In Love with France, At Home In Italy

First I'm going to flush my toilet, and then I will explain.   And keep in mind that all of this is after many things went bump in the night. The weather gurus predicted a middle-of-the-night thunderstorm, but little did we know what would accompany it. Our pump—the very one that brings water to the house to be used for functions such as toilet flushing—was in need of an electrician. When you live in the middle of the countryside where electrical problems occur with regularity, you need a man in your life like our Mirko. And of course his work partner of the moment. But no visit from Mirko would be complete without an update on his pretty partner in life.   Portrait of the Electrician as a Young Man So here come some highlights from what was at the time the latest chapter in the amorous adventures of Mirko and Nicoletta. (Full disclosure: this piece has been gathering dust in my iPhone Notes for the past three years--kind of like the marriage plan...

(This is Part Two of THE MIRKO STORY, IN WHICH MIRKO REVEALS ALL) As much as we love Mirko, we were hoping not to see him again quite so soon;however, it was just a day later that the changeover to the Made-in-China sensor did not result in telling our well it was time to send more water to the holding tank. The first indication was an unsuccessful attempt to flush--not such a happy way to start the day. But Handy Hubby had previously figured out a solution for that: go out, open the top the the tank, reach in for the sensor, and give it a good JIGGLE. Or two. Or three. Unfortunately, despite its cheerful color, the new sensor seemed not to have gotten the message that this was how it was supposed to behave:Jim jiggles, and il sensore swings into action. We began to be nostalgic for the old sensor, which at least had known the drill. Time to try shouting into the phone again to get Mirko to return. Mirko's next visit revealed many new wrinkles, both about sensor...