Busy Busy Busy

 First, I want to apologize for not posting earlier.  I'm getting slack as this move progresses. Either there is too little to write about, or there is too much. Today it is the latter. 

Our delivery of goods started on Monday two weeks past and was full on through Thursday.  You see, Friday was yet another holiday and there was a ban on trucks on the autostrada.  In an unheard of event for Italy, the truck driver even came on Saturday to finish the job!  In total, they brought 5 big trucks worth of goods here this past week.  We still have one more coming down from Switzerland, but have no idea when that is going to come.   I hope though that it is soon because then the move here will be officially over and it will just be time to unbox.  

We had an amazing system going on. We would get in 14-18 pallets each day.  I would jump on the truck, label the building they would go into, and then we would open them in the afternoon where I would again label the room number they would live in.  I ordered 2 hoists and Antonio had them mounted on the top floors of each building.  Our crew would then load a box or two into a heavy duty bag and we would hoist it up to the appropriate floor where it would be shifted into the correct room.  

For those that wonder, our basic division is wood and metal in the castle, everything else in the palace.  The castle walls aer at least a meter thick and the humidity level remains the same throughout.  The palace has 1/2 meter thick walls and doesn't keep a constant humidity level on each floor.  Plastic and glass is not as bothered by the changes.  

We managed to get the entire castle storage area emptied out by Monday of the past week.  The teak root furniture was placed in the carriage house and the tables were all placed in the stables.  I set to work putting together a puzzle play area and a Lego winter village display area for the local school children to come and visit.   

On Friday we had the nursery/kindergarten come in with around 20 children.  They enjoyed the puzzles and games, and really enjoyed them more when we placed them on the floor.  Sadly, I am not allowed to post any photos because of their ages (3-5).  Suffice it to say, they were adorable.  They were also very respectful and looked at the Lego but didn't touch any of them.  I was pleasantly surprised.  

Saturday and Sunday we opened to the public.  There was also a small Christmas market in the garden.  We had a few people come in on Saturday, but were in competition with 3 other Santa houses in the area. Sunday was a different story.  We opened at 10 for a local boy who is immune- compromised.  Santa and I both wore masks in the interest of good health.  I discovered the day before that he loves Lego so George and I gave him one as a gift. He spent a good 1/2 hour or so looking at the Lego and explaining each set to his mother.  After the holiday is over I'll invite him over to take a look at the Lego room.  I'm sure he will just love it. 

The doors opened to the public at 3 and we were full on busy all afternoon.  Santa didn't get a break at all.  There were so many children, but there were also adults.  They too enjoyed the puzzles and many of them had to have photos taken with Santa.  It was a real nice way to introduce ourselves to the community.  We were genuinely made to feel welcome.  Everyone loved the root furniture and we were asked before the day was even over if we would do it again next year.  Absolutely!  But I get to buy a better elf costume.  The one I bought from the local store left green elf fluff all over my clothes.  

Throughout all of this, Katherine has arrived.  I took a day to go to Florence with her and she was a great help with photos during the events of the weekend. In the coming weeks while she is here, we will do a number of those tourist things that everyone does.  Can't hit them all, but I can get a few nice places in for her to see.  It's so nice to have her in the castle for Christmas.

Coming soon!

 

For more information, go to https://www.notablefeatures.com/

For those of you that read this drivel that I publish, you may remember back in December of 2021 we had some people come take some footage for a documentary on us.  Well, it is finished and will be shown soon at a Prestigious Film Festival somewhere in the world (I'm not allowed to tell where just yet.)  If you are interested in seeing a bit more about our lives, love, and puzzles please do join the mailing list for information on where and when you can see the film.  If you come to the World Puzzle Center, you may just be able to view the lovers in person.  I've seen the film and they have done an amazing job of capturing us as we really are.  

Great news!

 Our goods have cleared customs and are ready to be delivered.  We have spent the last week updating paperwork and clearing out the ground floor of the castle and the hotel getting ready to receive everything. 

Antonio has rigged up two hoists so we can get the puzzles to the top of the castle and the hotel.  It will be easier to bring things down the stairs than climb up with them.  

Now we just wait on a date for the first truck.  

I have been working on my Italian driving license and have attended the first two night classes of driving school.  This is fun.  The book is in Italian, the class is in Italian.  Double duty!  I'm learning all sorts of things at once.  Unlike when I lived in Hong Kong, I am not getting translation headaches.  In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to be reading a page of the book yesterday and I realized I was comprehending without having to translate all of it.  A word here or there, but not a lot.  I mean really, how often does one use windshield wipers in daily conversation? 

George's Christmas gifts have arrived early and he is eager to open them, but is holding back until the rest of our goods are here.  Really, I think he's waiting for the staricase to be removed from the hotel.  We don't need that secret passage to the kitchen and both of us would rather have the space in our respective rooms.  

Larry, Curley, and Moe are hard at work in his office. Now he can add Laurel and Hardy to the mix and get them running.

We met with the interior designer for the construction of the kitchen and bedroom/bathroom last week and have made decisions on materials and appliances.  They loved our bathroom design and have said it was a first for them.  Neither had installed a Toto toilet here, or a rainshower that plays music and has lights in a Turkish sauna before.  

Today is Thanksgiving back in the states and we are having dinner at a local hotel run by Americans.  Sadly, this means no left over turkey.  Perhaps I will buy one next week and cook it anyway.  There is nothing like an open faced turkey sandwich after the holidays.  

And I thought I had posted this. Wo much stuff to do so little time.  The trucks are arriving and the fun is now just beginning! We have a great system down, the pallet is removed from the truck and brought to one of 3 opening locations.  We then Open the castle pallets first because we don't want to disrupt parking (although, the locals seem to do a fine job of this on their own).

Next, I mark the room number that the package needs to go into and they either hoist it up using bags or they take it up using the electric stair climber.  This makes short work of things. We are able to unload and move14 pallets within a few hours.  So far we have taken in 41 pallets.  Today we will unload 2 trucks and Saturday a few more. Then we just wait for the truck we went to Rotterdam to show up and all is here.  

Forgive the long absence.  I'll be back to normal (is there such a thing) soon.