Blue!!!

As the Italians are want to say... un'anteprima... 

It's blue!!!

Tomorrow... the second coat. Gads.

A Short Note of Praise...

Enough of frigging idiots or ballistic builders. It is time to speak the praises of...

My Local Hardware Store... Riani of Gragnola (MS) Italy!!! 

And why must I? Well, I must because...

A) they have most everything... from 10 cm cvc tubes, nails & wrenches, to chemical weapons all the way to potato peelers which never seem to work, but then, they only cost 2 bucks. Big deal...

B) they open early and close not too late with niente pause nel mezzo della giornata... or, the proverbial siesta...

and...

C) they have the most service oriented Staff on the Face of Mother Earth!!!... from Gianfranco... the owner, since his Dad died two years ago... to the four green polo-shirted Hardware-guys... Matteo, Roberto, Paolo e Alessandro. They DO NOT KNOW the word No. And, they do not laugh, when I bring in my weed-wacker, because I cannot remember how to change from the disk to the twirling lines, etc.

You guys are great!!! Thank you. 

Now, back to heretofore mentioned afflictions. Gads.  

Trying Times...

No picture. It would look like a Wanted Poster. I've had three highly stressful days...

On Sunday, My Dog was viciously & repeatedly attacked by a hunting-dog let loose from its cage where, it happens, the dog shits, pees, eats, sleeps & barks 24/7. Oh! And the pen has a tin roof. You can just imagine the conditions inside. The dog's owner was weed-wacking to his heart content in his white-trash style garden when the aggressions occurred. He saw the whole thing. Did this person bother to come to our aid? Did he bother to catch his dog, who attempted several times to continue with his attacks, and put... him... back... in his disgusting pound? Did he care to find out the extent of My Dog's injuries. Or, even offer his apologies? No. He continued to weed-wack. 

The day before, this... this... this frigging idiot decided to burn the cut limbs from the trees in the makeshift parking lot at the base of the Medieval bridge. The ban on burning anywhere anything at anytime was in effect. Did this frigging idiot bother to abide by the Burning Ban? Did he choose to move the dried limbs from underneath the trees before striking a match? Did he even stand by while all went up in a violent plume of fire? No. He struck the match. Then, he went on with his weed-wacking his in-law's white-trash styled garden on the other side of the bridge and well out of view of the conflagration he had started. Now, we have half-burnt trees in the make-shift parking lot.

This frgging idiot is a passionate hunter. Perhaps, passionate is not the right word. Maniacal, more like. Our Builder... see below... who hunts with this frigging idiot told me he won't ever hunt with him. He said this frigging idiot is trigger happy. Once, thinking a swaying bush was a boar, he blasted the poor forest plant into another Time/Space Continuum. And, the pant's leg of a fellow hunter.  

Got the picture? Enough for the weekend.

On Monday, I waited all day for a non-appearing Work-guy with a motorized buggy to help me carry away all the Dirt & Debris collected from the excavations in the Cortile & Sottopassaggio. I called Our Builder, but, to no avail.

Yesterday, Our Builder showed up to see what all still needed to be done with the Upstairs Apartment. He went immediately to the Terrace. There, a sweat-smile Moroccan Work-guy was setting in place the caps to the four pylons of the Terrace. They looked terrible. Our Builder turned to me and with all the aggression contained in his 5'-4" Sardinian body, asked what to do. I quite calmly told him that the caps needed to be cut down. Why have pylons resembling four priest with those ridiculous wide brim hats a-la-Vaticano. Our Builder went ballistic. He said I was costing him Time AND Money. He said he did not care a whit about the work on my house. He said he would not continue so. He resigned. Yes. He resigned. Then, he walked off. I let him huff & puff back to his truck. I then called Our Geometra... on his vacation... to inform him of Our Builder's decision AND to explain My Position...

A) Our Builder is late AND we are not to blame. While we were dealing with the Search & Find of the wood flooring, Our Builder could have done a myriad of other tasks... plumbing, excavating the future Laundry Room, to name two. Did he? No.

B) We are ideal clients... we rarely change things and if we do, we normally do so immediately. If we are asked to make a decision, Mr. You & I confer and then give our prompt answer. When Our Builder asks for money, he gets his money. No such thing as 30 days pass due, etc. And, we do not complain when three weeks pass with n'er a Work-guy seen on our premises... and so on & so forth.

C) I know Our Builder is stressed from the continuing difficulty of rising prices of materials, changes to the rules which govern construction and other clients on his Task List, who are far, far from ideal. Difficult AND indecisive would be two words to describe them. 

and...

D) I cannot continue with My Items... painters to paint, flooring to be installed, bathroom & Kitchen out-fitted until Our Builder's few items are finished.

I suggest Our Geomtra make a call to Our Builder. He did.

An hour later, Our Builder called to apologize AND asked for forgiveness. I said that there was nothing to forgive. Let's get going to complete this Upstairs Apartment. He said yes. 

Exhausted, I took a nap. I slept heavily for an hour and a half. Gads.

Another Back-breaking Job in The Garden...

The Big Moment has finally come!!! One I have been awaiting for nearly a year. Two items have just been scratched-off The Builder's On-going List of Things-to-do... the bulldozer has dug-up two very-much-in-the-way tree-trunks and there is A Big Pile of Dirt & Debris from burying the septic tank & water pipes in the Cortile & Sottopassaggio and awaiting imminent distribution. Here is a shot of the Big Pile, covered in case of rain. Right. The clouds managed only to spit water...

Now, I can get started building grassy low-stairs on the two ramps. The one in this shot ambles down to the grassy Spianata... or, as Mr. You says, Our Scenic Over-look... mostly, of the Commie House, a seven-floor piece of local Communist public housing from the 80s... on the other side of the valley from Il Poggiolo... from the Upstairs Apartment. Here is the first of My Trials & Labors... 

The planks de-mark the location of the steps. I have raked rubble to them as the First Step. More Dirt & Debris needs to be trucked-up from that Big Pile down at the Cortile to continue to build them up. Then, I can put-down more Dirt, peat-moss on top, scatter grass-seed, roll the seeds down into the peat-moss, fertilize & water.
Ditto for the the Other Ramp, which leads down & around the drying shed to the Cortile.

I toiled away for five and a half hours today... in our current Heat & Humidity. I am now ingesting an exquisite pro-secco after swallowing anti-inflammation & pains pills. Earlier, I was so sore in the shower... it is amazing the muscles one uses to rake rocks... I crouched & assumed the fetal position to let the hot water pour over me. Cannot say that I am looking forward to tomorrow morning. How long will it take me to roll out of bed? Stay tuned. Gads.

Beauty Amongst The Beasts...

OK... around the Garden, a few flowers are in bloom. Some improve the impression of living on a building site. Here are a few documenting shots...

a couple of lillies...

hydrangeas sharing space with scaffolding & construction trash...

one lone wisteria bloom... only a month late. Better so than never, no?... which we hope will cover the sad looking horizontal prison bars of the eventual Laundry Room. What is not in the shot is how the vine is going gang-busters up & over to the north walls enclosing the Upstairs Apartment. At least that!!! Gads.

The Joy of New Pavements...

OK... the Upstairs Apartment isn't going to be ready for the wedding party Mr. You & I are hosting for friends on the 23rd of July. Nor will it be ready for the Ferragosto holiday on the 15th of August. The word is that we will be lucky to have the place finished & set-up for the Sagra on the 3rd of September. I am trying to remain calm. Mr. You says... Of course you should be calm. It's the Builder who has to pay the penalty of Euro 60 for every day late!!! So, The Math says... 60 x 63 days = Euro 3,780!!! It all gets deducted from the massive plumbing works.

In the meantime... it makes part of My Plan to Remain Calm... I have enjoyed the Joy of seeing my new pavements... ramping up... so to speak. Here are the documenting shots...

coming up the Ramp...

making a left-hand turn to go up the Sottopassaggio... I cannot tell you how proud I am of the Work-guys that they DID NOT OBLITERATE the wood beams of the old steps!!! Must've been hard...

the Sottopassaggio... the difference in the greys is one is fresh cement...

the view past the door to La Casetta and down the Ramp. WOW!!! Gads.

My Codiponte Social Life...

We're very social here in Codiponte...

tonight, I hosted cocktails in my garden at Il Poggiolo... on the terrace right above my still unfinished Upstairs Apartment and which... dammit!!!... won't be finished until the 1st of August... if even then...

dinner tomorrow evening with an English couple... the oldest foreign residents in Codiponte. They have lived in Codiponte for the last 20 years... at a local agriturismo... or, farmhouse hotel with an eatery attached... around the corner in Gragnola with Chef Roberto manning the Kitchen. The guy makes a killer rosemary risotto with a white cream sauce to roll over & ask for more!!!...

pot-luck dinner Sunday evening at the stunning hour of 7:30 for viewing the sunset while sipping a local white wine... the guest list is a bit pot-luck too. But then, that's the fun of it, no?...

next Wednesday, an 80th birthday bash for 35 guests in a garden right out of HG Magazine...

I fear I will have to really work harder in the garden to sweat-off the party calories. Gads.