I don’t have much to report from Casa Debbio. April has been cold. After a few warm, sunny weeks in March the weather turned cold and damp. The garden was already damaged by deep snow in January and the current weather has made things worse.
The cherry tree had less than half the blossoms it usually gets and the lavender is looking very ordinary. The wisteria is still to bloom.
On the upside some of the peonies have bloomed and are looking gorgeous. I can’t get down to the lower terrace to see them, but Sarah picked some yesterday and brought them up to the house so we can enjoy them.
Most of Italy is still red or orange. Tuscany is orange, but it makes little difference to me. I have only left the house twice in the last few weeks to go to the hospital. The first time was just a check up and the second was to have the stitches out of my leg and ankle. All seems OK and I don’t have to go again until the cast comes off on May 6th and some screws are taken out of my ankle.
I turned out to be absolute useless with crutches so I now have a walking frame for upstairs and a wheelchair for downstairs. I still can’t get outside much because there are few flat surfaces here and the garden is all slopes and uneven terrain. The cold, windy weather has meant this is not really appealing anyway.
Sarah has been cooking up a storm. She makes a delicious lunch every day and loves to make cakes. Here is her chicken and leek pie.
I am very lucky to have Sarah here to help me. She brings me coffee in bed every morning and is there for me at the top of the stairs to meet me as I drag myself backwards up from the ground floor to my bedroom. She hauls me up onto my very helpful walking frame and I take it from there. It is sometimes made more difficult because we can’t stop laughing.
Filippo has been wonderful. He drives me to the hospital and takes care of all the things around the house that I can no longer do. He fills the pellet heater, waters my precious plants as well as his usual gardening work. He also likes Sarah’s cakes.
There is a bit of good news. It seems Tuscany will be declared a yellow zone next week and bars and restaurants will be able to serve customers at outside tables. I am looking forward to that almost as much as getting the cast off my leg.