Accordion Magic

Maestro Pino is a fine old gentleman who has promised to give me music lessons when I spend my sabbatical year in Italy.  But he threatens....I better PRACTICE.  And that is not just practice, but PRACTICE. Here he is enjoying a little tune that I think he might have written.  And you will enjoy it, too.  Check out those hands!

Puppy Waltz 

In January this year I was in his area for a week, and lunched a couple of times with him at home of friends, right on the Adriatic.  We visited a pupil of his, too, who was coming to give lessons to one of her own pupils.  She and Pino played a tune together.

A Dream Wedding Really Comes True

August 2009: Event of a Lifetime: Liv and Josh and their magical wedding

When this day finally arrived that had been anticipated so eagerly and so often, it felt unreal. The realization,... "it is happening!"..., interrupting the beads of time that mark most days. The schedule today was intricate...right up to when we were all set free to dance and frolic the night away. And we were already full to bursting with gratitude and pleasure from the shared company and artfully designed parties that had been happening for days. My chest felt full of emotion, and I could not stop smiling.

First stop: hairdresser. Basically, we started the day out with a Party at the hairdresser, with the bridesmaids and Diane. don't cha love the pincurls?

Pre-planning , Parties prior, Preparation for the nuPtials..

July 2009: Livie's Bridal Shower

Josh and Liv make a splendid match. The pre-wedding events and preparations were, basically, just a series of performance art pieces. Starting with the Save the Date postcard, above.

Felicia, Judy, Beth and Lucile hosted a beautiful shower for Liv. Josh and Diane flew in with her, and Angie came over from Hawaii.   Liv had rooms at a splendid little B&B that is a hidden gem.  We made a practice run to the SF flower market and bought buckets of beautiful blossoms and then practiced doing artsy things. with them.  Wendy and Nadia drove down for the event, too. Diane and the several girls's moms who are teachers got down with the shop talk instantly.
Later that night, we had a big dinner up at Boulder Creek out under the stars. There were some mosquitos, but also protection in the form of electric zappers and a screen tent. There was a huge long table with people sitting cheek by jowl. It was a dream come true for me. I always imagine sharing the beauty of this homestead with loads of friends and family, but we live all over the place, so it doesn't happen often.






April 2009
Quick weekend in town for our Chicago kids to sample the food and get things prepared for the August wedding, which will be at Chaminade. Ceremony outside, then walk up to the reception. Very wise choice!

Liv and Josh's Tropical Getaway

February 2009:
While I am thrust back into the world of work after my sojourn in Italia, Josh makes the unprecedented move of taking off for a week with Livie and heading to Maui to celebrate Valentine's Day and his birthday! Omigod.   I was still in Italy when I called Liv to find out that Josh had proposed--on the unremarkable Dec 30th, in their living room, with them both resting after a day of housework and chores. We had all been waiting for Josh to create a very unusual and creative setup for this important event-- by we I mean all of us who were in on the secret that it was happening soon. Much later I found out that Josh had picked out the ring all by himself ( what a stunner!) but he couldn't take immediate possesion-- it had to be sized. So on Dec 30th, he had just picked it up a couple of days before and it was truly burning a hole in his pocket. He couldn't wait to give it to his Liv.

In Maui Ang and Mike hosted them to beat the band, as is to be expected. And apparently Josh had to really apply himself to learning how to do nothing. He sent me and his mom and a bunch of other friends photos from his IPhone 6 at a time. It was fun to imagine the two couples having some quality hang time.  They make quite the foursome. 

My Other Life in Italy 2009 version

December 2008-Jan 2009:
Spent weeks and weeks in Italy, for what will be my last trip for at least a year, cause Liv is gettin' married, and there may even be babies soon...oh my, what a thought!


Rome: flew in here and stayed 4 days getting my new time zone on. It was pre-Christmas and there was lots to see. Stayed in one of Octavian and Lana's hotels and it was perfect. Location is everything--it was just a few steps from the Campo dei Fiori, one of the coolest markets in old Rome.

Then by train to Torino just before Xmas, where I joined the cousins. We whisked off for Christmas Eve to the coast, where Mariuccia and Paolo were staying in their seaside home. I love Christmas in Italy cause the present thing and the home decor thing are so minimal. Instead there is great food, cool musical events and seasonal markets. I brought Paolo a new pair of UGG boots, to which he has become oh, so fond. They were knee high black surfer ones! Keeping his feet warm is a real challenge. Of course at one point in the festivities, Dario had to put the ribbon on his head. He and Paolo crack me up. 

And I had an amazing visit in the snow with the family. Everybody is so sportivo, though. I felt like a being from another planet though, not being either svelte or athletic. I did take a snowshoing hike with Carlotta one day, though.





Dario, Michela and I had fun hanging out, too.


From Villardamond, I drove away and left the cousins to enjoy the remainder of their winter holiday and went on to Verona, where I met up with Laura--but not Adrian cause he stayed up north in Austria where they had been with a friend who had a skiing accident.



We spent a couple of days together in a lovely hotel Francesca recommended there, and then by car to Venice, where we found a hotel that was OK. It was clear but very cold, and it had snowed and hailed even in Venice earlier, so there were traces of snow in the corners still.

























I saw many of my old favorite places and special friends, and also discovered a brand new place: Naples. I was in good hands there, though. I had a guide all to myself for a week. A highlight was spending Christmas with the Maffeos. Paolo was not his old self much, it was painful to see that. They are such dear special people.
I took ferries a lot, and stayed in a trullo kind of close to Matera that belonged to a delightful family who also fed me. I rode a bike in the rolling hills one bright afternoon, coasting along to
a great wind at my back and the sun in my face. It took me twice as long to ride back, with a sharp wind against me and no warmth from the sun. This was January after all. It rained periodically. Had a dinner with the Michaela Moliterni and her father Gianni and mother. They are very good people, and I hope Michela's school thrives. She is adorable. I wish I had time to go into business with her tracking Italian-Americans' relatives down in the old country, or vice versa. I did see Nino and Signora Fina for a dinner, and had a long chat with Nino, got to hear his brand new kind of playing. It is impressive, and quite technically challenging for him to start all over and begin to learn a whole new instrument at this point. Man, it would be cool if I could put up some of what he played here as an audio file, but, sadly, I lack the know-how.
Went to Verona and Venice with Laura Kelley, and it was so much fun. Brief but action-packed.
Poor Laura ended up paying an outrageous taxi fare back to the rail station, because we didn't plan the time better.
I hung out quite a bit with Francesca, Stefano and Matilde. I got to pop in on Lucila and introduce her to them. They live very near.
While I was in Puglia, I saw Maestro Pino Modugno a few times. He likes a female companion, and is very generous with his friends and his music. He is pretty fun to be with. He cracked me up. His hands are huge, and so easily span an octave that it could make you drool to watch. And he could play anything, and so effortlessly. It was amazing just to watch him, although sometimes his taste did go where mine did not.

Major Catchin'UP

December 2008 Gathering of the clan:

darling daughters fresh in from Hawaii and Chicago, complete with beaus,

We even had an Alaska contingent --Sylvia and Lucy came down for the occasion. I was so excited to have everybody together. It happens so rarely. We rode the steam train at Roaring Camp in Felton one day.











Since this was in December, Santa was up at the top of the ride. It was chilly--especially for Angie and Mike just in from Maui.

















The next day we all wandered around Carmel, then ate at a nice restaurant there that Deb knew about.

We had this whole dining room to ourselves! We celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and my birthday all in one during this brief 4 days. We went to Margaritaville the night before Josh and Liv, Mike, Sylvia and Lucy flew out.

During this visit, Josh asked Gary for his blessing to marry Liv--unbeknownst to her. So all of us gradually were let into the secret and we started waiting to get a phone call from her after that, telling us that she was officially engaged. It was a delicious anticipation that was set in motion.


Angie stayed on a few extra days and we went with Gary, Deb and Parker to the new SF Academy of Sciences with its Rainforest Exhibit and lots more. This is the living roof of the place.

happy, happy birthday, baby

My Livie was out for a visit just before her birthday during the end of September and the beginning of October. She is now the age of the 10th prime number..... I had to say that cause Al Kelley mentioned prime numbers three times during his father of the bride speech on October 4 and I thought that it was very cute. It was great to have Livs around for several days this time. Incredible to reflect how thirty-one years ago my life was transformed by her arrival. I remember holding her in a rocking chair once, after she was about a month old, and imagining how if a bear were to suddenly come (into the living room, I guess) and threaten her, I would jump up and face that bear. Weird image to suddenly get while peacefully rocking a sleeping infant....? So here is one of the shots of little Liv, who my obstetrician said ought to be a Gerber baby or something, she was so adorable. Can't you just see her personality already?

Aloha All Ovah da Place

A magical week in Paradise. That's pretty much what it was like at the end of August when me, momma Sylvia and sister Lucy escaped to Maui to hang with Angie and her fella and get to know her new family. That would be her Insta-Family, three lively blond tykes Nini, 3, Paytn, 5 and Shea, 7 years old and all little fishes at heart. We all three braved the waters to go snorkeling and it was wild out there. Lucie saw her turtle and Sylvia was right in there with us every step of the way. We saw bunches of different fish, those amazing boisterous colored fish in the reef. We saw the dancin hula girls and boys. We went to Hana and stayed at a very nice place for a day with the whole passel of us. While we were in Kihei we stayed at the uber-fancy Grand Wailea, which I couldn't even imagine. I had this quaint thought that I would hate the excess, the manufactured luxury of staying in the king of Maui's resort hotels but it was pretty asem. Meaning awesome.

chi town adventure

snatching another week away from summer work projects to connect with my beloveds...here with liv and josh for some amazing days in chicago without the oppressive heat and humidity that you might expect here in july. chicago is a city to make a country gal like me consider going urban for all these and more reasons;

• there is so much to see and do,
• it is surprisingly clean and garbage-free,
  
• it has interesting history and architecture,
  
• it is easy to get around by foot or public transport,
• much of the town feels very safe,
• the ethnic neighborhoods are very much intact,
• there is much in the way of the arts and culture going on, much of it cutting edge,
• great restaurants and food traditions,
  
• plus, obama lives here!
  

but the sheer numbers of people still stagger me, and we got a chance to experience that a few times: once at a fireworks display in the park with our 100,000 closest neighbors, and then at a white sox ball game on the 4th with a nearly full stadium, and then at ravinia, where we set up for picnic under the shade while listening to prairie home companion along with seas of other fans of garrison keillor. josh and mom, diane, livie and i also got to talk to him after the show. he was so gracious to wait afterward while lines of people wanted to chat with him, take a photo or get his autograph. while i waited in line i had plenty of time to think of what i might say and to count back how many years i have been following his program--over 30, it turns out. so by the time my turn came around, i was so excited that i just blabbed on and on so there was hardly any space for garrison to say anything back to me. diane and josh acted as paparazzi for us with their video cameras, and livie got displayed as having been approximately in utero when i began to be a fan. anyway, it was a signal day, and the show, as usual, was great.

north to alaska

early june in alaska...hangin' with mom, vern, deb and the kids, lots of hours of light. little archie made his first sale as part of Archie's Artic Chickens. he is normally so wound up, but if he is holding a chicken, he becomes all soft and tender. evie has a chicken-killer reputation, not out of intention, but excess enthusiasm and affection. vern is still making steady progress in his physical therapy and we saw him stand up out of his wheelchair and step up a stair of a couple inches height. he is my hero. this visit i felt that he was much more his old self for the first time since his nightmare began. he was full of stories and jokes and ideas for the future--crackpot ones and good ones both. i got used to going to sleep when it was still pink in the sky and staying asleep in the light. mom's garden was in the initial stages, it being early in the season, but in the week i was there, the lobelia grew a few inches! Her little house and big yard is an oasis of order, neatness, cleanliness and beauty and we both slept in as late as we could and worked on relaxing....on learning that wonderful thing the italians call the ' bel far'niente' which translates as the 'beauty of doing nothing,' not necessarily that easy to do for some of us driven Americanos.

The Kinfolk Descend

Mom, Sylvia, cousin & mother-in-law, Betty and I dropped on brother Rhys and his wife, Christy, and kids, Rhys (aka Bub) and Dom this week. Taking advantage of the one day off brother Rhys had to recover from surgery, the grand dammes and I (grand damme-in-training) made our way over to the Sierra foothills, which were resplendent in greens and flowery carpets this time of year, to Plymouth for a couple of days. It was amazing to see the boys...Dom with a red goatee and braces, but some of these things are temporary...Rhys the younger safely back from Iraq and now in his own apartment with good, if slobby, friends. While we were there, we had lots of homey pleasures. Note: in the photo where Rhys and Christy are trying out their "shakas," the Hawaiian hand sign for greeting and all good things, my goofy brother is purposely trying to get his hair to look as weird as possible. Good job! We assisted in a junk removal/driveway makeover project one day. Betty got worn out watching us from her post in the lawn chair.