Well this is a quick look at some of the places and faces of 2011 in roughly chronological order – starting with my birthday in Paris in January, and ending on Christmas day.  I notice that Dimi is there at the beginning and the end!

I’m struggling to remember what day it is.  They are all melting into a blur of studio time and late nights.  We have been surviving on pasta, pizza and red wine and right about now I’m ready to get home to my own food, bed and routines.  I am really tired, and I think all of us are coming down with colds.  Today is the last day in the studio, but we are behind schedule.  Unfortunately we haven’t had time to get any of the vocals done, which means more work at home.

Tonight we are going to play a concert, but without drums as the venue has no drum kit.  We tried to cancel it, but it wasn’t possible.  Tomorrow we make the 1,000 km trip back to Milan, and Dimi flies back to Paris the day after that.  That makes Friday the 30th, and thereafter New Years Eve.

Here are some photos from around the studio this afternoon.  We’ve had some nice sunny days, and it’s just cold enough.  This is a movie projector from the 1950’s that Stefano rescued from the scrap-heap when the local cinema closed down.  I was surprised to see it standing there on the grass, but it’s a pretty cool garden ornament.

We are having a very lazy relaxing Christmas day at Masseria Lobello.

The fire is blazing.

The Christmas tree lights are on.

Everything is quiet and dark.

We are stuffed and sleepy.  I can’t stop eating the leftover panna cotta in the refrigerator.

Pete and Dimi are waiting for the final verse of lyrics that need to be written.  In the meantime we have come up with a couple of ideas for the children’s album we want to record next year.  We are back into the studio tomorrow.