Italy bound!

Sorry once again for the long hiatus, but it's for good reason. I've been on vacation in Vermont with my family, and getting ready for my month-long trip to Italy. Lots of photography inspiration there, and I'm going loaded up with 80 gigabytes of portable hard disk space for images. My tentative itinerary includes Lake Como, Santa Margherita, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Florence, Follonica, and Rome. In Rome I've signed up for a Roman Cuisine tour which begins with a walking tour of the Testaccio quarter -- "the heart of traditional Roman gastronomy and a pilgrimage destination for food-lovers everywhere" -- where we'll shop for fresh ingredients, and concludes with a cooking lesson and meal with wine at the home of the guide/teacher.

Here are three of my shots from last summer to whet your appetite for what is to come. The first (above) is of Portofino. The second is a market in Genoa. Last (below) is the great key unlocking the door of the cellar at the Azienda Agricola Carlotta e Rivarola winery run by the friend of a cousin of mine. The photo reminds me of a quote by John Bunyan from Pilgrim's Progress (the original language version): "Then Christian pulled it [the Key] out of his bosom, and began to try at the Dungeon door, whose bolt (as he turned the Key) gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out. Then he went to the outward door that leads into the Castle-yard, and with his Key opened that door also. After he went to the iron Gate, for that must be opened too, but that Lock went damnable hard, yet the Key did open it."

You'll have to come back at the end of September to see more.

My dog is a star!

This photo I took of my dog Cricket in the pool with canine water therapist Cindy Horsfall of La Paw Spa has become Cindy's brochure cover shot and will be on her new website. I'm thrilled! Cricket, a black lab, is now 16, significantly older than most labrador retrievers live (13-14 is considered a ripe old age). I attribute her longevity in part to our bimonthly aquatherapy sessions with Cindy, who is the founder of the Association of Canine Water Therapy and has trained practicioners all around the US. We are fortunate to have her right here in the Pacific Northwest. She's terrific. Cricket loves her and loves getting massaged and stretched and swimming in the warm water pool just for dogs (and their people).