The Good, the Bad and the Italian

We have been in our new house for almost 3 weeks now. It is weird to call it home, but that is exactly what it has become. I guess wherever my people are, that is home.

Lots of things have happened over the last 3 weeks! We got WiFi, lost it within a day and got it back the next week. Joe took two of the kids hiking on trails in the Alps, and they loved it! I had to stay home with two sick kids. Oh yeah, kids have been sick non-stop since arriving in the house. Little J has had an asthma flare, not cool. We think it is partly the dust, partly the gas stove and partly exposure to new allergens and bugs that he has never been exposed to before. All of the other kids have had runny noses and/or coughs for the past three weeks. Good times, good times.

Our cute little hikers

It finally rained here on Sunday! Torino has been in the middle of a dry spell for months. No rain, no snow, no precipitation. This rain was a blessing on the entire region! Not only was the rain good for the valley, the snow is pretty on the Alps. :) There have also been a few nights of high winds at the house. It has been a long time since I've been in wind storms like this. It was close to scary, especially being in a new house with half the family hiking in the Alps at the time. I'm starting to adjust to the sounds.

The Alps from our school room door, pre-snow

Same shot, post-snow

Speaking of sounds, every night there is a sound like a dying cat that seems to be right outside our bedroom window. There are many feral cats in the area, and we often see them dashing through the yard. We also see their droppings everywhere. OK, not sure if droppings is the right term for cat poop. It is disgusting, regardless of what you call it. Joe did say he saw a dead fox on the way to work today. Maybe the dying fox would come to our window to beg for help every night, only to be rejected by the crazy Americanos. Poor fox! He picked the wrong house. UPDATE: Joe saw a black cat sitting outside the bathroom window this morning. He thinks it is mewing for food. It is more like a dying cat sounds than a meow, but you get the point.

We are learning a lot about Italian bureaucracy. For one thing, doing anything is a series of steps, meetings and requirements that would make you believe that you were eligible for presidency. I won't go into detail, because it would bore you to pieces, but the steps Joe has to take to get citizenship here is beyond crazy. Granted, I have no idea what it takes to do this in America. I have to believe it is much less complicated. Even to get an Italian bank account is worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize! It was an hour-long appointment, it has taken close to 2 weeks for the debit card to even come in and we still don't have a PIN number. You know the saying "2 steps forward, 1 step back"? Well, I'm pretty sure it is 1 step forward, 2 steps back here. At least, that is how it feels. And we are not the only ones saying this! Never say the word bureaucracy to an Italian. Man, they hate it worse than we do! They will either just throw their hands up in the air in frustration or go on a diatribe of how awful it is here. Typically, Italians will not complain or say anything negative about Italy. Mention bureaucracy, watch out. Game on. Remember earlier where I mentioned the WiFi yo-yo? It has taken some American friends MONTHS to get WiFi. Bureaucracy.

Another strange thing, to this American girl, is the amount of paper sent just to give you information about an account. Electric company sent a 10-page information packet, all in Italian, thank you very much. The same day, we got an equally thick envelope from the telecommunications company. Granted, we have WiFi, my cell and our house phone through telecom store. Still, it is a bit excessive. Especially since we can't read a single line of it. :-P

We bought a vacuum! It is tiny, rechargeable and is not powerful enough for us...but we feel the house is already cleaner. I've been vacuuming my little heart out this week. Yes, it has taken me the entire week to vacuum this house. I think we picked the only Italian house with carpet upstairs. All the other spaces have many, many area rugs. I have cleaned the filter on this little piece of machinery so many times, it is insane. Our landlord hadn't lived in the house for at least 2 years before we moved in here. So, yeah, lots of dust accumulated in the rugs and carpet. We can feel a huge difference in the feel of the rugs and the overall aroma of the house. It is amazing how sweeping a house can be so rewarding. Trust me, I am not a clean freak. My house typically has more of a "lived-in" feel than "disinfected" feel. Still, it is nice to have clean floors.

Our cute, little vacuum.

We have been imbibing in the local custom of Bugie for Carnevale! It tastes like a crispy funnel cake and we are addicted. The chocolate ones are my favorite. It is awful and wonderful, all at once. My stomach hates me for what I am doing to it. Sorry, tummy. Hopefully soon we will find out what is wrong with you!

 Yummy, flaky decadence

Joe is buying us year passes to the museums! We attempted to go to Stupinigi after church on Sunday. It was cost-prohibitive, to say the least. Now, we can go on our passes! I'm excited to see the museums and palaces around Torino.

Joe and the babies at Stupinigi - it was a dreary, rainy day

Heading to make a cup of hot tea! I've taken up the nasty habit of caffe lattes every morning. I can never get warm. Hot tea, hot coffee, lots of layers, blankets everywhere. Between the marble, hardwood and tile floors, my body is just zapped of heat. I try to wear my house slippers but don't always remember. This morning, the kids tried to make me a caffee latte with my breakfast, while I was still in bed. Umm, let's just say they burned up the coffee grounds and a moka pot. Luckily, no Italian house would be complete without multiple moka pots. It is the thought that counts, right?!?! LOL. Arrivederci!

Yep, we ruined one of these already.