December 31, 2011...

A view of the sky over il Poggiolo taken this morning... on the last day of 2011.

Good riddance to the last 365 days. I am ready for the next lot. Gads.

On The Way to Codiponte...

Here are some driving shots of what the road is like right before Codiponte taken on this day-before New Year's Eve. Gads.

A Garden Bench...

The Dr. & I have this antiques dealer in what has to be one of the coldest spots in Italy. The town is called Carcere. Way too many "Rs" for my Anglo-Saxon mouth to properly pronounce in Italian so, I just say... Car care. Works for me. The Dr. just cringes. Fine.

We like this dealer because...

A) he has great knowledge & taste in furniture

and...

B) he shows us stuff which has yet to be touched, and thus, ruined.

For example, this adorable bench caught my eye and a sigh too when, after closer inspection, we discovered there was no-way it could withstand even a child's weight. Apart from the lack of structural stability, the rest was A-OK... the beat-up quality of the orange paint, the rakish angle how it sat on the ground, the incised details of egg & dart and, most especially, the parade of putti!!! across the back-rest. We negotiated a price for the bench with its restoration included. Unfortunately for the dealer, the restoration involved taking the whole thing apart, insert new wood pieces to solidify its structure and nail & glue it back together again. Its cost in Time & Money was way more than thought. However, an agreement was an agreement. The result is charming, no? Gads, yes!!!

I misunderstood...

Called Our Geometra this morning at 9:03AM to find out why ZILCH had been done on the fireplace in the Apt. Azzurro. He was on his way to Rome with his family to visit a brother for New Year's. I hope he survives the experience. The Romans are maniacs with their fireworks. At Midnight, the city is consumed by a fire-storm!!! And, pointing those things at Human Beings seems not to register with them not one bit!!! I know this because, once, Dr. You dragged me to Rome for New Year's several years ago. I got out by the hair of my chin-y-chin!!! The city erupted into a Beirut. Across the piazza, we watched an apartment go up in flames from an ill-conceived attempt to shoot fireworks at a balcony next door full of folk. The aim was iffy. The curtains caught fire. And, the rest was up to the Fire Brigade. Serves the idiots right. Besides a burnt-out dimora... or, home... they also had to pay for the firemen to show up!!! Now, that is what I call Justice.

Anyway, I had, apparently, failed to interpret the builder's Fireplace Game Plan for the Holidays. What I took to be a sincere initiative of... Let's get going... on the Monday after our appointment on the Friday of the Big Storm before Christmas was, in fact, only a casual offer, if he could spare one of his work-guys. I don't know how I skipped that qualification. The mystery of Italian, I suppose.

So, Our Geometra said that he will call the builder after New Year's... and I CANNOT WAIT to get beyond these intruding & obnoxious holidays... to furnish me with A New Fireplace Game Plan. Gads.

Frosty Elegance...

Minus 7 Centigrade this morning at il Poggiolo. Ran into a local friend on the Medieval bridge while walking The Dog, who, by the way, loves these temps!!! I mentioned the chill and he said... Hey! This is a heat-wave. The day before last it was minus 12!!! Good Lord. That's about 10 degree Fahrenheit. However, cold though it may be, there is a lovely kind of elegance to the frosty white in the garden...

Gads.

Fireplace Before & After...

Here is the fireplace before The Holidays...

and, here it is after...

I feel entitled to say... double dammit gads!!!

Not Much Work Done...

Poked my head inside the Apt. Azzurro as soon I arrived at il Poggiolo hoping, just hoping to see Progress on the fireplace yet, was greeted by this sight...

NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE!!! It is as it was before. Christmas was one day. What did the builder do for the non-holiday days, typically referred to as work-days? Gads.

Last To Do With La Casa Grande...

Before we say Adio & Damn Good Riddance to 2011, Dr. You & I have begun to talk about tackling the last bit of construction of La Casa Grande this coming Spring 2012. This is courageous of us. Our discussion entails confronting The Key Issue of... where to put The Kitchen?... an on & off battle begun way back in January 2009, when we first toured the property together. Istantly, Dr. You had his ideas on things for il Poggiolo. The Kitchen for the main house was one... of many, many others.

To review The Opposing Sides of The Key Kitchen Issue...

Dr. You-know-who wants the Kitchen to go here...

in the dinky room off the Loggia. Sorry, an admittedly weird perspective to show. It's the only one I have. Apparently, too dinky for a photo. This lone shot was taken before the new concrete sub-flooring was laid down in the Fall of 2009.

My Point-of-view is The Kitchen ought to go here... in this corner of...

the Large Room off the Loggia. The space is so grand, a Dining AND Sitting area with a mantled fireplace can be included... here, in this corner...

Sorry, for the cluttter. I cannot find a current photo in my extensive but, highly confused photographic archive. Instead, The Little Room...

would be ideal as a full Bathroom since, the other big room of La Casa Grande...

is destined to become My Bedroom/Studio/Library Empire!!!...

Dr. You does not know of this plan. I'm going to surprise him. Does the adage go... A strong Defense is a surprising Offense? I can bet a few dollars Dr. You is going to be mightily offended. Gads.

Documented Evidence...

Ahhh, The Dog on his part of the contested sofa. Gads.

Nothing much to report. The Dog & I will drive down to il Poggiolo tomorrow, Wednesday. The AUDI is already filled to the roof with all of Babbo Natale's Christmas gifts...

a wooden folding garden table...

an oddly military green metal serving tray the size of Tuscany...

a set of 12 Tuscan wine goblets... necessary to toast in the New Year, I suppose...

to mention only a few of the items crammed into the car.

Dr. You-know-who comes on Friday. Poor thing. He has to work between Christmas & Capodanno.

It is always difficult to have The Dog & Dr. in the same house. The two argue over who gets to sit and/or sleep on the Most Uncomfortable Sofa in The World. The Dog feels it is His Due to plop his 33 bread-nourished kilos on his synthetic pile covered mattress at one end of the sofa, while I get a small space at the other end. This arrangement riles Dr. You. Once, catching The Dog... in flagrante!!!... in his cherished spot on the sofa, gave both of us a severe tongue wagging followed by storming out for his terra-cotta painted bedroom off the Loggia. I went back to my DVD and The Dog to snoring in Total Contentment. The Dr. believes People sit on sofas, Dogs sleep on the floor. This is inviolable!!! The Dog & I do not share this view of the Appropriate Order of Things.

So, I shall distract them both with sunny walks in the woods behind il Poggiolo and checking upon any Progress made on the fireplace in the Apt. Azzurro. Gosh. What fun. The evening fare will be more of a challenge but, I HAVE developed A Compromise. As soon as the Dr. traipses off to his separate bedroom for a night of easy slumber, The Dog's mattress will... miraculously... find itself raised off the floor and onto the sofa in matter of seconds. Clever, no? Gads.

More of Dr. You's Treasures...

...and, of course, there's Bernadette!!! What a find, no? Gads. Double gads.

More of Dr. You's Treasures...

and...

a brass hunting horn...

a hanging silk embroidered panel... frigging peacocks on a russet

antlers... one or two of astounding dimensions

jugs... I could start a band

picture frames... one has Donald Duck

bowling pins... yes, we're the proud owners of an antique bocce ball set

a ship's lantern... it has yet to find a good home

an enamel dove... do not ask to what purpose it serves beyond the decorative

cotton canvas sail-cloth... used as bed spreads here & there

a fireplace set... an extremely purposeful item. The bucket is right our of a John Wayne picture

sconces... a pair ripped off, I suppose, from a circus carriage

baskets... one big enough to hold a truck's back wheel

candlesticks... a pair in cast-iron, that perennial material of the Victorian Era

and so on and so forth.

A mightily prodigious quantity of stuff, no? Gads.

Dr. You's Treasures...

Well, I certainly cannot complain. Dr. You-know-who is maintaining A High-level of Enthusiasm insuring that La Casetta & Apt. Azzurro are well furnished, accessorized and, maybe, overstuffed with stuff. I guess I ought to be Thankful to God for inventing flea markets!!!... especially the franchise variety here in Italy. He also gets points for location, because, as we all know, it's... Location, location, location!!! Right outside the hospital where Dr. You SAVES the eye-sight of many adherents to il Popolo Italiano, there is located a major franchise flea market. N'er a day passes in which Dr. You does not come home with some finds for il Poggiolo in an anonymous plastic sack. Here are last-night's treasures...

...a pewter plate & cup... not necessarily a match-set... and some hunting binoculars. Total value? A piddling amount of Euros.

But, it happens wherever the Dr. is. Whether he is in Berlin... Sardinia... or, Denver, Colorado, for cryin' out loud... if The Dr. is within sniffing distance of a flea market... He's there, he finds, he buys, he brings home!!! Here is An Updated List...

paintings... abstract impressionist, with RED & YELLOW as the key chromatic expressions

glasses...

goblets...

vases...

prints... you know, 16th Century Sabines fighting off lions before being abducted sort

chairs...

stools... there are 8 of these in various heights & styles

a ladder... lovely to look at, dangerous to climb upon

farm implements... quaint items resembling Robin Hood's weapons

bed-spreads... one, a multi-color Arabian design which, I hope, the script discusses fertility and nothing against the infidels!!!

dishes...

silverware...

lamps... my favourite is the Chinese maiden lamp under a pagoda shade... in VIOLET!!!

iron torches...

rugs... la piece de la resistance is the deep RED wool carpet from Sardinia

fabrics... from dish-towel size to meters & meters of colorful brocades

other... I have forgotten what

Naturally, I am called upon to render My Glowing Approval, normally conducted in The Dr.'s basement garage, to every treasure presented.

At the rate of purchase, I am heartened that there are still 3,000 square feet left at il Poggiolo to fill with stuff. Gads.

Separation Anxiety...

The Christmas Holidays have dictated our stay in Genoa until Epiphany on January 6th... 17 days from now. That is the longest period I have ever been away from il Poggiolo!!! I am suffering Separation Anxiety.

I am wondering about how the house is bearing up with night-time lows of -7... that's a bone chilling 19F!!! I have images of huge patches of humidity at the stairs in La Casetta, a consequence of a closed-up house with seals around all the windows & doors, trapping the moisture & cold inside. How are the plants doing in the Garden? With so little sun passing overhead towards the shortest day of the year, are they perpetually underneath a thin veneer of ice? And... how's the builder getting along with building AND finishing the fireplace in a space with no heat?

We had our Big Meeting about it right before all HELL broke loose from the Big Storm last Friday. In fact, no sooner had Our Geometra & builder escaped out the back entrance to il Poggiolo up to the parking area next to the defunct Castle of Codiponte did the terrific rains & winds hit. Good that we met. There were some serious construction questions to resolve.

First & foremost was what kind of chimney piece to build on top of the roof. Listening to the approaching hurricane outside, we elected to construct one out of bricks, mortar & stucco securely anchored by iron rods to the flue hidden inside. I had my heart set upon a simple copper piece. It wouldn't have lasted a minute in Friday's tempest.

Then, up at the ceiling inside, there was the question of how to anchor the flue to it without too much stuff. We agreed on a simple iron box, like the open-ended ones holding the beams in place, to guide the flue through the opening of the roof to the chimney piece above. Another issue was how to insert vents to let warm air out to better heat the apartment over letting it fly right out the 5 meter tall flue. The pre-fab fireplace has huge 16 cm ducts for the residual hot air to be vented out the sides of the box constructed around the pre-fab fireplace. However, the actual box would end up being too high, out of proportion to the rest of the width & depth dimensions. Amazingly, the thing takes up little floor space. This is a boon. We might just get a small sofa placed in front to enjoy a fire... glass protected, mind you. The builder... graciously, I believe... offered to have special ducts made. Done.

Hands were shaken and off the two speed away. I grabbed The Dog for a pell-mell Pee-pee Tour. It lasted all of about five seconds. Hard to pee when pelted by icy rain. Gads.

Our Christmas Tree...

Persimmons make great Christmas tree ornaments, don't you think? Gads.

The Holiday Spirit...

The greatest thrill of this three year adventure of rebuilding il Poggiolo is...

when I find that someone has posted a comment on my blog...

or...

a friend tells me they have a friend who reads it too...

or...

I get an e-mail from someone I have never met asking my advice with their like-wise adventure.

Oh yes, of course, I get all tingly when I look into and see the blue of the Upstairs Apartment but, it is... really & truly for me... a sense of gratitude that there are folk out there in Internet-land, who read & enjoy & get a chuckle out of the shenanigans of my Italian House Blog.

So... to all of you, I want to thank you and to wish you... while I am thinking about it...

a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Prosperous 2012!!! Yet another 365 days of house construction on tap. Bless you all.

Now, About The Garden...

Bone chilling blue this morning. Temps decidedly below freezing. Another wintry wonderland of frost across the Lunigiana landscape. The sliver of a Moon appears a gentler display than marigolds... an acquisition insisted upon by Dr. You-know-who last Summer... crushed by a night-time assault of ice. But, you know...

poking around my 2,000 sq. meters of Italian soil, the urge comes over me to get hands dirty with some Gardening Tasks. Yet, I squash this sensation. Ice is cruel enough without subjecting the garden greenery with a weed-wacker, hedging shears or a shovel. However, I AM plotting plans for My Spring Blitz...

first priority will be to build some sort of fence, so folk won't plummet off the many high rock walls of il Poggiolo. The key candidates being the one down at the Fish Swimming Pool...

and other very, very tall one above the Cortile. There just is NO SECURITY of a lilac border 25 feet above the paving stones of the Cortile...

then, I want to move a few ill-placed plants in the famous Green Privacy Wall at the top of the top-most terrace...

next, is to trim the two mulberry trees, so they will grow like two leafy umbrellas for purposes of shade. A slightly annoying circumstance of the garden del Poggiolo is that in the Summer, from sunrise to sunset, the garden is ablaze with sunlight, whereas, there's practically NONE during the short days of Winter...

finishing with planting more box-woods where they are wanted, i.e. down at the Fish pool, again, and along the ramp leading from the Apt. Azzurro down to the Spianata... or, our Scenic Overlook of that Commie apartment building on the other side of the valley from us.

All that is required would be for Mr. Father-Time to hurry us on past the Holidays, the doldrums of January & February to the month of March. In the meantime, all I can do is shiver in anticipation. Gads.

1st Big Freeze...

Sky-fixated, I am. This is Sunday's early morning sky. The radio mentioned snow but, I didn't catch the Where & When. By the looks of Our Sky over-head, it could be Here & Today!!! Yet, below..

who cares about that? At Ground Level, we've had our first Big Freeze. I know this may be no-big-deal for someone living in International Falls, MN... I can hear the inhabitants there muttering their tut-tuts through their HH Artic-wear, as I write... but here in Codiponte, a prolonged series of nightly sub-freezing temps ain't so wonderful for the local olive crops. They like mild... sunny & mild.

In any case, sure hope the builder gets the Apt. Azzurro's firebox built & working ASAP!!! As Dr. You-know-who likes to say... Eeets beeg freeezeeng outzide!!! Gads.

Today's Sky...

Yesterday's Big Storm roared until 9PM. The Dog categorically refused to go out into the gale. Boy, was he ready when I gave him the All Clear!!! I was too. Cabin Fever something terrific.

The Day After, the sky over il Poggiolo this morning was this...

right at Noon, it became this...

And, no-one called to pester me about being paid before 2012!!! It's not like I owe tons of mullah either. Gads.

Pre-Christmas Bufera...

A stormy grey overhead il Poggiolo this morning. If I were a Clever Person with my new SONY digital camera, I would have taken a video, so you could see just how fast that stormy grey was moving. By the noise the clouds were making, I would hazard to say nearly Hurricane Speed. Shortly after this shot was taken, the Torrential Rains came. The Dog & I then spent the rest of the day inside La Casetta by the fire, naturalmente!!! The electricity went out a couple of times too. The Dog let out a HARRUMPH! and went on with his nap.

Frankly, I had rather expected this storm to hit, just not so hard. The Euro-news in the days past was filled with visions of England lacerated by high winds & rain. It was only a matter of time for it to do the same in Italy. It is the first time I have experienced a Bad Storm... or, tempesta!!!... at il Poggiolo. Thank God, I was well provisioned with food & drink, a battery-powered mega-flash-light for power-outages, ample wood in the bins to burn through the day & night of howling & whistling wind & rain and, most importantly, I had the comfort of My Dog snoring. So much for the Feel-good during adverse weather...

there was a Collateral-Effect of the storm... practically everyone I still owe money on the Upstairs Apartment's construction called to be paid. Killed any charm of being inside, dry & warm & content. However, it's like this every year at about Ol' Saint-Nick Time. And, they all call with a tone of voice which says... I would let this roll-over to next year but, you know... I can hear the Voice of Reason of Dr. You-know-who saying... Well!!! We had to wait on them to finish their work, they can wait a awhile for their money. Yet, knowing how I am, I'll play Santa Claus. I'd prefer to... Leave Toys & Things for all the Girls & Boys... but, bucks would be better appreciated, I am sure. Gads.

Vacation Rental...

Would you want to rent this place for a week's vacation? Hard to believe il Poggiolo was ever so scuzzy. Gazing at this photo taken back in the Winter of 2009, I can't decide which looks the most forlorn & decrepit... the what-we-call-it-now Loggia, long since knocked down & re-built to New Rules of Construction... or, the shabby shutters of the Upstairs Apartment.

Anyway...

I have been furiously working on my let's-rent-the-apartments website AND... more annoying, thanks to my lack of grit where Information Systems are concerned, on aligning this Vacation Rental Initiative... VRI, for short... to the myriad vacation rental sites inhabiting the Web these days. May this posting be a kind reminder to you that Apartment Rental Information on La Casetta & Apt. Azzurro can be found either at...

www.ilpoggiolocacodiponte.com

and...

www.housetrip.com

This last location requires you to punch inside the appropriate window... Codiponte, Italy... to get anywhere near to the specific Info on La Casetta & Apt. Azzurro. Hopefully, very soon, I'll be able to furnish the direct link. Why look at the other places for rent in Italy when, obviously, il Poggiolo is the place to be. Or, be square. Gads.

Praying For Fire...

Thought I'd check on the state of the fireplace during my morning's Inspection Tour of il Poggiolo. Opened the door to the Upstairs Apartment and there, in all its unfinished Glory, sat the fireplace. Could be an art-installation with the broom propped against the blue wall. Very tidy are the builder's workmen these days. Big meeting tomorrow, Friday, with the builder & Our Geometra to discuss unspoken concerns of the builder's before proceeding with the work on the fire-box. Two weeks to have us three together in the same spot.

And then, I poked my nose around the open door panel and discovered Bernadette, ardently praying on her stoney perch. Fat lot of HELP her praying has done!!! Gads.

Real-estate Reflections...

Came down from Genoa last night to pass another long pre-Christmas weekend at il Poggiolo. It was already dark by the time I had unloaded The Dog & bags from the car to wander around, take a look at il Poggiolo. I had to wait until this morning.

It's about 8:45AM. If we were in Summer, the Upstairs Apartment would be ablaze in stunning sunlight. It ain't. It's a short day-hop to Winter. Rain clouds are building between us and the Mediterranean Sea. Colonel RAI Weather-man says rain for today AND tomorrow. Fine. The Dog & I will be inside by the fire. But, you know, despite the weather, I am very proud... thrilled... always... to see my house. My 2000 sqm of territorio italiano!!! Gads.

I just made an appointment with Our Geometra to meet the builder at il Poggiolo about the fireplace in the Upstairs Apartment.

Yes, temporarily, I have gone back to the old name. L'Appartamento Azzurro is too long & futzy.

This latest appointment for Friday morning at 11AM is the ninth arranged to discuss the construction of the fireplace. I cannot imagine what could be delaying the work. Unless, of course, after the builder's Big Blow-out of September 23rd, he needs some hand-holding, worried that I might break his balls on the fireplace by revolutionizing the program. Frankly, it ought to be the other way around. I broke no-one's balls. Instead, mine were crushed by four months worth of absurd delays on re-constructing a simple open-plan apartment. Since we ARE in Italy, where victims have NO RIGHTS, I would like to Post for Posterity that I have not changed... altered... modified... revamped... or, tweaked, for cryin' out loud... the fireplace design in the Upstairs Apartment. And, I won't. All I have ever wanted is a simple box faced with marble from the old stairs in La Casetta and a new Carrara marble made for the top where the metal smoke stack will pop-out on its way up to & through the roof where a simple copper chimney piece will sprout. The builder has heard this from the first appointment. I suppose victims are condemned in repeating themselves ad infinitum. We shall see on Friday.

In the meantime, I was wondering if, say, King Louis XIV of France spent a good deal of his time away from The Chase to discuss with his builder the program for the 352 fireplaces in Versailles? I doubt it. And, I have a hunch they were knocked off in less time too!!! Gads.

As Far As This...

Three weeks to work on the fireplace and this is as far as the builder got? Gads.

Mysteries...

Kind of wintry looking day. The orange of the persimmons are a great contrast against the grey stones of the Azzurro Apartment. Yes, Dr. You & I are back at il Poggiolo. We came down for the long Immaculata holiday. This little Catholic holiday celebrates the moment Mary learnt she was going to give birth to the Messiah!!! It turned out to be one of the shortest pregnancy on record... 17 days!!! A miracle. No such luck for our Azzurro Apartment's fireplace. Do you suppose this is the price I have to pay for being a Episcopalian in a Catholic country? Gads.