Update August & September 2004

What a couple of months. the height of the tourist season in Italy and here on the farm brought lots of hard work but also lots of fun.

WEATHER:
Well, the weather has been absolutely terrific for August and September - very little rain and temperatures that were bearable (as long as you dunked regularly in the pool). This is also good news for our olive crop which is looking like a cracker (a good thing but yet more hard work!).

However, at the end of September there was an almighty storm which not only blew up our computer and the phone line but also knocked a lot of the olives off the trees - not too big a deal as there were lots there to start with but I hope it doesn't happen again before we start to harvest. The computer was finally mended after 2 weeks and the phone line is still a bit dodgy; I think I have said before that Telecom Italia even manages to make BT look efficient!

PERSONAL:
We are all very well here at Casa del Sole - no more breaks or strains. I'm looking forwards to the immanent arrival of our first au pair. oh, to be able to go to the bathroom without having to take Marco along too!

We are also looking forwards to the end of season - although it is lovely to have guests here (and, of-course, it pays the mortgage!) - it is also a wonderful feeling to know that in the next couple of months we are going to have some time off to ourselves. Sharing our home is something that is OK for 8 months but after that we like to reclaim a more tranquil paradise for a bit (although the Lodge and Chestnut House are still rented out through the winter months).

Richard is having a great time building, roofing, laying roads etc. in our area - there's lots of work but the typical problems he (and the owners of the houses) are coming up against is bureaucracy and planning permissions taking an age. ex-pats over here should note that the Italians have just as much hassle with the system as we do - they just shout louder!

We have finally moved out of the Lodge. I'm amazed that we managed to live in there for 5 months without murdering each other! It is bliss to have a separate eating, living and sleeping area (not to mention a proper bath!!!). However, once I cleared the Lodge of all our junk it looks really nice and I'd be happy to spend a holiday in there. In fact I'd be very happy to live in there again ON MY OWN!

BUILDING WORK:
I'm sorry I doubted Richard in any way (see last update re new roof). At the end of September Richard and Dante took advantage of a last minute cancellation in the Farmhouse and re roofed this end of the house making it lovely and insulated for winter - what a treat! This should also make it much cooler in the summer months too. The Chestnut House also got a bit of attention with the addition of a new porch over the bedroom door. I really wanted the whole of the staircase covered but this wasn't practical (unless all our guests were under 5'5'') so a porch was the next best thing - at least it's somewhere to keep shoes and brolly dry when it rains.

Richard is busy working away on other building projects and he's now also added a 'properties for sale' part to his bit of the website so if you were thinking you might want to move over here or even have a little holiday home then take a look at the Construction section. You can also email us with your requirements and he'll do his best to find something for you.

GUESTS:
You know what - we have had just about every extreme this last couple of months. the wonderful to the downright odd. That's life I suppose; if you want to know more about exactly how bizarre some people can be you'll have to wait for my next book (which I will finally be able to get on with next month). I've also just realised (after someone let me borrow their DVD collection) that Richard has more in common with Basil Fawlty than immediately meets the eye!

ANIMALS:
Everyone seems to be getting along fine at the moment, although Merlin did take out another of our chucks - leaving us with a measly three. He's in the dog house and now sports a muzzle whenever he's going through one of his 'grumpy old man' phases and we are going to have to get some more chickens as an average of 2 eggs a day isn't enough for us all.

Morgan, the rescue dog escaped again from her kennel but is actually making more progress now she's free again. Unfortunately, when she escaped she was wearing a bell on her collar and now she 'tinkles' around at night keeping guard and making the farm sound like an alpine hillside.

FINALLY:
We're all looking forwards to the harvest next month which is usually a time of good cheer, hard work and satisfaction (not to mention the parties!). Although the weather is good at the moment we know it is going to change soon and another thing I'm looking forwards to is snuggling under a duvet because it's cold and being able to have a roaring fire. making chutney, gathering the chestnuts and drinking hot chocolate.all lovely autumn stuff that you dream of when it's really hot and conveniently forget that lots of rain is also intrinsic to that time of year