Today in Tuscany

On my walk into town I spotted this Virgin Mary statue on the corner of a gigantic house that was elevated form the ground, with a very nice concrete banister. Anyhow, the Zano family lives there, they make really great wine apparently. In Italy, the Virgin Mary statue or relief can be found on many a street corner and side of a building, very beautiful. This one really caught my eye because it was so large and also, had some cut zinnias that were freshly placed in there through the hole in the fence. I do love zinnias, and have a very nice garden of them at my apartment. Notice the other flowers are dead, save for the zinnias. They'll grow even without water, and will spread to places where they weren't originally planted. Hardy and sneaky.Walking back from Greve in the smoldering heat on a dusty road, again feeling my heartbeat going way faster than it should. Going uphill at what feels like a 90 degree angle=not fun, even if you are in Tuscany. About halfway there some French tourists on their way to Villa Bordoni, next door to the residency, were nice even to give me a ride. At first I thought they might be kidnappers, but 1. I am not a little kid and 2. What would they want with a sweaty American carrying a loaf of bread and lettuce in her purse. I had the pleasure of using the little bit of French I haven't blocked out of my memory from high school. Merci beaucoup! They thought I was Italian, as did some bicyclists who asked me for tourist information. Non so, sono Americana. Bike riders come here to train for something, they must hate themselves to go up and down these hills. I kept slipping on rocks just walking, I'd be afraid to get on a bike and attempt them. I can imagine the bike beginning to spin out of control and flying off into someone's vineyard. I worked on this drawing today, finishing the wallpaper, party banner and adding in the bird, fence and the chair. Still pondering the midsection.
Did you read about the girl who was lost at sea on her sailboat? They found her safe and sound with a broken mast. She thought she could go around the world alone in a tiny sailboat. Didn't she watch Titanic? She made it halfway, and I hope she tries again. With a bigger boat. Here is my sketch for today, partly inspired by that story, partly by flying over the ocean in a plane. In the event of a crash your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. Today was a victorious day as well for me, I finally figured out how to fold my own paper cranes to draw from. Nothing like something simple to make you feel like an idiot when you can't figure it out.