Xmas 2010

These are just a few shots of the 'House Where Santa Exploded'....I'm enjoying it all, but it is definitely different to have this much of Christmas around, and so be it!!! (: Ho Ho Ho and I mean that in a good way.

La Comitiva Italiana

Hey, what better visual could I use to represent something Italian , such as my group that meets on wednesdays here in Reno, other than a GELATO counter in Firenze, Italy. Che meraviglioso! I belong to a group comprised of 'Fellow-Lovers-of-ALL-Things-Italian' that meets each wednesday at 3pm, or at least that's the plan.. It's usually very entertaining and informative and it gives us the chance to open our mouths/minds and to play with 'la lingua Italiana'..With Italian,like so many other things in life, if you don't USE it, well, you LOSE it...Since the italian language is so demonstrative in its' nature, some may even say histrionic is more like it, ( "AND this ,by the by, is one of its' main 'draws'for me and is also so apparent in the country itself.") but because of this you really do need to at least attempt to wrap your mouth and mind around it fairly often OR it becomes truly difficult to understand or speak...We Americans speak, ("No!! Not with forked-tongues, at least not the majority of us.") our language using as little movement of the mouth as is humanly possible, or so it appears once you've visited Italy or tried to speak their language properly....This is impossible/ Questo e' IMPOSSIBILE if you're really trying to learn the gist of the Italian language..In order to get the proper pronunciation and accents that are involved one must OPEN UP the ol 'BOCCA' and really get involved with the individual vowels/accents, etc; in Italian you sound-out-and-hear-all-of-the vowels in any given word...That said, once you're proficient at spkg the language, well that's a different story and all those vowels have a tendency to run together creating a near to melodic sound,NOT unlike singing, but......... at the beginning this enunciation/pronunciation thing is 'molto importante!.So, unless you have the oppurtunity to use the language other than while visiting on a vacation occasionally, you definitely have the tendency to revert back to OUR normal way of spkg, without using the emphasis that is such the part of this beautiful language...My group meets from 1 -2 hrs each wednesday, at the home of one of its' members; we trade-off wkly and sometimes,weather permitting, we meet-up in one of the parks along the river downtown and get a hit of'outdoors while practicing la lingua. How nice is that ?!? The out-of-doors meeting hasn't happened recently, not with weather that we've had for quite some time now, but hopefully soon. We each usually bring something prepared/translated to read to the others in the group, in Italian, and, after we each read our own selected material individually/aloud/3 times ("You'd be surprised how often someone will ATTEMPT to try and get out of the '3 times' thing.") the others have to answer specific questions, pertaining to the article/story that has been read to us..In Italian...It get's interesting to say the least.....First off, the reader definitely gets the chance to use that 'BOCCA' thing I mentioned above and it's really quite novel to see the difference between the first attempt and the third rendition..Then there's the oppurtunity for those listening to REALLY listen.....AND THEN....for the reader and the person who has been chosen to answer each of the specific questions to try and pull it all together to ask/answer the questions...One definitely needs to be 'On One's Toes/Fare Attenzione' ...This group comes together and 'works' well as a unit because of the commonality of our fascination/love of All Things Italian.Each of us have visited 'il Bel Paese' many times in the past and it shows during our times together..We are all there for the fun/the interaction and definitely to brush-up on our lingua italiana, which makes for a very enjoyable afternoon....As you most likely have already guessed at this point, Mi piace moltisssssssssssimo il mio gruppo italiano ed i nostri mercoledi insieme! Ti piace L'Italia ?? And On We Go/Flow.....Curati Bene..........Treat Yourself Well

Well, it's raining the proverbial 'Cats and Dogs' outside, so thought it was a good time to sit down and add a line or two about the events of the day.......Just got in from running around town and taking a piano lesson..My tuesdays are always a favorite day of the wk for me.I really enjoy going to the lesson; seeing Denise and getting the chance to 'explore' more of what I'm working on..I've taken lesson for quite some time now, but still really need that reassuring/critical assessment that comes with the 1/2 hr lesson AND knowing that I have the lesson makes me 'get to it' and practice more than I would on my own, sad BUT true! I really do enjoy playing the piano, but more than anything else I enjoy the dissecting of the new piece and then re-assembling it into something that sounds somewhat like it was intended...The puzzle solving is my favorite part...It starts outs as black dots on a piece paper and once dissected, individual measures/hands apart, well, then slowly you build something that starts to make sense, on some level (: I know that when I talk with people about this, unless they've played an instrument at some point in their lives, it as though I'm talking some foreign language and in many ways it's exactly that, another language...Until I had a basic grasp of the music 'language' I definitely had no clue...Now, although I still really do take it slow, at least I'm able to do the 'Tear-Apart/Build-Back-Up' thing and that's what I really enjoy..Oh, don't get me wrong..I feel pretty good when I'm able to play a piece somewhat profficiently, but the first part is definitely 'the hook'for me...I've gotten to the place where sitting and practicing is actually very enjoyable, although, I'm really hard on myself ( "Gee, really? That's hard to believe!") BUT I'm''Tearing That Apart/Building That Back Up", the thought process involved, too......After all, I'm doing this because I want to, right??? RIGHT ! And On We Go/Flow...... Etruscan Couple @ the Villa Giula TREAT YOURSELF WELL

Another Day in Paradise..........

It's been a nice day and outside, presently, reminds me of Seattle or 'Up North' somewhere, more coastal definitely,as we are having different weather for this area/this time of the yr...Cool and damp with occasional showers, but I must say that I'm enjoying the 'greening' of everything w/o having to water and luckily it isn't really very cold out there...Spent most of the day just cruising around the property and per normal ???dealing with various online EFT/ ENERGY related sites..Lots of info available! If you're not aware of it, well, I'm a BIG EFT guy. I've had some great and effective things take place, effortless and really enjoy the research into the bodies 'subtle' energy systems..Oh, and of course, La Lingua..Always La Lingua...I usually start my day chkg-out a few Italy related sites that seque into a look at La Lingua sites...Hey "Why Not?"/ "Perche No?"..Ce SEMPRE qualcosa nuova/differente per imparare..Cosi'Sia!! I'm getting ready to jump in the car and go buy some pellets ("Go Figure ! Buying pellets in late May") but hey..........at least they're available, which is novel in and of itself... Of late, it's like pulling teeth to get me off the property..I'm very content, most days, to just be here..BUT..do have to give-in and occasionaly hit the market, etc. ..And So BE It.......AND...On We Go/Flow...On a 'Slow Boat' down the Grand Canal.

Treat yourself well!!

Just Flowing Along

I was chkg-out a link to a site/blog about Italy, a daily, early morning activity for me and came across the access to this 'Blog Builder' sooooooooo there you go...I'm blogging!I'm not really sure what I'll actually be doing here, but I'm going to play around with it abit and see where it leads..AND I can include some photos which is always fun.And On We Go/Flow

LEO and I in St. Mark's Square...

Treat yourself well !