camping in venezia, italia

around the time that nonno died, morgana was camping with her austrian family and friends in venice, italy. here are her pictures.

 she sent me some map photos of where they were staying so i could see it in relation to the main lagoon and island.

 i believe caorle is where the campsite was and lido de jesolo was the island they went to visit.

 so this would be caorle . . 

 little lotta in the camper . . 

 the porch of the camper . . 

 her shawl with la bien aimée yarn that i'm supposed to be working on also (but which i've never started and i'm actually posting this on february 9th, 2017! i have wound my skeins, however.)

 my heart aches when i look at these pictures. it aches because i so miss experiencing this with her, and because i miss that feeling of being in europe. i remember so clearly of how it felt to be in roma, milano, venezia, the giotto chapel in padua . . seeing leonardo's last supper with my dad's cousin pietro . . having pietro put in the coins for my milano metro ride . . he was so prepared . . just like my dad . . how long ago it all was!

(the above pic is of lotta on her scooter . . )

 these photos make me think of what a campsite in florida might look like!

 my parents and i stayed at several KOAs when traveling cross country when i was growing up (kampgrounds of america!) and this venice campsite makes me think of them . . just a little bit!!

 i believe this is the "community" room . . 

 where there was a talent show.

 eating on one of the islands . . 

 perhaps this is lido di jesolo or ca'savio?

 i love the brightly painted buildings,

 and the narrow corridors.

 back at the beach . . 

 these are the friends of the gotch family.

 enjoying the sun!

ah! the beautiful adriatic sea . . 

and adriatic sand castles . . 

molto bellissima!

monday monday on wednesday morning

on monday morning chanda worked on her incandescent light bulb lesson page.

 

we read about photons . . but i still don't see how a carbon or tungsten thread is inserted into the bulb . . and held there . . maybe i need to read her page more carefully. however, i've been distracted as my sister called early around 7 am to say that my dad passed away just a few hours earlier.

 when my friends' parents have died it's been all about them and their mom or dad . . and i've written about them on this blog . . . i've also written about my aunt and uncle. 

my friend kendall has written that she feels when a person's parent dies that it's a tectonic shifting of one's world.

 on monday chanda and i read a lot from jane austen's sense and sensibility. her understanding and description of people's motivations feels like fresh air to me. she sees so clearly. that feels welcome right now.

 our lunch.

 i didn't call korrina until 2:30 which ended up working out well because she took off from work and came and sat with me. 

comfort objects: coffee, yarn, knitting projects, sour dough bread on the rise . . 

 she went through all the pictures which was really fun.

 korrina and her dad.

greg and chanda then came home and we all had some time together around the table before korrina left for brooklyn and we had dinner. it was the best time.

i didn't get ahold of morgana until yesterday. we talked on the speaker phone with chanda. she's in such a pretty place.

my sister and i are planning the memorial service (which will be in connecticut at her church) and the burial. he'll be cremated and then buried out on the island.

a rainy may day

it was a very pretty rainy day today. greg and i were out early to take care of minerva who was her sweet self . . as long as we didn't pet her too much. 

she likes her space but is always happy to see us.

 chanda visited the sakura matsuri festival with our friend deychen at the brooklyn botanic garden . . the lilacs were in bloom also,

along with the azaleas and tulips.

visiting the bonsai . . 

and under the cherry blossoms.

 greg went to visit the whitney museum . . 

and i went home to work on this knitting project which has sat dormant for two years. miraculously i was able to figure out where i was and am now knitting on clue four. it's a "follow your arrow" knit-a-long project from knitwear designer ysolda teague. korrina and i began it several years ago. i don't think she finished hers either, though she did finish a similar follow your arrow project last year.

morgana sent pictures of her and her austrian family in venice. they're camping on the outskirts and yesterday they visited the fishing island of burano (where the women do a lot of lace work also, i wonder if she saw that).

 san marco in the distance . . 

maybe everyone has their own boat!

chanda and i walked to the michael's craft store when she got back from the cherry blossom festival. i wanted to pick out beads for another knitting project i'm starting with my friend janet. as we came back out of the store we noticed several fire trucks hurling by with their sirens blaring. we looked north up sixth avenue to see so many flashing red lights and sirens that it was a bit scary, especially when we looked up and saw a great black cloud of smoke beginning to unfurl above us to the northeast. chanda was worried that it was the restaurant eataly as they have so many big ovens, but we came to find out when we got home that it was a church on twenty fifth street, saint sava's. here is the new york times article. it's very sad and it was such a beautiful serbian orthodox historic church. only a few hours before it's parishioners had been celebrating easter. thankfully, everyone had left and no one was hurt in the blaze.