Friends Are Forever

As someone who has more history than future, it’s hard to be surprised.

However, one of the most ... yes ‘surprising’ ... things about moving to Modica is how helpful people have proven.
More than that though, those same locals and ex-pats have become friends. An entirely unexpected development!
Oh f’sure, you expect to meet people as you travel through life, as we both have, but for those people to become actual friends? That’s a whole new thing for us.
I mean, I lived in Hornchurch in London for three years, and made very few.

So very true...

Of course, old friends are best friends, and many of ours are gettin’ pretty old now! Ha!
But new friends are like honest politicians: Damned hard to find. At least so we thought, before arriving here 11 months ago now.
Y’see, one argument my wife put to me before we left the UK was: "But we don’t know anybody..."
Well, we do now, don’t we Alice?
And isn’t it a great feeling to be welcomed into someone’s home, with no caveats or expectations? Beyond ‘just’ being a friend?
Or to be greeted with a huge smile, a witty comment, kiss or hug? Just for being there, being yourself, and living amongst them now?
When we walk about this city, which we do on a daily basis, we can wave to so many people now.
It’s a great feeling, of course. And I, for one, wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else.
Not now anyways.

Moving On Up

Moving home is stressful.
And we’ve had our fair share of stress these last few weeks!

Reckon!

But, with some careful planning and organisation, it’s f’sure doable. Having said that, despite that ‘careful’, a sizable portion was done on the fly.
As most things at least appear to be done here in Sicily. So not entirely unexpected.
You have to be willing to make compromises, cut some corners, and/or be flexible.
And where you can’t do that: Don’t!
Here’s where that (in)famous Kiwi "She’ll be right!" attitude comes to the fore. Because, in my experience, the very best way to handle such stress is a willingness to accept what is, and move on with your day.
I reckon it’s the bestest way to handle stress: Both in work and in your private life.
Of course, one of my favourite quotes during this entire process (and for months now) was: "It is what it is..." As I’ve said before, while somewhat lame, it’s entirely the truth!
But we had some great help along the way.
I mentioned friends?
Friends who gave us oh-so-helpful advice about local services. Friends who allowed us to do our clothes washing at their place.
Friends who got a mate with a forklift to help move our new washing machine up to the first floor. Friends who willingly opened their home to a couple of then homeless, almost-strangers!
The list goes on.
We so owe so many people now at least a drink and/or meal!

Daily Routine

Now we’ve moved into our ‘Kiwi4everhome’, what constitutes our ‘daily routine’ then?
First off, I’m now going for an early morning walk. Just a couple thousand steps to wake me up, and greet the new day. It’s mostly just me, the street cleaners (who now know me), and the stray cats waiting for their breakfast.

This one rules them all locally...

When home, I’ve got to fire up the water pump around 7am.
Y’see, we only get water in Modica for a few hours every morning, so it’s something you have to do here! We have 3x300 litre tanks, and it takes around 45 minutes to fill them.
Then it’s onto my laptop, until Alice wakes up. That happens anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30.
And oh how I envy her! I’m lucky if’n I get six hours a night.
Then it’s shower time, and (usually) off to the shops to stock up.
Stopping for breakfast along the way, of course. It ain’t really morning ‘til we have that granita and brioche!
After that, it’s working about/on the house, until I (have to) have my nanny nap. Anyways, it’s the hottest part of the day, so…
More laptop time and/or work in the afternoon.
Sometime between 7 and 8pm my favourite time of the day kicks in: Terrace time! We go up there, sit (often eat or drink too), discuss our day, and put the world to rights. Pure bliss!
The later evening is for TV, movies or other relaxing pastimes.
I love my life!

More Soon... 

We’ve Only Gone and Done It...!!!

It’s just happened!

And what’s just happened is we are now (and finally) home-owners here in Modica!
The place I mentioned in my last blog update? Well, we picked up the keys to it from our notaio (notary) on Thursday the 29th of July.
Our youngest son’s birthday as it happens, so not a date we’ll be forgetting anytime soon.
As I said last post, its location couldn’t be more perfect: Being within a few minutes’ walk from about every retail establishment (including cafes and bars!) we’d ever require.

Thick walls onto one balcony

With its two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and good-sized terrace, it’s 87 square metres will be (and is) our ‘kiwi4everhome’.
Okay, work f’sure needs to be done on it, of course! But, except for double-glazing and window fittings (fairly expensive), and a new kitchen (cheap as here), most of the work actually required is pretty much ‘cosmetic’ only.
So, we’re not talking major and/or uber-expensive renovations here.
Now the external and internal walls are all in stone, except those for the downstairs toilet, and (at least) two foot thick in most places. And that includes the internal ones.
Because the house isn’t in direct sunlight (except for that terrace), and the airflow is great, it’s way cooler inside than out in Summer. The sun in Winter will strike the side windows, so providing warmth then.
All-in-all, a good, solid property that’ll certainly do for us.
One more than adequate for a couple of old(er) Kiwis, yeah?

However...

There's always at least one, isn’t there?
For us, it was paying for the property.
No, it wasn't raising the cash. We'd stuck rigidly to our budget, and had/have the house cost, all fees and taxes, and renovation costs covered.
However, getting our hands on those keys turned into this all-unnecessary trial. One that began after pressing 'confirm' on sending the money to the seller on Monday the 12th of July.
Afterwards, we'd chased our bank to ensure the money’d arrive, of course. But it came bouncing back into our account five days later.

Our online bank

They said they needed proof of where our money had come from. Under the EU's anti-money laundering legislation, you could argue fair enough?
But we'd transferred said funds one full month prior, and it was only now they'd decided to query it!
We hurriedly provided proof, and everything was now fine-and-dandy, so go ahead and send it again.
Then, the following Monday, they halted the transaction: Now they required proof we were actually buying a house. After much more sweating, swearing and cursing, we provided this.
But the following Friday, back it came! With no explanation this time!
By now two full weeks had passed, and the seller was getting impatient. We pressed ‘confirm’ a third time on Monday.
Then a friend asked: “She’s told her bank the money’s coming into her account, right?”
She got her money late Wednesday the 28th of July. We picked up our ‘kiwi4everhome’ keys the next day.
And: Sigh…!

But Then Again...

Despite over 30 years in IT, I remain an optimist.
Believing that things will always, maybe and perhaps, turn out for the best. And we had a classic example of both that, and how very helpful Sicilians can be.
Y’see, right after we’d picked up the keys, off we went to prepare for our shift by sweeping and mopping the floors. The cleaning took an hour or two, and I’d decided it’d be a great idea to pop out for the requisite breakfast of granita e brioche.

THAT door!

Then we discovered the door wouldn’t unlock from the inside! We’d been warned by the previous owner the lock was a bit dodgy, and to only turn it once, or else...
And I’d managed (my fault) to discover that that ‘or else…’ meant you couldn’t open the damn door!
Luckily, my wife’s hairdresser lives in the same street, so Alice phoned her to ask if she could help? Long story short, she and her husband turned up, we tossed them the keys, and they unlocked the door from the outside.
Her husband pointed out, helpfully, that we’d need a locksmith, of course.
Just then, another couple passed by: Friends of theirs. The man was carrying a cardboard box. Turned out he just happened to be a locksmith, and the box was full of locks!
He ensured we could continue to use the door, and will visit next week to change the lock. I mean: What were the chances?
Love it!

More Soon...