“A moving door hinge never corrodes. Flowing water never grows stagnant.” Deng Ming Dao
I was up bright and early this morning to shape this lovely pumpkin sourdough bread and put it in the refrigerator for its long slow fermentation sleep. I had Corelli quietly playing in the background along with the quiet sounds of the much needed rainfall as I let my mind wander to the things I wanted to get done today.
Next week will be a busy one getting the house ready for Thanksgiving and family. All of my kids will be here to celebrate this season of giving thanks with us. I am so incredibly thankful that all of my kids enjoy each other's company and I am even more thankful that I will get to spend some quality time with my "littles" (pictures next week!)
I hope that you have a wonderful weekend in your corner of the world!!
A few weeks ago I saw a sweet picture that my friend, Ann Falcone, posted of this lovely ruffle scarf that she made for her young granddaughter. The extremely pleased smile on her little face just made me chuckle. I loved it and immediately wanted to make one for each of my little granddaughters. This one is for little June and a pretty pink one is on the needles for my other granddaughter Raegan.
"Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress." Bruce Barton
I didn't mean to stay away so long again!
I retired at the beginning of Summer this year and while I have enjoyed the freedoms that it represents from schedules, I have also found that some of the demons that I struggled with during covid have reared their heads again. I have had a very hard time explaining how I have felt for a long time because I can't find the right words, so I've just kept it all in and I've stayed quiet. It's almost a mental paralysis that keeps me from doing simple things and a loss of my voice. It's a lack of ability to really put myself out there, finding it is easier just to stay home than to venture out where people are most of the time, even though I do enjoy the time I spend with family and friends.
One of the things that has really helped me focus on getting things done and feeling a sense of accomplishment has been creating short daily "to do lists". Crossing off each one of those to do's makes me smile and motivates me to do the next one. I'm feeling a sense of rhythm as the days go by. Top of my list to day was to sit down and write this blog post..ha!
I have been following Kim Klassen for a long time going way back in my early blog days. Her classes helped me learn how to use Lightroom and Photoshop more effectively. I hadn't received an email from her in a while but this showed up in my mailbox this weekend and I immediately resonated with it. It was about "Self Gatekeeping", something that I have never heard before. I completely recognized myself in her words, it was like a light bulb going off in my head.
So, I started researching this a little further and came upon this post from Juan Reyes where he describes Self Gatekeeping "as as the act of imposing barriers or limitations on oneself, often driven by self-doubt or a belief that one does not belong or deserve to participate in a certain community, activity, or opportunity."
While a lot of his post doesn't completely pertain to me, I can still see so much of what I struggle with in his words and it's nice to know that I am not alone.
Whew...this one was a hard blog post for me to write, especially given that I don't usually put many of my personal struggles out there but this post has been marinating for a long time, I just found the right words thanks to the information that I read this past weekend. Knowing that there is a name for some of the paralysis that I have struggled with since covid has helped so much.
So to close, I am just going to say that I working on finding both my social voice and my creative voice again. I know for me it's not going to be easy, but I am going to try to show up in places that matter to me more often. Photo by:Matthew Henry
What a fun weekend we had, but did I take any pictures? Of course not, mostly because I was enjoying the moments, but I do need to remember to take out my phone and record more of the moments now and then.
Saturday afternoon we drove down to Southern Maine to watch my grandson, Finley's, championship playoff game, as we have done most weekends this fall. The boys won their ticket into the championship with a win, so we will go back down again this weekend. We will also watch my other grandson Asher's championship football game on Thursday. (I love that the boys love to play sports!)
Last night we went to a friends house for a birthday get together. The birthday boy made us incredible pizza's in his amazing and big outdoor fire pizza oven. Those pizza's were cooking in less than 10 minutes and were so light and fluffy. It was a fun night of good food and good conversation. In between, I have been working on a three cute quilts, all the same. I had hoped to have them all completed by Halloween, but time will tell if I can get all of them finished. I have to admit, I stole this quilt pattern from my friend, Terry @knittingtheblues who made them last year for her grandchildren. She was kind enough to tell me where some of the cute Halloween prints came from so I ordered them right away before they sold out.
Of course, I should have started these quilts months ago, but I've had some life challenges that I wasn't expecting and all of the planning for our amazing trip that took up many happy hours. Don't you just love those little girls in their "trick or treat costumes"? I know I do!
Good Morning Venice!! We woke up to a beautiful day, the weather was cooler and much less humid which made traveling around both on foot and by boat so much more comfortable . One of the things that I really wanted to see was the Rialto Fish Market, so we hopped on a Vaporetto instead of walking this time. We met a wonderful couple who had been traveling around Europe for 8 weeks! It was fun meeting and chatting with people from all around the world. I'm not sure I would want to be away for 8 weeks but 2 weeks sounds pretty good to me now.
The fish market was something to behold for sure! So much amazing fresh fish. I am not a huge fan of fish, but seeing and smelling how fresh this fish was, I even wanted to sit down and have some. Not so sure about the Octopus though..LOL. My younger girls have had it and like it, but even Ken who will eat almost anything didn't think he could eat it either.
Just look at those tomatoes! So much delicious goodness there.
After a short break for breakfast, we then walked over to the iconic Rialto Bridge and it was SO crowded! In saying this when we went it was the weekend, so extra busy with tourists and locals. (I took this picture the night before when it wasn't so busy) On each side of the bridge are lots of little shops. I had fun tucking my head into a few of them and purchasing a few things to bring home. I will say however that I wasn't sad to leave the crowds and head back towards Piazza San Marco for a special treat!
Ken really had his heart set on riding in a Gondola. It is pricey for sure and I had told Ken that I was fine with not going on one if it was too much money, but I think that this was something that he really wanted to do. It was definitely a highlight that we will both remember!
This was our Gondolier and he was so much fun! He was well versed in the history of Venice and shared so much of that history with us as we sailed along. Traveling along in those canals is something else! Between the gondolas, the water taxi's and the workers bringing things in and out for the shops, it could get quite crowded, but it was all so much fun!
I had to include this groovy little gondolier cat painted on one of the shops in the alleys that we walked by on our way to dinner to the very best meal I had in Italy!
Ristorante Sant Angelo was amazing! Tucked into a little square not too far from our apartment, this little restaurant served some incredible food. As I mentioned, I really didn't feel it was right to pull out my phone and take pictures of my meal in such a small space, but you can trust me.... it was soooooo good! Take a look at the menu. I had Filetto di bue Angus al pepe and it is one of the very best Filet Mignon's that I have ever had...that sauce! The meal also included a complementary glass of Prosecco before dinner and a complimentary glass of Limoncello after dinner. I highly recommend it, but make reservations early if you want to sit outside.
Our first trip together abroad was nothing short of amazing and I am already looking forward to visiting Italy again! Until then.....Goodnight Venice. ❤️
Our second day started out cool and cloudy but turned into a beautiful and very warm sunny day which was perfect for discovering all that Piazza San Marco had to offer. As we entered the square from a narrow street we were absolutely awe struck with what was in front of us! St. Mark's Basilica is an absolutely incredible work of art both inside and out.
Outside the artwork, marble and tiles are so meticulous and breathtaking.
Inside the marble tiles are so incredibly beautiful! It is hard to believe that they are over 1100 years old and are still so vibrant. Every time I looked at a new area of tile work, all I could see were quilt patterns...
Like this little corner of a step. I could totally see this in a quilt..ha!
And then there is all of the gold! The inside of the Basilica just shines with all of the real gold work both on the walls, the ceilings and the special altar, Pala d"Pro. You can read more about the history of the Basilica here.
Then it was on to Doge's Palace...there are not enough words for the beauty inside this building!
I loved this carving, "Mouth of Secret Accusations". If you look closely to his mouth, you can see an opening....if you suspected someone was an enemy of the state, you could write a note, drop it in the Mouth and the Council of Ten would deal with it.
We walked through so many amazing rooms filled with such rich life-sized artwork in the Palace, but my favorite part was when we crossed over the 'Bridge of Sighs" into the prison. I shared this Bridge in my very first post, it was the last bit of light that prisoners would see before they were brought down into the prison to serve their time. I really loved this old door! I just don't have enough space to share all of the pictures, but if you ever get a chance to go.....say yes!!!
We also went to The Museo Correr, which has mixed reviews, but I loved every part of it and I am NOT a true museum lover. I truly would have loved to have spent more time here, but after 13,000 steps that morning my back was squawking at me loud enough to admit it was time to take a break.
So we decided to take that break and head over to Dal Moro's for a quick pick me up lunch and a chance to sit down and catch our breaths. I had watched a gazillion Vlogs on Venice and Dal Moro's came up over and over as a great place for a takeaway meal, and it didn't disappoint! Ken got Pasta Carbonara and I got Pesto Parmasan...so good! We took a short walk around the block, sat on some steps very close to where Gondoliers were sitting in the water waiting for customers, along with some school girls feeding the seagulls. The sun was warm, the scenery inviting and the food....hot and delicious!
I will finish up my Italy posts on Friday...but beware, I am already thinking about and loosely planning for another trip to Italy in 2026.
As much as I enjoyed the Lake region in Italy, I was gobsmacked by Venice! We arrived later in the afternoon after taking a fast train from Milan and the minute we entered Venice from the train station I felt as though we had been transported to a very different and beautiful old world. (this was our first view of Venice and the Grand Canal out of the train station)
Booking apartments in another country is a bit nerve wracking when you only know a very small amount of the language. I had booked this apartment through Booking.com and communication with the owner of this place was a bit sparse at first which had me very nervous. Thankfully as the date got closer, we did converse through "What's App". The owner sent me the address and the information to get into the apartment on the day before we were checking in. Let me tell you, it was like being in my very own Nancy Drew mystery with various keys and codes to get in, but once we figured it all out, the apartment was lovely. We were pretty tired by the time we got in, so we took some time just to kick back, catch our breath and get a little rest before heading out for dinner.
Venice is a city of so many streets filled with enticing shops and delicious restaurants, along with bakeries and gelato shops. One of Ken's most favorite desserts are cannoli's, and yes...he had a few along our journey, ha!
We had dinner in a small pizzeria not too far from our appartemento and the pizza that we had was SO good!. We were both very tired and didn't want to risk getting lost on the streets and bridges of Venice. I now understand how super easy it could be to get lost, which is why we didn't venture too far from our apartment in the dark. One Facebook group tip that I found invaluable was to use an airtag to find your way back to where your luggage is. That and using google maps to drop a pin on google maps on a place or restaurant that you may want to go back to. (We never got lost thankfully)
On one of the narrow streets we happened upon a Mask Shop. Ken poked his head inside when he saw a man hand carving masks. He was fascinated that they were all made by hand. He didn't realize that the one of the original masquerades originated in Venice during The Carnival Season. It really was a fun shop!
There were beautiful masks with sequins and sparkle, but this one was my favorite. It made me think of what my mother used to say when I would make a face. "If you keep making that face, it could get stuck that way." LOL! Our first night in Venice left me so excited to explore the next few days in the daylight. ~ I will move to posting 3 days a week, which is what I intended to do when I wanted to get back to blogging. This week will be all about Venice (I know, I said I wouldn't but...... there is just so much beauty in Venice that one post can't possibly do it justice, but I promise I will move on to other things. :)
I forgot how much work it is to post everyday, especially with Typepad's wonky photo software. I took the day off yesterday but I'm back...LOL
Our last day on Lake Como had us taking "The Bernina Express" through the Swiss Alps from Tirano to St. Moritz. It was incredibly beautiful! We were blessed with amazing weather for sight seeing.
As we traveled along the track, we passed through this delightful community and this very inviting hotel, The Prese located in beautiful Poschiavo. Go take a peek at the links, you won't be disappointed...lovely!
As we came into Miralago,Switzerland we passed this stunning soft mint green lake, Lago di Poschiavo. The soft green color comes from the elements in the water. Take a look at this video taken by someone who shared Poschiavo through a travel blog.
We traveled higher higher on our way up the mountains and saw these sweet little villages tucked in the valleys.i think i loved these villages as much as I enjoyed seeing the Alps. This picture was taken at the highest point on our trip and the views were absolutely breathtaking! From this point forward we descended down the other side to St. Moritz. I would have taken more pictures of St. Moritz but it was FREEZING and we were very under dressed to wander around. This trip was definitely a highlight and I would highly recommend taking the Bernina Express if you ever have the chance.
I will finish up with Venice next week. I could take a week just to share what I loved about Venice, but I won't. :) ~ Have a wonderful weekend!!
Bellagio had a completely different and fun vibe. Very chichi in comparison to the other villages that we visited. Lots of pricey shops, hotels and lakeside dining spots.
Ken and I had lunch lakeside at Bar Pasticceria Rossi and I had the best soft cheese that I have ever had. The gorgonzola was nothing short of amazing! I didn't take very many food pictures...it just felt kind of rude at the places we dined at.
...and there were stairs, lots and lots of stairs. These were probably the easiest stairs to navigate though with lots of cute little shops and bars lining both sides of the stair cases. I really loved the vibe here, but I probably would not want to stay here because it is very busy with tourists and definitely more pricey.
....and beautiful arches tucked into corners.
We also took a little open train ride around the hills of Bellagio seeing so much that we never would have seen on foot. Very steep hills but so beautiful. It was definitely worth the small amount of euros that we paid for the 25 minute ride. Bellagio is just breath taking!
Back on the ferry heading home to Varenna. We had such a wonderful day exploring just a few of the villages on Lake Como.
(Whoa, it took me a while to figure out how to embed a video here again on Typepad. With a little research I learned a few new things) This video paints a much better picture than I could ever do with words. Our second day on Lake Como we spent the day exploring the village of both Menaggio and Bellagio. All 3 towns that we spent time in are equally beautiful and very different from each other.
We were so fortunate to have such a beautiful, sunny day to travel around the mid lake region! You can see how pretty Menaggio is as we approached it.
Menaggio is a very walk friendly village. My knees were pretty sore from all of the stair climbing we did the day before, so I welcomed a brief reprieve. We really loved this charming little village. The pace was a little slower and not very touristy....just beautiful!
Everywhere you look there is stunning art work. This lovely sculpture is carved into the side of someone's home..incredible!
Or this beautiful water fountain on the greens by the Lake. The detail is amazing!
We finished our time in Menaggio sitting down and enjoying some scrumptious Gelato,before heading across the lake to Bellagio. So Good!
