About Rome's International Airport, or Fumicino

I wrote the following long blog at the airport yesterday. I wasn't online, so this is a copy and paste. It was a loooong day... about 23 hours in transit from door to door.

I left the apartment really early, at 8:00, but I was ready to go. My flight didn't leave till 2:00, so I had 6 hours to find my way.

Thought I needed some exercise so I walked to the far end of the Termini bus station to buy some nuts to help get me through the 10 hour flight, and back again. In retrospect, this exercise would seem redundant 3 hours later.

I arrived at Fumicino at 9:30. There was quite a long walk from the train to terminal 3. I'd been notified that my terminal had been changed to terminal 5. An arrow pointed me outside. Curious... no sign of a terminal 5, so I went back in to look for an information booth.  Found it! "You take the shuttle, madam."

Back outside, I wait with a growing number of people for 10 minutes. The bus finally arrives and we crowd in. At Terminal 5, I take note that there is no desk for AirTransit and slightly anxiously search for information. It takes 5 minutes to find someone. "No madam. AirTransat flies from terminal 3." Curiouser and curiouser. Back to T3 where I find my way to Departures and again cannot see an AirTransat area, so I walk almost to the end of that long terminal looking for either AirTransat or information. It's such a relief every time you actually find someone to answer your question. "It is at the end of the terminal." No 'madam' this time. All the way back, and there it is at the very end where I just came from, set back and hidden behind unrelated signs. I go through that line quickly. I ask where is Security. "At the very end of the terminal, madam." So back I go, thinking that I'm definitely getting my exercise, and glad that my knees are behaving so well!

Security is pretty fast, partly because of the uniformed women who hurry us through, and I can't help thinking how dehumanizing this process is... Anyway, now I can relax. I think. But there is still the checking of the passports. Again rushed through like cattle but I'm grateful it doesn't take an hour, as it did on my arrival.

Ahhh. Finished. I'm now sitting near my Gate with a cappucino. It took close to 3 hours, but my flight doesn't leave till 2:00. If you ever fly in or out of Rome, allow lots of time. I don't plan to do this again. Mai piu. (Nevermore)

20 minutes later... I thought I was just across from my gate, but when I went around the corner...there  was yet another shuttle train to Gate G. Could there be a less efficient airport? Probably. Never doubt the ingenuity of the Peter Principle...Didn't have to wait long, but I was grateful I wasn't in a hurry.

The hoops jumped through, I now had time to browse. I'd purchased a pinocchio puppet in Florence, but decided I needed one more. The young woman behind me in line looked at the change in my hand, and asked me for a 50 euro piece. I gave it to her, expecting change in return, but she smiled sweetly and said, "I need it to pay for this (some little trinket) to get rid of my change". The banks of course, won't exchange change so you're stuck with it. I was kinda surprised, but didn't ask for it back. After all, she now had it in HER hand. And it was only a coin. But of course, when I paid for my last meal before boarding the plane (pizza and a bottle of water) I was almost exactly - you guessed it - 50 euros short. So I now have....because of that... 4.70E in coin instead of one .20E coin. I wonder what little trinket I can buy for 4.70E? And if I'm .50E short, would I have the nerve to ask someone to give it to me?

Life's like that.

The last post... hmmm...not

No this is definitely not "the last post". In fact, I have a strong feeling I'll return to Italy. Perhaps to visit the south next time. And I'll be more fluent. I have loved using the little Italian I know. But to be honest, all I have to do is breathe in and they speak to me in English! :)

The risotto was disappointing because the rice was undercooked. Delicious flavour though. Actually I enjoyed my taste of Serena's spaghetti with artichokes. If we travel together again, I'll let her order for me. She and Richard made pizzas on Hornby for years that would rival some that we had here, so maybe experience pays. Anyway, I'll post a couple pictures on facebook.

Of course I've missed a few things... like the night in Florence that Sarah and Anthony took us to a place that was originally a convent, turned prison, and now social housing with a restaurant, tables and stage in the courtyard. Many prison artefacts have been used, and one hall has been left intact with the doors to the cells. Serena took a pic of me trying to peer through the keyhole through which the guards could peak, perhaps to see if the prisoner was still alive. Shudder. There was a swing band that night, compsed of horns and a banjo. They were excellent, and so were half a dozen young couples who really knew what they were doing.

Well, arreverderci, Roma. though I don't think I'll return.

So I'll say Ciao, and grazie mille!

Our last day

We're about to have our last delicious meal in Italy! At - wait for it - the bus and train terminal. It is, without a doubt, the most delicious and exotic cafeteria I've ever been in! Serena had a plate of risotto with bits of salmon when we arrived yesterday. Granted we were hungry after our train trip from Orvieto, but still...  I tasted it and can't wait to have my own full plate. Now I know what risotto is supposed to taste like.

I haven't written about the food yet. As a wannabe vegan, I fell a little sheepish about how MUCH I've enjoyed the cheese! And especially the pecorino, which is, coincidentally, made from sheep's milk. And there's the pasta... And the pizza! It's easy to be vegetariano here though. 

The wine is excellent, and oh! the morning cappucino with a pastry, eaten sranding at the bar. (it's more than twice the price if you sit down....)

One last post to come... Check back in a while!

Exploring Orvieto

The morning after my night of misery, we went for a long walk with Serena's friends on a curving, hilly, unmapped path around Orvieto. It was not at the top of the hilled city, nor at the bottom, and meandered through some beautiful shady spots and below the tufa cliffs. Serena has a fitness tracker on her phone and checked it when we finally found our way back to the city. We had walked about 9,100 steps and climbed 21 stories. Quite an adventure!

After lunch it was nap time, not surprisingly.

The next day,yesterday, I was ready for another church, the big cathedral. Every village in Italy has its giant cathedral. Our combined ticket included a tour of the workshop and a gallery display of yhe work of Emilio Greco... the door keeper, an angry young man, was scornful that we didn't know about Emilio Greco... So much to learn! And we also paid to see the Etruscan museum. Orvieto is 3000 years old!

We took a tour in the afrernoon with an enthusiastic Italian woman who told us that the cathedral took a full 300 years to build, so the huge square we were standing in was a construction site for 300 years. Then she led us through the cobblestone streets, pointing out signs of renovation over the ages. The whole city is built of the tufa on which it is built, on a 90 foot outcrop. The original buildings still stand, with evidence of arched windows and openings filled in or bricked over at various times through history. These people live with history as part of their daily lives.

Today we will take a tour through the underground cave system, which was created by the inhabitants over the millenia.... and see more evidence of history in faded frescoes and old churches. Our guide, cecilia (pronounced chechilia) told us there were 60 churches here in the middle ages... It was the reigning pope's fortress against the emperor.

And by the way, I found out how to get a full night's sleep. Close all the windows and turn on the air conditioner for white noise. Works a charm. Did I mention that there are pigeons in every nook and cranny? They are another bit of history, because they were bred here and used for food, and they're as loud as the church bells.

Orvieto: midnight misery

Well it can't all be perfect, so forgive me if I whine a bit...

It's 1:15 am. I know because the church bell rang once. I think it rings twice at every half hour, and 3 times at the 45 minute mark. Not sure what it does on the hour. It didn't ring 12 times at midnight so that's a blessing. I'm wearing the ear phones, the passive noise reducers I got for the flight over. The party in the restaurant downstairs is still going strong. These Italians know how to have a good time.

I had closed the windows but then opened them again, then closed them again... the excess of cleaning product is giving me a headache and affecting my sinuses. I've been alternating between opening and closing the windows for the last couple hours...

Tomorrow morning we're planning to walk around the outskirts of town. Orvieto is a walled city, so I expect the views will be lovely. I'll let you know tomorrow. After my nap.

Swingle singers in the Duomo

What an interesting concert. We all agreed that some songs were successful, and some not... Maybe half and half... because of the unbelievable resonance. The Duomo is a HUGE space, and the sound travels aroun'an aroun' an 'aroun'an around...The singers' notes overlap the previous notes sung, so that you get layers of dissonance. It worked favourably for the slower songs with simpler chord structures but was a bit painful to hear Bach, which The Swingle Singers are so famous for. The clean precision of Bach harmonies became a muddy swirl. Gothic Bach. One of the singers told us they had been in the Duomo for the first time that day, so not much time to tailor their musical choices. I found it all fascinating anyway.

I'd really like to hear a brilliant a cappella group like Rajaton there, if they composed music especially for that space. I can imagine there would be some ascensions in ecstasy, like Bernini's Ecstacy of St. Theresa.

Fabulous Firenze

We are staying in a 4th floor flat in Florence... 51 steps... So it's a great cardio workout, and I'm really glad I did some working out at the Y this summer! The flat is absolutely lovely, and I was thinking today that hanging laundry on a line while leaning out the window of a 4th floor kitchen, is not for the faint of heart. That was while I was doing it, actually!

I'm not sure if I mentioned that I am travelling with a friend from BC, Serena, and we are staying with her dear friend, Sarah Dunant, who's written many books on Renaissance Florence. Her book, The Birth of Venice, is the first of a trilogy looking at women's place in that world, and we took the train to Prato yesterday to hear her give an illustrated talk on women in Renaissance art. It was excellent! After the talk, there was a reception, and we met two young women from Canada who both married Italian men 20 years ago, have teenage children and live and teach English in an Italian school in Prato. Laura from Vancouver, and Carmen from Montreal. I'm reading her book, Blood and Beauty right now, about the Borgia pope, Augustus 6th. Wonderful detail and well-researched. She brings history to life.

That talk was at the end do a truly rich day yesterday. We started the day by going to the Sant' Ambrogio market to shop for used clothes. What fun! Serena and I each bought a couple skirts, and some gorgeous scarves for a Euro a piece (about $1.50)
But on the way to the market, we popped into a mosaic shop where they cut the stone to create extraordinary stone mosaics. It's a centuries old technique, and some of the new work is at least as complicated as the old. Serena asked if there were any stones from Cahada. He thought a moment and said "labradorite!" And showed  us how they used it to show blue sky reflecting in windows..... The perfect blend of grey and blue, with the illusion of depth.

After our cappuccino, we wandered and came across a wonderful jeweller who has been making jewellery as long as I have: Carla Montemerli. She also makes lovely white lamps and hanging sculptures using  gesso, on fibreglass I think, and showed us pictures of a beautifully lit show she'd had in church. My mind has started popping with jewellery ideas, not specifically from what I'm seeing, but just from the full-surround immersion in art. It's everywhere.

Tonight we are going to hear The Swingle Singers in the Duomo, which has the MOST amazing acoustics. Sorry to be using so many superlatives, but that's how it is. I heard a mass in the Duomo in 2009, and the sound echoed through the church so long that the priest waited for the sound to fade before he started the next prayer. So imagine hearing beautiful a Capella harmonies.

The flat is close the Santa Croce church and piazza, and the church bells sound lovely and resonant in the evening.

To be continued.
Buona Sera from hot and humid Florence!

Arrivederci Roma!

The days have been so full of walking and exploring and getting lost and miraculously getting found again... Of crowds and humidity and buses and tours... that I've been too tired at the end of the day to blog. Also, I'm not impressed with one or two fingered typing on this iPad, though I am getting faster.
Tomorrow we go to Florence, so I must remember Rome before we leave.
Day one: MACRO. I think that stands for Museo Arte Contemporary Roma Something... giggle... Anyway, Serena really wanted to see this museum of modern art. I'm not a fan, but I went along and it was quite wonderful. Not to mention a superb first lunch in the gallery cafeteria.
Day 2: We took the subway to the Vatican... Transit is always SO confusing when you don't have a clue in a strange city... But we were there in time, mostly because I sacrificed having that delicious mornimg cappuccino... The tour itself included the Raphael tapestries, some art in the private collection (the cheapest work in the private collection of modern art is...ahem...$40,000,000. What's that about???) St. Peter's dome, and the Pieta. What I remember is masses of people and humidity, though the tour guide, Alessandra, was lovely and bright (how does she stay that pleasant doing 2 or 3 tours a day in those conditions?) and gave us a lot of good information.
After the Vatican tour, we thought we'd go to the Pantheon. It looked so close on the map. And would have been if we hadn't taken so many unintentional detours through the ancient, narrow, cobblestone streets. We eventually found it, and it was worth the effort. Then we searched for the Trevi Fountain with an equal number of detours. When we found it, We threw in our coins, over the wrong shoulder as we found out later (that was disappointing) and then, totally spent, found a cab to take us home. Ahhhh
Day 3: I slept 12 hours and we got a late start. We walked to the Borghese Gallery, had lunch along the way... Did the audio tour and saw lots of Greek and Roman statues, Caravaggio paintings, and learned about Bernini, who was evidently a child prodigy in the world of marble sculpture. Then we walked more, rested in a lovely, shady children's playground, then rode the city bus for an hour.
Home again with the odious task of finishing the bottles of wine before we leave...
The detours, getting lost, are just part of the adventure. It's all wonderful.
And tomorrow, Firenze!

Finally, Rome

After 21 hours of travelling on little food and no sleep, I've finally arrived. Serena was waiting in the Air B & B we'd booked on Via Montebello. Our first taste of Italy was a glass of vino Rossi at a nearby bar, and a delicious pizza made in an open oven with arugula salad.

Why was the travel so long? Not one but Two consecutive delays leaving the airport... First a small mechanical function that took an hour to resolve, immediately followed by a medical emergency that necessitated finding the passenger's luggage... and that took another hour! Then another hour waiting to have passports stamped. There were definitely 1000 - probably more- ahead of me in line.

Much more about the day that we needn't repeat, but when dear Jean from Sydney Australia offered me her seat on the train from the airport to Rome, I shed a tear at her kindness?

Tomorrow we wander, Friday the Vatican tour.

Now if only I can figure out how to get a photo taken on this iPad, to this blog, I'll feel pretty smug!

Oy what a day!

I'm wondering if everyone has the same thought, at this point the day before the trip:
WHAT WAS I THINKING!?

I found out Saturday that my roof is leaking. So that's why the drywall on the living room ceiling is blistering! Was able to find a recommended roofer who's able to fit the job in on Wednesday, but I'll be away and the cats will be terrified.

And one little nuisance after another, not worth describing...  I googled Mercury Retrograde, but it doesn't start till tomorrow. Maybe mine started early. I do have a lot of Mercury in my chart.
We shall overcome. All will be well. Be calm dear heart.

Next time I blog, it will be from Roma!

http://www.astrologyzone.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-mercury-retrograde/

La Bella Italia... io ritorno!!!

In only 5 more sleeps - well, actually 6 after the overnight plane trip, but who knows whether I'll  actually sleep - I'll step onto the land of my ancestors... La Bella Italia!

The earthquake in the mountains in Central Italy was a shock, and has put a cloud over the thrill of the trip, but I still can't help but be excited. I love Italy so much.

My great-grandparents, Pietro and Aurelia Lamborghini, lived their harsh, difficult lives north of Bologna, but my grandparents, Virginia and Luigi Borgatti, left there to come to Canada around 1907. I visited that area in 2009 but this time I will land in the city Michelangelo knew so well, beautiful Rome, and then spend a week in the city of his birth, Florence. With my dear friend, Serena, from BC, we'll explore the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the Villa Borghese; we'll sit and drink leisurely glasses of vino in shady piazze (that's plural for piazza... you'll note that I'm thinking plural here...) that's about as far as I've planned so far for Rome.

Then we take a train to Florence and have a week of so savouring the delights of the Medici. We'll drink in the Uffizi, the Galeria Palantino, the gelato, the pizza which must be eaten standing in the street, the coffee ... THE COFFEE! is the best anywhere! ... and oh... the ciocolatta, warm molten chocolate in a cup that I savoured in 2009 outside the Academia, waiting to go in to see Michelangelo's David in the flesh. ... not literally, of course but it's the real one that he actually made with his own real hands, not a copy.

Then we have a few days in Orvieto, then to the south of Rome for a few days before coming home to Canada.

I plan to include some photos, so let's try one right now. Here's one of my favourites from Florence in 2009......  Ciao for now!

 

Singing at Eaglewood

I went to an overnight music camp this weekend at Eaglewood campground, southeast of Lake Simcoe. These musical experiences are always so INTENSE!!! mainly because people who love music are so passionate about it.

We all learned half a dozen songs in three 3 hour sessions, led by Tom Leighton and Carol Hasek, then sang them for a tiny audience and a tape recorder on Saturday night.

In addition, we had the opportunity to sing in a master class, which amounts to a mini lesson in front of other people, and also to perform on Saturday night. And there were music circles and singing in cabins till the wee hours; fiddles, mandolins, bodhrans, penny whistles etc.

Well I leaped through the hoop of fire, had wonderful learning experience with Carol in the master class, and decided to take the opportunity to sing in the evening in front of the audience. Tom played a great jazz accompaniment on the piano to my version of Teach me Tonight, a torchy song written in the 50's, and I actually had fun! Fun! Me! The nerves I felt were minor compared to the fun I was having. Now that's a new experience, and one I'm going to keep in my treasure chest of useful memories!

Happy 2011

I've been so involved with getting OSSIA off the ground that I forgot all about blogging! I just remembered now, because I was thinking how much I want to share everything I've been learning and doing...

But first, an update. My starting group, the 15 dear people who've joined me on this singing journey, met weekly in Mudtown Pottery, a beautiful gallery space with great accoustics, above a pottery studio. On Dec/ 20th we gave a small concert to invited guests, and raised some money for Safe 'n Sound, an organization serving the homeless in Owen Sound. On the whole, it was a very successful evening. We all enjoyed ourselves and laughed a lot. A great aspect of this kind of music is that it lends itself to audience participation, and the audience seemed to delight in singing along with three pieces: Dona Nobis Pacem, the Contemplation Chant, and Light is Returning (a Solstice song).

Now it's 2011 and because of the unpredictability of the winter weather here, we meet casually at my house on Monday evenings. I sometimes have ginger tea and honey on the stove. There are a few new faces joining us and I have faith that the group will grow.

A new development is our Sunday Meditation and Singing group. We spend half an hour learning a few of the simpler and more introspective songs, then meditate for 15 minutes. Then we sing for half an hour, repetitively and without any conversation... the minute of silence between each song is powerful... then end with mediation. Our first meeting was so emotional for me that I phoned one of the CCLT teachers for suggestions on how to ground and prepare the group to go back to real life. Denis suggested that I use poetry, and directed me to John O'Donahue... and thus begins another beautiful trail...

"May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul."

OSSIA begins again

Tonight was the first night for my singing group in Owen Sound, after completing the training in Victoria. What a gas! I'm so high!
Of course there was a wide range of musical ability, so many stops and starts, and much laughter. I just loved everyone who came, and felt so grateful to them for... well, for letting me PLAY with them and try out some of what I had learned!

I call the group OSSIA. I found it one sleepless night at 3 am. It is a musical term meaning a suggested alternative, and comes from the Latin "or let it be". As an acronym, it stands for Owen Sound Singers in Accord. How could I pass that by?

We learned 6 or 7 songs, starting with "We are a'beginning" and with some coaching, they sang harmonies. We ended with the Contemplation Chant, a peaceful way to end after all the laughter. And we learned my personal favourite... Grind that coffee. Not spiritual or erudite, but who cares. It's fun!

What is it about singing? We all have memories of singing in the car on family outings, or around a campfire with a guitar, or hearing our mothers sing... I once heard an afternoon workshop of working songs at Mariposa Folk Festival, and Pete Seeger (bless him!) sang a lullaby... he said, that's a working song if there was one. My colicky baby would stop crying when I played piano with him in the snuggly, but he would squirm and whimper when I made mistakes... true story!

The magic of vibration!

OSSIA begins

I just lost all everything I just wrote. Oh my.

Crybabies anonymous

Yesterday morning, Tom from North Carolina described our group as "Crybabies anonymous". Imagine that phrase with a southern drawl... At that point, at least half of us had had a cry... and if you counted the damp eyes and tearing up that happens when people are moved, then all of us qualified.

In the afternoon, Shivon was moved to tears by a song led by one of the CCLT members. In the discussion that followed, she raised her hand and said, My name is Shivon. I am a crybaby. Much laughter.

The course has been intense: intensely educational, intensely moving. Combine a safe space to stretch yourself, the magic of beautiful music and voices that harmonize so easily, and Denis's amazing ability to pull exactly the right choice from his reservoire of memorized poetry, and you have a recipe for emotional growth... and tears!

I taught my 3rd song this morning, a beautiful song by Hanna Tiferet Siegel called Planting Seeds. I had created harmonies that I taught the group, and was thrilled to hear it sung. Tomorrow is the last day. My only regret is that I didn't manage my recordings better... I'm going to have a lot of work organizing all this material! Oh well, there's all that time on the plane on Sunday.

Fisherman's Wharf

The classes and evening choir practices are held in a beautiful white stucco building called The Church of Truth, in a round room under skylights. We sit in a circle around an inlaid star in the floor. Ever noticed how much synchronicity there is when you're "in the zone"? Over and over again, the sunshine beams on one person (the sunbeam moves as the sun does), either on Cheryl from Malaysia when she's feeling so sun-deprived, or Kamille when we're giving her feedback after her practice teaching and she's still beaming with joy. Or the foghorn resonates exactly at the right time to punctuate something that's been observed. Much laughter and delight in this group.

And harmony! Not everyone reads or understands musical theory, but all 16 of us love to sing and make harmony. When Denis or Shivon introduces a warmup, the group spontaneously breaks into harmony. So much joy in this.

Yesterday my cousin took me to his friend's seafood store on a float at Fisherman's Wharf where there is a small community of pastel buildings on floats: some are homes and some are commercial. He pointed out to me that there was a seal in the gap between the dock and the float, right below the window where we paid for our seafood purchases. I looked down and saw huge pleading eyes, obviously begging for a treat, just like a dog. His friend got out a herring, dangled it and swung it in circles, telling the seal to turn around. The seal instantly went round and round under the water, and then caught his reward. Wow!

CCLT : Day 3

Today Shivon said that the act of singing creates oxytocin which is the "love and trust" hormone, and that's why the act of singing together makes people so happy.

Last night we attended the first Gettin' Higher Choir evening rehearsal. There were at least 100 folks there, three quarters women, half altos. People arrived smiling and expectant. Many have sung with the choir since it began 14 years ago. Denis began with a lovely grounding and warmups. Most songs were taught by ear, a few from the sheet music. Beginners stood with experienced singers and the sound was lovely. Denis and Shivon alternated leading, her dancing pixie energy an interesting contrast to Denis' grounded energy.

Tonight we will attend the 2nd of 3 evening practices, all of about 100 people, all with basically the same repertoire so people can attend any or all of the three.

Now to rest...

CCLT : Day One and Two

I am in beautiful Victoria, BC, awake at 4 am after an exciting first day of the Community Choir Leadersip Training with The Gettin' Higher Choir. The leaders, Denis Donnelly and Shivon Robinsong, made us welcome and packed a lot of learning and song even into the first afternoon. Then a delicious baked salmon dinner for about 30 people, including the 13 people enrolled in the course and their hosts. Many people flew from the States, one from Kuala Lampur, and they all have such interesting stories and diverse backgrounds. I'm staying with wonderful friends (there may be a lot of superlatives for awhile... bear with me) in a their gorgeous house. And of course, Victoria is "bloomin' lovely" as always.

Tomorrow, we'll be teaching each other songs and I volunteered to be one of the first... I'll teach the Pat Humphries song, Peace Sala'am, Shalom. No wonder I'm excited. I love the song, but must admit, I wanted to get past the nervousness so that I could fully enjoy the others!

I'm reading a Deepak Chopra book called The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire. It's a great reminder about the power of intention. "...intent comes from the universal soul, becomes localized in an individual soul, and is finally expressed through an individual, local mind." It's helping me to stay focussed on the real reasons that I'm doing this course. I started this process in 2003 while reading a book that helps you determine what you really want in life. It was clear that I wanted to sing. So I formed an intention and it's manifesting. Not quickly, not magically: I had to spend a winter in Vancouver getting a certificate in choral conducting and taking singing lessons with an opera singer to learn how exercise and develop my own voice so I'd know what to expect in a choir. And now this course... which will help me understand how to facilitate, and encourage people to sing with joy and gusto.

I keep wondering why singing makes us feel sooo good, and why creating harmony together is such a high. It's definitely about sharing and working together, and I also think it's about vibration, perhaps even breathing in concert. Let's face it we're originally pack animals, and howling together must have felt wonderful during our evolution into the polite, civilized creatures we've become. !

.

Home again, jiggety jog.

Cinqueterre is only a beautiful memory!

The weather forecast for that last day in Italy was bleak, but I went anyway and I'm so glad I did. It was BEE-utiful!!! I took the train from Pisa and after an hour or so, the train burst through a tunnel and there was the wide, blue, glorious expanse of the sea! I realized how much I'd missed that lovely perspective that I was so accustomed to on Hornby, and I was in bliss as I walked along the Amore trail, perhaps 100 feet above sea level.

BUT Ontario in the snow is a beautiful NOW. Strangely, the address of the house I bought in Owen Sound ends with B E. I looked at the name on the street sign: 4th St. B E and thought, "Wow, BE HERE NOW!" Actually, all the streets in this city are classified by number and East or West, and A or B. So I'm on 4th St. B East. Which also looks like BEast. At least my number isn't 666. That would be scary.

My living room window gazes onto the Sydenham River and silhouettes of deciduous trees and a big willow tree. There are often a pair of swans lolling elegantly outside my window, usually surrounded by a court of ducks. I can walk downtown in 15 minutes, or reach Harrison Park and all its trails, in 10 minutes. I'm happy. And it's so nice to have a phone number and internet again!

I've been shop-shop-shopping. Flea markets, used furniture stores and, dare I say it, Walmart. Also, friends have contributed odds and ends so I have enough furniture and dishes to invite my newly married son and his wife and a few friends for a turkey feast before Christmas. I ordered a fresh turkey from a farmer at the market and bought a Norfolk Pine for a Christmas tree. I've shovelled snow 3 or 4 times already... well, it is Ontario!

Home again. A Merry Christmas to all!