All in a Days Work

The day started with a terrific wind and rain storm. This was about two a.m. It had cleared when I got up at 6:30 and took Bella out for a walk. By the time we were back on the terrace the ominous factor had increased, thunder sounded in the distance and Bella was under the downstairs bed. We watched the light sweep over the mountains...constantly shrinking as the clouds built up. Suddenly the mountains were gone swept away by a torrent of rain. The rain moved toward us across the valley obliterating all in its path until we were pounded by the rain. It rolled over us and was gone. The sun came out and it would be a painting day after all.

This mornings work:

My painting spot.

Facing the opposite direction this is what I saw. All of Castelvecchio laid out below me.

 I finished the top painting quickly as I have been working on it already two days. I meant to have the flowers in my next painting, but something happened and I don't.

Jim's finished watercolor/pastel pencil of the church. I worry that the paper is not good enough.

 Painting is hard work. Even Bello is tired.

Random picture of how the kitchen looks now. Another attempt to make you jealous. It is adorable, right? Many of the old things were in the cave or found in the earthquake zone or bought from local artisans. See who's picture is on the calendar to the right?

In The Stream

Last night there were fireworks. At night. There were fireworks at night. We did not know why, but this morning people were setting up for a party for a baptism of a baby girl. I believe these events are related. We haven’t been sleeping very well and so we keep getting up late. I did not make it to my painting spot till 10am. I was able to work about 1 1/2 hours, but will have to go back tomorrow earlier to get the correct lighting. We did not take a nap this afternoon so we have hopes for a better nights sleep. It takes awhile to adjust to a six hour time difference. Probably just one of those natural effects of growing older. ho hum

I was so sick of all my clothes being to big that I bought myself a pair of 7E jeans on the piazza. I used the trick of wrapping the waist around my neck and it worked. The jeans fit perfectly. Well if you don’t mind skin tight jeans. The jeans were made in China and thus this tag in no reflects the Italian grasp of English. These are Wangli jeans. (a rip off of Wrangler?) I like that their name is Wang Li. It gives them a personal touch. Also on the back is a little name tag that says, “jeans” in case you forget what you are wearing and have to ask a friend to remind you.

I know some of you are excited to see what we eat here. This was an exceptionally good meal. The pork is excellent here, but a little scary because they use a cleaver to chop up the meat, not a saw. This means that there could be little chips of bone. All this information was news to me, but Jim told me. Jim made BBQ sauce with local ingredients and it was great.  The tomato slice has mozzarella cheese, basil and a thick basil/vinegar reduction. We bought a bottle in the store after enjoying it at Enrica’s. It is amazing. In addition the sliced roasted veggies were excellent as was the bread and complex salad. I love the way I can smell all the food as I come downstairs. (I also love that I hang out while Jim cooks.)

While I was off cursing my painting, Jim sat comfortably in the shade and started this one of the church of San Francesco. I snapped a picture of the piazza and the party decorations AND great high heels. I was pretty worried about not having any high heels to take pictures of.

Party for baptism

After a pleasant afternoon on the terrace I went to a mass for my friend, Angela. I was ten minutes early and already many people were there. I think they were saying Hail Marys over and over. I think this helps people reach paradise sooner. The choir sang. Angela was a member. They had a guitar and it seemed so old fashioned. It didn’t matter that I could not understand most of the words, I have been to church enough to know what was going on, there was still a feeling a peace and security in all those people chanting the same phrases over and over. And so this day in CVS began with the celebration of a birth and ends with a memorial for the death of a young woman. This is what it means to belong to a family, a community and not just be somewhere on vacation.

Walking back from the service I felt a little shaking. Completely understandable, ask not whom the bell tolls for and all that. There were my three friends sitting in their little piazza talking as they do everyday.

 They were making little bundles of a wildflower that grows here. The stalks remain pliable and are used to tie up tomatoes or in this case grape wines. They also looked like modern bridal bouquets. (I have been researching this subject) So I made each one hold one, told them it was a wedding and took their picture. Further along my path I saw my friend Maria across the street. I went across to say hi and ended up taking a hosta home. There was no saying, “no”. I told her it would be coming back on 20 August. The shaking feeling went away and I could step back into the stream. After all, Danes are coming for dinner and bringing their Dog!! Not to eat you silly people, to stay with us while they go away for a few days. We will have a surrogate Angie.

Just Another Sunset. Remind me again why you are not here?

30 surprises

Watercolor from yesterday

Starting last summer there has been a lot of talk about Jim and me organizing a tour for the Coro Francesco from our town. They are brilliant singers and deserve a wider audience. All last year I was paralyzed by how to even get started. Then I discovered Deb Flanders and Goodspeed and Bach. I don’t know what the choir will decide, but she has helped me get a grip. Last week we had a meeting with the leaders of the choir and our friend Pasquale that started at 10pm.

Last night we got to go see the choir rehearse. Rehearsal started at 9:30pm. People were prompt, but it took a while to get the building alarm to stop and the lights turned on. The second action would re-trigger the first. The women were dressed to the nines. (is this a saying because it was after 9 o’clock?) The men had on nice polo shirts and pressed jeans. There were plenty of high heels.

Practice took place in a beautiful building that was supposed to be a museum for the catacombs. I believe the Vatican decided to take all the artifacts. This area is dark and the pavement is broken up and littered with pieces of broken asphalt and weekds. It is not an environment for the highest heels I have seen this summer. Once we were inside, men quickly built risers out of benches and chairs, others set up the sound system and then there was some talking. But when the singing started all the difficulties and waiting became as nothing. The music soared and paradise descended. Time flew by and suddenly it was 11:30. Now the meeting could begin. This was less pleasant. What is considered a discussion would be described as a fight by most Americans. Finally the discussion shifted to coming to the U.S. This was more like meetings I have been to at schools. The same people say the same thing over and over. At least the leader of the group had the microphone. The end of that discussion was that they would let us know before we leave what they want to do. We left to walk home at 12:30 a.m. Just another typical night in CVS.

Taken long before rehearsal started

30 surprises for the Italians for when they come to the U.S. They may also surprise you, but in reverse:

• bad coffee
• cappuccino, lattes and espressos cost a lot more than plain coffee
• decent wine is expensive
• lunch is a short meal like a sandwich
• lunch is at noon not one
• school continues after lunch
• families do not eat lunch together
• people eat a lot of fast food
• there are a lot less people with a healthy weight
• people eat lunch at their desk or while doing work
• there is no afternoon nap
• businesses stay open all day
• all stores will be open on Sunday
• events do not start at 9:30 at night
• if an event starts more than 10 minutes late, people get restless, 15 minutes lateand they get angry
• people, except in NYC, eat dinner between 6 and 7pm
• everyone is texting, although this is becoming more common in Italy
• people actually wear seat belts, in fact it is the law
• children do not ride on their parents laps in the front seat
• people do not recycle as much
• people put up with bad fruits and vegetables that are too expensive
• good, organic food is too expensive for many people
• people are not attached to where they are from
• soccer is not the biggest sport
• people do not dress up for choir rehearsal
• high heels are not so high
• comfort trumps fashion
• people put their napkins in their laps
• people do not drive like they are at the Grand Prix
• motorcyclists do not make positive fashion statements

Last memory of the day for you

Weird t-shirts

There do not seem to be as many weirdo tshirts this year and I haven't seen any spectacular shoes except for the ones I posted. Well, fashion changes and I should know.

 What little boy would not want a shirt with a bottle of all american clean laundry detergent.

You may not want your child to play with this girl. 

The giant accomplishment at Market today was that I bought a pair of jeans. Size 52. I hope that means 52 cm. They are oh so skin tight. I am either going to roll them up or cut them off so I can wear them everyday. They were 7E. That is cheap. The only other pants I have seen are like tights printed in flowers. I do not think so. 

Today was a painting day. I finished my two morning paintings and have hopes for the afternoon. 

                                     This is done on Wallis paper and is about 7 x 12 inches.

This is the same view, but  I used Pastelmat. This is 9 x 12 inches. It was a buff colored paper. I liked it the best of the new papers I have tried, but after I sprayed it, it still seemed like each color completely covered the previous one. I was not in the mood to spray again, so maybe it would work better for seperated layers after a second spray. It is a pretty good substitute for the Wallis paper.

My most recent watercolor portrait.

Visions of Paradise

View of Castel di Ieri

Little church out in the fields

Looking toward Gagliano

Also looking toward Gagliano

Haybales

Looking toward CdI

Wildflowers and Castelvecchio

View of Castelvecchio

Around six in the evening the weather cleared enough to go for a walk. It has been windy the last two days. So windy that if you forget to shut the bathroom door it slams shut and shakes the house. But a walk in a breezy afternoon is a good thing. We took a road that leads into the valley and then goes back up again to offer panoramic  views of the hill towns and fields. Wild flowers are every where: white, blue, yellow and lavender punctuated by red poppies. Even the stickers seem softened by all the rain.

Dinner was the amazing arrostachini, a regional dish of lamb kabobs, other roasted vegetables, amazing salad with the famous Jim dressing, apricots, cherries and grapes. We thought there might be a concert downtown so we went up to take a look. The same guys that were there this morning were still there! Otherwise it was quiet at 9:30, because people are still eating dinner. We had gelato, possibly the honest reason for our trip to the piazza and then made our quiet way home. Except for the dogs the village seemed deserted.

For those that know and those who care I did my final edit on eight chapters of my book. Rain can be a good thing. Anyone that wants to learn something about doing pastels can request a chapter as long as they are willing to make any suggestions they feel need making.

I did another watercolor in the book my sister made. I really like having white to do some final touches. The paper in this book is really good. It is smooth and stands up to a lot of layers of paint.

Oh what a day is today….

Same day, later on: I went to get my hair cut. An act of faith, but I loved my haircut last summer. It is less of a hair cut and more of an attack. Imagine angry hummingbirds swooping in to go snip, snip and a comb made of tiny nails to scratch across one’s head and then the pushing this way and that so she can cut on the left or the right. I kept my eyes shut the entire time. And don’t forget the gel and the spritz, spritz of hair spray. After Jim took my picture I washed it right out. I believe this is the Danish lady haircut. My friend got her hair cut today as well and it looks quite a bit like mine. Once I had my glasses back on, a woman having her hair colored asked me why I didn’t live in Gagliano. I said that CVS is number one. That was not the right answer. I feel sure I know her from parties in Gagliano.

The only conversation I understood in the beauty parlor was “Facebook”, “Facebook” and I believe all the names of people who have Facebook pages. When the haircut was finished I asked if I could take this photo to put on Facebook. Now she would be internationally famous! At first she didn’t want to, but then she gave a great smile.

 
On the way home I walked past the place where the elderly women of CVS convene in the afternoon while they old guys play cards in the piazza. Maybe it is only widows who have time to convene. On my way to the haircut every bench was full. On my way home only two women were left. They were just leaving. They grabbed my hands and had me walk home with them. The first woman lives in a house that I have admired for years. She has so many flowers outside  in a tiny space by the street. Her delphinium were tall in shades of blue and purple flanked by brilliant red geraniums. I was treated to coke and cake “made with 6 eggs”. I love the cake here. It is not sweet. They talked and talked and I nodded and smiled and said hmmm. Then they would ask me a question. Haha. I would try for an appropriate answer and then have to admit that I had no idea what they had asked me. Luckily I have learned how to ask about children and grandchildren. I am the age of their children. It was very hard to know how long was an appropriate time to stay. But I made my good byes and headed home. It had poured rain for a few minutes while I was inside and the remains of giant drops of rain littered the pavement. I looked up and, of course, a day like this could only end with a rainbow. (thank you Annie, I know you sent it)

Rainbow ending in Castel di Irie

Paper review

This summer I have bought two packs of ten pieces each of different types of pastel paper. It seems that Wallis may continue to be impossible to buy and I am looking for a viable alternative. So far I have used four different types. One was Wallis and so far I still like that best. 

First I used Richeson Premium in a terra cotta color. I did not like it at all before I sprayed. I felt it was hard to make a definite line. The paper has a lot of tooth, but also some texture and the bumps make it hard to create a firm edge. After I sprayed it that problem went away and I was able to finish it with out any trouble.

Next I tried Colourfix Suede in a ochre color. It was fine. I have just sprayed it and will work on it a second day when it is not raining in the morning. There was no problem covering up the lighter color of paper. The paper had tooth, but no texture and the pastel went down easy.

My last start is on Pastelmat paper: also a light ochre color. I liked this paper a lot and thought the pastel went down very well. I could make a hard edge with the pastels and it was no problem to draw in charcoal, although you really cannot erase it at all. My concern is that after I sprayed, I worked a little longer and I didn’t think it felt as good as before it was sprayed. The paper was a lighter color than I usually use, but the pastel covered it easily.

Before lunch I did this watercolor on the terrace in the book Deborah made for Jim, that I stole. It was too nice or possibly she had mislabeled it with his name on it. Either way it is a beautiful book and can only contain beautiful things.


The weather today is weird. It is super windy and cloudy. The colors are unusual, because of sand from Africa. It is dark in the house. We are still recovering from lunch yesterday. I got up at 10:00 a.m. Jim would like to pretend he was up at 6, but I did hear him snoring before I got up. We did drag ourselves up to the piazza and then I was able to make a hair cut appointment for 6pm tonight. Finally I will be able to see.

View from terrace

Lunch was San Giovanni bread and Jam. Nothing really sounds good in the way of real food. Hope I get over that soon.

Nice door.

Cool Stones

Sad game yesterday.

Festa San Giovanni Battista

 It might be a festa day but we are grateful that they still had market. Starvation might have loomed, but you see what we got for less than 20E.

This picture is the stuff we got for free along with the loaf of special bread from Ermelinda.

It is possible that I have found my wedding shoes. 

Also wedding undergarments.

Selling the special bread for San Giovanni

This lady always catches me when I try to take a picture.

The woman in black on the left sat by me in church. She had a roasted chicken in her bag so it was hard to concentrate.

Flag of San Giovanni makes it out of the church.

The cross.

Waiting for the statue

The new, young priest and alter boys.

San Giovanni

Banner of CVS and the mayor.

Procession makes its way up to the destroyed church of San Giovanni.

Carabonari: Military Police

At just the moment the procession is going to turn right at this intersection a tractor with a big attachment turned in front of them.

I actually went to mass. Jim waited outside.

After Mass was the procession and then we went to Enrica and Salvatore’s for pranza, lunch.

Tshirts of the day: Always Kiss Me Good Night and I was born free like the wind.

Sorry I could not get a better picture of these shoes, but they were amazing. How does she walk?

This is the dinner, cena, that you missed last night. Today at lunch at Erica e Salvatori you missed cheese, different salamis, pickled green beans, tortellini with mushrooms and cream sauce, chicken, salad with fresh onions, tomatoes sliced in a vinaigrette,  sliced carrots with a thick basil acetto, melon, peaches, cake, gelatto, caffe, lemoncello, a liqueur made from apple seeds which was the best thing I have ever tasted and will be for sale in the Montpelier Farmers market in one year, and a liqueur made with 10 herbs. Also good, but my least favorite of the the three. Lunch started at one and ended at 3:30. Jim went directly to bed for a nap. I am reading "The Goldfinch" so it is hard to go to sleep.

Now we are watching the football game between Uruguay and Italy. Can someone tell me why the biter did not get a red card? They stole it from us!