Archive for the ‘P’ Category
love thursday: bringing home the bacon
You know that saying about bringing home the bacon*?
Well, in Calabria that often happens quite literally.
Here is my amore holding the leg of a certain swine, parts of which were later marinated in red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and rosemary, and then grilled. Yum!
Who could ask for more in a man?
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
Note that Love Thursday is now back at its original Chookooloonks home. Yay!
P.S. The history of this phrase from About.com Guide to Home Cooking: “In the twelfth century, a church in the English town of Dunmow promised a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before the congregation and God that he had not quarreled with his wife for a year and a day. A husband who could bring home the bacon was held in high esteem by the community for his forebearance.”
Whatever You Do, Don’t Eat the Free Figs
The other day I came home and found this on my doorstep:
When P came home, I told him, but we still didn’t know the identity of our Fig Fairy even though I had asked around the neighbors.
P told me: “Don’t eat the figs!”
Because, um, we live in medieval times in which our nemici might foil our dastardly plans with tainted figs left outside our house? Please.
Needless to say, I ignored him and ate three of them later that evening.
And then was awake most of the night with a stomachache. Gah!
I pretended like I had no idea what I could’ve eaten to cause the discomfort as I certainly couldn’t tell P I ate the figs.
Thankfully, the pain passed and the next morning, before I discarded the figs, I ran into a woman who owned up to being our Fig Fairy. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as she’s certainly one of the nicest signore around–yet another one of my nonne in the village.
And only then did I tell P the full tale of the figs, which he, of course, found hilarious.
I’m thinking I’ll just listen to him next time — just in case.
More Answers: On Going Home Again
This past weekend, along with Cherrye of My Bella Vita, I had the pleasure of meeting Leanne of From Australia to Italy and her (Calabrian) Bel Ragazzo (left). . . and I’m sorry to report that we took precisely *no* photos!
I don’t know how it happened either, but one of us definitely should have pulled out the macchina fotografica to record the expressions on our faces when our waiter told us that not only was there no pizza for lunch, there was no *anything* besides fettucine with eggplant. *After* we had looked at the menu for fifteen minutes.
Always an adventure in Calabria!
Anyway, in honor of our visit, I’m answering Leanne’s questions today:
(1) I don’t think you have ever been back to the US since the move to Italy. Do you hope to take P in the future so he can see your country and your ‘old’ home?
(2) Are you trying to teach or do you want to try and teach P English?
Last things first, as for teaching P English, he really has very little interest, although when my mom was here he did try a bit. I’m pretty sure he’s all set on the morning *and* evening greetings now, so he’s got that going for him, which is nice.
Honestly though? I actually kind of like that he doesn’t speak English since I can talk freely on the phone with English speakers, i.e., rant and complain about him, his family, etc.—although he does always seem know when I’m talking about him, so I think he understands more than he lets on.
Now, on the first question, I actually *have* been back to the States once since moving here; after I was here for six months, I was back in the US for three months. I do hope that P would eventually get to see the US, but most importantly, where I grew up, places I used to hang out and, of course, get to meet my family and friends!
I would *love* to take him for a walk around my town (all two streets of it) and point out things like:
“Here is the bar where I used to get Swedish Fish for a penny a piece on Sundays even though by law it shouldn’t have been open; the lights and television were always on super low and the neon beer signs outside weren’t lit to make it seem like it was closed if you were just walking by.”
And…
“This is where I watched my brother hit homeruns in Little League and was even a cheerleader for a couple years when I was six, seven years old; I probably still have that green and gold uniform with the big A on the front of the shirt somewhere. This is also the field where we played tackle football in the winter in the snow.”
And…
“Right there, there used to be an old, rickety, wooden house that creaked and swayed in the wind. On Tuesday evenings, the fire company used it for practice, but on other summer nights, my cousin and I used to sit on the merry-go-round at the adjacent playground and watch the house for hours, absolutely sure that we saw something moving in the sheer curtains in the upstairs window.”
And…
“This is where we used to go to pick berries and look for arrowheads and rocks, especially quartz, and swim in big ole stripmining holes that are now filled with the most gorgeous blue water. Yes it’s quite dangerous, but it’s like an initiation rite for a Coal Region kid.”
*Le sigh*
Yes, Leanne, I would *love* to have that opportunity. Absolutely.
What would you include on a tour of your hometown(s)?
love thursday: afternoon in the giardino
You don’t have to take me on a trip around the world to make me happy; an afternoon in the garden with my P and my pooches will do just fine thankyouverymuch.
You’ve seen the girls playing in the greenery, and well they weren’t the only ones to enjoy the day. P was, for the most part, working, but I was busy snapping photos.
Some of my sexy worker bee, here with some sort of ghost hovering:
Admiring his work:
Taking a rest:
Giving Luna petties:
And then he begged me to stop:
But not before I got one of the two of us (minus some of his head–oops!):
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
I wish you many carefree afternoons with your loved ones.
P.S. I suppose the secret is out by now that I really don’t wear makeup all that often. Hope you’re not offended. Although it’s a bit catty and not at all in the Love Thursday spirit to point you to photos of celebrities without makeup, I’m doing it anyway: Caught without makeup. Enjoy!
going to the dogs
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!
I sure did. I took off Friday as well and played all weekend long–with P, with the pooches, with the blog (notice the slightly different look? Feedreader peeps come on over!) and with some social networking sites. Ooh and I also read lots of Paulo Coelho. Love him!
Anyway, last week I asked you to ask me some questions, and once again, you’ve come up with some great ones, particularly about my feelings about settling here. I’m working on the answers to those too, but today I’m addressing the question of Jen of a2eatwrite:
What do your DOGS like best about living in Italy?
For those who don’t know Luna and Stella, you might want to check out their memes. Yes, my dogs do memes:
Now the girls have talked it over, and they’ve decided that the best part of living in Italy is definitely hanging out with their Papà in the garden. What’s that? You want photographic evidence?
The girls love the open space in the garden where they can play:
And dig:
And chase things:
And drink from the hose, sort of (they’re afraid of it on its own):
And generally nose around the place:
But sometimes they just like to sit and look pretty:
And finally, after a hard afternoon’s play, it’s time to rest:
And just hang out with Papà.
See lots more photos of my babies in my Luna & Stella Flickr set!
So animal caretakers,
what do your little one(s) like best about where they live?
And how did you enjoy the weekend?
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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