April 2012
How wonderful to be experiencing spring in Italy. It has been many years since we lived in a place where we actually have spring arrive in March and April. We are thoroughly enjoying the daffodils and tulips coming up in our garden, the budding trees and bushes, and the sounds of birds every morning. Sheila especially loves the blooming wisteria all over Firenze.
Wisteria on "the ancient wall"
We have enjoyed lots of activities this month. But our experience here was overshadowed by the tragic death of our 24-year old grand nephew, Conner Lowry. He was the eldest grandson of Sheila’s sister, serving in the military in Afghanistan. Marine Corporal Conner Lowry was killed on March 1st, leaving behind is mother and sister and lots of extended family. There was a huge memorial service in Chicago, where he was born and raised. Our sons, Quinn and Conner represented our family at the services, which were attended by hundreds of people.
Also, a couple of dear tennis friends from Kalispell passed away recently. When we are touched by death by those we know and care about, we are more acutely aware that our time here on earth is indeed limited. The silver lining of these losses is perhaps the appreciation of this time now, that we are given.
Sheila attended an 8-day meditation retreat at a famous Catholic monastery called Camaldoli, way up in the Apennine Mountains. The three Buddhist teachers, including Joseph Goldstein, were excellent and inspiring. The 1,000-year old hermitage and monastery are surrounded by a national forest. Sheila had an opportunity to do walking meditations in the nearby forest. One highlight was seeing a wild boar walking across the road. But of course, she couldn’t share her excitement with anybody because the retreat was in silence! Dang!
Camaldoli Church with Vasari painting
Joe has had a two-week Spring break. (That is one of the benefits of being a student again!) We just returned from five days on the Isle of Elba, off the Tuscan coast. We rented a car in Florence and drove southwest to catch the ferry to a port town called Portoferraio. We stayed on the eastern side of the island, which was mountainous, but also arid. It was sort of like Moab, Utah meets the sea (with fabulous Italian cooking thrown in). We had a couple days of great hiking through pine forests, seeing cacti, aloe vera plants, and wild goats. We loved it. We spent another day sea kayaking off the rugged coast. It was enjoyable but we were really whipped when we got back. The trip was a little over eight miles round trip and that was plenty for us.
Wild mountain goats on Elba
Joe thought it would be interesting for folks to compare the progress from his first semester to the second. Perhaps the most telling comparison is of his pencil drawing sketches. These are done over a 3 to 6 hour period from a live model. He included two life drawings and two portraitures from the end of both the 1st and 2nd semester.
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| left, end of 1st semester; right end of second semester |
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| left, start of 1st semester, right, start of third semester |
We have been making some nice friends here. It seems like we are enjoying more social activities with different people these days. Most of all we are having so much fun together. Although we miss our family and friends, this experience has been a blast.
We were going to the Pasqua (Easter) celebration in the city center. It is supposed to be a beautiful parade that ends at the Duomo after winding its way through Florence. Unfortunately it was raining so hard that we decided to cancel and just go to one of our favorite restaurants instead. Today is Pasquetta (the monday after Easter and a national holiday in Italy.)
We will probably be writing one more blog before we head back to the Flathead Valley for the summer. It is hard to believe almost a year has gone by. We are looking forward to being with our friends and family. Ci vediamo presto! (We’ll see you soon!)
Joe e Sheila
Ci vediamo presto! for sure. great blog entry. thanks. Diane
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