We have been gone one week tonight

Monday evening I did a recognizance trip to a possible painting site. For a while it was a regular road, but soon I found my self bush whacking among stickers of every description. I do not believe any plant in Abruzzo does not have stickers. There are still a lot of wildflowers as it has been a slow spring. This is good for us because it is not too hot, but people here are bundled up and complaining, “when will summer come?”.
I took a few pictures of my painting spot for Tuesday. I took yet another shot of CVS from a slightly different angle while walking back. And while I was getting the stickers out of my socks on the front step a giant hay wagon drove by. Everyone here seems to be furiously haying. Where is Jim in this picture? He was waiting at home for Paolo, the plumber and Victorio the friend who is helping us with taxes that have to be paid while we are away. Both came and Paolo is coming back today to solve the leaking pipe problem and to take away our old hot water heater that is no longer worth having.

Painting spot for Tuesday

View of CVS

Big tractor with big hay.

Today I trudged off to the same spot and ended up with a similar 50 stickers in my socks. This are special stickers, more like arrows. You can not remove them from the outside of your sock. The sock must be turned inside out and the stickers pulled out in the direction they went in. Some are quite big. After de-stickering I settled in to paint.



Many of my teachers made me feel I needed so much stuff to paint outdoors. I am thinking they painted near their cars. For a one mile walk I want light weight. Today I did another oil painting. I had a place in the shade, because it was a better composition, not because it was cooler or anything like that and It was fun to be so far off the road surrounded by butterflies, other flying insects and stickers.

Bush whacking

If you touch one of these you will be Sleeping Beauty

My personal sticker patch

Light weight setup

At the end of the morning I once again waded through the stickers being careful to miss the one inch thorns on the blackberry stalks. After intense de-stickering I came upstairs for lunch. I set my painting down and realized that I had a mountain top right in the middle of my painting. This was made even worse by a little dark cloud above the mountain. One of the problems with stickers and sitting down is that I never got up to look at my painting from a distance. Blahhhh





















 A short history of Paolo

 Paolo solving problems 2010

 Paolo solving problems 2012

Paolo solving problems today.

Gas on demand hot water heater free kitchen with one coat of paint.

Now Paolo has arrived. You might remember him from every year we have been here. He is the miracle worker. Today he is taking down our gas hot water heater. This has been an expensive item. In 2010 Paolo made it work, in 2012 it did not pass inspection (200E) by the gas company, in 2013 it is coming down. If we are ever going to be here in the winter and use our radiators we will have to put in a new on demand gas hot water heater and re-run all the pipes. But the kitchen looks much better without it or it will once we paint over the spot where it was. It is a good reminder of how gross the walls were. Poor Paolo is off on his second trip to the hardware store to get a cap for the ceiling where the beautiful vent he put in in 2010 used to go. He is back with plaster and a new cap. He is an artist. Jim and I sit here and watch, mute.