Today was the seventh, monthly Walk-n-Talk here in Burien; 38 people and 3 dogs came to join the stroll! Of the walkers, 1 person was visiting from Salt Lake City, a family came from Phinney Ridge and others routinely come from Kent, Renton, Bellevue and Lacey. It still astounds me to see how well the idea has [...]

It must have been about 30 years ago that I wrote the following haiku-like thought in my journal as I watched the snow come down: “Snowfall. Silent action.” Unless the snow is icy and verging on sleet, it is quite silent as it falls, thus my observation. Over this weekend, all of us in this [...]

Everyone should have a centenarian in their life. Today, January 4, 2012, Gladys celebrated her 106th birthday. What a delight and honor to spend some of her day with her. Gladys is bright and sharp and quick. She loves rich, engaging conversation… a back-and-forth rally of sharing stories and following them where they will. Most [...]

Forty-one people showed up under unusually warm, blue skies for the Walk-n-Talk on New Year’s Day! Wow! Rainier was out. It was like a springtime day as people gathered on Town Square’s grassy knoll, having come from near and far to bask in a seasonal glow and chat with their neighbors. Wow. Forty-one people, young [...]

The alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. so I could get up on a cold night and watch the moon and its light on the water change with the lunar eclipse. The sky started out pretty crystal clear, but advanced into thin clouds. I was just shooting with my old, little Canon G9, so I [...]

I’ve run out of fingers and toes to count on. Damn this cancer stuff! Too many people in and around my life, either have it, have “beat” it… or have been beaten by it. It’s frightening. It’s angering. It’s sobering. And it keeps a fire under my butt to have as much LIFE in my [...]

It is with deep gratitude that I look back today on my 30 years in business. I have had, and do have the pleasure of working with wonderful people, and they make all the difference in my days. Great clients, associates, family and friends and been supportive through the years, whether I’ve been near or far. Thank you.

At long last, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is going bye bye. The whole world has been incredulous and outraged for years, watching his shenanigans. After dominating Italian politics for 17 years, Berlusconi resigned on Saturday, November 12, 2011. Crowds jeered and cheered and played Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” as they celebrated the end of a long, [...]

A singular minute in our lives. We’ll have to wait another hundred years to have such a congruence of numbers in time and date. Next year, we will have 12:12 on 12/12/12, but that is a combination of two numerals, not one. I suppose that, more accurately, the year 11 would have been the true [...]

Five colored gems – the Cinque Terre – are strung like pearls along the arching neckline of the Ligurian Sea, Italy’s northern “riviera” (See map).With color palettes that include melon, kiwi, citron, honeydew, persimmon and apricot, the five towns are visual jewels and favorites of travelers from all over the world. Four of the towns are tight, [...]

My return to Haida Gwaii was so complex and deeply personal that any public writing about it will, by choice, only skim the surface of the experience. Last week, in Italian style, I trained up to Vancouver B.C., spent the day and night, then hopped on a puddle jumper to fly north for two hours. [...]

We’re just a bunch of folks, of various ages and abilities and speeds, out for a nice walk together. We show up once a month, whomever wants to amble on two feet, and we go from here to there in Volksmarch fashion. Today we walked from Burien’s Town Square westward into and around the Seahurst [...]

How dreamy to stroll under clear blue skies on a warm September afternoon, with neighbors from near and far. We had our second monthly Walk-n-Talk yesterday with a dozen two-footed walkers and three four-footed walkers, Lulu, Dingo and Khan. People came from as far away as Olympia, Kent and Bellevue to join the amble through [...]

Ignite an early enthusiasm for being on two wheels. Teach “bike sense” and street smarts to little ones. Gather people from the community for fun, conversation, fresh air and healthful exercise. These are the goals of Burien’s Bike “SaFaRis” – Safe Family Rides, launched by the enthusiastic, former Burien City Councilmember, Sue Blazak. The first [...]

People came in ones, twos and threes and gathered on the grassy knoll in the center of Burien’s Town Square. Mothers and daughters. Couples. Clusters of friends. A man and his dog. And people traveled from other towns just to join the walk. Amanda and Anne both came from Kent. Sharon came from Renton. Cathy [...]

Burien’s Walk-n-Talk is being launched this coming Sunday, August 7 at 2:00! Put on your comfy shoes and come for a casual Walk-n-Talk with friends and neighbors. On the first Sunday of every month, meet up at Burien Town Square with friends, old and new. Enjoy conversations and a walk through town. Grab a local coffee or snack before or after [...]

There’s some heavy petting going on, and purring fills the house. Nonna is queenlike on her fat cushion. And Ziggy – “Big Zig” – reigns as king from his high perches. Nonna is a 10-year-old, 11-pound, little-old-lady cat with an eye infection, dandruff and arthritis… and she’s FIV+. Poor kitty. She needed a good home [...]

Part of what makes this feel like home is having my dear neighbors show up at my door with a fresh harvest of arugula – rucola in Italian – and radishes. I did have sweet people in Italy (over)feeding me, but the friendships and interconnections here in my Burien neighborhood, south of Seattle, make me [...]

What a way to begin and end a journey… Embedded in the platform at the Cadorna station, leading in and out of Milano, is a slab of stone engraved with this phrase: “Every step I have taken in my life has led me here, now.” That’s something to ponder thoughtfully…  

I just had to. I’ve been here in Italy for almost 2 months and my apartment here in Milano is just 3 doors away from the best pastry shop in the city, Pasticceria Spezia Milano. I hadn’t been in yet for my favorite: Babá, a sponge cake filled with sweetened ricotta cheese and chocolate bits. [...]

A couple of days ago I went to Venice for the day just because I could. In a few days it’ll no longer be so simple to do. My fourth or fifth time there, this visit was entirely different. I wasn’t on a mission, I wasn’t in a mad dash to fill the memory card [...]

Visitors to the show were required to sign a release form. They might become quite disturbed (read: freak out!) when walking through the pitch-black tunnel titled “Dirty Corner”. Milan is hosting the work of internationally-renowned artist, Anish Kapoor, at the city’s newly opened “La Fabbrica del Vapore” – The Steam Factory – and also at [...]

Such dear, dear people. I feel so welcomed by Agnese, Ninni, their son Erik and Ninni’s sister Bea. They greeted me so warmly and then said goodbye with hints of visiting Seattle this year! It was three years ago that I had “Warm Octopus with Potatoes and Olives” for the first time at the Carlotta [...]

I bought some train tickets! Yesterday I traveled from Milano to Sirmione, an historic town at the end of a finger-of-a-peninsula that juts into the south end of Lago Di Garda – Lake Garda. I explored the town in the pouring rain, umbrella in one hand, camera in the other hand, soaking wet shoes on my [...]

What started all this exploration of Italy? A nudging query from a friend. An internet search. And far too many reminders that life is much too short. Too many friends and family members have “had their numbers come up”. They’ve gotten “that news”. It’s a gulper and has rattled me each time. They say you [...]

On a narrow, stair-stepped passage in the “centro storico” – historic district – of Taormina, there was a small shop that sets up fruits and vegetables outside. The lemons pulled me, looking like seventeenth-century Old Masters’ paintings. Some fruit was cut and drying at the edges, more thick-of-skin than there was flesh. Some was left [...]

“The essential is invisible to the eyes.” Painted graffiti on a wall in Palermo.  

A pigeon wandered into the other bedroom, twice, off the balcony. A child was practicing lessons on a recorder flute, playing “Somewhere (There’s a Place for Us)”. The sound was amplified through the courtyard, allowing us all to “enjoy” the practice. It actually wasn’t too bad. The neighbors next door must be good cooks, or [...]

These old shoes have been through a Venetian deluge in San Marco Square, and foot-swelling heat in the Roman Forum. They’ve taken me on the Via dell’ Amore dirt trail in the Cinque Terre and the Via Montenapoleone high fashion district of Milan. I’ve worn them with skirts and dresses, pants and shorts. On the [...]

How can there be any other way to eat? The Saturday market is now just one block away from my apartment and it goes on for blocks. The selection of meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and other delicious things makes the market a must-stop. Apparently everyone local thinks so, too. Ahh! Grana Padano! Note the pattern [...]