And Now Back to Our Regular.....

Its been a very odd week or two here. Between the flu that seems to be striking everyone and was really energy-draining and ADSL problems I haven't been either able or in the mood to update. Though I've been reading all my favorite bloggers I just haven't felt much like sitting down and commenting let alone putting finger to keyboard and writing about what's been going on here in the Eternal City.

However things seem to be on the turn around - Eugenia, my Italian teacher, assures me that Spring is just about to begin - and I'll post a few things that I had been working on with their original dates.

And to my buds - you knew the silence was too good to last. I'm back!

08 febbraio - San Girolamo

Sharing

Though things have been a little off kilter here the past week or two doesn't mean I haven't been following my favorite bloggers. Though in many cases I haven't been commenting a great deal - imagine me keeping my mouth shut - I still found so much to enjoy out there.

• The doyenne - so young and she's a doyenne already - of Opera here in Italy if not all of Europe, the beloved Opera Chic has been featured in Classical Singer magazine. Interviewer Amanada White, rightly IMHO, calls her the world's foremost opera blogger.


• My darling Auld Hat is back in full force after a brief sabbatical and is as wise, witty and talented as always.


• Sageweb went on a trip and gets tripped up at Ikea. And then she goes and gives us the cutest damn puppy and puddy picture around. And you all know how I feel about puppy and puddy pics.


• RG has totally ruined The Wizard of Oz for me, I'll never look at getting back to Kansas the same way ever again.

• Once again Tater writes from the heart and reaches our hearts with a memory profile of his beloved Jimmy.


• Lorraine is touched by grace at a time and place she least expected. And in the telling proves that grace can be in the written word.


• And Elizabeth muses on the nature of friendships and the kinship of being an outsider.

And that just a random sampling of what I've been reading from my blog buddies - all of them more than worth a regular visit if they're not on your list already.

These pictures where taken on a back road in the Reiti plain in November. That old dog was very concerned when we separated him from the flock. The shepherd had given us the all clear when there was a break - but that old boy kicked up quite a fuss.

25 gennaio - Conversione di San Paolo

Sharing

Okay just because Christmas is over doesn't mean we still can't share things. And there's lot to share out there:

• Auld Hat has done a major redesign at The Voluptuary where the colours are seductive, the content saucy and the artistry superb.
• Over at Meanwhile Aaron shares another series of his beautiful photos.
  Field Trip: Flushing Part I
  Field Trip: Flushing Part II
  Mystery
• Joe, My God broke the news that our beloved Big Ass Belle is the co-winner for 2007's Post Of The Year for Piano Music. It is a touching and powerful piece that reflects the passion and compassion that is Lynette.
• Elizabeth looks at family as a mother and as a daughter.
• Dr Faustus got a rather decent preposal. And gave the right answer.
• And one place that I don't visit often enough but always dazzles me: Japonisme

And why the Carousel picture? Because I like carousels and I have all these pictures from 2007 that never got posted.

01 gennaio - Maria Madre di Dio

The Traditions of Christmas - Sharing II

So many memories of Christmas - good and bad - are being posted on some of my favorite blogs this week that I once again must share them. If they aren't on your regular blog visits here are some wonderful additions to your Christmas reading and listening:

• Tony, our own EG, explains why "the worst Christmas ever" is really "the best Xmas Ever."


• Auld Hat both remembers and provides a gift of music.


• Lorraine and I find we are kindred spirits when it comes to wrapping gifts and she shares a recipe for Egg Nog Pound Cake.


• Over at World o'Jeff the Del Rubio triplets contrive to delight us and a request is made to share the season with Milly.


• Sticky Crows has some great shots of Montreal after last week's storm that almost, notice I said almost, make me homesick.


• Eric at Secrets of the Red Seven addresses envelopes and the sending of Christmas cards.


• Speck remembers a once unwanted gift that became a treasured tradition.

Thank you all for sharing.

20 decembre - San Macario

The Traditions of Christmas - Sharing

Sharing can take many forms and that is what blogs are about. We can share memories, stories, music, thoughts, opinions and observations. A few of my blog favorites have been sharing some great stuff the past few days:

• On his Jukebox Friday Eric over at Secrets of the Red Seven has a great version of the worlds most popular chorus by a group called the Roches - not roaches.
• Doralong's music choice is a bit more rock inclined with Brian Setzer giving Rudolph a run for his money.
• Elizabeth has two things to share: one a musical bombshell from the London Gay Men's Chorus and the other a personal memory and her thoughts as she looks back on it.
• And though it is not exactly Christmas, Lorraine speaks eloquently of sharing a meal at special times - happy and sad.

Thank you, my friends, for sharing.

16 decembre - 111a Domenica di Avvento

Happy BlogDay to Me; Happy BlogDay to Me

November 11, 2006 I posted my first entry to Willy Or Won't He* and as I explained then:

I wrote my first blog back in 2000 while working at the Warsaw Business Journal. I found my job there as web editor through one of my best friends, Bev Toomer. She, her husband Kev and Silver and Sobie - the real important ones - are family. Distant family at the moment as she is Afghanistan, he's in Sri Lanka and the pups are on Galiano Island. But that's a story for another time.

Back then I promised readers a daily update of ex-pat life in Poland. That promise was well-intentioned but more often than not it was a broken one. Blogging on a regular basis can be time consuming and lets admit it most of us don't have that much excitement in our lives that warrant a daily post. Basically I've started this blog to keep a record of our trip to Vietnam in December. We'll see how that works out.

Looking at what I wrote much has changed but much has remained the same. I wrote that entry sitting in our Victorian home - charming but a money pit - in Aylmer - now I'm in Rome and the William Irish House is someone else's concern. Bev and Kev are still in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka respectively but Sobie and Silver now live in Colombo with Dad - and I still haven't written much about them. Laurent and I are still together - but he was living in Beijing and we were a common-law couple separated by 10,000 kms. Now we are married - yes Mom he finally made me legal - and separated by a dog's width! And we have gone through much with that width of dog as witness the Reese Reports. I did keep a record of the incredible trip to Vietnam but had trouble updating because of slow Internet connections (I believe I still have 300 pictures that I always meant to share.)

And there seem to be a goodly number of unpublished drafts in my archives. Those fascinating subjects that I knew were just going to grab every one's attention. They were put to one side simply because I just couldn't remember those snappy phrases that went through my head when I first thought of the idea. Often what I've published is the off-the-cuff stuff - a photo taken during the day, an article just read in a newspaper, a comment by a colleague or fellow blogger, something on You Tube.

There are family and friends who I thought would read the blog but seldom visit, which is a disappointment. But that is made up for by a stream (okay trickle) of other family and friends who click by regularly and comment - sometimes I might add rather rudely and I am shocked (yeah right, not in the lifetime of the reigning Monarch!) But even the rude comments mean someone is reading - and that's always nice to know.

The one thing that has not changed is that a blog is a great deal of work - and even in Rome not that much exciting happens every 24 hours to warrant daily postings. Of course maybe if I didn't spend so much time blogging I'd get out and find some excitement. I'll just have to see if I can locate that happy balance.

*The title is not a piece of witty word play on my part but a nickname given to me years ago by a colleague at Air Canada - Sue McAllister. Thanks Sue.

12 november - San Emiliano

Rainy Day Reading

One of the frustrations of not having Internet for an extended period was that I couldn't keep up with all my favorite blogs. With today being a rain day I'm checking archives to see what I've missed over the past two months. The current postings that I've seen so far have reminded me why I wait so impatiently for new postings:

• Tater is in the middle of a three part posting: The Storm - Part 1 and Part 2; as always the writing is gripping - I'm waiting for the book Tater and Part 3
• I Need More Cowbell has a powerful piece on Columbus and the myth of discovery
• A book brings back memories of a family story of tragic times in America for Lynette at Big Assed Belle
• Joe My God , has his usual incredible mixture of political, gay, music, Broadway, New York Street scenes and Shelley too
• Aaron at Meanwhile has added Berlin to the places he has captured so beautifully and reminded me why its one of my favorite cities
• Eric at Secrets of the Red Seven recalls a childhood memory and a link to today


And on the music scene:


• La Cieca at Parterre Box has a great review of the Alagna Radames contributed by Gaultier Maldè - well-written and knowledgeable (a few critics should take notes)plus a pic of Bobby-Baby looking very fit
• Opera Chic continues her quirky, wild and wonderful observations of the European music scene that got her in so much trouble with the stuff shirts at La Scala. Plus it looks like New York got a taste of Chic's gimlet eye.

And I haven't even started to look at Sticky Crows (except for the video of Sara), Evilganome, The Voluptuary, Here's The Dish, We Like Sheep, What Would Jackie Wear? and My Favorite Intermissions. As I said thank god it's a rainy day here.

*If I've missed anyone it isn't intentional - I've got so much to get caught up on.
**Unfortunately my friend Bev has not been able to post regularly on her blog - but being in the thick of things in Afghanistan, its understandable. Enjoy the rest with Kev and my guys in Sri Lanka darling and we'll see you here in December. God Willing.
18 Ottobre - San Luca Evangalista

Ghosts

Two of my favorite bloggers - Tater and my blog mama lynette - talk about ghosts and memories.

Tater writes - as only he can - about the ghosts in the attic.

lynette chronicles her search for family memories and ghosts this past weekend. And being lynette she kept us in suspense through not one, not two , not three but four postings. And there were a few of us going to give her such as slap after posting number three.

Speaking of the supernatural, I just went over to Big Ass Belle to check the urls for the links and lynette has linked to Tater too (gosh that sounds cute) and my most recent post about Rome. Coincidence or the para-normal at work? Scary stuff kids.