It's hard being dumb - HJW update

So, I went out last Saturday and climbed up the hills behind Santa Marinella and collected some wildflowers, taking along my new Mediterranean Wildflowers book, and took some lovely pictures for y'all...

...and have forgotten to bring to the office the cable I need to hook the camera up to the computer to show them to you.

Sorry. I'll try to get my act together tomorrow.

Plus, sorry for having been away for a while, and for the phoning-it-in ambiance around here lately. Reasons unmentionable.

But also, just slow of mind lately and don't really have much that is comprehensible to say. Getting mentally ready to move again, I hope this time will be the last for at least a few years. Any number of things could go wrong with the new flat, but I am rather hopeful about it. It's closer to the train and the beach and the other Santa Marinellans, larger and brighter and generally better. Dunno. Maybe the neighbours will turn out to be noisy or the landlord will be crazy or impossible, or some other thing. It's something I really dislike about life: you never know how anything will turn out, and just have to keep gambling on things. Big, important things. Gah.

Been reading Ruskin on the train. Got a lovely little Oxford Press book of essays on poetry by the Big Names of 19th century poetry and criticism. He's pretty good on the difference between good poetry and bad, and why. I'll share soon. It's good stuff about the meaning of life and beauty, truth and goodness and all that. Ruskin was a philosopher of The Real, and the things he says about art in general can be taken as part of the big instructions for living in The Real, about which I have been thinking a lot. At least, on the days when I've been capable of rational thought.

Rome and the Romans continue to be very annoying in myriad tiny and large ways. The weather has been better this year than last though, alternately rainy and sunny-but-not-too-hot. I might wish for a couple of unequivocally bright warm sunny days to go snorkeling but I remain conscious of the danger of wishing for hot weather in this country. The evil gods are always listening and ready to give unwary mortals exactly what they ask for.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I've bought a snorkel and mask and plan on getting a few more bits of underwater gear, and hope to find a decently priced underwater camera and dazzle everyone with the neat underwater things I find. Those who hang out on Facebook already know about this.

Anyway, I guess I'm just feeling boring lately. Not bored myself, but lordy, I'm not much fun to hang out with.

I'll leave you with another musical discovery.

Alison Krauss.