A momentous post

This is my 300th post on the blog. Some people have been reading from the beginning - my Mum and Dad for instance - but also others who didn't have as much pressure to do so! So thanks and I hope that it is still interesting enough for you to read the next 300. Even though I am no longer in Trieste so the name is a bit of a misnomer...
It is also a momentous post for another reason. It's the first one from my apartment in Sarnano. I am finally online at my own home - and with the wireless modem can write this from anywhere in the place I choose - although with the snow coming down outside, I am choosing the spot on the leather sofa as near to the fire as possible!
I had a long but ok journey yesterday, the A1 around Florence was, as always, horrific, but the rest of the journey went fine - in spite of the accurate predictions of my colleagues who said, hmmm there will be snow in Colfiorito. There was - and the rest of the way from then on to Sarnano. I had a lot more road safety than normal though, the car I have borrowed from work has winter tyres, and as it is an Audi A4 station wagon, its like driving a winter-adapted monster truck. Fantastic!
And thrifty. It turns out that in the frequent taking turns of the strikers, yesterday was the go of the Autostrade Toll Collectors, so as I pulled up to the window to hand over my cash and get a receipt, I saw the sign telling me to go on ahead, there was a strike so there was no need to pay. i don't know whether those in the automatic payment line got the same gratis journey, but it worked out well for me!
This morning there was snow nestling on the hedge outside and the mountains looked like they had been dusted with icing sugar. But as I took this as a sign that it was too cold be out of bed, I snuggled back under the duvet. When I got up, the Kodak moment had more or less passed, but I did take a jaunt out in the car towards Gualdo to take some snaps.
Now with the fire burning brightly, I am trying to muster up the energy to get changed and go out for dinner with Chris and Irene in Amandola. Leaving the fire will be a wrench, but the other good thing about the beast of a car parked outside is that the heating works a treat!