Deruta, Italy

After visiting Assissi, we drove down to Deruta. Does that sound familiar? That's where all the pottery comes from in Italy. In fact shortly after I got back, a Christmas catalog came and they had ceramics from Deruta for sale.

This was the first store we visited, and ultimately the one we loaded up in. When we first arrived, he was showing how he painted a piece. He was so good at the intricate pattern on the wheel that it looked easy.

This was the only place I felt an overwhelming need to buy...I didn't feel that way so much in the other cities.

The showroom...full of temptation

See no evil...but I bought that bowl in the lower right corner, the salt and pepper shakers in the center and the napkin holder (and more) anyway

Shopping hangover (see all the stuff on the wooden table and on the floor? it got it's own trip back to the US of A)

Aldo, the attorney turned artist, shows us his workroom downstairs...

and a plate painted and coated in the stuff in the pot from the previous picture.

But most importantly, this is Millou, Aldo's very vocal and friendly teen aged cat.

Oh boy, did seeing Millou make me miss Gus and Cotton! The drive to Deruta was beautiful - if I remember correctly, we traveled by a lake for some time.

The ceramics all arrived about 4 weeks after we got back. One night at Cindy's house we had so much fun opening everything up. It was just like Christmas.

I did love visiting Deruta. And next time I'll actually go into the old town.

The birdbath

This is the birdbath in my backyard. It is sitting on a chunk of concrete that was dug out below the deck to make a parking spot for my car off the street.

So what is the significance of this birdbath? It's empty. Because of the drought.

What you can see when all the water evaporates are the little pebbles in the birdbath.

That look suspiciously like the pebbles on the path in the background.

That I told my niece not to put in the birdbath.

They hang on my every word.

Really.

Family Supper

My sister and brother-in-law invited me to join them for supper at a Cajun restaurant near their home. Their friend D and I were being treated in honor of our August birthdays. During supper, which was yummy, the power went out, but only after our suppers were delivered.


Before you accuse me of spectacularly missing the shot, I tried to get both girls in the photo, the one on the right was not interested until the last minute and tried to get in the shot. I'm sorry she waited too long, because this would have been a wonderful photo of my brother-in-law and his daughters. It is a wonderful photo of him.



The younger of my nieces loves the camera and quickly struck a pose again--this time with my sister, her mother.

This is focus - on a cartoon on my iPod with no sound because I didn't have the headphones with me. I thought it was interesting how alike they are despite the difference in their ages.

Nowhere better to be

Late one evening I was closing up and turning off, and I noticed this guy on my back door screen.

His camouflage wasn't doing him much good here on the back door screen. As I opened the door to go out to take his picture he turned and moved about, uncomfortable. When I went back in, he moved about, watching to be sure I meant no harm after blinding him with the flash. He was gone by the next morning, probably to one of the many trees in my backyard.





Seeing this reminded me that we are all made for something special and sometimes what that is--that purpose--is obvious like with leaf bug here, and sometimes it isn't. When we're outside that purpose, we are uncomfortable and awkward, and feel exposed.

But when we are doing the thing we are meant to do, there's nowhere better to be.

Mamma Mia I'm slow!

Okay - I must be one of the last few women in America or the world for that matter to see Mamma Mia. But see it I did this weekend. LOVED it.

I have downloaded the soundtrack, pieced it with the broadway soundtrack where it left out songs from the movie, and that has been the soundtrack for my Labor Day weekend.

It made me remember how much I loved ABBA's music, and I could remember where I was and what I was doing when Mamma Mia, Waterloo, Winner Takes It All, Fernando (not in the movie), Dancing Queen all were part of the pop culture.

I want to share that with you, so click on Mamma Mia the movie and enjoy a synopsis of the movie.

And if for some reason, you haven't been to see it: take a girlfriend and Get thee to a theatre pronto. And if you have seen it, go again - the sing along version is coming out.

Mamma Mia it made me feel good!