Love Thursday: Paving the Way with Love

For various reasons, P and I have been in “house limbo” for quite a while. I won’t get into details, but I just knew that things were taking a turn for the better when, a couple months ago, I noticed this hole in the pavement in front of P’s family house, the one we have been trying to get into for all this time:

Hole in the pavement on Flickr

Just as I suspected, the housing wheels have *finally* begun turning, and we’ve been able to work on putting in a new bathroom and kitchen (and giving the whole thing a fresh coat of paint) before we move in, which will hopefully be within the next month or so.

Right now, we’re about halfway there with the new bathroom, and after that, the kitchen, and the paint, we’ll do other work on the place little by little–as is the southern Italian way.

P.S. Carol, I hope this answers your question about the new house, remodeling, and when we’ll be in. And to Saretta and others who wanted to know, P will be doing all the painting because he is, by trade, a house painter.

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

May all your paths be paved with love.

21 Beans of Wisdom to “Love Thursday: Paving the Way with Love”
  1. Gil
    03.12.2009

    I thought that you had moved by now as you haven’t mentioned the move in a long time. Good luck and Happy Love Thursday back to you.

    Magari…but hopefully soon I’ll have the *really* good news that we’re in for good!

  2. 03.12.2009

    So exciting, yes the little heart says it all! Happy Love Thursday too 🙂

    anne’s last blog post..One of our Favourite Pasta Makers……

    Very, very exciting…can’t wait to be moved!

  3. aaah amore.

    Good luck with the renovations.

    nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..AS Roma vs Arsenal

    Thanks…we’ll need it!

  4. 03.12.2009

    New beginnings… but is there room for the kid?

    She’s already there! She stays in the cantina below the “new” house and I try to take her out when there will be banging….

  5. 03.12.2009

    House renovations – oh dear I think I’ll light an extra candle just for you and to which ever Saint is patron of people going through renovations – I’m sure there must be one, they have a saint for everything here.

    But the heart was a sign!

    Willym’s last blog post..Stormy Weather

    Appreciate the candle. Very. Much. 🙂

  6. joanne at frutto della passione
    03.12.2009

    Aren’t new beginnings exciting? I know house renos can be horrific, but imagine how happy you’ll be once you are settled and cooking in your own kitchen and scrubing your very own bathroom floor 😉

    joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..Penne rigate alla Vodka – Penne in Vodka sauce

    Yes, I can’t *wait* to scrub that floor 😉

  7. carol
    03.12.2009

    When the kitchen and bathroom guys are finished at your house, can you send them up the coast to work on mine? hehehe Seriously though, I do have a construction question. Was the existing plumbing adequate or did you need to upgrade? And if you had to upgrade, did it require trips to the comune/permits etc?
    Congrats on your progress!!!

    We’re getting new plumbing in one part as the bathroom is entirely new and upgrades on other parts. Permits? Ahem. No comment 😉

  8. 03.12.2009

    Home Sweet Home! Congratulations and thank you for your lovely post.

    Thanks for coming by, Lola 🙂

  9. 03.12.2009

    Hey, I just moved too (virtually, of course)….And today I’m sort of feeling as though I had the new site remodeled in Italy!

    Now we have something to look forward to, a bang-up post on the new digs, and eventually, after the pain recedes, maybe some funny Calabrian renovation stories?

    We had a name for these guys back in the day: “Men in paper hats.” They were all the same guy basically, who’s favorite phrase was always “Non si preoccupi, signora, ci penso io” and then they’d go off doing what they were originally doing, which was invariably not what we’d asked for. You just had to live with the results whether they were the finishes you had ordered or not…..!

    OK, so maybe moving the blog was a tad eaiser. At least WordPress had a different phrase (though not nearly as charming) “We have received your request, but due to the increased volume….” lol.

    anna l’americana’s last blog post..I am mistress of my own domain….

    One of the best things about these renovations is that P’s friends from childhood are electricians, plumbers, and builders…and he’s working right alongside them (and keeping an eye on them). So far, so good, but I’m not looking to jinx anything 😉

  10. awedree
    03.12.2009

    Awww…thanks Michelle. I will need that! Hope you have a smooth move 🙂

    Thanks Awedree 🙂

  11. 03.12.2009

    How exciting! I hope that you will share some photos of the house and garden someday. But most of all, I LOVE that you got an omen that was heart shaped. Could not be more perfect!

    Aimee’s last blog post..Thankful Thursdays

    I couldn’t believe it when I saw the hole in the pavement…and it’s still there in the same shape from months ago, so I’m hoping it stays there for the duration of the renovations (at least this first stage) 😉

  12. 03.12.2009

    Gives a lovely new meaning to “follow your heart”! Piano, piano…as is the Italian way.

    Valerie’s last blog post..Buona Festa della Donna!

    Indeed Valerie!

  13. 03.12.2009

    Ahhhh … house renovations. I sure don’t miss those days.

    Just think that once you’re done, the house is just the way you want it. 🙂

    Good luck with the renovations and thanks for the update!

    Rosa’s last blog post..Barefoot Bloggers … Chicken Piccata

    Well I’m not sure the house will ever be *just* the way I want it since it was originally two houses that were slapped together in a very strange way, but we’ll deal 😉

  14. Woohoo! Welcome to the wonderful world of renovations!!
    Wishing you and P lots of love and happiness in your new home, I’m so happy for you, dogs, kid and all. amanda xx

    Amanda@A Tuscan view…’s last blog post..an uncontrollable urge

    Thanks so much Amanda; much appreciated 🙂

  15. 03.12.2009

    How exciting to be creating a new living space for the two (or 5, including animals!) of you! Thanks for satiating my nosy curiosity about P’s profession…and you even gave me a link. Wow! Thanks :-)))

    saretta’s last blog post..Dusk

    Yeah, it was getting pretty crowded in the three room house…and my pleasure for the link! Thanks for your questions 🙂

  16. 03.12.2009

    Love those signs, and I do beleive that they are signs,
    it confirms that I am contected, to the universe perhaps, or to something much more personal. Thank you for sharing. Smiles!

    Ellen’s last blog post..Potential….of sprouts.

    I definitely believe in signs too…little messages from the universe letting me know I’m on the right track 🙂

  17. Elizabeth Barrette
    03.13.2009

    Good luck getting into your new house!

    Elizabeth Barrette’s last blog post..Three Questions: HR 875

    Thanks Elizabeth! We’ll need it 🙂

  18. 03.13.2009

    Michelle– I love that picture. I’m a love-a-holic… total heart whore. And incidentally, total whore at heart. I think that’s so amazing you found that shape in front of the house. It’s meant to be 🙂
    xoxo

    Hee hee…thanks Lisa 🙂

  19. 03.13.2009

    And yours. Always.

    Irene’s last blog post..

    Grazie cara 🙂

  20. 03.14.2009

    This is a great sign. Exciting news about the new house! (Well old house turning new I guess…) I cannot wait for bel ragazzo and I to start doing up our old house in Calabria but just not sure when exactly we will be making the move! Sooner then later we hope 🙂

    Leanne’s last blog post..Winter is summer in the Canary Islands

    I know…I find it odd calling it the new house, so I usually write “new.” Hah!

  21. 03.17.2009

    we will be in need of pictures of course. oh yes.

    Diana Strinati Baur’s last blog post..Recuperando!

    Have lots of “befores”…wish the “afters” were coming along faster 😉

Michelle KaminskyMichelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived. 

Calabria Guidebook

Calabria travel guide by Michelle Fabio

Recipes

 

Homemade apple butter
Green beans, potatoes, and pancetta
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
Pasta with snails alla calabrese
Onion, Oregano, and Thyme Focaccia
Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins
Prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese
Fried eggs with red onion and cheese
Calabrian sausage and fava beans
Ricotta Pound Cake