 | Red Admirals take Flight at Villa Loris Blair Pessemier acrylic/canvas 18 x 24 " 46 x 61 cm 725.00 |
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| Marvelous things transpired this week. The temperature rose, and the muguet (lily-of-the-valley) bloomed, as if on cue for the 1 May. The first of May is “labor day” all over Europe, and people have the day off. Most of Italy “opened up” and we could drive to the beach. We did. |
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 | Buttercups from the Yard Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/paper 25 x 17" 63 x 41cm 320.00 |
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| It’s a dicey thing, removing restrictions here in Italy. We still have about 10,000 new cases a day and 300-ish deaths. I laid in a new supply of masks, in shades of sky blue camo. Almost everyone I speak to thinks the opening is folly, but the government is receiving so many complaints from restaurants and cinemas, they felt compelled to do something. We still have a 10 PM curfew. |
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 | Our Field of Buttercups |
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| We have been having more Italian conversation this week, simply because more people are out. I find myself bursting into speech, and understanding more. T can tell us about her even-more-pampered-than-Harika dog, Pancho. He is just two months older than Harika, but as a purebred (west highland terrier), he’s got more maladies. Harika, on the other hand, has him on idiosyncrasies. |
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 | Flowers and Ivy on an Orange Field Laurie Fox Pessemier acrylic/canvas 12 x 16" 30 x 40cm 450.00 |
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| We drove to the dog beach, Porto Garibaldi, on Friday. It was bright and sunny. At the edge of the water, there were dogs of all shapes and sizes, amazingly well behaved. We did not see one fight, and the only growler seemed to be Harika, who insisted on her return to the car after she dipped her toes in the Adriatic. The water was cold, and I tasted it as a standard for how much to salt my pasta water (it should taste like the sea). The only people in the water were two Indian kids, who were having a bang up time. We brought a blanket and umbrella for Harika. It’s a problem putting the dog in the car on a sunny day, not because it’s hot – we have window shades all around and leave the windows open so she can stick her whole head out – but because she barks for us to sit in the car with her. I endured icy stares as I walked away from the car, Harika barking. We sat on the beach, not too far away. “We are not punishing her,” I explained to Sammy’s owner, who was having a hard time keeping track of the seven month old retriever, “she wants me to sit in the car with her.” This made Sammy seem the ideal dog. |
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 | Sketches from the Beach Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/paper 17 x 25" 41 x 63" 250.00 |
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Our nemesis, the itinerant peddler, was at the beach. I am from Bangladesh, he told us. I have the Covid vaccine – my friend is a doctor. We doubted that; everyone at the beach had masks on anyway (except the Indians). “These are all new designs, take the elephant.” In fact, we bought two, large batiks, enough to cover our beds for summer, or as a backdrop to use as in a still life painting. They were not elephants, but geometric design batik, hand-dyed on all cotton materials. I had been reading about the women of Indonesia (and India and Bangladesh) and their micro-businesses of making batik, and this made me want to participate.
We wound up the day at a cheesy fish stand, where we at French fries and cod. Harika had a pork cutlet, the only meat on the menu. |
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 | White Flower (star of bethlehem?) Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 10.5 x 9" 27 x 23cm 350.00 |
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