Two Days Left

I started The Something New Challenge at the beginning of the month so I could look back on April and see a month that wasn't one big joke on what life should have been, but a time of appreciation for the present day. So every day I posted "something new" on Facebook.

I've learned a few things doing this challenge, and I'll share them soon. In the meantime, two more days left in April.

Embrace the days. 

So, How's it Going?

A two hour Zoom meeting last night with my Bunco pals has made me chatty. It also made me realize that, other than snippets on Facebook or Instagram, I haven't really touched base. April has been ... well ...

1- Weird

Since the beginning of our marriage, April has always happened like this: we clean, prep, and beautify our house in order to rent it during the Masters Golf Tournament, and then we leave town for an epic Spring Break trip which usually lasts 8-9 days. April is usually our busiest, most fun month. We love April. But this year, due to you-know-what, our house rental was moved to November, our big trip to Sedona, AZ was cancelled, and our calendar page for April now was filled with crossed out squares ... stepping stones leading to uncharted territory.

photo with all the weird:

school at home

driveway visits with the Nonni

church at home

front porch drop-offs

masked grocery shopping

2- Humbling

There's is nothing like a pandemic to hone in on the fact that we are dependent creatures. We need each other. Sitting here at home, I am humbled that farmers, factory workers, and truckers are making sure we have food on the shelves; I am humbled that pharmacists, mail carriers, grocery stores, and utility plants are working behind the scenes to ensure we have what we need; and I am beyond humbled by those in the health profession who care for the sick.

Because so many loved this image, Marina Heiduczek is offering it as a free download 

(personal use only). You can download it from her website

3- Simple

Strange as it may seem, I've actually learned to enjoy this time at home. Life has been pared down  (faith, food, family) and our routine is simple: one daily outdoor activity (biking, hiking, golfing), lunch and dinner on the deck, a rousing game of backyard croquet after dinner, a different board game every night, and then a movie to end the day. We gather to pray around the kitchen table, have Zoom family reunions, and make driveway visits to say hello to the Nonni.

Of course, that sense of humility is still there because I realize that not everyone is having the same experience, so even as I am enjoying this time with my family my heart goes out to those who are struggling.

 Joe still has to go to work but is able to telecommute two days a week. 

And he's been able to take some vacation days. 

4- Innovative

We have had to be very creative in helping Jonathan prepare for his move to Atlanta mid-May, which means we're basically doing everything online. Apartment search when we can't go to Atlanta? Virtual tours. Bed frame, vacuum cleaner, sheets? Amazon and Wayfair. Kitchen supplies? Target. Television and mattress? Costco. (The television was a graduation present.) We keep a dry erase board in the family room to keep track of our orders. Luckily, we purchased a couch from our neighbors just before the pandemic hit, and we had a coffee and end table stored in the attic, but other than that we've had to order everything else.

Yesterday's all-important purchase? A colander. He needs to be able to strain his pasta, yes?

The Stockpile

Getting Jonathan ready for the next phase of his life

working as a tax associate at an accounting firm in downtown Atlanta.

5- Challenging

At the beginning of the month, as I contemplated everything that had been crossed out on the calendar, I decided to give myself a challenge to learn, to do, to read, to experience, or to try something new every single day. I decided to do this with the hope that, at the end of the month, I can look back and see a month that wasn't one big joke on what life should have been, but a time of embracing each and every day to the fullest. I called it The Something New Challenge . For example, one day I decided to do a Photographic Study in Green in which I picked a color (green) and then looked for that color in my day and took a photo. So many varying shades on the canal, in our backyard, on the golf course, and in my kitchen! Then in the evening I made a photo collage on my phone. Stay tuned for a blog post all about this challenge!

Green

I woke up this morning

a rainbow overhead

mellow yellow

Venetian red

sunset orange

lucky green

"A color for your day!"

suggested Roy G. Biv

And since it was spring ...

I reached up and picked green.

*from the files of very bad poetry by bia

6- Hopeful

It's so easy to let fear take over. It's so easy to let the news, the latest statistics, or the protests dictate our mood. But ... deep breaths. It's okay to feel down, or bored, or frustrated. But this WILL end. We will return to our lives. Things may be different, and we may have to do things differently, but maybe that's a good thing.

Social Distance Golfing

During these stay-at-home weeks we've been able to get plenty of outdoor exercise. We bike, we hike, we walk in the woods. 

We also play golf once a week.

If there is ever a sport perfect for social distancing, it's golf. And because we pick a not-so-popular course in the South Carolina countryside, it is mostly empty; in fact, it is so empty that on the 12th tee we stop and have a picnic lunch. 

This morning, we even had time to recreate this old family photo. Joe and Timothy were good sports; Jonathan just laughed.

The Toilet Paper Report

Every Sunday evening my family gathers online for a Zoom meeting. It's a little chaotic, and we talk over each other, but it's great to see everyone's faces and catch up on family news--one nephew shares how many baby teeth he's lost, my niece shares her latest art project, another nephew waves to us as he bounces on the bed, and my brother-the-doctor gives us updates on the Corona virus.

And then Joe gives a Toilet Paper Report. This started off as a joke, but now it's become a weekly report. For those who don't know, my engineering husband likes statistics, charts, and math. Joe likes to count things; in fact, when the boys were infants he kept a running tally of how many diapers they used in a week simply because it was interesting, so the fact that he's charting toilet paper usage is not surprising.

Anyway, in case you're interested, here was his Toilet Paper Report for the past week:

"This week’s toilet paper report is as follows: we’re at 14 rolls which is down from 18 of the previous week. Our usage rate increased from three rolls a week to four. But a stop at Costco to buy apartment supplies for Jonathan resulted in the Costco attendant throwing a package of 30 rolls into our cart. So we now stand at plus 30 from the 14."

54 Years

Fact: They met on a ski slope in Italy (he crashed into her)

Fact: She spoke a little English

Fact: He spoke almost no Italian

Fact:  married 54 years today

Statues and Gargoyles and Spires, Oh My! (Fun Facts on the Duomo di Milano)

Easter Sunday the world was invited to attend a special concert featuring Andrea Boccelli from the Duomo di Milano. During a time in which we are all in self-isolation, this was a beautiful way to bring the world together. It was nice knowing that my family, my parents, my relatives in Italy, and friends from all over the world were tuning in at that exact moment. When Andrea Boccelli walked outside and stood alone as he sang Amazing Grace, I became emotional because a few months ago we were there ... and now the world is all topsy turvy. 

Anyway, I provided some fun facts on the Duomo for my group before we left on that Girls' Trip, and I'll share them here. Gargoyles, a holy nail, Mark Twain ... like I said, fun facts. 

P.S. My 2019 Girls' Trip to Italy (Days 6, 7, 8) features our day in Milano. 

Fun Facts: The Duomo di Milano

1.      HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO BUILD THE DUOMO DI MILANO?

I could go into the details of how at least 78 different architects were involved in the construction, or how politics, lack of funding, wars and plagues complicated matters, but basically the answer is this: construction on the Duomo officially began in 1386 and was not completed until 1900. So … six centuries!!

2.      STATUES AND GARGOYLES AND SPIRES, OH MY!

While exact numbers vary, there are more than 3,300 statues (including over 100 gargoyles) and 136 spires that decorate the cathedral.

3.      THE MADONNINA (Little Madonna)

Atop one of the spires is a gold Madonnina (the Little Madonna) which has become a symbol of the city and a patroness to people of Milan. During WWII a grey-green cloth was placed over the statue as camouflage so as not to be an easy target for bombers. She remained covered for the duration of the war. 

4.      THE HOLY NAIL

Inside the Duomo di Milano, above the apse and marked by a small red light, is a nail that is believed to come from the cross of Christ.  Each year the Rito della Nivola takes place in September for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. During the ceremony, the Archbisop of Milan ascends on a structure resembling a cloud decorated in papier-mâché with angels and cloud (nivola = nuvola = cloud), retrieves the nail, and brings it down for viewing. It remains on the ground for 40 hours, after which it is put back in its place high above the tabernacle.

Interestingly, this tradition began with a procession held by St. Charles Borromeo during the plague of 1577.

5.      IT’S ONLY SKIN DEEP

To the left of the altar is an interesting statue—St. Bartholomew Flayed (1562) by Marco d’Agrate. The saint is standing with his flayed skin draped over his shoulders like a stole.

6.      HISTORICAL EVENTS

Many historical events have occurred in the Milan Cathedral—The Edict of Milan was issued from the Cathedral in 313 (thereby legalizing Christianity) and in 1805 it was where the coronation of Napoleon took place.

7.      A CATHEDRAL WITH A VIEW

Visitors can visit the roof of the Cathedral. Access is made through 6 stone stairways and two elevators, and 33 stone bridges crisscross the two sides of the roof allowing visitors to wander among the statues. On a clear day, you can see the Alps in the distance.

8.      WHO’S WHO

Johannes Sebastian Bach served as the Cathedral’s second organist and played there for two years, during which he composed two masses: a Requiem and a Te Deum. (Incidentally, the Duomo’s organ is the largest in Italy with 15, 800 pipes.)

Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley read literature inside the Cathedral.

British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson enjoyed the view of the Alps from the Duomo.

Mark Twain visited Milan in the summer of 1867 and mentions the Cathedral (and his visit to the rooftop) in Chapter 18 of his travel book, The Innocents Abroad.

My mother on the roof of the Duomo with her father (my Nonno).

clockwise from top right: the Madonnina, the Rito della Nivola, 

the Duomo, St. Bartholomew

Tintinnabulation on Easter Morn

What does Edgar Allen Poe have to do with Easter? Nothing, except he popularized the word, tintinnabulation, which means the ringing or sounding of bells.

And ringing bells are all about Easter. Alleluia!

[video was taken this past September in Verona, Italy]

The Sound of Silence

On this Good Friday, simply this ... 

Sit in the silence of the tomb. It is through our missing Him that we come to know Him. 

The mountaintop at The Sanctuary of La Verna,

a Franciscan Monastery

Pondering

Life, these days, feels different. Looks different. Is different. 

Which is why I like to ponder these strange days in context with another time, long ago, that also seemed to not to make sense -- Christ the Savior condemned to death, Christ breaking bread with a traitor, Christ betrayed three times by a trusted follower (and friend), Christ praying to be spared but accepting his suffering, Christ laid in a tomb only to rise again. 

Then, this morning I came across this poem juxtaposing Ghengis Khan, Caesaer, Alexander, Napolean, and Christ. Of them, only Christ showed us how incongruity turns to harmony, isolation inspires revelation, and darkness leads to light. 

Like I said, pondering. 

The Conquerors 

~Harry Kemp

I saw the Conquerors riding by

With cruel lip and faces wan;

Musing on kingdoms sacked and burned

There rode the Mongol Genghis Khan;

And Alexander, like a God,

Who sought to weld the world in one:

And Caesar with his laurel wreath;

And leading, like a star the van,

Heedless of upstretched arm and groan, Inscrutable

Napoleon went

Dreaming of empire and alone ...

Then all perished from the earth

As fleeting shadows from a glass,

And, conquering down the centuries,

Came Christ, the Swordless, on an ass ...

Stay Home Ambassadors of Good Will

When I took two groups to Italy--in the summer 2015 and the fall of 2019--I was always mindful of the kind of travelers I wanted us to be. Which is why, during one of the information sessions before our trip, I gave everyone a copy of ways we can travel as Ambassadors of Good Will.

During this time or sheltering in place, staying home is not how we imagined spring break to be. But yesterday I came across my Travel Ambassador list and realized that if we crossed out the word TRAVEL and replaced it with STAY HOME, we can still be good will ambassadors.

Here is the newly revised list ...

Travel Stay home lightly: You are experiencing a simpler life. Embrace living in the moment.

Travel  Stay home expectantly: Every day can be an adventure, even from your living room. Look for novelty and beauty each day.

Travel  Stay home hopefully: Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that only in darkness can you see the stars. Look at the starlight, and know that dawn is around the corner. 

Travel Stay home humbly: Know that other people in other places—next door, other states, across the ocean—are experiencing similar circumstances. We are all one.  

Travel Stay home courteously: It promotes a spirit of contagious well-being.

Travel Stay home gratefully: We can complain that the rose have thorns, or we can be grateful that there are roses among the thorns. 

Travel Stay home with an open mind: Emily Dickinson once said that she dwells in possibility. Leave thoughts of life as it was supposed to be, and live in the present with hope in the future.

Travel Stay home with curiosity: It is not how far you go, but how deeply you go that mines the gold of experience.

Travel Stay home with imagination: French novelist Marcel Proust once said that the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Travel Stay home relaxed: Make up your mind to see this time to refresh physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Travel Stay home patiently: Keep flexible and be adaptable to all situations.

Travel Stay home with the spirit of a world citizen: Confucius once said that the strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home. Let's start with that.

The Something New Challenge

This week, when I turned my calendar planner to the first day of April, I contemplated all the things that were crossed out--a family trip to Sedona, dinner parties, hair appointments, soccer games. It was as if April Fools' Day turned into April Fools' Month and those calendar squares, now crossed out, were stepping stones into one very long, uncertain, boring month.

I gave myself a moment to wallow in sadness.

But then I made a decision. Instead of using those calendar squares for future events, why not use them to record all the new things I've learned to do during this time of social distancing and sheltering in place? In other words, I would give myself a daily challenge of learning, doing, reading, experiencing, or trying something new. The challenge could be big (like hosting my first ZOOM meeting), or little (writing a poem), or thoughtful (sending letters or cards of encouragement); the challenge could involve learning a new skill (baking bread), or organizing (files, junk drawers, closets), or doing something physical (an online yoga class, a spa day) or something spiritual (a mini retreat).

The point is to fill up those April calendar squares with meaning, purpose, and intent so that at the end of the month I can look back and see a month that wasn't one big joke on what life should have been, but a time of self discovery and wonder in each and every day.

Who's with me?

Supporting the Corner Bookstore

Sometimes serendipity is a wonderful thing.

Yesterday I was thinking about books--books I had read recently, books I have yet to read, and the handful of books that I read over and over. Then, I had just posted a message to my Book Club group about organizing a virtual April meeting via ZOOM when I happened to see that our local bookstore, The Book Tavern, announced a new service: Surprise Care Packages. 

Here's how it worked: after filling out an online form with your care package tier (I picked Bookworm - $30 - which includes at least two books) and then answering a few questions about your likes, dislikes, and genre preference, someone from The Book Tavern calls you for payment and sets a time for the delivery of your personally selected books. 

Within thirty minutes of submitting my form David called, and that same afternoon he delivered my Book Tavern Care Package. 

If you've ever been to The Book Tavern, then you know who David is, and to see him walk up my driveway with my books was fun! And he very graciously allowed me to take a photo of him but ALAS! my phone's camera was on a weird setting and the photo didn't come out. Darn.

Anyway, I had four books in my care package, none of which I've read, and all seem perfect.

Thanks Book Tavern for bringing books to us; after all, the world belongs to those who read, even when we cannot go out into it during this time of social distancing and sheltering in place.