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What a wonderful month... We had some friends out to visit, one of whom hasn't been to Tuscany since the early days of us being here (we worked out that it was almost fifteen years ago) so we were all really excited. Plus we got to stay at Casa Leana for a few days which made it even more special! Weather was great too so we took a little motor boat out on Lake Trasimeno which was a first for us and we had such a fun time that we will hopefully be taking the family on it in August when they will be staying with us. There was a lovely annual event on in our local village - if you've read my blogs from years gone by you will know that the re-enactment of the Battle of Anghiari is a great afternoon and evening of fun. The Italians do love a bit of dressing up in medieval costumes! I think the pictures tell the story of our month. We also had to keep the day job going at Casa Leana of course so there was a bit of mowing and strimming (and watering!) to do in between the fun! Have a great weekend. D I A N A xxx       
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Well, I haven't written a blog for some time so a lot has been going on but I am not going to bore you with the details. Suffice to say it has been a long winter and we are really pleased that the spring arrived a while ago and the beautiful weather is here. I have been banging on about the poppies that arrived a few weeks ago but I have yet to find a field worthy of a picture. Leigh just loves driving around looking for that perfect poppy field that suits my requirements as you can imagine! Ha ha. My son and one of my grandsons were out here in Italy a couple of weeks ago and it was so great to see them. We went to a few of our favourite restaurants and one that we hadn't been to for a while in Anghiari which was lovely. My grandson loves pizza although he did enjoy a tagliatelle with a duck sauce in Cortona which amused us no end thinking of an "Overheard in Waitrose" moment "Mummy can we have duck with pasta like I had in Tuscany?". Ha ha. Apart from that we have been busy at Casa Leana. Leigh painted the utility room a lovely dark blue so we had a bit of an overhaul of that room. He also painted the cantina in an emerald green and we bought a dartboard and put some skittles down there to add to the pool table, foozeball and table tennis so it has really finished that room off we think. We have been here over 17 years now so it is difficult to find a new project to be honest! But as Leigh says I somehow manage to find something for him to do - although I am always there as his wing woman of course... I think that's it. Guests are arriving thick and fast now so already having a busy holiday season... Have a great week everyone. D I A N A xxx        Well it's that time of year again and we are in Italy getting Casa Leana ready for our season which starts when the first guests arrive on 28 March. We've been painting and cleaning and moving and buying, not to mention repairing and replacing! It's always our busy time. So far we have painted the games room and the utility room. Both quite striking colours and we hope our guests will like them. Weather hasn't quite kicked in yet so we have spent most of the time inside. Having said that, during the more milder days Leigh has been outside repairing the pergola roofs which we have to do every two or three years. There is still much to do but we have to wait until the spring to carry out the pruning of the plants in the pool area but we've noticed our Italian neighbours are pruning their olive trees already (earlier than normal) so we are going to take a leaf out of their book and do the same. We tend to copy whatever the locals do in their gardens as they obviously know best! One thing I always worry about is the laurel hedge which spans half the length of the garden - we planted it many years ago and it has to be trimmed at least twice a year. It's such a big job and every year we think about getting a gardener in to help us out but we always end up doing it ourselves! We lose a few of individual bushes sometimes which is frustrating as then it makes the whole hedge a bit wonky. It's during the summer when the weather gets super hot and even though I water I obviously miss one or two now and then! We've done a bit of spring cleaning already but we usually sort that all out next month - in fact you may have noticed that the majority of things are done in March as we like it to be perfect for when the guests arrive of course! But it does mean that March is a super busy month. It's the nature of the beast as they say. We have some of our family coming in May and again in August so we are looking forward to seeing them as usual. We also have a few old work friends who are contemplating visits so again something wonderful to look forward to this season. Have a lovely week! D I A N A xxx       August is a great month for night markets. The days are hot and spent by the pool staying cool and one evening every week we love to visit the Anghiari night market which happens every Wednesday during July and August. Another night market which is a bit further afield takes place in August and it’s a bit of grand affar! It is one of our favourite events during the season. People come from all over the area to see the live bands that play all around the beautiful hilltop town of Castellione del Fiorentina. This lovely place really springs into life for four nights. Lots of the locals dress up in vintage clothes, the town is decorated throughout plus there are some great stalls selling beautiful clothes, hats, knick knacks and jewellery among other things. Great for a bit of retail therapy which I love of course! And beautiful old cars are parked up throughout the streets to give it that really authentic feel. It really does have the most wonderful atmosphere with dancing (jiving and jitterbugging) in the main square at the top of town. The fun goes on until the early hours of the morning when Italians seem to come to life! August is also my birthday month so we went into Cortona, a beautiful town about a 45 minute drive from Casa Leana which has one of our favourite restaurants, Il Torino. We had a lovely lunch and a wander around the town. Such a relaxing day. Weather has been great this month so we have also been out to the various antique markets in the area – we particularly like the Citta di Castello one that is held the third Sunday of every month. We love mooching around the stalls and then having lunch in the little pizzeria just opposite the duomo there. Sometimes we buy something but mostly we enjoy soaking up the atmosphere. Simple pleasures. We have had lots of lovely guests this month and we’re all booked up to the end of October so super busy as usual! I think that’s it. Have a lovely week. D I A N A xxx       July has been so lovely. We’ve had some wonderfully friendly guests this month and one guy drove over his beloved Ferrari from the UK. It was a real treat for us to have such an iconic car sitting outside Casa Leana. We’ve managed to get out on the bikes a few times again. One ride was around Lake Trasimeno. The local council have made a new route so takes you all the way round the lake. There are also electric bikes to hire at Trasimeno – what a great idea. We took our own bikes and made it half way but we should have gone all the way as by the time we had ridden back to the start point we had almost done the same amount of km it would have taken to go the whole distance! Doh. The sunflowers are out (as you may have guessed from the title of this blog!). I love love love this time of year. Sunflowers are the best, they grow so big so quickly and although they don’t last very long they are a feast for the eyes at this time of year. D I A N A xxx    It has been a great month. Our lovely friends came over from the UK and as luck would have it Casa Leana had not been booked so we all got to stay there for the week! A great surprise. We spent the week around the pool and eating good food although we had to cut the hedges while we were there so everyone had to help with that of course. We also had a few days out to Cortona and Arezzo. It's always such a treat to see friends and family from the UK. We've been out and about on the bikes too, not that much if I'm honest but nevertheless I still managed to get up a few hills! We had another day out in Arezzo as the Mille Miglia was rolling through, one of our favourite annual events. Even if you're not mad keen on cars, the atmosphere is great and we had a thoroughly lovely day with our friends who have a holiday home here. Ooh... I forgot to say. My son is getting married in September so we are really excited about that! I have my outfit although I am a bit unsure about it. I also have a hat to go with and shoes. Everything was purchased here in Italy so I am hoping that there won't be any duplicates! I am wearing a floaty trouser suit but I am a bit worried it looks like pyjamas. It is definitely my style and I really love it and I think everyone has doubts about special outfits for special occasions, or is it just me?!!! I think that's it for now. Have a lovely weekend. Diana x D I A N A xxx    We had such a great month, we went to watch the Giro d'Italia in a town not that far away called Gubbio. We haven't been there for ages and we had forgotten quite how lovely it is. A bite to eat and then a stroll around the town - great atmosphere! Our day in Gubbio inspired us to go on a bike ride ourselves so we did a little ride around our local villages and through the farmers' fields which was lovely. I finally got to plant the tomatoes and one of our friends gave us some courgette plants so I've put them in too. Now to get the watering system working - that's one of Leigh's jobs thankfully! I can't tell you how much work goes into keeping plants watered during the summer months - it sounds easy but the sprays get blocked, leaks occur constantly and there's always those few plants that don't seem to get watered and look a bit droopy. I think we're on top of it but it is a worry! We didn't have guests at Casa Leana for a week this month so we decided to move in thinking we could have a rest, sit around the pool etc. etc. Obviously that did not happen! Will we never learn?! We don't usually move in because we know we just don't stop but... Anyway, it was a nice week even though we didn't get to laze around but it was good to be there as we can spot if there is anything we need to repair or change and we sorted out a few things in the garden. That's it for the month. Have a good day. Diana x D I A N A xxx    We have been looking forward to this day for a long time - ever since we met up with the happy couple in Anghiari last year. And the day couldn't have gone any better. All the work that went into this wonderful day was so worth it. The weather was perfect and the wedding guests all said that this was the best holiday they had ever had! Apart from that we haven't really been up to much - I think the wedding took over our lives for a while! We turned over Casa Leana vegetable patch ready for the tomato plants and the strawberries are coming along nicely. I always want to plant the tomatoes now but apparently it's too early - I've done that before and they obviously didn't survive so I'm holding back this year until May. Everything else in the garden is looking lovely and lush now - such a great time of year. Blossom everywhere and my lovely Iris's are looking good. They don't last long but they add a splash of colour to the pool area. I have planted some other bulbs this year. I am not very knowledgeable on the gardening front but because we had a professional garden designer plant the area behind the pool it always looks so lovely even I can't mess it up! We haven't cycled yet this year but we bought a cycle rack for the car so we can just pop off anywhere with the bikes which means we can avoid some of the hills out here! I think that's it. Have a great day. Diana x D I A N A xxx     |
Welcome to my blog...
Just a little insight into our lives here. After eleven years of living in Tuscany I thought it was about time to have a go at blogging when one of my lovely friends said she had received (what she thought!) was an extremely funny text from me, hmmm.. How difficult can it be?!
D I A N A xxx
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