Photoset: a taste for tiding over

Being the good Canadian girl that I am, I want to apologize to my readers for going MIA. Life has been intensely hectic lately, though happily all for great reasons. I have moved out of my mother-in-law's house! Hip hip hurray! And I'm totally in love with the new place. But I've also been working 60-hour weeks, not counting days off to set up and move in. Plus raising a kid! So, yeah, my writing has had to fall by the wayside. I have so much I want to express, it's killing me not to be able to use this outlet right now. Fortunately I'm still working with a lot of words--just not my own. And I'm doing some wonderful field trips: Padua, Tarquinia, Chianti, with Venice, Turin and Naples still to come! So here is a taste in pictures of where I've been lately (since I haven't been here), to tide you over till I come back, which goddess-willing will be soon.

Last day we spent in our bathing suits, in early September.

I know how she feels.

Dragonboat racing on the Arno at sunset.

Italian love graffiti in San Marcello Pistoiese

I've started a new collaborative Tumblr called Italian Love Graffiti. Please contribute!

Some before pictures of the new place. Can't wait to show some after ones. I'm still working on final touches.

Planning out the picture wall.

One of my jobs takes me to Pisa regularly.

And in the dozens of times I've been there, I've never before noticed this marvelous Romanesque capital at the back of the tower:

Padua back street.

Tomb display at the Etruscan museum in Tarquinia.

Hallowe'en fun.

 My colleague and I did not even plan to match as Hansel and Gretel.

My lovely adventurous boys.

From the Castello di Verrazzano winery in Chianti.