Un presepio un po' speciale

Il Nostro Inviato ci ha portato il presepio nella foto dall'Argentina qualche anno fa. Proprio carino, no?

Am I fetishisizing?

I look at this photo -- my typical "group shot" of all the items Il Nostro Inviato brought back from Italy last week -- and I am struck with an odd thought.

Does this look like a fetish?!

I find myself enshrining these items for a few days or even weeks as I gaze at them. Walking through the house, doing errands, every so often I glance over at my tower of special treats.

It's enough just to look at them. They make me happy!

And each crop of gifties is slightly different. Here the most notable items are the fresh olive oil from a friend's farm (look at that gorgeous deep green color!) and the 50th anniversary menu from Trattoria La Casalinga in Florence.

Plus, who doesn't love a gift? It's a mini-Christmas morning every time he comes back.

I will try to post some pictures of the specific items that stand out this round (including a t-shirt with a picture of a wild boar with the saying, 'Io vivo in Toscana'!) and the latest Elena Ferrante novel.

This should tide me over until Babbo Natale arrives!

Io mi chiamo.....

Anche se a volte mi fa rincrescere che c'è chi può viaggiare in Italia e c'è chi non può, menomale qualche regalino dal nostro inviato si fa trovare a casa nostra.

Bell'Italia + pranzo

Buon appetito!

I might want to complain about the viaggi taken by Il Nostro Inviato (senza di me o Leonardo!) but on the other hand, he sure does bring back wonderful treats for Ciambellina.

Exhibit A, my favorite Italian magazine: Bell'Italia!

It's like a hybrid of National Geographic and Conde Nast Traveler. There are absolutely gorgeous photos, fold-out maps and charts, in addition to detailed itineraries around Italy with suggestions on places to eat, sleep and visit.

Bei fiori

Man do I love these flowers! They brighten my life.

'Faisbuck?' Oh The Italians! Born Mavericks.

"Non sono su faisbuck. Ma possiamo essere amici lo stesso."

Translation: I'm not on Facebook. But we can still be friends.

Il Nostro Inviato bought this t-shirt in Italy last week.

I love the way it shows how Italians picture the English word Facebook in their heads. That's how they sound it out in their language!

L'amante di chi?

Ma possibile che il Berlusca venga anche qui ad Atlanta a trovare le showgirl?!

Leo, part deux

More photos of the birthday boy!

Enjoying cupcakes today at daycare for his birthday.





And some other recent pictures:

Un anno, ragazzi!

Tanti auguri a Leo!

Le foto: Baby and me through the year!

The Perfect Hotel Amenity (IMHO)

Dal Nostro Inviato....he's in Sardegna for work (beato lui!) and here's what he finds at his hotel. Ok, it makes sense but for someone like me who's obsessive about my Moka coffee pots, this is PARADISO!

"Bagheria"

Anche se non ho ancora finito di leggere il libro della Ferrante, mi sono permessa di cominciare un nuovo libro, "Bagheria" di Dacia Maraini.

Che lettura squisita! E per fortuna non lo trovo deprimente come "I Giorni Dell'Abandono," il quale sto ancora leggendo, anche se solamente durante il giorno per evitare gli incubi.

Sara' la prima volta che leggo un libro della Maraini. Altri titoli da consigliare?

Deprimente ma squisito

Deprimente ma squisito.....quello e' il mio commento su 'I Giorni Dell'Abandono,' di Elena Ferrante.

Non l'ho ancora finito ed infatti lo posso leggere solamente durante il giorno perche' senno', ho paura di dormire male, inseguita da degli incubi!

Credo che chi l'abbia gia' letto potrebbe condividere questo mio parere (e fatti sentire se sei d'accordo o meno).

Pero' c'e' da dire che lei e' una scrittrice maestosa.

Gelsomina - finalmente!

Come ho detto altre volte, il profumo di gelsomina è il profumo d'Italia per me!

Basta sentirlo, e comincio a ricordare i bei giorni trascorsi in Italia.

Io non so perché. Cioe', non ricordo dove cresceva quando abitavo in Italia (in pieno centro di Firenze, no, o perlomeno non vicino al mio appartamento.)

Forse cresceva nel paese al mare vicino a Roma dove ho passato l'estate dopo aver preso la laurea.

Elena Ferrante & The Good Book Dilemma

(Caption: Un libro di Elena Ferrante + pranzo = pomeriggio perfetto!)

Does this happen to you?

A new order of books arrived, in my case a little cache of Italian novels and memoirs, including one by an author who's totally new to me.

First, I placed the package on my bed for later -- nothing like anticipation to sweeten a treat even further!

Then I opened it, and took out the books slowly and carefully, without reading them. Not ready to break the spines or introduce creases!

Finally I opened them and began to read one of them, "I Giorni Dell'Abandono" by Elena Ferrante, the author I had previously not heard of. She's clearly a master of prose, of story-telling, of conveying complex and unpleasant emotions.

So what's the problem?

It would be hard to overstate how depressing "I Giorni Dell'Abandono" is. It begins with this line:

"Un pomeriggio d'aprile, subito dopo pranzo, mio marito mi annuncio' che voleva lasciarmi."

Trans.: "One April afternoon,right after lunch, my husband announced that he planned to leave me."

And it really goes down from there, in terms of circumscribing the hellish trajectory of a mother of two living through a breakup she didn't see coming and that's now her undoing.

So what to do? My solution is I read it during the day. In the evenings or if I wake up in the middle of the night, I read Dan Brown's "Inferno" or "The Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love."

Is it only me?!

Dan Brown's "Inferno"

I couldn't resist! Yes, I'm reading Dan Brown's "Inferno," and quite frankly already imagining the movie! (Tom Hanks as Langdon, okay, sure but who will be Sienna Brooks? I could see someone like Kate Beckinsale, though I don't really like her).

Even though I'm already reading a few other books (including Elena Ferrante's "I Giorni Dell'Abandono"), I just couldn't pass up plunging into a book that will cover some of my favorite topics: the streets of Florence (including the Dante signs), Dante's Inferno, and Italian life in general.

In fact, I sort of see it as a refresher on Dante. I'll never stop studying Dante, I'll never stop reading snippets of La Divina Commedia, I'll never tire of learning something new about this incredible book. Mainly, because it's so complex! I'm quite sure Dan Brown has something to teach me about Dante.

And I hate to say anything negative about the book or the author, as I've already ploughed through 150 pages since I collected the book at the library Saturday, and he has me on the edge of my seat. No, it's not high literature but it sure is entertaining.

And he's popularizing an epic, three-part POEM written in arcane early Italian from the 14th century. As a lover of Italian literature, I'd say that's a pretty good deed!

Una buona forchetta!

Leo @ 10 mesi!

Chiaramente gli piace la pasta asciutta! Menomale dato che si chiama LEONARDO.

Per gli amici in Italia, vi posso rassicurare che sta cresciendo benino e spero vivamente di farvelo conoscere presto presto.

Gli angeli

One of my favorite places in Atlanta is Oakland Cemetery.

I love walking there, and like many others, I love to take photos there. Here are two of my favorites:



I love the combination of skyline, ornamental cemetery monuments and nature in this one picture.

Al dente? No, no al Dante

LOVE this New Yorker cartoon!

Le sue manine (Leo's hands)

I love Leo's hands so I've started to take photos of them:

Trying out my new Nikon 1 J1

Flowers in the garden. Seems like my new camera can't take a bad picture!