Moving along

This has been a very busy couple of weeks.  We returned from our short holiday On Saturday and spent the next two days cleaning and shifting boxes.

And now we have done it!  We are sleeping in our own bed for the first time in over 3 years!  It's amazing how wonderful a mattress can feel.  And to be honest, there is nothing like good sheets.  At the end of the day, it is a pleasure to sink into bed.  It really is the little things that matter the most. I wake up in the morning with no back pain and even my hips are not hurting as much.  And the room is just nice.  It's open and bright.  I loved our room in the castle.  Especially the view of the old church through the window, but this is ours.  We made it together.  George has installed a projector so we can watch our nightly movie in greater comfort.  I think he's in heaven now.

Yes, those are bananas hanging from the bedside. There is also a small refrigerator filled with my iced coffee and his orange juice.  The kitchen is 2 floors down and he's gotten used to breakfast in bed.  This makes it easier for me.  

Sadly, our Turkish sauna isn't finished yet because the man doing the pavers decided they didn't need to be sloped or installed properly so the floor cut our feet, and the water didn't drain.  We are now getting it redone using the same marble we have on the seat in there.  Sadly though, we have used all the existing Carrara marble in the local area and are waiting for a new batch to be brought in.  Until then, we shower in the room next door.  

Speaking of marble, we are doing a little upgrade to all of the windows.  Each of the sills here in the Palace are made of a local red stone that can never come clean and flakes if you put anything on it.  We have decided to cover them with the same marble used in the sauna.  A beautiful continuity throughout our home.  So far we have finished the kitchen and our bedroom suite.  I can't wait to get the other 30 (!wow! I just counted) windows done.  It will look beautiful. And yes, that is a monkey you see resting there.

The designer of the three rooms (I've mentioned how much I don't like his work in the past) has yet to send us the design for the steps to the bathroom so I've cancelled the order that was placed at least 6 months ago and am taking matters into my own hands.  We shall see how well my idea works.  Stay tuned.

The kitchen is finally unboxed.  Mostly.  I'm sure another box or two will show up as I can see I'm missing a few pans and quite a lot of cast iron.  For now, I can cook and am very happy.  At some point I will have to have a carpenter come in and do something with the heavy sliding doors that were installed.  If I can't move them at 50-something, how will I be able to move them at 80?  

Daniel did an amazing job on the pantry and I have almost finished moving everything over.  In another day or two I should be finished. Everything is labeled and I can see what we have.  No more wasting food because I had it in a cupboard down low that needed to have everything pulled out to see.

On Monday I got an itch and George and I installed "the flower" in the second floor entrance. It looks as though it were made purposefully for this spot.   Again we are very pleased.  The view at night is amazing.

The Puzzle Palace mosaic was installed by the masons who did the work in the kitchen.  Tell me why I don't like it....

And Tuesday morning I finally used the gym for the first time since we bought the castle in 2021.  I have great legs from walking all of the stairs, but not so much on the arms.  

Each day we do a little bit more.  The green room is almost finished.  The scaffolding has arrived and the Great Wall of China will soon be erected.  The billiards room is set up waiting for a table.  The breakfast bar is in place as is the wine and beer bar.  The rods have been purchased to install the Lovers in their new home. We've had a wonderful lunch in the biergarten

and have played a game or two of Eurorails on our game tables.  Our plan is to be done by October.  It looks like we just might be.

Small update on the new Puzzle Palace

 We are thrilled!  The first of the month Alex and Chris finished our puzzle bed and the built in furniture for the main room!  It looks amazing.  And yes, you heard that right.  It is a puzzle bed.  Even better, all of the furniture was made using reclaimed wood.  By that I mean, when the guys in Florida crated the puzzles, they used 2x4's and pressed wood.  We had so much of this left over, it has built 4 benches so far, 1 for the pantry, and 3 in George's workshops.  And now, our bedroom.  The bed itself is a take on the lost day puzzle.  Each of the 8 corner joints are an OCC burr.  It can be disassembled and put together elsewhere, but I have said many times, I am not moving again!  The built in cabinetry along the back wall use the same materials, but also some of the extra shelving for the faceplates of the drawers.  The bedside tables have puzzle opening drawers inside and are also made using 2x4's and shelving.  It truly is a wonderful job they did.  I am so happy that Chris was able to take my ideas from inside my head, add more to them and make them come to life.  He's very gifted.  And Alex was a wizard with that chisel.  

We can't thank them enough for the amazing work they did for us.  

I took the summer off from school as I mentioned in the last email and boy has it paid off.  Boxes are being unboxed, rooms are being completed. It's amazing how much happens quickly when I'm home and go on the rampage with the contractors.  We had a bit of a hick-up with the plumber installing a sink tap in the bidet and the designer ordering a pot filler with a 6 inch arm.  Apparently he doesn't understand the concept even though he drew it into the design.  I sent it back and ordered a new one to be installed by the 20th.  

Antonio and Claudio have completely installed the screens in the palace so there will (hopefully) be no mosquitoes getting in.  I am still waiting on some cabinets to cover up this god awful plastic orange exhaust pipe that no one wants to take credit for.  Daniel has almost finished my pantry shelving and countertop.  I think he only has the resin to do and that room will also be finished.  

Our good news!  We are moving in on the 20th come hell or high water.  We may have to shower in the room next door as the contractors have pushed the finish date back time and time again.  I think they realize this time I mean it.  I've terminated all additional work and will find new people to get the job done.  One and a half years is too long for a three room project!

We have received the Harold Razier collection and have distributed the boxes accordingly.  Next step is to open them and the rest of the boxes we have in the lower level of the Palace.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as the saying goes.

Yes, we will be moving into a construction zone, but I will be able to cook in the kitchen I (mostly) designed and we will finally be able to sleep in our own bed.  I feel like I have been waiting for this day forever.  

The new marble sign has been delivered and we are waiting to install it.  

There was a guy who was supposed to do it for us, but we wanted him to gently chisel out the old piece rather than destroy the wall we just had finished.  Sadly, he commented that we had money enough to do it again so he would do as he wished.  Guess how long he remained on the property👿.  Sadly, one of our painters left in much the same manner after screwing up a wall and wanting to be compensated to redo it.  I don't suffer fools, and I don't throw money out the window (on anything but puzzles that is😂)  I'm sure we will find someone soon to finish the job.

George's workshops are finished!  He gave Hardy (Bambu A1Mini) to Stefano at the bar to use with his son; and Laurel (Hardy's partner) to our friend Rudolph who promptly ordered a larger version.  Have no fear, the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges are still in the workshop and printing as I sit here and type this.  

In the mean time, George and I have gone on another glamping trip.  This time to a naturalist camp along the west coast.  It is a beautiful area and just the kind of peace and quiet we need after these past few months.  

One thing about this kind of holiday:  There are bugs and birds and things that go bump in the night.  Here are just two examples of what I mean.  I spider that lives underground and centipedes!  EEK! 

The birds woke us up every morning and the bump in the night? Well according to the owner of the resort, it was a fox that hit the side of the tent.  

It truly was a wonderful week.  I was fortunate enough to get not one but two massages.  We swam a few times in the infinity pool here and the stars at night!  Amazing.  Sadly though, we didn't see the meteor shower.  

I have taken this time to catch up on my blog (obviously), and to do a bit of cataloguing of puzzles.  I have now completed our Berrocal list (348 puzzles, art, and books), the Hanayama cast puzzles (294), and the crystal puzzles (1198).  My next up is finishing the list of single player games (562) that I have purchased over the years.  One step at a time.  George continues to design puzzles in his sleep and then put them in his computer when he wakes up.  

This was a long overdue break.  I hadn't realized how tense I had gotten until I calmed down here.  Next week I promise to give an update on the work that has been completed so far.  While it may not seem like it, it really is a lot!

Has it been 3 months already?

Oh my how time flies.  I always have the best intentions to keep this blog up to date, but then life gets in the way. 

I guess the best news is that I finished my B1 course and passed it.  The language lessons have taken up much of my life these past 6 months and I've decided to take a 3 month break to get our palace finished.  That and do be honest, the course was so intense that nothing was really sticking.  I've decided to go back in October and be a real adult and take the course over again.  After all, I'm trying to learn the language, not just get bathroom art.  

George and I have lived here for 2 years now and really haven't seen much of the country together.  We've both done Italy in our former lives, but have decided it's best to make new memories together. 

Our first weekend away was in April.  We decided to go to the seaside.  I booked us into a "house boat" and we enjoyed a weekend away together.  Now I know we have weekends all the time, but we are never alone, and we are never without some type of work or another to do. This was exactly what I needed.  We got to watch a boat be set into the water.  And for everyone who thinks we are well off, we are not.  These people who own boats like this are!  

The house boat

George Found a real benchy.

Finally relaxing

After this holiday We had Andreas Nortman come over for a visit and to take a bunch of photos of puzzles.  He's in charge of the Twistypuzzle.com museum upkeep and he had quite a few images that needed updating. 

May was a very busy month. We had a birthday party for a friend and a slew of visitors.  Bob, Marti and her son Doug, Frans and Jack and his wife all showed up.  

At the end of the month after my exam, George and I went to the papal spa near Viterbo, and then did a glamping trip followed by another shopping trip to our favorite used market and a night in a quaint little place with a jacuzzi in a cave.  

Common pool at papal spa

glamping site

Cave jacuzzi

Oh, and let's not forget the Panicale Passagiata.  This year's theme was Etruscan music.

June was full on studies to finish the course. I took and failed my first language exam for citizenship.  I had no idea what it would be like so I just used it to practice.  Next test in September.  

We had some folks come over from the UK.  One couple won a week at the WPC through a G4G auction and I'm sure you recognize the other monkey in the photos from past posts.

Our bed is being finished

I bought my new little zippy car and we had a going away party for a few friends. 

First party in the beer garden

The little zippy car

On Antonio's saints day we broke in the bbq oven and for 3 weeks we had a local group of archeologists stay with us while they excavated a hilltop near by.

 And the rest is history.  I can't believe it has been 3 months since my last posting.  Things sure do get busy around here.   Next update?  Next week or so...we will have some very good news to share....