Dio mio! Thanks for your kind thoughts and good wishes. Yes, we leave this Saturday night for Italy (we call it "the old country" in my family, which I love to say). 24 of us from the U.S. will hang out with our Italian relatives next weekend for some eating, bocce ball, etc. We arrive in Pisa Sunday night and ideally will drive the 1.5 hours to get to the apartment we rented in the little hilltown of Barga. A lovely town.

I think we'll be there in time for the St. Christopher festival and several other outdoor festivals. It's a good summer. We'll be home for a week after Italy and then head out to SoWal. Life is indeed good... I'm bringing my SoWal stickers to Italy, by the way...
Thanks again for your good wishes. Ciao for now.