monteriggioni

On day two, in Colle di Val d' Elsa, we had a lovely breakfast in the hotel.  Carrot-orange-apple juice, eggs, apple cake and lots of fresh fruit.  Then we ventured to Monteriggioni, taking the back roads, following the signs and driving on through many circles, taking in the beautiful views of farms and wineries.  We found the town, a fortress on a hill, and parked the car.  We walked up a lavender-lined pathway to find a large rounded doorway, enough to fit a person on horseback easily. Monteriggioni is a little stone world, with few tourists, a couple of old ladies sitting out on benches, some very artistic shops, a church, a restaurant.  Our favorite shop sold all sorts of unique household items and the most beautiful pottery. I am saving up to get some for us.

colle di val d' elsa

After leaving Venice we took a train to Florence, where we rented a car and drove to a small town in Italy called Colle di Val d' Elsa.  It is a quiet, small town in the heart of Tuscany.  It was a welcome respite after the crowds in Venice.  Our first day the kids rested in the hotel while Gary and I went exploring on a road with few cars.  We found out about local hikes from the office of tourism.  Then we took the kids out to dinner and Shawn had the best homemade pasta I had ever tried.  The noodles were homemade, thick, and twisted together into irregularly shaped strips. The restaurant was a walk across the street from our hotel, and we didn't know it then, but it would become our go to during our stay in this quaint town.  After dinner the kids wanted to get gelato and so we ventured into the center of town, a five minute walk from out hotel.  There we found all the locals, gathered in the town square, watching soccer on a big screen television under the stars.  I had a moment that night, sitting in the crowd, watching the game with all the Italian people.  For that hour, I was one of them. 

a new year

Wow, in many ways 2014 flew by.  It was my busiest year in a long time and I blogged the least amount since I have started this blog, which makes me a little sad because I honestly just didn't have much free time.  Writing this blog is really important to me.  I don't have tons of readers at this point, although I used to have more.  But I write for myself and my family.  This is a sort of record of our life. Someday when the kids are grown I hope they will read it and remember these moments.  I am still really behind with our past summer and fall travels, but I will get to them, in good time.

One thing I have learned in life is that for the most part, we are all just doing our best. And my best isn't close to perfection.  That's okay kids.  That's what they call a life.

I am always really happy when a new year begins.  I love the idea of seeing how more of our life unfolds.  And trust me, there have been so many surprises lately, I can't imagine what 2015 will bring.  But I am ready.

Here are excerpts from our holiday letter.

2104 was a busy year with a lot of travel (many college tours).  We went to several places, including Oahu, Los Angeles, NY, Europe, and northern California.  We went on retreat with Amma, saw family back east (spent Father’s Day with Theresa’s dad, which was really special), and returned to Italy and France.  We spent time in beautiful northern California, due to the generosity of our new friend Dennis.  The boys went to see the 49ers play in Santa Clara.  While at home there was a visit from Sky’s childhood friend Naomi, a surprise visit from Uncle JP, a family concert to raise money for Shawn’s school, and many meals cooked at our local homeless shelter. And lots and lots and lots of music.

Shawn is doing well.  He is now eleven years old.  His life is about school, baseball and drums.  He loved playing the king in his school play last spring, raised money for charity by selling baked goods he made himself, and was thrilled on his birthday with surprise tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters.  He played baseball in the spring and pitched many games, had some great hits, and his underdog team won the championship. Shawn does well academically, and started a new middle school this fall, that he likes.  He loves his male teacher, who tells us that Shawn keeps him on his toes with his constant discussions of science and the universe. 

Annabel is really growing up.  She turned fifteen this year.  Her first love is music. This year she released her first album (an EP of four songs), called Conveyor. She recorded this at a top studio, (Thanks Lynn!)  Shawn played drums on the songs, and Gary produced them.  Annabel also played a few live gigs this year and attended summer band camp in Palo Alto, along with Sky and Shawn. Annabel is also really into science, and spends much of her free time learning about chemistry and physics. She is a good student and is already looking into colleges.  Here is a link to Annabel’s songs:

https://soundcloud.com/forestsong108

Sky is eighteen, a licensed driver, and very independent.  She helps us a lot with cooking, grocery shopping, and…driving!  Her focus this past year has been SATs and college - visits, choices, applications, scholarships…She hopes to attend college in California next year. She has taken several college classes at her high school, and next year will venture to the local university campus for more. She is interested in psychology, technology, music and photography.  She plays recreational tennis, and loves her coaches.  She still records many songs, mostly covers, with many tracks and harmonies. Here is her updated website: http://skylarmarks.com/ 

Gary continues to write songs and novels.  He is very involved in the kids’ lives.  He is the one to buy them new instruments, replace drum sticks, find music teachers, or teach them himself.  Annabel and Shawn are now playing piano, Annabel plays bass and guitar, and Sky plays drums.  The family performed a benefit concert this year. The kids all learned two of Gary’s songs and the four Marks musicians performed together for the first time.  In the spring, Gary jumped in to coach Shawn’s team after the head coach quit.  Gary was fantastic with the boys and taught several of them to pitch and hit.  The team went from being one of the worst and depressed teams in the league to being tied for first place and winning the championship.  Shawn hit the winning run, it was all very exciting.

Theresa continues life as mama, wife, cook, nurse, counselor, photographer, blogger. She is also a bit of a farmer, growing bananas this year for the first time ever.  She continues her meditation and yoga practices and is hoping to become a meditation teacher this year. She attended several retreats, and took a few trips: one to see her brother give a medical talk, to California three times to visit with friends, to New York to celebrate her parents 50th wedding anniversary with a party with all her siblings.  Congrats Mom and Dad!  T is planning to apply to graduate school next fall.

So, dear readers, if any of you are reading this, here’s wishing you Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!  I always love to hear from you, please comment and tell me how you are.

merry, merry

Ho, ho ho!
Love and joy and happiness to you all.

Christmas came so suddenly this year.  For us this time of year is about slowing down and enjoying each other.  This morning we talked to the kids about the meaning of this season, how it is about joy and love and celebrating a great being who graced the world with teachings about our true nature, our true divine nature.  And he showed us how to behave, with compassion and non-judgement towards all people. They listened with no interruptions! Sky got a pretty bracelet, Annabel got a new bass and Shawn got an electric guitar. Who knew Santa was so rock 'n roll?

We cleaned the house to get ready for Sky's two friends who are coming from California.  Two newly turned eighteen-year-old young ladies.  It shall be fun!

Now Gary is playing piano, the kids are making banana bread from our most recent harvest, and soon we shall prepare our Christmas feast.

Simple family time.

Best ever.

the end of a day in burano

We returned to the mainland (Venice) and rested in our hotel until it was time for dinner. We walked out from the hotel lobby into a sea of people. It's hard to have a bad meal in Italy. Yet we didn't have any idea where to eat. A man who was a restaurant host approached us as we walked by. He seemed friendly, he said he would make us the best fish we had ever eaten. We decided to take him up on his offer. He was right, the food was fabulous. But the best part of the night was the complimentary desert, which the kids got such a kick out of, insisting that even though we were in Italy, they had in fact brought us flan.

more burano

We spent a day in quiet Burano strolling down the picturesque streets, poking our heads in shops selling all sorts of extravagant lace clothing, eating lunch, taking photos, and goofing around. Holidays are great for that.  I almost bought a small original painting, an image of a canal with the brightly colored homes.  An old woman was selling it in her shop.  The artist was her husband and she was so proud of him.  I thought it would be hard to fit in my suitcase, I thought I could paint my own original from a photograph.  But now, I wish I had bought it.

burano

We finally made it to Burano after some fun filled boat travel.  Burano was a small town with lots of canals and bridges, much less crowded than Venice, which I loved. The houses were all connected and painted in various bright colors, no two colors were the same.  I wonder about the origin of this town.  Who started the idea to create this whimsical picturesque place to stroll though?  I imagine some little Italian men gathered in a small stone room with low ceilings, huddled around a single lightbulb used for a lamp.  Secretly they all wanted to join the circus, but they couldn't because it would bring shame to their upper class families.  They were artists who ended up as accountants and merchants.  The multi-colored buildings, Burano's signature charm? Their idea.  Their doing.        

murano

In order to get to Burano, one must first stop off in Murano.  So that is what we did. We took a boat to Murano and since we had all day, we decided to walk around Murano first before heading to our destination.  We had been to Murano years ago, where we visited the glass blowing factory.  So this time we just strolled the streets, taking in the sights.