love thursday: spreading the love
I usually share one, two, maybe three photos of love on Thursdays, but this week, I want to share 20 gorgeous hearts that I found on Flickr for 20 times the love:
1. August 6th 2008 – Leave a Little Room In Your Heart, 2. Heart, 3. String of hearts, 4. Latte HeArt, 5. Heart-shaped clouds, 6. A green heart for you !! have a sweet and nice weekend., 7. heart-on-a-stick, 8. Peanut Butter Cup Heart, 9. hearts, 10. Heart potato, 11. Strawberry Heart, 12. under my umbrella, 13. Have a Heart…, 14. Sam’s back heart, 15. My Gypsy Heart, 16. Eat your heart out, 17. Nature’s Heart., 18. heart & moon Taipei 101 (ii), 19. M&M Heart, 20. Tangled Heart <3
Why not spread the love and visit some of these fab photographers?
Me, I’m partial to that peanut butter cup. YUMMY LOVE!
What’s your favorite heart?
Here’s wishing you a love-filled Love Thursday!
Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty
Last year we talked about the environment, and this year the topic is poverty.
If you haven’t signed up to join Blog Action Day 2008 yet, there’s still time so long as it’s still 15 October where you are. Go here, sign up, and get writing!
Alternately, you can simply promote the event or even donate your day’s earnings to microfinance a loan through a fabulous organization like Kiva, which I’ve told you about before, or to a charity like CARE, which I’ve recently become a part of.
CARE was founded in America after World War II to provide relief for survivors in Europe; since then it has evolved into one of the leading humanitarian organizations fighting global poverty. Here is some more information on the organization from CARE’s website:
We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.
I have signed up as an online volunteer with CARE to help fight global poverty and to ask my friends and family to get involved–by donating, by sending emails to government leaders, and by making their voices heard regarding issues like action in Darfur, world hunger, violence against women, and more.
Need more inspiration to take a stand on poverty today?
Pasta al Forno con Melanzane – Baked Pasta with Eggplant
One of my favorite ways to enjoy eggplant — baked with pasta in the oven.
Read on...Autumn in Southern Italy Means Pomegranates
Do you like pomegranates?
Do you remember the first time you struggled with the intricate webbing and seeds?
The first time the juice ran all over the place, staining everything in its path–the tablecloth, your chin, your fingers?
I don’t remember it either, but luckily every October brings another chance for me to relive it.
No matter how many pomegranates I’ve eaten, the first one of the season always takes me back to being a child, just trying to figure out how to eat the thing without making a huge mess in the process.
I still haven’t mastered it, but that’s OK. It sure is fun trying.
Please share your pomegranate tales (and recipes)!
Buon weekend!
love thursday: hearts in the hex
I’ve mentioned before that my mom is Pennsylvania Dutch, which means that she is a descendant of Germans (Deutsch) who settled in Pennsylvania centuries ago. Some people confuse the Pennsylvania Dutch with the Amish, which is understandable as many Amish are also Pennsylvania Dutch–however, most Pennsylvania Dutch are and were Protestant in one form or another, usually Lutheran or Reformed.
My mom’s Pennsylvania Dutch heritage comes through in some of her fabulous recipes from sauerkraut to breaded veal cutlets, but from an artistic standpoint, the Pennsylvania Dutch are widely known for their folk art design, especially as it appears in “hex signs“ like the one on the left, which my mom sent me for my house in Italy.
One of the things I love best about Pennsylvania Dutch art is the use of symbolism–especially the heart, which of course represents love. The “double distlefink” (two birds) offers a double dose of good fortune, the tulip represents faith, and the red rosette protects from harm.
Quite ironically, my Italian grandmother always had a tea towel hanging from the oven door that was Pennsylvania Dutch in design. As far as I know, my mother hadn’t given it to her. When my grandmother asked me what I wanted of hers once she was gone, one of the few things I asked for was that towel. To me, it was the centerpiece of her kitchen–our family’s room of love.
And yes, it’s in Italy with me, and that’s it up there on the right: lovingly used and therefore faded, but anchored by hearts in each corner.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
