This week has us riding in increasingly high waves of great gifts, just when we felt like the change of season might get the better of us (again!) this year! Once we committed to fetching our stove and water heater (an epic escapade that we're still recovering from), it feels like the Universe is responding with, "Aahhh, so you want to be comfortable......Okay: let me help!" and 'hey presto', a ton of new material riches fell into our laps.
The somewhat disappointing news came to us that our nearest downhill neighbours three or four fields away - a young couple with small kids, who are homesteading in a slightly less hardcore way to us - are moving to Milano! Waaah! But to our beneficience, they are doing a major clearing-out of all kinds of the most valuable (to us, at least!!) odds and ends... and they would love us to have them!
Wow ❤️🔥
The car has been packed up to the ceiling already twice today, with pallets, planks for firewood and a large orange water barrel. There are literally tons of useful materials, water tanks, roof tiles, mini baths, fencing, shutters... even an functioning car that they are leaving behind. We are revelling in these newfound goodies, which will help fix our roof(s), our doors, our windows... and so on.
So now, not only are we sleeping (quite markedly better) on a soft and cosy proper bed, we are resting very much more peacefully in the knowledge that we have sufficient wood to repair the roof, possibly to plumb in at least the water heater above our stove, and potentially to also fence our immediate area around the houses - which should protect our veggies, flowers, herbs, etc. from marauding wild beasts in the night!
This helps us profoundly, to chill the f. out; to go about daily tasks somewhat like our superbly-cushioned bed: cosier within ourselves, protected as we are now from the huge weight of all the competing priorities that we cannot yet resolve!
We snuggle in to write our Hive posts this evening, with a roaring fire in the woodburner, reheating homemade oatcakes to have them hot with butter and honey - ooooh, divine! And waiting for a kettle to heat up sufficiently for our lovely hot water bottles: a new staple for aching limbs and an already quite chilly bedroom - it being that tad more exposed to the elements than we should like. The candles give the funny transformed-into-a-kitchen ex-workshop a lovely soft glow, adding to the relaxed atmosphere that we're rapidly cultivating.
We were down with the aforementioned friends soon to be leaving; a small gathering to set them on their way to the big city life. We talked about all aspects of city versus countryside, and what was pulling them away right now, how quickly they had decided, and then how things had fallen into place once they had fully committed to their plan. It is a funny juxtaposition of directions: all the couples homesteading more intensively than them, but all of us comprehending fully the challenges of living in the wilds - and the culture - of south(ish) Italy, and us effectively in the process of settling here, whilst they, so nearby, with such a lot in common with us, departing.
Our life is incredibly dynamic, though, and we're excited for all kinds of change, even this supposed 'loss' of our neighbours. Who knows what an empty space will fill with? Certainly it will be something or someone! I look forward to watching the subtly changing vibes of the town, with these four threads leaving it.... and us continuing to weave in our stories and customs.
Today we walked back to our car from the central piazza, and said a perfunctory 'buongiorno!' to two women ahead of us, as they walked down into the street and were also greeting us in return. The elder of the women then turned, as we caught up with them, and said (in italiano, obviously) that she was saying hallo by habit, but she really didn't know who we were! I responded that "Hehe: pure noi - ma é un abitudine di dire salute - viene delle nostre culture" - and we proceeded to chat for a few minutes about how long we'd been here on our homestead, her memories of walking to and from the land further along our track, and other stories from her childhood. It is generally enthusiastically accepted, when we share such affinity with the old ways and explain something of our path back into Natural Law. It feels like we continue to build connection and positive vibes, even when we spend such little time actually socialising in town. Wee moments like this, weaving conversation and brightening the day of an elderly person, makes life feel most meaningful.*
Much love to you all, as we head off to bed at the rather late (for us!) hour of 8.30pm!
Clare.