Pastel June 30

Once again the clouds over the mountains are totally different. It feels as if it could storm again. The windmills are rising out of the fog on a distant ridge. There is a coolness in the air, the swallows are flying high, diving for bugs. My pastel is how it looked for a few moments this afternoon.

Photos from June 30

Clean sink; for ED.

Jim in line to buy bread and pizza.

Suduko Twins

Flowers growing on the church wall.

June 30

Thursday June 30
As of this evening we will have been here one week. Gregor and Josafin left today for their 3 or 4 day journey back to Sweden. A hugh thunder storm rolled over the mountains totally obscuring them from view. With no warning water poured out of the sky. Each drop a mammoth tear. Then there was a strange noise from the valley below us; hail, hitting the metal and tile roofs. The lightening hit the top of the mountains and the thunder reverberated in our enclosed terrace. The hail popped up about eight feet from our metal roof over the kitchen terrace up above our heads. It was marble sized and bigger. From the way people ran out to collect pieces, I think this is a rare event. I am posting the pastel, “Storm clouds over Gagliano Anterno.” Gregor brought me some Winser & Newton fixative. It works so much better than what I have bought in America.

Something to think about for next summer: Casper and Anja, our realtors said that they are having art groups come. The minimum is six people. They would charge 500E for five days double occupancy, breakfast and dinner, a bus from and back to Roma and a one expedition to somewhere besides Gagliano Anterno. Jim would fix a lunch and I would be charging something on top of that for classes. You know me. It would be reasonable. Let me know if anyone is interested and I will save us a date for next summer or early fall. Not everyone would have to be a painter. If we can get six artists, we could have some non-painters or maybe we want to do it and not have classes at all. It is a good deal.

It is about time for me to go get the best caffe latte I ever had and two kinds of chocolate gelato. Sorry about that.

June 29

Just another view of our mountain in the evening.

Walking home from town. Castel di Irie in the background.
Josfin & I are walking there today.

Jim & Gregor putting in the new ceiling fan Gregor brought from Sweden.
It looks and works great.

T he market at Castelvecchio S.

Tuesday, June 28

Here is a hay wagon going through Castelvecchico. It was a tight squeeze what with pedestrians. Jim's drawing of the old church front door.

Just an average day

Monday June 28
It is hotter today. We went to have caffe and then to the supermarcato, the bakery, home, the other mini marcato, and the hardware store where we got a dish rack and a clothes rack. Unfortunately, they are plastering inside the house next door. They mix the plaster all day in a small cement type mixer and then haul it up past our kitchen balcony in a bucket with a rope and pully. The guy next door told us he would buy our place whenever we wanted to sell. He had offered the owner 15.000E, but they did not accept. Now he would have to pay a lot more. Ha
The sky is completely cloudless and a deep blue. We went out to do some painting this afternoon. Jim did a great drawing and my pastel looks like a cartoon. It takes two days to do one that is not terrible. Now we are waiting the arrival of Gregor and Josphin, Jim's friends, and mine, from Sweden.

Sunday June 27

A famous Italian artist walking down the streets of Castelvecchio.

The Band out again for another Saint, tieless for some reason, but totally tireless.

Happy Birthday John!!
Here are some scenes from today. I finished my pastel and was willing to smile at it. Many of the locals came to talk to us about what we were doing. Protestations that we did not speak Italian were met with more Italian....louder and faster. I think they like what Jim and I were doing. Jim is using pastel pencils and likes them a lot. They suit his excellent drawing skills.

Sat. June 26
If you walk around grinning like a child will people think you are childish or childlike or will the men think it is an invitation? Never the less, grin I must, at everything. The coffee, the gelato, the mountains, the neighbors re-plastering their house, the smell of the vegetables Jim is cutting up for dinner. How can they smell so much better than even the ones from our own garden? We went pasteling this afternoon. Jim used the pastel pencils which he enjoyed. He did a close up of a door. He was happy. I, on the other hand, did not smile at my picture. Since I have no fixative, I was able to convince a woman, who took one look at my hair and could not believe that I wanted to buy hairspray. I am sure it was unfathomable to her. I sprayed my pastel with that and will go back tomorrow.

waking up in Italy

Friday June 25
There is something about waking up in Italy that is different than anywhere else you ever woke up. It is not like waking up in Northfield or Montpelier or Oklahoma. The closest would be waking up in Red River, NM, but at least here you aren’t waking up in a tent. The early morning cacophony of sound surrounds me as I sit on the terrace. Like Northfield this seems to be bird heaven. Roosters crow in the distance. The dogs have been bizerking all night. When do they sleep? How does anyone sleep who lives closer to those dogs than we do? There is already the sound of farm equipment pumping water from the Roman well to carry to their fields and a three wheeled micro-truck just drove by and it’s Italy! A part of Italy most Americans have never heard of. The clouds lie low over the mountains today. It is cool and actually a little damp. And I just woke up in Italy!

Sunset on our first night in Italy. It only took three days to get here, but it might as well be a million miles away from the concerns of Vermont.
View from our terrace....you could be here too.

This is the band that played all day in honor of our arrival. Ok, it was the festival of a saint, but still it seem fortuitous.

Jim and Jeneane at the train station in Sulmona. Jeneane alone at the train station in Molina......all alone while Jim went to see if we could get a ride. After that we started walking, but I was a great success at hitch hiking, only 2 tries and we had so much stuff!! By then it was really dark

This is the train station at Sulmona. As you can see the sun is starting to set.

Transportation

World's heaviest luggage

We took a car, a bus, a subway, walk walk walk, a bus, a subway, the train to the plane, an airplane, a train, tried to take a bus and failed, took a train, then another train, got to Molina after dark. It was totally deserted. We started walking the two kilometers and the 2nd car picked us up. This was good, because the road is small and we had lots of stuff. The plane from JFK was 2 hours late and that made it harder in Roma, but we figured it out.

We met a woman from America who bought a house in Italy not too far away in 1975 and has lived here full time for 19 years. She said that they have loved it.

We had a very good time working on getting our internet service. First there was on young wome and lots of laughter, then three younger friends came in and there was more laughing. It took an hour, but we have internet sort of and a phone to only use in Italy. They said to be sure we kept the warrenty on the phone....hummmm

Market day today. Great apricots, Susan, thanks for the tip. Everything is the best thing you ever ate. How do they do that?

Leaving June 21 for Italy!

It is hard to believe I am finally going to spend more than 10 minutes in the house we bought. My bag is almost packed, full of art supplies, not clothes and when 6 more days of school are over, I will be gone.