the joys...

No, not the joys of Christmas, but of living in a house that is 500 years old. Two days ago my walls got damp enough to short out my power supply. The electrician couldn't come yesterday, because it is pig-slaughter time here and he was well committed to the family chores in another village. By the time he arrived this morning power was back on.

We have agreed that I should have isolating switches, and maybe eventually re-wire some of the suspect areas... who knows when? (Best you visit me in the summer, maybe...)

But the great news of the day, thanks to some generous friends, is that I have wireless internet so can hear skype calls if I am in my studio! Wooohooo... maybe I'll spend more time up in the studio now, instead of haunting the downstairs computer for contact with the outside world!

A flurry of domesticity hit me this morning, so there are now eleven jars of preserved mandarines on the bench, the tops making satisfying clicks as they seal. Waste not, want not... the ones that left half the skin on the tree in picking are now my breakfast fruit for the summer.

Happiness is feeling connected with the world again. (OK, so you didn't even miss me, but I knew that we weren't in touch!)

And something nice from yesterday... I was driving on country roads and at a Y intersection was struck by the most paintable sunset, with a great composition all laid out for me. (OK, I know, I don't paint sunsets and usually avoid landscapes, but I do appreciate them...)

I stopped and got out to photograph this with my simple cell phone, and a young man driving in the direction that would take him in front of me stopped, indicated for me to continue, and waited smilingly while I took my pictures. Nice that he too appreciated the magic of the moment and how fleeting sunsets can be.

The sun is shining, the studio is calling... ciao a tutti!

Today I am grateful for supportive and practical friends.