Gumboots

Yesterday was a day full of fun jobs to do and I was in two minds about going out to do them, then realised I didn’t have a choice. The rain has been keeping everything damp, wet and muddy in this neck of the woods and I wouldn’t be seen dead without my trusty duck umbrella heading out the door.

I would like to say the sun has shone through but let’s face it, Italy is either heaving with rain or snow this week. We have had a trip to Venice planned for about a month now and as I read the weather repots I get more and more nervous it will be in flood when we head off tomorrow morning. I even had our Airbnb host email me and suggest gumboots for our arrival. On that note, I caved in and went shopping for gumboots. This was not something I ever thought I would buy in Italy, however, I could have done with a pair about a month ago walking along our river dirt track.

It took me all morning to track down 4 pairs of boots (it seems Alex is in no-man’s land when it comes to shoes, too small to go into adults and too big for kids!). With the help of my good friend Liz and her adorable 2 year-old daughter (seriously, shopping with a cute kid really does get you places here) we eventually found a pair for Alex. Hence, we are ready for any weather conditions Venice can throw at us.

The boys got home from school yesterday and were pretty excited about their gumboots, I mean let’s face it after two weeks of wearing partly damp shoes anything dry looks good! They asked if they could go out and play in their new gumboots and I said of course, see you in a few hours. It was dark when I stepped outside to call the boys in,

“Come on mum, another 5minutes…pleeaasssssee!?”.

Nic was due home any minute so I said fine and proceeded with dinner not thinking anything of it, after all it was only a light rain and they seemed to be having fun playing with the neighbours’ kids. Nic came home and made us a delicious Campari on ice as we discussed our days activities; it was round about now, after my second sip when the boys came giggling up the path and opened the front door.

Not only was there mud all over them, they had left a mud trail all the way up to the house, on the patio and exterior walls. To say I was annoyed would be an understatement!  The floor was caked in mud as they made a b-line to the bathroom…I was not impressed. Not only am I trying to get clothes dry for a weekend away but it was explained to them that the clothes they were wearing HAD to be worn to school the following day as I was still waiting for others to dry for the weekend (Italy in winter is full of fun bits no one tells you about, like washing can take up to three days to dry). I couldn’t even recognise what clothes they had on under all the mud, I was exasperated and after they were bathed they told me they had ‘cleaned’ the bathroom, it looked like this…

Needless to say I marched them straight back in with cleaning detergents and let them know they were not eating dinner until it was spotless! It took a little while for them to agree on what was ‘clean’ for them and clean for mum, however, they did do a good job in the end. Lucky for them today is clear blue skies and the washing has an actual chance of drying before tomorrow. As for the boys, well when they come home from school this afternoon they have a bit of a job ahead of them cleaning off their new boots, how long do you think that will take them?

 

I think a quick dip in the river might do the trick. Will I look back on this post and have a chuckle sometime next year? I think not, it will only make me think of all the washing I had hanging all over the house!