officially finished...

at the palazzo over the road. It's been a long road, frustrating, demanding, satisfying, all of those things. I will miss it. I am no longer daunted by frescoes dated 1511, scaffolding 4 metres high, or workers from Naples. I am very sure I don't want to do a similar project again... but... give me a week off and I think I'll remember only the highlights, and be tempted again!

The ups: the challenge, being trusted with the work, using many different skills and techniques, seeing the end product and feeling an affinity with the building.
The downs: sore knees, difficult working conditions, language barriers.
The surprises: how long it took (over a year) and climbing up to the fresco and finding that the artist who had repaired it once before did so with a hand identical to mine.

I'll miss it all.

Today I am grateful for kind co-workers.