THINKING POSITIVE .

It’s been four months since I posted my last story. I apologize, but during this long summer many things have happened.

It all started with Nick, my husband, making a rare visit to our local doctor  to have a blood test. Unfortunately the result of this a few hours later had the doctor banging on our door to send us to hospital. There Nick was diagnosed and confirmed to have leukemia. At first we did not know what it was, but slowly with the help of well-trained doctors and nurses from the Perugia hospital , we have begun to live with this reality.

Three months have passed, things are going very well with his treatment and we are strong and positive. The support we have received from the local people, friends and family , has been immense. During these long months, we have managed to always think ahead and are still doing so EVERYDAY.

Only 10 days ago,  In the Perugia Hospital, locked up in isolation in a room of 10 square meters , Nick and I talked about how we could organize this year’s grape harvest. We had to do it by the end of this month.  But how? Who could we call ? What about the weather? Was Nick going to be able to be involved?  “Of course not…you are bloody ill,” I said to him” you must not be in contact with people…. in fact if you are out of hospital by the end of September, during the grapes harvest , I WILL lock you in the room and the most you will be able  to do is wave from the window, just like Royalty, capisci???

Well just a week ago, Nick was discharged from the hospital for a break at home  before tackling the third stage of his treatment. Just in time for the harvest!!!

So I decided to put out a call for help on the social networks  with the date of the harvest, and  amazing responses from  people who wanted to participate immediately began to arrive.  Also great support came from the students of the Universities of Kansas and Arizona abroad in Orvieto, local friends , family and friends from Rome, and also people that I had catered for in these last few days …… In short an explosion of people who all wanted to join us. Mamma mia,  it was wonderful.  I must apologize straightway to the  people to whom we had to say no, for this year at any rate. SORRYYYY and thank you so much for your support.
On Sunday the 20^th September, on less than half a hectare of vineyard,  we had 50 people picking our grapes, they got to know each other up and down the rows, chatting away on a  beautiful Italian sunny day. Starting at 9am they had picked all the grapes by 11am !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now as you know, our way of thanking everybody is to provided a good lunch and so in less than two hours I managed to make a great brunch, which was ready to serve al fresco under the porch at 11.30am.   Unbelievable but true, Nick wanted to be part of the event  ( my husband loves bossing everyone around and telling people what to do ) and also of course to make his contribution with the photos you can see !!!!

WHAT CAN I SAY……A BIG GRAZIE not only to the people who came to help us but to  EVERYONE who during this difficult time have been so good to us. GRAZIE FOR THIS AMAZING SUPPORT.