Mother and Father were in their seventies when they made the purchase, but every single morning they walked barefooted in the dewy grass to greet the sun and local larks with a broad smile on their faces, and every night they marvelled at the glorious moon and stars they watched from the wooden porch rising high above the mountain peaks, They planted fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers, made red currant jam and syrup, and built a new shingle roof, a wooden fence, and a new wooden porch. They worked every day with joyful souls, and working hard made them happy, so they stayed forever young: for Mother is ninety nine as I write, and she only stopped chopping wood when she turned eighty two. 
Below are the first two sections the book: A Retired Doctor's Guide to Country Living Part One, including an inventory of the vegetable garden and tips on sowing and harvesting/picking fruit, herbs, and vegetables; and Recipes from Lia's Kitchen, including Mother's recipes, which I took down over the course of several interviews she agreed to give in her ninety-fourth year of life, when she was no longer interested in cooking and found the subject rather boring. Next comes the Diary for the year 1999 (September only) which also includes letters my parents sent to me describing their life in Borsa at the time.