A Tyical Day...

6:00am - What is pouncing on my head...oh yes...Yeti has to go out...NOW

8:30am - Yeti is ready to get up and play!

8:45am - Outside again...wish the coffee was ready!

9:00am - Cook breakfast...Yeti wants to play.

9:15am - Playing with Yeti.

9:30am - Eat breakfast.

9:40am - Playing with Yeti.

11:00am - Yeti wants outside!
 
11:10am - Yeti is down for a nap. Quick unload dishwasher, load dishwasher, get a load of laundry going, straighten up, pay one bill.

11:35am - Yeti is ready to play...again!

2:00pm - Yeti is out for a nap...move laundry to dryer, set something out for dinner, make grocery list.

2:30pm - Time to go outside and play with Yeti and feed the birds.

2:45pm - Playing with Yeti inside.

5:00pm - Start dinner and take Yeti outside.

5:30pm - Yeti is napping - time for the news.

6:30pm - Let's watch a movie...Yeti is ready to play

7:45pm - Yeti needs to go out.

9:00pm - Oh look - Yeti needs to go out.

10:15pm - Better take Yeti out one more time...

11:45pm - Yeti needs a drink of water.

Midnight - Everyone to sleep!!!

While I don't accomplish much these days, I wouldn't change it for a minute!!  :)

Office work is SO tiring!

Big Coulpe of Days!

 

I went to the vet Monday and got my latest shot.  The sneaky vet put a treat on the table while she gave me the shot and I never knew it happened.  I also gained almost 2 pounds in 2 weeks.  I am definitely growing!

Let's see...I discovered I could go up and down the deck stairs outside.  This way I never go to the right door for Mommy and Daddy when it is time to go in...

I jumped up on a Christmas package and got another ornament off of the tree.  For my safety, Mommy redecorated today and now the lower third of the 9.5 ft tree has no ornaments.  It looks kind of odd...

Daddy taught me to go up the big staircase to the second story and now they can't ever find me.  Well until they put up the gate today.  I taught myself how to go down the stairs.  I'm still a little scared going down but I can do it!

I also discovered the upstairs guest bathroom has one of those fun rugs I like to drag around.  I think that's part of the reason the gate blocks the stairs now...

I discovered I like Chex Mix when Daddy dropped a bunch on the floor.  I helped clean it up...

They never know what I am going to do next!!! :)

I Found the Christmas Tree!

Five ornaments down...only 322 to go!

A New Family Member!!!

Please welcome Yeti! 

                                           A very relaxed dog...

Yeti is 3 months old and we picked him up in Manhattan, KS.  He flew home with us to Alaska and was a fabulous traveler.   Neither of the flight crews even knew he was there until we deplaned.  (FYI - Seattle airport has a puppy relief area inside security.  That was nice!)  We are working on sit, sit up, shake, down and walking on leash.  He really hates walking on the leash.  Practice... Practice... Practice!

I had forgotten what it is like to have a young puppy in the house.  I don't get anything done now...except play with puppy and take him outside. He loves the snow.  Apparently it tastes good and is nice and cool for him.  He runs and runs through it.  This morning he helped me shovel snow by attacking the broom and trying to trip me.  :)

Anyway...we will get back to the Mediterranean one of these days...

Capri and Sorrento

Our first day in Naples we boarded another boat in the pouring rain and sailed to Capri.  This was the only ugly weather day we had.  Not bad for a 28 day trip!  Our second day in Naples, the sun was out for most of the day...at least we got back to the ship before it started raining!

 The fort protecting the city of Naples.  I believe every island/port we visited in the Mediterranean had a fort or at least giant walls all seemingly built by the Venetians.  They were a well traveled people!

 

City of Naples - a mix of old and new.

Statue of Neptune

Looking back at the main Capri marina from the top of the mountain where the shops and hotels are.

Path back to the ocean.  We rode the cable car.

Tiny streets - typical of the islands.  The "cars" are a little bigger than an over-sized golf cart and used only for deliveries.

Example of local artist tile work...yes we brought some home!  Just not this big!

Back on the mainland, this is Sorrento.  Not many pictures worth sharing from today...

Another view of Sorrento. 

However, my next post will be about Pompeii.  This picture was taken from Capri looking back to Naples with Vesuvius in the background.  Amazing the mountain lost 50-60% of it's cone during the eruption.  Mind boggling...

The Pantheon

We made finally made it to our last full day in Rome.  Hard to believe it has taken me this long to write about AND so many posts.  I could have done it in one post BUT that would have been brutally long for everyone!

ANYWAY...we visited the Pantheon on our last day in Rome once again taking public transportation to meet up with our tour guide.  Our group had a total of 5 people in it - perfect size!!

Front entrance.  It is amazing how these ancient temples are in typical "modern" town squares.

Front obelisk.  One in front of every church.

Massive doors at the entrance.  These must be heavy and appear to be typical for Roman construction.

Front of the Pantheon. Mass is about to start as we visited on the Day of the Assumption of Mary.  The marble floors...beautiful!

Front altar.

While I didn't stick Robert in the picture for a size perspective, these had to be 8 foot tall...more really big candles...still used on special occasions.

The dome.

And the drain holes for the water when it rains through the hole in the dome.  Never thought about that issue but the Romans did!

Queen Margherita's tomb...everyone of our tour guides mentioned her and how the Margarita pizza is named after her and her creation. 

Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon.  It was interesting how we kept visiting famous leaders' and artists'tombs in the various churches.

Once we were finished with the Pantheon, we walked around the area and saw several other historic churches.  Unfortunately, my pictures didn't turn out well due to the no flash rule...

Exterior of the Hadrian temple now re-purposed...

Outside of Chiesa di Sant' Ignazio di Loyola (St Ignatius' church)...look at how tiny the streets are.  I thought driving in the neighborhoods of Brisbane was tough.  This would be a nightmare...definitely good for a smart car...

Rome was fascinating.  I could spend months there visiting all of the ruins and learning of the history...but there's just too much other stuff to see!

Next stop: Naples!

Sidetracked by snow

I know...this post is supposed to be about the Pantheon.  However, we woke up to this today!  First snow of the season!

YEA!

St Peter's Basilica

Hands down, the Catholics do know how to decorate a church.  We saw this repeatedly during our tours in Rome and other locations.  St. Peter's Basilica is beautiful.

 Front entrance

St Peter's Square Obelisk

St Peter's Square fountain

The doors were massive and looked heavy.

The Jubilee or Holy Year door.  Only the Pope is allowed to open it and he uses a hammer as it is brick and mortar on the inside.  Last opening  was December, 1999 for the year 2000.  Next scheduled opening is for the year 2025.  However, the Pope can declare a special holy year and open it sooner if he chooses.

One of the statues on the side of St. Peter's walking to it from the Vatican Museum.

Inside...

The dome over the altar.

St. Peter's main altar.  The candles are huge and I have no doubt, heavy.

The canopy over the altar

Stairs under the altar going to the catacombs.

 Several niches exist and each one has a massive sculpture and usually a sarcophagus.

Michelangelo's Pieta.  In 1972(?), someone defaced it with a geologists hammer and chipped off several pieces before guards could get him stopped.  Sadly, people in the church took pieces for souvenirs.  The Pope requested the pieces be returned anonymously and without consequences so artists could repair it.  Most pieces were returned but part of Mary's nose never came back and the restoration for her current one is from a piece of marble in her back.  Thus the glass covering protecting the sculpture (and screwing up photos).

As we left the Vatican area, we saw a pharmacy on site.  Our guide told us anyone could use it if they needed to.   The only issues is you have to take your passport because it is a seperate country! 

Tomorrow the Pantheon!

The Pope's Digs...

The Vatican is amazing!  The crowds at the Vatican are phenomenal.  We visited the museum, the Sistine Chapel, Raphael's rooms and St. Peter's Basilica.  We could take pictures everywhere (no flash) with the exception of the Sistine Chapel.  Believe it or not, Nippon owns the copyrights to photos in the Chapel and pictures are not allowed. At least that is what our guide told us.  We did see staff strolling through the crowds and if caught taking pictures, they watched you delete them and maybe even confiscate your camera. 

The Sistine Chapel, while beautiful, was not what I expected.  I had imagined the entire ceiling covered with the Michelangelo painting of the God giving life to Adam.  Of course, that panel is there but there are also eight other panels with various scenes from the bible.  The panels are surrounded by other paintings of people and family. It is amazing but overwhelming.  Then there are the crowds.  One could barely move through the chapel let alone enjoy the art.  Interestingly, in one corner, the restorers did not clean a small area of the fresco.  The comparison is night and day.  The area not restored is black and the fresco can not be discerned.  I appreciate the work that was done to bring it back to life.

We didn't have enough time at the museum.  The works in the public rooms go on forever.  And who can imagine what is on display in the private areas.  Regardless, here is a taste.

 The entrance...a little commercialized.

Lacoon and his sons - we saw this sculpture in multiple locations around the Mediterranean.  This is the one all of the other copies are made from.

The colors are so vibrant.  But parts of the Vatican are in constant restoration...maybe because they don't agree with whats on the walls/ceiling and just never finish!

One of the courtyards.

Modern art...a Dali.

Of course there are many tapestries.  In this one, the Christ has eyes that will follow you as you move through the room.  From memory...I believe it is from the 1500s.

Raphael's rooms were stunning.  The discussions about who was in the paintings was interesting.  There was some jealousy between the artists of the time and sometimes one artist would include a rival or himself as a sideline character...

Of course we had to have a picture of the Swiss Guards in uniform.

Tomorrow...St. Peter's Basilica.