Welcome, Elizabeth!

Kathy, I hope you and Elizabeth become the best of friends. I'm looking forward to seeing more photos of your newly-created happy duo. Best wishes for furry hugs....

If there were to be a universal sound depicting peace, I would surely vote for the purr. ~ Barbara L. Diamond

PhotoHunt: Spotted

It's a view of Boston from the Charles River on a rainy day! Taken from a Duck Tour Boat floating along with the more typical sailboats on the muddy river!

Reflections

questions to ask a mirror
remember
whatever you ask a mirror
it will ask back

if you ask it
what will you give me
it will ask you
what will you give me

if you ask it what is love
it will turn into a telescope
& point at you

if you ask it what is hate
it will do the same thing

if you ask it what is truth
it will break in nine pieces

if you ask it what is beauty
it will cast no reflection

if you ask it to show you the world
it will show you the eye of your mother. ~ Toi Derricotte, The Mirror Poems

Wordless Wednesday

Today at noon in Boston the sun was shining and it was a gloriously unseasonable 48 -- with snow showers. A meteorological event!
Photo taken on the Italian Riviera

PhotoHunt: Balanced

I took this photo in Cinque Terre. The fisherman was trying to get the fish balanced to weight it appropriately. I just happened upon this as I was traversing the 5 towns. What a gorgeous piece of heaven in Italy, Cinque Terre.

Graditude Friday: Dance

I couldn't pass this one up:
"Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain. " - unknown

To drive or not to drive ..

in Italy? Need your recommendations and suggestions. I've been to Italy over 6 times and never drove myself (interestingly)! I am one for 'public' transportation in foreign countries. However, this September, I am taking Ty for his first time to Italy and decided to do a B&B in a friend's Italian home-away-from-home, Paciano, in Umbria near the Tuscan border. Hence, the need for a car to visit the small towns and get to the train to Florence and/or Rome.

I know of the Italian propensity for driving fast and dangerously close. I have been told by others who have driven in Italy that being from Boston helps - notoriously discourteous and not law-abiding drivers - and to not look in the rear view mirror while driving. I guess my main concern is what happens if there's a car accident?

The other caveat is that I don't speak nor understand Italian (with the exception of a few curses and greetings). I could keep a translator handy but I am wondering how much of a problem this might be for conversing in smaller cities/towns.