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November Slide

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:50:34 +0100

How can it be that 2/3 of November has slid by, that this week is Thanksgiving? On this overcast (read:glum) Sunday I find myself feeling behind and with low motivation to move forward into food and travel preparation. I have cleaned a little, done some laundry, checked my email often seeking distraction.

Today is my oldest niece's 35th birthday: Happy Birthday Emily Gorka McGee! It also strikes me that I cannot have niece that is so close in age to me (because I keep thinking I'm 42) even though I have a 53rd birthday at the end of this week. The November slide.

Daffy

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:24:49 +0100

This is the most recent incarnation of my husband. Jeff's not such a bad duck: sometimes his feathers get a all in a ruffle, like when I pester him too much about house tasks. But mostly he is easy going, helps me with my varied projects, and gives insightful feedback. My best friend.

Facing Facebook

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:47:14 +0100

Face it. I am not a regular Facebook user. I am one of the lowly who occasionally log on to see what my friends have been up to. And my husband. I rarely think of anything to add to the conversation, and after about 7 minutes I sense that I am being sucked into a huge vortex and about to lose a few hours of my life. So I panic and get out.

Today I logged in, went to my home page, and was startled to notice that I am married to Daffy Duck. Oh, great. It was enough to make me laugh out loud, and prompt me to make a blog entry. Thanks, Daffy.

Ah, my much neglected blogging life. I have missed you. Much has happened since my last entry. (Sounds eerily like confessional-speak) My last blog entry was in May. Forgive me. Penance?

This blog & website has been a-hemming for my attention, and I'm ready to bite. Time to update. Stay tuned.

Where Have You Been?

Fri, 27 May 2011 22:25:34 +0100

This month has slipped by, and it seems as though we only recently returned from Sicily while my calendar indicates 29 days have lapsed. I don't have much to show for it, other than some classes taken(6) and classes taught (8), several books read, pool opened, a one year wedding anniversary thoroughly celebrated, and the mystery of the cat-pee-smell resolved. I have made a few paintings and several drawings.

The blues that accompanied our return home have left (hurray!) but my inner critic is working overtime. Man, she can be harsh. "Too slow, not enough, too much, ugly, stupid, fat..." on and on she goes about this and that. Give it a rest and let the good angel have a turn, please?

I found this cool website today about a young couple choosing the small & simple solutions:
http://tinyrevolution.us/about/. This kind of story inspires, intrigues, appeals, draws me in. I'm not sure what that would look like for us...Artful Habitats is a way of life of its own. A. H. is not luxurious by any means (except maybe having a pool), but it does create complexity and a layer of responsibility. I continue to believe in the concept though: it is paying for itself and putting a roof over our heads. The debt doesn't hurt so much this way: we don't have to keep our jobs to keep our house.

At least in theory.

Jet lagged

Sun, 01 May 2011 15:47:04 +0100

I didn't expect jet lag, because when we went to Sicily last year I didn't experience it in either direction. Fortunately it didn't hit me at all while we were there, but I've got a case of it now. Dizziness, nausea, achiness, a general malaise. Bleh. I'm grateful at least to be sleeping through the night, and also to be waking around 6 am. I read it can take up to as many days as time zones crossed to recover: that means I might still be queezy through Tuesday. Ah, well.

Cincinnati is green upon green, and my irises grew about a foot while we were gone. No blooms yet. The trees have leafed out quite a bit, and all of the hostas that disappeared over the winter are in full presence. I suppose the 9 out of 11 days of rain while we were gone helped to make this happen, and so glad we missed the downpours. Both of our basements flooded, but no damage to speak of.

Yesterday was a fine day and I joined the plein air group at Devou Park in Covington. I attempted a watercolor, as this was my travel medium and therefore very handy, and also because I'm not very good at these and want to improve.

Ciao, Sicilia

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:48:15 +0100

This is our last day here, with an early flight tomorrow morning. We are heading into Catania to walk and shop and see the sights. Canolli at a special patisserie that Maryl knows is the only planned event on our agenda.

That is much the way we travel together, and it suits all three of us. We are wanderers and not in much of a hurry. I especially love to sit in one place so I can sketch or start paintings. I know for a fact that our travel style would drive many people nuts (as theirs would drive me nuts!), and I am grateful that we are so companionable in this way.

Tuesday it rained so hard that Jeff & I stayed in while Maryl worked the afternoon/ evening shift. Our only venture out was for lunch at a gas station (!) near the base, that Maryl frequents, where they make fresh panini and cater somewhat to the Sigonella crowd. It was delicious and inexpensive.

On the way back home, Jeff and I stopped in Motta S. Anastasia to explore the older part of town where there is a Norman Castle. It wasn't open of course (all of Sicilia closes between 1 & 4 or so), but we enjoyed the walk around between the raindrops. This is the view from the castle.

Maryl is teaching me to knit in the round...I don't quite have the hang of it yet. This shows us in her cozy Belpasso living room.

Here is a picture of Jeff & Maryl from Agrigento: the man behind the camera and most of the photos I've shared.

See you back in Cincinnati! Ciao!

Lost & Found in Siracusa

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:01:19 +0100

A day-trip to Siracusa on Easter Monday was most enjoyable in the company of Maryl's good friend Christi Guard. A wrong turn on the way there made the trip about twice as long, and we comically kept seeing the autostrada, even passing underneath it but no way to get on. Alors, we eventually made it and spent a windswept afternoon in Ortygia, the old part of the city. I most loved the walk along the sea wall with the strong sea smell and waves crashing.

Maryl asking for directions

Me taking a picture of the two beautiful young women!

Christi & me at the sea wall. (Above)

Below is the Ear of Dionisis, at the archeological park in Siracusa.

Above, Maryl in her Easter outfit, but sporting Jeff's cap.

Returning home in the evening, I took this picture of the dramatic storms from Maryl's balcony.

Easter Sunday

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 18:46:42 +0100

At last sunshine & warmth! It has been pleasant enough all week, no rain, but cool and hazy, and we've been glad for long sleeves and jackets. Today we took a laid back long walk around town, sat in the parks, watched the Easter revelers. Last evening booming fireworks about launched us out of bed after 11...Maryl tells us Sicilians like fireworks and use them at every occasion. Happy Easter: Boom!

I have been sketching often and also making watercolors at every chance. The best view of Mount Etna is actually at the end of Maryl's street. Today I sat for about 90 minutes making the beginnings of a watercolor.

The last two evenings Jeff & I have ventured to nearby Nicolosi, watching the evening strollers and people gathering around the center of town. In front of every patisserie, and in every town park, there are typically four to five men standing around talking over who-knows-what (my guess is politics). Tonight we saw the same group of men in Nicolosi as last night: tonight they had on neckties for Easter.

Below is the town park of Belpasso: we enjoy people watching there as well.

Greetings from Persephone's Island

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:24:43 +0100

Three days into our Sicily 2011 adventure finds us having a low-key day after 48 hours of touring. All photos by Jeff.

We arrived mid-afternoon on Tuesday, Maryl picking us up from the airport and proceeding with an impressive naval base tour. We spent an evening at home, at Maryl's sweet apartment in Belpasso, a village in the foothills of Mount Etna, and went early to bed, with no trouble sleeping after being awake for 36 hours. This view is from the top of the street in Belpasso looking down the main drag. Er, make that Via Prima.

Wednesday. Taormina is a glorious seaside town about an hour north of us. We hiked up to Castelmola, (the view below taken along our hike), then back down. Arrived at Taormina's famous Greek amphitheatre too late to see it, and so took our evening stroll, and enjoyed a fine pizza. Although we typically show up for dining around 8 or so, this hour is too early for Sicilians and we are generally among the first diners.

Thursday. A daylong venture of the southeast. First to Enna, a city that sits high above the surrounding landscapes and offers views in every direction. The fields below Enna are where Persephone was allegedly abducted by Hades and taken to the underworld, and a nearby deep lake is supposed to be the way there.( In case you were wondering)

Next we drove down to Agrigento to see the Valley of the Temples, a place where there are a number of Greek ruins from as old as 500 BC. This one is known as The Temple of Concord & is dated at 430 BC.

I tried to make a painting here but it was too windy. Here's Maryl & I, me sketching while she looks on.

Maryl had packed us an amazing delicious picnic, and we finally got around to eating it at 8:30 in the evening. At last on the Sicilian timetable! By then we were in Caltagirone, and ate our chilly picnic in a chilly park, and in the dark, until the polizia came to close the park gates. "Buon Apetito! he wished us. Sicilians are very polite even when they are kicking you out of a place. Caltagirone is a village famous for its ceramic art, and the steps pictured below, each decorated with majolica tiles. 142 steps! The treads are made of lava, as are the streets which you can see clearly in Jeff's photograph.

Anticipation

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 02:46:51 +0100

Carly Simon was interviewed on Diane Rehm this week: did you know she had a speech impediment through her childhood? Diane played several of her songs, and it felt like hearing from old friends. She was likable and real.

That's what I'm looking for these days: real.

What Jeff & I are in major anticipation mode for is our upcoming trip to Sicily. We will be staying with Maryl, Jeff's daughter, who is stationed at the naval base Sigonella. We visited in 2010 and so know what to expect, but this year we intend to do more sight seeing.

Typically a last minute, seat-of-my-pants packer, this time I'm doing things differently. I have clothes laid out on the bed upstairs. I'm only taking one small satchel, which will carry all clothing plus art supplies. For painting I'm taking a sketchbook, some 300 lb watercolor paper, pencils & a travel watercolor set.

Maryl lives in a charming 2 bedroom apartment in the small mountain village of Belpasso, with stunning views of Mount Etna. Our friends Lou & Lanthan were just there in March, and had us over to tell about their trip. Etna still has snow...that is how I initially experienced her and can't imagine her any other way.

Being in Sicily for 10 days in January 2010, one of my strongest impressions was that this volcano was ever in the background. You constantly had a sense of where you were in relation to it. For the past 16 months, I've had a photograph of snow-covered Etna from Maryl's apartment as my screen saver. That is one powerful image. I'm still feeling like Etna is a constant backdrop in my life.