"Nothing is certain except death and taxes" B Franklin

Well, it seems that the jig is up.

After a bumpy start to Italian bureaucracy trying to get our permesso di soggiorno, rent an apartment, buy a car, enroll the kids in school, get gas and electricity and get a carte d'identita', I was starting to feel pretty good about things. I even thought I could navigate my way through which taxes I 'needed' to pay and which ones I didn't. We weren't even that floored by our first Winter heating bill in January. I was starting to wonder why everyone talked about basic service costs being so high.

NOT ANYMORE!!

I just opened up our second Winter gas bill...

OUCH.

We have been home a lot during the day, yes, and have had the heating on at 20 degrees which we thought was reasonable. We turned it down at night to 15...surely not too extravagant when temperatures outside were below zero. And yet, we have a $1000 gas bill for two months. Now I get it.

When we moved in to our apartment we were told that we needed to go to the environmental section of the council to pay to have our rubbish removed. Renters need to pay about 600 euro a year to get their rubbish collected. The bins were downstairs and we put them out and most of the time the garbologists would collect the yellow bag for plastic on Saturday, the brown box for general rubbish on Monday and Thursday, the yellow box for paper on Wednesday and the green box for organic waste on Monday and Wednesday. Until now. I got a letter in the mail today that requires my presence at the environmental offices as soon as possible.
You might think you can hide in the red tape over here, but one way or another, they get you. There is no escaping the bureaucracy. No matter what I think of the system, the fact that they can figure out I haven't paid the bill for rubbish collection is pretty impressive. I just wish it wasn't so expensive!

My year without a vacuum cleaner

I've generally been considered an organized person, and this sense of organization most of the time, extends to our home. When the boys were born, Shane asked me on a number of occasions to 'lower my standards' because I was slowly becoming obsessed with cleanliness and order in an attempt to have control over just one part of my life. I'm sure new mums will empathize that having a new baby throws your world order out the window and it's hard to get it back, so I took to mastering Bill Granger recipes and spending unhealthily long amounts of time in the cleaning aisles of supermarkets.

Fastforward a few years and here we are on the 6 month anniversary of our time in Biella and I am proud to say I have officially lowered my standards. Renting a house that was furnished, it didn't really occur to me that we would need to stock the house with things like a vacuum cleaner, so I've been getting reacquainted with the old broom and mop duo. Every time I sweep the floors (it has become more frequent lately, need to stop that), I think of my nonna who is the world's best sweeper. It's a nice tradition that I'm carrying on, and sweeping is a really nice way to be in the moment. Don't get me wrong, I still covet the vacuum cleaner robot, but I feel like I've made some progress this year with my cleanliness hangup and that's got to be a good thing.

I will say this though, when we were living the IDEA of living away from Melbourne, I wasn't really thinking about any of the mundane things I would need to do. Everything was idealized, cooking, washing, making beds, all had a glossy sheen and I imagined myself taking pleasure in these daily tasks, hanging pillows in the sun on the washing line in a stylized version of our apartment, with direct sunlight on the washing line all day, everything white, glowing, beautiful. I can tell anyone who is reading this that making the bed and cleaning the toilet is just the same over here as it is in Australia, and going to the post office is 10 x worse. It's been a good lesson for me. You can't escape mundane tasks just by changing location...your own perception of how much time you have is the difference between doing the dishes with a frown and doing the dishes with a smile (alright, maybe not a total smile!)

Influenza & "mangiare in bianco"

Biella has been struck down with a case of the flu since before Christmas. I don't know if it's the 'flu flu' or if everyone here has had really bad colds, but it seems to have knocked everyone we know for 6. Our friends Lilli and Carmello (who everyone in our family now calls 'Caramello') had kids sick in bed and they were sick themselves for the entire school holidays, 2 weeks of fever, and then the rest. Sounds nightmareishingly bad if you ask me.

I have never known about the curative effects of white food, but here in Biella, after this nasty period of sickness, it's alive and well. In Bianco is how they cook for people who are unwell, recovering from illness, feeling slightly off color, and it also serves well for fussy kids who don't like to try new food. We have encountered the in bianco rituals quite a bit over these last 2 months. Basically, it means you can have food but make sure it's white, and perhaps dressed with just a little oil or butter (which incidentally is completely white over here and tastes amazing). White bread? Tick. Crackers? Tick because they are sort of white on the inside. Pasta? Tick tick - major staple turns food of salvation.  White food in Italy is like our chicken soup. Poor Sam also has the white food quite a bit at kinder because he doesn't eat lactose, some days when we ask him what he has had for lunch, the exasperated and uninspired reply 'they gave me pasta with OIYAL...again!!!"

Another common fear related with the influenza is taking the cold. People are at most risk when going from indoors to outdoors with insufficient clothing (never mind the distance you have to travel, if you're going from the gym to the car, you need a jacket, you need to dry your hair with a hairdryer, and make sure for goodness sake that you have a scarf around that neck, unless you want to get a terrible influenza)...writing this is probably going to make me a prime candidate in the karma stakes for pneumonia I'm sure, but these cultural idiosyncracies are definitely worth sharing.

On the illness note, we have gotten through 2/3 of the European Winter well so far. Sam has had some nasty coughs, Charlie has a little splutter, but he hasn't had a fever, but now unfortunately we have the man of the house with a nasty cough, hoping eucalyptus oil will settle that one before it turns into influenza, or worse....man flu!

January Saldi

With school back and the kids settled into more of a routine again after the Christmas holidays, we have been lucky to have some dinners with new friends from kinder who are very much like Melbourne people, down to earth, open and relaxed...they are like a bit of our old home in our new home...

One night we spent about an hour discussing the nuances of swear words in Italy and Australia, with many of them dropping the 'c' word at the dinner table in front of the kids to practice it's pronunciation, we reciprocated with their profanities and learned the right context to use them, all in all a very educational dinner...Sfiga, cazzo, merde! We also got to enjoy the two dads infuriate each other discussing politics, both from the left, one moreso than the other, and they screamed and yelled and swore at each other, it was hilarious, and a great insight into the politics of this country...why listen and agree when noone else does? I have also had my eyes opened to some great new vegetables from Napoli and the south to make anchovy salads and pasta with, tried it tonight, and unfortunately it was delicious...no gym for about a month and all this good food is making the elastane in my pants work hard.

Sales have also kept us occupied and given us an excuse to get out of Biella while there is no snow with a few trips to Torino, Milano, Novara and Vercelli to see what is on offer. Shane has been updating his 'dad' look and has raised the bar significantly in the clothes stakes all at a very good price, he is proud to admit. I'm hoping the sales stick around for when mum comes over in March, I'm dubious, but very hopeful...with the economy going the way it's going, there might be sales every month until we come home. I have resisted the temptation of buying a Piumino, known in Australian circles as a Puffer jacket...I came close as EVERYONE in Biella has one, and with good reason too, it's bloody freezing! However, Shane the good sense fairy has talked me out of it.

Hoping to get to Milan next week to see the Picasso exhibition as well, I have to say that I have really enjoyed going into Milan and Turin, and getting a bit more of the big cities of Italy...I'm feeling comfortable and Biella, but I now get why people ask us 'MA PERCHE' BIELLA?!!!' ('BUT WHY BIELLA?!!!!') when we tell them we are living in Italy for a year. It's a pretty sad little town at the moment, with a lot of businesses closing down due to the 'crisi', BUT on the upside, it's quiet, we've got to know a lot of great people and the kids are as happy as we've ever seen them, and despite what Shane has said in the past, I think he likes running into people every time he walks down the street :)

Sestriere...week 2 of school holis

Wine, fondue and very important discussion in Mont Ginevre

School's back, 2 weeks in the mountains has been fantastic and the kids have been loving skiing, especially Charlie who has been enamored by all his ski instructors who have an amazing knack of being truly spectacular with children. Sammy has had a ball too, but a nasty cough and an unfortunate venture down a black run to collect member of his ski-school's ski pole had him looking pretty happy to hang up the ski boots for a bit of a rest.

We were so lucky to have temperatures on par with Victorian ski fields, around 4 degrees and full sun. We also had a fantastic apartment that our friend's sister's parents had lent to us for the week, it was really incredible, even with it's own coffee machine thank you very much.

The boys had ski school every morning from 10 - 1pm for 5 days which meant Shane and I got away for a ski for about 2 hours, even a couple of lessons with Christian, the ski instructor recommended to us by our friend, Simon. I have to say I think I skied worse after those lessons, probably because I'm so used to skiing badly. Only one big fall to speak of and no broken bones later, we are skiing with our kids at the end of the week, and this is the most rewarding moment of all, especially seeing Charlie taking Sammy over the jumps on our last run on the way to the car.

Superb views every day

The Heslops on Ice!

Sammy with his maestro, KEVIN

The smallest bumpkin in the class, Sammy William,
the red devil

Charlie with his awesome maestro, MARIO

The comrades, Pierro and Shane

Wrecked...

View from our apartment, lifestyles of the rich and famous

Out with the hubby

The boyz

European Christmas

I've never felt so excited about Christmas as I did this year.
This comes down to a combination of things I'm sure....
- not working and having more time to do Christmas shopping
- the cold weather, being able to make paper snowflakes and gingerbread houses without sweating from the heat of the oven because it's 40 degrees outside
- the Christmas lights that the kids get to see walking home from school because it's dark at 4.30pm
- knowing we will be at the snow for Christmas with our great friends Enzo and Simone and their 2 little ones
- having a real Christmas tree
- not having to go to work Christmas parties
- having time to send Christmas cards to my family
- hearing Merry Christmas from everyone, all the time, even from the nice old lady who says 'Merry Christmas' when you help her get something from the top shelf at the supermarket

CHRISTMAS LISTS

Pride and joy...gingerbread house before mass destruction

 CHARLIE'S SCHOOL CONCERT

The Angel Gabriel who had to hold up Baby Jesus for 1 hour because the little baby Jesus fell asleep on his feet!...truly an angelic act.

Charlie with his teacher Francesca

CHRISTMAS AT GRESSONEY LA TRINITE/ STAFFAL

JUMPING AROUND IN THERMALS...LOVING LIFE

Our apartment at Gressoney

 CHRISTMAS EVE PASSEGIATA AT GRESSONEY SAINT-JEAN, LIKE A FAIRYTALE

Lolly shop wishing

CHRISTMAS DAY!
PRESENTS, SKI LESSONS, GOURMET LUNCH...PERFECT

So far this Winter...

We have been spoilt with a very warm Winter by the sounds of things here. It did snow a couple of times and the boys have gone absolutely CRAAAZZZZYYY with it. If you imagine kids after half a litre of Coke, that kind of craziness is no comparison. The boys' walk into school had gone from 10 minutes of them running to school to about 25 minutes as they stopped to make snowballs, pick up snow, eat snow (not great when you know how many dogs there are in this town), throw snow, slip on snow...etc. It's a beautiful thing to see their joy, another to have them get to school with wet gloves in sub zero temps...yet another trip to our favorite sports clothing store Koodza, has them kitted out right  though.

At the top of our street, it's as steep as it looks

View from Charlie's school

Walking to school after the first Biella snow, happy boys!!!

A word on Koodza. Shane and I continue to be amazed by how much cheaper things are over here. Koodza is one example. This store is a full sports clothing and equipment store, better than anything I have ever seen in Australia - think Kathmandu, Rebel Sport, A-Mart all in one and then slash the prices by at least 50%. That's Koodza. I have bought gym gear, hiking gear, Shane has bought riding gear, hiking gear, ski gear, kids have got ski gear, gym shoes, hiking shoes. It has become a bit like Ikea. We go in for 1 item and walk out with 20. DANGEROUS.

Pre Christmas saw a lot of activities with the school. Nice at the start, but by the 1st of December I was a bit over it. The school likes to build a strong sense of community, which is great. I attended a Mamme Laselliane information night (basically it was a lot of mothers and grandmothers with ties to the school, who organize fundraisers, the Christmas market etc. I didn't understand everything that went on that night, but found myself at the end forking out 30 euros to be part of the Mamme Laselliane and offering to help at the Christmas market. These women, generally speaking, are quite well off, this wasn't hard to see the first night - there was a massive over-indexation of Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci handbags. In preparation for the Christmas market at the school, we met every week and looked at what we could all make to sell, who knew someone who could donate something, preparing surprise bags for the children etc. I was envisaging something a bit like the Spensley Street Fete, so was suggesting pirate treasure boxes, and other things, only to discover that the 'mercatino di natale' is a room at the school where Christmas things are sold. It was very nice actually, and I could tell that they took their gift wrapping seriously, but this serious approach to presentation paid off, everything, no matter how small, looked beautiful. Be it a plain candle with cinnamon and cloves tied around it, or a thin slice of birch wood with small pinecones glued on top and bundled with others to make place settings for the Christmas table.

Most of my spare time was spent knitting blankets for Charlie and Sam for their Christmas presents, working out how to keep my much loved coriander healthy with snow and minus zero degrees at night, going to the gym for Zumba with my friend Ale.

Always nice to look up and see the mountains, mind you I took this when I was feeling very homesick, when Shane was back home for a week and I had just heard 'Land Down Under' on the radio!

Happy Heslops with their great friends, Gregorio and Giacomo

Pinecones in sugared honey - prized Calabrian recipe to get rid of coughs

My outdoor fruit and veggie fridge invention

We also got out a bit with our friends Simon and Fede and their 3 kids, had a ball taking the kids tobogganing. Not sure who had more fun, the big or the little kids....

JOY!

REFINED TECHINIQUE

The view from our tobogganing piste

Shane's great friend, Simon who lives in Biella

Some funny looking bloke in a strange hat

4WDing where only 4 weeks ago we walked in full sun

Charlie with his great friend, James