Easter is a time of rebirth. A time to shed the heavy layers of winter physically, mentally and spiritually and open ourselves up to the new light and life of spring. For many around the world, Easter is celebrated for it’s religious significance – the death of Christ and his rise again on the third …
We are one week into 2022. A year we hope will return some normalcy to our pandemic-weary lives. A year we wish, hope and pray will be full of new and exciting possibilities. Finally. After last year’s frustrating and ever-changing Covid rules and regulations and so many stops and starts – do I book that …
We look at this history of Valentine’s Day and the first Valentines
What’s the first word that comes to mind when I say, ‘Italy’? Food of course. Italian cuisine is one of the most popular in the world. And with good reason. From pasta to pizza to cheese, prosciutto, and cannoli, every region of Italy offers up its own unique specialties. And they are all mouth-wateringly delicious. …
The Countdown I hear the clock ticking. All day. Given all the clocks in our house are digital, the ticking is in my head. I’m obsessed with time today. It is December 31st and there is at this moment, 12 hours and 24 minutes left of this year. Our annus horribilis – as Queen Elizabeth …
I stand at my stone kitchen sink overlooking the olive grove and oak and chestnut forest tucked deep in the ravine and see colored lights twinkling in the early winter dusk. I lean closer and raise a sudsy hand to adjust my glasses for a better look. I see them clearly now. Christmas lights. Hung …
Recovering from losing a pet. Healing so you can love another pet
freedom /ˈfriːdəm/ “the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved” Similar: liberty, liberation, release Freedom. I’ve given a lot of thought to that word in the almost 70 days of one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. In those days and months, the world changed – some say permanently – and we have changed along with …
This morning marks the beginning of week 7 of total lockdown here in Italy. We venture out for a stroll on our new land – ‘to-go’ coffee mugs in hand, a light sweater draped across my shoulders to block the cool spring air and wellingtons to guard against any unwelcome tall-grass dwellers. I stop in …
As the streets empty, business doors are bolted shut and silence descends upon the once buzzing city and town centers, all Italians – young, old, single, married, in love, indifferent – hunker down to pass the hours, days and weeks in total lockdown. We are all in limbo…our lives on hold. Caught between ‘before’ and …
