The six day run in Sicily ended with two shows in Palermo — at one of which they were given our gift to them (which you already know, and about which I’m still pretty stoked! 🙂 ).
It was the end of an amazing trip for our LiJoy. She said on her Facebook page that Italy (not just The Guys) is now a part of her heart, and that she can’t wait to go back. Truly, I can see why!
(note: the pink text on each photo does not appear in the actual book)
“Dedicated to The Guys of Il Volo…because we love them…”
I have to say, Il Volo has the best fans in the world! I know they know that; we know that. But, I’m just amazed each time we ask, you guys deliver. 🙂 So many beautiful sentiments/pictures were sent, and so many monetary donations. Thank you for your generosity!
I can’t take a picture of every page, but if you sent me something, I put it into the book — even the things people sent to my home. Every comment and picture was included. Finished, the book is 31 pages long, an additional 11 pages to the 20 it came with.
finished book 2 Keepsake Book messages and photos
finished Book 3 Keepsake Book – messages and photos
We also included some posts from the site. I have to thank Marie for doing the lion’s share of work on that piece of the project. She went through all of our posts (do you know that we have over 700?!) and then emailed me her top 50. I have no idea how she narrowed it down even that much. 😀 You all have been so prolific and engaging here that there were so many that we wanted to include.
In the end, I narrowed it down to 10 and then further when I received the converted .pdf files (thanks to WordPress for helping me figure out how to do that). Some of the posts were much too long when converted into documents (some were 20 pages by themselves), and on others, the integrity of the formatting/text was actually compromised, so they couldn’t be used. The posts that were included are:
Il Volo is a Phenomenon ~~ by Jeannette
Music Notes; Myron’s Take on Eurovision ~~ by Myron
Indescribable ~~ Flight Crew game to use every letter of the alphabet to describe Il Volo
Grande Amore; The Wait is Over ~~ by Jana
Coming Home ~~ by Marie
One Soul With Love for the Holidays
finished Book 4 Keepsake Book – messages
finished book 5 Keepsake Book messages and pictures
I will ship the books to our wonderful news contributor, LiJoy this week. She graciously agreed to carry our gift with her to Italy. I have not included pictures of gift wrapping since…well I haven’t bought it yet. 🙂 But, LiJoy has asked that they be gift bags; they will be easy to pack, easy to use when it’s time to give them to The Guys and will still allow her to get through security and customs during her journey since the books won’t already be wrapped.
Now down to brass tacks. I promised that I would be up front with you about how your donations were being spent, so here we go:
Over $200 was given for this project. Our order for 3 books (one for each of them) with shipping came to just over $100 during Shutterfly’s 4th of July sale.
The package will be sent UPS to allow me to receive a tracking number, have insurance provided and insure that it is taken care of better than when it goes through the post office. The gift bags will also be purchased out of this money.
The remainder of the money has been saved. We can use that for another project or for something else. We will “talk” with you before using any of it to get your input.
I hope this meets with your approval. Thank you again for participating and your generous help in providing this gift for Our Guys. I hope they love it! And thank you, LiJoy, for taking it to them!
I met Lisa (Lijoy) in Pittsburgh, at the Heinz Hall, on 9/11/13. The We Are Love Concert had just ended and we were standing in our respective isle’s waiting to file out with everyone. We began talking about what had just happened, and stood there a little longer. I invited her here and, fortunately, she’s been with us ever since. I was looking at her blog recently and came across this piece. I fell hard for it and asked her if I could share it with all of you. She consented. ~Marie
The Power, The Passion, and The Joy December 12, 2013
***
I have done the unthinkable! I have fallen in love. Sigh! It really didn’t take long, which has both surprised and troubled me greatly. Demon exorcism begins now!
I haven’t posted on the blog for a while as I struggled with a lot of things in my life. My constant trio of complaints, work, weight, and family dynamics continue to plague my existence. Patience, they say, is a virtue. They, whoever they are, also say to be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. Hmmm! I have been praying for patience for a very long time. Maybe some of the situations I find myself in are the result of not having enough patience. Although family and friends say teaching 13 and 14 year old students prove that I have tons of patience. For children, yes, for adults, it is in short supply.
The more time I spend talking to people around the world, the more I realize we are all broken people. Some of us cope better than others, but everyone has a story to tell. While conducting a one-sided conversation, can it really be called a conversation if the other person never contributes-just a thought, I was reminded of some of the music and artists of my youth. Have to smile here because they were actually artists of my mother’s youth in the fifties and sixties, I just love their sound and never embraced the music of my generation. You know the artists I truly adore. Think Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Etta James, who was part of that one-sided conversation, Al Jarreau, Miles Davis, and Louis Armstrong to name a few.
The PowerThe PassionThe Joy
What does any of the above have to do with the title of this blog? Absolutely positively nothing and everything! The three words in the title are apt adjectives for my newest classically and Italianally life passion, Il Volo. The Power-Piero Barone, classical tenor whose very being oozes sexy. The Passion-Gianluca Ginoble, gifted baritone who is the definition of fiery elegance. Finally, The Joy-Ignazio Boschetto, lyrical tenor whose smile and love of life are infectious. You may have met them before in previous accounts, but if not, give a look and listen. They have truly taken over my waking and sleeping. After seeing them in concert on September 11, I could not get enough. Bought every CD even the Spanish language ones, I don’t speak Spanish. Several weeks later, having finished the N. American/Canada Tour, the boys moved south of the border to Latin America. Thank God for Google translate. But a new problem arose, different time zones. Never one to enjoy the daytime, even as a young child, nocturnal living is very appealing. This circumstance fed right into my vampirism. Try following you favorite group when they keep musicians hours with a six hour time difference. Living on two hours of sleep a day for weeks at a time can be dangerous, not necessarily for me, but for others. Lack of sleep sharpens my tongue and turns off the filter from my brain to my mouth. I have a tendency to say what is on my mind regardless of the subject or object. There are many positive things that I have gained from falling in love, which outweigh any negative consequences.
What is utterly mind-blowing are the people I have met from all over the world. Close to home we have Jackie, Marie, Kelly, Lavina, Caroline, Charlene, Ellen, Donna, Judy, Mary, Claire, Joanie, Beverly, Janis, and a whole posse from Miami. There are countless others, too numerous to name. But I still need to acknowledge the International contingent of Athena, Suzana, Hazel and many others from Spain, Brazil, Philippines, England and Latin American countries. Whew! So many wonderful, loving, and passionate people. Doesn’t matter the time of day or night, someone is available to lend an ear or share memories. Two of my newest Twitter buddies are recording artists and musicians Iliana and Paul Eastham. Three young Italian singers have enriched and opened my world in ways that just amaze me.
Can any three people be more different but still live, work, and sing in such harmony? Piero, Gianluca, and Ignazio often use the phrase, “Three voices, One soul” to describe themselves. Young bodies of 18, 19, and 20 years old, but old beautiful, compassionate souls. It is often difficult to describe the trio and an infinitely more eye-opening experience to see and hear them for yourself.
Aren’t they just adorable? I have so much more to say, but have decided this will be Part 1-A Short Introduction to The Power, The Passion, and The Joy. How many more to follow is anyone’s guess.
***
Thank you Lisa, for allowing us to experience this lovely, intimate narrative.
Come in and share the love of life, friends and Il Volo!
