A bumpy hump day

Wednesday is hump day - for anyone unfamiliar with this term, it represents the middle of the week, with everything after it being downhill towards the weekend. Today was a bumpy hump!

It all started out fairly normally, except for the fact that I dragged myself out of bed at the same time as Helen went out for her exercising, allowing me the time to read a book for half an hour with a mug of strong coffee.

After breakfast, we all went to work (Helen in the office, Holly and Zach on the terraces and me doing a few jobs around the garden and fencing) while we awaited the arrival of the window fitters. We had been told that they would arrive at 9am. By 9.15am there was no sign of them, and if we're honest, we didn't really have full real confidence in them arriving at all, so went about our business as usual.

At 10.15am, they pulled up on the drive walked through the gate - sending Reggie into a barking frenzy which took him some time to calm down from.

Once I'd told the guys which windows they were replacing and given them a dustpan, brush and rubbish bag, Zach, Holly, Winry, Reggie, Helen and I left for Pescia. Helen and I needed to visit the bank and Zach and Holly wanted to shop for a few basic supplies, so we dropped them off at Lidl while we went to see Alfredo at the Banca di Pescia, leaving both dogs in the car outside.

After half an hour with Alfredo we'd managed to pay the 'sanatoria' fine to the council despite their best efforts to make it difficult - Alfredo had called the comune and got their account details before making the transfer and sending us on our way with the required receipt.

We then went across the square with Zach, Holly and little Winry for a coffee at Franco's bar, where we did what we now feel is our duty with all our visitors and introduced them to the infamous cappuccino ginseng. They were not disappointed! In fact, we've yet to come across anyone who has been anything less than amazed at just how good they are.

After coffee and filling up the car with methane, we headed home for lunch as it was now long past noon. When we got home we found that the window fitters had done exactly the same -you definitely can't keep an Italian from their lunch, and despite them not being able to lock up the house, this seemed to be no exception.

We all enjoyed a lunch of meats, cheeses and bean dip with crusty Tuscan bread in the sunshine before Zach and Holly went back to terrace clearing while Helen, Reggie and I got ready to head to Pistoia for doggy school with Donatella.

We had a very successful almost two-hour one-to-one session with Marina, after which we were heading home with another session booked for next week during which we hope for Reggie to meet a dog that is his equal in the play department - today's two-year-old German Shepherd very quickly got annoyed with his youthful hormone-fuelled exuberance.

We got home to find Alex waiting on the drive, having arrived to pick up Donatella, as well as the window fitters who now had their boss, Remigio, with them and were packing up their truck ready to head off - perfect timing.

After getting Remigio to measure up for a new door and sending him on his way with a cheque for our five lovely new double-glazed chestnut-framed windows, we put the kettle on and chatted with Alex and Donatella for half an hour or so, discussing our plans here and talking about the cost of the havoc wrought upon their place in last week's storm.

Darkness crept up on us all of a sudden and we parted company so that Alex and Donatella could put their chickens and rabbits to bed while we did the same with the geese before feeding Reggie and the cats, and only then going around the house to admire our beautiful new windows. We hope the double glazed windows will increase the average temperature of the house in the winter, so we wait for confirmation with eyes fixed firmly on the thermometers in each room to monitor exactly how much of a difference they will contribute over the coming weeks - although I think they really need the test of a full winter before we can pass fair judgement.

So as I sit and type, it is already 7.30pm, Helen is busy making a start on a mushroom risotto as our American friends will up shortly to relieve us of a hard earned plate of food and some wine. So, far from being a long drag of a midweek day, it's been a manic rollercoaster that hasn't left a minute spare... but I must go now, I need to tend the wood burner!