We spent the morning in the front and back gardens (we live in a row house) preparing for spring: pruning, weeding, cutting, raking leaves…we are sooooo exhausted right now. It’s on days like these that I 
wish we didn’t have a garden at all. Ouch, my back hurts! But then I look fondly at my pruned raspberry patch, my pomegranate tree, my herbs and all the flowers, mainly daffodils and crocuses, that are popping up everywhere, and change my mind. It really is pretty.
Anyway, I thought I would post these photos I took of Peekaboo last night at the dinner table. Or rather, on the dinner table!
Dinner is always a bit of a struggle, especially with this curious little one. She likes to jump up on the table and watch us while we eat. Theoretically, that would be okay (we have a very big country dining table), but she begins edging very close to the food, the way cats do, inch by inch, as if they didn’t care…then all of a sudden her nose is in your plate, or she is dipping one of her paws into your glass of water. She’s a pest, but such an adorable one…
Irresistible.
And wouldn’t this have made a great beer ad?
(P.S. In case you were wondering, I don’t drink beer, but Stefano likes a glass with dinner, sometimes).
Last night I stuck the Xmas wand toy (that has a suction cap on one end and a dangling toy on the other) to our bedroom closet, and, as expected, Peekaboo put on quite a show, flying through the air, over and over again. I finally put the toy away so she wouldn’t die of exhaustion, but not before I had taken some very amusing photos. 
After dinner last night, Stefano and I were sitting at the table, chatting, when Peekaboo decided she had to check out the contents of my glass (water, what else?). I dashed to get my camera. 
This sequence gives a good idea of what happened (over and over…). Dipping her paw into my glass and shaking water all over the table wasn’t enough. She finally stuffed her silly little head into the glass. The third photo shows how much she appreciated my letting her have a drink (I should mention that our cats always have plenty of drinking water, the same water that we humans drink…). Needless to say, I got myself a new glass 
…We have never had such a mischievous kitten. Every year I decorate a small (fake but cute) Xmas tree. But now that we have Peekaboo, even having such a small tree has become a bit of a chore. In spite of my efforts to camouflage it, she has managed to knock it over several times by now, and I seriously doubt the ornaments will make it to next week. No matter, though, we don’t mind: Peekaboo is THE cutest!
Today Stefano and I drove to Monsummano Terme, not too far from Florence, in the heart of what has been called "Tuscan Chocolate Valley" thanks to all the award-winning maitre chocolatiers who live and work there. Ah yes, you guessed it. We were on a serious quest for chocolate. Xmas is around the corner, and we have decided to give chocolate as presents this year. We went to "Slitti," a well-known artisanal chocolate shop. Andrea Slitti, the owner, has won all sorts of prestigious Italian and European prizes for his creations. He is famous for his chocolate and coffee combinations. "Slitti" has its own website, which has been translated into English, too: 
had chosen gifts for friends and colleagues, we sat down and drank some hot Slitti chocolate.