tomorrow retreat begins

private retreat at lake hodges (north san diego) - still some room for you.

under the umbrian sun.......

not far from home.  what a beautiful day

makes you want to sing.

the front door in gubbio, italy

my daughter rosie (left) poses with her best friend camille near the front door of the house where my husband and his father were born.  long family history here.

rooftops in gubbio.

 camille and rosie in  the town's piazza.  gubbio is a very safe town - this is the middle square.

it is nice to win.......

i received this message:


Hi Lisa,
I'm writing to let you know that you're the winner of our "peer voting" contest for favorite piece of art in the instructor albums! Your piece "Sideways Glance" came in first for the Southwest instructor albums when other instructors voted for their favorite. -Ellen



i didn't even know there was a competition.   
i am a grumbacher instructor at specific michaels stores in san diego.

this just in.....

my advanced issue of handcrafted vol.7 -  two of my articles in there.

one about  cynical old ladies' birthday party favors. and the other one is about teatowels made from 1960's imagery and 1960's prints.

the great transition.........

from living a beautiful slow pace in the italian countryside with family to returning to crazy california.  first, i miss family.  it is always very hard to say goodbye.  this time there was a new baby added to the family line -and what a beautiful baby and her name, appropriately, is bella.  i'm kinda going through baby withdrawals now.
second i miss great eats- my refrigerator smells like rotten veggies and there is a reason for that.  but even if it didn't there is just no comparison as to what we call food compared to what they call food.   i have been eating food prepared by my mother-in-law and the veggies are grown on the farm in rich umbrian soil.  the eggs are fresh from the chickens running around freely, pecking from a buffet of delicious wild grains and probably delicious, plump earthworms.  its easy to get spoiled.

the milk and cheeses are from truly happy cows, goats, sheep  (and some cheeses are from very, very happy buffalo).   and looks an entirely different color and of course the taste way different, beyond your wildest imagination type of different.  tomatoes are incredible as well as melons this time of year.  the cantaloupe, an insane deep orange in color, extremely aromatic and is plump with juices.  tomatoes --talk about heirloom tomatoes-  every one of them is perfect in flavor, texture and size.   all that is needed is a splash of umbrian olive oil and dash of Adriatic salt.  (the salt is better too).  i could easily live off the fresh, oozing milk, mozzarella and fire oven bread for the rest of my life.  oh and regional wine....  THE BEST IN THE WORLD.

i always tell my italian husband that it is clear to me that god, when he created the earth,  loved the italians best of all - that's why they have such rich soil, good water and sheer eye candy beauty.  then he reminds me  (my husband, not god) of the crazy italian drivers and winding country roads clearly built for only one small donkey and wagon,  but is used as a noisy honking two way sometimes three way street with someone always riding your tail and someone always straddling a lane in order to make a pass.  crazy italians.  nothing to do with god's favortism tho.

next, san diego looks so brown and ready to get set aflame (probably any day now) compared to the beautiful lush green countryside of umbria and the clear air and puffy overstuffed soft clouds.
bottled water - i would pay good money to have ancient aquaduct water from rome shipped to me.  i love that you can just go to an everflowing public fountain and drink up or wash up.  its delicious -better than NYC fountain water.  have you ever tried that?  ok then you are missing something.

so today as i look at my home surroundings:  there is the house, i am responsible to cleaning this one up.
i have unpacked but now i have a heap of washing to do.  after hardly any internet or communication for 21/2 weeks which was blissful - i'm not going to lie--- i came home to a ton of emails, requests and work  i am really not prepared to do ---just yet.
the afternoons are hard to recover from - most of mine in umbria included a 2 hour nap after a two hour midday meal.  no such thing here - only a half sandwich while standing at the kitchen cutting board washed down with cartoned orange juice that tastes like artificial flavoring and waxed cardboard.   always on the run here.  no time for good meals.

 so i better chop-chop and get back to work and my own lifestyle and leave italy behind for memories and great inspiration for paintings and drawings.
oh did i mention the fabulous art in even the smallest of churches......?  ITS ALL TRUE.

the other thing is .....i am now dieting....

just letting you know

i will be back in the country  june 20.