Mamma Americana

Goodbye PC, Hello Mac

I haven't been posting as often as I would like lately for one reason: my PC. I have an HP that was a good mid-range model in 2005. It came with 250 GB of storage, which was quite generous back then. 

The problem is it's totally full. I bought an external hard drive (also HP) last year to to back up my photos, music etc. Well, I haven't used it since March because of issues with the driver. I already went through support, talking to some guy in India who gave me a long list of things I had to do to remedy the problem. It worked for a while and then I was back to square one again. ARGHH!

Now when I turn on my PC it makes a whirring sound and is just painfully slow. Not to mention that there is some internal bug that turns it on again right after I turn off. ARGHH! 

So I've decided to make the switch to Macintosh. The new iMacs just came out. Here's the 21.5" model that I'll be getting in early November. The 27" model is just gigantic!

Aren't they beautiful? Pics. from Apple.com

I can't wait! It will be a pain to transfer my stuff, but it's so worth it. I've purchased the Belkin switch-to-Mac kit, which should make it easier. I'll be revamping my workspace too, with pics. to follow.

Lovely Knits

Ok, so my first attempt at knitting didn't go so well. I plan on giving it another go this winter, probably in January when things slow down again. I've purchased "The Complete Beginner's Guide to Knitting" DVD to help me get started. Books are great, but there's nothing like seeing someone do something in real time. 

In the meantime I'd like to share some of my best friend Tracie's beautiful knitting with you. That girl can knit! She made some gorgeous things for Eleonora and I. She swears by Ravelry. Thanks again Tracie! We love our new clothes!

 

Scrumptious silk sweater for me

Autumnal silk scarf

Cute cotton sweater for Eleonora

 

I'm re-posting this pic. of Eleonora in the red silk dress Tracie made for her. It has wonderful red beading along all of the edges.

It's dead! No, It's alive!

I awoke Wednesday morning to a quiet kitchen. As soon as I opened the fridge I understood why. A tropical temperature greeted me as I opened the door. Our refrigerator was dead. And it had probably kicked off the evening before, judging by the state of sogginess in the freezer.

Old Bess was a white side by side Amana that I had found in the local flea market paper, La Pulce(The Flea). We paid €250 for it in 2003; she was 10 years old. It seemed a miracle at the time. An american, looking for an American fridge, and one just happens to pop up. I was thrilled.

We needed a new fridge ASAP. So Eleonora and I set off with my father-in-law to look for a new one. It took us all day and most of Florence to find one. We ended up buying a Samsung side by side. Delivery was scheduled for Friday morning.

In the meantime, our electric water heater was on its last, drippy, rusty, legs and needed to be replaced. The plumber came out on Thursday evening to replace it. While he was working, some water caused a short circuit and our power went out. The power came back on, and lo and behold! Our fridge came back to life. Just like Frankenstein, she needed a good jolt. 

At this point however, we had already ordered and paid for the new one. Plus the old one had just up and quit without any warning and was approaching 17 years. It was no longer reliable. The new one has an A+ energy rating and is super quiet. I love it!

Pics. from Samsung's web site.

Kissing Cousins

We're back in Florence. We flew in from the States on Tues. and have been fighting jet lag ever since. The first 2 nights Eleonora and I were up watching cartoons between 1 and 5 am. Now she seems to be sleeping better, and I'm the one who is wide awake in the middle of the night. Oh well.

On Friday we left Florence for a weekend in Cortona. The occasion being the christening of my nephew Cesare. My sister in-law and her family live in Rome. They chose Cortona as the location for Cesare's christening for several reasons.  

The franciscan priest that married us and also christened Eleonora has been in Cortona for a little over a year now (he'll be moving back to Santa Croce in Florence next week). He is a close family friend as well. And Cortona is about halfway between Florence and Rome. So a weekend at a nearby agroturismo was planned, with the christening scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Our group occupied all thirteen apartments of the agroturismo.

The christening was held in the church of San Francesco in Cortona. Sorry I have no photos of the actual ceremony, my camera was malfunctioning. The photographer was able to fix it for me during the party afterwards.

The party was held in the Teatro Signorelli in Cortona. We had a wonderful buffet aperitif/dinner. It rained while we were there, but stopped in time for us to climb back up the hill to our cars.

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day. We awoke to a leisurely breakfast of brioches and espresso. Everyone relaxed outside and enjoyed the sun. Then we piled in our cars and drove about 20 minutes to Marciano Della Chiana, a little walled town in the Arezzo province. We ate at a great little Osteria named "Hosteria La Vecchia Rota" in the central piazza. 

Eleonora playing on stage.

View of the theatre

The agroturismo "Principe del Trasimeno"

 A game of cards and rock soup on Sunday morning

The kids have some fun during a long Sunday lunch (the mauve blur is Eleonora)

The aftermath...

 The gang of cousins

Eleonora gives Cesare a goodbye kiss

Nantucket

Sorry it's taken me so long to post. We arrived in Los Angeles on September 15th. Visits home are often quite a lot of work. I find myself helping my mother and grandfather around the house; cleaning, cooking, organizing etc.

So without further adieu, here are some photos from our recent trip to Nantucket. I have more pics. with family in them, but I don't want to post anything without their permission.

Giant pumpkins at the Nantucket Fair at Tom Nevers (I love that name!).

 

Eleonora in front of the winning pumpkin. I think it weighed in at 327 pounds!

 

Nantucket farmer with his pet duck.

 

Who are you calling a turkey?

 

Brant Point Lighthouse in Nantucket harbor

 

View of the harbor from Brant Point

 

Brant Point Beach

 

Eleonora loved finding sea shells...

 

Of which there were many.

View of Nantucket harbor from the ferry.

 

 

Chamomile and Colic

Still on our New England vacation. Eleonora and I leave for LA tomorrow and Lorenzo heads back to Florence for 3 weeks of bachelorhood. I'll post some photos of our trip when we're settled in. 

In the meantime, here's something interesting about chamomile and colic.

Well, I just about rolled over when I read this article in the NY Times a few weeks ago. Evidently research shows some improvement for colicky babies after drinking chamomile tea. You see, chamomile is a folk remedy that Italian grandmothers have been touting for generations. They sell a powdered version just for babies at the supermarket here. 

I never gave much credence to it as there are many other old folk beliefs (regarding health) in Italy that are just plain silly. I have to give some examples: Going to the sea will bring out teething, illness, etc. in young children (il mare lo porta fuori); cold air will cause a stiff neck; going barefoot is bad for children's feet. There are many more, but I honestly cannot remember them right now. 

It turns out I was wrong about the chamomile. That's good news for babies with colic. Wish I'd known that when Eleonora was tiny. She had awful colic every evening/night until about 3 months.

A Little Crehore Family History

Photo from The Boston Globe

We're in Boston now on the first leg of our family vacation to New England. This is an area that I have wanted to visit for ages. The majority of my ancestors (on both sides of the family) arrived in New England back in the 1600's. Now, I'm not the family historian, I'll leave that title up to my cousin Melody. I do know for sure though that the Crehore family (my maternal grandmother's maiden name) lived in Milton, just outside of Boston. Here's a picture of Benjamin Crehore's house and workshop.

Benjamin Crehore made the first piano in the United States there around 1800. He also made bass violins. The NY Metropolitan Museum of Art has one of his square pianos in its collections. Another one is found at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts along with several of his bass violins. Here is a more in-depth article about Ben Crehore and his first piano from The Boston Globe (1915).

Hopefully we'll make it over to Milton to have a look around. I would like to visit the cemetery as well.

Go Gardaland!

We visited Gardaland for the first time in early August. It's a mix between Disneyland and Magic Mountain with plenty for the little ones as well as exciting roller coasters for the big kids. 

Eleonora and her daddy went on the kiddy rides while my cousin and I went on all of the roller coasters. The lines were usually about a 30 minute wait. The weather was hot and muggy in the morning, but then a light shower blew through and cooled us off. It was pleasant the rest of the day. Overall, a great family outing.

Lorenzo and I as King Arthur and Merlin. 

Merlin looks like a sly fellow

Enjoying the double decker carousel

View of Escape from Atlantis

My cousin and I on the boat (the redhead and the blonde); we managed to escape from Atlantis

They also have a dolphin show, although it costs an extra €5 per person.

 

Afraid of the dark?

Eleonora just learned the word for dark (buio in Italian) last week. She would repeat it over and over breathlessly as we rode on our bike at night. She seemed a little scared, but it would pass as soon as we arrived at our destination.

Then we returned home yesterday from the beach. She napped in her crib without incident, but when it was time for bed she started crying, saying "Buio! Buio! Buio!" and absolutely refused to go to sleep. After more than an hour of trying to soothe her, we finally put her in bed with us. Even then, she took another forty five minutes to fall asleep. Lorenzo placed her in her crib a while later.

Now, what I'm wondering is this: is it possible to develop a fear of something in just a matter of days? And what does the name have to do with it? She wasn't afraid of the dark at all until she learned the word for it. 

I thought that (at least in the adult world) naming something gave you some power over it. And I also thought that fear of the dark didn't come along until later. I guess I was wrong.

The Cinque Terre

We're finally home (for about a week)! On the 5th we leave for a 10 day vacation in New England. Then Lorenzo heads home and Eleonora and I head out to California for a 3 week visit with family. 

In the meantime I'd like to share some photos from our trip to the Cinque Terre in Liguria, Italy on August 10.

From the pier at Forte dei Marmi we boarded a boat headed for the Cinque Terre. The service is offered by the Consorzio Marittimo Turistico- 5 Terre. It leaves at 10 am and returns at 6 pm. We stopped in Monterosso for 3 hours, and Portovenere on the way back for about an hour and a half.

It was a beautiful hot day and the waters were calm. Which was good, because I get seasick!

Riomaggiore

Corniglia

Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso al Mare 

The Oratory of the Black Men, Monterosso

Portovenere

 Church of San Pietro, Portovenere

There's a grotto dedicated to Lord Byron just behind the church. He evidently swam from there over to Lerici. That's quite a swim!