Instagram story viewer> @caroltesta75> Post

Carol Hartmann Testa

@caroltesta75

a year ago

Posted On: June 15th 2025, 01:51 am

Happy Father’s Day to our Dad and all other heavenly and earthly Dads. Your love and guidance will always be with us Daddy. We may not have you here with us but we carry your memory in my heart every day. We will always remember your sparking, gorgeous blue eyes and your amazing smile. Best father and Pop Pop ever. Thank you for giving us a beautiful life. I know Hank is up there with you & Mommy making you laugh. Til we meet again. Love you, Daddy’s girls Carolyn & Lucille. 💞💞

Comments (3)

a year ago

junec5145

He was a wonderful man and left us all too soon. 💕

a year ago

lucillededeo

Thank you sis for this precious post! He left us with a legacy of love that is always a part of us! Blessed to be his children! Happy Heavenly Father’s Day to our Dad💞🙏

a year ago

caroltesta75

My interest in Josefa de Óbidos, a Spanish-Portuguese 17th century painter, was the jumping-off point for my collaboration with @chelseafussflowers in her recent floral retreat in Lisbon (the retreat was called “Art, Flowers, & Gardens of Lisbon”, a title I find very evocative!).

Chelsea always wants her guests to be immersed in Portuguese culture and heritage and she and I worked together to translate Josefa’s legacy into different floral experiences for her guests.

On my first morning of teaching we headed out to Évora to see a few of Josefa’s paintings at the @museunfreimanueldocenaculo. We chose Évora because Lisbon’s old masters museum, the @mnaa_lisboa, is undergoing renovations and has been closed for a year, and Évora is both a short drive from Lisbon and an amazing city in its own right.

I started by giving them a little talk about Josefa’s background and career and then I went on explaining each of the paintings on display. We talked about the omnipresence of religion in Baroque society, the growing importance of sugar, the seasonality of sweets and the symbolism of flowers. As in 17th century poetry, paintings were filled with metaphors and fauna and flora were often associated with Christian meaning. We identified each flower and talked about what it could have meant to 17th century viewers.

In order to make this session a bit more interactive and three-dimensional, I brought along some of my paper flowers, specifically the ones I made following Josefa’s very rigorous and accurate depictions. Most of them are native to Portugal, which makes it even more interesting in terms of general knowledge and conservation.

After the visit to the museum we went to @ximenamaier’s home, where we were treated to an excellent lunch, animated conversation, a talk on the history of tiles and a tile painting workshop.

I’ve written more about the whole experience on my substack, the link is in my bio.

A little cloudy here in Crete today, but that’s no excuse to stay indoors! ☁️🚴‍♀️ The sun might be hiding, but the adventure is still calling! 😍 Time to slip into my cycling kit, get my bike ready and head out to explore more of this beautiful island. Who needs perfect weather when you’ve got stunning roads, mountain views and endless places to discover? Let’s get ready and ride! 💕⛰️

Maisie really surprised me with the last two 😻

IB: @ringodanyan

#cats #catsofinstagram #catsofig #reels #reelsinstagram

So much for an early night…🤭

@xrosievalentine88 @xrosievalentinee

Carol Hartmann Testa

@caroltesta75

junec5145

lucillededeo

caroltesta75

More posts