on sale NOW, so you had better get your skates on if you want to nab some. Foto La Repubblica. Go to 
Anyway, for those of you who would like a little more about our beautiful bit of the Chianti countryside, here’s a nice ‘good morning Tuscany’ foto, which I took just two days ago from a window at back of our house. In our part of the world, in between the clouds the sky is a brilliant blue, all year round. Ah, life eeeez good! Foto J Finnigan
Now, before I go, just a quick mention about the pile of felled tree trunks that, you may recall, were dumped just down the track below our front gate. It’s now four times the size and has a red a white crime scene tape around it! Did someone guess we were having devious thoughts about pinching a few, or is there a body underneath? Either way, we decided to leave things alone, use our own logs and light the first log fire of the season, and very nice it was too! Foto J Finnigan
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