Finding Leah

Back by popular demand.
Lately I've been anxiety ridden and obsessed.
The Franklin cover up/Johnny Gosch story ate me whole and has spit me up.
My never ending list of bureaucratic things to attend to hounds me.
I feel out of touch with the world and myself, family* and friends...
and blogs. My current attention with piano playing has even dwindled.
Instead of vanishing, I escape reading big books cover to cover.
I derive some comfort from blogs and blogging, there is some hope and relief that blogs can tell me more than bogus classic news reporting.
My neighbor and friend in ABQ, Kris, MIGHT come to Rome round Christmas. Finding a decent priced ticket would be helpful.
New lessons with ESL students are going ok.
* I MUST write them.

I advise that >weak of heart and/or non curious by nature< blogreaders should avoid examining the following link.


http://p216.ezboard.com/frigorousintuitionfrm10.showMessageRange?topicID=5911.topic&start=1&stop=20

Yesterday it occurred to me that I am not in the USA....if I was I could find someone to teach me how to post photographs onto my blog entries.

Gill Bills somehow? recently decided that she wants to learn to cook. She attends the school of full immersion. She made a quiche last week and last night prepared chicken and Italian style potatoes (chunkily cubed in the oven with olive oil and onions instead of rosemary). Does this mean she's soon going to invite boys over for lunch and dinner?

Parent orientation tonight at her school...

I've begun to teach again and the anticipation WAS much worse than the actuality (wondering if this is also true for my pupils...

A bit late in the 'game'? for lack of a better word..Was happy to read that Colin Powell wrote Sen. John McCain a letter saying that Congress MUST NOT pass Bush's proposal to redefine (by narrowing the US's interpretation of ) US compliance with the Geneva conventions. Bravo. Bush was forced to create his proposal because last June his existing court system to prosecute terrorist suspects was ruled ILLEGAL by the US Supreme court AND it violates the Geneva Conventions...
The Geneva conventions were created after WWII, I think it's important that the US atleast tries to respect them...(despite the President).
On a cheerier note- I'm making chicken soup, since Roman and Italian weather in general has decided to imitate Northern Scotland...Chicken soup making encouraged me to hunt through what I call 'the dark bottles'. A good part of Italy is at not all food substances are packaged by industries. I've been given bottles of grains,pastes,spices,capers,oils, honey, stuffed peppers, jams and none of them are labeled. Because they're not labeled I tend to forget about them after their placed either in the pantry or fridge. This is a leftover of my having grown up in an industrialized society.
The bad news is that I forgot to buy cat food at the supermarket and now Brocca won't stop meowing and swatting at me and I don't want to go back out into the Scottish drizzle.
Other bad news, www.websleuths.com won't let me post to their Johnny Gosch thread because I don't have a paid for email address, how sucky. They do have the best J.G. stuff around...
Rosalyn has moved to Paris. Gil asked about him the other evening. Boo-hoo. We'll HAVE to go visit.

One night a year, Rome following in Paris' (the city, not the Hilton) footsteps, hosts an all night affair. Museums, theaters, clubs, libraries, bars etc etc are open all night- lots of entertainment and public transport is free and running through dawn. The roads in the center of town are closed to traffic.
This is the festas third year...it miserably failed the first two years because of rain rain rain, what's more the first year it coincided with a countrywide power outtage and so there were no street lights or trams.
This year, finally it was GREAT. SO much fun. Concert hopping I ran across lots of old friends I hadn't seen in years. Everyone was so darn happy. James gave me a big hug outside the Bocca della Verita and told me he loved me..Had a drink with Deborah outside the newly rennovated Fontana di Tartarughe. Luca and Pierluigi stopped me on the road to Campo di Fiori.
Rome should do this once a month instead of annually!