Tuesday was Zias birthday. It rained pretty hard in the
morning, flooding the parking lot, so I did some projects in her house like
hanging a new picture in her bedroom. I went that afternoon to the beach club
and talked to the representative about renting an umbrella and chairs starting
in August. I went back on Wednesday and changed it to start today, figuring
that even if I have something to do part of the day, I will still have time to
go lay on the beach and read part of the day as well. We finished Tuesday with
a visit to Ristorante Netti for Zia’s birthday.
Wednesday was a much nicer morning. It was sunny and not too
hot. We attempted to co pay some bills. The Municipio (municipal building) has
been closed due to damage from the earthquakes last year and this year. So we
had to find their new offices. Unfortunately what we wanted to do there we
couldn’t. However, it can be done after the summer. We also attempted to go to
the water company to get a copy of the bill to bring to the bank for payment.
We got there at 9:30 to find a sign with hours on the door. On Wednesdays and
Fridays they open at 11, or possibly later. It literally said, or possibly
later.
While we were out shopping after unsuccessfully attempting
to get some bills paid, the gardener was taking care of the cleanup. He had the
township bring their truck and they filled it with scraps. Then he filled three
huge bags with leaves, weeds and scraps from the garden. Giovanni the Gardener
did a great job. I then swept the patio, and mopped it before setting up all of
the tables and chairs, and putting a bike outside. Looks much better now, but I
know my mom would be very unhappy with the trees I had cut down. The fence guy
needs a clear path and these trees had overgrown the garden. I still remember
photos of my mom posing by them, but they were just about her height then. Now
they had grown to double that size.
Last night I took the car and went to Termoli. Zia wasn’t
feeling well so it was a solo trip. There was a beautiful sunset and the castle
town looked as vibrant and beautiful as ever. I ate, people watched, and walked
through a thousand year old part of town. There was a full moon over the port,
and the main strip of town was in full summer mode. I finished the night off
with a delicious gelato from my favorite gelateria in the world – Yo-Go. 
Today was my first day at the beach. I went for a long walk
and to the store this morning, and then hit the beach after lunch for a few
hours. It was too windy to swim today, but it felt great on the beach. I’ll be
at umbrella 117 this summer.
