The Unfolding Summer

I guess I should be so disparaging but really this summer has been a total and complete bust!   Now, that wouldn’t be so bad except that last winter was nine months long, so in actuality it’s been almost a year without any really decent weather to speak of…with no sign of a break.   

As I write this week’s blog, grey rain clouds loom overhead as it begins to rain once again.  The air is as thick as a wet blanket and generally quite miserable, both rainy and humid – the worst combo of all in the summertime don’t you think?

The view from my front porch today...

 I watch the traffic pass along my street, the cars partly lost in sheets of spay as they pass by, I observe my neighbour rocking her newborn baby on her front porch safely out of the rain…perhaps the sounds of rain are soothing to both her and her baby.  It also doesn’t seem to affect the sparrows as they jauntily hop around on my front lawn picking and pecking at the myriad of small and unseen insects that inhabit my lawn.   Good for them I think to myself.

When I moved to Canada some twenty years ago I thought that I’d get used to the different weather patterns, but really not so much.   When it’s miserable it’s completely miserable with constant rain and grey skies…

For the most part I’ve come to accept Canada as my new home, but for some reason this year I’ve been longing more and more for Australia.  I’ve been feeling the loss of connection between my siblings and me more than ever without Dad who somehow would bring us back together.  I don’t think this weather helps...   

With weather like this I’ve been longing for the hot summer days of Australia, the arid landscapes and dry contours of my native land.  Strangely if I were in Australia I’d be missing Canada so you really can’t win.  One thing I’ve observed with my friends who have moved back to Australia from Canada is that almost universally they’ve all returned to Canada after a couple of years.   You have to decide one way or the other; you can’t really keep connected unless you decide to fully commit to one place.   Not that I was planning on going anywhere cos’ Zach and Sami are my first and only priority and they are here...

Bellagio at the end of the peninsula in
Lake Como...did I say paradise?

Really I can’t complain too much, cos’ after they head up north to camp at the end of July (for a month) I’m going to my most favorite country other than Australia – yes, you got it - Italy.   If you believe in reincarnation then seriously I must have been Italian ☺ in my prior life…    There’s just something about the country that makes me feel soooooooo at home, especially around Bellagio and the lakes.   

Not sure what it is – perhaps it truly is the “La Dolce Vita” or sweet life, as we would say. 

I decided to rent the same apartment as last year in San Giovanni di Bellagio.  The village itself is situated just 2km from Bellagio, hence the name.   Its one of the ferry stops on the lake, but only for the slow old fashioned type ferries that chug their way back and forth across the lake languidly stopping at each little village.   It’s going to be a time to slow right down and relax and catch some sunshine.

The apartment itself is a one bedroom, and has a good-sized kitchen and large living room it also comes with Wi-Fi, which is sweet!   However, the “Pièce de résistance” is the huge vine covered, stone sun-deck overlooking the central village square.   The deck is large enough to comfortably fit 15 – 20 people for an intimate cocktail party, or for a novice writer to catch some rays and create the next blockbuster novel. ☺ 

One of the other things I love about this apartment are the sound of the church bells as they begin their beautiful and haunting chimes each morning at 8:00 am.  It’s truly magical when I’ve open up the large shutter windows and let the sounds just flow in…

Villages dot the coast of the lake with
San Giovanni di Bellagio on the Western side
of the peninsula

Hhhmmm, so what to do in Italy?   Well, other than drink fantastic wine, cook local hand made pasta and eat fresh crusty bread dipped in olive oil each day…likely not much!   Well, I’m imaging that between walks along the lake into Bellagio to get fresh supplies and a daily ferry ride to explore another little village or two along the lake I’ll be happily consumed out on my deck writing. 

This twelve-day retreat will allow me time to edit and where necessary rewrite the chapters for my upcoming book.   In preparation for my trip to Italy, I gathered all of my content to date, and calculated the number of words that I’ve written - it came out at a healthy 120,000 words...   

I need approximately 70,000 words for a book of between 220 – 240 pages so a lot of work still to be done with editing before I can provide it to the publisher for their first pass which will likely be after I return from Italy in mid August.

Seriously if the book is a wild success I’m throwing a party in San Giovanni di Bellagio next year!    So who wants in???