I made it down to our gate last night and dug out the swing diameter of both sides of the gate, disengaged the motors, and manually opened the gate. Between walking down the quarter mile in 3 feet of snow, shoveling the water laden mess out of the way and walking back up, I should have lost ten pounds. Max was a real trooper -- he walked in front of me, leaping, to make a path going down and on the way back up, he waited for me every ten paces so that I could catch my breath.
I was drenched when I got back up to the house, so I filled the bath with water, put some fresh logs in the stoves and popped a very special bottle of wine -- more on that later.
As I was soaking I heard the familiar sound of Franco's tractor -- he had seen me get the gate open and hightailed it over on the tractor to plow out our drive. What a champ. It's still not drivable and won't be for a few days because of compacted ice in the hairpin curves but I can walk down to the gate and get into a taxi if I have to. Crisis through isolation averted with the help of Italian neighbors, once again.
About the wine. Through the crisis yesterday I received so many supportive emails and Facebook messages. One was from my friend Dana in West Chester, PA. Dana and I had met through the Internet when we stumbled upon eachother's blogs -- she writes the beautiful Ritratti Italiani in both English and Italian. Dana had stopped by to visit me this fall on her way from Lago Maggiore to Barcelona - and brought me a gift of the wine Labbra di Giada. You can read the story of Labbra di Giada on Dana's blog. This particular wine is a Dolcetto Superiore -- which means a wood-aged Dolcetto. It's made specifically for the international market at Poderi la Collina in Dogliani, which is a DOCG zone for Dolcetto. This bottle had made it from Dogliani to West Chester and on a plane back to Piemonte where Dana gave it to me.
I was very touched when she gave it to me.
And while I was digging out that damn gate, I thought -- tonight I have a date with that bottle of wine.
After Franco had left and I finished my bath, I made myself a plate of ravioli which I had gotten as part of Mimi and Samuel's romantic dinner, accompanied by Dana's wine.
Max and I proceeded to fall asleep at 9.30 in front of the stufa.
12 comments:
Don't close the gates.
I fear snow is coming back again.
I'm sorry of being the bearer of bad news again
It should pass faster this time
Should
Paolo
I hope the wine helped... And so glad to hear you're not trapped any longer.
Diana,
You too are a trooper. To be stranded alone like that IS very scary. But, there is nothing you can do while Mother Nature is making a statement.
I hope all of the snow stops soon and you can get things back to normal.
Thinking of you . . .
Jeezy Creezy!
Glad to see that you were able to dig yourself out--damn, that is a lot of snow! Here's hoping Micha can get home soon (being stranded by yourself either at home or abroad is no fun whatsoever), but at least Max can provide some company. The image of him leaping through the snow is absolutely adorable. :-)
Hope you are doing okay-isn't nice to have such great supportive people in your life.
That's a wonderful story about the wine that Dana gave you and that brought you fortitude when you needed it most!! It reminds me of the stories when people write into the WSJ wine gurus John Brecher and Dottie Gaiter . . . we always wait on a 'special' occasion and thus these very special bottles sit by, unenjoyed. I think your decision to let that special wine work its magic was EXACTLY right.
And what a guy, Franco!
Hope your husband makes it back home soon!
I can't think of a better reason to open that bottle and after wrestling with all that snow it sounds like a great way to spend the evening. Keep safe. amanda
Paolo, we got a lot of rain and a light dusting of snow, and now everything is frozen solid. Fabulous.
Dana, the wine was very, very good. I really like the idea of a wooded Dolcetto. And drinking it in honor of the day seemed so right.
Nancy, thank you -- I always have to remember that when something like this happens here, to reduce my activities only to the most important. And not to over reach and over strain because injury only makes a serious situation worse. I have learned that much in the last five years.
Bethy, Micha made it home yesterday afternoon after a six hour drive from Malpensa. The A26 was closed. He was and is exhausted but wanted to be here.
Yes Janie, not the least of which are my blog readers. The comments kept me feeling connected the last few days, which was very important.
Kim, absolutely, the wine just made me feel like I know I am part of a bigger circle, not just a girl isolated on my hill. And seeing Franco's face made me realize that I also am thought about here by my neighbors -- a great feeling.
Amanda, keeping safe is the most important part -- realizing the limits of this 50 year old body and respecting them.
Thank you all for your comments, you have sustained me!
Diana - you came through it with flying colours (as always). You have the perfect attitude - anything can be coped with as long as you have good friends, warmth, vino, loved ones (in this case the furry four-legged type), and your DSL!
It looks as if you'll be having a white Christmas!
There's nothing like mother nature to test you...and to make even more obvious the good people and good things you have in your life.
Bev
Am so happy that Micha is back now! What a trouper! Driving in that stuff is NO small feat. Now you can BOTH fall asleep in front of the stufa *together.*
Amazing story, thank you for taking the time to share with us.
Post a Comment