Today I came to the realization that over half of my time here in Tuscany has passed by. I cannot believe how quickly it has gone. I am looking forward to the second half of my stay perhaps more than I did the first. A very special person in my life is coming to stay with me for the last 5 weeks of my time here, and I couldn’t be any happier about that.
Isn’t it interesting how we perceive time; from one perspective it seems that the six and a half weeks I have been here have just flown by, yet from another perspective it seems like I have been away for months. As a child, waiting for Christmas seemed such a long time, yet as an adult it arrives in the wink of an eye. Summer holidays from school seemed almost endless, but now years seem to go by in less time than those summers did. What is it that makes us perceive time so differently? What role does anticipation have in this oddity? It seems a week can drag on forever if there is a reason to want the weekend to arrive. Now that I am retired, weekends no longer really matter, I can do what I want, whenever I want to and the days seem to pass so quickly. I don’t think it is simply a matter of the span of time one has lived influencing our perception of time. If that were the case then all perceptions of time would quicken as we age and that just isn’t the case; ask someone who is waiting for medical test results or an person waiting for an organ donor.
Does our perception of time have anything to do with our ability to live in the present moment rather than in the past or for the future? If we are focused on waiting for something to happen does that influence our perception of time? If we are unable to let go of aspects of our past's, how does that impact time perception? Why is it said that animals have no concept of time?
I obviously have way too much time on my hands to be spending it contemplating such questions.
Yesterday I finished a small watercolour painting I had started weeks ago and then set aside. Already though I am not satisfied with it and want to make changes. I have another larger piece that I started while in the Cinque Terre using chalk pastels that also is unfinished. I have decided that I do not enjoy working with pastels as they are so messy and difficult to use in small areas. I have done some work on that piece since coming back to Castelmuzio, but mostly by adding watercolours to the picture.
Today the commune of Trequanda had festivities in Castelmuzio celebrating the upcoming harvest of olives for the making of oil. There was free food and local wines to sample as well. People came from all over the region, filled their plates and sat at long communal tables to eat and talk with friends. They were also selling local wines, cheeses, meats, honey and olive oil. I bought a bottle of local red wine, some honey and a bottle of oil from La Pieve, the family farm of my landlords, the Cenni family.
In town the fountain in the park has been repaired and refilled with water....the fish have not been returned to their home however. It looks a little strange with a single spout of water shooting about 5 feet high in the centre of a pool of water about 2 feet deep. It certainly is noisy as well, I won’t be using the park anymore to make phone calls as I won’t be able to hear.
This afternoon I brought my sketchpad, pencils and a chair and sat in the courtyard in front of the hotel sketching it. I went into the bar for a hot cappuccino which I brought outside to warm me up. As the sun started to go down the temperature dropped enough that my hands were not functioning properly so I had to stop for today and bring my supplies home. Fall is definitely upon us.
This afternoon I brought my sketchpad, pencils and a chair and sat in the courtyard in front of the hotel sketching it. I went into the bar for a hot cappuccino which I brought outside to warm me up. As the sun started to go down the temperature dropped enough that my hands were not functioning properly so I had to stop for today and bring my supplies home. Fall is definitely upon us.
Tonight I am sitting in the bar at the hotel and it is very crowded because there is a soccer game on TV. All of the locals are here and there is a special on pizza tonight, and I know from past experience the pizza here is wonderful, even the margarita with only tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. The chef has come all the way from Naples for tonight. So, the party continues!
Ciao!
D.
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