I can't live..if living is without you...I can't live....

Here we are...day 50 of quarantine!  Wow.  Who knew?   Fifty days.......

By the way...I am on Facebook...so if you want to see my Quarantine updates, I have made them public.  This.....this is more personal.

So!  What happened in our little corner of the quarantined world today?  The weather was nice.  Almost 70 degrees (Fahrenheit)...but breezy and still a bit chillier than usual.  Inside is always colder than outside in the warm months...because we have stone walls and ceramic floors.....and the wind whips around outside the back door and window....across the hills and valleys from the either the Adriatic or the mountains.  Nevertheless...a very lovely day.

My husband ventured out in mask and gloves to get more gloves...and a couple of light bulbs, feral cat food...another coir mat for the cortile so the ferals can scratch and sit and sleep.  Anything to get off the stone and tile.  He brought home a couple of plants...a fuchsia petunia in a hanging pot and a couple of others for the front...which is a problem because it gets relentless sun...relentless...and very, very hot come the warmer months.  Nothing survives.  So we decided to get a couple of pots for the already there hangers and replace plants throughout the season...sounds a bit heartless, I suppose....but the house needs color...we've tried to find things to survive, but nothing does...short of a cactus....and an ornamental flowering plant cost next to nothing here and they are plentiful.

I did a couple of loads of laundry...small compared to US loads....and was preparing dinner.....when the doorbell rang.  The INSIDE doorbell...that can only be one or two people.....it was Marguerite, my friend and neighbor from across the street.  She brought a piece of pie for two.  I can't tell her that I don't eat fruit....she wouldn't understand...few do, anyway...plus...the language problem.  Nevertheless, it is beautiful and smells like butter and sugar....heaven.......

As the day wore on, it seemed to get nicer outside.  The siren's song......my husband went out to feed the ferals again.....and he didn't come back in.....then I started hearing voices outside.....ok....sure...it happens... succede.....especially on a lovely evening.....Tee was in the front window paying rapt attention......stood up like a prairie dog a couple of times.....What IS going on out there?  

Finally, Tee scrammed...as did Scruff and Calzini...only Imp remained.....they were scared.  Too many noises, too many voices...too much stuff going on out there!

At which point I stood up and I saw Marguerite on one of her balconies tending to plants, Tony (her husband) in the piazzetta,  tending to the plants that grow up on their walls outside...Antonio, another neighbor...and I could hear my husband.

I put shoes on and went outside.  Beautiful evening light glow....a warm evening.....down the street further was little Laura, who is 9 years old and her father...both in masks....they waved "Ciao!"...Tony was in a mask, Antonio was not......Marguerite and Tony's cat was on the engine hood of Tony's car...in her halter and leash....and there was a CROWD of ferals....Mamma, Ink, Lupo, Funky Gray, Black Mamma...Fat Black......cats!  Una folla!!  Nothing special going on...but....something special indeed.....people being "social' in whatever way they could.  Waves.  Greetings.  Hey!  We're here!  We're alive!  Making pies, tending plants, feeding kitties......

I didn't stay long because I had things to do in the kitchen....and I was struck by the reaction of our own kittens....yes, they are still kittens.  Scruff is, just now, in the beginning of his adolescence...he is about one year at this point.  The others are three months behind.  What struck me was their fear.  The front window wasn't even open.....yet, they were frightened.  And they ran to hide.

And hide they did.  I found Tee and Calzini hunkered in the back room in Scruff's cage, making themselves as invisible as possible.  Scruff and Imp were on our bed...not SO terribly scared, but not near the front window.  And, when I sat down, Imp came to me immediately.  He knows....he knows he isn't going anywhere....no one is coming to take him away.  He's safe.  We saved his life. He is well aware of that.  Scruff.....not so much.....but he's learning.

I comforted Tee a couple of times...I could not even really reach Calze....after three times, Missy Tee came out again.  Calze followed soon afterwards.

It just showed me how terribly vulnerable they still are....after being in the streets for 7 or 8 months of their lives...they are terrified of going back.  They want no part of it.  I had had a previous adopted stray who was much the same.  No thanks!  Been there, done that!

Makes me weep for the children...the innocent children ...no one remembers or even speaks about anymore....those small and helpless children ripped from their parents and shoved into cages and afraid and deprived and crying every moment of every day.  I cannot even...even...imagine.  And we, as a country...as a society...as a world....have forgotten them and their needs and their fear.

Nel cielo infinito...

Italian Quarantine Chronicles, Day 33: The temperature has approached 70 F. at long last. Went for a walk along the deserted passaggiata yesterday with Harry, fearing that soon my legs and knees will turn to mush. Some aches and pains....actually, quite a bit of pain....last night, but all was better this morning.

After 15 years, my husband does not know what kind of tea I drink, and so he came home with something I know I can't stand...not one, but two boxes of it. So, today, I became the reluctant "designated shopper." Also, we needed another round of deworming medicine for a kitty and he is afraid he doesn't know how to ask for it. *sigh*

It is a glorious day - Good Friday in Italy - I didn't know what to expect. There is usually a huge procession through the town and lots of church services.

At the first corner, I looked to the left and saw three women triangulated, but chatting through their masks and each one had several bags of supplies. It was clear, then, that the salumeria and butcher shops were open. I went the other way toward the pharmacy and the salumeria I prefer.

No jacket required, the sky was clear blue, the sun was bright and enough to warm me up in just a sweatshirt. I was slightly surprised to see as many people out and about as I did, yet every one of them was wearing a mask and some, like me, had gloves as well. Still, compared to what is usual, there was a decided lack of activity. It made me sad and concerned passing closed store after store, pizza place, restaurant, cafe

.I saw Antonetta...the wife of Donato, who runs the little housewares store that also carries cat and dog food, and so, he is allowed to stay open. At first,, because of the masks, we didn't quite recognize one another...we each hesitated just a bit....then shouted a "Ciao!" across the street.

A milk delivery was just arriving at the salumeria, so I waited outside. I love this store. I love the way it smells. An old fashioned deli, piled high, floor to ceiling with goods. A small freezer, fridge...and his cheese and meat counter....there is barely enough room to fit two people in at a time anyway. Now he has boxes and boxes of inventory that haven't been opened yet or put away. It reminded me of what a house looks like, feels like, just before a move, with boxes everywhere.

Milk man left, I walked in. "Come stai?" Ahhhhhh.....va bene. Black tea, please....and I felt ridiculous just getting tea, which he had to search for among the stacks of boxes....so, I reached over the milk carton sitting in front of the fridge case and grabbed some tortellini, hoping I wouldn't lose my balance. And an 80% chocolate bar - don't judge me - it's supposed to be helpful for arthritis!

Back downhill to the farmacia. There were already two people inside, so I waited. Saw a neighbor..."Buongiorno!"..he was going to the vegetable store just up from the pharmacy. There, I noticed, the woman was taking customer orders from the door...then coming out with a bag. She was in a full blown Hazmat suit, the white overalls...mask, gloves, goggles.

My turn came in the pharmacy..."Io ho bisogno di un Nemex per i gatti." Nemex for cats. The gal went to the back and appeared with the now familiar box. As I nodded and she rang it up, music started BLASTING from the town speakers...!!! LOUD, SOMBER band music....deafening. I nearly jumped, pretty sure I put my hand over my heart. Everyone did! Then we all had a chuckle. Check that volume, please!

From there I headed back, taking in the beautiful flowers, the magnificent sky, and trying to "enjoy" the walk through my mostly empty town.

Near the door at home was little "Lupo," the ugliest kitten I have ever seen. He was tearing up a piece of paper, having kitten fun.

Inside, Imp had turned on the TV and was watching some action movie with things blowing up. The other three were playing ambush/leap frog under, over and around the bed. My husband was on the balcony and the "kids" were tearing around inside, unattended!

Our cases are up to 98, but deaths remain at 8. We wait to hear if this quarantine is extended past the 13th. Meanwhile, though it is getting progressively harder to keep spirits up, we continue to do what we must do.

Update: A documentary about "the oldest procession in Abruzzo"...the tradition in this town for Good Friday...will be telecast twice today for those citizens interested. Churches are closed, as they have been since quarantine began.