Don't you love farce?

We tried to sign up for our booster vaccine online as advertised and advised.  It didn't work.  I have no idea why.  It didn't work the first two times either and I have no idea why.

Well, then came along the end of the year and our annual attempt to renew our national healthcare, so getting vaccinated went by the wayside until we got that straightened out.

With the help of a friend who is involved in the local government. we got our healthcare coverage validated.  Why this was necessary, we will never really know.  The Italian bureaucracy in infamous internationally for this reason.  Things just don't make sense.  They have cell phones and computers and apps galore, but somehow, the left hand does not communicate with right hand and there are layers and layers of miscommunication between.  Rumor has it that the new Prime Minister wants to fix this, or at least try to.  I wish him all the luck in the world.

Anyway, back to the booster shot.  We could not make an appointment online, even with our brand, spanking new healthcare for 2022.  So, we had to enlist the help of our friend once again.  His wife works within the local Ministry of Health in the province seat of Pescara.  

We got a call from her one morning asking for certain information and the next thing we heard was that we were to show up at the Sports Complex (where a basketball arena has been used for Covid vaccinations since this all began) at 6:30 pm on Friday. 

The following morning, our friend called to say he had the form that needed to be filled out, he printed out two for us.  Ok.  So my husband went to his office for the forms.  They are just basic health questionnaires wanting to know if you have any conditions and take any medications.  When he picked up the forms, our friend gave my  husband a slip of paper with a doctor's name on it.  Our friend also said he would try to take us, but he wasn't sure that would be possible.

Well, he is a young man with a working wife and two young children.  I didn't want him to take us since he had done enough already.  He AND his wife had done enough.  So, I asked my friend across the street if she could drive us there, it is only a 5 minute drive just outside of town.  She said she could and that was that. 

At this point I could moan about the lack of organization and anticipation of needs before implementing plans, but that is an entirely different subject worthy of its own discussion. As in, why are there not multiple places to get vaccinated?  Why isn't there at least ONE located in the historical section?  Why doesn't this town have a taxi service or at least some sort of shuttle to the vaccine site?   

So, the time rolled around.  It was a cold, rainy, nasty day and the sun is gone completely by 5:30pm.  We left with my neighbor and friend at 5:45.  We were very lucky to find a parking spot just outside the basketball arena that is the vaccination hub.  My friend chose to wait in her car and we walked through the light rain to the outside tent where there is a small maze set up for long lines...but there was no line, so we did our dance through the maze (like at an airport) up to the entry.  There were only 3 people ahead of us.

We got to the head of the line and a man took our temperatures and checked our papers.  We were then sent to another checkpoint where they tried to find our names on the roster.  They took our health care cards, they took the forms but could not find our names.  I said we had an appointment.  They looked perplexed.  So I then said the name of the doctor our friend had given us, and my husband chimed in with the name of our friend.  "Six-thirty!  We have an appointment!!!"  I was very, very sure of myself.  With that, I saw the man start to write us in, on the side, under a list of about half a dozen other names.  

Then we were sent to another desk...a doctor and a clerk.  The doctor checked the health document and stamped and signed it.  The clerk was entering information into the computer and then handed me a form that would eventually be my confirmation of vaccination.  It had a small number 2 on it.

I got up and saw the banks of stations beyond...each with a number and number two was straight ahead.  Just then, a woman in scrubs came out and motioned me over.  "Due?"   "Si!"  So, I went right over...."Destra o sinestra?"  (Right or left?)  I was done within moments.  Then I was sent to wait at the end of the arena.  We had gotten there just before 6 pm and it was now just ten minutes after. 

Very shortly, my husband came along to wait....just to make sure there are no untoward reactions.  We waited dutifully.  I texted my friend waiting outside to let her know we would not be long.  We were home actually before our "appointment" time of 6:30 pm!

I emailed our young friend to let him know everything was done and we were home, although the people there did not have us down on the list of appointments.  Everything went well, nevertheless.

He called shortly thereafter.  Guess what?  He wanted to take us (if he could) because we never DID have appointments!!!  What???  We.....what?????  So, I stood there, totally confident, throwing names around until they caved and wrote us in.  Mmmmm...yeah.  He said other people without appointments had been turned away and despite all of his and his wife's efforts, they could not secure an appointment, either.  So, it was my big mouth and the luck of having hardly anybody there that got it done.

OMIGOD!  I have never been one to drop names or pull strings.  I was embarrassed, belatedly, but also VERY amused because if I had known I was lying I would have never been able to pull it off. I couldn't stop laughing.  Turns out the name of the doctor he gave us is the head of all of Abruzzo or something like that. Hahahahaha.  

So, here we are....hunkered down now, hoping the after effects won't be terrible.  Still wondering, forever wondering why we just could not make a damned appointment.  

It's good to have friends.

And the seasons, they go round and round.....

 I love Italy.  I love it for all the cliche and expected reasons....the people are warm and (mostly) kind and friendly.  The weather is milder than the weather I was so reluctantly used to.  The scenery is gorgeous...it is the most beautiful place I have ever known.  Each day I see another painted landscape or cityscape.  The food is phenomenal, fresh locally grown vegetables and olive oil, hand made pasta....I love it here. 

Keeping in mind that like everywhere else in the world, life is not a perpetual vacation.  There are problems, as there are elsewhere.  Young people are having great difficulty finding a sustainable way to make a living.  This little town of ours, like so many, is suffering also from Covid backlash.  No one could predict that or escape it, so we persevere.

There is one aspect of living here full time, though, that is not so beloved and that is also something Italy is famous for...bureaucracy.  OMIGOD!!! There are times I want to scream, punch a wall, just freaking vent for the stupidity of it all.  Today was one of those days.

This is the view from ASL....a health care facility on one of the "outer" roads of town, just outside the historical center where we live.  The building you see is what could be a new hospital, but the money ran out, so it sits.  Empty. Unused.

Once a year we have to renew our national health care.  Since we are expats, since we have enough....we pay the maximum price each year to be covered until December 31.  That includes...everything....tests, office visits, hospitalizations, lab tests, prescriptions.  We don't pay another dime for anything.  It costs approximately $150 American dollars per month for each of us.  We pay it gladly.

The one big inconvenience is that it cannot be done online, it has to be done in person.  The reasons for this, although explained to me, remain murky and somewhat ridiculous.  But, nevermind.  In the past we had our Italian teacher go for us, because she has a personal friendship with the guy whose job it is....and she got it done in about five minutes with no problem and we paid her and thanked her for her time and that was that.  She is, we recently found out, not vaccinated.  She cannot enter the building.   *!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, I was upset, disappointed and also angry...that she did not tell us...that she is not vaccinated.  What to do???  I can't walk there....it's a quick drive, but I did walk there once and it took me several days to recover.

My dear, sweet friend and neighbor across the street drove me there this morning.  Our dear, sweet young friend (and insurance agent and vice mayor of the town) had called "the guy" and so he was aware that I would be there.

*View of Penne from the ASL entrance.  It looks so far away...but is literally a 3 minute drive.

So!  We got there...bright and early, a gorgeous, crisp, cold, clear blue sky morning.  I had everything...passports, fiscal codes, payment receipt, old health care cards, permessi (expired due to Covid...the government is backed up due to the impact of the virus.)

The guard barely glanced at me, did not care to look at my "green pass" that proves I am vaccinated.  I went right in.  Stood in front of the door to the office where "the guy" was supposed to be. It had a big sign to wait outside because only 2 people could enter at a time.  I had no idea if anyone was inside and made a mental note to myself to check in a few minutes if there was no sign of activity.

Very shortly, "the guy" came along...he wasn't even in the damned office...and I snagged him.  "Come with me," he said.  He kept flipping between English and Italian which happens to drive me crazy....I need to be on one train at a time, so to speak.  Literally,....so...to...speak.

Anyway...off to another room down the hall where there were two young women at desks with plexiglass screens.  I had a seat.  I filled out a redundant form asking for name, address, date of birth, place of birth...choice of doctor.  Did one for my husband, too.  Forged his signauture,..shhhhhh!!!  Va bene.

Handed over the passports, old cards, fiscal codes, silly forms, and permessi...these are our permits to stay, which are at this point, officially, expired.  Although we did everything correctly, the appointment is waaaaaaay late, toward the end of February. (It should have been in September.)  What we do have are the proofs of appointment and proof of payment.  Supposedly, these are "official" enough to even travel out of the country.  But they posed a problem for health care.  Go figure.

"Something, something, something....doctors are in competition...something, something...I don't know the word....(he did not know the word "expired")

"SCADENZA!  Si!  Capito!  Perche Covid!!"

....blah, blah, something...so...you get a paper card (rather than plastic) that is good for three months.  After that, have your friend call, and we will issue another for the rest of the year."  

"I paid for the year."  

"Yes, yes...that is not a problem,,,

"Not a problem.....then why no card?"  

"E complicato"   No shit.  

The final word was "burocrazia"....bureaucracy.  The infamous and internationally well known bureaucracy.  I was given reasons that made no sense....I cannot even form them into coherent sentences...although they were delivered to me in understandable words that did not form, to my mind, a reasonable thought.

We have our health care...for now....and our young friend has been apprised of the situation.  We will soon get our boosters and later head to the Questura for our new permessi.

Besides the magnificent views, the spectacular blue skies, our wonderful friends...we had a wonderful meal of turkey tettrazini, green beans and warm rolls.....here at home, warm and cozy.

Outside the ASL, just outside the entry doors, is a little area of wild roses.  They are blooming....in the middle of January.  Holding their little heads up to the magnificent sun even though I would wager they get no care whatsoever.  But they persevere.

Just remember there's a lot of bad everywhere...

 Our doorbell rang unexpectedly.  It was my sweet friend and neighbor across the street, but she was not here for chit chat or happy greetings.  She saw another neighbor "toss something" into our pans of cat food and water for the street cats. (Let me remind people that we have, of our own accord, sterilized 10 cats and managed to control the unwanted population at least in our own little piazzetta.) It was by pure chance that she happened to see it occur.

So, it was discovered that there were tiny pellets or seeds tossed into the food and water pans. My immediate reaction was that this was some kind of poison.  As I frantically tried to identify what it was, my friend's husband was confronting the man who did it.  Yes, indeed, it was poison....."for mice,"  For mice?  What mice?  In the more than  three years we have lived here I have seen one tiny little mouse...dead, in the street.  Since this is a "city," and a city of stone, there are traps here and there placed about every piazzetta.  I have never encountered a rat, either. Nor does it seem that anything has ever been confined to those traps.  Whatever.

So....poison...in the cat food and water.  Tossed in the street.  Domestic dogs, indoor/outdoor cats, birds and children are in those streets.  "Our" cats (the ones we tried to take in but they refused the indoor life) are neutered and are not contributing to a burgeoning population of kittens.  

On closer inspection, of course there are multiple precautions one should take with this stuff. Such as wearing a mask and gloves and NOT just spreading it around willy-nilly, but confining it to indoor spaces and outdoor traps.

We, naturally, were livid and upset.  It was made worse because, of course, the guy is trying to weasel his way out of responsibility by playing dumb.  "I saw TWO BIG mice!"  Oh, wow!  An epidemic!!!  What, exactly, is a BIG mouse???  Just wondering.  I'm sure they were just strolling along and saying "hi" to the cats as they passed through.

Then he attempted to say that "cats don't eat it." Well, it isn't made for cats, nor is it made for dogs or children, but, given the opportunity any one of them might shove some in their mouths.  Which is why there are myriad instructions for use and freaking WARNINGS!!! all over the container. 

We informed another cat owner down the street of the incident and perhaps we will inform a friend of ours who is actually a member of the city government.  This sort of  backward, provincial behavior can't be tolerated any longer.  It is, after all, the 21st Century.

On the other hand....just when you think all hope is lost...something happens.  Well, two things happened.  Our health insurance coverage (national health coverage) remained the same price this year as last, and I went to the Poste Italiane to pay for it today and it all went very smoothly.

Second, our doorbell rang unexpectedly this evening.   It was the parents of our young friend.  They brought us a rather large tray of sweets.  Parrozze (almond cakes covered in chocolate), candied almonds and sfogliatella (a shell shaped cookie of puff pastry filled with either jam or chocolate.)  Our friend once told us his mother had worked for "the best bakery in town."

We could not invite them in (although we did...but they declined and rightfully so) because of Covid, which is surging once again.  But what a lovely surprise!!!  Out of nowhere and just when we needed it. Serendipity.

It's that time of year...

And above all the bustle you hear....silver bells.....

 Even in Italy people's nerves can become a bit frayed around the holidays.  My husband and not one, but two doors left to slam in his face the other day while running errands.  

I witnessed an older guy pull up to the pharmacy...right in front of the door (not supposed to be done) with the headlights on and glaring into the floor to ceiling windows.  He then got out, leaving the car and headlights on, and sauntered into the pharmacy without a mask (also not done, there is a mandate here).  I was next and I was able to go in because there was no one else there, but I kept my distance because of maskless Marco.  By the time I entered the dottoressa behind the counter was already scolding him.  To top it off, she was by herself when there are usually two or three people working at a time.

"Aspetta fuori!!"  Wait outside!  He traipsed back to his car, still leaving the lights at full blast, while she proceeded to fill his request.  Apologizing to me, she went out to his car with the prescription and soon came back in FUMING because he apparently asked for another item.  I told her not to worry, it was not a problem.  But Mr. Entitled took up a good portion of time out of either selfishness or cluelessness.

On the other hand, the town looks festive and while chilly, the rains have ended for now, so the skies are clear and crisp.  The kids have their ice rink up and running.  And I got a little surprise.

Every Natale we give cakes and large bottles of prosecco as gifts to certain friends.  Last year, we had stopped at the pasta/bakery near the wine store and stocked up on tortellini and pizza dolce for ourselves.  By the time we were done in the wine store, we were loaded down with so much stuff!  Our cart and extra bags were full and we were getting tired, still with a bit of a trek ahead of us.  Then I was informed that I was eligible for a free bottle of wine!  My husband said we had too much to deal with already.  😕So, we went on our way.  

Between Covid and the fact that this store is a long walk away from our door, we have not been back in an entire year!!!  However, they still had me on their computer for the "gift" bottle!  Gosh, I didn't expect a gift and figured after a year that little pleasant surprise would be null and void.  Che carino!

This morning, while having my big, hot cup of strong, strapping black tea, I was perusing an article on the internet about a man who was bequeathed an old, dilapidated house via his grandmother and happened to find an underground safe hidden in a closet. In the safe he found a very valuable coin collection.  Then I started to hear a strange sound and at first I thought it was intrusive advertisement from the website.  I had four cats in the room with me and all their heads went up, eyes wide with fear and WTF?  and then they all SCRAMMED for parts unknown, like under the bed and to the back room where they feel safe.  I'm still sitting there wondering what the hell is going on????  The sound, it seemed was either coming from the street or the courtyard.

(I should add that our front buzzer was buzzed and my husband was in the courtyard expecting a delivery).  It wasn't a delivery.  I gathered my senses and opened our inner door to see the lady in the apartment next door, one of the part time people from the second floor who are here for Natale and my husband listening to a man dressed in Alpine garb playing what looked somewhat like a primitive bagpipe.  Yes, it was musical...but like nothing I had ever heard before.  Something like a bagpipe but also sort of like an accordion.  I would have taken a video but he was done with his little concert.  My husband did manage a still shot.  In lieu of carolers, which we don't seem to have here, this was another pleasant, although a bit novel, surprise.

I have another hospital stay looming in the very near future, so this blog will be quiet for a while.  I'm hoping to be home by Christmas day, hoping all goes well. 

In the meantime, enjoy whatever holiday you choose and let us all hope for a better New Year to come.  

Here is Imp.......

She's as cold as ice...

 I had to do my nails tonight.  Do you do your own nails?  Most of my life I have...

I used to watch my mother and my older sisters "do" their nails on a regular basis.  I chewed mine, for the most part.  But that was then and this is now.

I don't like "nail salons"....not at all...hate the whole idea of it.  Hate the noxious smell.  Hate the subjugation of the women who "do" the nails....hate it, hate it, hate it.  

I never felt comfortable...ha!  Comfortable???? I felt like a freaking leper!!!  What am I doing here?  These women all staring at me...why?  It smells bad in here...am I being poisoned? 

Usually I went because I got a "gift."  Yep.  A gift.  So I had to use it.  Oy.  And vey.  I don't use nail polish....I tried, on some rare occasions....but I always felt like my nails were being suffocated.  And it always looked like crap in a day or less...so what was the point?  And...frankly, it's stupid.  Why?  Why? We aren't born with colored nails....why?  And before you compare it to clothes...we can take them off....this shit is painted onto your body......and has to be removed with MORE toxic chemicals.  No. No. Not for me.  Do men really care?  Do I really care if men really care?  I just didn't want to walk around with whore nails....had no desire or inclination.  I didn't feel like it made me "pretty."

So...I had to "do" my nails tonight.  I have to do them when big fat orange Percy isn't around because he is nuts about emery boards.  

I fed the beasts....so Percy is confined to his "bedroom" (don't worry, he likes it...he WANTS to be there, believe me) and then set about to "do" my nails.

Each one had a different nail salon.  I swear.  One nail was so bad, she was yelled at.  "How did you get so bad?"  Another was just a little "off" on top....."Tsk, tsk....it's ok, I fix"....Another one was raggedy...."OMIGOD!!"  Each nail went to their private salon and got themselves prettied up for the world. And then there were the ones who had behaved themselves......silence.

Together they may now enter the world at large yet again.

Hello Darkness, my old friend

 Winter never bothered me as a child.  The cold didn't seem to affect me badly and I had fun with friends and even by myself making forts and snow sculptures and standing at the bus stop with a runny nose and a homemade scarf waiting to see a glimpse of yellow in the never ending white landscape. Even as a young adult it didn't phase me.  I recall distinctly the time I was leaving work during a snow storm, completely unprepared...and cleaned off the windshield and windows of my car bare handed...I had no gloves.  No problem!  So, it's a little cold?  So what?

When my daughter was small I did my best to try and continue to "enjoy" the winter, for her sake.  Snowmen!  Sledding!  Oh yes, we went sledding...I spent an entire day with her going up and down an enormous hill in Ann Arbor.  But I was no longer enamored of the winter chill in general.

Michigan winters were long and dark.  There was a particular weatherman who managed to make me nearly homicidal...I wanted to throw a brick at the damned television every time he described a day as "drab."  Today will be drab.  Today will be dreary.  Today you will want to freaking crawl into a hole and cover yourself up forever and ever and ever.  I hated him.  I hated Michigan.  I hated winter.  I hated "Standard Time."  I wanted it all to end.

As things tend to do, eventually, it did all end.  And now I find myself even older but living in Italy.  The winters here are milder.  They aren't any brighter, per se...because the mountains to the west of us bring a rather abrupt ending to daylight once the sun sinks below the peak, quite dramatically in the winter  months.   But the temperatures are much milder and they bring the rainy season, which also brings the fabulous fog.  I love the fog.  I love "gothic days,"  Hounds of the Baskervilles.  Heathcliff and Catherine on the moors.  A foggy day in London town.  It's spooky and romantic and enchanting all at the same time.

 So once again, winter is becoming charming, in it's way.  A relief from the relentless heat, the lack of water....the sweaty nights.  Now we come inside and cook stews and casseroles to warm our innards....hot cups of tea in the morning to start the day.  Sweatshirts and lined socks... and the heavy winter quilt on the bed. Cats putting aside their petty differences and beginning to make "cat pies" as they seek the body warmth of one another. 

Inside, we are cozy....plenty of heat, if we want. Lots of warm clothes.  We are fortunate, indeed.  And lights.  We used to call them "Christmas" lights....or string lights...or fairy lights.  They have morphed over the years and people besides myself apparently love them.  I love them all year round, but in the summer the sun stays out nearly till 10 pm!  Now is the time for fairy lights and that gladdens my heart.  It makes the darkness less despairing.  It makes winter less forbidding.  A simple string of lights.  Or a few.  We seem to acquire more as each season approaches. We have dinner by "fairy" light.  We have clear bottles (sold all year round here for those who make their own wine or olive oil)..with strings displayed inside them in the living room...on the mantle, on the bookcase.  The daylight dwindles until the solstice.  We will have our lights to enjoy until the spring brings longer evenings once again.