Vacation State of Mind...

We arrived back from vacation on Friday night and have been using the 3-day weekend to recover from a bit of jet lag. It's always nice to come home and this time was no exception, but this trip was truly extraordinary. I would go back to Il Casolare di Libbiano in a moment and I'm certain we will return. From the setting to the hosts to the food, we were cared for in a way that exceeded any of our expectations. In that place, we enjoyed the all too infrequent company of some very good friends and just simply enjoyed being. No TV, no internet, no newspapers. All were replaced by the surrounding woods, sun, distant thunderstorms, conversation, exploration, and so much more. There will be more to share as I reflect back on the month. At the end of that week, half of our group returned home and half of us went on to Venice.

Without access to local news, we were unaware of a train strike that was in place on our travel day until we arrived at the train station! Fortunately, even with a strike, some trains were still running and we were able to make our trip even adjusting for a fire on the tracks near Bologna. We arrived in Venice only an hour later than planned and a quick journey by water taxi brought us to the hotel, the Casa Santa Maria Formosa. This second week was more "energetic" than the previous one as we walked throughout the city, fascinated by the workings of this place that is built on water. The highlight for us was a visit from John's cousin Erica and her husband Nereo who had lived in Venice for 20 years, not far from the hotel as it turned out. Besides the pleasure of seeing them again, they were excellent guides and had arranged for a lovely "lunch" at a local restaurant; a 3-hour event with countless courses of local cuisine and lively conversation. John was our capable translator as we moved between Italian and English. Suffice it to say that dinner that night was only a gelato as none of us had room for anything more! Each day brought a different look at this interesting city. While I am not a big fan of being in a boat, it was the way to get from here to there. We spent some time on the water buses to travel the Grand Canal and to return from the Islands. We also used the speedier water taxis to get to the Islands and eventually to the airport. I'm sure I heard the theme song from Miami Vice playing as we sped along. Since we also had access to TV (one station in English - the BBC World News), we watched the progress of the newly erupting volcano in Iceland and wondered if it would impact our travel home. Fortunately, it did not.

We arrived home to find the grass as tall as the dog, the dog feeling better than when we left, and the cat suddenly finding his voice as he "talked" nonstop airing a long list of grievances. We'll tackle the day-to-day routines to get things back to "normal", but we'll do it with a post-vacation perspective; refreshed, recharged, and renewed. Last night we had dinner at our favorite place in the 'burg to celebrate our 12th anniversary! All good... 

Bella Italia...

John and I are off on our excellent adventure this morning. A short visit to the UK followed by an extended visit to Italy. We'll stay with 3 other couples (all friends) in a farmhouse in San Gimignano (Tuscany) for a week followed by another week (nearly) in Venice. There will be lots to share when we return.

Zoe is getting progressively better and we have a great house/pet sitter who will look after her. Hopefully Roosevelt will behave and will not try to impress them with gifts of the live, furry type.

Meanwhile, it's all good...

Where the Wild Things Are...

It's been a busy, interesting week. For the second week in a row, John headed off to California, this time for 5 days. I'll retrieve him tonight. We have some things to do this weekend to get ready for a much anticipated vacation that begins next Thursday when we trek to Italy for a couple weeks. I've got the house-sitter primed and we laid in more dog food than I imagined could be on the shelves. It's coming together.

The week began in earnest when Roosevelt brought a mouse into the house once again. I awoke Tuesday morning (and by that I mean 3:30am) to sounds of "something is not quite right". As an early tribute to Mother's Day, he had brought yet another mouse into the house, but with a new twist. He brought it up to the bedroom. Well, I was out of that bed and downstairs in no time where I could have a cup of tea and ponder my fate for a good hour or so. Although I have pleaded with John to get me a shotgun for times such as these, he is reluctant to do that citing some notion of widespread damage and mayhem. So, I was left with my trusty broom, a pair of gloves (yuck!), some plastic bags, and some vague plan to put a dead mouse into the bag. But Roosevelt wanted me to have a live present; much more interesting. Ultimately, I had to place a mixing bowl (where would I be without kitchen utensils?) over the unsuspecting gift whilst it was grooming and take it outside for release back into the wild. Since then, Roosevelt has slept in the garage with the cat door locked.

Yesterday, I spied a large coyote loping across the yard/meadow/jungle clearing. I gave him my most fierce yell, "Hey! You get out of here!". He took a moment to assess me and realized I meant business with my fierce words so he slipped quickly into the woods. Since then, I have accompanied our Zoe on her trips outside. She has spent a lot of time marking over the intruder's scent.

And speaking of wild things, I have ordered my "chucks" shoes for the upcoming wedding. Katie and Morey have encouraged guests to wear these purple basketball shoes (as their wedding party will do). Mine have MOB (that's for Mother of the Bride) written on the side and are quite spectacular.

I see that it's time to hop in a shower and get into the rat race properly. Enjoy...

May Pole or Just Running in Circles....

It just might be that Spring is here! There seems to be less rain than sunshine these past few days and more of the vitamin D-producing stuff is forecast. The days are definitely longer too. John did some mowing with the hand mower yesterday in preparation for doing the bulk of it on the shiny red tractor today. The grass has not been hampered by the wet weather.

We had a day of "getting stuff done" yesterday; post office, find a notary, check out smarter "smart" phones, load up on basics at Costco, get a few groceries and a lot of pet food. I also ordered the invitations for the upcoming wedding rehearsal dinner in July. I have a little work to do at the computer today, but should get to spend some time outdoors. I'll get the furniture set up properly on the back deck so it really looks like warmer weather has arrived. We'll use the barbeque tonight for the first time as well. John will do that mowing and will plant some shallots, potatoes, and beets in the garden. Last weekend he put the peas in.

Zoe is making steady progress now with her leg injury. She gets around more easily with only a small limp. We still don't let her climb the stairs, so she stays downstairs at night. She's not keen on that but she does it without too much fuss. Roosevelt has become a 3am nuisance. Once we're back from vacation, we'll get him a companion to tire him out a bit.

I'm sure the week will fly by quickly. John will travel back to California for a second week in a row as we get our ducks in a row for the upcoming vacation. I have a steady stream of things that need to get done at work and a small project to prepare for my class. I hope the sun keeps on shining....