Sabato, sofa?

We got up this morning knowing that we were tied to the house for the morning as Mercatone Uno were due to deliver the new sofa bed for the apartment - although we had waning faith in their ability to do anything, so if they hadn't arrived by half past one, I think we would just have gone out regardless.

However, it turned out that there was no need to worry after all (and a bit of our faith was restored) - they arrived just before 9am. I hadn't yet had time to make space in the apartment for the sofa, so asked them to leave it outside, paid the cash, got my receipt and moved the car to enable them to do a six-point manoeuvre to turn around in their large Luton van (although I don't think they call them that over here).

After making some space, Helen helped me carry the sofa into the apartment, where we unwrapped it and I built the legs onto it before taking a couple of photos for the website. I have to say that wasn't before having a moment where I completely rescinded my restored faith when I couldn't find either of the two short rear legs or the pack of screws and bolts! That was until I noticed a small zip in the back of the sofa which, when opened revealed a pocket full of goodies the legs and screw pack. Fool! Why didn't I think to look inside the sofa?!

That's almost half of the living room sorted.

While I was in the apartment cursing Mercatone Uno, Helen was once again busy with the trimmers. This time, she decided to attack the path/bottom tier that is at patio level, and went around the other side of the olive grove (the side we have barely touched yet). This path leads into the woods and eventually to a small quarry - which is probably where the stone for the house came from. I ventured as far as the quarry a few weeks back, but a few weeks on the path is impassable now. The last time I went around that way I saw a snake hiding in the grass, so didn't stick around very long. We are hoping that once all this grass and undergrowth is cut back, they will feel less inclined to be so near to the house - which can only be a good thing for when we release the cats next weekend.

After finishing in the apartment and having had a quick tidy in the man cave, (it was getting a bit chaotic in there), I went to see how I could help Helen - she showed me an enormous snake skin that she had found - the third we've seen here, and by far the biggest. It must have been about 1.3 metres in length and with a body 5-6 centimetres thick.

ENORMOUS snakeskin.

She had also found yet another pile of building detritus in amongst the undergrowth, so with the wheel barrow I made a start moving the wall tiles, sink pedestal, bricks, thermalite blocks and what I think was an old window shutter. We're dumping all of this building detritus onto the area of ground where the old lean-to was (and where the new extension will be). It's not only right next to the car parking area, but at some point it will be dug out for the new footings to be put down, so it's the best place to leave it for now.

After a solid few hours trimming Helen had made a huge dent in the pathway - in fact, looking at the before and after photos, it's hard to believe it's the same bit of land, just that little olive tree giving it away.

Before (L) and after (R)!

After lunch (yes on the patio again), we had decided to go out and procure a deumidificatore (easy for you to say!). I'm  sure I don't need to translate that one for you - the rear wall of the apartment is built against earth, which makes it lovely and cool in there all of the time (so cool, in fact, I think Helen would need a cardigan to spend any amount of time in there!). It was just as cool in there when we had a heatwave and temperatures above 35°C a couple of weeks ago - which means a good night's sleep for whoever sleeps there. However, the down side is that when the thunder rolls and the rain pours, some of that moisture runs down the hill and permeates into the bedroom. The living room has had a false wall built, which makes the room smaller, but it acts as a cavity and solves the problem. However, if made any smaller, the bedroom would not have space for both a bed and the bathroom. It's not a big issue, but we felt that a deumidificatore would keep a lid on it, and hopefully cut down on any mould and mildew - so off we headed again to Mercatone.

€120 later, we left with what we wanted then headed around the corner to Brico (another DIY shop). We hadn't been to Brico before, despite having driven past it every time we came to Mercatone - it was only this time that Helen noticed the sign and translated it (the language must be sinking in slowly!), so we went in to investigate and hopefully acquire more strimmer cord as we had ran out yesterday.

It was a bit of a tardis of a place- much bigger inside than the exterior lets on. The store was shabby compared to OBI's shiny offering, but they had a large variety of stuff on offer and even offer a wood cutting service - so this pace will definitely be getting another visit!

We left with 60m of strimmer cord and a pitch fork - I was in desperate need of one of these earlier in the week when I had to move the car-sized mound of cuttings, and with about twice as much to do again over the coming weeks, we felt it would be a worthwhile investment. I am not adverse to hard work, but I am adverse to working harder than need to simply because I don't have the right tools.

On our way back from Altopascio, we made a stop at Esselunga for our weekly shop. It was around 4pm, and I think this might be the magic time to shop on a Saturday, as the shop was a lot quieter than it has been of late.

Driving back through Pescia, we saw lots of folk busy setting up for 'Nottambula' - a festival that we learnt is in its second or third year, and in which all the shops stay open all night, with all the squares having a schedule of things going on - largely live bands playing, free food and drinks, but also the odd display and demonstration. Had we not arranged to go to Goraiolo tonight for this bongo evening we would definitely have been going to Nottambula - one for the diary next year, I think.

When we got home and after we'd unpacked the shopping, we sat on the patio with a beer and crisps, which is where I type these words now. There's a bit of a breeze, but it's hot - beautiful under the umbrella. I could happily sit here until the sun goes down, but Richard has just called to say he'll pick us up in half hour, so we'd better wash and brush up and get ready to be sociable!

Have a great Saturday evening all.