Home decor

20th August 2023

With most of Italy sunning themselves on the beach or refreshing themselves in the mountains, Stephen spent a lot of his week off with a paint brush in his hand, seeing to the areas in LCDDB that needed his DIY skills. That is why he spent his first morning clearing stuff out of the bedroom before we were both Cuore Adriatico bound after I had finished my afternoon lesson (yes, some of us are still working, if you can count my two Monday students working).

Our eventual destination was Obi, the DIY store, but before that we took a slight detour to the big Conad to stock up on things we can’t get (like big jars of Nescafé Gold Blend – don’t tell the neighbours) or which are a much more competitively priced (Gordon’s gin – don’t tell the neighbours). With these and other essentials (kilo packs of party mix nibbles) we moved on to Obi for Stephen to do some serious perusing of the shelves.

It's always been a wonder to me why making a decision in a DIY store requires quite so much wandering up and down the aisles, taking things off the shelves, putting them back, comparing them with other similar items and generally just a lot of standing and looking quizzical, only to buy the first thing that you picked up. Actually, that is a little unfair to Stephen, for the paint “we” chose to renovate our dining table, which after six years was starting to look a little sorry for itself, “we” swapped for another that “we” thought was a better colour, and he did put back a spray bottle of mold cleaner for another that was cheaper and without chlorine – and which proved to be not only very effective but not to leave Stephen lightheaded when he had finished.

Obviously, it was too late for him to make a start when we got home on Monday, but he set too with a will on Tuesday, because what else is better on the second most important holiday of the year in Italy whilst most people are spending six hours over an extended lunch than fill in cracks, prepare the bedroom walls for painting and sand the table top? Nothing, of course, and why get hot and bothered in a packed and noisy chalet, stuffing yourself with lots of fried foods on a sultry August day when you can just as easily get hot and bothered at home.

As has now become a tradition, albeit a short-standing one, we reserved our festive celebrations for the next evening when it was time for this year’s Cena Sotto le Stelle at Pina. It happened to be good timing as Stephen gave the table its first coat on Wednesday, which put it out of commission for dinner, and as he gave the bedroom a double going over as well, he had done more than enough to deserve a night off and a good meal.

And very good it was too, as you would expect, with the usual charming setting in the street in front of the hotel and an eclectic mix of the good and the great of MSP society. There were some interlopers, including Computer Luca (who declared afterwards that it was all very chic - well, he is from Borgo San Lorenzo) and a couple who, judging by their English, were Northern European. They came into the bar while we were having one for the tonsils (Crodino, non-alcoholic) prior to eating, and tried to ask if the restaurant was open. We lept (well, Stephen did) to help, and explained that it was closed due to the special dinner, but Pina being Pina and MSP being MSP and Italy being Italy, a space was found for them amongst the locals.

The next two days saw Stephen complete his mental list of things to do on the decorating front. Thursday, he did the final touching up of the bedroom and gave the table top two more coats of paint as well as two of varnish, while Friday he titivated the dressing room, bathroom and back room, touching up small areas that needed attention. But don’t think that I have been reclining on the chaise longue while he has been beavering away. I’ve spent the mornings cleaning and tidying up around the outside of the house, and on at least two occasions helped him move a piece of furniture.

You can see, then, why we decided to have a quiet weekend to recover at home to recuperate, but that somehow turned into a beach weekend, at least for Stephen. Besides from our walk this morning, Luca messaged him on Friday asking if he wanted to join him al mare yesterday, and who was I to deny him after all his hard work when he sheepishly asked me if it was ok. Nine uninterrupted hours, just me and the dogs, lounging around, why would I not want him to go? Besides, as the party also included Luca’s friend, home for a visit from Berlin where he now lives, and his husband, it was a bit Cox and Box under Luca’s self-erecting awning, even without me. So really, I made a wise choice as given my sensitive skin and need for substantial shade, I would have had to have a monopoly on first, second and third dibs – at least.