Spring in Kansas

Japanese Cherry Tree

It's spring in Kansas, and some days, it even feels like summer! On Sunday, it was 90 degrees F. (30 C.) and the flowers started popping out on my Japanese cherry tree: by the end of the day, it was fully in bloom. I planted the tree ten years ago: it was a birthday gift from my son, and it is the same type of ornamental cherry tree that one sees in Washington D.C.

A gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912, the trees in D.C. were donated in an effort to enhance the growing friendship between the U.S. and Japan. When my tree blooms, it's like a soft pink cloud floating in my yard.



Tulips have also started blooming, and it's a lovely show of color around the house. This is my favorite time of year at home, and I'm glad to see the flowers blooming before I take off for Rome in three weeks.

A Feast of Reading

Here in Kansas, we've had snow, snow and more snow, along with sub-zero temperatures these past few weeks. I'm starting to go stir-crazy! The situation is not helped by the fact that it's 60 degrees in Florence this week. But I do love the snow, and have had some interesting stories to share with my Italian friends during our weekly chats on Skype.

Lately I've been reading/rereading many memoirs of people who have lived or are living in Italy, and this week stumbled across one that I've enjoyed more than many others. It's called "Keeping the Feast," and is written by Paula Butturini, a foreign correspondent who spent many years in Italy, though she now lives in Paris.

The book is a feast of words, and has wide appeal in its sensitive and rich account of the healing power of food, family and love. I highly recommend it!

Here's a link to her website: paulabutturini

As mentioned in the last post, another book that I savored over many weeks was The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone, which relates the story of Michelangelo's life and struggles. I especially enjoyed reading about Michelangelo's life in Florence: his family home was located in the same area where I lived last fall, and I traversed the same streets that were part of his daily routine for many years.

In between reading memoirs and working on my own book, I've also been learning how to master a few Italian recipes, including risotto, crostini neri (fegatini di pollo), and minestrone. I want to be able to cook a complete meal, without shame, for my Italian friends when I return to Italy in May.

In another week, I'll begin my busy work season, which extends from mid-February until the end of June. During that time I usually work long hours, often 7 days a week, at two online jobs, so it's been a lovely reprieve to have 6 weeks off from both jobs for the first time in many years. And the light at the end of the tunnel: the income will fund another 3-month stay in Italy. It will be my first attempt to live there during the summer, so it should be interesting!

Buon Anno Nuovo

Perdonami, ero pigra....sorry, I've been lazy these past few weeks. Caught up in baking and the falderal of Christmas. Now that Christmas is over, it's time to prepare for the coming year and think about what I hope to accomplish in 2011. I've been reading The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone's biographical novel about the life of Michelangelo, and it reminds of the hard work and effort that goes along with creative inspiration.

At the end of each year, I plot out the coming year's goals, and outline what I hope to accomplish. Mind you, these are not resolutions, but commitments I make to achieving specific goals. For the most part, I am able to accomplish most of the things that I set out to do. I won't bore you by reporting on my goals: instead, I encourage you to consider doing the same thing. It's a powerful exercise, and depending on your motivation and will power, it's possible to achieve the goals that you envision.

Once I returned from Italy, I was surprised to learn that I won't have any work projects until February. I usually have a 2-week project in December and an 8-week class to teach starting January 1, so it's strange to imagine doing no work at all until mid-February.

However, it frees me up to focus on other projects here at home. Reading, writing a book proposal, learning to cook....I'll return to more regular blog postings in the spring.

Wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Staying warm

My experiences with il riscaldamento (heating) in Florence helped me to learn some new habits that are coming in handy during the Kansas winter. I'm able to keep the thermostat turned down by wearing a sweater and a scarf...it's as simple as that.

While living in Tokyo, my son was used to living without central heating. He used a kotatsu to keep warm. A kotatsu is a low table with a heater attached underneath the table top. A blanket is placed between the two panels on the top of the table, and then you sit under the blanket to stay nice and cozy. He lived without heating while I was in Italy, and has influenced me to keep the thermostat turned below 65 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. At night, we turn it down to 58 degrees, and perhaps we'll go down to 55 soon. No sense in wasting resources when we are already warm in our beds.

Last night the electricity was off for several hours in our neighborhood. Instead of freaking out, we merely switched gears. I lit some candles, and Jesse got out the head lamp he uses when camping. He continued cooking and washing dishes in the kitchen, while I read by flashlight, then took a bath by candlelight. We were both content to live without our electronic gadgets for awhile.

With the thermostat already at 65, it only dropped down 2 degrees in that two hour time frame. If we were used to having the house up to 68 or even 70, we might have suffered the loss of heat. But since we've both acclimated to a cooler house, we were both comfortable, and I'm content to continue living this way. We will consume less of the earth's natural resources and have lower heating bills. Now I'm quite thankful for the lessons I learned about surviving with less while living in Florence!

Parco Ducale, Parma

Parco Ducale, Parma

There are many contrasts between my home in Lawrence, KS and my home in Florence, Italy. One difference I've noticed lately is that very few people in Lawrence take the time to walk anywhere, except to take their dogs out for a stroll. Some people walk for exercise, like me, or to get to a nearby store, but pedestrians on the whole are few and far between in my town. I want to continue my daily habit of walking 1-3 hours, as I did in Florence, but it's more of a chore here because it's boring and very lonely.

Today I walked for nearly an hour along a bike path and I only came across one other person walking, and a group of 6 runners. I've walked downtown several times this week, which is about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from my house, and did not see anyone else walking, except when I was near stores in the downtown area. It's no wonder that I usually find winter to be a very lonely time, as people keep to themselves in their houses and the only time I see anyone is when I seek them out. It's not as lonely this year, however, since my son is living at home: at least I have someone to talk to when he's around.

So even though I enjoy being home, and having sunshine nearly every day, I miss the sense of community that I feel in Florence. Whenever I go for a walk (fare la passeggiata), there are always people around, and I never feel lonely. In Florence, it's common to see people walking at all times of the day and night. It's also necessary, especially in pedestrian areas where few cars or buses are allowed.

I also enjoy the way people gather in the piazzas in Italy, or sit together on benches in the park to chat, which is rarely done here. Even in warmer weather, I rarely see people sitting in the parks in Lawrence, unless there is a special activity going on. Americans don't have the habit of gathering in the piazzas that Italians do, and I miss that aspect of the Italian culture.

One of my favorite parks in Italy is the Parco Ducale in Parma. I had the good fortune to stay in Palazzo Ducale, once the home of Napoleon's second wife, Maria Luigia, for several weeks in the fall of 2007 and 2008, as one of my friends is the commander of the carabinieri (Italy's military police force) for the Province of Parma. The park surrounds the Palazzo, which is now a carabinieri compound and off limits to the general public. But the park itself is open and widely used by the Parmense.

Palazzo Ducale, Parma

Many of the rooms of the Palace have been turned into offices, while others lie vacant, especially the formal rooms with frescoed walls. Other rooms have been made into flats for 15 of the carabinieri and their families, including my friend Paolo. There are also 3 guest rooms, referred to as “La Foresteria,”, where I stayed. My "room" was actually a suite of rooms, quite elegant and comfortably furnished, though very inexpensive. Then last year I spent a few days in Parma at the flat of another friend, and made sure I spent an afternoon in Parco Ducale during my stay.

Parco Ducale, Parma

I spent many hours in Parco Ducale for three years in a row, and found great solace in the expanse of trees that surrounded me there. Parma has free wifi spots in many areas of town, including Parco Ducale, so it was an easy place to catch up on email with my netbook. There are many other reasons I like Parma, but Parco Ducale is the main one. It's the first place where I began to notice how Italians use parks in a different way than most Americans do, at least in my town.

It seems that most Americans go to the park to "do" something for a special occasion, while Italians often just go to the park to "hang out" - to sit and chat, read, stroll with babies or elderly parents in tow, or have discussions. Sure, they also go there so their children and dogs can play, but I've seen more use of the parks on a daily basis in Italy than I ever see in my town, even in warmer weather. Reminiscing about Italian parks reminds me of what I have to look forward to when I return to Italy next May.

Home again

When I arrived at the Kansas City airport, it was nearly empty. The flight landed nearly 30 minutes early, so my son was not there yet. I had time to retrieve my bags and was waiting by the curb when he drove up. I was happy to see the wide open blue sky, and we witnessed a lovely multi-colored sunset as we drove home.

We drove around looking for a store to buy wine, and it took so long that by the time we reached our house, we decided to wait until the next day to have the Thanksgiving dinner that Jesse had planned for me. On Friday, he roasted two kinds of cornish game hens (teriyaki and traditional) with cornbread stuffing, green beans and new potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. He's a stickler for fresh, organic food, and it was quite delicious!

There are certain advantages to being at home in Kansas. First, it's been sunny almost every day. No cloudy skies or rain to deal with...just cold weather. But my house is warm and comfortable, so I don't mind the cold.

It's nice to have my son around, even though he's gone most of the time. He's working overtime hours to save money for his next adventure, in Argentina! He hopes to take his bike and ride around South America once he's saved enough money.

Jet lag hasn't been much of a problem this year, and I'm not sure why. Usually I'm in a daze for a week or two after spending a month in Italy. I was also relieved to find out I'd only gained a few pounds while in Italy...I worried that it would be much more.

So it's back to mundane reality for awhile, and oddly enough, it feels good to have a break from the constant stimulation that I enjoyed in Florence. It may work out best for me to live part of the year in Italy and part of the year in Kansas; perhaps in this way I can have the best of both worlds. It's not exciting here in Kansas, but for the winter, that's fine with me. I can focus on studying Italian, making money and getting revved up for my return to Italy in the spring. Oh, and getting back to Zumba classes so I can lose the weight I gained!

Rain, rain, go away

It's raining....again. Heavy rain, for hours at at time. Uffa! I feel sorry for the folks who have come here for a special vacation and have to deal with pouring rain most of the day. When there's a lull, I grab my umbrella and hit the streets for an hour or two to see what's going on in the city. But the steady rain has certainly put a halt to any traveling plans I might be doing. Instead, I'm working more hours as a way of passing the time. I'm doing an online project that allows flexibility in how many hours I work, so I can work more hours than my original commitment (5 hours/day) if I want, and the more I work, the more I earn. The project ends this week, so it's a reasonable solution while I'm stuck indoors. And the weather forecast does not look promising for the next few weeks. UFFA! Not sure when I'll be able to do laundry again, either.

I've been making good use of the termosifoni (radiators) to heat my clothes in the morning and my pajamas at night before putting them on. I also use them to warm my towels before using them. But laundry is another matter. Without the sun, or a stendino (drying rack), it's pretty impossible to dry clothes in this apartment. I will probably hold out until I leave, only washing the necessities that dry quickly when the heat is on.

All too soon, I will be leaving Italy, heading home for the winter months, then returning to Firenze in the spring for another long stay. My apartment here is drafty, and spending the winter in Florence would be costly (to heat the apartment) and very uncomfortable. With the weather as it is, it's helping to ease the pain of leaving...I'm looking forward to my warm house, my bathtub and sunny Kansas skies.

acero (sugar maple)

My son has been sending photos of the trees in my yard as they change colors. I have several sugar maples that are stunning in autumn and a tiny Japanese maple that he gave me as a gift last year. This is its first fall season, and I'm missing the transformation.

acero giapponese (Japanese maple)

But then there's the reality of leaving what now feels like my new home. Only two weeks left in Firenze. Sob! I'll be flying home Thanksgiving day. Jesse has planned a welcome home meal for me...a thoughtful gesture!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to have a few more adventures before I leave, to Modena and Cremona and then to San Miniato for the truffle festival. If only it would stop raining!

I'm only human!

Well, of course I'm freaking out at the same time I'm excited. It's not an easy thing to leave home for three months. I haven't been away from home for so long in 35 years. The logistics of arranging everything is complicated and at times, frustrating. But I've been slowly working towards this goal over the past four years, so it's a manageable process, for the most part. After reading blogs by people who have moved to Italy in a shorter amount of time, my progress seems puny in comparison.

I'm thankful my son will be at home to take care of the house and yard. After 4 years in Japan, he's content to be in Lawrence for awhile. Last week he had an adventure of his own: riding his bike more than 600 miles around Missouri and Kansas by himself, camping in parks along the way. He's also in training for the Kansas City marathon on October 16. (I won't be here to see his first marathon, sob!) In between his adventures, he's trying to find a suitable job.

If it weren't for Jesse being at home, I'm not sure I would have felt free to leave my house and yard for so long. So grazie mille, mio figlio, for helping me to make this happen! It will help me to realize my long- held dream of living in another culture.

Jesse and his bike, ready to ride, Lawrence, 2010

Unfortunately, I tend to be obsessive - compulsive at times, especially when planning a trip. So one can imagine the lists I keep, making sure nothing is overlooked or forgotten. I also get anxious and fearful at times....after all, I'm only human! But I know it's worth dealing with the fears, and learning to manage them, in order to get on the other side of fear, where MAGIC happens. In the end, once I start to go with the flow, everything works out.

When I've come across big obstacles while traveling, someone (often strangers that I never see again) always turns up to help me through it. Lucky? I don't believe in luck. But I often feel fortunate, even blessed, and "taken care of" when I need it most. I must be doing something right.....