Crazy Creatures

My big sister and I are thinking about the things that have happened this year, since we are heading home pretty soon. One of the fun things, and also a little bit crazy, is that we always look for interesting animals, especially bugs! 

Here are some photos from the last year, and sorry if some of them are kinda creepy!

Sardinian Summer…Sort of

     We spent this last week exploring northern Sardinia, with our friends who have been vacationing on the island for the last 14 years. It was a wonderful way to get “back to nature”: staying in a farmhouse overlooking a cattle grazing pasture, and then out to the mountains and Mediterranean beyond. It was also an unexpected opportunity to reacclimatize ourselves to life in Portland, since it rained for much of the week. Plus, our friends are honorary Portlandians, thanks to their tree-hugging, liberal-leaning, organic-munching, LP-gas Subaru-driving ways!

     We took advantage of every sun break, enjoying the dramatic scenery and turquoise sea that are Sardinia’s claims to fame. It was a spectacular way to welcome summertime.

Festa del Papa *

     Father's Day offers an excuse to share a piece of pleasure writing, which -- including this blog -- has had to fit into the surprisingly limited periods of true "downtime" during this year away. The following was written loosely based on true events, although without mentioning the margarita which preceded the madness. So, should any readers care to undertake similar exploits, please note that a margarita might be the required "jet fuel"! 

* Italians actually honor fathers on St. Joseph's Day in March, to commemorate San Guiseppe as a fatherly symbol of love, kindness and generosity.

"That’s a crazy idea!" It's a giggling phrase I've heard from my children many times over the years, and on this early summer afternoon I thought they might be right.  

My neighbor Steve and I had spent the last hour piloting my two girls through a favorite activity: "airplane rides."  We would each get one of the girls airborne by holding one of her hands and one of her feet, beginning to slowly circle as she hopped along. A moment later, we would have her swinging through the air, circling over the long grass with a huge grin and squeals of joy. I was smiling too, enjoying their flights almost as much as they were. But somehow "almost" wasn't good enough on that particular day. What had started as a series of routine airplane rides was about to go jumbo jet.   

Like so many children, I'd grown up fascinated by planes, and seeing my girls soaring through the air was a delight. I could remember the sensation from my own childhood, when my father would set up elaborate airplane rides for me. He would assign various aircraft configurations based on the planes he had taught me to identify, playing control tower as I prepared for my flight. "We have a DC-9 cleared on runway 7-Alpha," he would announce, and I would eagerly offer up a hand and foot for my takeoff. Although I'd never managed to get my girls to share my fascination at quite that level, it was a point of fatherly pride that they could at least identify the Disneyland-themed plane at the Portland airport as a 737! And they also knew that a 747 was a giant plane, which was the flight we were about to attempt. 

I'm not sure what gave me the idea, other than watching Steve zing my children around with total ease. A former college linebacker, he was affectionately known as "Shrek Steve" by the girls. In a moment of inspired insanity, I realized that he might even be big enough to get my 155 pounds into the air. Although Steve was skeptical at first, he yielded to the pressure of the girls' pleas…combined with my own.

Our first few attempts were more about laughter than loft. The designers of the airplane ride for kids never considered the aerodynamics of a grown man, and instead I found myself repeatedly going for a "lawnmower ride" into the ground. Then we noticed a gently sloping hill across the park and relocated our foolishness there, so we could use the slope to our advantage as a runway.

I'm sure the takeoff wasn't pretty, but after a few more failed attempts, I was suddenly airborne. The girls' laughter stopped. I think my heart stopped for an instant too. I was a kid again, gliding over the landscape in imaginary flight. For a moment, the blades of grass became tall trees thousands of feet below me, with my father announcing that I had reached "cruising altitude." The girls broke into cheers as I made a second rotation, although I was quickly losing momentum. Even Shrek Steve couldn't keep me flying for long.

With all of our focus on takeoff, we hadn't planned for the descent. It's one thing to gently lower a 30-pound child to the ground, but I was more like a fully loaded cargo jet. Fortunately, the soft grass on the hillside was forgiving and I lurched to a halt after a bumpy landing.   

The girls piled on me and all of us sat wide-eyed in the afternoon sun. Yes, that was a crazy idea. And I think I'll keep that kind of "crazy" on my life's itinerary.

Fine della scuola!

What was most enjoyable about your school year?

• Everyone was so welcoming.
• Friendships.
• Friendly teachers.  
• Theater and music classes.
• Field trips to cool places.
• English class!

What was most challenging about your school year?

• Learning the language.
• Saturday school.
• Getting used to religion class and religious images at school.
• Walking to and from school.
• Too much yelling in the classrooms.
• Wearing the school uniform/smock every day.
• Homework!

What would you say to a friend who was about go overseas for a school year?  

• It will be really strange, hard and scary at first, but then all the new things start to become fun.
• Try to enjoy yourself because the time goes really fast.

The Genovese Painter’s Palette

Many things compete for your attention when walking around Genoa, and spring sunshine accentuates the exquisite colors which adorn many of the buildings. The city is awash in pastel yellow/orange/red tones. This makes for beautiful contrasts with the Mediterranean sea and sky, and many postcard-perfect sights.  

There is also the Ligurian approach to decorating buildings with detailed architectural features designed as “visual tricks.” We'll frequently see masonry, stone carvings, columns, flower pots, and even iron bars that are painted illusions. 

We've learned that this style of trompe l'oeil (which translates from French to mean "fools the eye") is common in the province of Liguria, and especially within Genoa. Some art historians think this is tied to the notion that the citizens of Genoa have always been parsimonious (a theme we've heard many times), and that painting the facades of buildings was much cheaper than having a sculptor or mason create actual architectural ornamentation. Another theory is that the tradition originated during Genoa's dominance as a trading center: ship captains passing the coastline would decide to stop in Genoa's port, having viewed through their monocular what appeared to be elaborate stonework and gilded facades on the city's buildings. By the time they realized these were fake representations of Genoa's wealth, it was too late to turn back and they would conduct their business in the port anyway. 

Whatever the origin and rationale, we've enjoyed the stunning deceptions! 

Two of the windows are painted depictions, along with all of the stone blocks or carvings.