Photos Up

Mo and Chase
Originally uploaded by Kate Hamilton.

This and many more pictures of my 1-year-old nephew Chase, and a few of the rest of my family, are up and ready for viewing. Taken the second week of May.

This week I am dealing with last minute client requests, acquiring dog sitters and finding proper walking shoes before our trip. Lots to do in 3 days. My moleskin order arrived on Friday, and I'm hoping my watercolor pans and palette arrive tomorrow. I also treated myself to a couple of Series 7 brushes. It's been a while.

My wardrobe is pretty complete, all but the proper walking shoes. I have trailrunners but they're decidedly bulky and un-cute. I need something that looks good with shorts, a sundress, capris... I could wait for a famous Greek poet to fit some handmade sandals to my feet in Athens, or I could spend $100 on a pair of Earth footwear. Hmmm.

It is tempting to spend all your money before you go away on things you think you might need abroad. But I am sure there are things that it will make more sense to get when I arrive. I just don't know what those things are--and probably will not realize it until I am far from home.

I'm sure I would have found fantastic art supplies in Florence. But I won't be there until my trip is half over. So...

Ugh. There is a very large black fly zipping and buzzing around my office. Nothing could annoy me more at the moment. I'm outta here.

Spring to Summer to Winter Again

New Neighbors
Originally uploaded by Kate Hamilton.

These little fuzzers have created a den under our neighbor's front porch. Seen here is Momma Fox and one of her babies. Two more babies were hiding in the den while I took my pictures.

Two days before I saw the whole family--and OMG, the kits are SO CUTE. They saw me walking Maggie and were all kinds of curious. One stood on the other's back to get a better view. Maggie was thankfully very quiet and I think equally curious. "They're not quite dogs--but they're not cats, definitely not squirrels--what ARE they? Do I chase them? Do I ask them to play?" They were lucky that her Beagle instincts didn't quite kick in, else it would have been quite a chase (and I might have lost an arm). Watching these babies play has been the highlight of my otherwise very hectic, very stressful and tiring week.

So I was just telling some friends yesterday how happy I am that mud season is finally over and the flowers are blooooming. "Dont' say it's over til it's over," is the saying, right? Right. Because it ain't over. Because yesterday evening it began to snow, and it has continued off and on ever since. Fortunately it isn't sticking. Fortunately my hummingbird feeder hasn't frozen completely. Still it doesn't do much for my mood nonetheless.

I am ready for vacation. 17 days of sweet, foreign vacation. The Big Fat Greek Italian Vacation.

It is hard to believe that this time next week, I will be on my long journey to the mediterranean. The flight pattern goes, Denver-to-Atlanta-to-NYC-to-Dublin-to-Athens (two days of flying*). Two nights in Athens. A ferry to Sifnos, then two nights there. A ferry to Santorini, staying 3 nights on the calderra. A plane from Santorini to Athens.

Then, to Italy...

Athens to Florence by air. Seven nights in Tuscany. One night in Rome. And then the flight home... via Germany, NYC, Atlanta and Denver. Talk about a long ride!

But I am ready. Oh, so ready. Snowbird wants to be a seagull for a while. Or a pelican. An egret. Something with longer legs that soars over warmer oceans. My feet are way too cold. I am ready for deep blue seas, sunsets, fresh fruit, fish and cheese. Ouzo. I will even don a bikini, though my body screams, "No! I'm too squishy and white right now!" I am ready for cultural exploration. Inspiration.

*When I went over this itinerary with my Mom, she commented, "I can't believe that any place is really worth all that traveling." I'm curious about that myself. From what I've heard, the far, far away island of Santorini is worth every hour, every penny of travel. We almost skipped it as a Greecian destination but so many people were insistent upon it being the most beautiful place on earth, that we altered our already insane plans to get there. And frankly, a ferry ride on the Aegean sea with a bottle of wine and some fresh greek salad by sunrise doesn't sound so bad. I shall draw a lot while in transit, I suspect. Three new Moleskins are on their way to me right now... :)