Archive for the ‘P’ Category
Snow in Calabria!
“Amò! Guarda la neve!”
“Honey! Look at the snow!”
P opened the balcony shutters this morning and found that it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas–we got snooooooooow!
Don’t you just love how at the bottom, the land around the olive trees is all green but then by the time your eyes reach the sky, everything turns all white?
Oh that Mother Nature . . . .
So, yes, it’s just a dusting, but it’s actually visible from my house; usually you have have to go farther up into the mountains before you hit the white stuff.
A lot of people don’t know this, but there’s actually some great skiing in Calabria (they tell me; I’m not a skier) in the Sila Mountains where you’ll find the Sila National Park.
And yes, I know a lot of you are having blizzard or blizzard-like conditions right now, so this may not seem exciting (by the way, I do hope you’re all safe and not throwing out your back shoveling), but for someone like me who despite now living in southern Italy grew up with
snow days
and school delays
and watching flakes fall in complete silence
and flapping my arms and legs to make snow angels
and sipping hot chocolate with marshmallow
while wet gloves, hats, scarves sizzle
and dry on the radiator
even a simple dusting can make my entire winter.
I love snow!
It’s still raining and cold cold cold, but no worries, because I have a lot of this in store today (much like yesterday):
But I won’t be lonely. Besides the pooches and remaining pups, I’ll have P around as he’s been enlisted to help (official nutcracker and crusher), and also this guy and his heavenly voice:
Don’t worry, I’ll also make time to take Stella’s cue and find a nice lap by the fire.
Buona domenica!
a day of celebrations
Oh December 4, how quickly you came upon me once again!
Just one year ago at this time I was fiddling with something I learned was called a template, trying desperately to link to some of the blogs that had inspired me to jump into the big bad blogosphere, and figuring out what I could possibly write about.
And here we are, one year later.
It’s Bleeding Espresso’s 1 year blogiversary!
And it’s also P’s 29th birthday!
Woohoo!
Perhaps you were expecting balloons and a fun contest, but I have even bigger plans in store to be unveiled soon. You’ll just have to keep reading. And I know where you can start.
Although a lot of bloggers don’t care much for their early posts, I’m actually going to encourage you to go back to December 2006 and have a look at what was going on around here. I remember writing those early posts every day with such excitement and enthusiasm.
Every now and again, it’s good to remind ourselves of the beginning of any experience, isn’t it? To bring us back to what it *used* to feel like, whether it was nervousness, excitement, anxiety, or just plain fun?
In the case of Bleeding Espresso, from Italian wedding soup to owls to what I miss from the United States to childhood Christmas memories to Calabrian stuffed lasagna to Paris Hilton (now you *know* you’re curious), there was a lot happening during our first month in the blogosphere, and I hope you’ll have a look.
Feel free to load up the entire month and start from the bottom. Comments always welcome!
Oh, and of course I’ve made espresso.
Cappuccino if you prefer.
What’s that? You don’t drink cappuccino either?
Hmm… well what if I told you this:
Now if that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will.
*EDITED TO ADD: As I’m getting some comments on this post, it occurred to me that I should’ve written something else:I’d really love to hear about your favorite posts, what you like to read here, what you’d like to see more of, etc. You all make this blogging adventure so fulfilling and fun, and your input is always appreciated.
And thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to read and comment!
So please let me know what you think, and if you’ve already commented and are seeing this through a feedreader, don’t be shy. Come back and tell me!
Tanti auguri Bleeding Espresso and P!
P.S. Be sure to stop by Ilva’s Lucullian Delights for today’s Dolce Italiano recipe–a cake that’s *almost* too pretty to eat, Cassata alla Siciliana–and comment for a chance to win a personalized, signed copy of Dolce Italiano by Gina DePalma. See full contest rules here.
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[tags]blog anniversaries, espresso, cappuccino[/tags]
mio amore and me
Lately I’ve gotten a few requests for photos of P from friends and family, so I figured it was time to post another. You can also see another photo of him in my post Amore Mio in case you missed it.
Now here’s the thing. I’m not very good at the holding out the camera in front of us and getting a good photo thing, so nine times out of ten P loses part of his head. And he didn’t help things this time either as he thought the photo was already taken and turned his head before the click.
But I still kind of like it anyway.
This was taken last Saturday at the Feast of Santa Caterina di Alessandria. Why yes, I do have more photos. Stay tuned!
Today I’m thankful for:
P.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
P.S. Remember to check out the posts in the Dolce Italiano Contest and comment to enter the drawing to win a personalized, signed copy of Dolce Italiano by Gina DePalma:
Mosaic Biscotti, Sara’s Ms Adventures in Italy
Chocolate Kisses, Ilva’s Lucullian Delights
Ricotta Pound Cake, Here!
Chestnut Brownies, Shelley’s At Home in Rome
And tomorrow head over to Jenn’s The Leftover Queen to see what she has baking!
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[tags]love, amore, love thursday, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
village games: part II
Back in January, I unveiled a game that P and I play called (children cover your eyes):
Loosely, and cleanly, this means “Where the heck is it?” and these are the rules:
(1) I roam the village taking random photos.
(2) P has to tell me where I’ve found them–all of them.
(3) Loser cooks dinner and cleans up afterwards.
The last time we played, I underestimated P. Greatly. Go back here to see the photos he identified without a moment’s hesitation.
Annoying, isn’t he?
So now that I’ve had a few months to prepare, I felt I was ready, and we played again last night.
Photo Number 1:
This is what we call a “false sense of security” photo. Easy as it’s rather recognizable to say the least. Plus it’s on our usual walk with the dogs, so, as expected, he got this one right away. It’s the house of a Swiss couple that visits only in the summer if you’re interested, but no, I don’t know the significance of the train.
Like I’m wont to do, I turned up the heat:
He threw out a guess (wrong) and then struggled for a few moments. I then made a strategic decision. I gave him a tiny hint–a photo of the door that’s across from it. Then it was pretty easy; this doorbell is within sight of the house he grew up in. He got it.
I gave him that clue because I felt safe, nay even a bit cocky, about the last photo that I was going to give him. Risky to be sure but I like to take chances.
Photo Number 3:
Hi sunshine!
At first there was a hint of recognition in his eyes, but that quickly turned into a squint, then a look off into the distance, and, ladies and gentlemen, I kid you not: the words “Dove cazzo è?” were uttered. Repeatedly.
I gave him clues, told him how close this is to our house (*very* close), how he doesn’t actually pass by there often (it’s the “back way” and there’s really no reason to go there ever unless you’re taking random photos for a guessing game), how it’s somewhere you wouldn’t expect (it’s outside the cantina of our 80+-year-old neighbor Anna Maria who doesn’t seem much the ceramic sunshine tile type . . .check the link for how she heats her house in the winter).
Niente. He had nothing.
HO VINTO IO!!!!!!!
That means I won, and I’m planning out my feast as I type. I’m thinking he should do Thanksgiving. What do you think?
Today I am thankful for:
My P. I’ve never been one of those girls that was always partnered off; indeed, I’ve spent most of my adolescent and adult life alone (not lonely even though in Italian it’s the same word–solo/sola!), and I’m quite good on my own. I *need* lots of alone time, in fact, and sometimes that goes over well in a relationship and sometimes it doesn’t.
So imagine my surprise when I truly enjoyed being part of a couple, and not only that, I’ve even managed to find someone who will play silly games like Dove cazzo è? with me and not think I’m strange. Or think I’m strange but go with it anyway.
That’s pretty special, I know it, and I’m so thankful to have found P.
If you’d like to read more about him (and see a photo), here are some P posts:
How a Jean Jacket and Some Wind Can Change Your Life
(story of how we met)
Let the Answering Begin: The Sequel
(Question 2)
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[tags]calabria, southern italy, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
doggies in a box
If you’ve been paying attention, you know that the most recent addition to our household, Stella, is about to give us even more additions to the household.
Well the other day, Stella was acting a little funny, so I thought maybe the time was approaching when the puppies would be joining us. We have no idea when she was sperminated, other than that it was before August 31 when she came to stay with us. The gestation period of dogs is between 60-63 days, so for sure by the end of the month, there will be some action around here.
Stella’s anxiety turned out to be a false alarm, but it did inspire me to whip together a whelping box for her. I swear that’s what it’s called!
Since I thought this was an emergency, I grabbed got a good-sized cardboard box and did it up with some old sheets and whatnot–whatever I could grab was going in just in case this was the real deal.
Just as I put the last sheet in, this happened: 
And that turned into this:
I think she likes it.
And I couldn’t help but sing “Don’t be fooled by the nips that she’s got–she’s still (she’s still) Stella in the box.” Needless to say, P didn’t get it. You get it right? (Notice I’m not asking whether it’s actually funny.)
And then, a couple hours later–after the immediacy of the situation had passed and it became clear that there wouldn’t be any little Stellas that day–I looked over and saw this:
For those who can’t tell, this is Luna (who is *not* pregnant–see why here).
So the new plan is that when P and I finally move house (we should be starting work on the new place within the month!), Luna and Stella will have new homes too–because P has been commissioned to build some doggie boxes.*
And that’s love right there.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
*Very different from the type of box Justin Timberlake has made famous.
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[tags]dogs, puppies, whelping boxes, love thursday[/tags]
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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