Each winter my mother and I sported a light coat of flour from December first to the 25th. My mom flew into a baking frenzy and I was recruited to grease pans, sprinkle sugar on hot fried twists of lemony dough, and run up and down between our upstairs and downstairs kitchens like lightning for whatever mom needed because she always said, “Honey, you gatta da fresh a…
I try to be deep, honest I do. I do my best to read classics and ponder life because I aspire to write deep, philosophical blogs. In fact, I’m currently reading Dante’s Inferno — who knew hell could be so icky? But because of the ADHD I keep denying I have, my brain prefers to escape the circles of hell and fixate on something I enjoy more, like…
Today’s election day, and you’re going to need a distraction. I’ve got a little story about my mom and a good, easy, Italian, comfort food recipe because we’ll all need some comforting today, and probably for a while. But be sure you vote. Too many people have risked and lost their lives for freedom in this country for you not to vote. Now back to the distraction. I…
I have been torturing myself with Duolingo lately. It’s a website where you can learn another language. For the past 40 years I have been trying (clearly not hard) to learn Italian. This week possession has been making me miserable because I can’t tell the difference between him and her. I’m learning handy phrases like: “Il gatto beve il suo latte,” which means the cat drinks his/or her…
My daughter’s been away, housesitting for the past few weeks and I’m getting a taste of what it’s going to feel like in this very empty nest. It will finally be clean, and very quiet. It really forces you to take a look at your life, think about what you’ve done, where you’re going and whether you want company for the rest of the ride. It brought a…
My Aunt Blanche just turned 90. She’s outlived everyone in her immediate family, including her parents, which is amazing because she was the one with the most health problems. She is mostly blind, mostly deaf, suffers from asthma and sinus troubles, yet still motors on like the energizer bunny – some days. Some days are not so great. But, from what I hear that’s what life can be…
Last week my sister-in-law flew me back to Pennsylvania to celebrate my brother Bob’s birthday. (I am lucky beyond belief to be part of this family.) I do have a photo of Bob in a pointy birthday hat, but I’m not posting it because I’m fairly certain he will hunt me down and kill me if I do. But, I’m keeping it in case blackmail is ever necessary.…
I never told you this in a blog post, but last year, I was lucky enough to be one of the Voices of the Year honorees for BlogHer15. It was a big honor for me and I’m hoping I’ll be nominated again this year, but I could use your help.…
I think a 93-year-old is inhabiting my nephew Patrick’s body. He sings Italian songs to his newborn son, plays Italian folksongs on his phone, makes homemade pasta, and goes out of his way to stay in touch with relatives, both here and in Italy, because he values family more than anything. Call me crazy, but this doesn’t seem like a typical 36-year-old.…
I’ve been fishing this week. Figuratively and literally, and here’s what I know. I don’t like fishing, but I do like fish and that pretty much sums up my life right now. I finally went to another, less expensive dating website called Plenty of Fish, put pictures up, and coughed up the 38 bucks for two months of torment. (I know, I know, that’s not a good attitude.)…