2011 Blessings

AJ, Mum, Jill, Brenda, Lexi, Maren, Jess, Beth, & Kevin

Jillian

Kevin and Jessica

The Wolpman’s wish you a Blessed New Year!

It has been another year of discovery for the Wolpman family as Jessica began her second year in France, Jillian was forced into volleyball “retirement” after being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Mum and Dad (Beth’s parents) moved to New Braunfels, and we rejoiced at Gram’s life and grieved over losing her.

Okay, so why France? Jessica loved Italy and now, adores France. It very well may become home for her. She is in a serious relationship with Kevin Bian, a French native and recent graduate with a Masters in Architecture. Jess works as a freelance English tutor and photographer while Kevin completes one more certification and internship in Rennes. The photography work is picking up as she makes contacts with locals. She spent time working with a magazine photographer who took Jess along on a recent photo shoot. She also had the opportunity to take photos for an architectural website Kevin developed. We hope these opportunities increase for her. Can you believe that Jessica is now trilingual? She and Kevin traveled to Romania with a small group to celebrate the New Year thanks to their fellow architecture friend, Mihai, who lives in Romania. If you like to play with Google maps, look up Rennes, FR to find her. Kevin's family is from Santec, FR. Beth was interested to note that the Isle of Guernsey (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society) is just north of them in the channel. We hope to travel to France in 2011 to visit the kids and meet Kevin’s wonderful family. For now, we look forward to Jess coming home for a visit in February.

Jillian continues to gain personal strength in dealing with her new situation. She showed incredible strength and courage in the face of the challenges and treatment she faced as an athlete with an invisible illness. Regretfully, we all learned how our Texas State Alma Mater views the DI athlete as commodity rather than as a human. We appreciate USD’s ethics and honor. The Chronic Fatigue remains, but her attitude and determination constantly improve. She will be taking two classes at ACC this coming semester and working part-time at Rusty Bugs and Roosters in Gruene Lake Village. The store is a cute shop filled with artsy-folksy, furniture, decorative items, yard art, and costume jewelry. She loves painting the furniture and working with customers. Perhaps her aspiration of being a boutique shop owner will come true in time. Right now, she is learning to manage this new life. She and her cousin Maren live in what must be one of the best-decorated apartments in San Marcos. They are both quite artistically talented.

AJ continues to work with the DPS, though he is no longer patrolling the highways regularly. Instead, he inspects trucks for safety and for contraband. AJ really enjoys this work, and is a bit of an expert at finding stolen truck rigs. The thieves do all kinds of tricky maneuvers to conceal the theft and AJ enjoys the puzzle of uncovering their deceit. As for Beth, she is in her 21^st year at SMHS this year and has begun to welcome the children of her former students into her classroom. Now that Jillian is doing better, Beth is putting final changes on her proposal before submission and is not taking on any more commitments until the proposal is approved. Believe!!!

We are blessed with the love and support of family and friends in our lives. Thank you for being a blessing!

AJ, Beth, Jessica, and Jillian (Bella and Scheffler)

Hunting for Water...

Images of the Isle of Capri, Regione Compania!











Forgive the weak metaphor; I could not resist. We spent our days in Italy moving from one water source to another and today, AJ and I head to Hunt, Texas for our last hoo-rah of the Summer of '09. An explained metaphor is no fun, right?

Water waves at the spiaggi, fountains flowing water, and water flowing from public spigots, we sought out the sweet and the salty while on our travels. The beaches (spiaggi) of Anzio, Capri, and Positano on the Tyrrhenian Sea proved cool, welcoming, and uber-salty. AJ spied his first topless and nearly bottomless bathers when we lazed upon the rocky beach in the Capri harbor. This was not my favorite beach, though I know that Capri has more to offer and we chose the only windy day of our journey. chanel handbags Wind spoils the tranquility of the Capri shores and stirs up the waters around the famous Blue Grotto, so we just stayed at the harbor and enjoyed our glimpse! The Island of Capri is an intimately beautiful and enchanting spot on the globe. I think the mingling of mountain, bluff, beach, and harbor prove intoxicating to the eyes.

Making Time to Remember

AJ cools off in the fountain at Piazza dei Popolo



Jessica fills our water at the Leaking Boat Fountain at the Spanish Steps.




Church of the Incurables in Rome

Rome was amazing, indeed. My regret was that I did not post a daily blog as intended, though the circumstances ultimately made my wishful ambition more of a stress than a joy. Now, in retrospect, I will write about our journey as a refresher, a marvelous tool to remember and rejoice in our experiences in Italy. So much to tell, there may be lot's of little and large moments to unfold herein.

For those who know my home, the green room feels humid and hot, despite the air flowing from the house and the fans circling above me. The heat and stickiness remind me of Rome, Venice, and Florence. We traveled about to return to our respective rooms in each city with a veil of perspiration covering us. We shimmered and we stuck to our clothing. Hot took on new meaning, not like the desert of Arizona or the Hill Country of Central Texas in August, a different heat that seemed profound in its ability to permeate.

AJ, Jess, and I chose to enter the tourist scene in the later day after a midday meal and as the heat was reaching its height. This may sound crazy, but we ended up enjoying the cooler evenings after a more than warm day. chanel handbags Our early travels included dark and cool churches to take in the arts and escape the sun. We moved through the city on foot from fountain to fountain splashing ourselves and filling our water bottles with aqua diretto (yummiest water ever).

Several evenings found us munching on bruschetta and sipping wine (AJ often opted for birra) at Carlo Mente, Jessica's favorite inexpensive ristorante in Trastevere. The food was always good and the crowd an interesting mix of tourists and locals. On the way home we stopped for a chocolate shot that served as a dessert and an after dinner libation simultaneously.

Whirlwind Beginnings

The flight did nothing to diminish our first day in Rome. Once we disembarked and passed through the customs "checkpoint", we met Jessica. She looks wonderful!

Our first train experience brought us to a stop near Flaminia, then a short Metro trip and a long, warm walk with suitcases through Villa Borghese to our home on Via Guido d'Abrezzo. Amazing, everything is absolutely stunning, including our wooden and brass elevator that operates smoothly on the old pulley system. Be certain you close the inside doors and the outer wrought iron ones carefully or your elevator will not move.

Every foyer floor and stairway seems to be marble in Rome! Even the kitchen sink in our apartment is marble.

Once cooled off a bit, we realized we needed a few essentials for our stay and a bottle of wine to bring to the party where Jessica's architecture friends were gathering on a rooftop in San Lorenzo... parents welcome. Jessica and I walked to the Todi supermercado to shop (cheese, bread, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and wine-the essentials) while AJ caught a nap. Then we headed to San Lorenzo by bus. The area is just outside the ancient wall that surrounded Rome. The wall is a brownish red composed of layer upon layer of hand-formed bricks. On the top, earthen deposits allow grass and small bushes to grow.

On the way through San Lorenzo, we stopped for pizza, vegetale, and bruschetta. Ooh, the food...

When we arrived at Alexis' rooftop party and climbed at least five flights, we were greeeted by a cosmopolitan group of 20-somethings who engaged us in wonderfully stimulating conversation about world events, art, and Roman antiquity. louis vuitton handbags The party included Alexander, a Russian who now lives in Greece and sudies in Rome; Mihai, a Romanian student in Italy; several French students (Alexis, too) also studying in Rome; and a couple of guys from Lawrence, Kansas! AMAZING!

Jillian called, and with Jessica beside us in Rome, we felt like all was right in the world.

We left the party a bit late to watch the last regular bus heading out, so we boarded the right night bus on the wrong side of the station area. The bus went in the opposite direction for the first hour, meaning that we journeyed far and arrived at our stopping area a couple of hours later. After another hike through Villa Borghese in the middle of the night, we flopped into bed too tired to care that the 3 of us were in one bed in a non-air conditioned room. (We moved into our current rooms with A/C and room for all to sleep the next morning.)

Day was done and long gone was the sun - Wolpman's went to rest!

More about Day 2 and 3 later...

Less than 24!

As the clothes tumble in the dryer, I sit taking one last look at our plans, the budget, and my shrinking list of things to do! It is 10:52 and tomorrow, we will be readying for landing in Chicago at O'Hare... brings your trays and seat backs to the upright position!

Thoughts toss around in my brain as the dryer's contents: pick up medicines (back endurance through chemical support...), head to the bank, get the yard watering and pool fixing finalized, DOG FOOD, and finish packing! Somewhere in the frenzy, we will stop by to give Jillian hugs, kisses, and information since she was called to counselor-coaching duty for Coach Chisum's Summer Volleyball Camp.

My hopeful intention was to call and see everyone before we left, but for those who know me... intentions do not always become realities. Know that you will be with us in our thoughts over the next three weeks. At some special moment, chanel handbags an experience in Italy will remind us of you and we will smile with memory. If I am clear-headed, I will let you know in this blog.

Today, plans for a day trip to Anzio-Nettunio were molded. What better place for my armchair war historian than the American Cemetery and Memorial? Link: Rome-Sicily Cemetery.

Mmm- the dryer stopped and the coffee smells inviting. I will pick this up after crossing the Atlantic.

Love - Beth

The Sea and Me

Mom and Dad taught me to walk the beach while enjoying the moment and reflecting upon the journey. The sea draws me to her with a primal call that promises peace even in her wildness.

My parents gave me the love of the sea.replica watches When my toes hit the sand, my heart leaps and rushes with the beat of the waves. I am home.

A few favorite photos