Wordless Wednesday: Venice in a Windowbox

Wordless Wednesday: Green Peeks from Sicily, Italy (Sicilia, Italia)

Tassel Hyacinth aka Muscari comosa or Leopoldia comosa. (Photo taken at Villa Romana del Casale.) 

Possibly date palm—let me know if you can identify it. (Photo taken at Villa Romana del Casale.)

One of many Cercis siliquastrum seen blooming in Sicily in April. (Photo taken in the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento at the garden wall of Alexander Hardcastle's home.) 

Lovely Bougainvillea.  (Photo taken in the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento at Alexander Hardcastle's home.) 

Please don't prune your Asparagus to look like this. (Photo taken in the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento at Alexander Hardcastle's home.) 

Unknown tree. (Photo taken at the cimitero in Termini Imerese.)

More palm trees and lovely handmade pebble paving from the streets of Termini Imerese. (This was the home of my great-grandparents.)

Trees in the city park in Termini Imerese. 

Lovely large Lantana along the street in Termini Imerese.

Caster bean (Ricinus communis) plants grow wild along the roads in Sicily. 

Artichokes (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) growing along the road.) 

Borage (Borago officinalis) growing wild along the side of the road in Sicily. 

Wild Sedum growing along the roadside near Termini Imerese. 

Wild snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) growing in its native environs. My husband told me that in Italian they're called  "mouth of the lion". He played a lot with these flowers as a boy.  

Not exactly sure of the plant, but I do recognize Sicilian ingenuity. If Dad gardened, this is how he'd stake his plants.

Convolvulus tricolor growing wild in Sicily. 

Merry Christmas

Hope you had a lovely holiday full of laughter and love. We filled the house with food and friends and feasted on The Feast of Seven Fishes. I'm ashamed I didn't take more photos, but I can assure you I was busy for several hours and nothing was left on a single plate. It was delicious. 

These are a few of our handmade spinach ravioli with Dungeness crab filling. This was a huge win for us because we'd never made them.

After the guests had departed I received my presents. The first was the book above. We're planning a trip to Italy in 2014 so I need to get my green hat on again soon. This book will help me. I've never been, and John is taking me to see places from his childhood. He wanted to take me to Sicily too, but I'd rather see friends, so we're thinking about alternatives. I'm excited, but traveling is always hard on my body so I have a lot of planning and special physical therapy exercises in store for me. 

My second gift was this pearl necklace. No one has ever given me anything like this before and it means a lot to me. I can only afford the basics within my budget so this is a true gift. I feel a bit grown up wearing it. Last night I wanted to fall asleep with it on. I felt like a little girl playing dress up and that made me happy for some funny reason.

I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to garden with it on, but the thought did cross my mind. 

I am getting John a kitten. This is crazy since we already have 3 cats, but it is what he wants. (More on that new arrival soon. We are being very careful with our choice.)

So, the future looks bright and my garden is waking up and I'm looking forward to revising it in the coming months. There will be more shared meals and laughter in this house. I hope to meet new people and have more creative energy and ideas. Best of all, I want to continue to help people and share my thoughts about what I've learned through managing my own chronic illness. I've built up more and more strength and I am ready now. It was rough to revisit where I was in my life but I'm truly supported and encouraged now by those around me. 

The only immediate issue I currently have is about continuing my education. Part of me wants to study again, but I will need more strength and endurance. What to study? Horticulture, garden design, writing? I don't know, but I'm open to developing my potential again. I want to dig in, get involved, and become more of the professional I know I am. 

With that, I must bid you all adieu! 

Merry Christmas! 

(More from the garden soon!)