Here at Hangman Hill

We awoke the next day to the sound of heavy rain on the roof of our shelter.  This event had been in the forecast, but none of us could really believe that it was raining so hard.  Sardinia is usually dry and hot, and this was not welcome news.

After a quick breakfast we packed up and awaited instructions from our guide. He had hiked to a nearby overlook where he had cellphone reception, and he managed to make some changes to our itinerary.  We learned that we would spend the day hiking to a nearby shepherd’s house where we could shelter from the rain and enjoy a traditional Sardinian meal in the evening.  We would get wet during the day, but we would have a dry place to sleep that night.

The hike was uneventful and followed dirt roads through the woodlands.  As we got close to the shepherd’s house (after 10+miles of hiking) Michele suggested that we take a short cut.  This involved scrambling up steep rock faces, crawling under small thorny trees on our hands-and-knees, and bushwhacking through an impenetrable forest in the pouring rain!  Needless to say we were cold, wet and tired when we arrived at the shepherds house.  The food and wine that awaited us tasted so much better because of our ‘shortcut’!

Day-1 started with our group (1 guide, 3 Italians and ourselves) meeting at the hotel.  We had day-packs and duffle bags with our overnight gear that would be ferried by boat to the beach where we would camp each evening.

The first day was to be a hike down a spectacular limestone gorge ending at the sea on a pebble beach. To get started we needed to travel by Landrover down some very bumpy and twisty roads just north of the town of Baunei.

The hiking was fantastic and the weather was warm and dry.  We saw lots of native flowers (peonies and cyclamen growing in the wild) and quite a few goats too.  The trails we were taking were ancient shepherd paths and they were steep, exposed and loose in many places.  And they were also high up above the valley with precipitous drops below!

The day passed very quickly and soon we were at the beach, where we swam in the sea and picked up our overnight bags.  From there it was a short walk to a primitive beach shelter where we would have dinner and spend the night.  After a hearty Italian meal and lots of wine we headed to bed early.

During the last week of April and the first week of May, we took a vacation on the island of Sardinia. The island is part of Italy (just off the west coast) and is famous for its dramatic limestone scenery with lots of cliffs, mountains, gorges and warm weather.

We planned to take a trip with our friend and mountain guide Michele Barbiero who we first met in the Dolomites in 2016.  The week-long trip, named ‘Selvagio Blue Extreme’, would take us along the rocky eastern coastline of the island exploring ancient shepherd paths and camping each night on the beautiful beaches.  We were excited for a return trip to Italy and for the chance to do some hiking and scrambling in a stunning unspoiled area.

To get to our meet-up point (the town of Santa Maria Navarase) we had to fly to Rome, and then onto Cagliere (Sardinia’s capital city).  Then it was a 2-hour car ride to our destination.  We planned to arrive a day early to allow time to get over any jet-lag and to explore the town.  The travel all went according to plan and we woke up on our first day to a beautiful blue sky and abundant sunshine.  We quickly dusted off hiking boots and took a walk from our hotel to explore the hills near the town and then walked back along the coastline.  What a great way to start our vacation!

A few weeks ago we took a painting class with  artist Joelle Goff in Jackson, NH at the Jackson Art Studio.  We had noted Joelle’s work in local restaurants, in particular her larger paintings of flowers.  So, when there was a class offered to learn to paint flowers with her, we jumped at the chance.

We arrive early on a Saturday morning, selected one of several photos she provided and went to work.  We worked with acrylic on canvas.  She had us practice on a small version of our piece first.   We learned to mix color, add background and put the basic structure in place. We had ONE hour.

We then set out with a larger canvas to put into practice some of the techniques we learned.  She was very helpful, but we had to work on our own. This was a bit different that the “sip and paint” experience we had before, where the process was structured and included a great deal of guidance.

Joelle was very encouraging and reminded us not to expect a “finished” work.  The purpose of the class was to learn mixing color, seeing structure, putting structure down first and working from the area of detail outwards.  Indeed by 4pm when we were out of time, and loosing steam, we made a start but did not have a “finished” piece.

It was a lot of fun!  We learned a lot and look forward to returning to the pieces we started too add a bit more detail, and maybe even trying again with a blank canvas.

Of course it was a beautiful day, so after class we drove the short distance to Pinkham Notch for a hike with Zealand that offered views of fresh now on Mt Washington and Tuckerman Ravine.

We traveled to Sheri's hometown of Pittsburgh to visit family and friends a see the premier of Up and Away. Up and Away is a new musical co-writer by a friend of Sheri, Kristin Bair.

>

> The weekend began with unseasonably warm weather so we strolled around downtown Pittsburgh.

>

> Friday evening we caught up with Kristin herself, and mutual friends Maureen and Brian Ferguson. We had a drink at the Renaissance Hotel followed by a nice dinner at a Cajun Restaurant at Market Square.

>

> Saturday we visited the Heinz (of Ketchup fame) History Museum with Mike and DiAnn. It was great to learn about the history of glass making, medical advancements and culture of the city.

>

> Saturday night we enjoyed dinner with friends and family before the show at a fun Italian Restaurant. The show Up and Away was fast-paced, hilarious and lots of fun watching 5 actors play the roles of 30 characters. We were impressed and enjoyed meeting the actors with Kristin after the play. We hope to see it in NYC next!

>

> Sunday morning we took a stroll in the “Strip”. In the afternoon relaxed with the Boraskys (Jenny, Mike's daughter, Bobby and their kids) at their new home in the north hills.

>

> It was a relaxing weekend and we enjoyed seeing friends, family and time in the city of Pittsburgh.

>

> Traditional photo with Franco Harris

Although it was very cold on Saturday, we did make it out on our cross-country skis. We decided to try out a different location and took Zealand to Bear Notch in Bartlett NH where all the trails are dog-friendly. The grooming was fabulous and we were able to explore most of the standard trails. However, going off trail was hazardous with lots of ice under a very thin layer of powder.

We took a gentle 4.4 mike hike this weekend to test out our snowshoes and Zealand's new backpack. We set out from Pinkham Notch and followed the Old Jackson Road to Lowe's Bald Spot where we had great views of the Carter Range and Wildcat Mountain. It was quite mild and we enjoyed a picnic lunch just below the summit before the hike back down to the car.

We are grateful for all of the Christmas cards that we receive and each year at this time in January we take them down from our ‘card tree’.  As we do this we re-read them and enjoy them one last time.  We also pick out the four or five card designs that we liked the most.  As in previous years we are sharing them with you here so that you can enjoy them too.

Just before the holidays we received official recognition of our completion of all the New Hampshire 4000-ft peaks. It was a lot of fun to do and it's also fun to have a certificate and badge to commemorate the accomplishment.

The week before Christmas we welcomed Pam and Nick (Bruno’s parents) to stay with us, and we made a short trip to New York city to take in the sights of the season.  We travelled by train and stayed for three days in midtown (near Rockefeller Plaza).  The weather was unseasonably mild and we included trips to the top of the Rockefeller Center, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, and a visit to the “Train Show” at the New York Botanical Gardens.  During the annual train show the massive hot-houses are transformed with models of New York landmarks made from twigs, bark, seeds, leaves, etc and these are then arranged with model trains to re-create the New York city landscape.  If you haven’t seen it we highly recommend it as a fun activity for all the family!