Energy efficient laundry
When we decided to move to Italy, visions of hanging laundry on a line out the window filled my brain. I knew most italians do not have dryers and was prepared for that. So I was shocked when we found out that because we live in an historic tower wall, that hanging laundry is not permitted. Instead, our landlord bought us a combo washer/dryer. No it’s not side by side or stackable. It’s one machine!!!
Cool, right?! The reality is that it’s a small machine that runs 6-7 articles of clothing at a time, taking ONLY 4 hours to complete a full cycle. Yay for low energy in Europe! Needless to say, some of our wasteful clothes washing habits are changing. We are already more vigilant about what goes in a pile on the floor!
“I’m a big kid now” potty
Now let’s be honest, I’m short. Five two and three-quarters (Dave’s note: don’t you like how she has mention the 3/4 inch, like a kid saying they’re not 4, but 4 and 8 months?!) I like to brag. Because of my height challenges, I have come to expect the need for a step stool or ladder at times. I even climb a shelf now and then to reach that out of the way Christmas platter. But dangling feet on the potty - COME ON!
Unlike our american toilet which is mounted to the floor, this toilet is mounted to the wall, so I guess they can make it any height they want :-(
Oompa-Loompa loft
In direct contrast to toilet issue for the vertically challenged is the second floor girl’s room. I think this picture pretty much speaks for itself!
I do clear the middle beam. It must be five feet three inches exactly - oh sorry, I mean 160 cm.
Contemplative decor
The moment we walked into our place, Ashley took this ceramic statue off the table and hid it. “What is this?!” she said.
Yes, she had no clue what this piece represents, as we are not Buddhists. She just saw a guy with a funny hair-do. Because she had such a strong reaction, I put it on the center of her desk when she wasn’t looking. She followed suit by putting it on my nightstand for me to find. I put it next to her bed. She then moved the statue, an ugly vase, and a cactus onto the kitchen table, and on and on it goes with the decorating fun!
Power struggles
Many of the lights in the house are small spotlights mounted to the ceiling that one might find at say, Ikea (pronounced with a short “I” as in “little”, i-kay-uh here). They don’t give off a ton of light. But don’t worry we have a floor lamp with plenty of power. It is used most frequently while the kids are at their desk doing their schoolwork. So much power in fact that NOTHING ELSE can run while it’s on. Load of laundry? Nope, fuse blown. Dishwasher? No way! Okay, can I at least charge my phone? Ha ha ha silly rabbit, tricks are for kids and this fuse box is your best friend.
Rustic sink - Tiny drain
This stone sink is old. Well it at least looks old. But the flat is newly renovated. That’s the funny thing. We love the look and feel of the sink, but could they have at least made the hole a tiny bit bigger?
Yes, no garbage disposal. I can deal. But it's only about the size of a fifty-cent piece. It actually reminds me of watching my grandmother scrape all the plates into the garbage before she set out to washing the dishes in the sink. I just have to scrape things really well. No rice left behind.
My college dorm TV
When we saw the apartment, it was just being completed. We had a month before we moved in and so the landlord and real estate agent asked us if there was anything else we would like to have. Pots and pans? Linens? TV? Yes, yes, and yes. Dave and I had been back and forth on the TV issue, assuming that all channels would be in italian anyway, did we really need one? Well we quickly agreed that even AirPlaying a movie from the laptop through the AppleTV could be an enjoyable break for us and the girls, not to mention the fact that I could keep up with life in Downton Abbey! Most of you know that my husband prides himself on his electronics (Dave looks around innocently) - as do most males in our extended family (and probably yours too!). So, heavy laughter ensued on my part when we found the TV purchased for us.
Beyond the size (which you’ll notice is comparable to the laptop), there wasn’t even an output to connect the apple TV that we’d been carrying in our suitcase for the past 3 weeks. HA!
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”
This is a pull string.
There is one in both showers. It buzzes throughout the house when you pull it. Great idea! No more yelling, “Mom, I need a towel!” just bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz. A bit annoying, but again, a great idea! The problem? That buzz is the same buzz that you hear when someone buzzes the front door 4 flights downstairs wanting to get in. Bzzzz bzzzzz….hmm is someone in the shower or at the door? Oh, one more thing. The light switches - oh, just read on, it’s the last quirk, I swear!
Lights, camera…..bzzzzzz
The light panels throughout the house look like this.
There are several on every wall. Three switches right? Now, just remember which one goes to which. Not too uncommon. Even in our CA kitchen we had multiple lights on a panel. But this is different. Every panel is different. Not only is there a switch for the lights, but sometimes there is a switch that sets off the “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” buzzer, and sometimes it is a blank switch that does nothing. Oh, did I say that every panel is DIFFERENT?!!! light-buzzer-light, light-blank-light, blank, light, blank, buzzer, light, light, the combinations are endless, let me tell you. And this is how it goes: just as we get the kids settled down dreaming of sheep, I have my hot tea and read a few chapters from my book, kiss my hubby good night and press the switch for my bed light….. bzzzzzz bzzzzzzz. Thump thump thump thump. “Mom, what was that?” Seriously?! I think some color coding may be in order.
1 comment:
Humor, flexibility, tolerance, patience, versatility, resourcefulness—gotta admire you all!
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