Monopoly; Snow; Fat Feet; An Outing At Work!

I won! Since this happens rarely and certainly if V is playing (since he nearly always wins) it was quite something. It was a match arranged by V with some colleagues since one of them, L, was convinced he could take V on and beat him.

But I did like the ‘new’ way of making deals. L started it with the deal he gave to M, letting him complete the ‘dark-blue’ set on condition that he wouldn’t have to pay rent if he landed on them. Then I made a deal with him in a similar vein but also collecting 25% of any profit that he made during the game.

>However, my coup-de-grace was letting V have the final green one in place of a complete one and a half sides of the board! I knew that he wanted the greens so much that he would give anything to get the set.

And it snowed Sunday night, even in the centre of Milan. And it’s been very cold since then. I just HAVE to get another job because they don’t keep the offices warm enough for me. The forecast is for snow and rain from now until next weekend! Enough already! Roll on spring.

In other news: I think my feet have put on weight. It seems to be getting harder to get my socks on.

Also, I found this morning, yesterday someone at work found my blog. I was a bit concerned for a while but then I thought it must be Pietro. Luckily, perhaps, it was. However, whilst I was looking at all the sites they had visited, it did scare me for a while. Anyway, now that he has found it perhaps I should include his blog on my links on the side? Nice to see you Pietro!

Something or nothing?

This weekend I was, sort of, half-offered 2 jobs. That’s nice. One of them, unfortunately, I couldn’t take. The other, well, who knows, it’s early days yet.

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A village of outlet shops. Your worst nightmare, yes?

I find shopping easy. For example: I need a jumper. I go to some shops. I walk into a shop, have a look around (10 minutes max.). I see something I like. I look for my size. It’s there. I try it on. (another 10 minutes). I decide if it is worth the money. I buy it (another 10 minutes).

There you go. Half an hour at the very most.

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They think it’s all over……………………it was after three matches!

There were four groups, each containing 4 ‘teams’. From each, the top two went through, then on to the quarter finals, semi finals and final. In each group, the four teams played each other so that was three games.

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Post 200; Mongolian Barbeque and other food for the weekend; Clowny WILL be a real word!

Well, first, this is the 200th (published) post!* Considering I have been doing this blog for a number of years, 200 doesn’t seem that much. But it is some sort of milestone, I guess.

My 2nd week back at work and, the weekend just gone was also back to normal, if not busier.

Friday we were supposed to go and see FfI, who had the really bad accident at the end of July. However, she was on new drugs and very groggy so it was rearranged for Saturday. Then, on Saturday morning, A texted to suggest the Mongolian Barbeque restaurant. We agreed. So it was, kind of, apero at FfI’s about 5, then 9.30 we were at the Mongolian Barbeque. What a great place.

We had starters, which were “pick your own”. I chose a few small meatballs with a gravy with some roast potatoes and, incredibly, they tasted just like faggots. Now I really love faggots – you know, Brains – and we can’t get them here, so I was delighted to taste these.

Then we went up, selected our raw meat and then gave it to the cooks to griddle. And it all tasted superb. All this for a fixed price of €18. Great value for money. Even better for Sunday Lunch where the fixed price is €12. It doesn’t include drink but it’s still not bad.

The only thing to remember is that, should you not eat everything on your plate that you have chosen, they make a surcharge of between €5-10! Can’t say I blame them really as it ensures that people don’t just pile their plate and leave a load of stuff to be thrown away. However, this is a bit of a struggle for V who, as normal with free food, takes much more than he needs – and then can’t eat it! So he spent a while trying to convince everyone else to take some. Luckily, there was A – who is more like a human dustbin!!

Anyway, the food was very, very good and the experience of queuing up and watching your food being cooked, is also good. Worth checking out. It’s on Via Monte Nero in Milan, should you choose to go. Do book as it’s very popular.

Sunday was a really nice brunch with N followed by a surprise visit by friends from the UK who were catching flights back today. For the price of a nice Indian meal they stayed with us. And it was great to see them.

V was explaining about Dino to them, with the usual, ‘I never wanted another dog’ and he actually said ‘he does many clowny things!’. Now, I’m not sure why he said it. Nobody picked up on it and I said nothing. Maybe he remembered the word when we played scrabble that time with S & P. The story is that, in order to get a decent score, I made up the word and, although P, in particular, was sure it was a made-up word, no-one challenged me officially for fear of losing a go.

I made a very good explanation of why it was a real word, even though I knew that it probably wasn’t.

Anyway, now that V has said it to others, I’m sure that, in a few years, it will enter the dictionary and become a real word. And, when it does, you will know that I invented it!

It seems a perfect end to my 200th post, don’t you think?

* Unfortunately, not any more. I have deleted some posts since the move here. This is probably somewhere around the 195th post now.

Dragonflies: Montevecchio

We were up at Montevecchio the other evening (not really a place I would recommend) and walking around the cobbled streets when I saw so many dragonflies doing their acrobatic, helicopter thing above us and over the vines laden with unripe grapes.

Then again, yesterday, in the park with the boys, a load of them in the sun chasing their food.

In Montevecchio, we were with A and F. He actually asked if they bite!

I must say that they have got to be one of my favourite insects.

We found somewhere to eat. Called Il Rustico it was exactly what it said on the tin – rustic. Unfortunately, the food was too.< Not that there’s anything wrong with that but it was more than disappointing and V & I commented, to each other, that, even though people consider Milan to be expensive, we could have had a far better meal in Milan for the price. Even A & F agreed that the food was well below par. Give Montevecchio a miss. Now back to cleaning and general household chores. Oh joy.

The rules of engagement

So, are they engaged, or not? I really don’t know. F was sporting a very nice diamond engagement ring – but on the third finger of her right hand!

We just couldn’t quite get a straight answer, particularly from A. They implied that, once an actual date had been set for the wedding the ring would be moved to the left hand. This was just a sort of half-commitment.

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Another (scary) First; Parking the car at work.

I tried to get out of it but not so that it was obvious. My heart was pounding, my stomach muscles (what’s left of them) were flexed, almost painfully. I tried to relax. I forced myself to relax and it almost worked.

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