Kids Help a TON!

Well, I did it! I finally had the chimney cleaned so that we can really enjoy the Italian experience this winter: cooking on our own fire!

Next stop: hardware store to purchase the "attrezzatura" (meaning "stuff") required: grate, cooking grate, and brush. The little tools came with the apartment, and are very likely to prove inadequate, but I'm giving them a chance.

I asked around about getting wood delivered. Seeing little trucks schlepping wood in centro is a daily occurrence, so I didn't think it would be difficult. In fact, I'd already talked to one fellow and put his number on a little scrap of paper...but, well, it went the way of all scraps of paper. Asking in Pianegiani, I saw a friend of Orietta's, and she warmly recommended one particular fellow.

Called said fellow, and he delivered yesterday! 10 quintaglie. Each quintaglia is 100 kilos...so they ended up unloading a metric ton of wood into the portone, ready for the kids to carry upstairs. Isn't it great to have free labor?

Now the kids are all ready to have a fire. Too bad it's about 80 degrees right now....

Love,

Alexandra

p.s. I found out later that he wasn't able to deliver the entire ton...so the kids only brought up 850 kilos, the slackers.

This fellow had a BIG truck!