The best advice I can give...

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. "
-Howard Thurman
I am a firm believer in following your heart, after all that is what brought me to Italy. It is so important to do what you love and stop making excuses for why you aren't. Quit and start over. That may seem naive to some, but maybe they're just not open to the possibilities. I have witnessed more than one person change paths...and do it successfully. They are an inspiration.
Right, so where am I going with this? Well, I got an email from the woman I am working for yesterday saying that she had been in touch with Corzano & Paterno (the sheep cheese farm I visited...and loved) and asked if they would be interested in having an intern next year. Me. And get this, they're interested if I'm interested. Trust me, I'm interested.
And then came the tears. It started with tears of joy. How can I be so lucky? Even though I don't have the internship yet, the idea is enough. How is it possible my life is working out like this? Providing the next step all the time. Then came the sadness. The tears for all the people who don't follow their heart. Who don't realize that loving who you are and what you do are the most important things. Because when you do realize this, and when you do start taking steps forward towards your dream and your love, things have a very magical way of working out.

(I've sent an email to Corzano & Paterno inquiring about next year...I'll let you know what comes of it.)

Oh my.

I have this terrible habit...whenever I am in a place that is incredibly magical and enchanting to me I don't pick up my camera. It's like I want to respect the place and keep all that I have seen completely to myself, almost as if it were a gift. And yesterday I experienced something that nearly brought me to tears...I got the chance to visit a sheep farm that produces cheese for the area as well as all the fancy restaurants in Florence. Seems rather normal. It wasn't. This isn't a big commercial operation. This is a family business. There are a total of 10 people in the whole operation that are not family members. There are 3 houses divided between the family (involving uncles, aunts, cousins, sisters, brothers, etc) and they all live together.

Sibilla, the daughter of the owners, gave us a tour and hosted the cheese tasting. She was born on the dining room table of the house we had the cheese tasting in...her mother says that this is why Sibilla has such a hunger for all things food related.

This is the one picture I took. It was during the tasting. In the family courtyard surrounded by flowers.

Please follow this link and read the history of the Fattoria Corzano e Paterno...it is amazing. And maybe you'll see why I only paid half attention to what Sibilla was saying while my eyes wandered trying to spot a young, single, male family member.

A walk in the woods...

Today after work I went on a foraging class that was being held for the guests staying at Petraia this week. Giuliano was our fearless leader as we trekked into the chestnut forest on Petraia's land.

Giuliano knows alot about this forest...he did his thesis on it when he was in university. It's amazing what he knows about the forest and about the history of Petraia. Here are some crazy facts about Petraia:

• Petraia was settled 2000 years ago when the Etruscan's made a village on one of the hills. There are now ruins where their village used to be.
• The house that is still standing today was probably built in the year 1100. What!??! Is that not crazy!
• Up until 50 years ago 'peasants' still farmed Petraia and all of Italy...the system was still that the Property Owner recieved half of what the farmer made...but the farmer had to buy all of his own supplies, etc. So, the farmer was always in debt and the owner kept the books so the farmer had no idea where he stood financially. That is from the Middle Ages...but this law was only abolished in 1950!!

Giuliano told as a lot more...sadly, those were the only things I can really remember. Oh jeez, I'm getting old.

The walk through the forest was beautiful. There are many old, old chestnut trees, but this one is extra special...it's 5oo years old and has a cavity:

It was amazing. That's me standing on my tippy toes!

We talked about mushrooms, wild berries, wild boars, and wild greens...but the most talked about thing was the wild cherries. They were everywhere, and the trees were heavy with fruit.

The only problem is the trees are really tall and so the cherries turn a rosy red and then taunt you, 'cause there is no way you're getting them with out some kind of machinary.

We found a couple on the ground and they were delicious.

Giuliano and Michael were especially angered by the taunting cherries and tried their hardest to reach some...I told Giuliano to use his "Italian Intelligence" (his words) but it was hopeless. The birds will be very happy.

It was so neat to walk around the forest and listen to what Giuliano knew and hear the history of Petraia...it is simply unbelieveable.

Sad news...

This was where I was going to post my Taco night adventures...alas today's work schedule was changed and it ain't gonna happen. I'm taking the rest of this day off to mourn.

Another Friday Adventure...

Remember two fridays ago when I went to pick up bees for Petraia? Well, last Friday was another Petraia adventure...to Greve in Chianti to pick up some wine at this enoteca. An enoteca is a wine shop that specializes in regional wines. I went with Marco (Petraia farm manage) and Samule (server). This enoteca was underground, felt very medieval, and was FULL of wine. Ant, I thought of you the whole time....I even had this gift picked out for you. But 200 euros was a little out of my price range!They have a number of tasting stations where you insert a card you purchased at the front desk (for 10, 15, 20, or 25 euros) and are able to taste a ton of different wines.We went to the enoteca with the purpose of buying biodynamic wines, they only had two, but Marco (who knows ALOT about wine) said that they were two of the best biodynamic wines he's tasted.
There was a lot of this going on:

It was intersting to watch Marco and Samule...but it was hard because it was all in Italian and so I had no clue what was going on.

That was okay though, I wandered around the enoteca and found these corks:Imagine the cork board you could make with all of those!

And this really old crate of really dusty wines:

I love these adventures, I have been able to go to the most interesting places and see the most unique and wonderful things!

Eek! It's been a week!

I'm back. That was a brief and unexplainable hiatus. But here I am again. And it's Sunday. It's thunderstorming outside...a delicious down pour with cracking thunder. I combatted the gray skies by dancing to La Bamba and by making Onion Bread.

This past week has flown by....and I have a feeling the next three will as well. Everyday I have a few little countdowns that I wake up thinking about. This morning it went like this: "21 days till my birthday party. 22 days till my birthday. 23 days till I'm back in Canada. 1 sleep till taco night."

Now, I have to go shape my bread....I'll let you know how it turns out!

Happy June 1st!

There are so many wonderful things about the month of June, so many that they deserve a list:

Some of the wonderful things about June:

1. It is the gateway into the summer months and therefore holds a lot of anticipation.
2. I was born in June. (You knew that one was coming, didn't you!)
3. The Sun is up early...so I don't need to turn lights on when I'm up at 5:30am
4. This year June is an especially special month because it is my last month in Tuscany, and I'm going to soak every bit of it up.

And there is one good thing about June when its done...because when June is done and July 1st comes along it means I will be back in Manitoba, but lets save that for the wonderful things about July, because you really shouldn't think about rushing through June just to get to July. At least that's what my Ma says (I believe her...it's just easier in theory).

What do you think is wonderful about June?