Monday, September 19, 2016

Colazione in Vergnano 1882



"Gran lugar para sentarse y disfrutar de una repostería y capuchino viendo las frutas y vendedores vegetariano justo al otro lado de la calle. Por la noche la plaza se transforma con mesa y sillas donde usted puede sentarse y disfrutar de un spritz con los lugareños."

"A great place to sit and enjoy a pastry and cappuccino watching the fruit and vegetable vendors just the other side of the street. At night the plaza is transformed with table and chairs where one can sit and enjoy a spritz with the locals."


Comer en Italia, incluso en las cafeterías como 1882 es elegante y delicioso. Puedes esperar normalmente Son muy detallados en todo, como tener en la mesa la sal y pimiento en amoladores, pan recién horneado y palitos de pan y los bocadillos ligeramente calentados para que se ablande el queso pero ensalada se quede crujiente.

Lunch in Italy, even at the side cafés like 1882 is an elegant and delicious affair. You can usually expect details in abundance such as pepper and sea salt in grinders, fresh baked bread and bread sticks, lightly heated sandwiches, so the cheese softens, but the greens stay crisp.



"Las chicas que lleva este lugar son muy amables. Las ensaladas son un cambio bienvenido de comer pizzas y pastas y la máquina de café que merece la pena ver, hace un buen café. Justo enfrente de una de las partes en el mercado de Padova bajo arcos clásicos hacen de éste el lugar ideal para un bocado."

The girls that run this place are very nice. The salads are a welcome change from eating pizzas and pastas and the coffee-maker coffee that really deserves to be made well. Just in front of one of the sections of the Market of Padova, under the classic arches, make this the ideal place for a bit to eat.




Mmmm, this last photo you just have to see in colour.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Italian Mustard for a Soft Autumn



Color Senape - Mostaza Italiana para un Otoño Suave.

According to the latest fashion advice, this year's autumn bests will avoid blacks and greys and embrace mustard, navy and tan. I personally think that mustard is a fabulously versatile, cheerful colour that will go with any of those staple colours in your closet. With a purchase of one or two mustard accessories you will liven up your wardrobe in unimaginable, spicy ways.

"Autumn is really not the time for harsh colours. Weather and light can be unkind, so we’re drawn towards something with warmth, but at the same time, we want to be cheered. Luckily for anyone feeling a bit glum or a little lost, mustard yellow is trending this autumn, and it has endless possibilities." For A Trend in Autumn: How to Wear Mustard in Style."

Lovely Daniele ,who lives in Padova and works in Venice, poses here with an assortment of stunning handbags.
Verra Pelletteria, 30124 Venezia, S. Marco - Calle dei Fabbri 928


Handblown glass from Venetian island, Murano.
Padova - Please, faux fur only.
Venice on the Bridge of Sighs
Padova - Mustard coloured wool
Bologna - Abstract street art.
Padova


Willing models from Padova
Padova
Bolgna
Padova

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Views of the North

Northern Spain is unique.


Nací nun país d'iviernos mui fríos na que fuera la casa de los mieus bolicos, Felicidá ya Tiadosio.
La casa tenía, ya tien, una chimenea.
You pensaba que nel.la vivían una pita ya una raposa. en Palacios del Sil.

Text in Leonés, the traditional language of León.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Dear Olive


Dear Olive,
It's the autumn of your life. So I thought I'd do some remembering out loud.
You came to our family because of my defiant decision to get a dog. In truth, some of my best memories are from moments of the same of dogged determination (pun intended) to do what felt right. I was in a marriage and mentality where I had learned to concede authority and final decisions to my husband and in regards to a dog, the answer was always "no." It was no, for whatever reason, I don't remember why, because we had a huge park of a background and plenty of hands to take care of you.


I remember that it was my birthday and I got up, feeling unusual tingles of excitement race through my body. I wondered if it was the thought of getting a dog, or the idea that I could make a big decision for our family without my husband's consent that thrilled me most. Must have been both. I remember thinking, "to heck with that," the kids and I are in this family, too. We matter; four kids and me, five to one. He had said absolutely "No" to a dog. I knew he'd get really mad, but his controlling anger was nothing new. I would normally have been frightened by the idea, but we were now separated for six months, an anger management agreement arranged by the counselor to "save our marriage." And I needed this. The joy of a dog, to romp, to play with the kids, to hang out with and be part of our family. It had almost become an obsession.

So, I pulled on my jeans, pulled back my hair, long in those days, and daydreamed through a fast breakfast, slipping out of a sleeping house to drive across town, a big city, really, but in CA we say "across town," to the Sacramento animal shelter. I was going to see if God had that "special dog" just for us. In those days I believed that God did all kinds of miracles, if you just opened your eyes and looked around, open to his surprises and blessings. I still believe that, I guess. The kids, partly grown, all wanted a dog in the worst way, I mean, groaning with wishing and squealing with delight kind of way, and I was determined to find the perfect one. Have you ever seen those videos on the media where a parent brings home a dog and the child/children scream and cry with happiness? Like that. So, I went to the Pound, the Sacramento SPCA, on my birthday. I walked the sad concrete aisles of dogs, all who for one reason or another, had become unwanted or discarded. Olive, you and I have something in common, there, but that's a different story, and yours is such a good one. I scanned the cages. There were some dogs eagerly, frenetically jumping up at me, others had retreated to a corner, all the while a deafening barking vibrated up and down past the cages as I walked. I was almost at the end of all the initially seeming endless cages without finding what I was looking for. In the last cell of cages, near the end, there was a pack of dogs all piled on top of one another pawing a look at whomever walked past, at me. I didn't see you at first, because you were so young, still rather small, and all those more aggressive dogs had pushed you underfoot. As I stopped to examine those dogs up on hind legs, tails wagging effusively, I noticed there was a black puppy below them, flattened out. Just then you looked up at me with a soulful, hopeful look. I wasn't sure who you were because you were so surrounded, but I was so surprised to see you there. I called to a keeper to help me get a better look at you. She came and separated you from the rest. You were so timid, so scared, so sweet. Just six months old, a black labrador pup. What could be better?

So, heart soaring, I began the dizzying amount of paperwork, paid for your shots and required neutering, and became informed on your immediate care. You loved being with me, looked so happy, but I couldn't take you home yet, until everything was finished. I hated leaving you, but just a couple of days later, all four kids and I came and got you, everyone wanting to have you sit with him or her, petting you, smothering you in kisses and love. And so, you were officially adopted, had a family and new home. What joy. It's true. God had a gift waiting - it was you.


You were a much better dog than we were dog owners. You had such potential for training, but I was so busy schooling kids, taking care of a family and parents and husband that I didn't  take you to obedience class and you just got to be a dog. Still, it was great. You hung out with us, chased squirrels up the trees religiously, had all kinds of adventures* and even learned how to be kind to our/your cat, André, another "in need of family" animal I brought home for Ryan.

*Camping w/REI booties
*Pulling kids to the park and back on roller blades and skateboard
*Escaping the yard and running to the park, only coming back by us getting you in the car. You        Loved car rides.
*Barking and "protecting" us

I wasn't with you for your last five years. I wish I had been, but I heard you were happy, loved on, and saw pictures with you as fat as a sausage. Happy rainbow crossing, sweet Olive. You've been so loved and you'll be missed.






Thursday, September 8, 2016

De Mariposas

Ante nuestra mirada se desarrolló la historia de amor.  Los amantes declararon su pasión y se enfrentaron a las fuerzas feudales que pretendían separarlos.

The love story developed before our eyes.  The lovers declared their passion and clashed with the feudal forces than tried to separate them.


Pearl y yo lloramos al final, cuando los protagonistas decidieron quitarse la vida ante la brutalidad de la sociedad.
Mas tarde, Pearl me comentaría que había conocido la versión china de Romeo y Julieta antes de oír hablar de Shakespeare.


Pearl and I cried at the end, when the protagonists, so brutally confronted by society, decided to takes their lives.
Later Pearl commented to me that she knew the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet before ever hearing of Shakespeare.


Los amantes muertos resucitaron en forma de mariposas. Así lograron estar juntos de nuevo y vivir felices por siempre jamás. Era una tragedia con final feliz. Con sus enormes alas extendidas, la pareja bailaba y cantaba:

The dead lovers came back to life in the form of butterflies. In this way, they were able to be together once again and live happily ever after. It was a tragedy with a happy ending. With their enormous extended wings, the couple danced and sang:


Presa de los sueños,
mi andar errante hasta ti me llevó.

Sentados en el mirador,
tu dulce canto me arrulló.
Al despertar, sin nadie a mi lado y
al ver 
a la luz de la luna
unos pétalos sin vida,

pensé que no volvería a verte nunca.

Sauce y Pearl experimentan su primera opera, Los Amantes Mariposa; un extracto de La Perla de China.
Willow and Pearl experience their first opera, Madame Butterfly; an excerpt from Pearl of China.