WE’VE GOT MAIL…WELL, SOME OF IT….

Whether you’re in Italy or in the states, someone always has a horror story about their mail. If it’s YOUR piece of mail that’s lost or damaged you don’t give a damn if 10 zillion other pieces got to their destination in record time. Mail is still very personal, and even in this electronic age, very important.

Right now we’re wondering where our M bag is. For those of you who don’t know, an M bag is a way to mail books or recorded materials from the U.S. The rate is cheap, about $1/pound, because it takes the slow route. Based on past experiences it usually takes an M bag nine weeks to get from Louisville to San Venanzo, so now, at week 10 we’re getting a little worried.

Yes, we’ve had a bunch of holiday to hamper our M bag’s delivery, but these holidays shouldn’t have delayed the shipment from the states. Here in Italy we’ve had the December 8th feast of the Immaculate Conception as our first holiday. Then the long Christmas weekend, with Dec, 26th also being a feast day/holiday……then New Years weekend, followed by the Epiphany on Jan 13th to close out the holiday season. We haven’t yet given up hope, but still…..

We have had better luck, so we’re not completely down on the postal system. Thank you cards sent to us by my son and his family, mailed on a Monday from Florida arrived here on Thursday! A small package mailed from Le Marche, a neighboring province, arrived the day after it was mailed.

My daughter recently sent me a wonderful package….a collection of American magazines. She found the perfect mix of trash, general interest and serious material. Reading novels is nice, and reading the local newspaper online is fine, but there’s nothing like having a few magazines to flip through, reading things here and there, turning a corner to mark a recipe or article of interest.

Although the internet allows us to keep in touch with friends, family and local information in the states, and although we call home quite frequently, receiving mail is still a treat. This isn’t necessarily because we’re in Italy, because I’ve always rushed to the mailbox, but now it’s even more special. Now if that M bag, filled with more magazines, as well as new books, would just get here!

And completely unrelated to mail, this is what I saw this morning when I opened the bedroom shutters....

Directly out our bedroom window we have this view, framed by two cypress trees...













Looking to the right, down into the valley, it's common to see the fog settling in...


And looking to the left, past the park, past the rooftops, up towards Monte Peglia....


For those who are wondering, it should be obvious that we're not experiencing any of the extreme weather that's plagueing northern Europe. Here our weather is unusually mild, proably in the 50's, and I'm still opening the windows up to air out the house, at least for a little while each day.