A Christmas Wreath

Lori is busy this holiday season polishing her skills with this
beautiful Christmas wreath!!!

new book title

Picasso Becomes a Communist and other Brands

An October Vacation

Spencer and Sally enjoy themselves down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a
few days this October.

Milna Catch-Up: from Julia

Julia wrote to her sister, Denise, who loves the olive oil from Brač: 

"This year I was on Brač late enough to pick olives. People picking olives absolutely everywhere! So interesting. In Milna folks still use a traditional press and the olive oil I brought back was picked nearby and made here - in the "Milna" olive photos. (This is the oil I have for you.) This press actually squeezes the oil out and they may do two 'presses' from the same olives.  A larger town on the island, Supetar, has a newer commercial centrifuge press. It makes larger quantities for both the commercial market and for locals - and in both places you can walk in anytime they are pressing with your own bottle to buy oil (one photo shows a man filling a bottle for this). The photos attached show both places and my olive picking experience"

Here

We are home safe.  Julia narrowly saved me from getting thrown in the brig at U.S. Customs.  You really shouldn't yell at a Customs agent who is just doing her job.

A different car key in my pocket, American money in my wallet, and a different cell phone, and suddenly I have a different identity!

Amazing!

No morning rakija, tho.

One More, Just to Prove that I was really there

There are two ancient churches of Sv. Vid on Brac.  Both of them are in ruins.  Perhaps because they represent such a clear link to the pagan past and were superseded in people's hearts by more conventional saints?  Anyway, in this ruin a part of the altar still stands and if you look closely you can discern heavily eroded, carved floral designs.  But, like the title to this post says, this photo is just to prove that I WAS THERE.

Trifecta Today

A first!!!!  Slavko and I left at 8 this morning for the old, old village of Dol.  Dol lies in an agricultural valley not far from the sea, surrounded by huge stony hills.  It also boasts no less than 3 of the island's  1000 year old churches that I have been casually pursuing for the past 10 years.  We climbed through late summer like weather up and down two mountainsides, over loose stone pathways,  through fields of wild mint and ancient olive trees, to find the ruins of the 10 th century Sv. Vid (a reference to the Slav pagan god Vid), the 9th century church of Sv. Michael, which has a Roman sarcophagus as a door frame,  and the 11 th century church of Sv. Petar, well maintained in the old graveyard of the village.  Three pre-Romanesque churches in a single, lovely, sweating day!   Slavko brought just a taste of rakija to celebrate our triumph on the mountaintop.

So Far Behind, So Close to Departure

Man, we are in the final frenzy of preparing to leave for home....the bills to pay, house to ready, laundry strategy,  money strategy, cleaning, renovation ti consider, goodbyes to say.....it goes on and on surprisingly ....and I am still far behind in reporting....our day with Slavko on the highest road in Croatia,; our all night party with Ivo, L, Marko and Nensi, Tomos and Thea; peka with Slavko and Nada in Donji Humacs;  a quick trip to Sv. Martin......ah well, the weather is lovely and tomorrow morning Slavko and I attempt  a blitz of three pre-romanesque churches in a single morning, then back to laundry, house cleaning and sleeplessness.....

Milna Studio - Nov 4, 2013

Sv. Tudor, aka Saint Theodore, in my little backrom studio . . .


-------- Original message --------
From Julia Hurd <julia@qsoup.net>
Date: 11/04/2013 3:43 PM (GMT+01:00)
To jhurd@qsoup.net
Subject Milna Studio - Nov 4, 2013

 

Eason in his new community

Halloween carnival at the Bayview Community Center.

What a handeome grandson, eh?