Well folks, as always in Italy, progress is sketchy. We visited LUBE and he “said” he would come up with a plan. That was Tuesday, and today is Friday. We tried calling and have not gotten through. I am inclined to go elsewhere because I don’t feel he is being responsive. We had an appointment with our Geometra yesterday. But he never showed up. Sigh. So I emailed another Geometra who was recommended to us and am waiting for a reply.
We have managed to get most of the boxes unpacked. That’s not to say the stuff that was IN the boxes has anywhere to go other than the floor. But in another week we should have some places to put stuff if the IKEA delivery is good. I worry about that because they usually dump it at the bottom of the steps. That stuff is HEAVY. And I don’t want to have to get it up here. I’m going to ask them to bring it up with a €20 note in my hand.
Today, we went to a different kitchen store. Called Ronti. They got good reviews on Amazon. I was very impressed. We arrived without an appointment. They were very accommodating and we picked out everything, counters, cabinets, sink and appliances. I think it will be a nice kitchen. And the good news is, we can get it in 20 days! He has already paid a visit to our apartment and checked the space and done measurements. Whew. A load off of my mind. Although, it was an unnecessary expense which we had not counted on.
For the interim, I bought an instant pot. I thought I could make one-pot meals in it. It seems pretty complicated. I am going to try it out this weekend.
For next week, the big IKEA delivery and the next day Task Rabbit to assemble it. We want to buy a pellet stove. We need to pay a bill. It is ridiculous that here, you need to chase people down to pay them. If we ever get a Geometra then maybe we can see about painting the house and then talk about the upstairs kitchen. And I still need to order a table for outside and a sofa for inside the upstairs. It will all happen in time. As they say here, piano, piano. Sorry, no pictures today!
Nancy, I fear Italy may not be for you all–it’s way too chaotic for most Americans! After eight years of living in Italy things should be going a lot smoother… Maybe it’s time to pack up and find a more ‘peace-able’ place to spend your sunset years. John
I’ve been using an Instapot for several years. I find I don’t really use most of the settings. You can use the manual button for most everything. It cooks dry beans in 4 minutes. Most Veggies in 2 min. The instruction book is easy to follow. Just adjust the time button to how many minutes you want. The book tells you when you want to release the pressure valve all at once or gradually. The Pot is better than a crockpot or pressure cooker as it allows you to sauté too before you add the rest of your dish ingrediants to the pot.
We found a bummer when the immobiliare advertised a casa with pictures showing with the kitchen cabinets all in place, then to discover bare walls. Of course this was not a surprise to you Nancy, and perhaps it’s covered in your blog but I haven’t got to that post yet. The whole thing made sense years ago when the kitchen was a couple pieces of stand alone furniture, but really, the practice of having to re-fit out the kitchen every time the casa changes hands only makes sense for the ebanista (cabinetmaker). It makes me wonder if there is some “special relationship” between the ebanista’s and the immobiliares!
The lesson of piano, piano sure is painful sometimes isn’t it? Hopefully your kitchen is taken care of.
I’m commenting mostly to recommend a web site as a reference for your instant pot cooking. I have one, too, and hippressurecooking.com has been a good resource for me. Maybe it’ll give you some direction and confidence.
Living in Italy is definitely a lesson in patience!
Wow, how frustrating! At least the kitchen seems to be coming together well. Please don’t tell me you need a geometra to paint the inside walls of your house????