Here it is the end of August. I'm starting to throw away thirty years worth of accumulated roba. There are piles of books all over the apartment. Bags of old clothes and papers are piling up. And then there are the keepsakes: the Venetian mask from the New Year's Eve party John and I had a few years ago, the crystal ball Sean gave me, the necklaces of Mardi Gras beads from New Orleans, pottery that I bought in Sicily or Korea or made myself, my stuffed toy wombat from Australia, and so on ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
I'm going back to Castiglione on September 18, but only for two weeks. I should be able to see the preventivo then and begin planning the renovation/restoration for real. I'm sure I have some bills and overdue taxes to pay there and I must get an Italian will done so someone besides the state inherits the house. Then I return to face preparation of the apartment for subletting, the endless bureaucratic chores involved in getting a residency visa, getting banking arrangements settled, contracting with a shipping company, reassigning my patients and cleaning out my office.
What in heaven's name makes me think that I won't have to make two or three trips between NYC and Castiglione before all these things are well and truly sistematici? I tell everyone I'm moving to the Val d'Orcia in April. Hell, I'll be lucky if I make it by the end of May!

posted by Joanna @ 9/01/2004 03:23:00 AM