Guardian Angels

I am not a religious person (although I favor religious traditions). During the last eight years, however, I have been blessed to be surrounded by "guardian angels." Some are childhood friends who resurfaced and generously visited me multiple times (from places like Colorado, Canada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Minnesota). Others are more recent classmates, coworkers, fellow knitters, mentors, and teachers who have bonded with me profoundly and brightened my days. Some are relatives with whom I had lost touch. They now have rekindled old ties and also visit us regularly. Your love and devotion is tangible every day. More relatives are still "lost"—but hey, our door is open, and you know now to reach me.

There also are the friends and bloggers who encouraged me to start "Amber Reunion." Thank you for making my daily reading so stimulating and for inspiring me to keep going at it every day.

Most joyous are the friends I made because of the blog. What serendipity! It was really beautiful to see them in Madison.

Finally, many of the committed staff at the UW Carbone Cancer Center have become familiar friends who take great care of me. Below are two (and there's more on Carbone "Guardian Angels" here and here,)

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(Always knitting in hand.)

Hoarfrost Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, March 24, 2016. It was a monochromatic morning.

Morning Sweep

Verona, Wisconsin, March 11, 2016. I'm usually not up that early.

Reunion at Dawn

Verona, Wisconsin, March 11, 2016. This is a still from when I tried to capture the crane calls.

Winter Dawn

Isola di San Giorgio, Venice, Italy, January 1984. I am on my way to work.

Morning-Mist Reunion

Door County, Wisconsin, July 1975. Gigi explores her new territory.

Quiet Piazza

Venice, Italy, November 1983. When I arrived in Venice proper early each morning, the Piazza San Marco often was nearly empty.

Dawn

When I lived in Venice, I rented a room from a padrona who lived on the Lido, the narrow barrier island that separates Venice from the Adriatic Sea. The spot at which I worked, the Archivio di Stato di Venezia, stands in the city proper, at the Campo dei Frari. As a result, I had a considerable commute every morning. I rode a motonave from the Lido to San Marco, and then I made a thirty-minute walk from the boat, through the San Marco district, over the Rialto Bridge to Campo San Polo, and then on to the Archivio.

Because seating was at a premium at the Archivio, I tried to arrive there each day when the "sala di studio" first opened, namely at about 7:30. This meant that most mornings, I stepped off the motonave at San Marco just as the sun was rising.

Piazzetta San Marco, Venice, Italy, January 1984. To the left stands the Doge's Palace. Could there be a better way to start the day?

Do you ever wish you could be somewhere else?

Venice, Italy, October 29, 1983. This is the view I saw each morning when I stepped off the vaporetto at the San Marco stop.