We haven't made a post in a long time and apologize for that. My grandfather passed away this past Saturday and we, last minute, decided to come in for the service and to be with my family during this time. Papaw was a great man who lived a good long life. He was a farmer in Virginia and was loved by all his family and many friends very much. The picture below is of my sisters and I and two of our cousins, Scott and Lindsey, on Papaw's 67th birthday. We will be back in Italy on the 28th. Thank you all for keeping up with us and your love and support.

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It has been a few days since our last post, and I wish I had more to say and show you. The biggest news is that the matriarch of the farm, Paola, is back from her 2 week honeymoon in Senegal and the social/work dynamics have changed dramatically. Our cook, Lucia, has since resumed her position as cook, people who werent getting paid are now getting paid again, and the farm is starting to look prrrretty good. We've planted zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, beans, arugula, basil .... and still have about 1/2 of the plot available. We've trimmed 50 year old rose vines, raked leaves, tied down support lines for kiwi trees, slept, swept, eaten great food, and watched one of the biggest annual soccer matches in the basement of a pub in Trastevere, Rome. Lazio won 4-2. Today is Easter and the only real plans we have are to play soccer and eat. We picked up a dessert in Rome called Pastiera, which is essentially an Italian cheesecake made specifically for Easter. You can see a pic at the bottom. Here are two different recipes I have found ... more involved ... less involved.Overall, the WWOOFing has been going well. The weather is warming up here, flowers are beginning to bloom, and guests are starting to visit the farm. We still have our pros and cons though... For instance, the 4 white dogs that would follow us around have been spending most of their time on the other side of the property, which is too bad... Grazia, the Italian WWOOFer who is essentially our boss, is nuts, generally making work days more of a drag. On the positive side, we might have the opportunity to film this 80 year old Italian woman (friend of Paola) making some of her family recipes and possibly assembling a cook book from them. I'm trying to work up the nerve to ask the owner of our local Gelateria if he wouldn't mind showing me how he makes gelato. Depending on how these work out, we'll be planning our next stop soon. Some thoughts we have: to stay with a friend of ours in Salerno for a few days, find a smaller farm where we can practice more Italian, take a week to travel, or stay here a little longer.... we're flexible. We're also considering getting a refund for our rail pass and spreading out our travel time - thus making our money last longer. Happy Easter! For many of us, we will celebrate more than the symbolism of the bunny and the egg. May we thank God for his mercy and gift of Salvation. However you celebrate Easter, I pray you are safe, happy, and well fed today. Buona Pasqua, Joyeuses Paques, Felices Pasquas!, God påske, Schöni Oschtere!
But if this is your way of celebrating, then I will simply pray that you make it through the night... Anyway, thanks for keeping up with us. We LOVE receiving your comments and knowing that you are reading the blog. It keeps us connected with all of you. As always, feel free to email us at bstrutz@gmail.com or jessicagracepresley@gmail.com

Much Love, Brian & Jess

p.s. there is a new album up on Picasa. Click Photos above

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For those of you who may have heard, there was an earthquake in Italy. It was in Abruzzo, which is the next region over from us. It didnt affect us, but someone said they felt it last night.
Heres a link.. http://tinyurl.com/earthquake-in-Italy .
If you look at the google map image you will see three lakes that are north of Rome. We are next to the tiny lake in the middle (At least 100 miles away from all the destruction.)
We are happy and safe. If anything should happen, we will post/email/and do whatever we can to get a hold of you.

On another note, we put more photos up on Picasa --- in the Viterbo & Villa Lina Album.
We went north to Viterbo on Saturday and took some pics. Beautiful city. At one point during the fall of Rome, Viterbo was actually bigger. Unfortunately for them though - the population never changed and it still has about 60,000 people... which doesnt hold a candle to Rome.

We have to get some rest

lots of love to all of you

Brian & Jess

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We're finishing up our first week on the farm, and after several blisters and long naps we are relieved to have the weekend upon us. So far, we have bent the young vines on the vineyard in order to 'train' them how/where to grow, hoed around the olive trees, hoed around the lavender bushes, plucked the lavender bushes, and tomorrow we will more than likely start planting in the vegetable garden. Nobody said it would be easy, but thankfully our hours arent too bad. I never realized how satisfying it would be to work on a farm... Tough, but therapeutic. Our muscles are already adjusting to it. Work aint bad tho when you get a delicious meal prepared for you by a 60 yr old italian woman... BUT, the only thing that compares to the food is the long nap afterwards.

The house we are living in is beautiful. Did I mention our front yard is an olive grove? Also, the dogs on the property have taken a liking to us and made it their responsibility to watch over our house day and night. Today, we went out for some pizza and gelato mmmm... pics to follow.

We have our weekend free and are contemplating where to go for the weekend... any suggestions?

Here are a few pics ... a couple from my birthday dinner. And as always you can click photos above to see the full album on picasa.

Also,

Jessica and I both are constantly thinking and praying for her family and her grandfather who is in the hospital in Virginia. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as well.

love you and miss you all.

Brian & Jessica


Salumi platter with 7 different kinds of cured meats..... mmmmm

Below is a photo of dinner cooked by an Italian WWOOFer, Grazia. Polenta and Lentils with insalata crudo.

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