"Alpine Settler": March 2007

Friday, March 30, 2007

Now the 'Terrace'.

Well this morning they began the final touches to the first floor....here the wall around the terrace. The 'persiane' (shutters) are now all back on too.

So once this bit is done they'll be down to the last stages. The ground floor (front) and the portico with it's three large arches. The underside (ceiling) of the portico, the arches and the balcony will be in the silver grey like the window surrounds. This in the hope that it's reflection will make the kitchen a little brighter during the day. I knew, when the portico was designed that it would make the kitchen a bit dark - but in compensation that does make it cooler in the heat of the summer - so I'm not complaining.

When all this is finished they will do the 'touch up job' on the hay-store (aka 'the shed'). I think they'll do that on Monday so it does mean that Lori (from Expats) - who is visiting Sunday/Monday will have some of their tools and materials still lying around. But I'm sure she wont mind that at all. Probably - knowing Lori - she'll be 'miffed' that they feller's aren't lying around too!!!!

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Getting there finally!

Well here's a first glimpse of the new colour....and even if I say it myself - it is fabulous!

They have finished the back of the house and are busy at the moment removing all the scaffolding from the road. Before they go this evening Romano is going to replace my shutters so I can finally return to having my window open in my bedroom. These past couple of weeks have been sheer torture for me because I have always slept in an unheated bedroom with a window open. But with NO shutters and the scaffolding that could give easy access to the balcony and terrace I've kept the window closed. But there's no two ways about it - I haven't been sleeping as well as I usually do!

Tomorrow they hope to finish the front of the house and the portico. Then it should be done and dusted. All that will remain will be for them to just put a first coat of cement sealant on the pillars on my small hay store to hide the 'wonky' breeze-blocks put up by the previous owner....I'm sure he must have been 'merry' to say the least when he did it. Then Luigi, my nieces husband is going to just put the tiles right on the little roof. I had some spares saved when they demolished the old roof on the house.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Yes, yes, yes...They're back!

So we are now facing the 'final countdown' for the house. They turned up at 7.10 this morning and are busy now putting the 'sealant' over every inch of wall. Then it's on to the colour.

So - all being well, and if Mother Nature stays on our side, the next two to three days should see the house finished. A long wait yes - but it will, I'm sure be worth it.

I spoke to Lori this morning and all being well she'll be up to me on Sunday morning and will stay over 'til Monday when I'll take her down to Linate for her next step - on to Catania. It's ideal really as I have to go to a bank in Abbiategrasso next week - so I'll make it Monday - 'Two birds, one stone' can't be bad eh?

Sunday, March 25, 2007

A funny kind of weekend!

It's been a funny kind of weekend and even though it's not quite over yet, it's still feels different. I suppose it's because we've put the clocks forward in readiness for the summer. This 'moving of clocks' - either forward or backwards always manages to 'throw me'.

I don't know if it's just me or if others find that for at least a week after the fact, every time I look at a clock I mentally think "Ah but yesterday, last week etc. at this time it was only.......". Every meal for a few days makes me think - "But it's only 11am (or 6.30pm) by yesterday's time so why am I ready to eat now"? Then at the other end of the year I'm frantically looking at the clock convincing myself that I can't possibly cope with waiting another hour before I put my stomach out of it's misery... Of course these 'mental upsets' only last a few days. I suppose it's a bit like jet lag except MY feet haven't left the ground.

Things started to go slightly awry on Friday. I had expected the painters for the start of the final work - and they didn't turn up! I don't know why that threw me - Romano had told me 'loud and clear' that it only might be Friday!!! So I'm hoping now that tomorrow morning will see them here, bright and earl,y for that final work! I'm just (I s'pose) getting excited to see the end result. But I'll have to wait a few more days. It's enough to know that before the 6Th April it WILL be finished though.

Not had any visitors either this weekend - for once I'm not sorry. The next person I'm expecting (some time this coming week) is Lori from Expats, then sometime in April friend Pat will (I hope) be back. 'Bestest friend' Heather and her DH, John are booked for the last two weeks in July and the day they leave another friend from Toronto with her three children (10 - 16) is due to land at Linate where H&J are leaving from. So that is really convenient for me as far as drop off and pick up goes... Same day - same airport which - thankfully - only has ONE terminal!

There are also (to the best of my knowledge) at least another three 'groups/singles' hoping to come for a stay this year too. Should make for a nice friendly and interesting summer I think!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Today I feel lazy....

Maybe it's me...but this morning having (almost literally) dragged myself out of bed at 7.20 I made an instant decision that I really was NOT in the market today for 'doing things'!

So - first jobs first - dressing gown and slippers on, mobile phone in hand, and let the 'mutt' out. Then a leisurely totter into the kitchen to get my first (and almost certainly my only) caffeine fix of the day..... So - out with the Moka,

the coffee bowl,

milk out of the fridge, into the cup and into the microwave. Moka loaded with coffee and this morning I 'pushed the boat out' and had TWO packets (four biscuits) of fette bisottate to put into the coffee!!!

Then it was down to preparing my meds (or - 'sweeties' as I call 'em) for the day....

So, with my 'caffe latte' ready, sit down - turn the TV on to catch the morning news. First onto TG5 on Channel 5 here in Italy, then over to BBC1 news from the UK. By now the 'mutt' is letting me know he's ready to come indoors. Once in, a quick drink of water and he's straight back to his bed (lazy 'whatsit'), and I'm back to my coffee fix.

I decided that after my shower I'll get the vegetables ready for steaming - carrots and cauliflower today. I also put a rolled turkey roast in the oven to 'slow cook' this morning

so that will, once cooked provide me with a nice lunch (or supper) today - another tomorrow and what is left (which will be plenty) will be sliced and packed in portion size packs and popped into the freezer for 'other lazy days' or for unexpected visitors. You know, just planning a 'lazy day' is really quite tiring..... OK - who said "Lazy Whatsit"?

Now I've got over the coffee ritual and prepared enough food for an army (well almost) I've got to figure out what to do NOW so I can carry on being lazy for the rest of the day....and IF you're reading this then you've guessed that this was my next step.

Now after all this exertion I'm really going to have to have a rest

- this being lazy is really quite tiring. I think I'll just go back to bed!!!

Monday, March 19, 2007

Technical Problems!

There is a problem on my blog, and it seems on some others too. Some friends who have tried to access Past Posts and Archives are unable to do so because they have disappeared from the 'Sidebar' on the right of the blog. All between the clock and the EBlogger sign and AccuWeather has disappeared!

SO if you cannot see all the links on the right hand side, and you are using Internet Explorer 7, please switch to Firefox if you can!

I'm sorry about this glitch - but Cristina from Expats in Italy is trying to solve the problem for me (bless her)!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

At last - the colour!

Well Romano arrived, as promised, with the samples of the two possible colours I had selected... you can see them here below. Both a variation on the 'apricot' that I like so much.

I chose the one on the left in the photo, it's just a little bit warmer than the other one....What do you reckon?
All being well - he will be back next Friday to start the final phase of the work. Fingers crossed!

Monday, March 12, 2007

It's coming on nicely....

I took these photo's on Saturday afternoon, with every intention of posting them on Sunday. But we all know that 'the best laid plans aft gang astray'.... and after all the fun and games of yesterday morning I really didn't feel at all like writing anything at all here on the blog!

It's now Monday morning, and Romano and his sidekick have been here since 7.10am - things are now moving on from the photos shown here.

In addition, when I was out I had this view of 'my mountain' - that is the one I say is 'out back'. As you can see there is still quite a lot of snow up there. This is slowly melting and is feeding (among hundreds of others) my little waterfall and stream.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

A heart stopping moment!

I was deep in slumber when a piercing noise woke me with one almighty jolt! The burglar alarm was going off.... it was still dark (and don't forget my shutters were leaning against the wall in the spare bedroom).

I kid you not - I nearly had another blo*dy heart attack!!! Geez - I didn't know if I was frightened or just scared witless. I suspect it was the latter.

Why wasn't the 'mutt' barking his head off?
Had 'they' fed him drugged food?
Should I risk going downstairs?
Should I turn on the light? Or - even better - should I just lock my bedroom door and hide under the duvet?
With all these thoughts in my head, the fact that I was being deafened by the alarm overcame any sensible thoughts I may have harboured thirty seconds before.

So - dressing gown and slippers on (mobile and cordless phones in the pocket). Exit to the landing - I can see all the upstairs windows are still closed (phew...). Turn on the lights on the stairs and slowly (VERY slowly) venture down them one at a time.....alarm still screaming at me, but even worse - still NO dog barking or jumping about like a demented kangaroo - as is his wont! At this point my usual principles, about householders owning hand guns, was abandoned totally....Why hadn't I got a gun - here - NOW? If I'd had one in my hand and an intruder had appeared at that moment - I swear I would have used it. Not 'may have', but 'would have'!

But having arrived at the bottom of the stairs, with the alarm control flashing like a fairground and showing that the circuits had been broken in all three zones - a fact I KNEW was not true - downstairs the only possible entry point is the front door and I was standing right next to it! So all that was left was to enter the code, de-activate and then reset the alarm. Now to 'the dog'! Where was he? I'll tell you where - in the kitchen, stretching and just waking up! Can you believe it?

Well that does it now - "Enough" I told him.... "You bark your head of if a cat so much as sets foot on the driveway - yet with all that racket you sleep through????"

So he's on Ebay this morning - best offer over €1 - and he's yours!
Know what he said when I told him? This was his reaction....

Cheeky little s*d!

Oh - by the way, having done all this, I only then looked at the time....

It was just 5.38 AM!!!

But with a cup of coffee (alas - too early for a stiff brandy) and some time to reflect on the problem I'm sure that the decorators had probably caused the thing to 'go off'....but WHY at 5.35am? Tomorrow I'll have to call the electrician who installed it and ask him!

Friday, March 09, 2007

They've started!

Bright and early this morning (7.30am - ugh) the decorator and his 'sidekick' arrived. They got all the scaffolding unloaded - causing the dog to have a near apoplectic fit.... poor little s*d didn't know quite what was happening. He was bouncing around first the front door - then off at high speed up the stairs to look through a balcony window. Up and down like a demented kangaroo he was!
But Romano (decorator) just ignored him - wish I could too, but he assaults my eardrums - I told him much more and he's gonna be put on 'eBay' for €1!
Here is Romano - he's really quite 'dishy' and almost 6ft tall....

So today has been spent erecting the scaffolding around the house. Sig. Natale (local Policeman) arrived after lunch to collect €30 to pay the stamp duty for the notice the decorator has to post on the property to prove that he has 'council permission' to carry out the work. I tell you - if you want to see red tape and bureaucracy at work - come to Italy!!!

So with the weather (today at least) being beautiful and sunny they have almost finished putting everything up. It is going to be fun at the back of the house as the bend/slope at the back is already quite narrow and with the scaffolding too there will be fun if even a bicycle and one car arrive at the same time as you can see from this snap... (N.B. the slope behind the truck roof is the road above my lane, which climbs farther up the mountain)

But Mr. Policeman it seems also brought a selection of roadworks warning signs too.

My shutters are now stored in the spare bedroom for now so they won't get splashed with the wall coverings. Here are some of them

This next one is the end, top corner of the house - as you can see, they are up quite high here...

Then there is the scaffolding on the balcony - the mutt is hoping that all these post are trees - he can forget THAT!

So now I'll have this around for about three weeks I think. The only drawback I think will be them arriving every morning (except Sundays) at 7am.

But I'm just so excited - can't wait to see the finished article!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

My free lunch!

I was a bit surprised yesterday to hear my doorbell at 12.15pm....Surprised because this is the time that just about everyone in the village sits down to lunch.

A quick peep out of the kitchen window revealed one of my neighbours from down the road a bit - 83 year old Maria. My first thought was that 'something has happened', you know what it's like, anything out of the ordinary and the mind races around the what's and wherefore's!

But having let her in she made a beeline for the kitchen with (what was obviously) a plate wrapped up in a cloth in her hands. Bless her - she was chuckling away and saying to me - "It's a surprise for you..."

Once she was seated in the kitchen with due ceremony she unwrapped her gift - a plate of home made (the pasta too) LASAGNA and it was still really hot!

Well there was nothing for it - she clearly expected me to eat it there and then!!! I just couldn't disappoint her - even though I tried explaining that 'I usually eat about 1pm' (yeah - right! Forget it...) she wanted to actually see me enjoy her gift. Of course I did eat it there and then. Oh and 'man' was it gooood. It was 'to die for' - honest!

Despite the fact that my own 'almost ready lunch' became my supper - the surprise on my part and the obvious sense of satisfaction on hers was worth every mouthful of that delicious lasagna. On her way out she told me that she will make home made pizzocheri soon and will bring me some. BUT, she added, she will tell me the day before so I won't have to bother to cook!

With neighbours like this - who wouldn't be a happy bunny?