Archive for 2007
signed, sealed, delivered: happy father’s day!
I’m reaching back quite a few years here, but remember when Cabbage Patch Kids first came out? To put it mildly, they were hard to find as well as ridiculously expensive for the average consumer (the category in which my family could be placed).
I had never had a doll collection, but oh how I longed for a Cabbage Patch. The dimples, the belly buttons, the signature on the bum?
Come on! How could you resist?
I did eventually get my fair share of these little ones once demand and prices dropped—my official Kids were named Alden Hermann, Dyann Sabrina, and the preemie, Yeti Kira (why, oh why do I remember these names?), but before them, there was Patty.
Yeah, just “Patty” so that should tell you right there that she didn’t have the seal of approval from BabyLand General. Her face shape, red hair, green eyes, and dimples actually made her look pretty close to the real thing (a “real” Patty twin above), but then there was the small matter of her digits. Patty didn’t have individual toes and fingers as my grandmother had just sewn her limbs into kind of pointy tips, but I didn’t care. Mam Mam also made all of Patty’s clothes for a while, so it was kind of an overall look we were going for obviously.
But you know what Patty did have? Adoption papers. Oh yes, just like her Patch brother and sisters, Patty had very official looking documents listing our names, address, the date, her footprints, and even witnesses.
This was all my dad’s idea. He was a Notary Public at the time, so he was used to all the stamping and witnessing. I’m not sure why he would’ve known that real Cabbage Patch Kids had adoption papers, but this was a huge hit with my 7-year-old self.
I remember waiting impatiently for him to peck out the required information on the old typewriter—this was even before my dad got his first Apple—and then as we signed form after form, and finally as he put the official seal on everything.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
And Patty was mine.
I didn’t truly appreciate the effort at the time, but looking back, what a thoughtful, creative, fun, and special thing to do. That little taste of bureaucracy made me feel like a real mommy, a real caretaker, a real person, and most importantly, loved and important.
I can only hope that if/when I’m a parent, I can remember to do those small things too, to every now and again experience life from a child’s viewpoint and figure out what will make him/her feel important and loved; maybe it doesn’t seem so in the moment, but memories are made among the small things.
So, Dad, thank you for the small things as well as the big things, and
Happy Father’s Day to you and all daddies everywhere!*
Ah, and to avoid having a Father’s Day post have only
a photo of a Cabbage Patch doll, cute as she is…
how ‘bout them Blue Devils?
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[tags]cabbage patch kids, father’s day, fathers, dads, corvettes, blue devils, notary publics[/tags]
Postcards from Lamezia Terme
One of my work-related adventures was a trip to Lamezia Terme, about an hour and fifteen minutes from me. It’s the home of the main Calabria airport, but other than quick stops on my way in and out, I hadn’t seen much of Lamezia, as we affectionately call it, until last week.
Lamezia has a peculiar history in that it’s formed by a group of separate villages: Nicastro, Sambiase, and Sant’Eufemia. Each has retained its own heritage, of course, and I found myself in Nicastro last week.
Lucky for me I was joined by a fellow American who lives in Lamezia (Nicastro) as well as in the nearby mountain town Serrastretta, where her father grew up. Rabbi Barbara Aiello, Italy’s first woman rabbi, is the founder and director of Italian Jewish Cultural Center of Calabria (IjCCC). She made for an excellent tour guide and filled me in on a lot of local history.
The study of Jewish culture in southern Italy may seem strange to some, but as the Center’s website states: “[i]t has been estimated that prior to the Inquisition, at least forty per cent of the combined population of Calabria and Sicily was Jewish.” The presence of Judaism was evident throughout the Jewish quarter where we walked, as you’ll soon see.
If you’re interested in learning more about connecting with your own Jewish roots in Calabria, contact Rabbi Barbara as she runs tours, helps with genealogy searches, and more!
Care to join me on a little virtual tour?
Come on in!
In addition to Judaism, Roman Catholicism was also in the air as I happened to arrive in Lamezia on the day before a big celebration for Sant’Antonio, whose feast day is June 13th–also my brother’s birthday (Happy Belated!).
This is one of the many tributes to Sant’Antonio that I saw.
When I mentioned that I had never seen such a display for any saint like this back in my village, Rabbi Barbara wondered out loud whether there wasn’t some connection to Jewish tradition, the lights corresponding to the lighting of the menorah.
Now we’ll move from the small to the grand. Below is the the Duomo of Saints Peter and Paul. This diocese produced two Popes, Papa Innocenzo IX and Papa Marcello II, who are on either side of the facade; Saints Peter and Paul are below. Excuse, please, that the Duomo is partially obscured by the festive lights strung across the road.
This is a small shrine we stumbled upon. Out of curiosity, does anyone know the symbolism of the the objects on either side of the cross on top? They remind me of artichokes, and I’ve seen them elsewhere (Cherrye, you remember the big ones in Catanzaro Lido?). Just wondering what they mean.
And now for other shots of Nicastro and the festivities.
Here are some boys kicking around a soccer ball (and looking at me suspiciously) in “Il Timpone,” the Jewish quarter of Nicastro, described on the sign as being an industrious Jewish community from the 13th to the 16th century.
An interesting facade, perhaps in the Trompe-l’œil style?
Sorry, don’t know much about this sort of thing but it sure is pretty, no?
A sign advertising a vintage clothing shop!
Who knew there was one in Calabria? Unfortunately it was closed, so I can neither confirm nor deny its existence (but again, pretty, no?).
I just love that they sell coconuts this way at these festivals. So tasty and refreshing as you meander along. P loves coconuts too, and since he wasn’t with me, I persuaded one of the vendors to sell me whole coconuts to take home. I won *big points* with P here.
Of course I can’t leave out the kitties.
Or the funnies.
Your jealousy. My wealth.
Is that kind of like “My other car is a Mercedes?”
Girls in t-shirts are only 15 euros around here, folks.
That *is* a summer deal.
Yeah, I’m kinda tired after all that too.
Sending you limoncello wishes and peperoncini dreams from Calabria,
Sognatrice, a.k.a.
tapping my foot and smiling
Back from a crazy few days to find that I’ve been double-tagged (first by Emma of How to Italy and then by Laura of l’italia.nell.anima) to share a song that makes my heart sing.
What a great thing to think about on a gorgeous, sunny Friday in June, so here we are.
This idea was started by Hilda Carroll over at Living Out Loud, and these are the rules:
1. Post about the one song that makes your heart sing, and uplifts your spirit every time you hear it. If you can provide a link to lyrics and/or audio that would be fabulous. But it’s not essential, so don’t worry about it if you can’t.
2. Include a trackback to this post.
3. Tag three others and ask them to include a trackback to your post and this one when they post.
OK, limiting this to one song proved to be a little like trying to choose my favorite snack food (gah! they all have their good points!), but I wanted to play by the rules for once. Mostly. I’ve nailed it down to just one feel good song and five honorable mentions:
Instant Karma’s gonna get you,
Gonna knock you right on the head,
You better get yourself together,
Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead,
What in the world you thinking of,
Laughing in the face of love,
What on earth you tryin’ to do,
It’s up to you, yeah you.Instant Karma’s gonna get you,
Gonna look you right in the face,
Better get yourself together darlin’,
Join the human race,
How in the world you gonna see,
Laughin’ at fools like me,
Who on earth d’you think you are,
A super star,
Well, right you are.
Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Well we all shine on,
Ev’ryone come on.
Instant Karma’s gonna get you,
Gonna knock you off your feet,
Better recognize your brothers,
Ev’ryone you meet,
Why in the world are we here,
Surely not to live in pain and fear,
Why on earth are you there,
When you’re ev’rywhere,
Come and get your share.
Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Yeah we all shine on,
Come on and on and on on on,
Yeah yeah, alright, uh huh, ah-.
(repeat)
Honorable Mentions:
1. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg, The Temptations
2. Walking on Sunshine, Katrina and the Waves
3. Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pat Benatar (Benatar isn’t in Blogger’s spell checker? Oh the humanity!)
4. I’m Still Standing, Elton John
5. Pink Houses, John Mellencamp
Also, please see my Seven Songs Say So Much post for more of my favorites, and don’t hate me if you can’t get one of these out of your head. I recommend just going with it and walking around like it’s the soundtrack of your life for today. I think I’m paraphrasing this idea from Ally McBeal, but be kind and don’t ruin my day by confirming that if you know it to be true.
I don’t often tag others, but this time I’m going to (kind of) because I think that the more happy songs we compile, the better off we’ll all be. But I’m not going to pick and choose from my sidebar because I think everyone should give this a go (non-bloggers included!), so if you’re reading this, you’re it!
Come on–just one song that when you hear, you can’t help but smiling. Spill it!
If you do this on your blog, please link to me and also to Hilda at Living Out Loud, so we can keep track of all the toe-tapping tunes. If not, just leave a comment and we’ll all share the good vibes.
Happy listening and buon weekend a tutti!
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[tags]music, happy songs, john lennon, instant karma[/tags]
seashells *and* ponies!
Good news and bad news.
Bad news first, OK?
I won’t be around for a few days because of various work commitments, so you probably won’t hear from me again until Friday or so (most likely no What’s Cooking Wednesday, sniff sniff).
Just didn’t want anyone to worry about me or my Internet connection, so there you have it.
Now the good news:
As I type this, the cuffs of my capri-length jeans are still damp from the waters of the Ionian Sea (although I have changed out of them) and bits of sand are sprinkled throughout my house.
Let’s start in the early morning.
This morning I was walking Luna when I stopped to take this photo of a pretty tree in the piazza:
Check out the (untouched) color of the sky. I just knew it would be a good day.
Also, you can’t see them very well, but there are some fallen petals on the sidewalk; obviously I got there before the rubbish collector did, otherwise they’d have been swept up.
While I was snapping, P’s sister-in-law came over to me. We chatted for a few minutes–P is currently painting her house–and when I mentioned I had to go down to the Marina (part of the village on the coast, 5 km away), she offered me a ride as she was headed there.
This was an hour before I was planning to leave on the bus, so I took Luna home and packed up everything I’d need for my errands, which included the bank (ATM), bakery, grocery store, market, and beach if there was time (not an errand, but a thought).
But soon the whole plan changed.
As I was finishing up at the ATM machine, I got a call from one of my employers telling me that I could go pick up my paycheck (my first from them–only two months late!) at a bank in another town. So I hurried up with my errands in the Marina and caught the bus to the other town.
When I arrived at the bank, I couldn’t believe it–only five people in line! Oh. Just one teller.
And there’s the rub.
So I waited an hour and a half for a transaction that took literally two minutes. By then, I had missed the next bus back to my village, although I was blessed with the amusing sight of a woman being refused entry into the bank.
[For those who don’t know, in order to enter a bank here, you have to press a button for a little Star Trek-like glass pod to open. You step in and the Controller of the Pod (we’ll call this person “COP”) says yea or nay via a button that opens the other side of the pod leading into the bank.]
This poor woman, probably in her 30s, long black hair pulled back in a pony, stepped in and out of the pod at least five times with no luck. I think she finally went and put her purse in her car because she eventually convinced the COP (with no havoc ensuing, thank goodness).
Anyway, by the time I finally got another bus to the Marina (I’d then need a separate bus, passing through the Marina an hour later, to get up to my village), it was noon and I was starving. So I did what any self-respecting non-Italian would do at mezzogiorno–I got a panino and a peach iced tea and headed for the beach.
Of course at that hour, the seaside was all mine as all the real Italians were home for lunch most likely featuring pasta and not simply prosciutto and provola like I was about to have.
But before I got to the sand and surf, I was greeted by ponies (and a horse and a donkey)!
Circus is in town, you see. Not as funny (and useful!) as these ponies, but that first one really has something to brag about if you ask me.
Soon I got comfy with my lunch.
As this was yet another unplanned beach excursion, I didn’t have any of the usual supplies. I had to make do with a scarf, which I always have in my bag, and rolled up capri pants. In the past couple months, I’ve come to realize that I actually don’t dislike going to the beach as I always thought I had–what I hate is the preparation, the making sure I have absolutely everything I might need.
A trip to the sea is quite enjoyable, I’ve found, when you simply show up.
When my belly was full, I walked along the beach snapping some more photos.
Did I mention that our water is clean, clean, clean?
And then it was time to go.
But not before I grabbed some free souvenirs so that I can always remember those gorgeous few hours.
Ah, and then it got even better!
When I arrived home, a copy of Eat, Pray, Love was waiting for me–my prize for winning Shelley’s (At Home in Rome) La Mia Italia post contest with Conquering Evil (One Plastic Red Horn at a Time)!
Hope everyone’s week is as lovely as my Monday has been!
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[tags]sea, ionian sea, calabria, badolato, ponies, horses, donkeys, circus, seashells, shells, beach, sand, southern italy, italy[/tags]
Sunday Scribbligs: Ode to the Peperoncino
Prompt #63: Spicy
Spicy means one thing here in the toe of Italy’s boot, and that’s the beloved peperoncino, literally “little pepper” in Italian. Yes, Calabrian peppers aka Calabrian chiles.
What is a Calabrian pepper?
It’s the chile pepper, the heat, the heart of Calabrian cuisine, and a group of them are thrown on the table with just about every meal.
To say that dedication to the peperoncino borders on obsession is not an exaggeration; I know men who carry peperoncini in their pockets to restaurants in case the provided Calabria peppers aren’t appropriately piccanti.
No joke amici. Don’t mess with the pep’.
Here in my house, we have a steady supply of fresh peperoncini through the summer from our own plants, but for when they’re out of season, it’s also popular to keep them under oil:
Yum!
Although we all love hot peppers down here, there’s one particular village in Calabria closely associated with the pods that pack a punch: Diamante, in the province of Cosenza, home of the annual Festival del Peperoncino held by the Accademia Italiana del Peperoncino.
I’ve never been (fellow blogger Judy has and there’s another great report here), but apparently everyone in Diamante gets involved with peperoncino-inspired jewelry being a big seller (good to keep away the malocchio you know).
Admission is free, and you can visit over 100 stands set up along the gorgeous lungomare along the Tyrrhennian Sea. Foods range from a cornetto al peperoncino (pastry filled with a peppery cream) to tartufo piccante (ice cream with bits of peperoncini), and there’s even a pepper eating contest, “Campionato italiano mangiatori di peperoncini,” for the competitive types.
Back here at the home office, you’ll see peperoncino in many of my What’s Cooking Wednesday recipes, but even if you don’t like spicy food, here’s a tip: just a little bit of the stuff brings out the flavor of just about anything without adding heat.
Don’t be afraid!
Also, if your mouth is burning from too much hotness, eat a piece of bread or something dairy-like instead of reaching for water. The heat in hot peppers is really an oil; water moves around the burning sensation but it doesn’t counteract it.
If you’ll be dealing with a large number of peppers, use disposable gloves. The oils of the peppers are very good at working their way into your pores and can be quite difficult to just wash away–bleach and water, salted water, or toothpaste, believe it or not, are your best bets.
Please be especially careful if you wear contact lenses.
Trust me. I’ve learned this the hard way.
Any more questions? Fire away! Ha!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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