baaaaah.  this winter weather is brutal and beyond depressing.  cold i can deal with, or rain, or even sleet and snow, but not all together.  the sky outside looked sick and yellow today, like someone tossed an old dirty sheet over the snowglobe of cormons.  bursts of violent rain, followed by gusts of the notorious wind they call "bora" has everything cracking and cold, frozen breaths and soggy noses.  weather like this prohibits even the simplest of activities.  going downtown for a cappuccino is now an exercise in self-preservation and time-consuming perseverance.  one has to not only dress in layers of uncormfortable, bulky clothes that prohibit the arms' full range of motion, one must also undress and redress at the coffee shop, and then undress and spend an hour hovering over the heater to thaw out\dry out upon return.  it's far easier to just drink tea at home, which is what i opted for.
spent a while today rereading some of my old blogs.  am truly a terrible writer, at least grammatically, and my spelling is atrocious.  found my old entries from novembers past, in which i bitch and moan about this exact same climate.  entires from later in the season point to the inevitable pnemonia that follows such inexperience (i say "inexperience" because as an innocent georgia peach i just cannot fathom winters such as these, am totally unprepared, even three years running), and i fear my fate will be the same this year, too.  must buy some rain boots, at least. 
so, the lovely zoe was here!   we picked her up from the station in cormons last wednesday evening, the poor thing just as ill as ill can be.  the flu, or something like it.  aside from the dissapointment of not being able to take her to the newly refinished and cozy Bosc di Sot- where octopi wave blissfully from the kitchen walls and a fire roars in the place where fires roar, kittens curl up on laps purring and kaki (persimmons) fall gooshily and sweetly from the trees- it was probobly most definitely for the best that we were instead staying with FL's family.  Paola (FL's mom) is definitely that: a mom.  medicines, hot teas, boxes of tissues and pairs of slippers in varying sizes and colors are stacked like ammunition throughout the cabinets and closets of this house.  Zoe, who was almost translucent in her paleness, weak as a lamb, was in good hands.  paola pumped her full of syrups and honeys, FL made her fresh-squeezed orange juice, and i set her up under the blessed, hot tiger duvet in our bedroom, where she slept well into the next day.
that next day being...THANKSGIVING!  woke up bright and early to get all of my shopping done.  Cormons was bustling, and I popped shop to shop greeting the people i knew and smiling at those i didn't.  Bonelli, the sweet butcher, apologized profusely for not having a turkey on hand.  he hoped a giant chicken would suffice, and i told him honestly that between the two, i prefer roasting a chicken any day.  herbs and lemons were bought at a fruit shop, porcini mushrooms, root vegetables and barley at a market around the corner.  Zoe kept me company while i cooked, and regardless of how "simple" i had planned to keep the menu it still took all day.  started off with deviled eggs, in honor of nana, and then moved on to what i thought was a rather delicious invention.  for some reason i had been craving barley, so i made a dressing of barley (instead of corn bread), and baked it with carrots, celery, celery root, parsnip, porcini mushrooms and shallots.  topped with fried sage and a "cheesy bread-crumb crust", i think it's going to be a thanksgiving staple from now on.  garlic and leek mashed potatoes were thrown together, delicious as always, and the chicken was absolutely perfect.  Paola carved the chicken, and FL's dad was rather impressed by the mashed potatoes.  FL ate the majority of the chicken, his dimples blinking with pleasure bite after bite, and paola told me that she has no fear that her son will ever go hungry with a woman like me.
after dinner i took a little plate over to condor, who was working at EventualMente, the new bar that some of FL's friends have just opened around the corner.  Zoe was both entrigued and nervous to discover that the club is sponsored by communists.  an association called the ARCI, which has something to do with arts and films, is a political group that funds creative spaces around italy.  bars qualify, naturally, as do some movie theatres, restuarants, galleries, and libraries.  FL's friend roberto, who is politically extreme, opened an ARCI here in cormons in the only form that would be fully supported by the community: a bar.  there are books and board games and "areas for discussion".  the walls are blindingly red.  for "tax purposes" one must fill out a little card with your name and birthdate upon your first entry and pay a small fee, thus being given a membership card and being granted access to ARCI clubs all over italy.  I told zoe that her name would undoubtedly be on some northern-italian communist list serve from here on out, noting her as an american member and, in fact, supporter of such a cause, but told her not to worry.  as the "communitst party no longer exists in italy", i doubt much will come of it.
FL and i worked on the house all day saturday.  it gets more and more depressing every time we go over there, as it seems that things just keep getting worse instead of better.  finally, though, we got around to painting the kitchen its primary coat of white, and things began looking up.  Udine was having some sort of Santa Caterina festival all week, so saturday night we roused ourselves from the warm cocoon of FL's parents house and ventured out.  The festival was lovely, though more of a big market than anything.  nicknacks, winter wear, antiques, delicious foods and fresh candies were sold from pleasantly lighted booths around one of the main squares.  we strolled through downtown so zoe could see the city, which is really so very beautiful, and then found ourselves at a restaurant outside of town.  FL and I ate like we usually do- steamed mussles and octopus carpaccio, a whole roasted fish and a giant cut of beef- and zoe had pizza.  we had thought to go on to cividale, a gorgeous mountain town a little ways away, but it was frigid and icy so we opted instead for hot tea and a movie at home.
Sunday evening, Zoe's last evening in italy, we took her to slovenia.  made sense at the time, and i think she was happy to be able to say she went.  i feel awful that the weather was so bad and the whole of friuli pretty much shut down during her time here, but i think november is november and cannot be avoided.  advised her to come back some summer, take a walk through the lush vineyards and rambling mountains, have a swim at porchis pool and ride a vespa through collio.  that's the life right there.
trying to keep my spirits up through this crappy weather.  lonely days stuck at home make me even more greatful for what is coming up: my long-overdue trip to see gorgeous marion, FL's and my winter wonderland mini break in alto adige, and, last but not least, christmas.  at home.  i cannot wait.