weekend [-ing]

Hello, November. Nice to see you once again.

First fire, first chestnuts.

Hope your weekend was lovely and slow, too.
xoxo
d

for the birds // the solstice is upon us

For the past several years we've marked the winter solstice by decorating trees with edibles for birds and other forest critters, and we plan to continue this December twenty-first.  This year I found a lovely, easy, inexpensive crafty idea to create simple ornaments from bird seed.

I came across the idea via Daisey at Creative Compulsive, who I know will be celebrating the solstice as well. She is doing a series of great DIY holiday gift ideas; this one is from Saltwater Kids. I absolutely love the way good ideas travel via the blogging community.

While we intend to take a nice walk and leave these in the trees in the paese Saturday, I also wrapped up a selection of them to be sent to my grandmother, who always keeps her bird feeders full. I have a feeling she'll love them as a Christmas gift.

Another part of our solstice tradition is to read Eve Bunting's Night Tree again each year, a story about a family who visits the woods to...decorate a tree with edibles for the forest creatures. Frankly, one of my favorite things about the solstice is that we have reached the peak of the darkness! Hello, sunshine. Hello, daylight.

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I read several comments in the original blog post with caution that these will fall apart in the rain. In the end, I suppose some little animal will benefit nonetheless, but it could lead to disappointment for little people and grandma's. I duly sent mine a warning of such.

new year | new beginning

Vineyard in Province of Vicenza

One of my favorite things about the paese is that we experience the wonder of all four seasons here; nowhere is this more evident than in the vineyards that surround us. In the next few weeks the grapes will be harvested and the rich green leaves will change to the colors of a golden sunset before leaving the vines naked for the winter. After a long cold and foggy winter when the vines will appear frozen and dead,  the paese will explode with cherry and apricot blossoms, quite a while before I notice the new growth on the vines. Eventually, though, I will notice, and when I do, I will be filled with hope because of the potential of a new beginning as promised by Mother Nature. I believe that living in a place like this is good for my soul. I truly do.

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Tomorrow marks my seventeenth first day of school as an educator. I am filled with hope and ready for a new beginning.

corner view

corner view :: light

A Snow-covered Vineyard in the Paese

Finally. Today. We had our first light dusting of snow.

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For more corner views, visit Francesca at FuoriBorgo.

saturday photo & an interview

'Tis the Season

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My friend OxeyeDaisey over at Creative Compulsive did me the honor of an interview on her blog --

an interview in which I wax philosophical about (my) creative process.

Can you stand it?

Go. Read. She makes me shine.

 Check out her burgeoning Etsy shop, where you will find

 fantastic, user-friendly original patterns 

by this

bonafide costume designer.

{ this moment }

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

in the paese: 1

Blue Door and Shutters with Pink Roses

cherry time

It's that time of year again: the time when the cherries go directly from the local farmers' trees to our table.

It's a much anticipated time in these here parts, and boy, does "cherry time" make us happy. The wait is over . . . bon appetito!

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day tripping 2: colli euganei

Castle Garden in Este

The second day of the day tripping was all about the picnic. When you go out and about with a six-year-old girl, there are certain things to consider...namely, how can this be just as interesting to her as it will be to the adults? Failure to consider this results in misery for everyone. Truly.

The answer for my babe is to make it a picnic. She loves, loves, loves a picnic.

Noventa Vicentina

Sunday we headed toward Noventa Vicentina where a Festa di Primavera was taking place and we managed a fifteen minute stroll of the little city before the promise of a picnic had Young One protesting: "This is NOT a picnic. Where are the people with blankets? I am ready to go, NOW. A promise is a promise...yadda, yadda, yadda." It didn't take her long to catch on to my ploy of "Dear, we need to find some more goodies to add to our picnic basket." (We did manage to get kiwi and strawberries.)

People love this white asparagus. Me? Not so much.

Not quite willing to tempt fate, we cut our visit short and went out to Este in the Colli Euganei, where we had a relaxing picnic on the lawn of the playground in the shadow of a the castle. Young One was thinking: LifeIsGood...I just know she was.

These are not exactly common; to find one is a treat.

Este, located in the province of Padova, can be reached easily via the Riviera Berica (47 km from Vicenza). A major center during the Roman era, the city has been inhabited since the 9th century BC, when it was occupied by Indo-European people from Asia Minor. Much of the life in the town now centers around Piazza Maggiore, where the Gothic Palazetto degli Scaligeri can be found; however the draw for us is the 14th century castle and surrounding garden. (Source: Northern Italy's Best Loved Driving Tours, 2004)

Richard is listening to a Stateside radio with his new app. He's so cool. He is thinking:"How will I get up?"

She even asked to be photographed at the fountain...that's a true sign that she is in a happy place.

Sometimes I love the cheesy vacation photo. Don't you?

We've visited Este at other times of the year, but this was our first spring rendezvous with the quaint city. One thing about the Veneto that I've noticed is that things are generally orderly, organized, clean; this is especially true for Este. This weekend is the 10th Annual Este in Fiore -- a festival dedicated to flowers. Go, if you can. It's a beautiful time to be there.

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Some photos from my other visit to Este can be found here.

day tripping: colli euganei

Great weather. Italy. Spring.
Must be time to start the day trips.

Being nestled in these hills means all sorts of opportunities for spring exploits. The place is hopping, and so were we in the Cinquecento as we made our way to the nearby hills of Padova: the Colli Euganei.

The fist stop on Saturday was Villa Sceriman, where we sipped wine under a tent of wisteria before selecting some spirits to add to Richard's growing collection in his cantena. I never tire of the fact that I can purchase a pretty decent bottle of Cabernet Riserva (this one aged in oak barrels for two years) for under seven Euro in this country. LifeIsGood.

This, a bit of Asiago cheese, and a glass of wine .... perfect lunch. 

Hmm, looks like a good start of a play house, Mom.

I'll take the giant clear one on the bottom left, please.

I don't understand the fuss over the wine. I'll take Fanta any day.

Right NOW is the perfect time to visit Villa Sceriman as the wisteria is in bloom, likely full bloom by today. We were there at full sun time, and I just couldn't manage to photograph it. The canopy that covers the outside area is a sight to see; it will inspire you to kick back and stay for a while. The scenic drive through the Colli Euganei won't disappoint either.

If you are looking for a place for lunch or dinner in the area, you might try Il Cenacolo, which is housed in a carefully restored elementary school building;  it has proven to be excellent every single time. (Call ahead for reservations.)

We left so inspired that we went to day trip #2 on Sunday. More to follow :)

spring cleaning is ...

Spring cleaning is highly overrated. That's what it is.

Did you think I might say fulfilling, inspiring, invigorating, or even spiritual?

Ha.

You don't know me too well.

This is a look at how I chose to spend my foggy Veneto morning instead.

And the afternoon?
I think I'll go plant some lettuce and some pansies.
Yep, that's exactly what I'll do.
You certainly won't find me engrossed in cleaning. Hello Dear Friends, need I remind you that it is a chore? Like the laundry. Bleh.

corner view

corner view :: autumn

Autumn's palette stays with me unlike the other seasons.
Each year I find myself looking forward to her wonders more and more.

Vintar Gorge:  Bled, Slovenia
October 2008

Cherry Trees and Grape Vines:  Lumignano, Italy
November 2009

Wednesday I am making a quick trip to France and am excited as ever to get a glimpse of autumn, French-style. Ohh, la, la :)

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For more corner views from around the world, visit Theresa or Skylar, who selected this week's topic.  

summer in the mountains

Richard Relaxes

A Great Variety of Flowers

Perhaps the best thing about our recent visit to the Dolomiti was that we joined friends there;  not just any friends, but friends who have spent most of their summers each year in the same little village of Canale d'Agordo.  In fact, from different areas of Northern Italy, it was in this mountain village that they first met some years ago.  Michela and Roberto are now married with two little boys, and she continues the tradition by bringing her children to the mountains for the summer months.  Roberto joins them on weekends and then for a week or so later in August.  I could get used to that, no doubt.

Perfect Little Fenced Gardens Accompany Nearly Each Home

Canale d'Agordo is a sleepy little village that is home to the famed Papa Luciani, or Pope John Paul I -- the ill-fated leader of the church who owned the throne for a mere 33 days before mysteriously dying.  Legend has it that he was poisoned by church leaders who were not quite ready for some of the changes that he had planned at the Vatican.  His family remains in Canale d'Agordo & more than once in our brief stay he was mentioned in conversations with locals.

Alpine Drink Cooler

Well-equiped Play Areas

Scary Stories at Night by Flashlight

It's not a place buzzing with activity, and I did notice that even in the neighboring villages and towns that the majority of the July visitors are the retirees. (Not true of the hiking trails.)  Michela tells me that the area comes to life in August and is teeming with Italians fleeing the cities.  Oddly, we did not encounter a single American, or people other than Italians, in our outings.  The area seems to be a popular place with Italians and few others, at least at this time of year.

Picnic on the Outskirts of Canale

Neighboring Town of Falcade

A Little Bridge From Our Waterfall Hike

Last summer we spent ten days at the beaches of Sardinia & now we've had a taste of the Italian mountain summer.   I understand with certain clarity the reasons Italians escape to these places in the summer months.  The fresh and COOL air of the mountains wins over stifling Vicenza smog any day, and Sardinia, well, it's just paradise. . . that's all.


Michela has invited us to join them for the past several years, and this is the first time that finally the stars were aligned and we were able to make it. Visiting a place with a virtual local who also happens to be a good friend opens many doors that otherwise remain closed, and it makes everything so dang easy . . . unless you are a control freak, of course.  I am already scheming a return next year, making it a "must do" week in the mountains. (Followed by a "must do" week in Sardinia?!)  

Hotel Val Gares

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Now the shutters are locked tight, the alarm set, the garden doomed, and we are off to our summer adventures (and we've got quite an agenda of events planned) that await us stateside:  DC, Virginia Beach, Louisiana, Blue Ridge, Boston . . . I will need a week in the mountains after these upcoming weeks.

I don't expect to be blogging or reading all that often.
See you in August for the new year!

corner view / italy

corner view ::  summer

2 half-naked bambini enjoying pasta on my patio

i love summer

PS. We never cut the pasta, wouldn't even dream of it. Do you?

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To see more summer around the world, visit Jane's Corner View sidebar.

breaking my cardinal rule

When I told Richard that I would be making this pesto to serve our visiting friends Friday evening, he responded with eyebrow-raised doubt:  "You know, I've never made pesto before, Dana," with a grand emphasis on "I."  Besides breaking my cardinal rule of entertaining, which is that one should never try a new recipe for the first time with guests at the table, I was also breaking his unspoken rule of entertaining:  "I do the cooking.  You set the table.  Make a salad if you like."  Hey, don't judge, it works (well) for us, usually.  But, alas, summer has arrived & during summer I sometimes feel a renewed sense of domesticity & get the urge to do things like clean closets, hang laundry, and prepare meals.

I wish you could have seen his face when he noticed the dusty Krups food processor on the kitchen counter:  "Where's the mortar and pestle?  It's pesto you're making after all.  What do you intend to do with this pesto?"  I assured him that I had permission from an Italian, an Italian in Genova -- the Italian city known for pesto -- permission to use the food processor.  To his credit, he did not put up much of a fight with me.  Clearly not convinced, he escaped out back and shared a long, tall spritz with a neighbor. Maybe they had two.

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With three thriving basil plants and a plethora of leaves calling to be harvested, I set about making my first-ever pesto.  Though the recipe is a bit ambiguous with amounts like "handful" and "a little," & thus frightening for a novice pesto-maker like me, I quickly realized that it's because it just doesn't matter.  Add as much or as little as you like & all will be well at the end.  I substituted a 20 month grana padano, a locally-made hard cheese, for the parmesan, and did add a bit of pecorino, as suggested;  both of these are things we generally have on hand in our fridge.  Oh,  for the love of pecorino!

The end result was just scrumptous. I'm quite certain that I could have simply served it straight up on a toasted rustic bread of some sort; instead, I went for pasta. This is when Richard took over in the kitchen. He mixed some of the pesto with still-warm penne and then followed with mozzarella and cherry tomatoes (from my garden). The mozzarella melted just a bit, and we later served the pasta at room temperature. It would be just as good, maybe even better, served chilled.

We ate the entire bowl. My friend Mark declared that this is his new favorite pasta dish; trust me, the man has eaten his fair share of pasta in his life. It is definitely a great choice for a warm summer evening.

My basil plants are looking better each day; boy, does that make me happy.
My husband has a renewed belief in my talents in the kitchen; that makes me even happier.



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