So we hung pictures today...Taylor definitely got out the tape measure, dun dun duuuuuun. Although it was tough because we were hanging four in a row...it leaves a little less room for error.
We had our first dinner party tonight! We had the officers in the squadron over...and it went well! I used mom's swiss chicken recipe and made some pesto green beans and chocolate eclaire for dessert! Thankfully, everything turned out great, and I got to use all my new dishes and serving trays!! It also served as great incentive to get the house put together...nothing like having a house full of people! All we have left to do is the guest bedroom, hanging some pictures in our bedroom, and getting the basement in order...the basement is a job in itself. Taylor is pushing for a deal that I could decorate the whole house if he can decorate his man cave! I can go for that, I think! And I realize this means the beer cap Power T on orange plywood will make it into the decorations downstairs somehow!! I already suggested hanging it in the storage room...at least it's not the garage! More to come on how the basement looks!
Oh yeah, huge advancement in the Reynolds house...we have internet!!! Two weeks, two routers, and two modems later it is finally up and running. After waiting for two weeks, I finally inquired about when the people were going to come back out to hook up our internet. I was informed our internet had been working since early November when they were out the second time, we just needed a modem and router to get it working. These are the minor details that get lost in translation! But woo hoo...we're connected. Add us on Skype (taylor.reynolds2)and we can chat...in fact, you can get a tour of the house! I'll post pictures in a little bit when we have all the rooms put together!!
Well, we didn't make it to Tuscany for Thanksgiving, but we ended up having some turkey. Our trip to Tuscany got cancelled due to a death in someone's family, so we were planning on just hanging out at home and eating some spaghetti for dinner (a tradition in Taylor's family). But last minute we went over to one of the other officer's house for dinner with the other officers in the squadron. We had a really nice day, after we finally made it to their house! We were using our GPS and after taking a few wrong turns (our own fault) our 20 minute drive to their house turned into a 50 minute adventure taking us on our first drive on the Autostrada (the interstate) twice after driving in a few circles! But that has become the norm over here...we're slowly getting used to it!
And I recognize that I have so many things to be thankful for...I am thankful to have family who listens to me talk on and on about my new adventure, a husband at home to spend Thanksgiving with, technology to make me feel like I'm closer to home, a house that I'm loving with comfy furniture, men and women who are away from their families this holiday to allow all of us to be with ours, and a community here who gathers and celebrates like family because we're all in the same boat! I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!
And speaking of happy, I'm wishing Kelly a very Happy 18th Birthday...that's right, little Kelly Belly is 18 today...crazy I know. As Ashley said, wasn't I in second grade with you when she was born...good memory and yes, that is correct...just the other day!
So lets keep hoping for a car...we were told it's in Germany...it's getting closer! And also maybe some sunshine? We had a little today, but I promise I haven't seen the mountains in over 3 weeks...it's so foggy, hazy, and cloudy all the time! Although I've been told this is typical for the winter...blah. I've got SUNSHIIIIIINE on a cloudy daaaay...Good morning little SUNSHINE, how did you wake so soon...go on, you can sing, maybe it will help us over here!
Buona Notte!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Every Three Years!?!?!?!
First off...in my excitement over Kelly's acceptance to UT I completely forgot to mention the other good news in the family, not because it is any less exciting, but because I found out on Saturday and I wrote the last post on Tuesday...how quickly my mind wanders. Anyway, Dad was offered a job with Southeastern Financial Credit Union! Woo hooo!!! He began working for them in February on a 3 month temporary contract. The three month contract kept getting extended month by month until finally he was offered a full time position in the business loan department. He will be working in the office 5 minutes from home (3 minutes, he says)! So a big congratluations to dad, he started the new job on Monday!
And I asked in my last for you to have hopes for a car and furniture...and you must have had high hopes! I didn't want to ask for prayers...because furniture and an extra car really aren't prayer worthy...just hopeworthy!! But the furniture arrived on Friday!!!!!!!! Woo hooooo! It was a crazy, but great day!
We have a cuboard that is issued from the military that was sitting in the basement when we moved into the house. The cuboard is not useful to me in the basement...but would be much more helpful in the kitchen to store food, a microwave, and serving platters. I've been trying to figure out for 2 weeks how to get the thing up the steps into the kitchen. It is so incredibly heavy I can hardly even slide it on the tile floors! Well a friend came over the other day and told me that her cuboard was brought inside in two pieces...so the beast DOES come apart! In the excitement of finding out our furniture was arriving, I decided we needed to move the cuboard that night! I informed Taylor, (he was thrilled) actually his words to me were, if you can get it apart, I'll move it with you. So I borrowed a screwdriver from our neighbor and went at it. I actually couldn't get it apart...but Taylor gave in and got the top half off the bottom. Sadly, the beast was STILL realistically too heavy to move. But it sure didn't stop me from trying. We muscled the top half up the stairs and I thought I was going to die. There was no way the bottom was going...I even tried taking out all the shelves to make it lighter...nope didn't help. I woke up the next morning with bruises ALL over my thighs (I'm talking 11-12 bruises!!!) from resting the top piece on my thighs on the way up the stairs because it was hurting my hands so bad. All that work and hurt and I just had to wait until the movers came the next day anyway with a rolling cart to move the piece up to the kitchen. All that for NOTHIN!
But I'm happy to say it is now in my kitchen and it is just as great as I imagined it would be! Not only is that in my kitchen, our house is now full of furniture! Most of it fits very nicely with a little room to spare...but our living room is a bit tight! Taylor and I have been arguing for about 4 weeks over the size of his living room furniture...turns out he was right. There...I said it.
I didn't remember it being as big as he kept claiming, but it is. It is an American size couch and chair in an Italian size living room...but it actually works. I freaked out a little bit at first thinking it looked ridiculous. And I know the Italian movers understood enough English to understand our arguing...I bet they get a lot of that in their job. Moving doesn't always bring out the best in everyone! But with a little moving and rearranging it works just fine. And at the end of the day we survived our first move and were still speaking to each other, actually we even still liked each other!
Now we're onto the unpacking portion...NO FUN! It is getting done slowly, but surely. The kitchen is done and our living room is coming together. It is really nice having the basement, because I can put everything I don't know what to do with down there until I'm ready to hang it, put it away, or throw it away. Mom has been laughing at me saying I am much more like her then I am willing to admit...and I see more and more of it coming out. It is much more noticable when we're not living in the same house together!
I have my portion of the closet organized and I have done more than half of the battle with Taylor's portion...I have no doubt he will have finished putting all his clothes away by the time I make it back home today-or if he was smart he would!!! And I swear, that boy has more clothes in his unaccompanied baggage coming from Korea, then I have in my whole wardrobe! There are still 4 boxes marked clothes in the basement that were stored in North Carolina all year! All he wears are t-shirts, work out shorts, and an occasional collared shirt!
Next we're hanging pictures...we really are having our second, first year of marriage! Mom says she can't hang pictures with dad because he gets too exact and picky about it...we'll see if I can hang pictures with Taylor, because I do it mom's style! The smart thing to do is hang them all when he's at work, but I don't have anyone to help me, so it makes it difficult. I already rearranged the living room furniture while he was at work, good thing he's not too picky!
I'll put up pictures when I can get the house put together!
Yesterday I went down to Nove with Jenni and her little boy Brandon. Nove is a city about 2 hours away where they make all of the ceramics for many of the major brands: Williams Sonoma, Tiffanys, Lenox, etc. They have tons of factories with lots of stores all over the town. Many of the stores are inside the factories selling the dishes for very discounted prices, it was really neat and we got LOTS of Christmas presents. I'm not sure why I bought dishes before I got here! It was a fun trip...minus the trip home when the GPS took us waaay out of the way. It's tough not knowing an area and depending solely on the GPS...I know...maps would be smart, but it's so tough in all these small towns!!!
Anyway, I have lots more to get done today...I'll post again later!
Ciao!
And I asked in my last for you to have hopes for a car and furniture...and you must have had high hopes! I didn't want to ask for prayers...because furniture and an extra car really aren't prayer worthy...just hopeworthy!! But the furniture arrived on Friday!!!!!!!! Woo hooooo! It was a crazy, but great day!
We have a cuboard that is issued from the military that was sitting in the basement when we moved into the house. The cuboard is not useful to me in the basement...but would be much more helpful in the kitchen to store food, a microwave, and serving platters. I've been trying to figure out for 2 weeks how to get the thing up the steps into the kitchen. It is so incredibly heavy I can hardly even slide it on the tile floors! Well a friend came over the other day and told me that her cuboard was brought inside in two pieces...so the beast DOES come apart! In the excitement of finding out our furniture was arriving, I decided we needed to move the cuboard that night! I informed Taylor, (he was thrilled) actually his words to me were, if you can get it apart, I'll move it with you. So I borrowed a screwdriver from our neighbor and went at it. I actually couldn't get it apart...but Taylor gave in and got the top half off the bottom. Sadly, the beast was STILL realistically too heavy to move. But it sure didn't stop me from trying. We muscled the top half up the stairs and I thought I was going to die. There was no way the bottom was going...I even tried taking out all the shelves to make it lighter...nope didn't help. I woke up the next morning with bruises ALL over my thighs (I'm talking 11-12 bruises!!!) from resting the top piece on my thighs on the way up the stairs because it was hurting my hands so bad. All that work and hurt and I just had to wait until the movers came the next day anyway with a rolling cart to move the piece up to the kitchen. All that for NOTHIN!
But I'm happy to say it is now in my kitchen and it is just as great as I imagined it would be! Not only is that in my kitchen, our house is now full of furniture! Most of it fits very nicely with a little room to spare...but our living room is a bit tight! Taylor and I have been arguing for about 4 weeks over the size of his living room furniture...turns out he was right. There...I said it.
I didn't remember it being as big as he kept claiming, but it is. It is an American size couch and chair in an Italian size living room...but it actually works. I freaked out a little bit at first thinking it looked ridiculous. And I know the Italian movers understood enough English to understand our arguing...I bet they get a lot of that in their job. Moving doesn't always bring out the best in everyone! But with a little moving and rearranging it works just fine. And at the end of the day we survived our first move and were still speaking to each other, actually we even still liked each other!
Now we're onto the unpacking portion...NO FUN! It is getting done slowly, but surely. The kitchen is done and our living room is coming together. It is really nice having the basement, because I can put everything I don't know what to do with down there until I'm ready to hang it, put it away, or throw it away. Mom has been laughing at me saying I am much more like her then I am willing to admit...and I see more and more of it coming out. It is much more noticable when we're not living in the same house together!
I have my portion of the closet organized and I have done more than half of the battle with Taylor's portion...I have no doubt he will have finished putting all his clothes away by the time I make it back home today-or if he was smart he would!!! And I swear, that boy has more clothes in his unaccompanied baggage coming from Korea, then I have in my whole wardrobe! There are still 4 boxes marked clothes in the basement that were stored in North Carolina all year! All he wears are t-shirts, work out shorts, and an occasional collared shirt!
Next we're hanging pictures...we really are having our second, first year of marriage! Mom says she can't hang pictures with dad because he gets too exact and picky about it...we'll see if I can hang pictures with Taylor, because I do it mom's style! The smart thing to do is hang them all when he's at work, but I don't have anyone to help me, so it makes it difficult. I already rearranged the living room furniture while he was at work, good thing he's not too picky!
I'll put up pictures when I can get the house put together!
Yesterday I went down to Nove with Jenni and her little boy Brandon. Nove is a city about 2 hours away where they make all of the ceramics for many of the major brands: Williams Sonoma, Tiffanys, Lenox, etc. They have tons of factories with lots of stores all over the town. Many of the stores are inside the factories selling the dishes for very discounted prices, it was really neat and we got LOTS of Christmas presents. I'm not sure why I bought dishes before I got here! It was a fun trip...minus the trip home when the GPS took us waaay out of the way. It's tough not knowing an area and depending solely on the GPS...I know...maps would be smart, but it's so tough in all these small towns!!!
Anyway, I have lots more to get done today...I'll post again later!
Ciao!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
College bound...
Quick update...still have no internet...so I'm at the Airman and Family Readiness Center...
Sad, sad UT game on Saturday...little McCluster ran all over us right UP and DOWN the field. I thought the neighbors might be knocking on the door to make sure I was okay after all of Taylor's choice words for the television...clearly they weren't helping. Although his yelling was probably nothing in comparison to the drilling from one of our neighbors. I swear to you it sounds like one of those machines you see drilling into concrete on the side of the road. I'm not sure if he's doing a home renovation or if he has a carpentry hobby...we're hoping for the renovation because it means it will eventually end!!
But in HAPPY UT news, little Kelly Belly got accepted to Tennessee this week. And not only did she get accepted to UT, she got accepted into the Nursing Program!!! I am so incredibly proud of her because that is a VERY tough thing to do! When we went to our UT visit we talked to the Nursing representative and she said they began accepting freshmen into the program last year for the first time. They had about 600 + applicants and they accepted 100. So a BIG congratulations to my baby sister on her huge accomplishment, I couldn't be more proud and excited for her!!! (As a disclaimer...I know that doesn't mean she is definitely going to UT, but the acceptance alone is something to brag about!!)
So things at home are still going well. Taylor's unaccompanied baggage arrived from Korea (I didn't realize he could fit that amount of STUFF in that little room at Osan!!!) But he got it all put away into the correct rooms and we're still waiting on the furniture to come! We finally got all the armoirs moved into our "closet" thanks to some towels, rugs, and lots of sliding across the wood floors (no scratches, don't worry)!
I've attempted some cooking and baking, so far everything I have baked has come out overdone and dry, although in my defense I have a gas oven marked in Celsius...so it's going to take some getting used to. I did make a little cheat sheet of conversions, but apparently it's still too hot, so I will have to play around with the temperature!
The CMA's were just as great as I expected on Thursday. I laughed as my prediction in my previous post played out just as I had written...I sang along into the remote and Taylor rolled his eyes at me and attempted to take my microphone away thinking it would stop the beautiful melody! The CMA's did make me a little sad...especially when Daughtry and Vince Gill were singing some sad song about Tennessee with the Tennessee state sign in the background...it may have drawn a few tears from me.
But I improved greatly on Saturday when I finally got my laptop working in the library and got to talk to my mom and dad on Skype. That was the first time I have talked to them in over 3 weeks! I feel much better! Speaking of my parents, today is my mom's birthday, so a VERY Happy Birthday to her and I hope she enjoys her special day! A young 40 years old ;)
To occupy my days I come to base to use the internet, I've ventured into San Quirino (our town) to see about the shops and restaurants we need to try, I go to the BX or Commisary almost every day to pick up items we need, I go to a kick boxing or step class at 5pm every day, and I'm anxiously awaiting prints that I ordered so I can start scrapbooking! Sounds exciting, huh? Needless to say I'm really hoping for that job option to come through! I've applied...we'll see what happens!
Tomorrow night we are having dinner with Rosario, our 83 year old neighbor. He's going out to buy pizza for us from a shop in town!! I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to bring over when we go...any excuse to bake, I'll take it! And I picked a great choice too, come to find out, Taylor doesn't like oatmeal, that meant I got all the extra dough and the cookies to myself! This could be dangerous!
Anyway, that's all for now...everyone hope for furniture and a car to arrive...any time now would be juuuust great.
Sad, sad UT game on Saturday...little McCluster ran all over us right UP and DOWN the field. I thought the neighbors might be knocking on the door to make sure I was okay after all of Taylor's choice words for the television...clearly they weren't helping. Although his yelling was probably nothing in comparison to the drilling from one of our neighbors. I swear to you it sounds like one of those machines you see drilling into concrete on the side of the road. I'm not sure if he's doing a home renovation or if he has a carpentry hobby...we're hoping for the renovation because it means it will eventually end!!
But in HAPPY UT news, little Kelly Belly got accepted to Tennessee this week. And not only did she get accepted to UT, she got accepted into the Nursing Program!!! I am so incredibly proud of her because that is a VERY tough thing to do! When we went to our UT visit we talked to the Nursing representative and she said they began accepting freshmen into the program last year for the first time. They had about 600 + applicants and they accepted 100. So a BIG congratulations to my baby sister on her huge accomplishment, I couldn't be more proud and excited for her!!! (As a disclaimer...I know that doesn't mean she is definitely going to UT, but the acceptance alone is something to brag about!!)
So things at home are still going well. Taylor's unaccompanied baggage arrived from Korea (I didn't realize he could fit that amount of STUFF in that little room at Osan!!!) But he got it all put away into the correct rooms and we're still waiting on the furniture to come! We finally got all the armoirs moved into our "closet" thanks to some towels, rugs, and lots of sliding across the wood floors (no scratches, don't worry)!
I've attempted some cooking and baking, so far everything I have baked has come out overdone and dry, although in my defense I have a gas oven marked in Celsius...so it's going to take some getting used to. I did make a little cheat sheet of conversions, but apparently it's still too hot, so I will have to play around with the temperature!
The CMA's were just as great as I expected on Thursday. I laughed as my prediction in my previous post played out just as I had written...I sang along into the remote and Taylor rolled his eyes at me and attempted to take my microphone away thinking it would stop the beautiful melody! The CMA's did make me a little sad...especially when Daughtry and Vince Gill were singing some sad song about Tennessee with the Tennessee state sign in the background...it may have drawn a few tears from me.
But I improved greatly on Saturday when I finally got my laptop working in the library and got to talk to my mom and dad on Skype. That was the first time I have talked to them in over 3 weeks! I feel much better! Speaking of my parents, today is my mom's birthday, so a VERY Happy Birthday to her and I hope she enjoys her special day! A young 40 years old ;)
To occupy my days I come to base to use the internet, I've ventured into San Quirino (our town) to see about the shops and restaurants we need to try, I go to the BX or Commisary almost every day to pick up items we need, I go to a kick boxing or step class at 5pm every day, and I'm anxiously awaiting prints that I ordered so I can start scrapbooking! Sounds exciting, huh? Needless to say I'm really hoping for that job option to come through! I've applied...we'll see what happens!
Tomorrow night we are having dinner with Rosario, our 83 year old neighbor. He's going out to buy pizza for us from a shop in town!! I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to bring over when we go...any excuse to bake, I'll take it! And I picked a great choice too, come to find out, Taylor doesn't like oatmeal, that meant I got all the extra dough and the cookies to myself! This could be dangerous!
Anyway, that's all for now...everyone hope for furniture and a car to arrive...any time now would be juuuust great.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Lots of hours of wash...
Quick update because I'm sitting at the base library using the computer while Taylor is working out. I did a cardio kick boxing class 2 days ago and I'm sore in places I didn't know contained muscles...no workout for me today!
And it is currently Thursday, still with no internet. Taylor correctly deciphered his text about them setting it up on Wednesday, but when they arrived they said we didn't have the correct line at the house and they would be back in 10-20 days to install the line. I have a hard time believing that because this is government housing and a Major and his family lived there previous to us...they went for 3 years without internet...doubt it. But the broken English of the internet guy was difficult enough to understand, let alone try to express my opinion.
So...just a few things I have found entertaining over the last few weeks of living here. These are the things Taylor thinks I'm crazy for even mentioning, because why does it matter? And it doesn't really, but I find it interesting so maybe you will too!
1) Recycling is required by law over here. You separate it into different categories before it is either picked up or before you take it to the dumpster (depending on your city). There are steep fines for not obeying the law. One of the previous commanders on base got fined after they went through his trash and picked out a bill with his name and address on it...true story.
2) All showers and baths are required to have an emergency alarm in them. If you are in trouble while in the shower you pull the string that is attached to a button up towards your ceiling and it sets off an alarm. Every hotel and house we looked at had the strings and we couldn't figure out what they were. At one of our hotels Taylor pulled the string in the bathroom and about 2 minutes later we had a guy at our door asking if we needed help because there was an alarm going off. I couldn't figure out what the alarm was coming from, but he flipped a switch inside the door and it turned off. Once the guy left, Taylor says, "I think I figured out what the string is...". Then the inspector at our house said it is Italian law that mandates the alarms in the bathrooms.
3) I've mentioned about the crazy Italian driving. It really isn't as bad as I expected. They just really like to tailgate, speed, and pass you. All the roads in our area are little 2 lane roads, some areas you are allowed to pass, others you are not, for Americans at least! Italians don't care! So, let's say I'm driving down the road and the car behind me decides to pass. They misjudged their space and ended up hitting the car in the oncoming traffic lane as they are trying to pass me. If I did not try to slow down or move out of the passing car's way, by Italian law, I too would be at fault for the accident. They call it the Italian 3rd lane...because they frequently create that invisible third lane to pass you no matter where you are!!
4) I figured out how to work my German washer and dryer after having instructions from the warehouse. I swear when I get decent internet on my computer I'm going to take a picture of my program dial on my washer so you don't think I'm crazy! The washer and dryer are about 1/2 the size of a normal washer and dryer in the US which I thought would be a huge pain...turns out I can live with the size...it's the time that is unbelievable. I start reading the picture graph instructions for my washer...get this...For a normal wash cycle it takes 135 minutes...yes you read that right...ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE MINUTES!!! If it is heavily soiled it is 150 minutes! So as far as I'm concerned, I don't care how many stains are on the clothes or how bad they smell...from here on out all of my clothes are LIGHTLY SOILED and they will be for the next 3 years. One hour and 50 minutes for the lightly soiled cycle! The dryer takes just as long...
So while that is a huge difference from the US and a rather large inconvenience, it could be way worse. I'm actually very thankful because so far the power at our house has handled all of our appliances running at once. Last night we successfully ran the washer, dryer, and tv all at once...that's a little unheard of over here. I didn't push it with the microwave...that would just be getting greedy.
But seriously, when you rent a home you begin with 3 watts (probably not watts...actually I don't know what the correct term is for it...) so I'll say level 3 power for the house. For a one time fee of 130 Euro (about $190) you can upgrade to level 4...this will allow you to run more appliances at once. You have to be sure your house can handle the level of electricity because some houses are only wired to handle 4-5 watts, but the max level is 6. In GHRP housing (Government Housing Rental Program) all houses are wired and have their electricity at level 6 without having to pay the necessary fee for every level you move up. Huge bonus!
We have yet to trip our circuits...I can also run my hairdryer and the tv at once as well, so we have been very lucky!!! As it was explained to me...in the US usually each room is wired on a circuit so if you are running two hair dryers in one room obviously you will probably blow a fuse. In Italian homes, the whole house is on the same circuit, it is not divided by room, so a washer and dryer at the same time especially combined with a TV would easily blow a fuse. Anyway, you take it for granted in the US, but not everywhere runs quite as easily and freely as it does back home! Appreciate your washer and dryer that take 16 minutes to run a cycle and 45 minutes to dry!
I am really excited for tonight because at 7pm on AFN (Armed Forces Network) Prime the 43rd Annual Country Music Association awards are on!!!!!!!!!! It's a great night! And if I knew enough people who loved country music I would invite them over for a party, but I don't, so it will be Taylor and I on the couch singing into the remote (well I'll be singing...Taylor will be rolling his eyes at me). I saw the first ad for this last Thursday and I have been looking forward to it all week! I'm going to be real sad if they start playing songs I haven't even heard yet...I'm sure it's possible considering we get two Armed Forces radio stations over here and I haven't even heard those for a week since we turned in the rental car! Taylor's car has no radio...he's desperately looking into adding one ASAP!
Taylor's unaccompanied baggage should be delivered tomorrow (he finally gets winter clothes now too) and he was told his household goods from North Carolina should be arriving on the 20th. No word on my HHG, but at least we'll get part of the stuff. I'm tired of scooping my icecream with my plastic measuring cup...yay for real silverware coming soon!!
All for now!
Later Gator Hater!!
And it is currently Thursday, still with no internet. Taylor correctly deciphered his text about them setting it up on Wednesday, but when they arrived they said we didn't have the correct line at the house and they would be back in 10-20 days to install the line. I have a hard time believing that because this is government housing and a Major and his family lived there previous to us...they went for 3 years without internet...doubt it. But the broken English of the internet guy was difficult enough to understand, let alone try to express my opinion.
So...just a few things I have found entertaining over the last few weeks of living here. These are the things Taylor thinks I'm crazy for even mentioning, because why does it matter? And it doesn't really, but I find it interesting so maybe you will too!
1) Recycling is required by law over here. You separate it into different categories before it is either picked up or before you take it to the dumpster (depending on your city). There are steep fines for not obeying the law. One of the previous commanders on base got fined after they went through his trash and picked out a bill with his name and address on it...true story.
2) All showers and baths are required to have an emergency alarm in them. If you are in trouble while in the shower you pull the string that is attached to a button up towards your ceiling and it sets off an alarm. Every hotel and house we looked at had the strings and we couldn't figure out what they were. At one of our hotels Taylor pulled the string in the bathroom and about 2 minutes later we had a guy at our door asking if we needed help because there was an alarm going off. I couldn't figure out what the alarm was coming from, but he flipped a switch inside the door and it turned off. Once the guy left, Taylor says, "I think I figured out what the string is...". Then the inspector at our house said it is Italian law that mandates the alarms in the bathrooms.
3) I've mentioned about the crazy Italian driving. It really isn't as bad as I expected. They just really like to tailgate, speed, and pass you. All the roads in our area are little 2 lane roads, some areas you are allowed to pass, others you are not, for Americans at least! Italians don't care! So, let's say I'm driving down the road and the car behind me decides to pass. They misjudged their space and ended up hitting the car in the oncoming traffic lane as they are trying to pass me. If I did not try to slow down or move out of the passing car's way, by Italian law, I too would be at fault for the accident. They call it the Italian 3rd lane...because they frequently create that invisible third lane to pass you no matter where you are!!
4) I figured out how to work my German washer and dryer after having instructions from the warehouse. I swear when I get decent internet on my computer I'm going to take a picture of my program dial on my washer so you don't think I'm crazy! The washer and dryer are about 1/2 the size of a normal washer and dryer in the US which I thought would be a huge pain...turns out I can live with the size...it's the time that is unbelievable. I start reading the picture graph instructions for my washer...get this...For a normal wash cycle it takes 135 minutes...yes you read that right...ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIVE MINUTES!!! If it is heavily soiled it is 150 minutes! So as far as I'm concerned, I don't care how many stains are on the clothes or how bad they smell...from here on out all of my clothes are LIGHTLY SOILED and they will be for the next 3 years. One hour and 50 minutes for the lightly soiled cycle! The dryer takes just as long...
So while that is a huge difference from the US and a rather large inconvenience, it could be way worse. I'm actually very thankful because so far the power at our house has handled all of our appliances running at once. Last night we successfully ran the washer, dryer, and tv all at once...that's a little unheard of over here. I didn't push it with the microwave...that would just be getting greedy.
But seriously, when you rent a home you begin with 3 watts (probably not watts...actually I don't know what the correct term is for it...) so I'll say level 3 power for the house. For a one time fee of 130 Euro (about $190) you can upgrade to level 4...this will allow you to run more appliances at once. You have to be sure your house can handle the level of electricity because some houses are only wired to handle 4-5 watts, but the max level is 6. In GHRP housing (Government Housing Rental Program) all houses are wired and have their electricity at level 6 without having to pay the necessary fee for every level you move up. Huge bonus!
We have yet to trip our circuits...I can also run my hairdryer and the tv at once as well, so we have been very lucky!!! As it was explained to me...in the US usually each room is wired on a circuit so if you are running two hair dryers in one room obviously you will probably blow a fuse. In Italian homes, the whole house is on the same circuit, it is not divided by room, so a washer and dryer at the same time especially combined with a TV would easily blow a fuse. Anyway, you take it for granted in the US, but not everywhere runs quite as easily and freely as it does back home! Appreciate your washer and dryer that take 16 minutes to run a cycle and 45 minutes to dry!
I am really excited for tonight because at 7pm on AFN (Armed Forces Network) Prime the 43rd Annual Country Music Association awards are on!!!!!!!!!! It's a great night! And if I knew enough people who loved country music I would invite them over for a party, but I don't, so it will be Taylor and I on the couch singing into the remote (well I'll be singing...Taylor will be rolling his eyes at me). I saw the first ad for this last Thursday and I have been looking forward to it all week! I'm going to be real sad if they start playing songs I haven't even heard yet...I'm sure it's possible considering we get two Armed Forces radio stations over here and I haven't even heard those for a week since we turned in the rental car! Taylor's car has no radio...he's desperately looking into adding one ASAP!
Taylor's unaccompanied baggage should be delivered tomorrow (he finally gets winter clothes now too) and he was told his household goods from North Carolina should be arriving on the 20th. No word on my HHG, but at least we'll get part of the stuff. I'm tired of scooping my icecream with my plastic measuring cup...yay for real silverware coming soon!!
All for now!
Later Gator Hater!!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Lost in Translation...
Alright, well it's official, we are moved into our home! And when I say moved in, that's a very loose statement! We have moved in what we have so far which is not much. Our bags are in the correct rooms and our groceries are unpacked. I just received my unaccompanied baggage yesterday, so I'm happy to report I now have some winter clothes...it was a good day! We did recieve our temporary furniture and it is ROUGH!
We have a couch...I kid you not, it is the exact same couch I had in Andy Holt (University apartment style dorm at UT), a coffee table, a kitchen table, chairs, 2 night stands and a bed that is harder than our wood floors! I seriously sat down on the bed when they moved it in and just started laughing. We went to the store when we moved in to buy some essentials like 1 towel, some plastic plates, and silverware, toilet paper, sheets, a blanket, pillows, groceries, and a TV. Yes, a tv. Taylor about wore me out trying to get that thing set up as soon as we moved in so we could get the whole 7 channels they offer on the Armed Forces Network (AFN). It took 3 trips to the BX (Base Exchange...our Wal-Mart) just to get the right cords and plugs and then a visit to the Piernick's to get the correct adaptor for the plug because the plugs are not standard over here and not all European plugs fit all outlets and appliances. Why make it easy, right? I was doubtful and betted that he wouldn't get it set up that night, but he won...he got it all set up and working the first night. Point for Taylor.
There was one minor detail we went without the first night and that was HEAT! The inspector said the pressure was high on our hot water tank (or some kind of tank that controls heat in our house) and he didn't recommend turning on the radiators until someone could come look and see what the problem was. So we had hot water, but no heat. The highs have been in the low 50's to high 40's for a good 2 weeks here...it was a little chilly! I slept in 2 pairs of socks, leggings, flannel pants, a t-shirt, longsleve shirt, and my fleece and I was quite comfortable that night.
I also mentioned that all of our windows have shutters on them. Taylor is in heaven because he loves to sleep in the dark, but it totally throws me off to not have any sunlight in the morning because I ususally start waking up a few times before I need to wake up. Well our first morning I set my alarm to get up for Spouse Start (a welcome/informational type program) and at 7:45 Taylor's alarm went off. I don't know if I set my alarm wrong, or disabled it, or what but I had to be at Spouse Start at 8am! I woke up completely disoriented and threw myself together enough to make it to the program only 15 minutes late...not too bad! So I'm figuring out ways to allow sunlight through so I'm not so disoriented in the morning.
Our heat was fixed the next day and on our second night as we went to bed Taylor turned off the heat downstairs, or at least he thought he was turning off the heat. It is Italian law that you are only allowed to run your heat or air conditioner 14 hours a day. So the next morning I wake up and shower to wait for my unaccompanied baggage to arrive and I walk downstairs into an absolute oven! It was SOO hot down there and we have yet to figure out how to turn our heat on and off. We're still messing with it and can't figure out which way is which. I know that sounds really silly and that it should be really simple, but I'm telling you, NOTHING is simple in this country! Oh, I also misreported in an earlier post. Our house is heated by radiators, but our heat comes from our floors. How cool is that?? And it is so great because we have all tile and hardwood. That tile gets so cold, but with the heated floors I can actually walk around barefooted without freezing my toes off!
Another appliance we have yet to figure out is our German washer and dryer. Aside from the German words telling us how to work it, it is full of symbols that don't mean a SINGLE thing to me. Again, it sounds so silly, but it is nothing logical at all like blue for cold, red for hot, nope, nothing. So after I finish this I'm heading over to the warehouse to pick up instructions for my washer and dryer...what do you want to bet it's all in German?
I attempted to top off our rental car with gas before I turned it in on Wednesday. I went to the gas station, just as I had with Taylor the day before. I waited for the guy who pumps it to come over and ask what I needed (most stations do that here)...no one came. I waited awhile longer...no one came. So I drove down the road to the next station and I waited...and no one came. So I realized the station was on its siesta (actually that's Spanish and I can't remember what the Italian word for it is...) but basically most business close for about 2 hours in the afternoon to have lunch and take a nap. So I had learned about this in my Spouse Start that morning and I learned how to work the machine. So I got out and went to open my gas tank and it took me about 5 minutes just to figure out how to unlock the top of it. When I finally got it unlocked I then went over to the machine to pay for my gas and sure enough in the little Italian I could figure out...it wouldn't take credit cards, only Euros. Well I had no Euros and needless to say the car never got topped off. I just laughed at my situation...well after I got my frustration out and I'm just glad no one else was there with me to see my struggle with the gas station. You know, it's these little things that you don't think about and no, they're not big deals...but they're annoyances and little adaptations that I just have to get used to!
And speaking of...Since we do not have internet I am currently sitting at the Airman and Family Readiness Center on base using their wireless. My battery is about to die because I brought my charger, but not an adapter and my plug won't plug into the outlet here! Good news though, Taylor thinks our internet will be set up on Wedneday. He got a text in Italian and from what he could decipher, he thinks that is what it was telling him...I'll let you know!!!
Bye for now!!
We have a couch...I kid you not, it is the exact same couch I had in Andy Holt (University apartment style dorm at UT), a coffee table, a kitchen table, chairs, 2 night stands and a bed that is harder than our wood floors! I seriously sat down on the bed when they moved it in and just started laughing. We went to the store when we moved in to buy some essentials like 1 towel, some plastic plates, and silverware, toilet paper, sheets, a blanket, pillows, groceries, and a TV. Yes, a tv. Taylor about wore me out trying to get that thing set up as soon as we moved in so we could get the whole 7 channels they offer on the Armed Forces Network (AFN). It took 3 trips to the BX (Base Exchange...our Wal-Mart) just to get the right cords and plugs and then a visit to the Piernick's to get the correct adaptor for the plug because the plugs are not standard over here and not all European plugs fit all outlets and appliances. Why make it easy, right? I was doubtful and betted that he wouldn't get it set up that night, but he won...he got it all set up and working the first night. Point for Taylor.
There was one minor detail we went without the first night and that was HEAT! The inspector said the pressure was high on our hot water tank (or some kind of tank that controls heat in our house) and he didn't recommend turning on the radiators until someone could come look and see what the problem was. So we had hot water, but no heat. The highs have been in the low 50's to high 40's for a good 2 weeks here...it was a little chilly! I slept in 2 pairs of socks, leggings, flannel pants, a t-shirt, longsleve shirt, and my fleece and I was quite comfortable that night.
I also mentioned that all of our windows have shutters on them. Taylor is in heaven because he loves to sleep in the dark, but it totally throws me off to not have any sunlight in the morning because I ususally start waking up a few times before I need to wake up. Well our first morning I set my alarm to get up for Spouse Start (a welcome/informational type program) and at 7:45 Taylor's alarm went off. I don't know if I set my alarm wrong, or disabled it, or what but I had to be at Spouse Start at 8am! I woke up completely disoriented and threw myself together enough to make it to the program only 15 minutes late...not too bad! So I'm figuring out ways to allow sunlight through so I'm not so disoriented in the morning.
Our heat was fixed the next day and on our second night as we went to bed Taylor turned off the heat downstairs, or at least he thought he was turning off the heat. It is Italian law that you are only allowed to run your heat or air conditioner 14 hours a day. So the next morning I wake up and shower to wait for my unaccompanied baggage to arrive and I walk downstairs into an absolute oven! It was SOO hot down there and we have yet to figure out how to turn our heat on and off. We're still messing with it and can't figure out which way is which. I know that sounds really silly and that it should be really simple, but I'm telling you, NOTHING is simple in this country! Oh, I also misreported in an earlier post. Our house is heated by radiators, but our heat comes from our floors. How cool is that?? And it is so great because we have all tile and hardwood. That tile gets so cold, but with the heated floors I can actually walk around barefooted without freezing my toes off!
Another appliance we have yet to figure out is our German washer and dryer. Aside from the German words telling us how to work it, it is full of symbols that don't mean a SINGLE thing to me. Again, it sounds so silly, but it is nothing logical at all like blue for cold, red for hot, nope, nothing. So after I finish this I'm heading over to the warehouse to pick up instructions for my washer and dryer...what do you want to bet it's all in German?
I attempted to top off our rental car with gas before I turned it in on Wednesday. I went to the gas station, just as I had with Taylor the day before. I waited for the guy who pumps it to come over and ask what I needed (most stations do that here)...no one came. I waited awhile longer...no one came. So I drove down the road to the next station and I waited...and no one came. So I realized the station was on its siesta (actually that's Spanish and I can't remember what the Italian word for it is...) but basically most business close for about 2 hours in the afternoon to have lunch and take a nap. So I had learned about this in my Spouse Start that morning and I learned how to work the machine. So I got out and went to open my gas tank and it took me about 5 minutes just to figure out how to unlock the top of it. When I finally got it unlocked I then went over to the machine to pay for my gas and sure enough in the little Italian I could figure out...it wouldn't take credit cards, only Euros. Well I had no Euros and needless to say the car never got topped off. I just laughed at my situation...well after I got my frustration out and I'm just glad no one else was there with me to see my struggle with the gas station. You know, it's these little things that you don't think about and no, they're not big deals...but they're annoyances and little adaptations that I just have to get used to!
And speaking of...Since we do not have internet I am currently sitting at the Airman and Family Readiness Center on base using their wireless. My battery is about to die because I brought my charger, but not an adapter and my plug won't plug into the outlet here! Good news though, Taylor thinks our internet will be set up on Wedneday. He got a text in Italian and from what he could decipher, he thinks that is what it was telling him...I'll let you know!!!
Bye for now!!
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