The Adventure Continues and the Body Mechanics of Housework

So on Wednesday we (Mom, Wes and I) headed up to the Borgo. A pretty uneventful trip, train from Florenceto Arezzo and then the bus from Arezzo to Sansepolcro where we met up with the Sada Sats. (The only interesting point of the journey is that I am starting to notice an improvement in my Italian… which is nice). In Sansepolcro (which is the second town closest to the Borgo) we stopped for lunch and to look around a bit. Lunch was really good…they had these little carts that they wheeled up to your table and then did the final assembly steps of your dish right there in front of you. Pretty neat. Plus they had a good selection of vegetarian options, which is always nice for us. Most of the churches/stores/etc. were closed since we were there over the lunch break…so we piled into the little Panda with our stuff and headed up the mountain. The Borgo really is situated in a pretty amazing place…. you can’t turn around without wanting to take another set of pictures. And after all of the crazy-ness and art-overload of Florence we were ready for some down time. The next day, however, we decided to try for a day trip to Assisi. (This in hindsight was overkill…but at the time seemed like a good idea). We caught the 10am train in San Guistino (train station is still missing many of its letters…although Wes pointed out the sign on the opposite side of the building has them all). About an hour later we get off at Ponte San Giovanni. Wait for about 20 minutes and then get on another train to Assisi, luckily this train is only about 15 minutes. So we get off the train, excited to see what is supposed to be a beautiful town, walk out of the train station and see…nothing. A regular street, no churches, no quaint cobbled streets…. hmmm. We find out we must now take a bus up the mountain…Assisi is on the top of the hill. So 10 minutes later we’re on the 10-minute bus ride up the mountain. And then we get there. And it is beautiful and quaint…but also very hilly. We follow the signs to Saint Francis’s Basilica. Walk around, beautiful art, nice statues. We see Saint Francis’s tomb. I can tell this is a place that holds a lot of meaning and emotion for many people (they get a couple of 100,000’s of pilgrims to this town each year). But for me it does absolutely nothing. It is a mixture of being tired after 3 days in Florence and being on art-overload…. but I am starting to see all of these churches whether massive and with 100’s of years ofconstruction or tiny hole-in-the-wall beauties as a blend of the same. I think since I was not raised Catholic/Christian and I don’t know the stories behind many of the works I miss out on a lot of the meanings…so to me it is just a lot of pretty art work. And there are only so many times you can look at something and say, “Hmm, that’s pretty.” Before it gets a bit wearing. Wes also made a good point that is hard to look at the grandeur of these places and not wonder how they could justify spending thousands of dollars on marble and gold when most of the people alive at the time of construction were extremely poor and hardly could afford to feed their families. So there it is. I am churched-out for the moment. I am putting myself on a church-fast. Maybe in a couple of weeks I’ll be able to go back into churches and see things with a sense of wonder instead of cynicism…I hope so. So needless to say after we returned to the Borgo we decided that the next day was going to be a completely lazy day. Naps, reading, maybe some yoga, more naps…you get the idea. (Side note: we did have lunch in Assisi, and it was disappointing. I was put on guard by the fact that they were playing Norah Jones….but I thought it might be worth a try. No. When in Italy do not eat at places that have animals on the signs or are playing music in English…this is what I’ve learned so far.) But, relax is exactly what we did on Friday and it was great! (Wes helped me out in the garden a bit in the morning…. or I should say I helped him since I am still fumbling my way through that area.) It was really nice to have a completely “down” day and I think all three of us needed it. Saturday morning we were up early because I had to take them to catch their bus. Mom and Wes left and were headed to Venice. We finally figured out how toget Mom’s international phone to send text messages so from what I hear from them Venice is great, they’re having good food and enjoying the gondolas and glasswork which Venice is famous for. As for me, sincethey left (the Sada Sats are also gone this weekend) I have been having more solo time…and since I was gone for 4 days I have had a lot of cleaning to catch upon. So me and Agnes (the dog) have been dusting, vacuuming, mopping, changing sheets, running laundry, ironing, etc. for the past two days. (Well, Agnes really does more of the walking on the wet floors, and shedding on the dusted areas…but you get the idea. ) I have, however, discovered an important thing; in doing housework (as in doing massage) it is important to be conscious of your body mechanics. You can certainly push a mop with your back curled over and using the force of your arms. But your back will also be sore the next day. Or you can keep your back tall and your arms straight and push with your legs. Now, you will look absolutely ridiculous mopping in this way so it is best if you are completely alone of the top of a mountain…but your back won’t hurt the next day! It has been a stormy weekend here at the Borgo. It is pretty cool to see it raining and look out the windows to see that your are in the middle of the storm. I mean middle of the storm vertically not horizontally. I can see rain clouds below and above me!! Wow. And the wind gets to be something fierce up here. It’s actually quite fun, I really enjoy storms and this is a great vantage point from which to watch them! I think that is about it. The Sada Sats are on their way back form Rome now; we have a two people coming on Tuesday to stay for a few days…otherwise pretty quiet. I think if the weather lets up there is a lot of gardening in my near future as the weeds are starting to come up in full force in the garden. Again, I am hopeful that soon we will have a more steady flow of guests and I will be spending more time massaging and less time in other chores. But until then I’d really rather help out then sit around…. so that’s how it’ll be. I am going to be taking a 4-day trip around the 10th of June. (My first solo overnight trip since being here). I am open to suggestions about where to go, possibilities are the Amalfi Coast (although it can be pricey), Rome or maybe Belgium or somewhere unusual like Latvia… let me know if you’ve got other good ideas for me! Hugs to everyone!
Blessings,
KNL

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

Whew…

I finally have a few moments to myself after the whirlwind the last few days. We had a bunch of guests this weekend…most of whom left on Monday. Now it is just the Sada Sats, one couple and I at the Borgo. It is amazing how much work goes into running this place. All 3 of us could run morning to night and still have an amazing “to do” list. Luckily, the Sada Sats are very graceful in allowing time to relax, time to enjoy meals and time for yoga. So while it feels like a lot of work it is well balanced and actually quite fulfilling. I had my first Italian massage client. Chance and I had rigged up a set up for me to work on until the Sada Sats get the massage table. (Which, hopefully,will be before the end of this month). It was a bit awkward working without a headpiece, for example, but it went fine. She loved it and was telling others they should get work done too, which didn’t end up happening due to schedule. But it was very encouraging that many people who come here will want to get massages…which is basically the only way I am going to have any hope of financing the end of my trip…ay! It will all work out, I have faith that everything will unfold exactly as it is supposed to. Announcements: This first announcement will, no doubt, come as a shock to those who have known me for many years (family…this means you.) Here it comes…. I now like tomatoes, even raw ones! The tomatoes here are like nothing I have ever tasted…even canned tomatoes in Italy are fantastic. Honestly to make red sauce all we do is sauté some onion and garlic and then add a can of chopped tomatoes…and it is the best tasting sauce ever. Wow. Unfortunately, the next announcement will not surprise many…I still do not like olives. I tried some that were deemed “SO good” by many others at the table and they still tasted like I imagine poison tastes…so, tomatoes in, olives out. Also, I talked before about how excited I am to learn cooking tips and recipes from Sada Sat Kaur…she has been thinking about doing a cookbook, but never has the time to do it…so I am taking very good notes inthe kitchen and hopefully we will put together a cookbook that will be available for sale some time in the not too distant future. Yea! (Already we have Ravioli con Borro e’ Salvia and a fantastic lentil soup) Some of the cooking tips I’ve been getting apparently everyone else already knows: like when you cook pasta you are supposed to have lots of water because then the noodles can move around more and cook more evenly. I always thought less water was better because it would boil faster…oops. That related to the biggest thing I’ve learned from SSK so far…you must be patient in cooking. (This will be a challenge for me…I’m upto it.) Yesterday I went to Sansepolcro to visit the Internet point to upload pictures (which you should be able to view at http://www.kelseylumpkin.shutterfly.com). It also happened to be Sansepolcro's market day…so I got to check out my first Italian market. It was both exactly what I expected and completely different. My romanticized thoughts about market day were small vegetable and fruit stalls, maybe a few people selling cheese and a few tables selling locally made, high quality items (like maybe fantastic jewelry, thick sweaters, beautiful leather Italian sandals.) Well….they do sell all of those things at market (as well as plants, cooking items, sun glasses (None big enough yet Casey), knick knacks, lots of underwear….) But there is a HUGE amount of junky stuff…interspersed there are certainly some quality items, but if you’relooking for something specific you really have to hunt for it. The food however was fantastic, fresh and mostly locally grown. After market…we came home and got a serious start on the garden. We tilled soil and planted onions, lettuce, cucumber and zucchini. I was surprised that I really enjoyed gardening. It is meditative in away…repetitive motion, beautiful scenery, and quiet. And I have to thank my Savers crew for making me getthose overalls…they are perfect in the garden. Still to come in the garden: corn, watermelon, squash, basil, beets…much more. Many of you know that part of my yoga practice is chanting a sacred song called Japji. (Japji, literally the song of the soul, was given by Guru Nanak, the 1st of the 10 Sikh Guru’s. It is the first prayer in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, which is the holy book of the Sikhs. It is said that all of the wisdom of the SGGS is contained within Japji if you truly understand and practice it). Japji is chanted in gurumukhi, an old language that is related to Sanskrit. Gurumukhi script looks like Indian or Middle Eastern script…and because of this challenge I never learned to read the original script. I always read an English transliteration of the sounds when I chant. I was talking to SSK about the difference between reading the transliteration and the original script and she confirmed what I had heard from others. It is a whole different, deeper and more awesome experienceto read the original script. (For those of you who’ve chanted Japji can you imagine it somehow being MORE awesome??) So…SSK is going to teach me to read Gurumukhi script this summer. Wahe guru! I think that is the update for now. Let me know if there are other things you’d like to hear about…just a few weeks until my Mom and Wes come out for a visit. I am very excited to explore Firenze (Florence) with them! Love and blessings, KNL

Pictures

Hmmm...that didn't work. Just check out www.kelseylumpkin.shutterfly.com if you want to see pictures...

Love KNL

Pictures

Enjoy!

Nutella

Have you heard of this sutff?? A beautiful jar of the gooey-est creamy-est chocolate hazelnut spread. You put it on cookies, or bread...or your finger right out of the jar. Heavenly. And you know who introduced me to this maya-filled wonder (thats earhtly wonder for non-yoga folks)... my dear yoga teacher. Sada Sat Singh has a soft spot for Nutella...how delicious. :)

I am amazed at how many domestic type activites I am learning while at the Borgo. SSK is an amzing cook, hostess etc. She graciously is showing me all of the wonderful work she does all of the time withou even sounding exasperared when I ask her to show me again...which one is the sage? It is so fantastic. I am also finding that thigns like ironing and weeding with the right attitude are a beautiful and loving meditation...who would have thought??

I am working on getting some pictures uploaded...hopefully they will be here soon.

I am missing everyone...hope you are all having a beautiful beginning of the summer.

Love and blessings,
KNL

La Dolce Vita

Since Sada Sat Singh returned on Tuesday we have been busy!! Wednesday morning we were given the super exciting task of weeding the driveway. Imagine a long pebble covered area that has not been tended to in several months…needless to say it was a big job. And we only managed part of it before the rain began. We had been enjoying summer-like days, warm temps and sunny skies…. no more. It has been chilly, off-and-on rainy and windy since Monday.

We spent the rest of Wednesday cleaning and setting up one of the rooms in the Borgo because our first guests of the season arrive tonight!

Thursday Sada Sat Singh took Chance and I to see Urbino. Which is a beautiful little town that is a bit off the normal tourist track because it is hard to
get to…and going with SSS is like bringing a walking guidebook with you. He is an incredible font of knowledge about Italy, art, history…it is really quite amazing. In Urbino we went into the old palace (which is now the a museum). The highlight of the “regular” art stuff for me was seeing one of Rafael’s early works, a portrait of a young woman, completed when the artist was about 15. The basement of the palace is
this amazing interweaving set of tunnels and rooms. It is amazing to see the size and attention to detail in these structures that were built completely underground and without modern tools or lights…wow. I am beginning to realize that I am more into the architecture/stonework then the “art.” I think part of it is that SO much (basically all) of the artwork is based on Christian stories/themes. Which I don’t mind… but I don’t really have any basis of information to know what is going on…and the images of the Madonna and the Christ child and the Crucifixion are not moving to me at all (and those two images are repeated ad nauseum). I understand that Jesus was a great teacher and presence in the world…but I don’t get the focus on his birth and death. His teachings/ way of life seem much more inspiring to me…from what I know anyway.

The other really amazing thing in the palace was a very small out of the way, teeny room called the Chapel of Forgiveness. It was beautifully tiled in blue, green and white marble, basically just big enough for one person to walk in, with a small alter
at the front and a gorgeous archway and ceiling. When you walked in the energy was so pure and strong it was as if you were being pressed in on from all sides…wahe!

Thursday night I also went with SSS into Sansepolcro (one of the nearest towns) and took my first yoga class in Italian. I was surprised but how much I really was able to follow along…although I did have to peek sometimes.

Today has been about cleaning and cooking in preparation for our guests. We have three people arriving tonight. SSK returns and another couple come Sunday. Chance and 3 of the guests leave Monday. I will be sad to see Chance go. It was an unexpected surprise to find a fun friend and working pal in her. I am glad that I got a few day trips under my belt with her here because it gives me confidence to go off on other trips when the opportunity arrives.

SSS went to teach a class to someone else today and Chance and I took the opportunity to go into a nearby walled town called Anghiari. It was GORGEOUS! A
small enough place that you could wander around without a map, and all of these peaceful slopping streets, random stairways and tunnels…a really fun experience. It was also fun to find churches…everywhere. These beautiful, little churches (seating maybe 25-30 people) just plopped down in between the ristoraunte and the eyeglass shop.

Also in Anghiari we had the best lunch we’ve had outyet. I had Brushcetta and this beautiful tortellini like spinach balls with the best, rich cheese sauce you can imagine…. Molto bene (Very good!). Simple ingredients, beautifully presented and combined…Real Italian food is such an experience unto itself.

It’s going to be a great weekend…a lot of work I assure, but great still. I love getting emails, regular mail, text messages (which apparently are very cheap
for me to send/receive) or phone calls. Let me know if you need info on how to contact me.

I miss and love you all
Sat Nam,
KNL: