a few photos

A few photos have been uploaded into earlier posts (back to 9 June). It is too hot to work and I am too tired to think, so it is photo time on the blog. Or it was, but now I am over that too!!!!

Today I am grateful that the first coat of the background in the hot workplace is complete.

progress

At last I see some progress in the project I am working on. The background colour has been found. Now I can paint the lines and "ruin them" with the correct tint. More photos in a day or two.

I am glad that noone was watching as I stretched the tape to form the new lines. The distance was just outside my comfort zone, so with the long stretch I needed to attach the tape in the centre with the only remaining free pointer... my nose!

(Ignore the curve in the lower lines, it really is the camera! And yes, I have been working on the other three sections, not just this one).

Today I am thankful for iced fizzy water.

family time

A long pranzo with "borrowed" family, this time sandwiched between the market, a quick stop at some Roman ruins, and another trip up to the Abbey on Montecassino. Today the surrounding hills have a soft beauty under the cloudy sky. Thoughts meandering back to work are checked before they are properly formed. I want to learn how to have real week-ends.

Today I am grateful for the friends I have both here and in other countries. Time and distance has no meaning when ties are strong.

ostia antica

So much history in a small area... Ostia, from the Bronze Age and salt to the computer age and sunscreen.

back at work

Thursday was "full on" back at work, mostly good but still a lot of fine-tuning to do. I was finally able to work with the painter to find the correct tint for the background, as I can't continue without this and the previous trials by different painters were still well off the mark. That was particularly satisfying after working on the "fiddly bits" of my own work. Quite literally up to my elbows in paint after the sponge work ran down my arms, I came home relatively happy. Occasionally I had wondered about my sanity in taking on this work!

Yesterday a chance conversation about my Cassino work had me wanting to get back to my own art-making again. Do I stop doing commissions? It's a hard call! What price financial independence?

I have a feeling that change is in the air. Who knows what the summer will bring?

Today I am grateful for cheerful workmates.

late night gelato

Oh the choice! The 11.30pm gelato was of the richest cocoa, coffee and nuts, a change from my preferred fruit combinations. Children played gleefully in the piazza, and the older folks meandered about or rested on the benches as the middle generation sat at tables or leaned into cars in earnest conversation.

Life really is about slowing down, eating gelato, chatting with friends, and watching the fireflies dancing below the spectacular moon.

Today I am grateful for time to enjoy.

home again

Another flight, another book to read. Another view, while waiting for breakfast and time to fly. This is the coast at Prestwick, near the airport where the cheap flights pretend that they are going to Glasgow.Today I am grateful that I am home again.