Archive for the ‘me me me’ Category
Spending Mother’s Day in Campagna
It’s not official yet, so I don’t want to *officially* announce that P and I have acquired a campagna (land in the countryside), but we did spend this afternoon up there, and I can’t possibly hold in my joy.
For La Festa della Mamma, P swept me away from all my four-legged babies and did this for me:
While I did this:
And then we both enjoyed this:
Una giornata perfetta.
(A perfect day.)
Happiest of Mother’s Days to all the moms out there, especially mine!
P.S. Yes, there are olive trees! Yay!
In the Life of an Expat…
In the life of an expat, there are inevitably moments when you’ll miss the place you came from.
Certain holidays and big events top the list, but there are also plenty of small, daily life type things that that make you remember your old life, the people who used to be in it every day, or just “home” itself.
From my experience, those memories are often sparked by smell, which is reportedly your strongest, most reliable sense when it comes to memory. Smell something from when you were five years old and bam! You’re there.
The other day I got a package from my mom full of clothes that hadn’t fit back in my suitcase when I visited a few months ago…and they smelled of her laundry detergent, of course.
*Nostalgia alert!*
The ironic part, though, is that I distinctly remember having a similar experience in America a few weeks into my trip as I sniffed my clothes from here, with *my* laundry detergent smell — enter the pang of missing my life in Italy.
Ah, all in the life of an expat.
A constant push and pull and battle of emotions, contentedness peppered with longing, and happiness churned with sadness, the realization that no matter how consistent and pleasant and wonderful you make your new life (even, for example, if I used the same laundry detergent no matter where I go), there will always be something to remind of you of the other place, the other people, the other life.
It’s quite fitting that while this is one of the hardest parts about being an expat, it’s also one of its greatest blessings.
I know I am ridiculously lucky to have (at least) two places to be nostalgic about.
Buon weekend at tutti!
For All Goat News, Subscribe to Goat Berries!
I love writing about my experiences as a goat maaa because I find myself learning something new every day, especially as we’ve gone on this goat pregnancy journey.
From your comments here, I know a lot of you love to read about our goats. On the flip side, I do realize that not everyone cares *nearly* as much about them as I do or understands my obsession, so instead of interspersing goat posts here (not as often as I’d like!), I’ve done up a new site — just for goat news from our pen and elsewhere.
Some of you already know about my new website, Goat Berries, but for the rest of you who care to read about the kids, do head on over because woooh boy, there’s some big goat news around these parts lately.
And be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a single post! You can also follow @goat_berries on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
And in other “new site” news, you can also now find me at MichelleFabio.com, my professional writing website with samples, testimonials, and more; if you know anyone who needs a writer or editor, feel free to direct them to MichelleFabio.com!
Yes, I’ve been *very* busy with CSS lately…and I’m not done yet. If you’re a Bleeding Espresso fan on Facebook, you may have noticed that my logo has changed. Or maybe you’ve noticed the new favicon in your address bar? Hmm….
Have a great week, and as always, thanks for reading!
If You Know Me Well, You Know…
Inspired by my good friend Frances:
- If you know me well, you know that I am a sucker for fuzzy creatures, I love cappuccino any time of day, and I can’t stand people with inflated egos.
- If you know me well, you know that I am a bleeding heart liberal, I love living in southern Italy, and I can’t stand watching anything with Chuck Norris or Steven Seagal (but can kinda sorta tolerate Jean Claude Van Damme if I must).
- If you know me well, you know that I am a Coal Cracker, I love reading, and I can’t stand water running down my sleeve (just writing that skeeves me out).
- If you know me well, you know that I am experiencing life with baby goats for the first time, I love finding and sharing inspiring blogs and websites, and I can’t stand cold hands and feet.
- If you know me well, you know that I am not happy unless I’m working on several projects at the same time, I love climbing into freshly washed sheets, and I can’t stand that weird feeling when a fingernail is too short.
- If you know me well you know that I am a big fan of pizza, I love (and miss) March Madness, and I can’t stand when I have to pull my laundry in just minutes after I’ve put it out because of rain.
- If you know me well, you know that I am not likely to jump out of a perfectly good plane, I love trying new foods, and I can’t stand mosquitoes.
- If you know me well, you know that I am proud to be all hopey *and* changey, I love castles, and I can’t stand whining.
P.S. All the photos here are, of course, from my trip to NYC in December, during which I met Frances for the very first time in person. Un bacione Francesca!
I would love to read your take on this prompt, so please post yours in the comments or on your own blog/FB/Twitter and let me know!
Buon weekend!
Goat Zen in the Goat Pen
After compiling my part of the World Nutella Day round up and finishing some work assignments early in the week, I decided to enjoy the sunshine this afternoon and spend some time with my girls (of the caprine persuasion).
I never would have imagined how calming and reassuring just being in the presence of these goats can be. It’s really hard to be worried or stressed about anything when these sweet faces are looking back at you.
*
Right now I’m reading Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese by Brad Kessler (recommended by a reader and native of Calabria, just down the road from me; grazie mille Anthony!).
Kessler describes the connection with nature, history, and yourself that raising goats provides, noting that throughout time, goats have been the subjects of many legends and stories, always “helping humans or leading them to unexpected places.”
“If you follow living beings assiduously in the field, or through the lens of a microscope,” writes Kessler, “they lead you to an understanding of their lives, and all life. They usher you into a kind of Eden.”
*
Margherita and Carmelina usually don’t care *too* much if I’m in there with them–they often come to say hello and then just go back to eating, unless they’re not hungry, in which case they’ll stay for petties for a few minutes.
But my Pasqualina, who you might remember, I bottlefed, rarely leaves my side when I’m in the pen, even when I’m clearly disturbing her nap time.
There’s just nothing like goat zen in the goat pen.
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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