did you notice that there was no blog post last week?
let me tell you why (#4 below), and also fill you in on what’s been going on (other than the regular daily events and errands) over the past two weeks.
1. 4 september, pietrasanta >> an artist town in northern tuscany, we’d heard much about it but had never been (only 21 miles from our home). we spent a very enjoyable and relaxed afternoon/evening, keeping in mind that all we have is this moment . . .
vivere intensamente (live intensely) ❤️??❤️
2. 7 september, delicious lunch >> at a favorite local restaurant with long-lost pre-covid friends, followed by eric’s affogato at villa magnolia.
3. 8 september, homemade dinner >> at our dear friends’ house, just a two-minute walk up our road. ohhhh . . . these two. how we adore them! they make us feel so loved and at home. very thankful for la seratina (the evening) ❤️ even though i broke a wine glass . . . ??
4. also 8 september, spectacular fall >> down the cantina stairs, landing on my CHIN! ?? there is concrete under all the flooring in our house so, yes, i hit HARD.
i’d been in the cantina (basement) cleaning out the litter box right before bed. on my way back upstairs, i suddenly wondered if the light had been left on in the next room. so i turned halfway up the steps and started to go back down. i must have whipped around too quickly/abruptly because i sort of propelled forward, losing my balance and missing the last step. i knew in the last second that i was going to land on my face, and immediately worried about my teeth. fortunately, i didn’t chip any or knock any out.
but every part of my body was aching, sore and swollen. my upper/lower lips/gums were cut up and puffy, and i had a huge bruise on my chin that kept getting darker (i still have it, 9 days later, but it is improving with daily arnica). it was excruciating when i tried to bite down. in fact, my jaw seemed to be misaligned (my teeth were not even meeting in the back). and my smile looked strange, different, not like ME. my right index finger was sprained and bruised, my forearms were scraped/tender/bruised, my knees were bruised and inflamed . . . bruises everywhere really! what was most painful however, especially when i breathed deeply or coughed (or just moved), were my upper ribs. this is what kept me awake the first night and what continues to hurt even now, more than a week later.
but i did go to the doctor and the official word, after a thorough (somewhat painful) exam, “whiplash and many contusions, but no fractures. you were lucky.”
we have 9 sets of stairs in our house (of varying sizes), and i’ve fallen down 6 of them! this is really nothing new for me, i’ve always been klutzy (many many stories going way back to my childhood). but it has been over a year since my last escapade.
one of the reasons i don’t always get along with the stairs is because i am constantly ON the stairs. for instance, i had to go down to the cantina from the tower to get something the other day, then go all the way back up. so i decided to count my steps . . . round trip = 96! and i do this many times per day, over and over and over again. day after day after day. though i try to be careful, i’m usually in a hurry and i like to move quickly (a trait inherited from my mom).
oh, by the way, the required mask perfectly covers my bruised chin in public!
5. 12 september, pizza date >> with even more wonderful friends, at our favorite pizzeria. no hard crust for me! practicing italian and english (i’m the least skilled of the 4 of us) . . . so much fun with so many laughs. my poor injured mouth hurt by the end of the evening ?
6. 15 september, levanto >> this stunning seaside town in liguria, on the italian riviera, is truly a dream . . .
but we never intended to go there! after our weekly excursion was postponed last wednesday (due to my fall down the stairs), we rescheduled it for tuesday. and the destination in mind was monterosso al mare (the only cinque terre village we hadn’t been to yet).
however, monterosso and the lees are apparently not meant to be! though we’ve taken the train every other time we’ve visited the villages of cinque terre, we went by car this time. and when we arrived (after a breathtaking drive on a curvy hilltop road), we drove around and around and around (along with several other cars), looking for a parking place (at least within a couple of miles). no luck. and after a valiant effort, we finally (begrudgingly) gave up.
it was such a gorgeous warm day though, and we didn’t want to be thwarted two weeks in a row. so we decided to drive to close-by levanto instead. we ended up being very glad things worked out the way they did ❤️
“you were lucky.”
yes. yes, i was.
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