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weathering the
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We basically finished up the bedroom and we are generally well rested in our new bed and furnishing there and still waiting for one major piece, the new windows to be replaced, but the bedroom, Is just that, a bedroom and not the storage area of Rosa’s nonno’s stuff of a century ago. Actually, we have kept the grand amoire and the nightstands and one dresser with the mirror, since they have lots of space and we have no closets in this place, so they are very useful in this regard. My sister-in-law Manuella likes the mix of ancient and new. We love the comfort of our bedroom, and Rosa said, she has always slept on a sofa her whole life, so this is very much an upgrade, to a matrimoniale bed, hotel quality. We also have a headboard, with knickknacks and books to start to make it more personal. Yes, it is our home. The bathroom, well, the bathroom, while functional, and everything now tested for a week, including the hot water heater, is good, we have now finally ordered, the mirror – medicine chest, actually a new sink and under counter cabinet and a separate box shelf for more storage. We are about creating space, as that is something of a luxury, so we have to create where we can. In terms of other rooms, well the kitchen, the place we spend more time, as it is our office and meeting time, will be adding more cabinets above the ones we have, but we are fully functional and getting ready for Thanksgiving. Oh, had I mentioned that. We have to order a turkey at the store, not pick out a whole frozen or fresh one at the market, as they do not do that here, so today, we will go, to assure we have one for next week for all off our guests, the sisters, momma and some of Rosa’s friends. Seats, well it will be or could be bring your own and we may have to buy paper plates, as we have only a set of 6 and we may need more. In any case, this will be an experience of sharing a Thanksgiving, next week with my family here in Roma and, well, I am sure that I can have Rosa be my sous chef, and she will add her touch. The turkey is my realm, and I will have to make do with what we have.
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The dust has settled and perhaps not with the election across the pond. The dust here continues to fly, not on the political side of things, but the workers came yesterday and, more was done. I expect from my perspective here in Europe, not much of a change in my little world with Rosa. A few more steps in the condo are done and we unveiled our new sleeper sofa in the living room, our bed has finally been moved, to you guessed it, the bedroom and a few more pieces of the puzzle have been placed. We received our brand-new kitchen table, a bit larger than anticipated, but in the end, it fits, it has wings that fold down, do just the two of us comfortably, but when we have momma over for a meal, we can seat 3 people comfortably in the kitchen by flipping up one of the wings, they call them here. I call them flaps, but it is a matter of semantics. It is a nice addition. Our new water heater has been installed, but the technician called in sick, so it will be cold water for a bit. I also built a bookshelf headboard, and it is installed. It was not the best effort and I had to pull pieces apart and put them back together, but in the end, it is there, and sleeping in the bedroom, was strange, but a nice feeling. Maybe you have tried doing those building with a thousand pieces and directions that are less than clear. It should have taken a day, perhaps, but it took more, but fortunately, it worked and now is mounted on the wall and, as noted, the bed in is the bedroom. We still have new windows being installed there and other rooms soon and while air conditioning is not needed this time of year, it would be nice to have it installed. Again, little pieces in each room that still needing to be completed. I am simply tired of workers coming and going on different days, so that continuity can happen.
 July 4th and Thanksgiving Day. Two of the most important holidays on the American calendar. As you know, I arrived in Italy on Independence Day and tomorrow, yes, tomorrow, as I write this post on the train back from Venice, where I spent the past few days at BITESP, a travel trade conference is Thanksgiving Day. In years past, neither holiday really struck me as terribly important and I was on the road a lot, sometimes, domestically, sometimes internationally, and found a restaurant that had a Thanksgiving buffet or dinner, what have you, as really my family, as you well know was distant both physically and otherwise. Not now, however, as my family is here in Italy and specifically Roma. I have become an expat, or perhaps an expat in process, as the bureaucratic situation progresses. In any case, my return to the states anytime soon, at this time, is not in the cards. What is really important, for me, is to have my Italian family over for an American Thanksgiving, which while decades ago, perhaps, was a traditional thing for me, really disappeared, but now, in a totally different setting, I want to revive. Of course, the condo is functional, if not complete and while work continues, this is something to help me connect even more to my home and family. I am in this for the long haul and sharing this one day, and cooking a complete turkey dinner with as many of the adapted trimmings as possible is what I will be doing when I get back home. Rosa did some of the shopping today as I believe she has some items she wants to make, not traditional, of course, but I am cooking the bulk of the meal, including stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots (glazed), green beans with almonds etc. etc. etc. You get the idea and we will pick up the star of the show tomorrow morning, since I am quite sure, our frigo won’t hold a 7 to 8 kilos turkey, and the other items at the same time, which we ordered last week. No, they don’t stock hundreds of turkeys, since it is not an Italian holiday. And the list of ingredients is substantial, but it is nice to get fresh veggies at the local open air market.  It is Tuesday night here in Rome and of course, with the time difference between Rome and all the time zones in the US from eastern to Hawaiian – Time, it is still early, and any results of the election are far from determined, especially on the west coast and the Pacific time zone states as polls just opened, I believe. Being an expat now, in process anyway, but also still also a US citizen, I did do my absentee ballot and trusting the system, given I spent 4 Euros and sent it almost a month ago using my still valid US address, I expect my vote was received and will count, again, trusting the system. I simply mention this as I normally write my blog on Wednesday morning, well before everyone, or most everyone wakes up in America. Am I concerned about the outcome. If I am a red-blooded American citizen, yes, I am, but will my life change significantly whether Harris or Trump prevail. I really don’t think so, as I have taken up, or at least in the process of taking permanent residency here in Italy. It is not to escape a doomsday scenario, it is not because I don’t believe in America, and what it is supposed to stand for and not because of the option of coming to Italy to deal with the Italian bureaucracy was any easier than back in the states; it is not. I am here because I fell in love with an Italian almost 5 years ago and now essentially settled into life here in our little condo, not complete yet, but very livable at this point, and work a few hours each week teaching English in a school here in Rome and getting into the swing of things there.
I have to say that it has been about a week now since the workers were here, working on things in the condo and still more to be done. We are waiting for the leader of the band, who also is a plumber to finally get us a water heater for the bathroom, so we have an efficient source of hot water for more than a minute or two at time, especially taking a shower and when both of us have to go out now, no comment, we use more water, so that is expected, as well as the heat source, the radiators, which start to be used, at least a little, starting in November. Apparently, in this condo unit, heat is not a requirement until November, so for the winter months shall we say, but without them connected, it is only warm blankets. It does not get terribly cold here, but there is a chill in the air, especially at night, so we expect that piece to be done. Also, while necessary, the air conditioning units in the living room and bedroom, so that we can finally be done with the “big” stuff. Of course, other little things are still to be done, but almost two weeks here and we are functioning well.
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November 2024
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