The old pasta pot...

... making a good geranium planter.

There are two stone tables on our terrace - one sits 6 comfortably and the other at least 10. We also inherited a tressle table that fits between the two to make a table big enough for at least 24 people. We have seen photos of more people than that crammed around it for a harvest lunch when the house was a working winery. I'm sure the old pasta pot put in good service in those days.

I don't cater on that scale! 10 friends have offered to come and help us eat our truffles this evening, so I've spent the heat of the afternoon in my cool kitchen making the preparations. When I stopped work (I should say when I stopped working for money!), my colleagues knew I was coming to Italy and bought me a large stainless steel pasta pot, and that's what I'll be using this evening - the geraniums can stay where they are!