Lisa C.'s activity

 The last thing I wanted to do was to stir up things between both Forums.  I was simply responding to Steve Graham's post that he was unable to access the other site and letting him know he should try again if he was so inclined.  From what I understand after several years of reading posts, there is enough blame to go around for all concerned parties.  Unkind comments have been made on both fronts so the cycle continues.  It would be great if there could be a moratorium by all involved to see if civility could be returned.  After all, we all are united by a common bond, our interest in Italy. I am a member of this site, Italia Uncovered and Expats in Italy and have received helpful information from others on all of the Forums and have only been treated with kindness. 

Hi Steve, There was a reply to your note on this Forum today on the Italia Uncovered site which I thought I would post here in case you hadn't seen it: Hello Steve. I saw your above quoted post OTR and as I am not a member there I can only reply to you here. I have no idea what happened to your original registration and I clearly remember activating it. I'm also sure that I've received no "contact us" email from you whatsoever, but you are correct in saying that the registration has been disabled by the Admin. I closed the registration shortly after yet another little flurry of malcontents tried to set up dubious accounts here and certainly not because we are going down the tubes or because you are a 'persona non grata' (you very well may be - time will tell). Should you read this post and still wish to participate here, please let me know by using the "CONTACT US" button, which I have re-checked and can verify as working perfectly. If you still receive no reply then assume I still have not received any email contact from you and please just put up another post on this site- it's great publicity for us. Thanks.

Thanks so much.  I just sent the link to my friend.

 Does anyone have recommendations for some good hotels in Sorrento that are in town? Our friends are travelling by train from Firenze and want to be able to walk around, etc.

  Thanks everyone who responded.  I've forwarded your replies to our friends.  Happy New Year everyone!

 Our friend needs to mail a small package from the USA (weighing about one pound) of medicine to his daughter in Firenze. Does anyone have any recommendations of what carrier to use to ensure that it gets there?

I would agree with what Sagraiasolar has said.  We have an unheated large family room that used to have an old wood stove.  It was too big for the room and we replaced it as it would get too hot and the dust and wood chips made quite a mess.  We installed one of the pellet stoves you are talking about - pretty to look at with a nice flame.  The advantage is little mess except a small amount of dust and no carting around of wood.  I also leave it on unattended when not at home.   The disadvantages are very little heat output unless the blower is on full tilt, which makes a lot of noise and when the stove is shut off, the room gets cold fast.  With a wood stove, you would have residual heat for quite some time.  If we weren't planning on moving to Italy in the next 5 years we would probably replace it with a small wood stove like a Jotul.  You do have to be careful, though, about having your chimney cleaned very well annually.  I wouldn't be comfortable about leaving a wood stove on unattended as we know of many house fires in New England.  I don't know if they exist in Italy, but we have some neighbors who have outdoor wood heating units that heat the entire house.  There is a large bin that you can throw all sorts of wood into.  It is expensive to install but would be worth it if you're planning on living in your house for quite some time.

Thanks so much for all of the helpful advice.  I think I'll contact the Boston Consulate for a recommendation.

Thanks Penny.  I'll drop him a line.  I really appreciate the advice.