Solo time

More pictures are posted at www.kelseylumpkin.shutterfly.com. Also I added titles to all of the pics up so far so you can at least know what city the photo is from. The Sada Sats are in Rome this weekend teaching a level 2 course…so I am flying solo at the Borgo. Itis pretty quiet up here when you are the only human being (thank god for ipod speakers!). Also, thank God for Agnes (the dog) and Raj (the cat). I think I might go totally bonkers if I was truly alone up here. Although I have been doing plenty of work while the SS’s are away, which helps the time pass. We have a group of 6 coming in on Tuesday night so I have been deep cleaning bathrooms, dusting, mopping, and making beds for them. I am hopeful that when we get more into the high season and more groups start coming in regularly I will be doing more massage time and less of this other general work. We’ll see. SSK is an amazing (and gracious) housekeeper. She patiently is showing me all of the “womanly” arts that she learned from “Gertrude’s mom” back in the day during Brownies. (Stuff like how to make a hospital corner and how to properly lay a bed spread and get that perfect crease under the pillows). She gave me a very nice compliment the other day on how pleasant it was to teach someone who was willing to learn and practice these things, which was very good to hear. Also since last post, we’ve gotten the whole (basically) garden planted. We’ve got: bell peppers, tomatoes, corn, lettuce, onions, peas (yum!), zucchini, cucumber, radishes, beets, green beans, yellow squash, watermelon, basil, parsley, rosemary, cilantro, sage, chamomile, lemon grass and hotpeppers. I think that is it…whew! And because it is exceptionally dry up here (and quite windy) ALL of these things need to be watered basically everyday. Which is a messy job but someone (me)’s gotta do it. I liked the part of gardening that was preparation stuff…like weeding, turning soil, I found it very meditative and I think I will like the end result…picking food and eating it. But this middle ground is lame. Watering dirt and waiting. Lame, (oops, there’s that patience thing to work on again….) I have read an amazing amount since I have been here(since TV is in Italian and the internet is so slow…reading is my only “down” activity…which I thinkis a good thing). The Sada Sat’s have a great collection of yoga books but also a very fun array of novels, so there is plenty to read. My favorite sofar was “A Year of Wonders” (I forget the author at the moment) About a village in England during the Plague…. very well written. I would highly recommend it. I also read a few Italian detective novels. Which are sometimes frustrating to an American reader because they leave so MANY loose ends (sometimes just sort of giving up on the case). This fits right in with the Italian fatalistic outlook. Americans tend to see a situation that they don’t like or isn’t working and say, “let’s change it!” Italian’s see the same situation and say, “that’s the way it is” (and then proceed to figure out every way to slip around the system.) The phrase they use is “Bo!” Which is said with a shrug of the shoulders…”so it is.” Today I drove for the first time since being in Italy. I am driving this little, but powerful, Panda (there is a picture of it on the photo website). Up and down the mountain is…challenging. Narrow road. Gravel. Steep. Twisty. But once you’re down on the main roads you only have to worry about the narrow part…and the other crazy drivers’ part. And, in case you’re ever driving in Italy…stop signs are really like a“Sort of slow down” sign. If you really completely stop people behind you will freak…just thought you’d like to know. I drove to San Guistino and had a cappuccino and cornata con marmelada at Café Belloni (how very Italian??). And then to Sansepolcro to market. I was looking for socks. I want a pair of athletic type socks, but in a dark color, for working in the garden. Last time I was there it seemed like every stand had underwear and socks. Today, none. Grr… But I did get a chance to walk around Sansepolcro a bit…and I had a great time. Some really beautiful churches and paintings. I love how in Italy you’ve got this amazing piece of art or architecture and it is right mixed in with the apartments and office buildings. Like today I found this beautiful courtyard/first floor of a building with these amazing frescos on the wall. The upper floors of this same building…offices. Just regular people, doing regular work. Funny, huh? Well, on the docket for tomorrow: more cleaning, more watering plants…and pack! Monday I leave VERY early to meet Mom and Wes in Florence!! Yea! (As a matter offact they re probably landing in Rome about now.) Monday and Tuesday we’ll hang out in Florence. And then Wednesday we head back up here…they’ll be here for three days and we think we’ll probably go to Assisi one day. And then they leave for Venice and I’m back to “regular” life at the Borgo. Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all.
Love and blessings, KNL