Helen had somehow managed to go and fit in a workout between downpours, but her efforts were eventually cut short by the thunderstorm that was coming ever closer (plus, if she hadn't given up when she did, she would have had to swim uphill with 16kg of kettle bells in tow).
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| Helen's early morning view between downpours. Even covered in cloud, the view is beautiful. |
We both set to work in the darker than normal office until about 10:30am when the clouds started to part and the sun tried to make an appearance. I took the opportunity to make a dash for the bins with a bag of stinky cat litter (amongst other things), and then to find our mysterious hidden post office before it shut again.
With the rubbish disposed of, I parked up outside the alimentari and bumped into Amanda again. Quick 'ciao's and smiles were exchanged, and I headed for the partially rolled up shutters of number 201. Sure enough, there was a tiny post office inside: 2 cashier desks wide, and deep enough on the customer side for four people to stand in. I handed over the note that had been stuffed into our letter box and quickly got my packet, brilliant!
Once home, I noticed the package had a 'MyHermes' label on it. I had been waiting for a parcel from Amazon that had been sent by this method (MyHermes tracking said it had been delivered last Thursday!), and it was the right size and shape: flat and square. Now that I've sorted out the ceiling in the apartment and fixed the ceiling boards properly, I have no access into the void (previously they just lifted the plasterboard and moved a piece, hence the poor state of the ceiling and the bad joint repairs one on top of another), so I had ordered a small plasterboard access panel that can be fitted inconspicuously into the ceiling above the wardrobe, a nice tidy solution and should we ever get invaded by little squeakers up there, I can easily pop a (humane) trap in, catch it and release it into the wilds of the garden. What happens to it once the cats are roaming free is none of my business (unless of course they bring it into the house again).
Happy that my parcel had arrived, and relieved I wouldn't have to keep chasing and tracking it, I sat back at the computer for more swimming through treacle. I can see why the guy in the commune office down in town was so grumpy if this is what he has to deal with on a day-to-day basis!
Each time I felt I was making sense of a particular chunk of it, I would open up another can of worms that then needed sifting through so that I could sort the wheat from the chaff, and by the time lunchtime arrived I felt like I was further back than when I had started this morning! My head was awash with so much information that I couldn't think straight and was a little on the grumpy side myself.
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| Helen had some 'help' with her work this morning. Florence was better company than the grumpy husband at the other desk. |
I think Helen detected my state of mind and went to make lunch today - not sure if it was in an attempt to make me feel better, or just to get away from my huffing, puffing and other noises of exasperation.
By now the sun had come out and dried up all the rain, so after a quiet lunch on the patio (I just couldn't stop my brain whirring) we went back to the office. Not long afterwards, we thought we heard voices - weird, as our nearest neighbour is quite some way away. Perhaps it was Richard talking to his dog? Nope, there was definitely a child's voice too. I went out through the man cave to head them off at the pass before we got into cat-airlock complications, and as soon as I saw the pair coming towards me, I could tell from the log book in hand it was Chris, Sue's husband, and their youngest son, Erik.
Somehow, Chris and Sue had tried to help with the disposal of the car for the previous owners, but had been unable to get the scrapyard to take it. Thus, they had managed to retrieve the logbook and the keys to the car, and Chris was here to hand them over to us.
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| Yay! Now, IF all goes according to plan, Michelle's husband Mimmo will put us in touch with a mechanic who will take the car away! |
We had a good chat with Chris and Erik for quarter of an hour, and said we should catch up soon over a wine or two to chew the cud (or whatever the Italian version is). Chris seemed nice, and once again, it was good to talk to someone who'd been through a similar experience to ours (although they've been here now for around 9(?) years). They're taking a couple of weeks out for a holiday soon, now that the schools have broken up for 3 months (yes, 3 months), so we probably won't be seeing them too soon, but they have an olive farm down on the edge of Pescia, run a couple of holiday lets, and grow their own veg - sound familiar?!
After waving goodbye to Chris and Erik, I went back to the treacle. I think the short break did me good and Helen had to put up with far fewer sighs. I got into a bit of a groove and am also now well into our tax affairs - the whole lot is wrapped up together: tax, residency and healthcare. It's impossible to do one without the other and we need our accountants to register us for IVA (VAT) and INPS (national insurance) very soon, but we want to make sure we're registering in the most efficient way - their lengthy letter of advice had a number of options and considerations for us to think about, so it was time think this all through and pin a tail on the donkey.
I think that with after another half day at it tomorrow, I should have the lot sorted and be an expert on the whole process - just as with the electricity bill a couple of weeks ago, I've never understood as much on the subject as I do now, but now that I'm getting to grips with it, I'm happy that I do.
Helen clocked off at half past five and went out to do some strimming in the sunshine- she came back in an hour and half later having been bitten again, but this time by ants in an olive tree! She managed to get another half terrace strimmed - there's now one more to do behind the house, and then we can work on the 3-4 at the very top before starting on the other side of the hill!!
I checked my email before clocking off and found three emails of interest for a change: first, there was a short reply from Michelle asking (on Mimmo's behalf) if the old car will drive (I had emailed her straight after Chris left, to let her know we'd got the log book). I replied to say that it almost certainly won't, so we'll see where that leaves us - we might be buying a new battery for it if the old one doesn't charge. Secondly, we had an enquiry for a week's stay in the apartment in early September. I replied to that as well, so fingers crossed!! The third email was from a guy called Gary, husband of Sharon. While Richard was here yesterday, he asked if I was any good at gardening, and explained that some people he knows (Sharon and Gary), who live near Siena, run a landscape garden/property management business and are looking after a villa a little further up our valley, for which they are looking for a gardener. Sounded interesting! Sharon had put a post on the AngloInfo web forum advertising the position - but when I got around to looking at the ad, it was a full-time position as a head gardener managing a team of gardeners at a boutique rental villa. They wanted previous experience of a similar role, references and a bit of Italian spoken - all of which was way beyond my remit, and besides which, I don't have time for a full-time job as there's too much to do here. (2-3 days paid work a week would be about the sensible amount for me if we don't want to neglect our place.)
Anyway, I'd decided to email Sharon regardless, just to put myself forward for any lesser work at the villa should they be short of labour at any time. I sold my case as best I could and didn't mention Richard (if I got any work I wanted it to be on my own merits). I wasn't expecting much, but as that old saying goes, if you don't ask, you don't get.
So I was surprised to see an email in my inbox from Gary, Sharon's husband. He explained that he runs most of the work at this particular property, and that he needs some help next Monday and Tuesday! He asked me to give him a call!!
After Helen and I had sat and chatted on the patio with a bowl of nuts for half hour, I went inside to call him. I picked up the phone and was greeted by a recorded message - in Italian of course, but I grasped enough words to understand that it was talking about a bill, and asking me to call them. It seems that Telecom Italia has finally had enough waiting, and has cut us off. We have no way of paying yet, as we don't have a bill from them, and the geometra is still sorting things. With no mobile signal up here either, we're in trouble if we have a forest fire!! I was disappointed I couldn't call Gary, but then it occurred to me to try Skype. With headphones in my ears and my mouth near the microphone on my PC, we managed a clear conversation, the upshot of which is that I'm taking our strimmer and going to work on Monday! Woo hoo!
Right, I'm off to see how Helen is doing cooking our first melanzane and second batch of zucchini, all this excitement is making me hungry.
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| Second harvest! (The tiny aubergine is a miniature variety). |
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| All ready for the pan. A home-grown dinner tonight! |
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