christmas at calcarole

It's just after 2.30pm on Boxing day and I have started to write this post outside on the roof terrace of the house in the country , as it's much warmer up here than it is in the house.( and I am saving money by using sunlight instead of gas to keep warm.)
It was foggy this morning when I woke up and after my usual breakfast of  mixed omelette ( still can't chew after the accident.) we set off for Pisticci through the foggy valley.
We had things to do - such as see if we could find someone to fix the gas heater which had refused to  work at all on Christmas morning. Not the best way to start Christmas when I was already feeling a little homesick.
However the friendly gas man not only arranged for a friend of his to come and look at our heater but also gave us a portable one as well.
So while we waited in a cafe to meet the repair man, drinking coffee paid for by the friendly gas man someone asked about getting either one or two portraits done. I have  arranged to return on Friday to get photos. (Back in the country later I had another inquiry about a portrait - so it looks like I need to get back to work.)
On leaving Pisticci I took a photo of the fog which had partly lifted and left what looked like an ocean of mist in front of the mountains.
And now I am sitting outside, having been reading a book about Basilicata by Ann Cornelisen (Torregreca) . Its fascinating and horrific to think that in the late 50s some of the older people I know might have been living in circumstances such as she describes.
It was my gift to myself . I am enjoying learning more about this area and reading it was part of my plan for things to do on the 25th. No heating was not part of the plan.
On Christmas day (as planned) we went to Pisticci and walked up and down the corsa and greeted people and also because it was such a nice day , sat outside and had coffee and a soft cake. (So I could eat it.) Then on returning to the house I lit the pizza oven to cook a not traditional lunch. I have only used the oven twice before so I was a little nervous, but apart from baked potatoes in tin foil which we ate in the evening, the roasted vegetables and chicken and sausages cooked perfectly. We had toasted marshmallows for a sweet - yumm!
By then it was after 3pm and we turned on the portable gas heater we had borrowed and settled down to watch "Miss Potter". It was lovely. By accident I found a Michael Buble Christmas concert on TV and it seemed like a good idea to watch it too.
So there we were eating chocolates - only if broken into small pieces in my case - when the borrowed heater  turned itself off and refused to light again.
What is it with us and heaters?
Anyways I am just so enjoying sitting here in the sunshine. I can hear someone working with a chainsaw somewhere over to the right and there is someone else trying to start a  scooter. And there are dogs barking - then there are always dogs barking. Its peaceful despite that.

The sun is beginning to go down and the shadows are starting to form between the trees and soon it will get cold and I will need to go in , but I want to remember this feeling - sitting reading , writing and dreaming. And keep moments like this in my mind forever.