Work in Progress

A kitchen - sort of !

Well it looks a mess and it is . Difficult to remain positive when rather than make progress we seem to go backwards! But its slowly getting done and we do get some help.My partner's brother came and worked for a few days and we managed to do some useful stuff.

French drain to take damp away from wall

How not to make a hole for cable through a lovely stone !

Cleaning old floor bricks is a very satisfying job. After you rub off years of dirt and plaster there's a beautiful red or pink terracotta brick - ready to go back in the house again!

On a more serious note Abruzzo has recently granted licences for oil companies to begin drilling .The oil in Abruzzo is of a poor quality and it will need desulphurising to be of any use - meaning that as well as the drilling there will also need to be desulfurising plants built

Contacts on line for the campaign against oil drilling in Abruzzo:

YouTube postings and blog by Prof Maria Rita D'Orsogna ( of LA University, USA):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooWKJRWB-2o
http://www.dorsogna.blogspot.com/
http://savethemontepulciano.blogspot.com/


There is now two Facebook groups:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55038062025&ref=search&sid=100000411762141.550364796..1
and
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=search&gid=65208642677

Dull Rainy December- remembering summer

Oh it's dull here in Cornwall today ! The dog and I managed a quick dash down the road and back.I'm dreaming of my lovely hammock in Abruzzo in June.

I also remember back to the day in
2006 when I picked so many cherries from the 2 huge trees by the house that I ended up making jam with them ! Outside on an open fire ! And it tasted wonderful.
There were even enough to make Cherry Brandy for Christmas.

I love laying in the hammock as I keep telling you but there is one obstacle to my enjoyment and that is snakes; in May they are everywhere having just emerged from their long winter hibernation.I keep a small stone in my hand and if I hear some rustling in the grass I chuck it in that direction.I don't aim to hurt the snake just to scare it off .




It would totally freak me out if I ever saw one up a tree like this although I know that they do climb trees. In fact I was told of a farmer who was bitten in the neck by a snake that dropped down from an Olive tree.

I love the number of wild flowers that we get in Abruzzo in the summer. The land around us is mainly untended so no chemicals or pesticides go anywhere near it and the result is a beautiful wild flower meadow.

I've been collecting some seeds from the flowers and growing them in England with some success.I now have a very vigorous Verbascum that's taken up residence in our Cornish Garden and flowers all the year round !

On my Allotment in Cornwall I also have 2 Hop Leaved Hornbeams grown from seed . I hope to plant them in Italy next year to replace our huge old Hop Leaved Hornbeam thats growing at the edge of the garden. These Cornish trees have grown over 2ft in one year! Must be all the rain !