2017

When we do away with values we find ourselves no longer sure of right and wrong. How does one establish wrong when the yardstick can no longer measure principles? In a society where no one gets measured, there are no giants. 

Overcome

The United States is the ONE place in the world where every person has a voice in the democratic process. Regardless if the candidate I voted for won or lost, I had a voice in the process. 

I've never seen this type of hatred throughout America, whether it be on television, in conversations in our local communities and especially on social media. There has been racism and bigotry for centuries but it's different when you have people in leadership roles that empower people to think it's acceptable to have an intolerance against those who have differing beliefs than he does. 


I believe in the good of the human race. And I truly believe there are so many incredibly good people in this world who are overlooked because of the antipathy that is spreading in our culture and even worse, this xenophobia mentality is becoming accepted. There seems to be a "good vs. bad" outlook in our nation.  

We need to find our voices to speak out. We cannot be silent against the shift in our culture. This is not a game. This is our real life and we need to be a part of the change toward understanding, acceptance and benignity of other's differences from our own.

I refuse to let other's hate and ignorance stop me from doing what I know to be right.

Rain Rain Rain

The final day of our sister trip was my favorite day. It rained all day. It was amazing. 

There is something incredibly picturesque about people scurrying about with colorful umbrellas.

As if Venice needs more mystery about it, the steady rain changed the mood of the days before. 

The morning found the streets less crowded which was a welcome sight after the throngs of people we'd seen to this point. 
By afternoon however the tourists had realized the rain wasn't going to stop so the narrow streets became quite busy again.

 Rain was the ultimate compliment to the last day of our adventure. 

Work Break

This is what a work break looks like in Venice.

Electricity

Italy has strict regulations on electricity which means that you can't run two appliances at the same time. 

We did laundry every evening - 1. because my sister loves to do laundry (true story) and 2. because after walking a million miles each day we were sweaty and stinky. 

One night we had the washer going and Shell popped some pasta sauce in the microwave. Didn't even give it a second thought. A few seconds later all the lights went out and we were in total darkness. Shell found her phone and we trekked down two flights of stone steps by the light of the phone to find the breaker box to the apartment. Italian breaker boxes do not look like the ones we're used to, at least this one didn't. Thankfully each breaker box had the name of the owner on it so we knew which one to mess with.

Shell found her way back up to the apartment while I pushed buttons hoping the lights would come back on. It took us a few minutes to figure it out but we got the lights back on and went about the evening. 

Memories! 

Sister trip

Take a sister trip - or a sibling trip. 
Don't let those excuses delay you. 'When the kids leave home we will..'   'When I retire we will...'   'When it's better timing at work we will...'

Relationships take work, even relationships with your family. Maybe even more so because we tend to take those relationships for granted. Relationships evolve as we get older. 

It can be something crazy fancy or a camping trip in the mountains or just lock yourself in your house for the weekend and talk.

Although the location was amazing, the truth is, the location wasn't what mattered when my sister and I took our trip. It was the experience of spending time with my sister as two adult women. As sisters one would think we know everything about each other but that's not the case. We each learned something new about the other. Spending time with your adult sister is so much different than growing up sisters as kids. 

This is on the island of Torcello. It's only a few minutes from the island of Venice but has an entirely different atmosphere. Very few visitors and hauntingly quiet. In pre-Medieval times Torcello was a powerful trading center. In the 12th century malaria hit the island causing people to abandon the area. Currently there is a population of only 10 people.

Points!

 If your credit card doesn't have 'points' that build up, find one that does. 

We are funding the flights to Venice on points!
Two round trip tickets to Venice for zero dollars. No cost. Just used points!