SCORPIONS AND PESTO AND THE ELECTION

JULY 28, 2004

We’ve seen a few scorpions since we’ve been here.  Most of them are small, and they tell us they’re not poisonous, but I still don’t want them in my house! 

I killed a few in the garden, hiding under stones, and also a few in the garage.  I found one just inside the front door one day, and the other night we saw a tiny little thing on our bedroom ceiling that we both thought might have been a scorpion.  By the time I squashed it, it was impossible to tell. 

The weirdest place we’ve seen one is in the bathroom sink.  Art was brushing his teeth, and I was waiting for him to do something.  He said for me to wait, because after he brushed his teeth he had to kill a bug that was in the drain. 

I walked in to the bathroom, and he told me that he had seen something in the air vent/overflow hole in the sink, located right under the faucet.  We weren’t sure how we were going to get the bug out, so we splashed some water in the hole. 

That’s when we knew it was a scorpion…we saw its little claw stick out of the hole, but unfortunately it wouldn’t come all the way out.  I grabbed some window cleaner and sprayed in the hole.  Nothing.   Then Art shot some air freshener in the hole…what a way to go…death by air freshener! 

I got my spray bottle for water and just kept squirting water in the hole.  I was afraid that the scorpion wasn’t dead and would come crawling out of the hole and sneak up on us later.  After sitting on the toilet and watching the hole for several minutes, I finally gave up, although I still wonder if it was just playing possum.  I’m sure there will be more before the summer is over.  Although I’m not a “girly girl” about bugs, I’d just as soon they stay outside.

Another new creature for us is the lizard that lives in our garden.  It’s just a little lizard, about three or four inches long.  At least I’m not scared of it.  We see these lizards all over the place, sunning themselves on the rock wall across the street, crawling up the wall of the house, hiding in the flowers.  I guess people from the southwest wouldn’t be so surprised to see lizards and scorpions, but these are things we never saw in Louisville!

We took a drive today to look at the sunflowers and to take some pictures. 
Many of you know that I am a camera geek.  I would like to think of myself as a good photographer with this wonderful eye, but that’s not really true.  I’m more of a wanna-be who just won’t give up.

This is the first time we’ve seen the fields of sunflowers in bloom.  This is our first July in Italy, and next month will be our first August.  After that, we will have been in Italy in each of the twelve months.

 The temperatures this summer are so much milder than they were last summer.  Last night the low must have been n the 50’s and I got so cold in the middle of the night that I had to close the window and pull up the bedspread. 

We can really tell the difference between the temperatures in Perugia and the temperatures up here in San Venanzo.  We always have a nice breeze, and have only had three or four hot days so far.  Of course we still have August to look forward to!

I got some info about renewing my passport today.  I was hoping to be able to do it in Florence, but I just found out that I’m under the jurisdiction of Rome and must go through that consulate. 

I did read on their website that I could renew my mail, so that may be the route I take if I can find a place to have an official passport size photo taken.

Our neighbors arrived today.  These people are the relatives of the man we bought our house from.  Originally this was one large house, and at some point the two brothers split it in two. 

We knew the brother would be coming soon because we heard someone opening up the windows this morning.    Armando told Art that they would arrive today and that they would stay for twenty days. 

When we went outside to water the tomatoes we saw the man and said hello.  He was busily greeting the neighbors who were all welcoming him back.  His wife was hanging out the window, and we said hello to her as we walked by.  We’ll make our formal introduction once the get settled a bit. 

I put in two more basil plants in Adamo’s yard, and potted one up for the back yard.  Hopefully these plants will keep producing until the weather gets cold.  It’s amazing how much bigger and fuller the plants are that are planted in the ground versus the ones in pots, even though the ground outside is filled with rocks and doesn’t look very rich at all.   

Adamo told me that the basil plants in his yard were about to flower, and I told him that I planned to make pesto tomorrow morning.  I asked if he would like some, and he said yes.  Since I knew that he liked pesto, I figured this was a safe bet.  The plants will bush out even more when I pinch them back tomorrow.  

We’re glued to the television these days, watching the Democratic Convention.  We are so hopeful that Kerry can actually win this election and get our country out of the mess we’re in.   When we traveled to Italy in October of 2001, we experienced so many acts of kindness and concern from Italians and others for us as Americans.  After 9/11 we had the sympathy and concern of the whole world.

 George Bush has managed to lose the good will of the world, and make us actively disliked.  We find it amazing to see the strength and leadership of the United States evaporate under George Bush. 

Right now I’m reading “Against All Enemies” by Richard Clarke.  What an amazing and disturbing tale!  To read of the ineptness of the CIA, FBI, and high ranking officials is sad, unbelievable, and frustrating.  It’s hard to believe that the United States of America, the smartest, richest and most advanced country in the world could make so many mistakes for so many years. 

In the past I’ve only made a few passing comments about politics.  One reason is that I’m not very interested in politics.  I find it boring and frustrating, and figure that in the end, they’re ALL crooks.  Art is very interested in politics…he finds it fascinating.  Anyway, with the election just about 100 days away, I really feel the need to let people know how we feel, and to encourage everyone to vote for Kerry. 

As Americans living on a fixed budget in a foreign country, we see the value of our dollar sink lower and lower.  THE DOLLAR!!! The AMERCIAN DOLLAR!!!  The currency on which all other countries USED to measure themselves.  How can our government sit by and watch our dollar lose value and our country lose respect? 

And then there’s the attitude of the rest of the world towards the United States.  We used to be the country that everyone wanted to emulate.  We were the biggest and the richest country, with opportunities for everyone.  It was a dream for many to one day come to the United States.  We were the gold standard.  These days, there’s quite a bit of tarnish on the United States.

Of course this blog is supposed to be about our life in Italy, but this IS about our life in Italy.  The policies of the current administration definitely affect our life in Italy.  I know that this probably won’t change anyone’s mind about their choice in November, but hopefully it might help someone who is undecided, or make someone realize that they really do need to cast their vote for Kerry in November.