Back in Touch!!!

After 3 days of no internet and no phone service, I am finally back on line in Florence. 3 days in Venice and no contact, but had a fabulous time. This is a view from our room in Venice. And here is a view of us on a gondola ride.

In Florence for 3 days and up early tomorrow for a tour of the Vatican and David. Super excited. Had a fabulous dinner tonight at a nearby restaurant and had several Lemoncello's. Feeling it.

More photos later.

16 hrs and counting

Tomorrow is the big day. Have been going crazy for a week getting everything ready for the big trip. I had 3 websites to work on, shopping for food for the house sitter, who will also be painting my house while we are away, buying enough pet food for 6 animals for two weeks and trying to get everything needed and packed up. The house is a disaster. We have been between projects for a couple of weeks and have boxes and stuff all over the dining/bar area. Of course as always, at the last minute, things just keep popping up and like always, I have not yet packed. I am getting a migraine from just being at the computer making Pet lists and in case of emergency lists and so on. Not to mention that of course everything I try to do to a website right now is backfiring, because I am trying to get them finished. Some things will just have to wait til I return, as I am out of time. Tomorrow, Bloody Mary's and red wine, oh my!

Getting ready

In one week from today, we will be boarding an airplane and flying to Italy. Our trip begins with a short flight to Santo Domingo, then an overnight flight to Madrid. After 4 hrs in Madrid, we head to Rome. Once in Rome, we catch the train and arrive in Venice on Sat. around 9:30 pm. Sunday and Monday will be spent in Venice before heading off to Florence. We will stay 3 days in Florence, then rent a car, drive to Pisa, stay the night in Tirrinia and then drive down the coast to Livorno. After a night in Livorno , we are off to Siena, where we will spend 4 days. Since Siena is only about 30 km from Florence and right in the heart of the Tuscany wineries, we will drive around and just see what hits us. On the 4th, we depart to Florence to take a train back to Rome, where we will spend our remaining time, until the 8th, sightseeing and enjoying the treasures of Rome. On the 8th, we fly back to San Juan. This is a trip of a lifetime, my only regret is that we only have two weeks to visit there. So I am trying to get in as much as possible in the timeframe that we have.

On the home front, I have been planning itineraries, making hotel reservations and booking tours. In between, I have been trying to tidy up projects with several websites I have been working on, stocking up prints for the gallery, and planning my packing. I really wanted to begin my next art piece, but it doesn't seem like I will get the chance. I will be bringing my watercolors to Italy and my Canon EOS, and will be working while I am there. I am really excited about this trip.

Happy Mother's Day

Off to do family stuff today. Hope all Mother's out there have a fabulous day.

A Day at the Museum

Today is the pickup of work from our Women's Show. I will be there from 10-12. Then home, unpack car, prepare piece for mailing to Miami and hopefully begin work on my next project. Details to come.

To do List

On my Calendar for today:

Buy box for shipping
Buy foam for painting protection
Go to bank
Purchase ink for printer
Pickup paintings from recent exhibit
Prepare box and foam and ship painting to Miami
print giclees for gallery
Pull together research for next painting

Tuesday night we went to a Billy Joel concert. I remember seeing him when I was about 19, for the first time. Since then, I have seen him probably 8 times, twice when he toured with Elton John. It was such a great concert and it brought back so many memories to hear some of the songs he played.

Yesterday, I had major computer issues. Apparently, my DSL cable got messed up and I had to call the phone company to get it all fixed. After 3 hrs and 3 phone calls, it is now up and running, wirelessly. Don't know why I never used the wireless feature before. But now I am able to run both my desktop and laptop from the same connection, which is great. I have both networked and was able to share files before, but now I can use my laptop from anywhere in the house while keeping my desktop in the studio.

Working on websites today and then fixing a few areas on my painting of Cassandra. This should keep me busy all day.