The Thin Man's House

Here are a couple of photographs of a house in a place called Nieve, which is a municipality in the Province of Cuneo in the Piedemont region of Italy. This house is located on a road on the way up to the Parish Church of Saints Peter and Paul. I found it interesting and wondered what the inside looks like. Did somebody decide to squeeze a house in where the road turned, or was the house there first?

February 14th

February 14, 2009 - Today is just another day, to me. It also happens to be called Valentine's Day. What annoys me is the commercialization of ALL holidays. And no, I'm not bitter that I do not have a boyfriend right now to shower me with overpriced crap that he feels he needs to purchase because the commercials say so. 

I really don't like holidays in general because people usually ask, "What did you get for ________ (fill in the holiday)?" I prefer the quality time spent with family and friends during holidays, over the materialistic things I might get. As for Valentine's Day, I guess that would be overpriced: candy, cards, flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, fancy dinners, etc... Please, it means more to me to get that kind of stuff at other times of the year, when it is a surprise. Show me your love when you're not being told that you should--ooh, and you don't even have to buy me anything, either.

Oh well, I guess at least a plus of holidays is a small spike in stimulating the economy.

To top it off, I tried to find out who this St. Valentine dude is. There are several different stories, and I'm not going to go into the detail. You can do the search yourself if you are so interested. Besides, Hallmark doesn't really give a hoot about the history, as long as you buy one of their greeting cards.

So, as to not be a total poop about the day, I'm going to share a photograph that, to me, captures a moment of unspoken love between a grandson and his grandmother.

This photograph was taken in the late spring of 2008 in Cernobbio, Italy. I was with family and friends taking a boat ride around Lake Como. We had just finished eating at a gelateria and were heading back to the boat. I was lagging behind, as usual trying to find the perfect photo op, which allowed me to snap this photograph of my mother and nephew.

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.

"Pooh!" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?"

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you."

Note:  Right after we got back to the U.S. from Europe, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She has endured several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, as well as surgeries and side effects. She has aged quite a bit from the time that photograph was taken, but I'm glad that my nephew got to experience his first trip to Europe with her.

TO ALL MY FAMILY AND DEAR FRIENDS, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. XOXO

Rainy Day

When I left work today, the weather was beautiful. I went home and then got a good run in. Exciting. Lately, I haven't been too happy with the effort I've been putting into exercising because the weather has been not so great. I can't wait until spring. Then, I'll probably really complain about the rain, but at least it's easier to exercise in the rain, than on the snow/ice.

Right now, it is raining. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. Sometimes I like rain, but right now I'm not in the mood for it. Actually, my favorite is when I have to work on the weekend and it is raining. That way, I know that nobody is outside having fun while I'm working.

In the photograph below, I was looking out the window at Dulcisinfundo ristorante. We ducked into it during a rainstorm and ate lunch, hoping the rain would pass. The food was pretty good. If you ever are in S. Gimignano Siena and want to eat at a nice little restaurant, the address is 21, Vicolo Degli Innocenti 53037 S.Gimignano Siena

"Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary." 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

I can hear the rain falling as I type this. I have the urge to go grab a sponge, some soap, and a bucket and go wash my car...

By the way, the rain did stop by the end of our meal.

Santa Croce

It's Sunday. I'm not much into organized religion, but here are a couple photographs from the ancient refectory of the convent of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. The bottom portion of the first photograph is a fresco painted by Taddeo Gaddi c1340 of the Last Supper in the moment of the institution of the Eucharist. In the upper part of the photograph, you can see the Tree of Life.


The Last Supper depicts the dramatic moment before Christ reveals that one of his disciples will betray him. "Now when the even was come, He sat down with the twelve. and as they did eat, He said, 'Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.' And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto Him, 'Lord, is it I?' And He answered and said, 'He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.'" (Matthew 26: 20-23 King James Version)