Bleeding Espresso

I love grilled food. Any kind of meat, vegetables, even fruit…grilled pineapple anyone?

P and I don’t have a *real* grill quite yet, but our little contraption works just fine, and we’ve been using the heck out of it this summer. P, of course, is the Grill Master, while I prep anything not made over the coals like salad and bread and take care of tasks such as setting the table, keeping the wine glasses filled, etc.

I love the flow of activity on grill nights as we each perform our assigned tasks separately but in perfect concert, each contributing to the finished product little by little until we finally sit down to enjoy the feast.

There’s always such a handsome reward after all that prep, and it’s made all the better when P brings the plate of ali di pollo (chicken wings) to the table and announces:

“Guarda il cuore!”

Look at the heart!

I also love when P implores me to get the camera for a Love Thursday post.

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

P.S. No, this isn’t my official O Food Contest contribution, although it could be since pollo ends in O! What are you making? Remember you have until 28 September to get those recipes in!

And this just in:

Check out the Third Annual Live Webcast on Ovarian Cancer tomorrow, 18 September at 12:30 pm EST. The webcast will be held at the Omni Parker House Hotel (60 School Street) in Boston in the Press Room. Coalition members, survivors and doctors will be answering your questions.

To view the live webcast, visit OvarianCancerAwareness.org and click under the event “Live Webcast” where it states, “click here to watch.” You will then be asked to log in with your name. The live feed will begin at 12:00 pm and the broadcast will start at 12:30 pm.

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For the uninitiated, the “Ape 50” is a three-wheeled truck made by Piaggio that you can find on just about any rural road in Italy at any time of day.

Pronounced “AH-peh,” rumor has it that it’s named as such because the sound it makes very much resembles the buzz of a bee as it winds around twists and turns carrying hay, olives, lemons, or whatever its driver needs to get from Punto A to Punto B.

“Ape,” you see, means “bee” in Italian. Incidentally, the famous Vespa scooter? “Vespa” means “wasp.” Clever, eh?

So by now you may be wondering where exactly the “Love” comes in.

Right here baby:

Meet our newest toy, The Looooove Ape 50, which just so happens to have a heart spray-painted on the front.

I didn’t choose this treasure, so obviously I’m not the only one in the house who enjoys finding hearts out and about and bringing them home.

I know it’s bit gaudy and a lot ghetto, but I’m thinking I might like to keep it on there.

What do you think (besides that you’re *so* jealous, admit it!)?

Happy Love Thursday!

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Last week, P and I celebrated four years together.

Lots of people on both sides of the Atlantic ask us about marriage and when we’ll make it “official.”

We may get around to doing that (and I’ll be sure to let you know!) but for now, we’re just fine with the way things are, so no announcements are forthcoming–not today at least. Every day is an adventure, though, so who knows what tomorrow will bring?

In any event, I refer to P as my marito (husband) in conversations with others, and he calls me his moglie (wife)–or more often, his mugliere in Badolatese. And as far as everyone is concerned, his parents are already my suocera and suocero; I also have lots of cognati e cognate (brothers- and sisters-in-law).

Also, this is what my left hand looks like each and every day:

P gave me the white gold band when we had been together for about a month or so way back in 2005, and the diamond engagement ring is just that–but it was my grandmother’s, given to her by my grandfather in the early 1940s. She gave it to me several years before she passed away, making sure that I would be the one to have it.

No, the two rings don’t remotely match, but that seems rather perfect for P and me, who are, in many ways, polar opposites. We’re alike in some important ways too, and just like P and me, the two rings meet somewhere in the middle–I love how the silverish tones shine together–and somehow just work.

And that works for us, too.

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

P.S. I have already contacted the 5 La Bella Lingua winners:

Paola of Always Italianissima

Kazbell

Peter Leonard

ann-marie

Syrahsuzie

Congratulations!

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For various reasons, P and I have been in “house limbo” for quite a while. I won’t get into details, but I just knew that things were taking a turn for the better when, a couple months ago, I noticed this hole in the pavement in front of P’s family house, the one we have been trying to get into for all this time:

Just as I suspected, the housing wheels have *finally* begun turning, and we’ve been able to work on putting in a new bathroom and kitchen (and giving the whole thing a fresh coat of paint) before we move in, which will hopefully be within the next month or so.

Right now, we’re about halfway there with the new bathroom, and after that, the kitchen, and the paint, we’ll do other work on the place little by little–as is the southern Italian way.

P.S. Carol, I hope this answers your question about the new house, remodeling, and when we’ll be in. And to Saretta and others who wanted to know, P will be doing all the painting because he is, by trade, a house painter.

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

May all your paths be paved with love.

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Yeah yeah yeah, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. As if you could escape *that* tidbit, thankyouverymuch Hallmark et al.

Am I bah humbugging the day of San Valentino?

Well, maybe just a bit.

You *know* I’m all about the love (and, by the way, if you want to know why the heart symbolizes love, go here), but the commercialization of the holiday really irks me. I’m part of a couple now, but except for the past three Valentine’s Days, I wasn’t, and I remember those other 20-some February 14ths very well.

Sure, I always made it a point to celebrate and appreciate *all* kinds of love in my life on Valentine’s Day (and I hope you do too!), but every now and again, some of the commercialism of the holiday would seep into my subconscious, and I’d just want someone to buy me chocolates dammit.

Ahem.

So I’m here to tell you what you singles can do this Valentine’s Day:

First of all, go buy your own chocolates. They really do taste just as good.

Then save up your partying for February 15th–the feast day of San Faustino.

Several years ago, a group of Italian singles decided it was time to celebrate singles–and also to address issues that adversely affect singles from paying higher taxes to difficulties adopting children.

So they chose the day after Saint Valentine’s Day, the feast day of San Faustino, to celebrate single life.

Indeed, if you happen to be in Italy, be sure to check out VitadaSingle.net for what’s happening on February 15th near you; and if you can read Italian, at SanFaustino.info, you can find books, movies, music, recipes, and more–all for singles!

As for P and me this Valentine’s Day?

We’ll be having a quiet evening at home making homemade pizza. Plenty romantic for me even though I know some onions are going to be on those pizzas….

What are your Valentine’s Day plans?

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