PhyllistheAuthor

I had a great trip to New Hampshire where I gave a workshop for writers at the SCBWI(Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). When I rented a car, I requested a compact and I got a brandnew, fire-red Mustang. I drove very carefully in that car since I suspect a red Mustang is a magnet for highway patrol cars. It was fun to drive the Mustang, but I'm not sure the car was "really me."

I have just returned from a week in Venice, Italy, the historic city of canals, gondolas, and palaces. The city is a Disney World for adults with great Renaissance art and architecture. I attended two concerts set in historic buildings and specializing in the music of Vivaldi.

Every night my husband and I strolled around San Marco Square listening to four different bands, watching people dance (and twirling about a bit ourselves), enjoying the moonlight, and savoring the magical setting.

I booked tickets on the Internet to visit the Arena Chapel in Padua, outside of Venice, on Friday. You have to book in advance since Giotto's famous frescoes are deteroriating and only 20 people are allowed inside at a time, and the visit is only for 15 minutes. Before going in, we had to sit for 15 minutes and be dehumidified or something. The day of our appointment there was a train strike in Italy. As a result we had to make our way to Padua on a slow, local bus. But we got there and the chapel was worth the effort. In our opinion, the Arena Chapel rivals the more famous Sistine Chapel in Rome. The frescoes were compelling with beautiful colors and great emotional impact.

On our last day in Venice, we went to Ca d'Oro (House of Gold) a Renaissance palace that is now an art museum. Taking a break from the museum, I was out on the balcony when I saw a bride and groom go by in a gondola. Two gondoliers, dressed in white, propelled the gondola and the boat was covered with gold cloth. Unfortunately, my husband had the camera and the boat was out of view before I could get a picture.

Walking about the city on Saturday, we got caught up in an animal rights parade with kids and adults walking their dogs and people carrying cat placards.

I saw little kids in Venice riding little bicycles around almost deserted squares. Bigger boys were playing soccer, and teenage boys were playing basketball. I saw two girls about ten years old sitting on top of the cover of a well in the middle of a square eating candy. On the bus, young teenage girls shared a walkman. One girl had the walkman and two others were plugged in, each with one earphone. I didn't see a single skateboard or anyone with fancy fingernails.

One of the most surprising things I saw was a baby carriage left outside of a store. In the carriage was a sleeping baby. The baby's mother was inside the store shopping. Huge crowds passed by the carriage and even the animal rights group I mentioned above. Fifty years ago, you might have seen this in the US, but today mothers would be afraid to leave their child alone. But obviously, this is not the case in Italy.

Put a trip to Venice on your "to do" list. You will not be disappointed.

Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang is a thought-provoking book for ages nine and up. The author tells about her experiences growing up in China when the Chinese Communists tried to destroy the traditional culture of China during the Cultural Revolution. Most notable is Ji-li Jiang devotion to Chairman Mao Zedong and his ideals. This is a nonfiction book that reads like a novel.

It has been such a cold spring, we are late this year planting the garden. We have two fenced vegetable gardens. They have to be fenced because our friendly neighborhood deer love to eat not only our azaleas, but also our vegetables.

We have almost everything planted now. We have twenty-nine tomato plants, okra, cucumbers, squash, bell peppers, and egg plants. Tonight we ate lettuce and green onions from our spring garden. I can hardly wait for the first home-grown tomatoes that we should harvest sometime around the middle of July.