And they still came back....

Remember these two?

Ok, I could't find the old photos of them and we didn't make any new ones this year. If you can't tell, I drew that one on the Paint program on this computer. That program sucks. Or maybe it's me...anyway...They are the San Diegan pals, Denise and Wayne.

Third year running, they've returned to the palatial accommodations of Maberga. You might remember their first visit...the coldest week during our tenure here and the country ran out of pellets, which are rather important for our only heat source, the PELLET stove. That year the four of us congregated at the oven in the mornings where we would all try to warm our hands on the gas fire making the coffee.

At that time we also had no stairs in our house so they slept in two twin beds (pushed together, not so they could do what lovers do but rather so they could share body heat - maybe they did both) in what is now our pantry behind the bathroom - a room of about 6' x 6'. You might be wondering what kind of crappy hosts we were in not offering them the bedroom. We did. That was our bedroom that year. David and I spent that week in the upstairs...which wasn't really an upstairs since we had no stairs, and the bedroom hadn't been plastered. You can say that David and I have intimate knowledge of a Maberga winter after that experience. There was a good reason we had been sleeping in the 6x6 pantry behind the bathroom....and it wasn't because we didn't like the pee bucket.

I don't remember what went wrong with Casa Maberga on their visit last year, but I'm sure it was something because as I was reflecting on their visit this year, I noted that they were the first house guests to be here when nothing was broken or broke or wasn't working. There was that one morning when we all woke up and desperately needed showers (some of us more than others) and there was no hot water. For some unknown reason I had turned the water heater off and so by the time we needed to hit the road, the water was only tepid. That's human error, it doesn't count.

So, with nothing broken (or better said, everything working, well, for Maberga) we had a terrific time with these fun people. We ate, drank and were merry for four days straight...well, Denise and I were. David and Wayne unfortunately had a couple of sick days.

Since they've stuck with us this far, I sure hope they will be back for next year's chapter of "And they still came back!".

Spring in January

I am ever so pleased to announce that the rain has stopped. It's that time of the year when you go outside in short sleeves and then brag about it to your family and friends who live in the midwest (or Denmark...except those friends happen to be in Italy for this great weather, which makes bragging to them a little ridiculous)

The dogs, having about a months worth of pent up lemon chasing in them have whined, barked and cried me and my short sleeved self outside more than well I would choose to do on my own. I decided that you all needed to come with me on walk number 1000 for today.

January Spring in Maberga. The time of the year when you can find these:

I'll admit to you...I took that photo before I picked them. They just smelled so damn great that I had to have them in my studio. Since you are actually only virtually on this walk with me and smell for yourself, you'll just have to trust me...you'd have done the same thing.




It's also the time of the year when friends come out of hibernation and start having dinners and lunches. We had four such engagements last weekend. Unfortunately for you I only had my camera for one. Neighbors Franco and Lisa had us over for a lunch of random pig parts which were, respectively, 1. feet, 2. skin, 3. tongue. It's also the time of the year when these folks make a little sausage:



Oh wait, I forgot...we were walking...

It's also the time of the year when you find these on your land:






Don't ask. I don't know what it is, or was. Wild boar would be my guess but I can't be too sure.

That was kind of bad writing to have that skull discovery come right after the description of our terrific lunch. Sorry about that. There was no connection between the two...I'm sure of it.

It's also the time of the year when we are just a wee bit nervous about our road.




That would be the dogs swimming in the road. It gets better...here, step back with me a little...



the arrow there is where the land below the road is washing away. Some kindly and thoughtful neighbors put that line of rocks there so you know where not to drive.

Ok, that's enough of this walk. I'm tired. Let's go back and look at my knitting.

It also happens to be that time of the year, here in Maberga anyway, when I need to finish these socks or they will get tossed into that bottomless abyss known as the unfinished projects bin. We haven't had a bet here on Olive Knitting for a while...who wants to place a wager on any or all of these three pairs of socks getting finished? Specially that middle pair - the knee high, blaze orange doolies with the lace and ribbing up the back.

Ok. The tour is over now.

Noah?

Sorry for my absence. I've been building an ark.

Ok, it has really been raining for 40 days and 40 nights but it sure as heck feels like it.

And the two by two animals are getting restless. And I'm getting a little sick of muddy towels around the place, not to mention the puddles in my studio (the latter is not the dogs fault but rather the roof's). Oh yeah, the added bonus of weeks of rain for us is that we can't do laundry. Well, we can but then we have to be selective because the "indoor dryer" (the two by two chairs strategically placed in front of each stove) has limited capacity and takes a long time to complete a cycle.

Does it sound like I'm complaining. Yeah, well, that's because I am. I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune in the spring when everything comes up so beautiful and green and lush because we are finally getting the rain we've needed for the past 4 years. But for now...

Gotta go wipe down some dogs.

In case any of you are wondering what happened to the knitting part of this knitting blog...well, just hold your horses! I gotta go wipe down some dogs...and rotate the dryer.

I'm not sure, is this up to code?



That's our new home electrical system. Not bad, huh? We didn't do that bit of handy work ourselves. We had an actual electrician come up to Maberga to do that. I love this country. Only in a country were litigation is next to impossible would someone do something as "creative" as that. And this house call on a Saturday during the holidays only cost us 10 euro. I love this country.










I'm pretty sure that our old home electrical system wasn't up to code either or else we wouldn't have done this



In the old system, all the electricity for the house passed through that tiny little bit of now fried plastic. The system worked pretty well until yesterday when I took a bath and had some breakfast. That doesn't sound so dangerous, does it? I didn't think so then I remember where I was when I heard a big POP and black smoke started spewing out of the wall.

Taking a bath and making breakfast in Maberga requires the following:

1. electric water heater AND
2. electric heater for ice cold bathroom where
3. electric pellet stove heat doesn't reach AND
4. electric fridge to chill the butter for

the big topper... the straw that set the house on fire..

5. the electric toaster

POW

So our creative electrician rigged this little bit of wizardry


1. that's where the current comes into the house. Yep, through a window. That's not new, it's always been that way.

2. this is the genius part. The electrician extrodinaire spliced that wire to

3. an extension cord and

4. the wire that carries the current to the rest of the house.

Brilliant. Freakin brilliant. And so aesthetically pleasing, too.

Just in case any of you are worried for our physical safety or reputation as official white-trash, our new favorite electrician will be back soon to do something a little less, um, temporary.

Two

Can you believe that Olive Knitting has been around for 2 years?! Two years and 202 posts. Whoa. The blog-aversary was actually two days ago, but I forgot.

Remember that time when I kind of electrocuted myself on the water heater?

Good times.

Remember that time when our car was on house arrest for a month?

What fun.

How about that time we had no heat or water or neither?

Good times all of them.

Remember when the tube carrying shit out of the house broke and I had to duct tape it and that time that we erected a scaffolding with bedroom furniture at 2am to try to stop the hurricane from blowing in our window?

Hard to have more fun.

So much living in just 2 short years. Two fast years. Kind of makes you wonder what will happen in the next two. I mean, come on…if you had told me two years ago that I wouldn’t have to walk down the street to get from my upstairs to my down stairs I would have said, “GET OUT! NO WAY!” And yet, it’s happened. This alone fills me with complete wonder at the possibilities for the future. Is it possible that in the next two years we will have running water?

Thanks to all of you who show up to read my ramblings, commenters and non-commenters alike. Although I have to admit I like you commenters more.

A very happy New Year to everyone. May it be filled with joy, wonder, happiness...water, heat and yarn.

What a Day!

Winter has hit Maberga. I mean really hit. That would be snow on the top of the mountain across the valley. We had snow at number 29 as well, it didn’t stay on the ground but it snowed. That means that it is, quite literally, FREEZING.

I like to be in control of things. I admit it. It’s not my favorite personal trait but it is what it is, I am what I am…a control freak, among other things. Control freaks live in a constant state of trying to make order where none exists. In addition, there is the added stress of needing to accept that there are just some things beyond one’s control.

Take the weather for example. I would like to control the weather but, well, I can’t. I’ve accepted that. I have learned some coping mechanisms to deal with things that are beyond my sphere. The most useful one being to, once identifying the horrible thing out of my control, immediately take control of my response to said uncontrollable. For example with the weather, I simply moved to a place where the weather is more likely to be how I would choose it…if I were in control.

When cold, and I mean bitter, you-don’t-want-any-exposed-flesh-because-it-will-freeze cold does arrive I do what I can to deal with my response.

1. put on as many woolen goodies as I can find in the house. This isn’t so bad. I like woolen goodies. I don’t often get a chance to wear those wrist warmers I made two years ago. (it is most unfortunate, however, that David shrunk my second pair of alpaca socks…I’m going on day 4 wearing the one pair I have left…I hope it’s a short cold snap)
2. drink many hot beverages. This isn’t so bad either…I like coffee and tea and hot chocolate and vin brule.
3. stay no more than 3 feet from the heat source.
4. 
   

Number three assumes, of course that A. you have a heat source and B. you are in control of that heat.


Pellet stove 2, Lynn 1.


Yep. In the middle of the one week of cold that we get every year in Maberga, the stove stopped working.

Ok, this isn't such a big deal. It happens all the time. Every time in a different way. This time, it just went off...like completely off, as if it were unplugged. Between 5am when we got up and 9am when we could go into town to find a technician, it spontaneously went on and off about 4 times. Just by itself...without my help (ie: control).

So, at 9am David and I bundled up to head down the mountain - he would go look for some genius who is lucky enough to have pellet stoves within his sphere of control and he'd drop me at the grocery store (we were out of some things...like coffee and wine).

We hop in the car...can you predict where this is going?

Yep. Turn the key and nothing. Not even a noise. Nothing.

Turn the key again. Still nothing.

I go back in the house, without heat and David calls a pal to drive him to get a new battery. I knit. (maybe it was my state of out of controlledness that caused me to choose to knit thigh high stockings in the only yarn I had enough of in my stash...blaze orange merino).

David comes back with new battery, it doesn't work.

Did I mention that our internet connection had expired at midnight the night before?

So, here we are at 10am with no heat, no car, no internet, no coffee or wine.

Using the only tool available, we get on our phones. David calls our pal again to arrange for a mechanic (aka: a genius who has cars in his sphere of control) to come to check the car - next appointment for house calls, first thing tomorrow morning. I call work to say we won't be making it today and possibly not tomorrow if the mechanic tells us that car death is beyond his control and we have to be car shopping. David calls the stove shop to learn that they have changed their phone number, but don't want to share the new one.

Car needs to wait for mechanic. Stove, internet, and food need to wait for car.

David plugs the stove into a different plug. Nothing. So he settles into the couch with several blankets, his coat, beret, and a book.

What possible control can I take to respond to this level of out-of-controlledness?

Potato prints.

What a great day! I might be cured of the curse of control. Having absolutely NONE was completely liberating.

In case you are worried...

The stove spontaneously came back on and has been working perfectly. A couple very patient and strong neighbors drove by and they, with David pushed the car backwards up the road so he could pop the clutch. By 7pm we had a running car, heat, food and internet...and some nice christmas cards.

Public Consumer Announcement

Hi all, just wanted to let you all know that the maberga designs website is up and running. After what seemed like an endless stream of fits and starts, frustration attacks and a few lively marital discussions, when you type www.mabergadesigns.com you now see a website.

Unfortunately, the technical difficulties are not completely behind us in that we are having major problems posting photos in the "our jewelry" section. A minor problem, compared to world hunger, say, but given that it is a JEWELRY website, one we are working to rectify.

You can, however, go to the "shop" section and link to the site where we have items for sale. There are just a few now, but check regularly because I'm adding things as fast as a dial-up connection allows.

On another consumer related note...

The truck drivers' strike is hitting Italy pretty hard. There is no gas to be purchased any where. NONE. I could really freak out about this but I've chosen the Cat Stevens route...

If the pumps have no more gas, I won't have to go to class.