“My dear little house you were not there before but in a short time you have grown like a flower. I beg you to remain beautiful and not to lose your colour. I am about to go because I have a call from far away but I will carry you in my heart for eternity. Goodbye my little house. Goodbye happiness.” -Giuseppe Tarsiero, 1981
My Neighbor dropped this book off by Eric Newby. I haven’t read it yet, except the first few pages. I felt like I was definitely homesick several times over the past 3.5 weeks. Today, I looked at Mike and told him part of me wants to stay… he asked which part. It’s crazy how a place can grow on you. Like the author wrote…”in a short time you have grown like a flower” Via Regina Elena 11-13.. you have grown like a flower.
The day we arrived I was pretty optimistic. I walked in trying to contain both my excitement AND then quickly hide my absolute panic of what the actual hell did we just do …where are we? How do we throw all this crap they left behind out…how do we get the water to turn on…the realtor was very difficult to deal with. We still don’t know things about the property. We are learning. The house is transforming before our eyes. I wasn’t worried “if” we could do it, I was worried how “will“ we do it. We have no money to make this place ours. I think we set record time~ 3.5 weeks! In that time the first week we faced major plumbing issues. We are currently awaiting a response back from our attorney. They did file a complaint for damages. It was not an outrageous expense- thank God. However, Mike did a lot of the work himself and unfortunately they can’t bill that labor out. But, there’s no way the seller wasn’t aware of the major plumbing issues. Possibly the realtor as well. So, if they are held responsible and we get compensated for our out of pocket expenses, we will be grateful. So take away the major stress, the headaches that quickly went into full migraine mode. The sleepless nights, the meltdown days…. the elbow grease and sweat equity this placed has really cleaned up nicely.
Tonight I sit here already missing this little house. I know when I’m back home with the kids in Florida, I’ll be missing this village. The people we met, the sunsets I’ve witnessed. The absolute different pace of life. I will miss the house settling at night, the coziness we created and the mountain & valley views. I think we have truly made this 700 year old house ours. Our house definitely had add ons, the step down room to our bedroom, living room and bath. But the main part attached to the ancient castle wall is definitely that old. It’s remarkable the character surrounding us. After my first meltdown and possibly on the verge of regret, I had to let go of expectations. Once I let go of that impossible vision and came back to reality, the changes we were making felt enough. They are enough. I would feel completely content bringing friends & family here. It’s actually a beautiful space. A beautiful setting. A beautiful village.
Mike has worked his tail off. He’s tackled electric, plumbing, carpentry and concrete demo…he took on Italian manuals like nobody’s business- we’ve almost mastered translation LOL. Google just f’s it up Mike says. I’m always so proud of him and his abilities, this just goes above and beyond. I think we’ve both outdone ourselves. We certainly are a wicked good team Smartie!
Yesterday, Mike brought our tablet over our neighbors house when we went for tea. He was so excited to borrow WiFi and download some movies… fast forward last night he’s all ready to watch Avatar ~ NOPE! It downloaded in Italian. Insert bleeps!! We can’t catch a break, we can’t win, we can’t make up the stuff that actually happens to us… but I wouldn’t trade a moment of it.
Tonight, after a very long day of final this & that.. it was getting late and we hadn’t even thought of dinner yet. A WhatsApp message from our neighbors Giovanni & Alessandra came through. She had made a lasagna and prepared an extra casserole for us. Because we don’t have an oven, they even cooked it and brought it over hot and it was ABSOLUTELY delicious. I won’t get into my previous neighbor issues, but let’s say we had the neighbor from hell in Florida for a few years. God has certainly blessed us big time… “HUGE” as my dad would say. Speaking of my dad, today while outside still painting 1 of the 27 chairs left behind, I think my dad was trying to get my attention. I feel you daddy, you were part of this journey from day 1, even though you had already passed 3 months before we even made our offer (on Veteran‘s Day) it was accepted. In a village whose Patron Saint happens to be St. Michael. I know you’re proud of Mike & I. I feel you here with us. I love you. I miss you 💔. Buona Notte.
Tomorrow is our final full day here. I’m kind of feeling all the feels right now. A whole lot of emotions. All wonderful ones. It just makes our return that much more exciting! 🇺🇸 ✈️ 🇮🇹
