Archive for the ‘love thursday’ Category
Love Thursday: Flowers Dried with Love
I’ve read that it’s bad luck to have dried flowers hanging around the house because they are a symbol of death–although that idea seems to be eroding a bit, proving that even ancient Chinese philosophies can be guilty of old wives’ tales.
Maybe I’m taking a risk, but I love flowers in any form, and I don’t see any reason why you can’t still enjoy them for what they have become.
Overlooking my house’s only staircase is this wrought iron structure. I started hanging bunches of flowers on it about three years ago, although there still aren’t very many bouquets. This is because most of the flowers I receive, buy, or pick can’t be dried as they’re too fragile, but see those yellow ones? Those were my very first International Women’s Day mimosa.
And although it’d be romantic to say that the big bunch of roses in the upper right corner were from P to mark some special occasion, it’d also be a lie. P’s more of a pick-flowers-on-the-go kind of guy, which suits me just fine–I don’t do well with fresh roses as I’m slightly allergic (my mom is full allergic). Plus I’m more of a wildflowers kind of gal anyway.
The roses you see were actually found in a rubbish bin near one of this village’s thirteen churches. Only one of the churches still operates regularly, but for every church, there is at least one woman who opens it up weekly, cleans it, and puts in fresh flowers, candles, prayer cards, etc.
When I saw those roses, still mostly alive although admittedly past their prime, outside one of the smallest and best hidden churches, I marveled at how much care goes into beautifying something that only one other Being sees–that one other Being being the whole point of having the church.
And the little bouquet of red in the middle? In this village, we have many immigrants from Africa and Colombia as well as Kurds from Turkey and Iraq. Just after I arrived came Helen, a nine-year-old Ethiopian girl who had come here with all the men in her family; at that time, there were no other immigrant girls or women (although now there are, as many have rejoined their families).
Both of us hungry for some female companionship, we forged a friendship, taking walks, picking wildflowers, drawing (I keep a stash of colored pencils for children guests, well, and me), and learning Italian together–she much faster than I. One day when I answered a knock at my door, I opened to only fresh air. Then I looked down and saw a small bunch of roses lying on the doorstep. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Helen’s head popping back behind the corner.
When I was thinking of a Love Thursday post, I thought of these dried flowers and how even though some may simply think of them as dead and ready for the rubbish bin, I keep them as reminders of times past–good and bad, but mostly good.
Either way, every bunch has a story.
Only as I was taking this photo did I realize that there happens to be a big heart in the middle of the iron structure, so maybe (hopefully) even under Feng Shui principles, that counteracts the death vibes.
Yes, of course I had noticed the heart there before, but you know how sometimes things around you become so commonplace that you don’t appreciate their uniqueness anymore?
Guilty.
But I like to think I’m getting better.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
love thursday: scribblings on a seawall
Not too long ago, a friend pointed me to an article about a lamp post in Rome that has become famous for lovers attaching padlocks and then throwing the keys into the Tiber River–hoping to lock up the permanency of their relationship so to speak.
Like nearly everything, this lamp post has become a political issue, which is what is discussed in the article, but my friend spotted the piece and thought it’d make for a lovely Love Thursday.
And indeed it would.
But then a few days ago, Shelley of At Home in Rome photographed the lamp post personally, and she has shared more of the story with the blogosphere. No need to rehash here as Shelley’s got it covered, but this past weekend, I made an interesting discovery–down here in Calabria, we have our own little lovely tradition.
It’s not as visually stunning as the padlocks, and some may call it nasty graffiti, but what I see is (I’m guessing) young love poured out onto a wall that lines the promenade in Catanzaro Lido.
Cristian,
You are my life.
Thank you for existing.
Valentine’s Day
You’re not with me…
I had wanted to spend this day with you…
Patience…
I will love you forever, Giù (Giuseppe)…
Your Cate (Caterina)!!!
Live with me without fear
(song lyric by Laura Pausini)
I love you Lilly
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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[tags]love thursday, graffiti, catanzaro, catanzaro lido, seawalls, sea, ionian sea, love notes, southern italy, calabria[/tags]
Buon International Women’s Day!
To all my fellow females, Happy International Women’s Day!
Far be it from me to speculate as to why this worldwide holiday isn’t celebrated the United States, but I assure you, here in Italy, it’s a big deal.
It’s called la Festa della Donna, and it’s the day when women of all ages are honored with dinners, girls’ nights out, auguri, and, of course, flowers–in particular, the exploding-with-joy yellow mimosa, the international symbol of the day.
We have a few mimosa trees in the piazza here and normally they’re in bloom just in time for March 8, but this year’s mild winter had them full of yellow in January, and so now, sadly there are no more mimosa.
But I thought ahead so I could give all of my favorite women (you’re one if you’re reading this!) a little love for this International Women’s Day, so I snapped this photo on January 20:
Now for you fellas that are reading: you have some appreciating to do!
W le donne!
love thursday: the couple that gets water together
P’s parents have been married for nearly 50 years and have 7 children; P is the youngest. I haven’t asked how they got together, but judging from the time period, it’s possible that it was somewhat arranged, that is, at least encouraged by their respective families.
Maybe because this is a Love Thursday post, you’re waiting for a “and they’re still in love after all these years” revelation. Truth be told, I imagine they are at least in some way, but they certainly aren’t lovey dovey. In fact, they are an awfully stoic couple, not touchy feely at all–I know, you’re wondering if they’re really Italian, but this is actually quite common in the older generations down here from what I’ve seen.
They came of age during World War II, when there was never enough of anything to go around. But they made do, and they still make do. They never had a lot of material stuff, extra time to offer up for each and every child, time to just relax and have fun–they were busy working and providing the basics, which included raising nearly all of their food from start to finish.
Sometimes it’s easy for those of us who didn’t grow up in this culture to judge a particular style of parenting and/or living from the outside looking in. But when I look deeper and try to understand the “whys” along with the behavior, I see that P’s parents are, indeed, extremely loving people. Instead of giving “things,” hugs, and kisses, they are of the school that says you show your love by doing nice things for others, things that make their lives easier.
And they most certainly do a lot for us. A list would be tedious, but I did happen to catch a photo of them doing something for P and me the other day.
Getting water from a mountain spring (try to imgaine there’s no graffiti).
Not too long ago, this spring was closed because of a lack of water (no rain!), but since it’s reopened, P’s mom in particular is ecstatic. Although there’s a truck that comes around with mountain water for about 10 cents a container (you bring the empties, and the driver refills while you wait), P’s mom likes the taste of this spring water better.
I can’t say that I taste a difference, but in any event, we are never thirsty, and we are grateful.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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[tags]mountain water, love thursday, couples[/tags]
Love Thursday: Making it Pretty
Italian women love their homes.
They express this love by keeping them cleaner than some hospitals and by decorating them.
Now I don’t mean like for the holidays kind of decorating, because actually, that’s not so common at least where I am. And I’m also not saying that all the southern Italian homes I’ve been in are especially warm and homey, at least for my taste. I’ve seen quite a few stark white walls, and since many of the apartments (most Italians live in flats stacked one on top of another) double as echo chambers, an overall sterile feeling isn’t uncommon either.
That said, Italians are masters of making things pretty. We know this. So while maybe some homes lack a certain lived-in feel, it’s rare to find a bare balcony or terrace. Flowers, plants, and trees are everywhere adding splashes of color to complement the lush green hills and achingly blue sea.
Other that a simple love of nature, this, in my expat opinion, has a lot to do with the bella figura, making a good impression. I have to believe that there’s some sort of logic along the lines of “If the outside of your house is brutto, it doesn’t matter how well you clean the inside.”
I don’t know if that’s true, but it goes a long way in explaining sights like this:
This isn’t an uncommon scene here in Calabria. Unfortunately, many unfinished concrete monstrosities line the SS 106 that runs along the Ionian Coast. And man are they fugly (even when they’re completed for the most part).
But that doesn’t stop Italian women from making homes out of them from the outside in, from trying to make them pretty, from showing them some love.
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.
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