We are trying to settle into a routine, but it’s not been easy yet. Kevin is trying to get the hang of online teaching, which I have to admit would be my doom. Just imagine teaching a complex science subject (cell mitosis) online without being present to explain the concepts. There is no book to use- he has to come up with the content and figure out how to deliver it. And he is delivering it to students who perhaps don’t know English as their first language. Clearly health care workers are the biggest heroes here, but teachers should also get some accolades too. They didn’t sign up for this- no one did.
I even stopped by our favorite bakery (the Spanish bakery, or Panificio Spagnolo) that Mom (Grandma Suz) would walk to in the mornings. Mom would walk there all by herself when she stayed with us over Christmas, armed with a new Italian word for some fruit that Kevin might want in his brioche, like “lampone”, pronounced “lamp-o-nay”). I went there first to see if they sold rye bread flour, and then to just see how they were doing. All the workers were wearing masks and there was a sign on the door saying that only 3 people could be in the store at the same time (due to the space restrictions that the government has imposed between people). I waited my turn and went in. No flour I wanted so I bought a nice loaf of their sourdough bread to see and taste what my next project is going to be- to make sourdough bread from scratch, having never made bread in my life! Even though we had already eaten breakfast, I bought 2 brioches and I have to say, the pistachio cream filled one I got was the best I’ve ever had. It wasn’t a sweet, cloying pistachio cream- it was delicious. Sorry- I ate it too fast to share a picture!
I then left Kevin and walked to our other grocery store, still in search of rye flour for my sourdough starter. Once again, no luck, so I’m going to try it with whole wheat flour instead.
Another line to get into the grocery store, more strange purchases, and then I headed to the nearby knife store that everyone says is the best store in the area to buy high end knives. I had seen some digital thermometers in the window and I wanted to buy one for my bread project, so in I walked. Two thermometers and some kitchen scissors later, I headed back home. I feel so sorry for all the store owners. Out of curiosity, I asked the knife store owner how long it would take for me to get my knives sharpened. He said one day. That is not the norm, I’m sure!
It’s Tuesday, which is my typical big laundry day, so I kept to the schedule and washed our rugs, sheets and towels. No dryer, as most of you know, so one must wash in stages because everything must then be hung up to dry.
Our goal is to eat out for lunch, to support the neighborhood restaurants for as long as we can since they are closed for dinner, so we ventured to our typical easy spot of the pizzeria two doors down. To comply with the 1 meter apart space requirements, the restaurant is seating people throughout the entire restaurant, spaced apart. We each had a pizza margherita for 8 euros apiece and took a short walk around the block. The post office, the hardware store, many restaurants and bars and the gyms, all are closed. Trams are still running, but like the couple in the video says, few to no people are on them. I saw a photo last night showing that the front of the trams are blocked off and you are not allowed to enter from the front because it would be less than a meter from the driver.
We are also getting into a routine of watching the nightly news at 6 pm to hear the local head of the health department and the head of civil protection provide the latest Coronavirus statistics and pronounce whatever new rules are being adopted, as well as to listen to them answer questions. I like the idea that there are just these two guys who come on every night at 6 pm, describing the day’s numbers and giving information. One of the reporters asked about this rumor we have also heard about the bars, shops and restaurants being closed all day. We couldn’t understand everything they said in response, but it sounds like they are not yet closing everything, but it’s a possibility if the numbers don’t fall soon. It’s not to punish people. The hospitals up here simply do not have room to care for more patients.
I made a nice dinner of red rice (since we now have boxes of it!) and pork scallopine, with leftover roasted eggplant with chile peanut sauce. For dessert, I had a slice of the sourdough bread I bought, along with some delicious marmalade I made with my friend Elaine several weeks ago, and then it’s off to watch the second half of another Harry Potter movie. I read more about making the sourdough bread starter and then I tried to drift off to sleep, my mind focused on Hogwarts.