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Dear Friends:
I’m back in my beloved Italy, and it’s so beautiful! I arrived Monday, and my daughter Becky, her family, and I went out to dinner in Cortona to celebrate Becky’s birthday. We ate at La Loggiata, which is a terraced restaurant overlooking the main piazza in Cortona. We had a wonderful beef filet, leek purée with truffles, and Pecorino cheese with caramelized figs. Becky introduced me to her favorite red wine, which is Amarone and very good. I give La Loggiata a AA rating!
Celebrating Becky’s birthday in Cortona. L. to R.: Me, my granddaughter Michela, my son-in-law Roberto Ghezzi, Roberto’s mother Enza, my granddaughter Sofia, and my daughter Becky.
Those of you who have been to Cortona will recognize the clock tower at City Hall. We could see it well from where we were sitting at La Loggiata.
It was a perfect evening, and we were even serenaded by circling swallows. Their song was more beautiful than the music of André Rieu, who played a few years ago in the same piazza.
On Tuesday I started the watercolor for a new print edition that will be the companion print to Secret Garden. Stay tuned for a picture of My Tuscan Garden next week.
In a couple weeks, we’ll be joined by my daughter Mary Donnelly and her whole family, my son Chris and his whole family, my daughter Ginny and her two children, and my brother Dan Buckley and his wife Carolyn for the P. Buckley Moss Society’s group cruise on the Mediterranean. Ginny’s husband Corrado Gabellieri won’t be joining us, however, as he will be busy getting the P. Buckley Moss Museum ready for the July Barn Show and Museum Open House.
The day before I left for Italy, I went on Mathews County’s (Virginia) Historic Home Tour with my daughter Patty and her friend Mary Morgan. My assistant Tricia Miles was asked by her cousin Linda Ruth Revere to be a hostess during the tour of her home Ivison Hall. There were five homes on the tour, and proceeds from the ticket sales will help to support the projects of the Mathews County Historical Society.
There is so much history in Mathews County and the surrounding area, dating back to Colonial days, and many of the old homes in the county have remained in the possession of the same family for generations. It was so interesting to go through Ivison Hall and see family heirloom antiques and old family photos that had been handed down through the generations. What was even more amazing to me was that the hostesses, all relatives or close friends of the homeowner, were able to say from which ancestor a particular piece of furniture had originated. No need to go out antiquing for this family!
My assistant Tricia Miles, left, and I are standing in “Clarence and Minnie’s Bedroom”. It is believed that Clarence’s fun-loving spirit still resides at Ivison Hall, particularly in this room.
One of the things I love about Mathews County is its people. The natives of the county are fiercely proud of their heritage, but they are not snobs. They greet family, neighbors, and strangers alike with a smile and a wave and are quick to come with food, flowers, tools, or tissues at the first sign of distress or need.
Ciao!
Pat
The Moss
Portfolio
74 Poplar Grove Lane
Mathews, VA 23109
(800) 430-1320
©P. Buckley Moss 2009