MN Little Italy 18

[DemonBradleySlaysPippi]

Where are you????

Camo what is it you need, property wise. How many beds etc etc.

I do have a "servizio buono", but still from ikea (like everything else)! nothing special, plain white, a glass butter dish, and DP's fav thing (which keeps on resurfacing from time to time after spending some time in the "oxfam box") is an old teapot we got from a boot sale when we first moved in together in a bedsit in chiswick... ah, memories of romance gone by...

franca, forgot to say, that's exactly what I would have been like if I'd been in your shoes at the swimming pool!

Exeter in the late 90s, early 2000s wasn't really an Emma Bridgewater place. No independent shops. Quite a depressing high street.
It got better with the yrs. Over all, Exeter really got better in the 8 yrs we lived there. Schools got better. City centre was revamped. A farmer's market . And even a Zara !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh get it, it's marvellous. We are really having a great time watching it.

4 good beds, not fussed about en-suite, big garden, big kitchen diner (don't really care about separate dining room, we basically live in our kiche), good size living room, extra play room, though not essential, can always add a conservatory, prefer old to new = not asking much am I

Thanks, Camo . No, I don't think anyone would have reacted so badly.
Also (not an excuse for being nasty mum), I really panic when I loose something. I really see red when I loose something, instead of looking for it properly. My dad is a bit like that.

I'm the same, and in this messy place things go missing constantly! hopefully things shold get better - DP brought home the new pax doors yesterday so I should have new wardrobes soon

I'm off, good night ragazze!

that's so lovely! DS got all excited today because he saw an italian flag on tv, felt so happy as he's always "we're in English"... he's also trying to read DP's old italian school books, maybe bigpippi can teach DS too!

price, well, it depends. if we're moving out of london, then we're really trying too keep this house rented "just in case". we can chat out of MN, well, you know how much THAT house owner would have accepted so that's the top

I love Exeter! (worked near there one summer)

LOve Emma Bridgewater and mumsy pots as well....Cath Kidston prints.....and I want Nigella's Devon Stockholm china.....I too am middle class and middle aged.....(quite like it actually)

Got headache since Tuesday, was supposed to be teaching friend how to use ebay but will lie on sofa instead I think.

Mr Buch is 40 today! Young whippersnapper.

I was in such a hurry to go to bed yesterday night (I was knackered) that I forgot to say Well done minipippi !!! It's so lovely when they are doing well and happy at school, isn't it?

Bucharest , I know, Exeter is liked by many! Lots of things going for it, lovely countryside and great beaches all around.
Happy Birthday mr Bucharest

Can you believe that until a few months ago i didn't know Cath Kidstone?

I like to live on the edge 0f yummymummyland!

Waiting to hear how you discovered Cath Kidston JB  was it a road to damascus moment?

I actually don?t like CK much- it?s a bit too twee, and I find her prints a bit ?stucchevoli?. I do have the star print oilcloth though?

Have been debating for a couple of years whether I should get an Orla Kiely bag, resisted so far because they are so obviously North London middle class thirtysomething mummy (usually complemented by Boden coat?), but perhaps they will not be as obvious in Switzerland?

LOL at Franca having a job to do at OOOOORlando?s! I find my problem is that I want to talk in Baltimore drug-dealer slang all the time, and it?s sooo not appropriate either at the playground or at work?

Interesting discussion about feeling lonely after your first dc? I had a really hard time of it with dd1. for a few months I felt completely lost and adrift in the world? not helped by the fact that it took me a while to recover from the birth (lost loads of blood, no one figured out I was severely anaemic for several weeks? in retrospect when I look at the pictures and how pale I was I scare myself) and that dd1 never slept and cried for hours every evening? but I was lucky that I lived in a lovely vibrant part of London (clerkenwell), and as soon as I made a couple of friends (which didn?t take long- as soon as I was well enough to go to baby clinic regularly I started meeting loads of other mums and some of them became like sisters to me!) the world became my oyster  it was hard again for a few months when I moved to the sticks of north west London, but again only a matter of meeting a few local people and now I love it and feel I have an amazing sense of community. No doubt I?ll struggle in the swiss ?burbs, but hopefully not for long?

I do wonder, Franca, whether your experience of living abroad would not have been different had you lived in London rather than Exeter? it is really hard to feel lonely for long in London, I genuinely do think people are friendlier/ more open/warmer than in any other place (italy included, btw- it is incredibly hard to integrate in italy and that?s why I have boundless admiration for all you brave English types living in italy, esp Buch in the back of beyond). Perhaps because everyone here is alone, it is easier to open up to others.

[goes away wondering what Pippi?s deleted post could possibly have been about?]

Lol Masseuse, I'd love to chat with a Baltimore slang at the school gate . And imagine, we could even throw in a couple of Squallor's pearls of wisdom for the wow factor.

I love London. Dh had a terrific time there as a phd student. And at the time I move to the UK (late 90s) I had many friends who lived there.
I have the feeling that yes, it would have been different if we had been based in London. I'd have found a job relatively easy. And I love big cities. London in particular.
I feel awful banging on how much I didn't like Exeter. I know it is a lovely, safe, little town. I do miss it. But I'm a big city person. I like smog

And yes, small provincial Italian towns can be very unfriendly. In various ways.

Only read 2 pages and will go off and read the rest. It was San Martino yesterday so big celebrations at schol and out side and we got back late - loaded with caramelle and other things dd was in bed 10 mins after we came back she was shattered.
DOn't mention about being lonely I think the first 2 years of ddlife I was sooo lonely as I did not have any mum friends old friends were not really in the picture . The thought of having to do it all again if we move really scares me - Plus now I am starting to build up a few good friends which I would like to keep. But unless we find a house soon then thats it... I just don't know where to look next !

Rosa, ds did San Martino at school yesterday as well!

Oh Rosa, do you really have to move out of V.? You looked so "di casa" when I met you... Mind you, I'm sure you'd make new friends very easily, as you are extremely lovely . Also, I do find it is quite easy to strike a friendship with other mamme at materna and elementari.

It is so sad to see V loosing its population.

Franca I so hope not but we can't find anything. I even went to the agency of figone ( i ?) They are all super trendy and look like they should be on a passarella rather than an agency. They took me to see one which I found out later THEY bought for 360 mil and they are selling on for 500 offers of 460 up accepted..... That is taking the mickey. I have put adverts in Bacheca , aladino I just don't know where to try next..... ANd of course any agency dh calls the casa has just been venduta ! SO he has no faith at all|

I know. Here in Milan prices are crazy and it's always the same flats, although I find that there are more flats on the market since the end of the summer.
Here the corriere della sera publishes a milan property inserto every wednesday. Is there anything similar in venice? Have you looked on places like seconda mano or www.trovacasa.it?
The Venetian house market must be over inflated with ridicolous prices for luxury places etc. What a nightmare!!!

MM I have that light blue star oilcloth !! In an attempt to regain some credibility I can say that it is now in ruin as it was left for the whole summer covering a garden table. I loved it. Must be something to do with stars. In general CK to twee for me too.

Deleted post was due to me mentioning again DD1's name ! I was saying that I was trying to find a house for Camo near where I live so we could chat over endless cuppa's served in EB's mugs while chidren watch Barbapapa!

Rosa I feel for you and the house hunting. I do not want to see you out of Venice either. It is my favourite city ever, after London.

I was going to mention Pippi's part of the world too, for Camo. Suburbia but with a train direct into central London..Mixed, green, etc. I think Camo if you have doubts then you have to rethink the move. Why suddenly back on thinking of London? I think there are some parts of England where if you are not English, it may be hard to integrate, build relationships, etc...so you hhave to think of that, but I am sure that you have already thought about it.

Agree with MM that London is infact very friendly. No, I could not live anywhere else, maybe New York? It is shocking to see how many of you felt sad and lonely with your pfb, no wonder Mumnsnet is so successfull.

My experience iwth pfb was stressfull for the first 6 weeks, sleeplessness and not having a clue really about why the baby was crying. Then, suddenly I began to understand ds, he started sleeping through and never looked back. I had him on a routine, so knew when he slept and when he had his meals and that helped me organise trips to the galleries, to see friends, to read. Then did some playgroups and made friends with like minded women, women with whom I think I will be friends till I die. So, my experience was positive thanks to where I live and also the fact that I like my own company, I am interested in going to museums, plentiful here, and without being a totally social animlal, I am chatty enough that I found some friendships. I would have found it HARD in a place like Exeter, masses of samy mummies, noooooo, one high street, no galleries, I am sure Franca you would have had a different experience here, infact I think that London would suit you.

I think it is great to spend money on things one likes, but I resent spending lots on something that everybody has, yummy or not yummy, I hate a trend dictating what I need or like. I am too old to conform. I am still a rebel at heart. In my mind obviously.

Pippi, why don't you put the EB crockery on your wishlist for xmas? Or just get it if it would give you so much pleasure. Pleasure being the most important motivator after all, and why not. You deserve it.

I totally agree with JB about pleasure being an important motivator. If you like the EB crockery get it, or ask it as a present. And of course you deserve it pippi

Once me and dh got ourselves a posh lamp for Christmas.

Oh I know that London would have suited me, I've always liked it a lot. Other cities where I can easily see myself living are Amsterdam (where we have friends, which is a plus ) and New York (though I'd be scared by the competitive mentality). Me and dh often say we'd like to spend time in Venice.

I met some like minded, lovely, funny, people in Exeter too, after a few years. Not at playgroups though. I found play groups scary, with lots of mothers taking themselves soooo seriously, not my thing really.

I can imagine playgroups in Exeter being quite scary, here no, they are mostly very joyful and friendly...I like the ones where the parents don't want to talk about the kids,or play with the kids, I went to chat, and for ds to wander off and be somewhere where he would not be destroying my property.

Had an unpleasant experience at the one by the very posh school. All the women are Boden wearers of course, loaded, mainly City workers, , and ohhhhh, such snobs or such inability to think that another woman might think differently from them. One of my first encounters there was this woman who told me "oh, slings, they are so wonderful arent't they", and me "well, no, I hated it," Then she asked me if I was a nanny. I din't go back. [swearing at the cows emoticon] She even dared telling me that little Ella was taking Spanish lessons, she wasn't even 3!!!

I read the HEd thread Franca, I feel very depressed about it. Maybe somebody should send a psychologist round to that woman;s house. Or Social Services.

Oh, we'd have got on very well had we met at toddlers group... ignoring our offspring and chatting with that Baltimore accent about crockery and Bevilacqua