And then there were two (plus animals)

It was departure day today for Tess and Nick - two weeks have been and gone, and today it was time for them to resume their travels around Europe in their campervan. I think all of us were a bit sad that their stay had come to an end, they settled in so well and had become part of the furniture around here - they not only worked hard and helped us out enormously but were also truly great company.

Yesterday was mainly spent pushing the Reggie-proof fencing further forwards (extending the fencing to the patio-level terrace, with a gate to access the steps up the terraces and another gate to go further along the patio-level terrace, as well as bit more wall repointing. By the time Nick and Tess clocked off at 3.30pm, the fence and gates were tantalisingly close to being finished, and the garden wall was looking great:

Another Nick-special.

Fencing tantalisingly close to completion.

Smart-looking wall.

(Well, half of it anyway!)

We had another great evening together last night - after Helen had got back from her Italian lesson in town, the four of us enjoyed a delicious meal of Tuscan sausage and beans, and chatted, sipped wine and were entertained by Reggie until gone midnight.

So after the late night last night, Nick and Tess arrived for breakfast at around 9.30am, then spent a good hour or two trying to sort out a new return flight for Tess - the outcome of the job interview she had here (via Skype) last week was that she has been appointed as a clerk to one of the judges at the court in Wellington (NZ)! The downside is that she now needs to return to New Zealand two weeks earlier than planned in order to get back in time to start her new job, hence lots of complicated to-ing and fro-ing between airlines trying to find the most cost effective and least unappealing way to get back from Europe (most options involve one or two stopovers and 20-30 hours travelling time).

So while Nick and Tess spent the morning on the phone and internet, Helen worked in the office and I went to carry on with the fencing outside.

By the time lunchtime came around, Nick and Tess had sorted a new flight, packed their van, tidied the apartment and stripped the linen from the beds. They were pretty much ready for the off, but we fed them lunch one last time before they headed off to Turin.

Over lunch, we were really touched to be presented with gifts from them - we felt that it should have been the other way around with all the help they've given us, but it's great to know that they enjoyed their two weeks here as much as we enjoyed having them. Staying put for two weeks in one place (AND slogging hard every day, often in the rain) seems like quite a commitment for a young couple trying to get to see as much of Europe as possible in just a few months, so we were really pleased to hear that they had enjoyed their stay. They had written us a lovely card, and presented us with two boxes of porridge oats. Yes, oats! We'd been telling them about our attempt to find some a few weeks ago, and how we had been devastated to find out that porridge oats are simply not available here (having been looking forward to hearty bowls of porridge for breakfast in the winter) - except it turns out that if you look hard enough and not in the place you'd expect them to be, you can find them!! They also gave us a really beautiful piece of abalone shell, all the way from New Zealand! The shell is already in a Reggie-safe place and will be a lovely reminder of their stay with us.

After lunch, we milled around outside while Reggie played for a bit and Nick got shots of all his pieces of handiwork (the fence, the gates, the goose ramps, the repointed wall, the wood pile...), and then the time finally came for them to leave. We said our goodbyes and waved them off to continue their big adventure, and they left us to ours - the progress of which will undoubtedly slow down significantly now they've left.

Reggie, Helen, Tess and Nick.

And they're off. We're sad to see them go, but hope they have some fun adventures ahead.

Reggie will miss his friends - who have been here since he arrived.

Reggie loves his tennis ball.

At about 3.30pm, I made a trip into town: gates hinges, yet more fence posts and a cordless reciprocating saw were on my shopping list and once I'd acquired all of them I returned home - just as the daylight was starting to fade.

Lucca inspects the new fence posts.

After an hour's work, it was too dark to do any more, so as Helen went off to Goose Island clutching a pile of lettuce, I packed my tools away and then helped try and find Lucca - who, after being barked at just as he was about to enter the house, had disappeared and gone into hiding. With foxes and other predatory creatures in the woods, we like to have the cats on lock down/house arrest by the time it gets dark, and by this time it was definitely dark!

With the help of a torch, I found his shiny eyes in the wood pile and went to get him, but he made a run for it and hid under the car. A game of cat and mouse (or cat and man) ensued, with Helen and I trying to use cat treats as a lure, but whenever we got close enough to him he made a run for it. I was just on the verge of giving up when I finally got close enough to grab him and carry him indoors, his claws firmly embedded in my shoulder. I expected him to resist as we got closer to the house, but he happily allowed me to carry him into the office, which now doubles as the cats' dining room.

Once both cats were safely indoors, we headed into town to take the disruptive Reggie for a walk. He's still hugely distracted in the town, and walks largely with his tail wrapped firmly between his legs, but we did manage to get him to sit a couple of times which is progress.

As we approached the last stretch of the walk along the main piazza, the rain came down heavily, so we ducked under a shop canopy only to find Donatella next to us feeding the parking meter. We chatted to Donatella for ten minutes or so, and she kindly lent us a 50m lead so that we can test Reggie's recall next time we're walking along the river (or even along our drive).

As Donatella dashed off for pizza, we dashed back to the car and got pretty soaked in the process (as it was quite mild, we hadn't even worn coats, just hoodies and jumpers, so we were soaked to the skin - as was poor Reggie of course!).

When we got home, Helen gave Reggie a good rub dry with a towel before giving him his dinner, then we peeled off our sodden clothes and put them in the dying room, fed the cats, lit a fire and settled down to write the blog while the water heater kicked in to warm the water for a shower.

It's going to be a shock to the system this evening without Tess and Nick here, as we're back to cooking meals from scratch each night rather than using meals we've preprepared from the freezer AND we'll have to wash up afterwards!!