roma

This weekend I had a trip to Rome (talking about exhibiting up there, among other things) and then an art exhibition opening in Sora... and another invitation to exhibit. If only I had time to paint...

I took a wrong turn coming out of Sora and got horribly lost just on dark. Suddenly one of those navigation thingies looks like a good idea.

*****

On Saturday night I met some really interesting people, some of whom work for FAO and were in Rome representing their various countries. Sunday morning saw a big Run for Food in Rome. I didn't run it, but it set me to thinking how little we (I?) know about what goes on in the world. The main FAO website is here (click). There is a lot of interesting reading on the website and its links.

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The Wallace Gallery opening was a huge success, and I have had an email from a visitor saying how wonderful the exhibition space is. Well done Wallace Gallery supporters. You have done us proud!

Today I am grateful for people with vision.

been a bit busy

...out and about with Canadians, photos to follow.

Then came a few other things that needed attending to, some teaching, some learning, some being a local, and today I have given myself the afternoon off! Siesta time...

Today I am grateful for comfortable silence.

brighter and brighter

In New Zealand it is Sunday. Happy birthday Jude! I know you don't read my blog, but heck, the big 50 has to be recorded somewhere :-) Welcome to the top of the hill... the view is great and the slopes are gentle!

Anna, you don't even know I have a blog, but happy birthday to you as well.

And the day after... have a great day, mate.

This evening I am grateful for things to celebrate!

sometime soon

I'll get around to loading a few photographs. Maybe.

In the meantime it is enough to say that autumn is beautiful, work is coming in although some has been cancelled as a direct result of the poorer economy, and I seem to be spending every cent I earn which is not really a good thing!

But... there is work, there are good and loyal clients and happy students, and the sun shines somewhere every day (lately it has been here...)

In the news today four Italian soldiers have been killed and one badly wounded in Afghanistan. An old man who lived alone in a very expensive hilltop town outside Rome was found dead... seven years after the event. His once immaculate grounds were overgrown and jungle-like and the place was deteriorating... and nobody noticed until leaking water became a problem. How high was his security wall, I wonder? How can it be that noone even asked about him? No man is an island...

In New Zealand the headlines are just as sad or bad... local elections are a highlight, at least they are relatively healthy! Here's hoping that all the newly elected councils are wise, community minded, and there for the common good and not for personal aggrandizement.

What a depressing blog post! A much brighter and more interesting thing is how one person can make a difference. Next week sees the canonisation of the Australian teaching nun, Mary MacKillop. Her story is worth reading, courage and perserverence in difficult times. It seems that in the world of education one person really can bring about change. Her efforts in those times were probably as great as Greg Mortenson's efforts today.

Today I am grateful for altruistic people.

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.

facebook, friend or foe?

This post is simply blather, talking to myself I suspect. I had so many deep and meaningful things to write, but the sun is too cheerful, the day too balmy, the sky too blue...

The building where I work is locked up today, so that lets me off the hook but delays completion time. I am not supposed to go out into the sun, and the plumber has yet to arrive to hook up the heating bits and pieces upstairs.


Today I accepted odd friend requests from people I don't know. Once FB was a way of staying in touch with family, but now it is a time-consuming, greedy and unwelcome distraction. Do I stay or do I go?

The reality is that in today's world FB is a marketing tool, so for Legato I will stay. Life got much happier though, when I started "hiding" feeds and blocking other people's games. I was reading and discarding far too many words in a day.

Now to train myself not to open FB until evening... maybe I will get through a few more important emails if I am not reading posts that really are not so necessary in my life.

Autumn is glorious, there is no better word for it this year. The forecast was for rain, but after the rain we have clear vistas and the most wonderful sky. I could almost pretend that I was back in Hawkes Bay, the sky is so blue! The leaves are only now starting to turn, and the little bit of rain we have had gives depth to the colours in the rocks and the stone walls.

Today I am also grateful for beautiful weather.

it's normal, isn't it?

To spend time looking at photos of distant grandchildren instead of getting on with the pile of work ahead of me? That's not procrastinating, it's called "being in the moment"!

Today I am grateful for photographs, videos and word pictures.