Took a big load of things in the car today: clothes, kitchen things, bathroom stuff and lots of our air shipment we had actually been storing all along. We stopped at Leroy Merlin (think Home Depot) and ordered a bathroom medicine cabinet and light, and a bathroom cupboard for the downstairs bath. I was very proud of myself for figuring out how and what to order, and for arranging for delivery to the house when it comes in. This is a major accomplishment in a foreign language! We also bought a light fixture for one of the other baths, and a few plants for the winter garden.
By the time we got to the villa, we had about 3 hrs. to unbox and start sorting through things before it was time to head back to Napoli for my appointment with the Ortho Dr. I finished my third round of fluid shots and in another 3 weeks will top them off with some cortisone which should make me good to go for 6 months or so. I look forward to having increased mobility.
By the time we got to the villa, we had about 3 hrs. to unbox and start sorting through things before it was time to head back to Napoli for my appointment with the Ortho Dr. I finished my third round of fluid shots and in another 3 weeks will top them off with some cortisone which should make me good to go for 6 months or so. I look forward to having increased mobility.
We had a nice dinner with two women from Boeing here on a temporary assignment and crawled in bed by 10pm exhausted.
Friday, Feb. 3, Day 3
Packed up and emptied the apartment today. A bit sad really as we have good memories of our first 5 months in Italy there. We have already made good friends there and will definitely go back for get togethers with our friends.
Headed out about 4pm for the villa. After seeing news reports of Rome and all the snow they have there, we are wondering what Avellino will be like. As we head of the mountain, there is definitely more snow than yesterday. By the time we get to the Avellino exit off the Autostrade, we are amazed by the amount of snow on the ground and it is still coming down!
At this point, the Lord is laughing at us, along with all our Italian friends who have been warning us that is snows in Avellino! We really didn't believe them, or at least figured that only meant a few flurries. Since the Italians think 50 degrees is cold, we just adjusted in our own minds the claims for snow. Well, we were really wrong!
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| Our parking lot |
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| Our car - as far as she could go! |
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| Our side gate |
At this point the snow is about 3 or 4 inches deep in Mercogliano (a little higher than Avellino) and we almost didn't get up our road to the villa. Our little car doesn't have snow tires, so Johnnie took a run at the hill a dozen times or so before he made it up. Whew! Not sure we'll get back down tomorrow, just depends. But we are here now, and warm inside our villa and watching it gently continue to snow.
Saturday, Feb. 4, Day 4
What is all that white stuff? We must have 2 or 3 ft. of snow on the ground! Yikes! It is still coming down.
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| Garden gate |
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| Blue Spruce in the front garden |
We lost power sometime in the middle of the night. The breaker tripped but we were warm and all snuggled down in our own king size bed. It was wonderful! After 5 months on a small, hard Italian bed, we were enjoying this thoroughly. Johnnie says it is the first time in weeks he woke up without a back ache.
So we are not sure why the breaker tripped because the only thing on besides the heat is the refrigerator. We phoned it in this morning and an electrician will come out as soon as they can get through the snow
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| Front garden and porch |
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| Through to side door - wrap around porch |
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| Balcony off the second story Master Bedroom |
Today we stayed in and spent the day sorting through boxes and putting things away. Without a snow shovel we were really having to improvise something to clean off the steps to the gate. So Johnnie rigged up the true hillbilly snow shovel: a broom handle attached to a dustpan with packing tape!
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| WalMart -- eat your heart out! |
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| There goes my dust pan! |
So then he went to Plan B and used a 2 x 6 board from the basement and did manage to get enough snow scraped off you can at least walk down the steps.
A Critter in the Garage
Not sure what it is, but we have a critter in the garage. We saw the tracks in the snow this morning leading to the garage, and there is a hole about 6 inches across where it came in. We tried to lure it out with some tuna (thinking maybe a cat or a raccoon?) but so far, not interested in tuna. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I guess, I would be looking for indoor shelter as well in this weather!
A Neighbor's Help
Our landlord called the neighbor behind us to come down and look at our circuit breaker box. He advised turning on the lower switches which did activate the yard lights, but didn't really help our situation with the rest of the house. Our DSP thinks we need a larger amp switch. We are now doing an experiment, plugging things in trying to figure out where the max out point in and on which outlets.
An Unexpected Invitation
We just got a visit from the wife of the neighbor who came down earlier, and she has invited us to their house tonight for a party in honor of her birthday! Wow, imagine that! We have been here just 24 hrs. and we have a party invitation! We are both looking very scrubby (I didn't' do my hair or make up today), but we'll clean up the best we can before we go over. This will be great fun!
God is good all the time. All the time God is good. We will deal with tomorrow's problems tomorrow and in the meantime, savor the moments we have right now.
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