and the rain pours...
It was bound to happen. Two weeks straight of sunny, relatively warm days and starry (frigid) nights were beginning to make me think i lived...in some place...other than Friuli. But alas. The weather forecast has the sky booked for THUNDERSTORMS all this next week. I've had Gone With the Wind on reserve on my bookshelf for months now, and it seems like the time has come to pick it up and read it all over again. Nothing better than snuggling down to some Rhett-isms.
We spent all this weekend and Monday at Bosc di Sot, trying to set some order to the chaos. The good news: tiles have arrived and are layed! Our bathroom has a floor! We went for a simple grey and white scheme, which gives us leeway to play with colors on the walls and accessories. FL is suggesting we go with lime for the walls, and it is a suggestion I dig. The bathroom is so wonderful, much bigger than before. A great use of the space was made, and the exposed wood beams in the ceiling up the ante for sure (side tale: FL spent the entirety of Saturday morning and afternoon sanding the beams. It was literally numbing work, as he basically had to stand on a ladder with his back arched sanding 4x4" sections at a time until the 100 year old wood was smooth and golden, his body shaking with the vibrations of the electric sander for hours on end. He looked so foxy, and I tried not to bother him. Around the time he got over to the last beam I found a wasp, dead from dust inhalation, it's wings coated in golden wood shaving, crumpled on the floor. Could not locate any toilet paper- no toilet so no paper- so i took a sheet of sand paper that FL had on reserve, tore a chunk of it, and picked up the gross dead bug, tossing it dramatically out the window. About 2 minutes later FL climbed down from his post on the ladder, shook out his tingling hands, and let out a sigh. "Only one more beam to go," he said, and reached for the sand paper sheet to reload the sanding machine. He stopped dead, taking both ends of the sheet in his hands. "Piccola," he whispered, "did you happen to tear my ream of sandpaper?" I spluttered, tried to explain about the scary bug but got tongue tied, the word for "unbelievably huge and terrifying" escaping me. He was looking at me with one eye closed, his hand on his forehead. "Well, um, yes," I said sweetly, doe-eyed, the realization that I might have maybe torn something that wasn't to be torn dawning on me. "Ok," he said, and climbed the ladder to sand the rest of that giant beam by hand). My task for the weekend was to make the kitchen presentable, to cover up and transform to the best of my ability the hideous 1970's cabinetry the color of acidic puke. I whitewashed it all, the cabinets, the wood paneling, the window seal. A bright blue was put over the walls to set off the white, and I must say, it came together quite nicely. Not Better Homes and Gardens material, to be sure, but it's a start.
So, at this point, the kitchen is presentable, the bathroom is on the cusp of glory and our bedroom is perfect. Just need to tackle the paint in the living room, pretty up the guestroom and completely remodel the TV room and we should be good to go. Step by step. The flowers in the garden are blooming, and this week's rain is suppose to give way to warmer days, so there is officially light- sunshine- at the end of the tunnel.
Good news on the wine front: an importer in New Jersey has offered to present Kurtin wines at a wine competition in L.A. This is huge, as it offers the opportunity not only for accolades and awards to come our way, but it will expose Kurtin to writers, wine enthusiasts, importers, restaurant owners and the like on a grand scale. Also, an importer from Atlanta comes next week to visit, and we are so excited to show him around the winery. I've decided to cast my net wider and start looking for importers in countries like India and China, places with cash to spend and an up and coming middle class.
Marion and Kallah, my aunt and uncle (I considered using parenthesis there, as they are technically not blood related but figured that would be stupid because they are just as good as so 'aunt and uncle' it is!) from Germany arrive Friday night! We are so excited to have them, and I have been brainstorming activities and restaurants for weeks. From the looks of it the weather might be nasty, which would be a pity- Cormons is so stunning in the sunshine, and extremely boring in the rain. If worst comes to worse I guess we'll just hunker down at Porchis and play briscola all day, as any good Cormonese would do. I do hope, though, and this rain abates enough for a long hike, a vespa ride, a starry dinner by the sea and some sight seeing in beautiful Udine. Wishing for the best.
That's all for now. Atlanta is burning and I have to make sure Melanie and Scarlett get out safely. Oh, and poor little Wade, always an after thought. That kid probably ended up with some serious issues.
It was bound to happen. Two weeks straight of sunny, relatively warm days and starry (frigid) nights were beginning to make me think i lived...in some place...other than Friuli. But alas. The weather forecast has the sky booked for THUNDERSTORMS all this next week. I've had Gone With the Wind on reserve on my bookshelf for months now, and it seems like the time has come to pick it up and read it all over again. Nothing better than snuggling down to some Rhett-isms.
We spent all this weekend and Monday at Bosc di Sot, trying to set some order to the chaos. The good news: tiles have arrived and are layed! Our bathroom has a floor! We went for a simple grey and white scheme, which gives us leeway to play with colors on the walls and accessories. FL is suggesting we go with lime for the walls, and it is a suggestion I dig. The bathroom is so wonderful, much bigger than before. A great use of the space was made, and the exposed wood beams in the ceiling up the ante for sure (side tale: FL spent the entirety of Saturday morning and afternoon sanding the beams. It was literally numbing work, as he basically had to stand on a ladder with his back arched sanding 4x4" sections at a time until the 100 year old wood was smooth and golden, his body shaking with the vibrations of the electric sander for hours on end. He looked so foxy, and I tried not to bother him. Around the time he got over to the last beam I found a wasp, dead from dust inhalation, it's wings coated in golden wood shaving, crumpled on the floor. Could not locate any toilet paper- no toilet so no paper- so i took a sheet of sand paper that FL had on reserve, tore a chunk of it, and picked up the gross dead bug, tossing it dramatically out the window. About 2 minutes later FL climbed down from his post on the ladder, shook out his tingling hands, and let out a sigh. "Only one more beam to go," he said, and reached for the sand paper sheet to reload the sanding machine. He stopped dead, taking both ends of the sheet in his hands. "Piccola," he whispered, "did you happen to tear my ream of sandpaper?" I spluttered, tried to explain about the scary bug but got tongue tied, the word for "unbelievably huge and terrifying" escaping me. He was looking at me with one eye closed, his hand on his forehead. "Well, um, yes," I said sweetly, doe-eyed, the realization that I might have maybe torn something that wasn't to be torn dawning on me. "Ok," he said, and climbed the ladder to sand the rest of that giant beam by hand). My task for the weekend was to make the kitchen presentable, to cover up and transform to the best of my ability the hideous 1970's cabinetry the color of acidic puke. I whitewashed it all, the cabinets, the wood paneling, the window seal. A bright blue was put over the walls to set off the white, and I must say, it came together quite nicely. Not Better Homes and Gardens material, to be sure, but it's a start.
So, at this point, the kitchen is presentable, the bathroom is on the cusp of glory and our bedroom is perfect. Just need to tackle the paint in the living room, pretty up the guestroom and completely remodel the TV room and we should be good to go. Step by step. The flowers in the garden are blooming, and this week's rain is suppose to give way to warmer days, so there is officially light- sunshine- at the end of the tunnel.
Good news on the wine front: an importer in New Jersey has offered to present Kurtin wines at a wine competition in L.A. This is huge, as it offers the opportunity not only for accolades and awards to come our way, but it will expose Kurtin to writers, wine enthusiasts, importers, restaurant owners and the like on a grand scale. Also, an importer from Atlanta comes next week to visit, and we are so excited to show him around the winery. I've decided to cast my net wider and start looking for importers in countries like India and China, places with cash to spend and an up and coming middle class.
Marion and Kallah, my aunt and uncle (I considered using parenthesis there, as they are technically not blood related but figured that would be stupid because they are just as good as so 'aunt and uncle' it is!) from Germany arrive Friday night! We are so excited to have them, and I have been brainstorming activities and restaurants for weeks. From the looks of it the weather might be nasty, which would be a pity- Cormons is so stunning in the sunshine, and extremely boring in the rain. If worst comes to worse I guess we'll just hunker down at Porchis and play briscola all day, as any good Cormonese would do. I do hope, though, and this rain abates enough for a long hike, a vespa ride, a starry dinner by the sea and some sight seeing in beautiful Udine. Wishing for the best.
That's all for now. Atlanta is burning and I have to make sure Melanie and Scarlett get out safely. Oh, and poor little Wade, always an after thought. That kid probably ended up with some serious issues.
1 comment:
I love the idea of the grey and white in the bathroom, and the lime green tiles! Can't wait to see the pictures of the bathroom AND the kitchen! Hope the weather improves, have fun, post lots of pics, and maybe you should keep some tp or paper towels at the house :-) Agree about poor Wade ... he didn't even make it to the movie :-(
Post a Comment