Jewel Comes to Florence

This is me and my friend Jewel. Jewel was in my class when we lived in St. Thomas. She was here in Florence for a few days this summer. She spent the night at my house and we did facials!

Sailing on Barnegat Bay

This is me and all my Opti C friends sailing on the bay. My mom took the picture from my grandparent's porch in July.

Mr. Spark's Opti Rockstars

This is McKenzie, Me, Julia and Gillian about to go out to our boats for the Powder Puff Regatta. We were in the motorboat which was really fun - my instructor had to go really fast to get the water out because the plug was broken. The next picture is us back at the club after the races. We did so well at the races that Mr Spark (the head instructor) called us all his "rockstars". The other picture is of me sailing in one of the races.

McKenzie

This is my cousin McKenzie and me behind her. We were getting ready for the Powder Puff Regatta. I won sixth place at the regatta. It was our first Opti regatta ever.

Clotilde and Olesia

This is me and Alice at our friends Clo and Olesia's house in San Donato in Collina. The right one is Clo and the left one is Olesia. They live in Florence in the winter, but they live in the country in San Donato (about half an hour away) in the summer.

Bike riding with Valentina

This is me bike riding with my friend Valentina in Piazza Santa Croce. Valentina goes to school with me. She's one grade higher than me, but she is the same age as me. Me and Valentina are very good friends and like to play together after school in the piazza on the bikes (and we ride on her mom's bike together). Her nickname is Vale (you say it "val-ay").

My Friend Anna

My friend Anna came here with a school group, her mom, her friend Sue and her sister Rosy. She was here for about 3 months. She did homeschooling while she was here.

We met her when we were looking through our window at the apartment next door (my mom saw her first, I was getting out of the bathtub!). We became good friends and anytime I wanted to talk to her, I would just open the window and blow my whistle for her.

The night before she was leaving Florence to go back to her house in Minnesota, she came over to our house for dinner. When she got back to her apartment that night, I blew my whistle for her and waved goodbye! Now every time I look out that window I am sad. I miss her!

This is Anna At Alice's Birthday:



This is Strega Anna on Halloween:



This is Anna playing Ping Pong at my birthday sleepover:



This is Anna At my birthday party:

Buon Compleanno a Mio Nonno!

Today is my grandfather's birthday - I call him Bapoo. I picked a poem out of my poetry book for his birthday present. I am going to post it here and I am going to call him and read it to him. The first poem I picked out, and the second one my sister, Alice, picked out.

Happy Birthday Bapoo!
Buon Compleanno, Nonno!

Love, Jane

P.S. This is a picture of my Bapoo last summer - he was picking beach plums with my sister.

Sweet and Low

Sweet and Low, sweet and low,
Wind of the western sea,
Low, low, breathe and blow,
Wind of the western sea!
Over the rolling waters go,
Come from the dying moon, and blow,
Blow him again to me;
While my little one, while my pretty one sleeps.

Sleep and rest, sleep and rest,
Father will come to thee soon;
Rest, rest, on mother's breast,
Father will come to thee soon;
Father will come to his babe in the nest,
Silver sails all out of the west
Under the silver moon:
Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sea Joy

When I go down by the sandy shore
I can think of nothing I want more
Than to live by the booming blue sea
As the seagulls flutter round about me

I can run about–when the tide is out
With the wind and the sand and the sea all about
And the seagulls are swirling and diving for fish
Oh–to live by the sea is my only wish.

Jacqueline Bouvier