tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74484124876586062542012-02-18T22:16:07.802+01:00anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.comBlogger1501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-57673047173081729172012-02-18T22:16:00.000+01:002012-02-18T22:16:07.806+01:00

 Tonight I made myself a little aromatherapy potion for my various and persistent aches and pains, due to arthritis/rheumatism, cold damp weather and a very long period of inactivity from a problem with the meniscus in both knees. Several years ago I took a few aromatherapy classes and, of course, bought numerous books on the subject and a large supply of essential oils. Some have deteriorated,

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-37118998566831679362012-02-01T09:36:00.001+01:002012-02-01T15:02:30.954+01:00

Just so you don't think all I do is look after dogs, here are a couple of photos of recent work done around the place. Of course I didn't do any of it myself! Affinche` non pensiate che non faccio altro che stare dietro ai cani, ecco alcune foto di lavori fatti recentemente. Naturalmente io non ho fatto nulla personalmente! The hedge before - La siepe prima and after - e dopo Don't worry it grows

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-26371382877660406702012-01-26T15:11:00.000+01:002012-01-26T15:11:53.743+01:00

For the past few days I have been listening to presentations by a variety of speakers on the Winter of Wellness Telesummit of The Shift Network. I've found it very interesting and, best of all, it's free! I highly recommend checking it out. Today I listened to Master Mingtong Gu speak on Qigong, a practice that has interested me for many years, but that for some reason or another I have never

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-81498761698182309782012-01-24T18:02:00.000+01:002012-01-24T18:02:24.876+01:00

Nearly a month has passed since my last post and all I can say is that everything is pretty mellow around here at the moment. Particularly when the dogs are very tired and not tearing plants out of the ground or shredding their bed or barking incessantly at wandering dogs and chirping birds. Yesterday afternoon was such a moment because they had all run off and disappeared for 4 hours and

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-58253162647808560812011-12-26T17:28:00.000+01:002011-12-26T17:28:19.823+01:00

The last time I blogged everything was ho-hum, now I'm fluctuating between liking it here and not liking it at all, and fantasizing about moving back to Seattle in a year or so. We have pretty much moved into the house, even though there is no heat yet and it can get really, really cold in here. I have a fireplace and 3 gas heaters, but the ceilings are high and, as far as I'm concerned, fires

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-30240473501843037302011-11-26T15:14:00.000+01:002011-11-26T15:14:37.841+01:00

I can't believe I haven't written anything in 3 weeks. I must be getting ready for hibernation. It's only early afternoon on Saturday and I am already bored. Usually the day reserved for boredom is Sunday. In small towns in Italy, at least in this small town, everything shuts down on Sundays. In the States I could always go shopping, no matter what day of the week it was, or even what time of the

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-36363578164709051932011-11-06T09:37:00.000+01:002011-11-06T09:37:57.721+01:00

We were two - eravamo due ( I swear I did not place that rock there - giuro che non ho messo quella pietra in quel punto) and we became one - e siamo diventati uno.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-29425024838196893282011-10-31T20:00:00.000+01:002011-10-31T20:00:07.679+01:00

One year ago today I moved to Ceglie Messapica (BR) from San Francisco, California. I still don't know if it was the "right" thing to do or not, but I may never know, so I won't think about it too much. In the meanwhile I celebrated by enjoying the fall colors and gardening on Saturday and today. With expert and strong help, I planted 2 Pyracanthas, 2 Lavenders, 4 Lantanas, 3 Bouganvilles, one

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-18574925141418244112011-10-23T08:27:00.000+02:002011-10-23T08:27:58.608+02:00

Cirillo, whom I won't call the dog from hell, but who is definitely the dog that escaped juvenile dog detention hall, got a luscious new bed. He alternately loves it and attacks it. Considering his personality I would be surprised if he didn't do both. I have warned him that if he disembowels it he will be sleeping on old towels until his senior years. A Cirillo. che non chiamero` il cane venuto

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-30876486842658689282011-09-24T19:08:00.000+02:002011-09-24T19:08:47.708+02:00

a href="http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/">

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-69061878639694353132011-09-11T08:43:00.000+02:002011-09-11T08:43:10.256+02:00

After yesterday's scorching heat I was very surprised to go outside at 6:30 this morning and see this. Dopo il caldo torrido di ieri sono rimasta molto sorpresa questa mattina quando sono uscita alle 6,30 e ho visto questo. For a moment I wondered if I was in Ceglie Messapica or in San Francisco. Per un attimo mi sono chiesta se ero a Ceglie Messapica o a San Francisco. Taken in San Francisco

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-25578883860345623452011-09-04T09:09:00.001+02:002011-09-04T09:10:56.574+02:00

I have been gathering so many figs lately, basically from only two trees, that I decided to dry some. If the drying process goes well, they will be stuffed with almonds and fennel seeds. Every time I pick them I give half to a friend and still have more than I should eat left for me. Is it possible to eat too many deliciously sticky and sweet organic figs? Don't think so! Ultimamente sto

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-54595575009470206222011-09-02T11:47:00.000+02:002011-09-02T11:47:46.572+02:00

There is a tradition here in Ceglie Messapica called "Thursdays in September". The story goes that it is a time for friends to gather at their houses in the country to drink last year's wine and make room for the new: sounds like a great excuse to eat, drink and be merry. Last night I celebrated the first of these Thursdays at the Masseria LoJazzo where they hosted an event focused on the many

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-20359370760988901842011-08-28T10:57:00.002+02:002011-08-28T10:57:47.201+02:00

This little red dog showed up in February and stayed for a few hours. He did not belong to the pack and was obviously someone's dog, at least most of the time, because he was not shy about coming inside the house or getting petted. Questo cagnolino rosso e` apparso a febbraio ed e` rimasto per qualche ora. Non faceva parte del branco ed era ovvio che era il cane di qualcuno, almeno a tempo

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-939340915276054042011-08-14T18:36:00.000+02:002011-08-14T18:36:40.670+02:00

On Friday night I went to the Masseria LoJazzo for a walk through fields and over stone outcroppings, with just the light of the full moon. We felt the dry grass, the stones and the earth under our feet and smelled the wild thyme. For a good explanation of what a "masseria" is you can go here. This particular masseria was used to house farm animals and inhabited by laborers. It is now beautifully

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-35114670015344784632011-08-10T07:43:00.000+02:002011-08-10T07:43:43.989+02:00

Finally my one and only surviving sunflower has bloomed. I planted quite a few seeds, several sprouted, about 6 made it to transplanting, but only one grew, and grew and grew........and finally bloomed. Maybe that's why I am so excited and happy that it is now here and smiling at me. When I took this photo it was a little droopy from lack of water and from the intense heat, which today has

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-41722331382337184412011-08-07T18:50:00.000+02:002011-08-07T18:50:12.461+02:00

I was afraid I would not get to set foot in the Adriatic sea this summer, when I was suddenly invited by a friend to share a small apartment she had rented for a week in the Hotel Residence Fontanelle in Villanova, Ostuni. My first impression when I reached the beach was one of shock since I had never experienced those Italian beaches with crowds, umbrellas, blasting pop music and "animatori":

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-42010515218569294312011-07-25T15:43:00.000+02:002011-07-25T15:43:05.549+02:00

I've rented a tiny studio inside Ceglie for the next two months. The apartment I am currently in, kindly loaned to be by dear friends for the last nine months (!) is outside of the main part of town and since I can not drive here yet, since my knee went whacko 7 months ago, and since my place in the country is not ready yet, I've decided that it would be fun to spend at least 4 or 5 nights a week

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-83318577137849043792011-07-21T09:51:00.000+02:002011-07-21T09:51:45.300+02:00

Today I feel like bitching, moaning, groaning, whinging. I should feel grateful that my house has not been destroyed by a tornado, a hurricane, a tsunami, a fire, an earthquake, a flood and that there is no sinkhole under my bed. I should be grateful that I do not have a terminal illness I know of other than life itself, that I have food and shelter. But I do not feel it. I just feel guilty that

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-10197325992471642472011-07-17T13:00:00.000+02:002011-07-17T13:00:25.845+02:00

To the sound of Vasco Rossi's famous song "Una vita spericolata".... (A reckless or daredevil life) Cirillo is stressing me out! Aside from attacking my hands and feet, barking at me when I say "no", trying to very affectionately greet every passerby (I never realized how many people, young and old. are terrified of dogs here!), he also seems to have suicidal tendencies. When I first brought him

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-4818843998661122692011-07-10T12:37:00.000+02:002011-07-10T12:37:48.839+02:00

This is what I picked yesterday evening from my veggie patch. I don't know what that squash with the round end is, nor how to cook it. Can anyone enlighten me? Questo e` quello che ho raccolto ieri sera dal mio orticello. Non so cosa sia quella zucca con una punta rotonda, ne` come si cucini. Qualcuno puo` illuminarmi? The Plumbago is thriving. What a plant! It has survived here, mostly on its

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-82789468963024272552011-07-02T16:36:00.003+02:002011-07-03T13:45:50.416+02:00

Very early in the morning. Di mattina molto presto. July 3 - How strange, one of the photos I had uploaded is not here, so I am adding it now.  Plus it's the one I like better because of the pinkish tones.Che strano, una delle foto che avevo caricato non appare, quindi l'aggiungo adesso. Oltretutto e` quella che mi piace di piu` per via delle tonalita` rosate.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-75448576912178163222011-07-01T17:31:00.000+02:002011-07-01T17:31:40.115+02:00

Work continues on the house and when I go out there to see what's going on I escape from the blazing heat by lying on a lawn chair in front of the picture window. I am invariably mesmerized by the trees swaying in the wind and, in particular, by this cypress that splits into three parts as it swings slowly back and forth and around. The more I stared the more it started looking like three very

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-21299197544417054212011-06-21T21:55:00.000+02:002011-06-21T21:55:07.163+02:00

I've almost decided: it's Chicco (pronounced Keykko) or Ciccio (c as in church). Ho quasi deciso: o Chicco o Ciccio. Today he saw the vet and she said he weighs 14.5 kilos and is probably 8 to 9 months old. Oggi e` stato dal veterinario che ha detto che pesa 14,5 chili e che probabilmente ha da 8 a 9 mesi. He wags all the time and at everyone he meets. The tail and the ears are always in action.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-27090924360525972312011-06-20T17:08:00.000+02:002011-06-20T17:08:39.123+02:00

Funny how people, animals and places can suddenly and unexpectedly enter our life and just as suddenly leave it. This morning I had an appointment for an MRI at a clinic in Brindisi, a city about 37 kilometers from Ceglie Messapica. As I walked up to the front door the man in charge of reception and information was trying to gently coax a young white dog away from the entrance. He had already put

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-91864344452679229802011-06-12T20:56:00.001+02:002011-06-19T16:31:29.149+02:00

I'm so happy I took photos from the beginning, because even though I remember what everything looked like, it's difficult to believe my eyes when I look at this now and see what sun and warmth and water were able to do! Here's a photographic summary. Sono proprio contenta di aver scattato foto sin dall'inizio, perche` anche se mi ricordo come era prima, e` difficile credere ai miei occhi quando

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-38933048572644005962011-05-29T19:38:00.000+02:002011-05-29T19:38:19.695+02:00

I do not have a non-venomous snake phobia, but I am not fond of them, and recently I have seen way more than I want to see. I don't know if it's because the place has not been lived in for 25 years and in recent months so much ivy was torn down, but for some reason a couple of days ago, in the space of 2 hours, three long black snakes came leaping out of the flower and vegetable bed in front of

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-239021458928766712011-05-28T09:32:00.000+02:002011-05-28T09:32:20.922+02:00

As you may have guessed Picciri` did not make it. He had a very bad night - I did what I could, which wasn't much, until 3 am when he calmed down. I gave him another hot water bottle at 5 am, and when I woke up at 7 am he was gone. I didn't think that losing such a tiny creature that I knew for only 3 days could hit me so hard, but it did. I have a feeling that there was a reason for his coming

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-45097870833315996722011-05-24T21:36:00.000+02:002011-05-24T21:36:25.262+02:00

This evening, about a yard from the entrance of the den with the puppies I mentioned in the previous post, I found a tiny black puppy, who apparently has nothing to do with the ones in the den. For one thing they are about 5 to 6 weeks old, come out of the den to roll around and play, whereas this one is much younger - eyes not quite open, can barely lift his head and his fur is black and curly -

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-62831108988633456302011-05-21T20:48:00.001+02:002011-05-21T20:48:45.943+02:00

When I arrived here at the end of October there were 6 white pups, their mother, and the three dark ones you see above. Since then the mother and two pups have disappeared, one puppy was found dead, and a week ago the dog catchers picked up my favorite pup, the one I call "Pecorone", and a shepherd mix who never came over to my place. Quando sono arrivata qui alla fine di ottobre c'erano 6

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-55613454949245711762011-05-14T20:25:00.000+02:002011-05-14T20:25:51.608+02:00

Last Sunday I was sitting on a wall over at the place I'm slowing getting renovated, waiting for friends to pick me up, when I noticed two birds swooping overhead, flying in and out of trees and stopping to perch on the end of one of the pieces of bamboo I had put up as supports for my cucumber transplants (which now appear to be zucchini and not cucumbers.....). I couldn't figure out what they

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-1483802754645516552011-05-06T20:25:00.000+02:002011-05-06T20:25:48.842+02:00

Lately I have been re-reading Toby Hemenway's excellent book "Gaia's Garden - a guide to home-scale permaculture", which I first read in 2007 for the permaculture design certification course I attended in San Francisco, California. I came across a page in which he describes hugelkultur, or mound culture, so I started searching for more information online and found this, watched some videos on

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-43378457481928938122011-05-05T21:40:00.000+02:002011-05-05T21:40:09.686+02:00

Remember Wolfie? Ricordate Wolfie? I thought he was a he, but I'm afraid he is a she, and pregnant too. Pensavo fosse un lui, ma temo che sia un lei e anche incinta.  Then there's the other female, who is always either pregnant or lactating. Poi c'e` l'altra femmina, che e` sempre o incinta o allatta.  I think she has found herself a shelter, where she has had or will have puppies. I've avoided

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-6482850258303457442011-05-05T15:54:00.000+02:002011-05-05T15:54:10.920+02:00

The miraculous difference a couple of months can make! La miracolosa differenza che fanno un paio di mesi! At the end of February. Alla fine di febbraio. Yesterday. Ieri.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-20674290884393786932011-05-02T22:51:00.000+02:002011-05-02T22:51:57.046+02:00

I was surprised when I realized how much time had passed since I last posted, but I have not been idle. Spring engulfs me its sea of green and heavenly scents and I forget everything else. I buy too many seeds, I wander around photographing buds and bugs, I wake up at dawn with a new garden plan, I lay out plant combinations in my mind, and then undo them. Sono rimasta sorpresa nel vedere quanto

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-68142150098787968212011-04-23T13:28:00.001+02:002011-04-23T13:28:39.907+02:00

Yesterday I spent the morning in Brindisi, the city I lived in for my last two years of Italian high school. Our apartment was in a building just past the one on the right. You may notice a decapitated palm in the photo above because in Italy hundreds of ancient palms have been destroyed by the Rynchophorus ferrugineus beetle. It is feared that all specimens of a certain species of palm growing

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-88246557310347920892011-04-10T10:21:00.000+02:002011-04-10T10:21:39.406+02:00

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-90642968299960324072011-04-07T18:14:00.000+02:002011-04-07T18:14:59.538+02:00

As soon as I saw Carla Sonheim's Tombow pen bunny tutorial I painted a couple of them. Appena ho visto la lezione di Carla Sonheim sul disegno di coniglietti con la penna Tombow ne ho fatti un paio. The next day I varied the style somewhat. Il giorno successivo ne ho fatto una variante. Yesterday I moved on to cats. The funny thing is that while I was painting this one there was a TV program

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-49419194998288358442011-04-03T10:06:00.000+02:002011-04-03T10:06:42.274+02:00

("Sono una persona straordinaria: abbino righe e pua` a boa di piume")Inspired by Sandra van der Geest's tutorial

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-41719261450364154372011-04-02T16:52:00.000+02:002011-04-02T16:52:53.495+02:00

The olive trees hadn't been pruned in over 20 years. I tried my best to have them pruned in a way that was not too radical, but I guess my words were just dust in the wind because they were stripped naked. I was not happy, and I said so...... I was told not to fear, that in a few months they will explode with new life, but I have a very hard time believing it. I just hope they survive - I didn't

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-6210267355764535862011-03-27T16:13:00.002+02:002011-03-29T20:31:11.855+02:00

The weather is warming up and lizards are everywhere right now. I couldn't get a shot of my favorites, the geckos, which look like fat mini crocodiles, but here are a couple of the others. The one on the hot orange roof was shot on December 8th, and the green ones, whose heads truly resemble the heads of snakes, yesterday. Do they all have camouflage abilities? Le temperature sono in aumento e le

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-85616649453010491172011-03-27T15:32:00.002+02:002011-03-27T18:57:42.539+02:00

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-62582832957484767032011-03-23T19:44:00.002+01:002011-03-27T19:12:47.404+02:00

The more time I spend in the garden the more I realize how little I know about world of nature that surrounds me. A couple of evenings ago I went out to the house in the country and was greeted by a person who is working there, with the warning that the "processionary" was around the corner and to absolutely not get anywhere near it because it is very dangerous. I, of course, said "what?" So I

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-8130364147089473122011-03-21T14:40:00.001+01:002011-03-27T18:59:02.721+02:00

A little less than two weeks ago I showed you a sketch for a mixed media piece I was creating, following a prompt from Dana Mrkich to make art that represents what we would like for our life. Here is the finished piece and, as you can see, in my ideal world there are various animals and plants, lots of land, at least one other human of un-specified sex and two dwellings that are a cross between a

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-14074108918603754212011-03-13T19:17:00.001+01:002011-03-27T19:02:31.206+02:00

I've just joined Shadow Shot Sunday and here is my contribution for today. I shot this in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco back in 2009, but it's the best I could come up with right now, seeing that it is currently nighttime and pouring rain outside here in southern Italy! That's not my dog Eden, but looks just like so many photos that I have taken of her running in GG Park. I miss her badly and

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-30441906428414889872011-03-09T18:27:00.002+01:002011-03-27T19:03:18.748+02:00

I receive Dana Mrkich's newsletter and the most recent one recommended doing artwork to move energy and to create a painting or drawing of what we would like to embody and how we would like to feel. Since I'm already creating something almost every night lately, I immediately got to work. This is the initial drawing, and I hope I can bring myself to give it color.  It's obvious that I am a

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-54188298663659176182011-03-09T10:50:00.000+01:002011-03-09T10:50:56.778+01:00

What thrills me these days is a load of soil, manure and worms, dumped yesterday at my place. Quello che mi entusiasma in questi giorni e` un carico di terreno, letame e vermi, scaricato ieri in campagna.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-52294835632134492672011-03-08T10:24:00.000+01:002011-03-08T10:24:08.096+01:00

That's what she seemed to be saying to me last night when I completed this little mixed media piece. I couldn't quite bring myself to add any words, because I wasn't quite sure what she was saying. I wonder if this little creature who has appeared twice in my paintings in the past few days is going to stick around. E mo`? Questo e` quello che sembrava volesse dirmi ieri sera quando ho

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-6325186217477469692011-03-06T10:01:00.000+01:002011-03-06T10:01:40.664+01:00

It has been raining heavily for several days now and non-stop for the last 20 hours, and I haven't been able to go out and play over at my place and muck around in the dirt, since I'm not living there yet. So I have been spending my time reading about earthworms and compost, and doing what you see here. I had everything on there, even the boots, but not the little girl and I kept "seeing" a

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-82430661039202754832011-03-05T09:01:00.000+01:002011-03-05T09:01:17.976+01:00

Another mixed media piece for the March theme of The Sketchbook Challenge, "Spilling Over". Life, symbolized by nature and its cycles, is what was in my head as I was finishing this. The vines in this piece, like "What a Tangled Web we Weave..." from a couple of days ago, were inspired by a post by Violette Clark for her frog series in which she gave a link to a particular Zendoodle method (it

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-29360705900225428272011-03-03T12:18:00.004+01:002011-03-27T19:04:52.867+02:00

Maternal great-grandfather a photo by stonetta on Flickr.Mixed media collage

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-53663639426637823172011-03-03T12:10:00.005+01:002011-03-27T19:05:33.181+02:00

What a tangled web we weave.... a photo by stonetta on Flickr.My contribution to the March theme for The Sketchbook Challenge, which is "Spilling Over".

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-27226564275282696182011-02-27T17:14:00.000+01:002011-02-27T17:14:03.354+01:00

(You may click on photos to enlarge them - clicccare sulle foto per ingrandirle) My recent posts have been so full of green and brown that I felt the need for an abundant dose of orange. All photos were taken between November 4, 2010 and February 14th of this year. Recentemente i post sono cosi` totalmente verdi e marroni che ho sentito il bisogno di una buona dose di arancione. Tutte le foto

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-81770916267192310382011-02-27T15:05:00.000+01:002011-02-27T15:05:30.105+01:00

Yesterday I discovered that there were puddles of water in my father's former workshop, not because of the skylight that thieves long ago broke into, but because a mat of soil and pine needles several inches thick, with grass and weeds growing on it, was covering certain areas of the roof, in particular, the place where water that collects on the roof is supposed to drain off.  A similar

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-69946539164432036892011-02-24T17:21:00.002+01:002011-02-27T14:25:24.455+01:00

(Click on photos to enlarge - Cliccare sulle foto per ingrandirle) A lot of work has been done since my last "agricultural" post on the 12th. I started a compost pile by laying down some twigs and then layering green, brown, green, brown, soil, moisture and so on. And yes, I admit it, I also added a bit of diluted urine. Sono stati fatti molti progressi dal mio ultimo post "agricolo" del 12.  Ho

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-57612249685720107112011-02-13T17:34:00.000+01:002011-02-13T17:34:39.398+01:00

I had no intention of making a Valentine's Day image, but my consciousness must have been so inundated with hearts seen online during the past few days that I made this collage last night (the gel transfer is from a photo of my maternal grandmother, Antonietta Lamedica).Non avevo alcuna intenzione di creare una immagine per la festa di San Valentino, ma si vede che avevo la mente cosi` inondata

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-48237928477290845742011-02-12T20:30:00.000+01:002011-02-12T20:30:27.554+01:00

Today, the 4th full day of working on the land around the house in which I hope to soon live, Sergio,  who has been doing all the hard work around there, pruned a large and not too healthy tree of uncertain variety. I say it's a plum tree, but I think he said it's an almond. He's most likely right, but that means that the two plum trees that grew in that area are gone. Too bad, they were

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-58470053854960430152011-02-11T19:42:00.002+01:002011-02-11T19:47:44.448+01:00

(click on photos to enlarge them- cliccate sulle foto per ingrandirle) Another 6 hours were spent today doing the usual: pruning and removing ivy, but today we threw in a lot of grass cutting, with the chop and drop method - cut it and leave it in place. There's a lot of nitrogen in that grass so some will stay in place and some will go into a large compost pile which I hope to start tomorrow.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-8835554753736529432011-02-09T23:08:00.002+01:002011-02-12T15:24:14.505+01:00

This morning I bought a wheelbarrow and some new tools (and a 40lb. bag of dog food....). The "witch's broom", which I intend to use on nights with a full moon,  is for sweeping under olive trees and for clearing soil and leaves off of sidewalks. These brooms are so typical of this region that's it's odd to find out that they are now all made in China.Questa mattina mi sono comprata una carriola

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-68743609894600032982011-02-07T19:52:00.003+01:002011-02-24T17:39:41.076+01:00

I went out to my place today with a friend who has the right tools and we spent 7 hours liberating trees and walls from Algerian Atlantic Ivy (Hedera hibernica) and pruning fruit trees. He did the hard work and I dragged branches into piles and interrupted constantly to say what's that tree and let's do that one! It was an exhausting day, but the sun, all that bright green and the birds chirping,

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-65975358543282587862011-02-02T16:04:00.000+01:002011-02-02T16:04:54.276+01:00

Yesterday my household goods finally arrived and just as the truck maneuvered into the driveway it went into a little patch of deep grass and ran over a large rock. The rock was only about 7 to 8 inches tall, but the truck was very low in the front. The result was that the radiator broke and fluid gushed out of it and down the driveway. Really gushed. Then one of the two men bent down to look

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-74412170419867326692011-01-31T12:33:00.000+01:002011-01-31T12:33:13.799+01:00

Since I can't be gardening right now, I'm creating little imaginary houses made of plants and inhabited by teddy bears and angels. Collages can seems strange even to the person who creates them, much like dreams. Visto che per il momento non posso fare del giardinaggio, mi creo casette immaginarie fatte di piante e popolate da angeli e orsacchiotti. I collage possono sembrare strani anche a chi

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-44520700958176822722011-01-29T23:02:00.000+01:002011-01-29T23:02:33.347+01:00

This little dog, who belongs to one of the vendors at the Saturday market, catches my eye every time I go there. OK, so all dogs catch my eye, it's true, but this one's rather unusual colors, grey and brown, are what get my attention. This morning I was struck by how he blended into the asphalt. Questo piccolo cane, che appartiene a uno dei commercianti al mercato del sabato, attira ogni volta la

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-4235502828403228272011-01-22T23:19:00.000+01:002011-01-23T16:55:10.276+01:00

(Click on photos to enlarge)(Cliccare sulle foto per ingrandirle)The magical light of the late afternoon sun, particularly after a thunderstorm,  never fails to enchant me and give me a sense of peace and warmth. La luce magica del sole pomeridiano, particolarmente dopo una tempesta, non manca mai di incantarmi e darmi un senso di pace e calore. I had brought food for the strays, but no matter 

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-40150718390067406452011-01-16T16:33:00.000+01:002011-01-16T16:33:45.485+01:00

As I have mentioned and shown before, and as you can see from these photos taken at the beginning of November, there is an infinite supply of stones, rocks and boulders around here, since that is what you will find underneath a shallow layer of soil in this entire area. Since this is one of the aspects of this region of the world that has always attracted me, I'm suspecting that it is because of

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-63471242940064623272011-01-10T20:53:00.000+01:002011-01-10T20:57:54.067+01:00

This has been a very introspective time for me, and something tonight caused me to think of the love/relationships aspect of my life. I realized that I have always either loved too much or not enough, or that I don't know how to love, and so love has mostly been a pain, one way or another, and this is why I was content to be without a "romantic" relationship for so many years. Some people just

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-68867831213958574112011-01-08T08:59:00.001+01:002011-01-08T09:47:28.511+01:00

Silly 3.3 Originally uploaded by stonettaThis is my third drawing for the Art of Silliness- 3 class offered online by Carla Sonheim. Interesting stuff coming out here......ummmm. This is the caption beneath it, using some names that were part of the assignment. Demented but fun, what can I say? "The Squeen and her Squeenettes, from left to right: Zerp, Poogy and Bragula.  Bragula got her name

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-58271817221644592082011-01-05T21:09:00.000+01:002011-01-05T21:09:12.078+01:00

It seems like that sometimes, doesn't it? After 4 months of no work getting done on the house, my household goods traveling through unknown lands for 2 months, my not feeling like making art, not taking any classes, being on crutches for two weeks........whammo! The new year starts and everything happens!A volte sembra proprio cosi`, non'e` vero? Dopo 4 mesi di lavori fermi, dopo due mesi in cui

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-5598254810077925182011-01-01T11:06:00.000+01:002011-01-01T11:06:13.109+01:00

I decided to end 2010 by creating something, so this is what I finished right about midnight, in the midst of what sounded like a war had broken out. Since I hadn't spent New Year's Eve in Italy since 1976, I had forgotten how wild the fireworks, legal and illegal, can get. I must admit I really enjoyed it. (The color that is closest to the real image is the one in the center, at least on my

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-78231888951200913812010-12-26T22:28:00.000+01:002010-12-26T22:28:28.164+01:00

(Click on photos to enlarge them - Cliccare sulle foto per ingrandirle) Today I went with a friend and her children to Urupia, a commune founded in 1995 by a group of Germans and southern Italians, and spent the day socializing and enjoying a tasty vegetarian lunch, served with the organic bread, wine and olive oil they produce, and in the company of the people who live there permanently, their

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-13152111572187129592010-12-16T15:18:00.000+01:002010-12-16T15:20:08.427+01:00

This will be in installments, because my internet connection will not allow me to upload more than one small video, if I'm lucky. It is the Festival of the New Oil, which was held in the town castle last night. Olive oil, wine, fresh mozzarella and an infinity of delicious sweets. And the kind of music that makes me want to jump around. Sara` a puntate perche` il mio collegamento via chiavetta

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-2447718679566159002010-12-13T13:05:00.000+01:002010-12-13T13:05:26.460+01:00

Click on images to enlarge - cliccare sull'immagine per ingrandirla

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-59673217017791221422010-12-11T19:55:00.000+01:002010-12-11T19:55:41.561+01:00

I left the apartment early this morning to go to the Saturday market: clothes, shoes, household goods, fresh produce, cheeses, etc, etc, and saw on the ground what I thought was ice. Sono uscita presto questa mattina per andare al mercato del sabato e ho visto qualcosa che pensavo fosse ghiaccio. I later learned that it was granular snow, something that can happen here even when in towns just a

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-30676689860792649672010-12-10T19:16:00.000+01:002010-12-10T19:16:16.775+01:00

I was supposed to start soil and fence preparations for my organic garden tomorrow morning but, as seems to be the norm this past month, there are obstacles. So I decided to grab one of my new tools, a hedge trimmer, and attack the plumbago hedge. I preparativi per il mio orticello botanico sarebbero dovuti iniziare domani, ma come sembra essere di norma quest'ultimo mese, ci sono stati intoppi.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-38403830584411458702010-12-03T19:22:00.000+01:002010-12-03T19:22:51.641+01:00

Click on photos to enlarge - cliccare sulle foto per ingrandirleIn the neighborhood - Nella mia contrada View of the town - veduta della citta` An alley in the ancient part of town - Uno scorcio del borgo antico And now for the report of my life with the pack - E adesso il resoconto della mia vita con il branco. The food is never enough. Il

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-50915010950991139632010-11-28T17:01:00.000+01:002010-11-28T20:50:33.067+01:00

click on photos to enlarge - cliccare sulle foto per ingrandirleShe (or he?) stares at me from a very safe distance and I stare back. Mi fissa da una distanza sicura e io ricambio. It's a little like hanging out with a pack of wolves, and some of you know how I have a thing for wolves. E` un po' come farsela con un branco di lupi e alcuni di voi sanno quanto mi piacciono i lupi! http://

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-65480266182620358642010-11-28T10:02:00.000+01:002010-11-28T10:02:09.110+01:00

I was very lucky that while in Naples I found a small Kodak store in an alley, run by a very kind and knowledgeable man, who discovered that the problem with my camera was neither the camera, nor the battery, but a damaged memory card. He fixed everything for me and even managed to save the photos that  I had been unable to download from the card. If you are ever in Naples in need of help with

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-51187523719541563122010-11-27T07:22:00.000+01:002010-11-27T07:23:13.521+01:00

It's amazing how beautiful the sun can be when you haven't seen it in just two days. Sono rimasta meravigliata da come e` stato bello vedere il sole dopo solo due giorni di grigiore. Piazza del Gesu` Via San Gregorio Armeno is a street in the heart of Naples, famous for its shops selling nativity scenes. Once upon a time they were all made in Naples, but now many are made in China, so

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-64204638819088643372010-11-26T15:14:00.000+01:002010-11-26T15:14:09.623+01:00

Roasted chestnuts - and they were oh so good! An alley Three of the waterfront in the rain

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-53644972846699619052010-11-25T22:57:00.000+01:002010-11-25T22:57:27.551+01:00

This video is from a few days ago, and I can't quite figure out why two or three of them at a time like to hang out together on top of the stump of a tree that was cut down a few months ago. Is it somehow warm or just drier than the surrounding grass? Drier doesn't make sense because in that case there are vast areas of cement that they could choose.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-17175967422393145552010-11-24T17:04:00.000+01:002010-11-24T17:05:32.781+01:00

This morning I left sunny Puglia to come to Naples for two days. On the bus in Puglia. Just shot this a few minutes ago from my window in Naples. I'm still alive....the wind had ripped the shutters out of my hand. It may not be "o paese do sole" at the moment, but it still has its charms.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-78673556212940507532010-11-23T09:05:00.000+01:002010-11-23T09:05:05.832+01:00

Sometimes my favorite videos are the ones I shoot by accident. A volte succede che i miei video preferiti sono quelli che faccio inavvertitamente.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-282171260029223002010-11-23T08:54:00.000+01:002010-11-23T08:54:46.122+01:00

There are more dogs in the pack than I initially thought, because some of them stay on the land next to mine and never come over to my place, at least not while I am there. The two large white ones are of a breed called "Pastore Maremmano" and they belong to the man who owns that land. The rest are unfortunately just multiplying. I've been told that a local vet has come over several times to try

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-56865985522317934412010-11-14T17:10:00.000+01:002010-11-14T17:12:01.843+01:00

Part two - parte seconda. In a food, wine and overall good mood induced trance I walked to my place to feed the strays and space out. In un trance provocato da cibo, vino e benessere generale mi sono incamminata verso casa mia per dare da mangiare ai randagi e per sognare ad occhi aperti.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-68235307038744666902010-11-14T16:29:00.000+01:002010-11-14T16:29:38.016+01:00

Part One - Prima parte Sunday lunch with my guardian angels. Pranzo della domenica con i miei angeli custodi. To be continued.... alla prossima puntata....

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-8251920807613466592010-11-14T10:59:00.000+01:002010-11-14T10:59:24.357+01:00

The way it was - Come era and the way it is....... e come e`. A sad state of affairs, but not a hopeless one. Una situazione triste, ma non senza speranze.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-89714786908747950142010-11-13T16:27:00.000+01:002010-11-13T16:27:12.694+01:00

Versione italiana sottoUnfortunately my current internet connection will not allow me to upload any videos of a decent length, so this is the best I can do. Today, before the daily 6 km. walk along country roads (my friends go every day, but I don't because I walk into town once or twice a day anyway), I went to a favorite local restaurant, "Da Gino", and ate two of their specialties:

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-91531223715470052102010-11-06T16:42:00.000+01:002010-11-06T16:42:42.773+01:00

Yesterday's walk to my place as the sun was low in the sky. There's a pack of very frightened dogs on my place, apparently with mange and litters of puppies. I was going to keep my distance, because packs of dogs can be dangerous, but they were even more interested in keeping theirs. I was told that there are a couple of women who feed them as well as other stray dogs in the area. Good girls. I

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-6890549927638163832010-11-06T08:01:00.000+01:002010-11-06T08:01:07.334+01:00

versione italiana sotto I haven't posted since March, so let's see if I can remember how to do this. A lot has happened since my existential musings on the meaning of life as I walked through Golden Gate Park, in fact I am no longer living in the United States. Two weeks ago I moved from San Francisco to the town of Ceglie Messapica in the region of Puglia, in southern Italy. I spent my last two

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-69047852137940552452010-03-27T22:15:00.000+01:002010-03-28T05:54:40.556+02:00

(con versione italiana)Saturday ritual - walk in the park with Eden, but this time no existential thoughts like the last time. Just feeling light and airy - Gemini must be in one of those places. I'm thinking about maybe going to Italy in June, how could anyone get existential over that? I guess I could, but in a very different way. I haven't been in two and a half years, since the trip on which

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-44774905814811462582010-03-13T20:48:00.000+01:002010-03-13T20:50:34.757+01:00

Sometimes, for a very brief moment, I think I know. Then I forget. Maybe it's best to forget what we think we know and start fresh. I often wonder about the "road not taken" and the path we choose when we come to a fork in the road, and how that choice can drastically alter the course of our life. Actually I shouldn't say alter, I should say determine, because what we do is to go one way instead

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-21628464003790865432010-03-06T20:48:00.000+01:002010-03-06T20:52:11.162+01:00

  Trees have the power to calm me. I can be wound tight and stressed, but when I am with them I breathe a sigh of relief. They live three blocks from my home and they are the best part of the neighborhood. I visited them this morning with Eden. Gli alberi hanno il potere di calmarmi. Posso sentirmi tesa e stressata ma, quando sono in mezzo a loro, non posso fare a meno di rilassarmi e fare un

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-78376674445112378802010-03-01T06:28:00.000+01:002010-03-01T06:51:35.655+01:00

(segue in italiano) Thank you.  Thank you for the teachers, for the great spiritual masters, whom the Holy Spirit, the Divine Essence of All, periodically sends to Earth to remind us of our divinity. Thank you Jesus the Christ, the Nazarene, for Your teachings and Your sacrifice. Even if you do not believe in His divinity, as I do, if we were all, starting with me, to follow His radical teachings

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-64510456840950090462010-02-26T04:01:00.000+01:002010-02-26T04:43:00.542+01:00

(la versione italiana e` in fondo alla pagina) We all need it, in one way or another. Pray for it, chant Om Namah Shivaya (listen to Krishna Das chant it here, practice the Metta meditation, do it your own way, and your heart will be filled, maybe even from unexpected sources. And when your heart is overflowing with love, send it out to the farthest reaches of the universe. It can only do good.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-64509236529414211292010-02-23T01:22:00.000+01:002010-02-23T01:45:09.289+01:00

I just returned from An Artful Journey retreat at the Presentation Center in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains. Reentry to planet Earth was harsh. I realized as I rode through the city streets that I was tightly clutching the fabric of my jacket lying on the seat beside me. Not a good sign. At the retreat I took Nina (as in Carolina...) Bagley's class. I've read her blog for 4 years and

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-36751565733906609592010-02-13T08:42:00.000+01:002010-02-13T18:15:09.522+01:00

Wistful: 1. characterized by melancholy; longing; yearning. 2. pensive, especially in a melancholy way. 3. musingly sad. When someone you were in love with as a teenager in another country finds you forty years later on Facebook, and you communicate, and check out each other's pages, photos and friends, it is strange and slightly absurd. It feels as if there are four of you, the two you once

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-51448058805254781852010-02-08T06:25:00.000+01:002010-02-08T06:33:15.674+01:00

I decided I had to write something here because it's been almost 3 weeks since I posted anything, and if I let too much time go by I'll get all self conscious about it and not want to write, and so forth and so on. I think of this blog as the journal where mostly I record stuff I do, with photographs. That's so I don't have to write in the mixed media journal in which I mostly drew, painted and

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-23806093132037195482010-01-18T21:30:00.000+01:002010-01-18T21:39:50.586+01:00

Click twice on the image, not the play arrow, to watch on Youtube. It's feast or famine here in San Francisco when it comes to rain. I was really enjoying it until I remembered how hard it is on the homeless and on those who have been putting up sand bags since yesterday.

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-8845427759153596162010-01-11T02:57:00.000+01:002010-01-11T03:06:33.227+01:00

The words above probably fall in the category of "famous last words", uttered moments before one gets lost in the woods. I just returned from a silent, contemplative retreat led by Dr. James Finley and hosted by the San Damiano Retreat Center in Danville, California. I actually signed up for it, didn't change my mind about it, didn't cancel it, and didn't get sick. I was present for it, mind,

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7448412487658606254.post-66051308003376356922009-12-28T03:03:00.000+01:002009-12-28T03:13:14.160+01:00

(watch it on Youtube, at least you will get the entire image!) A friend sent me a link to this video yesterday and I think I have watched it at  least five times since then.  Now I get Fr. Thomas Keating's reference, in a DVD I just listened to of talk he gave this year, to the fact that rather than being made from the slime of the Earth, we are made of "star stuff". Now I also get Joni

anna mariahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053997040371741100noreply@blogger.com2