Day 28

Went to town and bought some fresh salmon and shrimp. Got a Mellon and some spinach finally I've been looking all over for it. Then I did a gift to myself do a glass calligraphy pen that is beautiful and a seal stamp with wax. Then I made a tasty lunch of salmon with spinach and tomatoes. As I went to work I was shaping away at my clay. Once I got my piece perfect I went to find plaster to make a cast. I'm the search I stumbled across my ceramic piece that is due tomorrow all torn up with gouges all down it. Either a cat hates me or I've rubbed someone on this trip the wrong way. After a few hours of being lividly pissed off I went to my favorite meat truck and bought my cured meat for the week. I got some salamis and prosheta the prosheta was the first cut of the day of the pig head and all. Sooo amazing I am going to miss this meat truth more then anything. I also got some fresh cured bacon can't wait to cook that up for breakfast. Then we went to my usual butcher for our proshuto due to the truck not having any. Me and brook got amazing proshuto and a noted meat I can't remember the name of but man is it salty. All I need is a biscuit and I'd be in heaven with some slaty ham biscuits. Then we were off to the poetry reading. I red a few I had saved on my phone and enjoyed a glass of vino. We ate dinner at Toninos and then headed back for the night. I usually do some work of chill on line talking to friends from home but tonight I was tired and wanted to sleep. As I lay in my bed lights still on while I contimplate writing or not I look up to see a massive spider. Now I've seen a few in the monistary but this ones in my room and the last thing I want is it crawling into my sleeping bag and looking for some warm places to snuggle up. So I go fine Patton my roommate and as we asses the situation we contimplate sleeping in the common room or fighting back. This spider however is at least 6 in leg spand and at the top of at 20 foot ceiling. We pull my bed away from it and with shoes on and glad jars in hand I start throwing a lanyard at it trying to spook it down the wall were we can catch it. Well this spider odviesly has isn't scared of us for when I hit its leg it meadly jumps in tighter after 6 throws and I must say I have pretty good aim it's not budging. So I take the leg of a pare of jeans I cut earlier today into capries and chuck it at the spider knocking it into the next all over. As the spider starts to run Patton looses all sence of skill and screams while getting ready to run out the door. Luckily I also had a cup so I jump down and caught it in under the cup. Now we have a cup with a spider and another cup with a beetle found while staring at spider in cup in the corner of our room and all the beds rikishayed around the room. We figured we'd let it suffocate and then cast it out of metal. Maybe next time the spiders will learn to stay out of our room. O and it was either a hobo spicer or a large house spider we decided not to get close enough to find out but hoping the house spider due to the hobo one is very poisonous. 

Day 27

Today I went to class did nothing and then made a wonderful lunch of stuffed zucchini flowers pan fryed. Then we had a wine tasting with Marco. It was fantastic he's so funny. Then dinner at Toninos

Day 26

Monday ceramics class. Went to Toninos. Should have written earlier cause I don't remember more only one photo at Toninos so guess it was a buzzy day.

Day 25

Today I made baby octopus with zucchini and a tomato ricotta sause. It was pretty good I definitely want to try cooking octopus in diffrent ways but I really love having the ability to buy them here fresh and very very cheaply. I then spent seven hours straight in the clay studio working my ass off to get my project moving. Finished the day off with a delicious dinner of cauliflower 

Day 24

Today we went to seina. Me and Patton had a wonderful breakfast of granola cookies penut utter and banana on the bus. My new favorite snack. As we arrived to Seinna we went to the San Francesco church were we saw St Catherine's head. It was pretty creepy and I don't understand the need to worship a mummified head but what ever footed your boat. Then we went to the Duoma now this is my kind of building very few paintings and a tone of marble work. The floors are all elaborately decorated with diffrent story out of marble. And the walls are covered with black and white stripes which definitely made me thing of a circuitous. Wich got me thinking this would be an amazing building to have a trapeze act and I stared and pictured the acrobats swinging threw the arches and jumping the dome. After the church we went to the manuscript archives. Here we saw hundreds of old books and beautiful illuminated book coves. Each hand pained and spectacularly done. Then it was lunch time, my favorite time of the day. Anna and I headed off in search of a tastey lunch. We found a small restraint away from the touristy area and ordered. I had a pork stroganoff and Anna had a stuffed pasta tht was almost like the birds net deserts at the libaneses festivals. However hers was savory and had a spectacular texture. Mine was meaty and delicious. The sause was hearty and sat well on the long noodles. We had a nice capachino and headed our seprate ways. I hit some stores. Inserch of the perfect pair of shoes. Nothing was grabbing at me but I stumbled into a small knife store with beautifully craftsmen handles and blades. I got a small one that is truly a piece of art. It appears as a thin silver shaped leaf yet a knife is inside. It will be great for the studio. They even had tiney foldable knifes that were so cute and could have fit into a small shell casing. The old lady was so sweet to. Never though I'd go shopping for shoes and stumble across a knife store. So no shoes the only pair I found weren't leather and when in Italy you have to go for the leather. We made our way back and as we had planed to go out being its Saturday night I put on my Jamie's and watch a movie withheld girls insted way to tired to care haha. 

Day 23

Today is an odd day we have no classes. However we have a few incredibly smart art historians here to skeek. So we had two before lunch. Penelope  Davis was a fabulous speaker she described a staircase in a colum that was so descriptive it made me was to read her book. Then we had --- who study's at Herculaneum and he was a hoot. Great personality. As we strolled to town for our next two lectures me and Jenna decided to get lunch in a cute little restraint. We split a pumpkin and truffle risotto which was to die for it wasn't as much pumpkin as a creamy earthy flavor I never wanted to stop eating it.  and a pasta the waiter recommended with tomatoes. Well he had bad tast in food. I mean it wasn't bad but nothing I would order again or go out of my way to find. On the other hand I had a great time talking to Jenna and getting to know each other. I have decided the one on one meals are my favorite. Then we had the next two lectures were my death per fester talked and was so serious. He giggle all threw class but there was no giggling here. And another man who was very smart and had an amazing background. We stayed in town walking around and shopping till it was time for Toninos. Here I got grilled chicken mozzarella, tomatoes, and green beans. It was delicious putting no fritto as in no tryed on my don't eats was the best idea ever plus our waiter has relished I really like the veggies the vegetarians get so he now gives me some too. I couldn't handle anymore potatos. After dinner we went to Marcos house wich is a beautiful villa. They were cooking Italian sausage and bacon and veggies. It was all so amaizing we just sampled due to just having ate but I could have downed like 12 of those Italian sausages. A few glasses of wine and a few friends later I went back and passed out. 

Day 22

Woke up had ceramics. Made some lunch of pork raviolie with zuchinee flowers, brocolie, tomatoes and a ricotta egg sause. and then marble carved for 4 hours. Now my stone is kinda the right shape very slow process. Went to pick Gage the little boy I babysit up from school completely covered in marble dust and clay. I'm sure all the moms were a bit confused but they let him go home with me so all good. Babysat him for a bit, we picked some figs and played some games. Then off to town for a wine tasting and a bit of gelato for him. Then once again Toninos. Good productive day nothing too crazy. 

Day 21

No class so what did I do. Went to town got some pants for two euro yahoo thrift stores. Bought some fresh veggies and some fresh baby octopuses and salmon from the fish man. Made a lunch of salmon and zuchinee in a yummy sause. Chilled and wrote some of my paper then went to Toninos for the night. Good relaxed day.

Day 20

Learned to role giant pieces of marble down a hill and then learned how to lose the skin on my fingers while 5 people helped to life the stone onto a table. It's never moving again.  Then learned the need of some new things in the sculpture studio. Like plugs for tools or at least adapters that fit into the plugs so that the tools work.  So ya stared at my stone for two hours hoping chunks would just magically dissapear. Haven't mastered that skill yet. I will be very thankfull for the ASU tool crib when I get back.  Did however get to watch a large piece of stone be cut however the vein in the stone screwed up the piece but makes a cool instramentas piece. Casting was full of helpful demos from the jewelry casting teacher and during death class I got to dance my way out of class and strip in the hall to get the spider out of my bra. So class was interesting. Then had our voucher night out on the town got some zucchini flower and zuchinee raviolie and split a steak with bacon. Both were very good but I know know I enjoy dinner with fewer people.

All around a pretty crummy day I have to say but there has to be bad days to get good days. 

Day 19

This mornings ceramics crit went well. Its weird having due dates not just exploring and then coming up with the best work you can. Unfortionitly resulting in making less skilled work with not up to my par craftsmen ship due to still figuring out everything here so hopefully it will get better. I'm just not use to being on such a strict time schedule. Makes it hard to experiment and learn processes so you can make the best piece possible when you have a week plus a million other things scheduled outside of that. After class I needed a break for all the scheduling and guidelines so I went on a three hour hike off into well not really sure were above the school was my direction. Needed to run away for a while and just get lost so I did. I found a little shop with a very cute little girl and enjoyed just rolling a fanta bottle around with her. Then got some large jucie olives and sat at on a stone bench and wrote while nibbling on the olives. As I was just relaxing and enjoying a bit of freedom reality hit and I had to run back down to have dinner with the doners of the school. The free wine was tastey and it was cool to meet some of the cortona experience people but my mine was somewhere ealse. 

Day 18

Today I woke up with my first bit of a hangover in Europe. I made a large pot of bean and veggie soup with the yummy chicken broth I made earlier this week and then spent the day working. I drilled my marble and threw some pots now I'm just enjoying being lazy and talking to friends. 

Day 17

Went on a trip to Assisi and Perugia. Ate amazing pizza. Babysat a sweet little boy ate some dumplings and then was off to the club to shake my American ass

Day 16

Marble carving, casting made a wax shoe, death class, Toninos, but most of all a special thanks to Steve for sending me an amazing package filled with spices, tea and a tea ball which I despretly needed. Having the spices to cook and especially due to them being for my lovely work family I couldn't have asked for a better surprise. 

Day 15

Work up made mellon with proshuto yummy. Then headed to clay class to make some pottery ruins of clay pots into planters. After class went to the market got flowey jeany pants at thrift shop and a cute top for 3 euro score. Then got fresh veggies for lunch and am de pasta with brocolie, squash, tomatoes, stuffed zucchini flowers, garlic, the celery leaf sause I made, with an egg cracked over the top. Also made a tone of dumplings, so many dumplings but they si be great for quick lunches. 

This is only half of them.