I am never, never, never, never, never going to set foot in an Italian post office again!  I waited an hour today to send one envelope.  (The a fore mentioned a-h Christmas cards.)  Every task postal workers do, whether it's mailing a package, picking up a package, paying a bill, has loads of paperwork, all filled out by hand, and 3 documents have to be produced to insure you are who you say you are.  After which the clerks hand carry each customer's pile of papers out back somewhere, where they disappear for a few minutes, (coffee break?), all resulting in 10 to 20 minutes per person!  It's insane.  There were 3 screaming matches while I was there because people were so fed up.  So I ain't mailing nothin' to nobody ever again!  xxoo me

Read this!

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/15/pf/accidental-american-expat-tax/index.html?iid=HP_LN&hpt=hp_t3


This article drives me nuts.  This is where all of our tax issues stem from.  We pay taxes in the US on monies here.  Why doesn't the IRS spend more time fighting billions of dollars in corporate evasion instead of harassing some guy in Israel who doesn't even want to be American?

Obviously I have too much time on my hands, stuck in bed as I am!  I think the horse pills the doctor gave me are finally starting to take effect.  After 5 days of dragging myself from bed to bath to kitchen and back again, I am a sight to behold.  If the sun would come out I'd bundle up like a babushka and open all the windows.  The air is cloudy with microbes.  MUST GET OUT.

xxoo me  

I'm still in bed!  Four days of headache, aches, pains and general crappy feeling.  Tonight I'll go to the doctor for my "excuse note" for work and something powerful to knock this out of me.  I need to find a book for my wait.  I've read everything in the house and watched endless hours of QI, my new fixation.  It's a wonderful quiz, comedy, panel show from Britain.  I really could watch it endlessly but I have so much to do.  I'm sending out the warning now.  I still have not sent out Christmas cards so you should be receiving them sometime in March.  I had one small pack from The States that I dutifully filled out around Thanksgiving and then I began my search for cards here.  In the past I've bought UNICEF cards that they sell at the post office.  There are none this year.  Of course they don't know why and can't tell me where I can get them.  I've tried every stationary, gift shop around but cards are only sold individually and cost 3 euro each.  Nope.  So it looks like A- H friends and family will get paper cards, the rest of you an e-card if I can get around to sending them.  I missed out on Mother-in-law's big lunch on Saturday because I was/am ill so the whole thing was called off with much melodrama, "Not without you!!", and my fear is I'll be made to pay.  I'm already feeling guilty....  Poor Nonna.  This will not be an easy Christmas.  xxoo me