​Weathering the Storm with the WP#195

The holiday season is upon us, at the start of the last month of the year and I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving back in the states and elsewhere around the world, all you expats or anyone who simply wanted to enjoy a good meal with friends and family and call it as you will. It is the holiday season, and the signs are here in Rome, and I am sure everywhere else in the world where one celebrates. Black Friday, CyberMonday, Giving Tuesday, and whatever other events take place between now and the holidays. Here in Rome, Black Friday, was a weeklong event, online, and in the real world and started even before what in the states is Black Friday. ​

I guess, the idea of making a profit by year’s end, getting in the black, and not be in the red by year’s end, is everywhere, at least in places where capitalism thrives and who knows, maybe in other places as well. I am also guilty of buying things online at Amazon IT, and in the local stores, as Rosa and I had essentially nothing when we moved into the condo, so we had to, and this is not a commentary on those that go out and spend. It is your money, and you can do with it what you want. Remember, I got rid of 90% of my things before my move here to Europe, really out of practicality and realizing that most of that stuff was never used or had not been seen in years, being stored, so yes, cleaning house was a good thing, but now, in the new place, we had to have things to function. Maybe, I have gone a bit overboard, but having the right tools in the kitchen, at least, for me, is very important. I don’t cook with one fork and one pot. ​

I mention this as yes, I have refreshed the items in the kitchen, but we do not have a microwave, yet, or a toaster, but we eat little bread and when the family came over for Thanksgiving, last Thursday, we put two tables together to have a makeshift gathering and it turned out very nice. There was, as you can imagine, as I cook for an army, lots of food including the turkey, of course, and many of the fixin’s. No, sorry, no cranberry sauce or should I say “canberries” jelled sauce, as it is not something you find here, but I did make stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans almondine, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, gravy and some salads, and wine brought by my brother-in-law Salvatore. He commented on the kitchen items as he appreciates having the tools in his kitchen as he was the preparer of the two Pasqua meals I attended the past two Easters. The sisters, including my wife, think the equipment in the kitchen is too much, but I make use of them all, including the Pyrex pie dishes which Rosa used to make here pumpkin pie for dessert. In the end, it was a very nice evening, and everyone was stuffed. ​

Of course, the cleanup took some time and there were plenty of leftovers. We sent some home with momma and both sister’s-in-law, so I am glad it worked out. Honestly, I was a bit nervous hosting my first Thanksgiving here, but in the end, even without any pasta, it went well, but with the potatoes and sweet potatoes, there were enough carbs and the whole meal was cooked and heated on the stovetop and oven over two days, and just Monday, all the leftovers were gone, so the refrigerator looks kind of empty, but that is fine, as we use what we have and then later on we will go shopping which we do one a week or so. I am very thankful for what I have, and our crazy life continues and looking back on this year, and it has certainly been one full of adventure, and many steps in both directions, mostly forward though I feel and this Friday, we have the immigration meeting, so maybe, just maybe, there will be light at the end of the tunnel on the bureaucratic front. We will see. ​

The teaching of English, as if it were a holiday season, has sputtered out a bit. Of course, I had told the school that I was going to be gone last week in Venice and then the Thanksgiving holiday, but no students this week, and then my private class only next week. This actually was a good thing, as I started receiving new requests for travel in the new year, along with others in process, so it was a chance to get back into the game and the lull of the past couple of weeks where the teaching and the holiday were more of the focus and now, I have to put into full swing the other part of my professional life. The last of my clients here in Europe returned home from Prague and I have two sisters traveling down under right now, with final payments coming due for several travelers in January and new projects start getting off the ground. And, the last week before the school closes for the Christmas holiday, I have an amazingly busy week at the school and my private lessons that week. When the new year starts, I am adding a new student or two, so I must be at the top of my game at every level and balancing the travel planning, the school, and life at home will continue as we continue getting the condo in order, with things still to be done. ​

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We expect the additional cabinets for the kitchen, yes for more things, installed next week, we think, the new windows and shutters by year’s end and the new cabinetry in the bathroom installed this month, we think and there is still the living room which remains unfinished in a way. We used an old table of Rosa’s nonno and chairs, and our kitchen table, both fully extended and all 7 chairs we had, three with the nonno’s table the 4 new kitchen table we bought recently to create the Thanksgiving gathering, but next year, I hope we have a proper dining room table and chairs, one we can have with leaves we can insert, so that we have a small table during the year and then can extend when we have company. That is the plan, at least. We also need to put in a light in the ceiling as right now, we simply have the exposed lightbulb, as we were waiting to figure out where our eventual dining room table would be. The structure is there, now we must finish out the project. Hopefully, soon, so we have a functional area which will also be my office. I am waiting for the desk to be moved from momma’s house to here, so I can set up that area, so still much to do, but slowly but surely, everything is coming together. 
So, until next week, with thanks to all of you for your support of our crazy little world. Stay safe, stay healthy and happy as the craziness of the month of December and the holiday season rolls on.