i’ll be mostly unplugged until may 1st, but i will have my ipad with me with my stack of library books uploaded (!)
so that means i might do a wee bit of instagramming and email checking. stopping in kansas to visit mama moss then carol & i are flying over to italy together. 10 days of umbrian bliss. we’re planning to soak it all up from our hilltop vista above spoleto.
hold the fort down for me! but wait! there are 952 things i have to tell you before i go. okay?
my sister sent me THIS link to the fabulous brain pickings sunday edition which i hadn’t seen yet.
it’s about this book:
do take note of all the peachy keen extra groovy hand-illustrated diagrams & cats. i especially loved the article because it reminded me of when buck moss went missing for 5 and a half weeks, but ended up being in my neighbor’s chimney the whole time. damn i loved that cat. still do. always will.
sons of guns! lookit my peaches! i’ve got jillions of them lining the branches of my baby fruit cocktail tree.
i’ve reached a tentative agreement with the squirrel union. they are going to lay off the peaches this summer in exchange for a squirrel convention i’m allowing to be held in the oak trees in september. hope this doesn’t turn out to be a big mistake.
just a few weeks ago the epi buds were just beginning to get big.
then BAM! they all opened at once.
so pretty. so pink.
sigh. if you made it this far you’ve ALMOST reached the end of this long-winded post… it’s not over yet i have to tell you about a couple of sketchy things first.
thing #1 – this book!
so thorougly delicious. the writing is funny. the little illustrations are divine.
yum
okay and the actual very last single solitary thing before i go.
thing #2 my crazy news people. whoever invented the pause button must have been a sketcher.
meet you back here on may 1st! talk amongst yourselves until i get back.
xo
Marisa says
I want to come over and pet your cats.
Chrissy says
Looking forward to your next adventure!
Take care – I’ll miss you. xoxo
julia prohaska says
Oh man…the first, as in 5/1?!! Do you know how many times Ill forget & check your blog for a new entry? Are you sure you don’t want to take all of us with you?…Ticket to Umbria?! I hope you & your sister have an absolutely fabulous trip! I can’t wait to read, view your sketchbook & ‘hear’ all about it when you return!
Jessica Porterfield says
Have an absolutely wonderful time. Just finished The Unlikely Pilgrimmage… and LOVED it. Thank you, Jessica
Jan LaFollette says
O.K. I have wanted to learn from the “master” and take one of your classes…this is it! I’m signing up for FTB, one question, can I download it to my iPad? I should probably know that but I don’t. Thanks. Have a wonderful trip.
Tina says
Have a wonderful and fabulous time Mary Ann.
I´m sure it´s going to be awesome.
I´m leaving for Venice on monday for a week – can´t wait.
Thanks to you 🙂
Jane says
Buon viaggio in bell’italia. Oh, how I long to see Italy again. Can’t wait to hear all about it & see the beauty you will create in your journals.
Jane S.
Joan says
Have a fabio trip with sister. Can’t wait to hear all about the adventures of the Moss Sisters Running Amok in Umbria!
Vivian Swift is one of my favorite bloggers. Do visit her blog. She posts every Fri. and gives TUTES on her painting method…her format is watercolor on a bit of paper the size of a TRISCUIT!!! Paints with a brush with about 3 hairs on it. AND she’s a cat lover to the max. Has put up shelters for winters on Long Island, NY for the feral cats that frequent her yard. She is hilarious, opinionated, sassy…who couldn’t love her? Her first book, When Wanderers Cease to Roam, was utterly delightful. She’s working on a 3rd book about gardens now. Very interesting woman. Ciao!!!
Kate Burroughs says
Have a great time! WE will miss you but be glad to see your sketches when you return.
Aloha, Kate
Jan says
Wishing you safe and happy travels.
Caatje says
You will be missed, but you will come back with wonderful stories no doubt. Have a marvelous time!
catherine lucas (photocatseyes) says
Gorgeous opening photograph. You in Umbria and little me in Belgium and France. Looks like more people go on Le Road trip… Have fun in Italy and think now and then for two seconds about your groupies who go through DispatchFromLA withdrawal. Ciao Bambina…
Jan McCann says
What a feast! Those cats, the flowers, the watercolours! Cannot wait to hear your adventures in Italy!
Vanessa says
Ciao Bella! Have a wonderful time! I’ll be needing those paper shop addresses since I’m going to Italy this summer!!!!!!!!!!
Kate I says
Have an absolutely fantastico time in Umbria…chow bella!
Sharon Bennett says
Have a ton of fun!!! Hi to Kansas and Mama Moss! can’t wait to hear and see what you enjoyed in Umbria! Travel safe!
Maria says
Thanks for the long post – it will tide us over until your return. I’ll come back every few days and pretend I haven’t read it before. You and Carol have a fab time in Umbria and please give our regards to Mama Moss.
Leslie Gardiner says
Ah, Mary Ann, I didn’t realize you and Carol were off so soon! Have a fabulous experience! We will wait patiently( kind of ) to be drenched in Italian splendor, when you return. Leslie P.S. I can’t believe that you won’t post even one tiny word or two. I might check, even though I do take you seriously.
LaurieJay says
Whoever recommended The Good House by Ann Leary: thank you. I read it in two sittings.
WH says
but ms moss we have nothing to say when you leave the room. your substitute will suck. we will miss you. we are going to paste hannah montana stickers on your screen. so there.
tina zappone says
I am going to miss your entertaining posts while you’re gone. Have a wonderful time!
Tina
Diane says
Enjoy, enjoy looking forward to hearing about your adventures when you return.
Pam says
Is it time to leave again already? I haven’t recovered from your last trip.!
Susie LaFond says
such delightful tidbits you’ve let us with…that color will keep me satisfied for at least 3 weeks so go ahead and take an extended visit in Italy…we’ll all be just fine! xxxoooxx
Janet Ghio says
Have the most fabulous Time!! and what a deal on your classes!!
SusanS says
Soak it up! See ya when you get back!
Connie Rose says
Oh my god, your epis are FABULOUS! I have two epis now — three years ago a neighbor gave me a 2″ nub of two of hers. And now each is way bigger than I thought it would be in this short time, have just spent the autumn and winter in their new homes outside in a covered place, and both are loaded with tiny buds! I can hardly believe it!
Have an absolutely fab time in Umbria. My heart is going along with you, tucked discretely inside your suitcase. See you when you get back.
Love you.
Jacqueline Newbold says
Gorgeous photos! Have a fab-U-low-so time! Lots of fodder for journals…
Colleen says
Have a fabulous time!
Cynthia says
Bon voyage!! (alas, I don’t know the Italian equivalent), we’ll miss you but look forward to hearing tales of your adventures when y’all get back. I am now imagining squirrels in little tiny fez hats sipping peach margaritas, now why is that I wonder?
Rhonda H (rhoz) says
Hope you and Carol have an absolutely wonderful time in Italy! We’ll be waiting here for your stories when you return!