ciao!

Yesterday afternoon I was excited over so many things: a break in the non-stop rain we've been having, packing for our little vacation, a present in the form of a comfy, funky skirt, and a hope at maybe losing this insane sandal tan ( and then realizing there was no chance of that, heading back into summer in San Diego. Oh well.)

Walked through the gardens to the cafe for some coffee and wifi (my favorite menu items!), and loved all these pernicious, bountiful weeds. What is that cliched saying? "A weed is a flower, too if you remember to look". Agreed. 

And look who it is! Wonderful Timothy now works at our hilltop cafe. So happy to see him, well and working hard, looking like he fit in perfectly. Congrats on the new job!

festa

Timothy and Elisa have been non-stop cooking lately. It's such a welcome change in pace. Feel like a pampered fifties husband, coming home and knowing that a delicious dinner will be waiting for me. They started with melanzane alla parmigiana, and just kept on going with tiramisu, salame di cioccolato, gattò di patate, and some crazy rich, almost overly sweet nut cookie. My mind is telling me there are other things I can't recall at the moment, but I'm not worried about missing anything. Instead, I'm optimistic as to what is coming next! They've definitely set the bar pretty darn high for themselves.

Timothy is a very patient sous chef

Melanzane in the making

Of course dusting your nose with flour is vital!

Don't mind Benson's creepy face, the food was a triumph!

The salame di cioccolate, a perfect after dinner treat with coffee for our movie night last Sunday

The gattò, fairly unassuming from the outside...

...but filled with molten cheese and/or tomato sauce. Molto bene!

And a little dinner theater last night, Justin Bieber and Hannah Montana stopped by!

valentine's day

We had a pretty low key, lovely Valentine's Day around here. I got up early and made pancakes for my loves before they went off to school, then got down to the business of roasting sweet potatoes for gnocchi. Once they came out of the oven, it was on to a tres leches cake. Or two, actually. And once those were out of the oven and had soaked up all the milky goodness they could hold, it was grating (we don't have a ricer), blending, rolling and cutting time for the gnocchi. Such a meditative, fun, hands-on process and so worth all the effort. We had the gnocchi very simply prepared, with just olive oil and some special parmesan, and then Sarah took me, Timothy and Elisa out for a drink at a fabulous pub/restaurant out in the boonies. And that was great, too. The cakes were devoured for breakfast the next day, and it makes my heart feel so full to know that this odd confection from Mexico went over so well with everyone here. Timothy must have eaten at least a whole one by himself, he loved it so! And now we know- if there's spare time and a desire for something sweet, tres leches it is. Hope you all had a sublime day and felt the love as much as I did!

Soooooo many gnocchi! 

One of the cakes, ready to disappear

With Timothy and Elisa at the Radio Springs Hotel. Excuse the creepily glowing eyes, must have been the strong drinks, or the bad phone camera ;)

dance dance dance

A quick little throwback to one of Timothy and Elisa's first days here, when they took it upon themselves to give us a quick dance lesson on the veranda. Timothy has a wonderful collection of loud, fun music, and a few songs just happen to have corresponding dances. This was one of them. And let me tell you, it was great. Music blaring, Timothy and Elisa leading us in some silly moves, it was pure, manic joyful energy. Here's to many more repeats!

questo e quello

Not many this time around, just one from before I was stricken sick, and one from this afternoon, when I finally started feeling like the haze around me was dissolving. But happy memories nonetheless!

Elisa and I attempting a start at moving four cubic meters of fresh dirt into a garden bed. Girls can do hard labor, yes indeed!

Some dramatic clouds rolling in on a cool breeze this afternoon (and a beautiful Jacob's ladder), after a blistering hot day

ciao!

Timothy is back in Daylesford for a while (and brought his lovely girlfriend Elisa along)! We couldn't be happier. And the beautiful old cars parked in town couldn't have asked for a better set of models to show off their charms. Happy day!

tre italiani

Valentino, Timothy and Fabio at our local pub

On the very day Brian broke my heart, Sarah got a call from these Italian men wanting to WWOOF at Hightor. She asked me if I thought we could handle them, and I said yes without even stopping to think about it. Absolutely no hesitation and no thought or worry about finding room for them in the already full house. And that call from them? Something along the lines of "We are three strong Italian men! Our muscles are the real deal! We are good with power tools!". Quite the introduction, no? After hearing that I was very curious to see who would be coming to stay with us. It's extremely difficult to find the words to describe the 12 days Sarah and the family and I had with these men. They were simply amazing. Think Sarah summed it up best by saying it was almost like being in a cult. We were all swept up in their energy and positivity and revelry and pure joy. It was like living in an alternate universe for a brief period. Non-stop fun, laughing, and lots of hard work and hard partying. Truly enlightening. Didn't get too many pictures, but these ones definitely capture their essence. Hightor seems oddly still and silent without them, but there are still echoes of their jokes and singing and giggling, and I know we will be forever grateful for their influence and presence at this point in our lives. Yet another enormous blessing!

Fabio is a master plumber and spent many hours fixing things around the house. Forever grateful! 

Silliness at the warehouse

With Sarah at a local cafe

Me, Valentino, Timothy and Sarah gleefully watching Fabio do some yard work at a friend's house. Good on ya Fabio! Too right!

Timothy with Alf, a giant artwork who lives in the kitchen and may or may not have come to life one day to whisper at Timothy in the shower

Making a giant batch of gnocchi for their last night. Good food and lots of wine every evening!

Unfortunately blurry but uncannily accurate. Timothy is so full of life and joie de vivre that he really does have trouble staying still! Toasting their experience at Hightor on their last night

Photo shoot at the train station before they took off. Such a happy, goofy, bittersweet moment

working holiday

The day I spent at Hanging Rock, the men were doing some hard work clearing brush in anticipation of the upcoming fire season. I made it back just at the end of their work day and killed some time waiting for them to finish up by clearing a paddock on the farm and playing fetch with two adorable puppies. After five hours of cutting down, chopping up, and piling dry wood, it was time to light the bonfire, toast marshmallows, and celebrate a day's hard work. Yet more silly fun with Timothy, Valentino, and Fabio!