Ponte "Felice" over the Tiber Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 18 x 13" 46 x 33cm
Nighttime in Stimigliano Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 11 x 18" 27 x 46 cm
Fall by the Tiber Laurie Fox Pessemier Acylic/canvas 9.5 x 14" 24 x 35cm
Cherry Tree under Snow Laurie Fox Pessemier 17 x 25" 43 x 63cm
Roses under Snow Laurie Fox Pessemier 17 x 25" 43 x 63cm
On Monday, we had two feet of snow in Rocca Malatina. We waited just two days too long to leave. It snowed without stopping into Tuesday morning, when Blair went out to excavate. The driveway was still fairly driveable, although to go over the snow might be ill-advised. The real problem was where the snowplow pushed the accumulation from route 623 onto our sidewalk and exit. Rain had turned the 4 foot tall mass into an ice cube. Blair went out with the planting shovel to move it. A neighbor and her son kibitzed with him as he hacked along.
He made some headway before M, of the café, walked by. “Let me do some,” he insisted. Reluctantly (or not?) Blair relinquished the shovel. It wasn’t long before a much younger man came along and insisted on finishing it up. “I am going to go get a better shovel,” he said, “and I’ll finish the drive.” He wasn’t fast enough. M summoned his snow plow man, who made quick work of the 30 meter long drive (100 feet).
We were both touched by the kindness of people in Rocca Malatina. We are relieved to be keeping our house there (again, thanks to the generosity of our landlady who has lowered our rent to make our winter departure possible). We’ll be back for Christmas.
Which brings us to our Roma (Stimigliano) house. After replacing our hot water/heater there, we arrived on Wednesday to TOO MUCH HEAT. We’ve set the thermostat back to 60 (15) and we are more than comfortable. I love to be able to stand in the bracing air coming through the open bedroom window and still be warm. I look out onto the sea of night: the plain is empty, punctuated with a few cars and the passing train in the far distance. In the early morning a star twinkles in our window, just above the horizon.
On Thursday we went to Rome for a Thanksgiving lunch at the Savoy Hotel, with the American Business Group. We parked beneath the Borghese Gardens and wandered through the grounds for an hour before our meeting. We saw two painters and heard an accordionist. We both reveled in the lushness of the Roman garden: we each remembered being there many years ago, Blair for school, me after graduation. There’s a lot to be thankful for.
