INSPIRATION
International Womens Day in Lucca
Today as you may know is International Women’s Day, and my mind is a swirl of emotion.
I vividly remember our first celebration of this day in Italy. We were sitting at a cafe in Lucca and my Mother in law, Carina and I were given a sprig of bright yellow wattle.
As Australians we were bemused by the choice of flower. Wattle is such a part of Australian life it was the sweetest gift we could have been given and instantly bought about a rush of homesickness.
This time I spent International Womens day with my dearest friend in the world, the one who knows me inside out.
I spent my entire childhood between my house and hers, we grew up together. We are linked by every childhood memory, by life’s joy’s and heartaches, she is my sister in every sense of the word.
It’s been ages since I saw her, we live in different states and I certainly haven’t seen her parents in years. To be instantly engulfed in love, just like I was every time I crossed the road to visit as a child was the perfect gift for Women’s Day.
Now why is my mind in a whirl?
As I am typing my Husband asked me “Do you know who Kony is?”
I replied how funny it was as I’d just seen something about this on Facebook.
So we watched together and now we know
All I could think about as we were watching was my two children safely sleeping after a fun day out, about my own childhood filled with days of riding make believe horses with my best friend.
All I could think about is those children coming in to sleep together to be safe from horror. The thought that the people of the world could make a difference within an online community had me race to the computer to read further.
I found conflicting opinions, vicious comments, and passion galore….of these options I embrace Passion and so am sharing with you all.
I hope you each have many special woman in your life, that you have the chance to celebrate them each and every day. I wish you a wonderful Women’s Day…
and the gang x
INSPIRATION
‘Time does not pass, it continues…’
Years of darkness peel away and the beams in our rustic Italian kitchen are restored to their original warmth.
The house has taken on an entirely different feel as if it took a big sigh now that all those layers have been removed.
The ceilings seem higher and the rooms just that bit bigger, an optical illusion certainly but maybe it’s due to that big breath the house took, the shaking off of the past.
A fine dust has now settled on every surface in our rustic Italian kitchen, both up and down stairs, and will be returned to become part of the floor in the living room. We are using it to level the surface before we lay the slabs of rock flooring.
Our friend Claudio spent the day sandblasting the two rooms. He looked like the guys from Ghost Busters.
I never expected the end result to look this good and I am now mid way through coating the raw timber with a clear finish. We kept all the huge original nails used by generations past to hang various items.
It looks like a beach in our kitchen and all we need now are the deckchairs and sun umbrellas.
The sand is at least an inch thick in most places downstairs and we are waiting on a vacuum to arrive so we can clear out the fine dust.
Sam and I have been busy taking out the door and widening the opening between the rooms, and also taking out all the nails in the lounge room walls that held up the hideous plastic paneling. Luckily the render will cover any gouges and we don’t need to take care of the floor as it is now sand.
Everyone has been in to see the results of Claudio’s work in our rustic Italian kitchen, including two Aussies we met by accident yesterday as they were trying to decide if it was okay to walk through the borgata.
How wonderful it was to hear someone say ‘Mate’ and we ended up taking them both for the grand tour of the house and the village. They just happened to come at the perfect time to see the house in total disarray, anything now will be a big improvement.
This is the wonderful part about our house in Italy, it is a living breathing part of the mountains. It has it’s own history which we know will continue long after we are gone. I like that feeling of being a care taker, of leaving the house stronger than before, of giving something back to this valley and it’s people.
and the gang x
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Lisa Wood says: Oh my gosh I have just read your blog post and watched the video. I am stunned – I have never heard of this Guy nor heard what he has been able to get away for so long. I still cant believe that he could do this to children and no-one took any notice until one guy tries to make a difference.
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I have joined the Invisible children facebook page, and follow them on twitter. I am looking at what I can do to support the cause. This is incredible. Lets hope that in 2012 they catch Kony and he never ever does this to another child again.xxx-
Lisa Chiodo says: Amazing that this can go on for so long yet the world not know. I can only hope that those incredible people around the world make a difference and this cruelty is stopped. It’s people like us with passion and a voice that will help to bring him to justice.
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xxx lisa
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LindyLouMac in Italy says: I hope you had a lovely ‘giornata della donna’ thankyou for calling by and commenting on my post.
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Lisa Chiodo says: Most welcome I always love visiting! ciao lisa x
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Lisa Chiodo says: Grazie Bella, so glad to have met you and I find that so many friends resonate with me as well. Often we end up writing along the same lines at the same time xxx
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john beach says: Hi Lisa, been following your blogs for a little while now, I’ve seen stuff about Kony on facebook recently and decided to watch the clip after seeing it on your site, thanks for doing that, what an amazing idea that we can be part of bringing justice to a world situation !
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Lisa Chiodo says: John it’s amazing isn’t it to think that people from all over the world can join together to make a difference. Great to hear from you and your site is wonderful I just popped over for a visit. Glad to know you watched the clip and got so much from it, I found it very moving. ciao lisa
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Ingrid says: Buon giornata della donna – was a lovely day spent having lunch with a friend & planning my next trip to Italy (tomorrow – today your time). I am glad you enjoyed yours!!
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Let us see what happens this year – 1 less Kony in the world would be a great start! I too would be far happier if every child in this world we live in could enjoy being a child instead of going from baby to grown-up!
Ciao
Ingrid-
Lisa Chiodo says: Yes Ingrid one less Kony would be a celebration worldwide! Can’t imagine children having to endure these tortures while the world watches on. How has your trip gone this time? Hope all is well with the renovation plans, yes this is our year for sure! xxx
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Misha says: What a beautiful post Lisa! I too have been quite conflicted not just by the Kony story itself, but by the swirl of commentary around it. However you have just centred it for me – we can make a choice and we need to embrace passion and action so that those children can have a chance to experience what you and your friend have. xo
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Lisa Chiodo says: I have no doubt Misha that you would embrace passion it just shines from you and your writing is a reflection of this. My husband thought at first that I shouldn’t have included this clip on my blog but I just couldn’t let it go without some sort of stand! In the end it’s all about the children and giving them back the life they should have without suffering and terror. xxx
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[…] love Lisa’s post from Renovating Italy on International Womens Day and Kony. It sure touched my heart to read about her memories, her dearest friendships and then about Lisa […]
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Oh my gosh I have just read your blog post and watched the video. I am stunned – I have never heard of this Guy nor heard what he has been able to get away for so long. I still cant believe that he could do this to children and no-one took any notice until one guy tries to make a difference.
I have joined the Invisible children facebook page, and follow them on twitter. I am looking at what I can do to support the cause. This is incredible. Lets hope that in 2012 they catch Kony and he never ever does this to another child again.xxx
Amazing that this can go on for so long yet the world not know. I can only hope that those incredible people around the world make a difference and this cruelty is stopped. It’s people like us with passion and a voice that will help to bring him to justice.
xxx lisa
I hope you had a lovely ‘giornata della donna’ thankyou for calling by and commenting on my post.
Most welcome I always love visiting! ciao lisa x
Here’s to you Lisa! Thank you for sharing your stories. They resonate with me so much. Don’t stop! 😉 Jxx
Grazie Bella, so glad to have met you and I find that so many friends resonate with me as well. Often we end up writing along the same lines at the same time xxx
Hi Lisa, been following your blogs for a little while now, I’ve seen stuff about Kony on facebook recently and decided to watch the clip after seeing it on your site, thanks for doing that, what an amazing idea that we can be part of bringing justice to a world situation !
John it’s amazing isn’t it to think that people from all over the world can join together to make a difference. Great to hear from you and your site is wonderful I just popped over for a visit. Glad to know you watched the clip and got so much from it, I found it very moving. ciao lisa
Buon giornata della donna – was a lovely day spent having lunch with a friend & planning my next trip to Italy (tomorrow – today your time). I am glad you enjoyed yours!!
Let us see what happens this year – 1 less Kony in the world would be a great start! I too would be far happier if every child in this world we live in could enjoy being a child instead of going from baby to grown-up!
Ciao
Ingrid
Yes Ingrid one less Kony would be a celebration worldwide! Can’t imagine children having to endure these tortures while the world watches on. How has your trip gone this time? Hope all is well with the renovation plans, yes this is our year for sure! xxx
What a beautiful post Lisa! I too have been quite conflicted not just by the Kony story itself, but by the swirl of commentary around it. However you have just centred it for me – we can make a choice and we need to embrace passion and action so that those children can have a chance to experience what you and your friend have. xo
I have no doubt Misha that you would embrace passion it just shines from you and your writing is a reflection of this. My husband thought at first that I shouldn’t have included this clip on my blog but I just couldn’t let it go without some sort of stand! In the end it’s all about the children and giving them back the life they should have without suffering and terror. xxx