June--Part II, Granddaughters and Rafting

Mike (having returned from his sailing trip while I was in Italy) picked me up from the Portland airport the night of June 26. It was wonderful to see each other after a long, but full, two months. But we did not have time to revel in our reunion, since we had a raft trip planned starting just days away. The next morning we drove back to Blue River with two of our grandchildren who were going on the raft trip with us.

In the few days at home, I managed to unpack, do laundry, go to the local clinic to get diagnosed and treated for whooping cough, shop for a 5 day raft trip and visit my mother. The girls and I had lunch at Birch Home one day where we enjoyed the sun on their patio.

 

Marin, Angelica and my mother at Birch Home

I have to include this photo of Angelica and Marin playing "Spy Girls" while eating dinner on our pond's bridge.

 

On June 1 we headed off to Clarno where we were going to meet a large group of family members and friends to launch seven rafts on the John Day River the next morning. The majority of the group were new to rafting, so we had chosen a calm river with very little rowing skills necessary. By noon on Friday we were all afloat, leaving none of our party of 28 behind. (A vision of a new version of "Home Alone" passed through my mind as we loaded gear, food, and 28 children and adults on the rafts.)

Once afloat I was so happy to look back and see my favorite rower pushing our raft down the river.

 

Part of our group were very interested in fishing.

 

While others were happy to just float and enjoy the scenery.

 

Most of the time on the rafts was spent like this: letting kid's handle the oars and experience nature.

 

Of course, I absorbed scenery, colors and patterns for future paintings.

 

So now we are home for a week, but leave for more rafting and camping tomorrow. My cough is better, although I'm still a bit tired. But as the saying goes, I'd rather wear out than rust. And I know my studio awaits my return, after the summer activities are over.

June--Part I, Italy

 

In Montecatini Terme

My trip to Italy started in Montecatini Terme, where my niece, Cathy, and I joined her husband, Dave, at a scientific conference. I was fortunate enough to be invited along. The trip was a great distraction from my long separation from Mike. It seemed so disconnected to be in Europe sight-seeing, while he was on the open seas of the Pacific on his return voyage from Hawaii!

The three of us had three days in Montecatini before joining another niece, Amy, and friend, Hank, in Florence. We enjoyed the art and architecture of Florence, then moved on to the Mediterranean coast (with a stop in Pisa), where we stayed at a VRBO near Cinque Terre. Our house rental was in an incredibly rural location where we were surrounded by villages tucked into the hillside, each with a bell tower. Each hour we were serenaded by the bells, each slightly different in sound and timing.

 

View from Fortona

From the coast we traveled into the Tuscan landscape and lovely hill towns. We had reserved an apartment in an agriturismo near Pienza, a small, beautiful hill town where parts of "Romeo and Juliet" and "The English Patient" were filmed.

 

Pienza

We also visited other hill towns in the area. Siena was one of the more touristy destinations, but less crowded towns included Volterra (with a wonderful Etruscan Museum), Orvieto, and a real gem, Civita. Civita is a town accessible only by a foot bridge. The pinnacle it sits on is slowly eroding and crumbling from earthquakes. It truly seems like a place out of a fairy tale.

 

Civita


We ended our trip in Rome, where we took the obligatory, yet fascinating, tour of Ancient Rome.

 

Palatine Hill, Rome

The following photos will give you a quick peek at a few of the wonderful and inspiring places and sights we visited.

 

Lucca

 

Statue of Dante in Florence

 

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

 

Hank and Amy at Fortona

 

Cinque Terre

 

Cathy and Dave, Pisa

 

Volterra

 

Roman ruins, Volterra

 

Siena Duomo

 

Tuscany

 

Window view of Tuscany

 

Ceramic shop in Ovieta

 

Fresco, Ovieta Cathedral

 

Painting inspiration

 

 

 

Patterns

 

A Little Art and A Lot of Other Stuff

So my two months of being on my own are almost at an end, and what happened during that time was not at all what I had envisioned. Was I out in my studio painting every day? No. Was I inspired with fabulously innovative new visions for art? No. Did I sit on my patio in the warmth of a summer evening with a Margarita in one hand and a great novel in the other? Again, no.

What I did was handle life with all it's expected/unexpected, predictable/unpredictable, yet necessary events and tasks and hurdles.

As I already mentioned, there was a two week span in Vancouver helping my daughter through her post-surgery recovery. Then there was trying to get my neglected and overgrown yard in some sort of acceptable state, which was very hampered by the foul weather the Pacific Northwest has had this spring/summer. Next was handling the repairs and renovations of my mother's condominium, then staging it for sale. Also, I am attending two celebrations for my eldest granddaughter as she graduates from high school. Last, but not least, is the planning and preparations for my trip to Italy!

Where I stand now is I am on the other side (is that the far side?) of the recovery and yard crisis. One grad. celebration is over and one yet to come tomorrow. The sale of the condo is being negotiated as we speak. I hope I can report that it is SOLD by the end of this post! And the planning for the Italy trip is done, the packing is not.

Now to speak of art--I didn't have to do anything to get some local exposure, as my painting placed on a flyer created to promote the upcoming WSO Convention to be held in Eugene next spring.


I also squeaked in a few minutes in the studio to tweak my Rogue Heron before entering it in the Watercolor West competition. The painting isn't new, but I have done several sessions to solve most (I hope) of it's problems.

 

Rogue Heron 22x29, Transparent Watercolor

My husband's last update was they are 1000 miles from L.A., expecting to arrive on June 20 or 21. I will be in the middle of my trip to Tuscany where I will stay in Montecatini Terma, Florence, Cinque Terre, Siena, and Rome. There is a little sadness that he will come home to an empty house, but I expect a great reunion when I get back.

Oh. . .the art, architecture, street scenes and landscapes I will see in Italy!! With a backpack of art supplies and a camera, I hope to capture some of Italy, bring it home and turn it into paintings.

And if you were waiting to hear that my mother's property had sold--I'm still waiting for the final word.

Ciao