Snow...

They have been talking about it for days. Finally, The White Stuff. A light dusting. Gads.

We Have Our Blue...

Yes... it's the one on the far right. And, it is even MORE BLUE in Real Life. 

You & I believe the blue on the right is just The Perfect Blue to properly exhibit our growing collection of deer horns in the Salotto. We have over 40 of them!!! Two are 9-pointers. Gads.

What the Work-guys Left For the Weekend...

The Work-guys left last Friday, promptly at 5PM, and this is what they left in their wake...

I-beams galore...

and the door opening to the Bathroom fixed up with stones.

And, here is a shot of the tini... or, wine vats... used to hold our 500 liters of water. The one in the corner will get a huge plastic container at some point during the Phase IVB construction cycle. Thought it might be interesting for you all to see the tini now that there is a way to take a photo from above. And You said not to do a door. Gads.

The Sky Above Il Poggiolo...

January 29, 2012... yesterday's view. No time to fool with a shot today. Too busy drawing up the electrical plan for Our Builder. It's due tomorrow. Anyway...

it was supposed to snow but, it didn't!!! You ran into a blizzard in Genoa on his way back.

NO TREMORS!!! Certainly not, on a Sunday. Gads. 

The Sky Above Il Poggiolo...

January 28, 2012...

the day after Our Quake.

Toured the entire complex twice last night with a high-powered flash-light to make sure all the temporary supports AND walls were still in placed for the structural work of Phase IVB. All seemed A-OK.

I went to bed with gym pants & a long sleeve T-shirt on. Shoes on the floor below my bed. Flash-light on the night stool too. I put a jacket, scarf & hat at the front door. Felt pretty sure I could get out dressed for freezing temps, if another tremor were to strike. Not so sure about rousting The Dog. He abhors to leave the comfort of his velour-covered mattress on the black, long & semi-uncomfortable sofa in front of a blazing fire. I told him he HAD to collaborate if the Earth shook, because I was not interested in dragging his 65 lbs to safety. He yawned. Gads.

I Spoke Too Early...

I spoke too soon about the fireplace in my last posting of two hours ago. Not a second after I hit the PUBLISH Button did the Earth shake. A GREAT BIG SHAKE!!! 5.4 on some scale. Richter may be too hard to pronounce for an Italian. The epicenter about ten miles away at a depth of 30 miles. THAT was Our Greatest Fortune!!! Had the quake occurred just under the Earth's surface, I would, probably, not be writing this post. Thank You, Lord. Gads.

It Works!!!!!

May this day... Friday, January 27, 2012... go down in History!!!

From the time I signed the contract for Phase III till today, eleven months have Come & Gone. And though I now have HEAT in the Apt. Azzurro, there are still many touch-ups needed to finish the fireplace. I wonder how long they will take? Gads.

Sky Above Il Poggiolo...

January 27, 2012...

No earthquake... and we are thankful

No gas... The Dog & I can w-a-l-k

Little food... I need to go on a diet anyway

and... 

the Rai Weather-man keeps talking of snow for the weekend. 

Gads. 

The Way To The Bathroom...

Yes! The new opening for a door to the Stanza dei Tini AND... for me... the Bathroom. 

I DO NOT LIKE the looks of that HUGE crack running down between the new and the old front door. We think that after the earthquake in '22, the owners re-built the damage in a cheap manner... small stones and little stucco between them. Means we will probably have to put in another iron I-beam and a couple of vertical supports, when the Work-guys re-build the old front door. Gads.

Damn Hard Lesson...

Damn hard to find The Right Blue... a bright, happy, intense, rich, illuminating, different, new, lively blue that does not fall into dark, dull or hits the road to Teal. 

I spent two hours on the Internet last night searching, searching, searching for a blue paint color which might meet Our Rigorous Criterion. Here's the list of sites...

1.   Fowler & Ball... Home to Elephant's Breath

2.   Ralph Lauren... how come his examples DO NOT EVER LOOK like the paint in the photos???

3.   Benjamin Moore... simple site, we love it but, alas, No Right Blue

4.   Sherwin Williams... ditto

5.   Glidden... tints for mobile homes

6.   Behr... drastically too complicated a website just to have the color fan deck

7.   Crown... forgettable

8.  Dutch Boy... and they still have the Dutch boy on his swing holding a bucket of paint. How quaint for 2012, no?

9.   Pittsburgh Paints... industrial looking

10. California Paints... dreadful interiors for iiinspeeerations

11. Olympic... could never download successfully their ColorPic. Che sara' sara'

12. Kelly-Moore... ???

13. Guggenheim Paints... they should be shot for their website... beyond obnoxious AND arrogant

14. Montana Paints... must take up street art with spray cans of ozone destroying colors

15. Porter Paints... more of ???

and, from Australia...

16. Dulux Paints... their stylists out to hit Aborginal art sites for colors other than dull blue, tan, brown 

and...

17. I even went to Martha Stewart's blog about mixing colors at Home Depot, for cryin' out loud!!!

For further frustration, I surfed to Pantone, where I took to drink from searching colors from a postage stamp sized example. Deciding that what I had chosen WAS NOT IT, I had to scroll down all over again to the Blue Range to find another, more acceptable color. That exercise wasted My Precious Time!!! Besides, no bright, happy, etc.

The Lesson from this adventure to find the Right Blue it this...
WE NEED TO CHUCK BLUE!!! 
A truly bright, happy, intense, rich, etc. colors CAN BE HAD in the Yellow... skipping Orange... to Red, to Pink, to Violet and a couple of Greens. The consequence of hunting in the Green Group KILLED My Desire for A Sevres Green.

I am now going to hit art books for The Right Blue. Titian HAS GOT TO HAVE IT!!! Gads.  

The Other Side...

A rather sinister shot... that shadow trailing across the new opening between the Sala da Pranzo & Salotto lends a bit of drama. 

The Work-guys are bashing an opening from the Kitchen to the Stanza dei Tini as I write. More shots to follow. But, must now get back to the Kitchen Plans. It is an exercise to squeeze in Utility & Convenience into a space geared for ONLY Utility. Gads.

Sky Above Il Poggiolo... January 26, 2012

OK...

No Earthquake...

and No Gas either.

Snow is predicted for tomorrow & Saturday. Gads.

Changes To The Ol' Facade...

An hour's worth of sledge-hammering a larger opening. Gads.

Yep, It's A Fireplace...

Yep, it's almost a fireplace!!! Gads.

Color Trials & Tribulations...

Not much to say here...

...neither You nor I can gather up much enthusiasm for these Colors. But then, it's kind of difficult to figure out just what ARE the Colors from these shots, all of the same darn Colors. I do not have much to say about my New-New-New CANON digital camera's sensitivity to the nuances of Color. Must take the damn thing back. Gads.

The Sky Above Codiponte...

January 25, 2012...

...woke-up & felt the need to stay in bed for another half hour after a series of incomprehensible dreams about Phase IVB...

...w-a-l-k-e-d The Dog... made the above snap...

...went to a bar to have un cappuccino e una brioche ONLY TO HEAR there was an earthquake nearby. Naturally, did not feel a thing. Too busy taking snaps, I suppose. And, The Dog, was too busy sniffing & peeing to mind...

...came back to check on the Work-guys and the Continuing Saga of the Fireplace, who IMMEDIATELY told me to go out & fill-up with gas. The trucker's strike was making a definite impression on Life in Italy, i.e. NO GAS, NO FOOD, NO MADE IN CHINA either!!! This escapade entailed driving 25 minutes to the nearest gas station WITH GAS!!! After waiting for the 20 cars before me to fill-up, was told by la Signora the little machine to pay with a debit/credit card did not work... THAT'S BECAUSE THEY HAD RAISED THEIR PRICES!!! and using that little machine would have been an inconvenient documentation to show the Tax Police when they knock on the premises' doors to inspect the books. Now, today, the Italian government can enter & check on your bank accounts & other money activities WITHOUT YOUR PRIOR CONSENT!!! Typical draconian treatment from a Euro-country government, I am sorry to say. It cost me $110 to fill-up You's AUDI!!! I discovered this Price Hike after I had gone to an ATM machine, withdrawn CASH, got back into a line of 20 different cars to fill-up and returned to inspecting the Work-guys. They -xplained me. I do regret having given the cute guy... the son of the gas station owners... a smiling Thank You after he had filled me up!!! Hope he and they rot in a gaseous H**L. 

... then, once the clock had struck NOON, I went out to lunch with the Work-guys. They asked me along. Wasn't that nice of them? I had gnocchi di formaggio... or, cheese gnocchi, like little exquisite soufflés with drapings of erbette... or, herbs... and funghi... or. mushrooms... pork fillets, which were beyond Good, a soundly made caffe' italiano and all for the ridiculous Low-Low-Low price of Euro 10... or, about 13 bucks!!!
I am now of Sound Mind & Body. Back to doing the Kitchen Plans. Gads.

The Future Kitchen...

Our Future Kitchen... imagine a sandstone sink... a mini-horse's trough... under that window. Between it and that niche will go an under-counter dishwasher. And, if I can swing it, two under-counter refrigerators making an "L" on the wall leading to a new window, a once-upon-a-time-door.  

This wall will have a counter with the cook-top & oven below it, more to the left to leave enough work space for Cutting & Chopping before the counter stops a little before the opening to the Sala da Pranzo... or, DR.

We're going to use the over-stock of the oak flooring from the Apt. Azzurro for the counter bases. The tops will be Carrara marble... our perennial choice. 

I am now going to sit back & await a text message from You with some modification to this plan. Gads.

Sky Above Codiponte...

January 24, 2012.

Turning To Teal...

An Analysis... a real quick one too...

Our China Blue is too close to the Medium Blue of the Apt. Azzurro. Perhaps, a Green-blue might be a way to go. It ain't Sage Green of La Casetta and it ain't the Medium Blue. It's Teal!!! Gads. 

Building Bridges...

The builder has lost NO TIME!!! There wasn't even any ink on a contract and he had set the Work-guys to work last Friday. I arrived this morning, Monday, to Ramp City!!! Amazing engineering feat, no? The darn thing flies right on over the oven, across the Aia... or, Cortile... and enters La Casa Grande through the portone... or, main door of the house. The air-borne pontoon saves the struggle of two Work-guys to carry up a wheel-barrow full to the brim with cement up the wretchedly dangerous front stairs. Here are a few exciting views...

The Dog doesn't know what to think.

On Other Fronts...

the fireplace in the Apt. Azzurro is almost BUT NOT QUITE finished. I took no snaps, since the flue was dismantled, so a marble top to the fire-box could be measured & installed. That and the marble facings are due to be glued tomorrow. Then, Our Cleaning Woman Par Excellence + Daughter Team Member will come and do a thorough Deep Cleaning of the apartment. I want to relocate there shortly because...

the local pharmacist & wife are moving into La Casetta!!!

Our Builder... please note the recent Status Change... & I have signed the contract. He'll be done before the end of April. And, if he isn't, I AM NOT GOING TO WORRY. Hissy-fits do too much damage and little is gained by them. This applies to Everyone.

and, by week's end, a good many of the structural elements will have been knocked off the Work-guy's Task List. Mostly these elements are iron I-beams over 2 new & 1 old window & 1 door to the Stanza dei Tini.

I have got to get cracking on The Electrical & Kitchen Plans. To Pencil & Paper!!! Gads.

   

Colors, Colors & More Colors...

I told You last night... he had caught me pestering the Benjamin Moore website again... that...

 

right now... in that very instant... and for the time being or, until I change My Mind again... in My Current & Agitated-Color-Obsessed Time-Space Continuum... basically, I want every color in the damn Rainbow and the some... I would like for each wall in La Casa Grande to get a different color. A patch-work of 12 Colors. That ought to do it for me. Per carita'!!!... For Charity's sake!!!... was His Reply. Then, he trooped-off to bed. Early morning.

Why is it so difficult for me to arrive at One Definitive Color? Am I that much of a flake? Please don't answer that. Thank you.
All I want... A Simple Request... is to have One, Bright, Bold & Happy Color, A Good Companion with Our Unalterable Terra-cotta flooring. Is LOVE too much to ask for? Gads. 

I told You last night... he had caught me pestering the Benjamin Moore website again... that... right now... in that very instant... and for the time being... in My Current & Agitated-Color-Obsessed Time-Space Continuum... I would like for each wall in La Casa Grande to get a different color. A patch-work of 12 Colors. That ought to do it for me. Per carita'!!!... for Charity's sake!!!... was His Reply.  

Why is it so difficult for me to arrive at One Definitive Color? Am I that much of a flake? Don't answer that. Thank you. All I want... a Simple Request... is to have One, Bright, Bold & Happy Color, A Good Companion with Our Unalterable Terra-cotta flooring. Is LOVE too much to ask for? Gads. 

Color Rationalizations II...

Would it be just way too Chinese to put...
Red Geranium & Industrial Cement & OSLBlue-Grey together in La Casa Grande? Could I be sent to prison for giving You a heart-attack? Gads.

Color Rationalizations...

Sage Green & Terra-cotta in La Casetta...
Medium Blue & Oak in the Apt.Azzurro...
so...
Tan & Industrial Cement in La Casa Grande?  You's Dream. Gads.

Colored Nightmares...

Tan &Terra-cotta...
Toast & Terra-cotta...
Camel & Terra-cotta...
Sevres Green & Terra-cotta...
Red Geranium & Terra-cotta...
China Blue & Terra-cotta...
Arsenic & Terra-cotta...
Milan Yellow & Terra-cotta...
Aubergine & Terra-cotta...
Belize & Terra-cotta...
Thick Industrial Grey & Terra-cotta...
...which one of these could I live with and still talk with You afterwards? White? Gads.

Color Angst...

I am having doubts. Serious doubts about Our Color. It is the one on the far right. The other two are Alternative Choices I will paint-up tomorrow.
When I saw in my last posting the blogger colors representing Our China Blue matched with those posing as Our Terra-cotta flooring & Our Standard Light Blue-Grey window color, I said to myself... Well, that just looks like someone died!!! What appeared to be A Zippity-do-dah Blue, didn't. No, not at all. Not with Our Terra-cotta. We're stuck with that unless, I can find an artisan to lay down an industrial type smooth & shiny & slick cement flooring in its stead. And, I have been substantially discouraged by Everyone on that desire of You's. I yearn for My Sevres Green again.

Yet, looking at the color quality of 152-70... upside down... from my CANON digital camera makes me want to call it a day with White... the epitamy of Playing it Safe, Being Conventional and In. I really do not want White, EXCEPT on the ceilings, where it belongs.

Sharing this Color Angst is not fun either. Hearing Fowler & Ball, Fowler & Ball, Fowler & Ball out of every audible orifice of Friend, Family or, Superficial Acquaintance, ain't helping. What snobs people are these days!!! Yes, F & B's non-color paints are lovely, especially, if one wants to be... A) Safe... B) Conventional... and C) In... for the nth Time. However, the paints do not make me want to get up and boogy around the room to Souxsie and the Banshees, much less cavort through the 71.32 square meters of La Casa Grande, which we are going to embark upon re-building starting Monday!!!

I want Bright, Bold, Happy and A Good Companion with Our Unalterable Terra-cotta. So, if a Tan can be found to fit the bill... Onwards!!! Gads. 

Plans Are Moving Apace...

Such a quaint view of Our Future Salotto. An exercise to see how three windows of about the same general dimensions would appear. I left in a piece of an old chestnut beam. Eeets nyow aye pedestal... says You. Fine. One Item of Note... imagine the walls in Our China Blue!!! Flooring in Our Terra-cotta, the Ceilings in White and the windows in Our Standard Light Blue-Grey. There. The picture is complete. Well, we are missing the furniture which, I hope, will not include two sofas in some flea-market floral fabric, as per You!!!

Meanwhile, over in Our Future Kitchen, there is the Construction Issue of the ex-door becoming a window-posing-as-a-door. It will be about as big as one of those Emergency Exits over the wing of a Boeing 737. An Escape Hatch to squeeze through, for sure. All it really needs to do is to allow The Cook... moi... to pass plates of food to the Dinners... You... our on the Loggia. Fine. This fast sketch is mostly for Our Discussion Group to be held this coming Monday... Our Geometra, the builder & me. Gosh. What fun. Signature & Monies. May I say... Gads... now or, is it too early?  

And lastly, Our Future Kitchen. Eets vwerry smalleesh... says You. Fine. The Main Details are...

stone or zinc sink...  a bit hard to spit out, the last one... goes in the window, the Bompani refigerator next to it in the corner... we're going to loose an inconsequential niche there... the steel INOX cook-top box on a table in the other corner and, what is not shown, 'cause You hasn't found one yet, will be a rectangular kitchen table for a work surface. Oh! And for You to rest his caffe' on it, while he adjusts his -jamies in the morning. 

Other Details are...

there's going to be a step-up from the Entrance Door,  the result of leveling off the floors which, currently, slope towards the walls with the all-important windows to the Garden. 9 degress of slope too!!! A new door will open into the Stanza dei Tini, so I may run to the Bathroom WITHOUT GETTING WET!!! The stairs will be quite narrow and made from Our Supply of Old Chestnut planks, salvaged from the Old Roofs. And, no door between the Kitchen and the Sala da Pranzo but, an archway, for cryin' out loud!!! 

That ought to do it for now. Gads... again.

Tinker Bell?

Are any of you aware of this latest flea-market find of You's? He is very proud of it. Got it for less than Euro 3... You refuses to divulge the item's actual price... at a stand in a junque emporium in Udine, a city in northeastern Italy. So northeastern, it's practically in the ex-Yugoslavia!!! Apparently, according to You, this city has delectable flea-markets filled with enticing treasures around every corner. Delectable must stand for dusty & dank. Fine. To each his own. I won't stand in You's way. Gads.

Before & After...

Messing around with what is now an extensive photo-file dedicated to il Poggiolo, I happened to stumble on this photo this morning of the entrance to the Apt. Azzurro taken... lo' those many years ago... in the Winter of 2009!!!

A more recent shot, but not recent enough... the iron-rod & branch pergola isn't up. A ready -made excuse to... guess what?... take another photo... in the Spring, however!!! Gads.

Facade Obsessions...

The facade of La Casa Grande two days ago under a nice coating of morning frost.

And again, the facade of La Casa Grande after we have opened up the niches & enlarged a minor window. Gosh! How clever of You & I!! 1... 2... 3!!!

You has always hankered for three windows in Our Future Salotto. I countered with A Firm... No! Too expensive. But then, while dinner was bubbling on the stove-top last night, I started to copy photos & draw up various alternatives to My Firm No. And, lo' & behold, the three windows, more or less of the same dimensions, appeared to be the nicest idea. They would let light in AND not muck up the facade. For a time there, one drawn proposal had each window of a different height & width... an un-glorious pastiche of Up-down-Up-down... previously mentioned in another posting.

I have just sent an e-mail to Our Geometra about this Request. He has... must get rid of the word "always" from My Vocabulary and in all three languages I decimate with My American Accent... always steered us away from three windows in Our Future Salotto. He has Good Reason to be concerned. The stone walls in that room are profusely decorated with cracks, crevices, fissures!!! However, Our Geometra saw to it that a re-inforced concrete cap runs around the entire room... well, and every where else there was a wall & roof joined together... right underneath the new roof, just so those same cracks, crevices, fissures!!! wouldn't get out of hand... or COLLAPSE A WALL!!! You said opening up the niches would lighten the wall. Our Geometra said... Yes, to fall apart. YIKES!!! The Solution for the three will be to ram-in an iron I-beam above them and anchor them with other vertical iron rods into the good stone-work. Something akin to building a post & lental over the window openings. SO THAT IS WHAT I HAVE COMMANDED TO HAVE DONE!!!
His ears must've been burning. Our Geometra just called me to bestow his... Si. Now, contract, $$$s-into-Euros and we're off... on Monday too. Gads.   

You's New Acquisition...

Came home to Genoa this afternoon, pulled into the garage and found this waiting for me. You at work again!!!

I happen to know for a fact that a second is shoved into You's AUDI and is to be delivered tonight. Frankly, I am surprised anything this over-stuffed would fit in that car. Gads.  

Won't REPLY...

My Numerology Numbers for today, January 17, 2012, recommended I avoid any & all business discussions. 

Well, the ONLY business discussion I have... and guess what it might be?... is Phase IVB. And, since I could not knock-down the builder's estimate yesterday to what both You & I believe to be A Just Figure, for cryin' out loud, I am not answering my cellphone today. As Our Great Southern Heroine so dramatically said while hanging onto that bannister... I'll think about that tomorrow... because... tomorrow... is... another day!!! Do you think that'll work? Gads.

Sky January 17, 2012

Cold & blue... very cold & blue... for this January morning, the 17th in 2012. Gads.

New Facade...

Another meeting with Our Geometra this morning. My Objective... without benefit of a good cappuccino... was to get the builder's estimate down Euro 10,000 from a Total of Euro 25,000. Seems everything in his estimate is very necessary and at a fair price of Euro 25,000. I checked against the III earlier Phases and can... dammit... confirm all the builder's prices are what I PAID in the past.

What's so very necessary? Well, for instance, the Eastern facade and its window arrangements. From right to left...

We will transform a niche into a window of the same dimensions. It will undoubtedly be the largest window of this facade. Hopefully, the builder & I can find sandstone cornices from my odd-lot collection warehoused in the old donkey stall to embellish its exterior dimensions properly. Its partner in the future Salotto has a typical sandstone cornice... the top horizontal stone is sliced-off at a rakish 45 degree angle at each end. Cannot tell you why. Medieval aesthetics, I suppose. All the other windows will have completely squared cornices. Looks odd to me. How about you?

Clear at the other end, at the far left, is a slit of a window, which will be enlarged... modestly larger than its partner window to its immediate left... and treated similarly with an ad hoc sandstone cornice. This just might balance things with the new window down in the Salotto.
Our Geometra & I spent an hour discussing how to deal with the Construction Issues of the new or enlarged windows. What I wanted to avoid was each window would be at its own special height, creating an up-down-up-down effect. By inserting a iron I-beam above the new or enlarged window opening, for instance, needed to bear the wall weight above, each group of two windows will be at the same top level. That is fine with me.
Naturally, I thought it appropriate to consult with Dr. You. He immediately said he wanted ALL THE NICHES TO BE LARGE WINDOWS!!! And, with that, he had added another Euro 1,000!!! When will I learn? I canceled You's request.
The next exercise was... To Stucco or Not To Stucco, that is the Question. Whether it is nobler in the minds... Dr. You said Not to Stucco. We would then SAVE Euro 6,000. Thank God! He did not try to WIN back the Window Request. You said we could live with animaletti = birds & nests, bats & nests, scorpions, LARGE BLACK SPIDERS, ants, and so on and so forth. Our Geometra made a horrible face when I told him this. Then, I got a lecture. I HATE Lectures. The title of this lecture was... Living With Animaletti & Un-hygienic Old Stone. Did the trick. We are To Stucco!!! I will paint all in Our New to-be-named Blue color.
Other totally inconsequential Estimate Issues were dealt with. At the end of our appointment... two hours later!!!... I had managed ONLY to knock-off about Euro 1,000. Our Geometra was entrusted to Go & Tell the builder of our decisions. Actually, Our Geometra goes with A Second Communication...
Finish the damn fireplace!!! Gads.

The Wonder of facebook...

I stopped by for an espresso with The Dog to visit one of my neighbors in Codiponte this Sunday morning. Once we each had una tazza di caffe' in front of us, she then told me this story... 

Her grandson received a message one day on facebook from a woman living in Argentina. They shared the same Italian last name of Argenti. She was curious if they could be related. Did he know of any Argenti relatives from Codiponte living in Argentina? 

The grandson knew nothing about it. He asked his mother. Thinking & thinking, it did occur to her that after the end of WWII, a great-uncle immigrated to Argentina and was never heard from since. The grandson replied to the message, but nothing more was heard from the Argentinean woman. 

Then, another message on facebook arrived. This time from a young Argentinean man with the last name of Argenti, who was studying in France. He thought for sure he was a distant cousin to the grandson. He was the nephew of the woman who had first contacted the grandson. Addresses were exchanged, etc. and again, nothing else was heard. 

A couple of months passed until, one day last week, a young man knocked on the grandson's door. It was the Argentinean student, who had traveled by train to Codiponte to look up the grandson & other relatives. 

The only thing he had brought were old photos of il Poggiolo, the house where his Argentinean grandfather was born!!!

Fireplace Progress

Freshly downloaded out the guts of my SONY digital camera...

the flue is up but, has yet to be anchored at the ceiling, as it passes to the chimney piece on the roof of the Apt. Azzurro... 

The chimney piece sitting on a very frosty roof... and La Concia in the distance. The chimney is awfully cute, no?

Ahhh, through the frozen woods and there up pops the Apt. Azzurro looking like a real house now with that little chimney sprouting out of its roof . Gads

300 Euros...

For shame, for shame, 300 Euros for this 100% woolen baby!!! But, don't you just LOVE Italian design? Gads.

P.S. Thanks Pat.

The Financial Side...

Our Geometra e-mailed me the builder's estimate for Phase IVB the other day. I asked him not. He insisted. I asked because I HATE surprises. And, the estimate was A Surprise.
Talking it over with Dr. You, listing the items to be tackled...

-create a new window in the Salotto... here DR. You wants two but...

-open another in the Sala da Pranzo... the one that looks like a gun-port to fend off attacking Indians...

-open a archway between the two... already a window. What should it cost to make it into a doorway?...

-open a doorway from the Kitchen to the Stanza dei Tini... so I, or someone else, can pee without getting wet, for cryin' out loud...

-slap down a terra-cotta flooring...

-slap up stucco on some rather nice stonework...

and...

connect the tubes & stuff for an operating Kitchen...

We came to a figure of about Euro 15,000, a bit over $19,000. The builder's estimate was Euro 25,000 or, nearly $32,000!!! And that wonderfully surprising figure DOES NOT TAKE into consideration the following...

-the electrical system... I will NOT PAY more than a Euro 1,000 to run a few wires under the flooring. We will not use wall sockets. I can already feel though a fee of Euro 2,000 landing in my To Pay Box...

-the two fireplaces for Euro 1,600 ea. x 2 = Euro 3,200 and the cost of building the mantels, the flues, the exterior chimney... I estimate the total for the two will be in the neighborhood of Euro 7,000, touching $9,000!!!

-painting... which I might do myself, since we will not being slapping on calce... a delicate & finicky lime based paint. However, Our Painter will ask for Euro 2,000 = $2,500. I will do it for the cost of paint... say Euro 500.
-the kitchen cabinetry and appliances and a stone sink, which I estimate will come in, at the minimum, of Euro 5,000 or, $6,300. Stone sinks are EXPENSIVE!!!
- a chestnut wood staircase to get to the Bathroom after the Stanze dei Tini for Euro 1,000, if that, comes in at $1,300...
and...
-the windows & doors at Euro 10,000, a modest $12,300.
Let's do the Math...
the builder's & other Total = 25,000 + 2,000 + 7,000 + 2,000 + 5,000 + 1,000 + 10,000 = Euro 52,000, OR A WHOPPING $66,500!!!
Whereas, My Total = 15,000 + 1,000 + 7,000 + 500 + 5,000 + 1,000 + 10,000 = Euro 39,500, or A MORE REASONABLE $50,500!!! Still EXPENSIVE but LESS THAN that $66,500, for sure.

So, this is what Our Dining Room Table looks like while studying the builder's estimate against those of the previous III Phases.

Here is Page 2 and what My Notes looks like... 

I dare you to ask me if I am having fun? I told Dr. You that finishing La Casa Grande ought to be done for FREE!!! Any votes on that? Gads.