The home stretch of domestications

Entering a new phase

It has been two and a half months since we started moving in, not counting the time we had to go to the US for my brother's funeral. I am not sure we could have done it much quicker in the US, except perhaps for the fact that we know better where to look for things and how to ask for what you want. Still we have had lots of help from our Italian friends and could not have done this without them. 

So my deepest gratitude and thanks go to Rosa and Gennaro who are patient and persistent helping us get the good "stuff", and who are great moral support when things don't happen like they are supposed to (which is almost always in Italy).  Many thanks to Dino who toured us tirelessly to find the right villa in the first place, helped with the stairlift approval process, set up Johnnie with a vehicle, got us introduced to Mercogliano, and worked to get us setup and moved in. Also thanks to Carlo who made many calls to repair people and our landlady to get the services in the house working.

Also Elena and Francesco were so great advising us in our search and helping us to make wise choices. Then Michelle was a big help with arranging furniture, shopping and ideas on decorating. Kandy was also another great source of encouragement and ideas as she had already gone through setting up their house a few months earlier. Then there are our long distance advisors via email and FB who have reviewed the photos and made suggestions. Lynda, my friend from Bainbridge Island, and my sister, the Tres Amiche and my daughter Connie. There are too many other friends to name who have helped with one thing or another during this process.

I guess it "takes a village" to set up some poor, slightly passed middle aged Americans with a villa in Italy!

A new range

One of the final purchases is a new range since the one we had was impossible. The Landlady had it repaired once but the burners still were hard to light and you practically had to gas yourself before it would light. So, we now are the proud owners of a new range! It lights beautifully and is so nice. Since it takes so long to get the electrical technicians to come out, Johnnie decided to tackle the installation itself. Turned out to be an easy job as all the ranges come in three standard sizes and they all connect the same way. Easy to pull out one, drop in another.

Proud chef with the new range

Voila! No, that is French. How about Qui!

Backside of the old one

The rest of the curtains

Once again we are on Friday night night before a party on Saturday getting the rest of the curtains hung. The upstairs curtains turned out to be equally beautiful to the downstairs ones, although we went with simpler styles for the bedrooms. Now at least, no more sun in my eyes at 4:30am on a Saturday through our south-facing french doors! Here is the result of our last batch of tendre (curtains):

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom French Doors

Master Wardrobe

Guest Bedroom

Stairwell

An Unwelcome Guest

We were greeted by the "remains" of a rather unwelcome guest at our place. After consulting the neighbors and several other Italians, they have concluded that is a harmless "serpente" that is good for eating moles and mice and such. We should really like having him! Hm. I am not so sure about that but as long as he doesn't come in the house and I don't see him ever, I guess I'll let him live peacefully in my yard.

3ft long shed snake skin by our garden steps

The Garden
Johnnie's green thumb is paying off and the flowers are really beautiful. We have roses that were already here that just needed some TLC. He has weeded and pruned and they are blooming beautifully.