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Valentine’s Day
As a small child, I loved making valentines. We were given paper lace doilies, construction paper and glue. We made the very most beautiful valentines that we could, intricate and pleasingly bright. Lucky for me, I had parents, because they were really the only appreciative recipients of my childhood valentines. But this one is for…
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Autumn Crows
During this time of year, a bike ride can be a kaleidoscope of incredibly beautiful visions. Even though this Autumn did not have the fire and brilliance of the last, there are places where the colors fill the eyes with glowing embers. On the bike, these visual delights force you to slow down just to…
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La Toscana
On our drive back to Podenzano from Napoli, Elena and Enzo decided to take me to two towns in Tuscany; Montalcino and Siena. Montalcino is famous for their wine, particularly for their Brunello. Being a teetotaler myself, I had never heard of Brunello, but I looked forward to Elena and Enzo trying the degustazione (or…
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Le Castagne – Chestnuts
In Calabria, once upon a time before there were tomatoes (there was a time like this!) and before there was inexpensive pasta, people subsisted on Chestnuts – there was little else so readily available to stave off starvation in the wintertime. They boiled them with other vegetables, they dried them and ground them up for…
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Cornish, Maine – plein aire
My husband and I went to Maine last week to attend the Boothby family’s 100th reunion. We stayed in Cornish, Maine, a tiny township in what they call southern Maine. The reunion was in the next town over, called Limington. To keep the character of Cornish Township authentic, they have some zoning laws that prevent…