#11 Digging the water pipe trench, planting trees, baking focaccia - Renovating in Italy

[@dotwillcoxson5352]

We are loving your videos. They are so quiet yet show how energetic you both are and the progress you are making is great. Music is perfect too. Thank you from Australia.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

thank you! glad you're enjoying them!

[@alisoncoomber3698]

What a lovely video, beautiful scenery, beautiful food, funny and you mastered the digger. Plus your mum the electrician 😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Glad you enjoyed it! Bertus was truly in his element on the digger and growing up my mother was always the electrician at home!

[@margomoore4527]

Yes, impressive work with the digger; you picked up the way of handling it quickly!

[@debbieclark9333]

He’s having too much FUN with excavator 😂😂

[@storiesfromthecascina]

yes, bertus was in his element driving that escavator 😜

[@billdevanney130]

What a great place for a border collie 😁

[@storiesfromthecascina]

aaah yes she had a lot of fun here 😊

[@HubertusSchaper]

Hi, Issis & Bertus, 🇮🇹Great progress to digging the waterpipes free 😓You two guys are really a couple who are on the same line of working powerful people, A heavy business, Like the way you save the old pavement stones of the yard, Hopefully, the waterlines are connected again before the winter arives🛠🍀. Nice trees you take with you from your old Homestead, in The Netherlands😊. Take care stay safe and see you soon again🙏🏻👍🏻. Greetings from the Old Dutch Hubertus.🇳🇱🇳🇴☮

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we'll show the connection of the waterlines in the upcoming video! it was hard work but also very rewarding 😊

[@PigglyWiggly-d6i]

OMG I love your videos. Using the old door as a table, genius! I also love the old paving you found in front of the house. Try and keep it there once you get the pipes fixed, it would look phenomenal. You deserve more subscribers as your content is excellent, really varied; it's a mix of hard work, family and friends and let's not forget that beautiful scenery. Many thanks and much love from the UK.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

yes, we're keeping it intact as much as possible and we have every intention of one day removing all of the asphalt and concrete and bring it back to it's original style. we'll talk a bit more about our plans/dreams for this area in the next story :)

[@storiesfromthecascina]

and thank you! always welcome to share our adventure with all your friends 😜❤️

[@Maisondebase]

Hearing the jack hammer gives us PTSD from our projects haha we know how hard that work is! Good job you guys !!! ❤

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Haha I can totally imagine! We still have a looooot of jack hammering in our future :-P

[@patbrady9531]

Your parents must be so proud of your work ethic and the honor you pay to the land. Thank you for the care you bestow upon your 40 acres.

[@eleonoreaubry2469]

Another wonderful video. Beautiful photography and story telling! Thank you!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lizstokes9091]

Such a gorgeous place! Those views take my breath away every time!!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

ah yes, they never stop to amaze ❤️

[@lindabrooks8242]

A LOT of elbow grease, grit , and good intention will always pay off! Great work, guys! Awesome food! Cheers🥂

[@bryanneatwood4261]

Such back breaking work-well done, you two! And what wonderful helpers you have!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

so grateful for all our helpers ❤️

[@IndraKurzeme]

A world class trench! Well done.

[@shirleygraham6229]

Two jobs that took perseverance. The digging and the door knobs. Well done on both.

[@elaineayres1989]

Another Australian. Just found your channel. I’m hooked. Enjoying it so much as I catch up.

[@heatherjameson5090]

Your video's are like a 'healing balm' for my soul. Thank you so much :0)

[@whitby910]

You have your own style of video editing and I really enjoy it. Thanks for sharing your progress.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

thank you! and you're welcome ❤️

[@painchaud2000]

Great idea to bring meaningful trees like those two lilacs, hope they survive and grow tall and wide 😉

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we hope so too! so far they are doing well!

[@hijzoekt]

Thank you for experiencing, the beautiful surroundings. How you handle it. It evokes a mindful atmosphere. But with the toil it will feel a little different to you

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Glad you enjoyed it! Luckily, even with the backbreaking work being here is a really mindful experience for us :-)

[@ronaldlucas5360]

Nice to hear birds singing in the background.

[@g.f.-w.9130]

Knuffels from Austria! Having lived in the Netherlands and Vlams Belgium for quite a while, there is soso much you do which reminds me of these times. Truly enjoy watching your progress

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Happy to hear you're enjoying our videos and glad it brings back good memories :-)

[@cynthiahudson7528]

Greetings from Texas. Found your videos last week. I am sure the trenching is back breaking work but I suspect the results will be so gratifying. Thanks for sharing your beautiful location.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Welcome to our channel, Cynthia. Indeed! Being able to take warm showers in the fall and winter sounds like a great result to us :-) And not having frozen water pipes too :-P

[@inabates8919]

Right opportunity to put in a small garden when plumbing finished, easier to dig up than driveway.

[@sarahofer4368]

Hi all, let's get this enchantanting channel to 100K subs!

[@beverlymurray6554]

Great progress!!

[@judywidick4028]

I would assume you sleep really well at night❤. Loving your videos.

[@martinjames3950]

Good job with first time on excavater😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Hey, thanks! Bertus was in his element on that excavator!

[@dominika1203]

Focaccia you made looks great 😍

[@moyrarodrigues4907]

Loving every minute of your journey ❤

[@angelasopranzi2742]

It is so much fun watching you and the absolute patience you have to get the job done. So much work, but you seem to have methodically planned it out. I love the idea of putting stones around the lilac bush. I never thought of doing that. What a great way to know where a new planting is that is not a weed. I am always so happy to see a new posting. I am greeting you from St. Augustine, Florida…the oldest established settlement in the new world.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Hi Angela from St. Augustine! It feels like our patience definitely has been tested a little, but our approach of "focusing on tackling the thing that is most urgent right now" seems to work very well for us. Bertus is definitely the most patient one of us :-)

[@wayneevans3342]

A hard job. When you use a mini digger next time always have the dozing blade at the front and lowered when digging, it will make the task a lot more stable and more efficient. Keep up the good work!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we had the dozer blade lowered in the back. that's how we were instructed to use it on the mini-excavator 😊

[@censon]

Much admiration for your willing to get stuck in. Truly inspiring!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Thank you so much!

[@shannonlynne1558]

Your friend exudes joy. 😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

I love that you noticed that!

[@davideborgna4918]

Bravissimi ottimo lavoro 💪💪👋

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Grazie mille per l'incoraggiamento Davide!

[@_PJW_]

Don't know which looked better, the Focaccia or the door knobs. Those door knobs would now cost a fortune to buy. Good job on both.

[@LeonardoUgoliniSANDSCULPTOR]

You are right, the poles of the electricity are not very nice 😅😇👍, you can ask to the company of the electricity to remove the poles and to put the cable underground.

[@dianabender3517]

I love your work so much! Thank you for doing some translation on the screen to keep us more clear on what’s happening!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

You're welcome 😊

[@greybeard5774]

Planting trees was a nice move ✌

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we plan on planting many more over the coming years ❤️

[@lagringa7518]

Moving forward, one bucket at a time! Focaccia looked lovely 😉

[@storiesfromthecascina]

i hope many more focaccie will be baked at the cascina ❤️

[@lagringa7518]

😋@@storiesfromthecascina

[@HippocratesGarden]

David from the U.S. here. I'm beginning to wonder, if you bought a home... or an infinate number of wonderful photography backdrops.

[@petitrevefrance]

Zo leuk om het proces ook bij jullie te zien :-)

[@TAG993]

Beautiful photography and another great video. Sorry for all the digging to lay down a new water line.

[@ableaquariums5480]

You can spray those knobs with a varnish to slow down the patina and keep them as bright as you have them now. They are actually kind of lovely. If you ever change the kitchen you should try and find a way to incorporate them into the new one. Nice work.

[@giovannagallottini]

Use a chalk line to mark the pavement (and anything else you want to mark in aa straight line).

[@sth.777]

If you need to clean any more small metal objects - even jewellery or un-valuable coins, here's an effective method: Lay a piece of aluminium foil in the bottom of a glass bowl and sprinkle in some baking soda; lay your objects to clean on the baking soda, then pour in some vinegar; the combination of alu and b.s. reacts with the vinegar, and pieces come out clean within minutes. Rinse well, dry. Done!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we'll give that a try! still many more doorknobs to clean 😜 the hardest part was getting off all the grease.

[@vner]

Good work guys :) A small 4x4 tractor and a trailer to it would have been a good help with this work. And also for clearing snow during the winter :) Good luck with the work :)

[@storiesfromthecascina]

those would certainly come in handy! especially when cutting trees and clearing land. they are on our wish list for sure.

[@Reet64]

Wonderful stories and great experiences you are all sharing.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

you're welcome ❤️

[@mmau]

We love these videos of yours. Charming and authentic. Greetings from Cessole.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

hello neighbours ❤️😉

[@mmau]

@@storiesfromthecascina Unfortunately only temporary, we are on vacation. Your videos made us visit this area though and it is lovely here. 😍

[@storiesfromthecascina]

@@mmau aaaaah, really?! that's wonderful! glad you're enjoying the area.

[@michaelroark2019]

I hope that your lilacs grow well in Italy and am glad that you have a special family connection to them. If you are interested in other varieties, one that I have grown and really like is Syringa vulgaris aucubaefolia which I have had for eleven years. In the Spring the foliage has a golden variegation which is quite striking. Then the flowers come which are double lavender and are scented. I also have Syringa vulgaris Sensation which has purple flowers that are white rimmed. However, not as scented. But truly a sensation. It is exciting creating a new garden because of all the possibilities. For me it was a joyous time of creativity. When I moved here eleven years ago I got to try plants from South America, Australia/ New Zealand, Scotland and even South Africa from the highest elevations of the Transvaal. Digging out the trench in the heat looked very difficult. I hope that it works out with the new water pipe. That type of work is called in the US "sweat equity" for your property. It looked like a lot of sweat. All the best from the Olympic peninsula of Washington. state.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

thank you for the lilac recommendations. so far our lilacs are doing well!

[@lieuwina]

Another lovely video. I love the night sounds of all the critters. Beautiful.

[@nabil200131]

Thank you again . I really enjoy the serenity of your videos. Please continue.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

You're welcome! We just started editing the next episode so more to come :-)

[@shehazi695]

Thank you 🙏

[@wendysalter]

One has to have home-baked focaccia after all that hard labour! Important work isn't often fun! Well done.

[@gardeningfishingjimw9364]

For more balance with using the excavator, have the blade on the front and place it down on the ground in front of your work area. You will find it more beneficial to do that. :) Great work though on the trench, planting the lilacs and that focaccia looks so yummy!!

[@MsSherrydarling]

Great teamwork on the trench!! A great trick I've seen for removing stuff off metal knobs, hinges or other metal handles is to put them into an old slow cooker with water and dish soap. Put to the low setting and leave for about 24 hours. It usually takes any grime and paint off as well, without too much extra effort. My thought when l saw your friend, Laura, with the jackhammer, was if she ever thought that it would part of her visit with you? 😅😅😅🤗🇨🇦😎 Looked like a great visit 😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we don't have an old slow cooker, only a good one that we still use for cooking, but something to keep an eye out for. thanks for the tip! laura and i are both archaeologists by training so none of the work she got to do was much of a surprise 😅 it brought us right back to our field work days 😊

[@Nancy-j8o1t]

Industrious! 😃

[@kfrohlich]

❤❤❤

[@belveder69]

I love your story of the tree, awesome

[@roneldastrydom2077]

Greetings from South Africa ❤❤

[@jorgelinavergara4007]

Hi guys!! Please enable the subtitles in English, I am from Argentina and it is easier for me to listen and read. Advance with the work that is going to be an incredible place!! Thank you, greetings from Buenos Aires

[@storiesfromthecascina]

hi there! subtitles are enabled but it often takes youtube a few hours to generate them! ❤️

[@RumduolAngkor]

Wonderful video

[@storiesfromthecascina]

thank you ❤️

[@mytioc]

Enjoying your progress guys. Bertus, just for future reference when using the mini digger, the blade should be to the front & down on the ground. On a small machine like this, it’s for stability & safety. Keep up the good work.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

hi there! the research that we did beforehand all pointed to having the blade to the back (for small diggers specifically). we didn't lower it at all times but definitely at the moments where extra stability was required. next time we'll be mindful of having it lowered generally. thanks for the reminder ❤️

[@peterwerrenrath1112]

I hope your backs are all OK!

[@margomoore4527]

Is it your uncle’s Border Collie? That’s my favorite breed! They make excellent farm dogs. My family has had eight of them from 1953-2014. All wonderful dogs.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Yes it is his dog.

[@damdekmyhomeដំដែកផ្ទះខ្ញុំ]

I really loving your video thank you

[@lem12000]

You realy should have a Elmar for this.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

voor het graven of voor het bomen planten? als elmar wil komen graven/planten ga ik hem niet tegenhouden haha! maar twee archeologen op het veld was ook wel soort van toepasselijk :-P

[@_PJW_]

9:33 : I earlier suggested to remove all that nasty tarmac and put in coarse gravel. But these original stones are just awesome! I hope you open up the rest and leave them exposed. 🙏

[@storiesfromthecascina]

that is most definitely the plan! we suspect they aren't under the whole asphalt/tarmac area, but we'd love to expose the natural stones in the future and put in new ones where there's none there to create one whole. we're keeping all the big stones we find aside for this purpose. 😊

[@_PJW_]

@@storiesfromthecascina Oh, great! I misunderstood. I thought you were going to re-purpose them elsewhere. Must look awesome in future, a courtyard with those big stones. Will also help drainage.

[@FrinkyBaby]

When you started digging I was hoping you’d find the old stone pavement. How far down was that? It will be beautiful once uncovered.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

@_PJW_ We'll go a bit deeper into our future plans for the courtyard in the next video. Since finding those first stones we've learned a few new bits of info. We're now definitely decided on restoring the natural stone pavement. We have many big stones that were dug up when the gas tube and tank were put in place (in story #6 kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5rKpJitiZKqrZosi=eoprxEbKtFxP2T-g) that will come in handy too once we get there. But it might be a few years before we get round to this job. We'll probably tackle the facade first before we get round to the paving. And yes, it will be good for drainage for sure. We look forward to pointing the stones with a water permeable lime mortar.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

@FrinkyBaby not too deep. There was a layer of about 20 cms tarmac, gravel and concrete on top of them.

[@gwendolynvaliente3539]

Your courtyard once upon a time was cobbled. That would be beautiful to restore. How old is the building?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

yes! we've learned in the meantime that the pavement was the old road passing by the house. we don't have an exact construction date for the house but the oldest parts must be at least from the mid 19th century, and possibly older.

[@maloupaul4344]

Jeetje wat een werk zeg! En dan in die volle zon een hitte. Factor 100 zonnebrand is niet voldoende 😅

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Haha ja nouja, we hebben dit ook vooral in de ochtenden gedaan gelukkig. Met zonnebrand viel het wel mee, gelukkig is onze huid intussen al wat gewend aan zon zien en strohoeden helpen een hoop. Factor 50 bleek prima voldoende voor de heetste dagen.

[@michelrosier468]

Does that secret pavement go all up to the road? it's gorgeous

[@storiesfromthecascina]

we suspect that the stone pavement is smaller than the current tarmac/asphalt area, but we'd love to complete it all the way up to the road in the future.

[@mariesalway91]

would you eventually go back to area being rock paved?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

yes, absolutely! natural stonea are a whole lot more beautiful than asphalt 😜

[@lulubelle0bresil]

Hi, I love your videos! Is there a way for you to turn on automated subtitles? Sometimes I can't hear you very well or discern the words, and if I turn the volume up the sound of the power tools hurts my ears!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Hi there! So sorry the subtitles aren't showing up yet. We have them enabled but recently youtube has been weird about generating them automatically so we'll have to add them in manually again which takes us a bit of time to finish.

[@KittyMcGee1001]

I hadn’t realized how big the house is before. How much land did it come with?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

16 hectares or around 40 acres. It's huge. About half of it is forests and the other half is meadows. We have a contract with our neighbor to mow the hay for us, and he gets winter feed for his cows in return - this is pretty common in Italy.

[@PlantNative]

Tip…get a used crock pot for filth. It even will help with paint

[@_PJW_]

6:00 : Behind a strong man stands an even stronger woman. 7:10 : that stove needs 'Kachelpoets'. 16:39 : senior command looking sceptical.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it definitely does! it's on our shopping list but first we need to tackle a few other tasks too 😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

haha the senior command were chatting about something unrelated 😛

[@pamlove625]

I have a request when you are editing your videos. Could you leave any text on screen a bit longer? I find that I need to rewind to finish reading. Thanks and you are both doing a wonderful job working on your dream.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Noted! We'll try to be more thoughtful of this!

[@bekindfox]

Why aren't you taking off the asphalt bringing back the stones in the cortile instead? It would look great, don't you think?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

We will, it's just not high on the list of priorities right now. We have other jobs inside and around the house we need to tackle first before winter arrives. We'll be sharing more of our plans for the courtyard in the next video :-) but those definitely include removing all of the ugly asphalt!

[@bekindfox]

@@storiesfromthecascina I understand, it must be overwhelming with all tasks, didn’t want to stress you! 😊 thank you for answering!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

ah don't worry! it's a relevant question 😊 we look forward to making it all look pretty, and it's sometimes a little frustrating that we have to prioritise other things 😅

[@wendydee3007]

Moral of this story: woman is quicker than excavator. :o)

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it would have taken much longer without the excavator and i'm glad that bertus operated it because that would have given me no joy whatsoever :-P

[@mealeaFlowers]

Like

[@ollemikkelsen4154]

hi, when do you put out your next episode?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

hi olle! we did a post earlier this week announcing that we're a bit later than usual. the new video is currently uploading and processing, so I would guess it's ready to watch tomorrow morning :-)

[@coby6417]

🌟👍👏🍀💐

[@margomoore4527]

Don’t you really need to leave the large rocks under the parking area to support it? You don’t want sunken areas later!

[@claudiaebregoli77]

Yeah, you get to play with a big boy toy.

[@vcrouch6041]

Did she say what I think she said! Unsubscribing now.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

You have to do what's best for you