Spring Cleaning (Pulizia di Primavera)

Ok, let's start with the part that is being renovated.  I think it's time to rent a dump truck.  Here is a "before" the "before" picture of the new luxury room at Baur B&B.    Can you believe that that roof held over 12 feet of snow this winter?  They sure knew how to build them way back when.  That piece hanging to the left of the main beam is really suspicious.  Some of these treasures will be reused during the renovation, including those lovely orange sewer pipes.  You won't see them, though, they will be buried.  Promise.  After all, it is a luxury room, like I said.

A "before" view of Micha's new wine cellar. It has a really high ceiling and is dug in below ground (can store lots of bottles at the right temperature).

After all that ugliness, here are some pretty strawberries from the market.  The strawberries this year are already unbelievable!

Here's Mimi doing a deep spring cleaning of the big kitchen.  She said this morning " I cannot WAIT to start cooking again here for the guests!!"  It's true.  I feel the same way.  I will be chomping at the bit for the guests to arrive after the winter we have had!

Micha is busy cutting down an old plum tree in the back yard to make sure that we stay warm and cozy next winter.  See those piled up tiles?  They came out of our double guest room two years ago when we put travertine tiles down in there. We need to clean off the backs of them, and we will reuse them on the roof terrace for the new room.  They are 3 centimeter thick terracotta.

There is so much to do that I get tired thinking about it.  But then I think--- piano piano -- a little a  time.  Do it like the Italians.  Con calma.  

Tomorrow our architect Mara, our geologist and our excavation guy arrive for a summit on how best to terrace the hill going up the back of the house.  This will be a huge undertaking.  We have still not really decided what to plant back there -- wine?  lavender?  hazelnut and peach trees?  We go back and forth, back and forth.  

We know we have to construct a 100 foot wall in back of the barn out of solid cement.  The cost of that makes me want to run and hide, as does the idea of that stupid huge cement truck with one of those monstrous extention nozzles anywhere near my property.  But it has to be done to protect the building from a landslide (however if this supposed landslide did not occur with the winter we just had, could anything really bring one on?  Really?)  Oh well.  No permit without the wall.  No project without the permit.  No new luxury room without the project.  No new revenue without the new luxury room.  No food without the revenue.   Ha.  Guess it means we are getting a new wall.

So we push ahead, hoping that it all will work out.  I will of course post the entire construction project here so you can laugh and cry with me!