Shortly after arriving in Milano, I had a nesting moment and went out to pull weeds in and around my little courtyard just to tidy it up and make it a little less jungle-like. It’s really a pleasant garden spot in the midst of these 8-story city apartments. It’s tucked in a narrow passage on [...]

Wandering the street market today, I saw this woman in white from head to toe, including white, fishnet gloves. She was beautiful! I tried to take some “stealth” photos, but kept getting just the back of her. So I moved to the other side of the seller’s booth and got this photo from in front [...]

Brrr! It’s been chilly in Milano much of the last week. For late May, temperatures in the low 50s are quite a surprise. I hadn’t expected it, so I didn’t even pack full length pants! Sitting here in my house trying to get my work done, my fingers were cold, my toes were cold, my [...]

On Saturday, three blocks from my house, is the weekly street market selling fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, cheeses, olives, preserved foods, household sundries and clothing. It’s a hub-bub of people buying their provisions for the week. You have to know “the system” for shopping there. Decide what you want, then go stand in line at [...]

The Naviglio Grande – The Grand Canal – is between my casa and the metro subway station, Porta Genova. This gives me plenty of opportunity to stroll the canals and see what I can see, to allow my eye to be caught by sight.

The little courtyard is paved with stones and scraps of ceramic tiles. It’s surrounded by camellia, hydrangea, iris, rose and greens-gone-wild. And the little sanctuary had been neglected by students that cared more about the evening aperitivo social hour than weeds in cracks. The afternoon was dry and warm and I was in a nesting mood. [...]

I saw this stenciled on a wall here in Milano today… (Worth contemplating.)

After sitting inside all day working, by 6:00 p.m. I had to get out and take a walk from here to my beloved Duomo. I had arrived late Tuesday evening, spent Wednesday getting settled and hadn’t yet been to my favorite landmark in town, 2 miles away from my apartment. I must always go to [...]

The mid-afternoon sunlight is coming into my almost-three-foot-wide, skinny kitchen and it strikes me as so beautiful. It’s almost a black and white shot, except for that delicious green mug, a sprinkling of red, painted petals on another mug, and red pepper lip stains on the cotton napkin. Nothing contrived or set up, yet it [...]

At 9:00 tonight I set off for a walk up and over and around the Naviglio Grande zone – The Grand Canal. It was a brisk and breezy 60 degrees out and it felt pretty chilly. But there were still lots of people milling around and the little restaurants were doing well with people cozy [...]

First day in town required some grocery shopping. A few things to eat (favorites I’ve missed), and a few things for the house. Starting from the back, left to right: Cherry tomatoes – sugar sweet and full of flavor. Who needs candy? Fresh Mozzarella di Bufala – the real thing Whole milk for my coffee [...]

May 15 Journal Entry – London Heathrow Tarmac. Departing soon for Milano. “Sleepy and subdued after the long flight from Seattle to London, but I look forward to flying into Italian skies, seeing the distinctive Italianate architecture down below me. After arrival at Malpensa and retrieval of my one checked bag, I’ll take the train [...]

Backing up a bit, here are some journal excerpts from March 18, 2012, in Burien, WA, as I reflected on my then-imminent trip to Milan: “I am now just under 8 weeks away from heading back to Italy. At the 10-week mark I felt ‘the shift.’ I am now straddling the globe, neither fully here [...]

CAN ANYONE HELP ME IDENTIFY THIS STONE? Weighs 2 lbs., 3 oz. and is 5.75″ long. Botryoidal in formation. Overall deep blue-green in color. Central, circularly-radiating ochre-colored cores within each sphere. Found on Haida Gwaii, (Queen Charlotte Islands), off the coast of British Columbia. Doesn’t seem to be scratched by steel. (Click on each image for [...]

Hey, it may have been a bit chilly, but it was dry! (We had much warmer weather for our walks on January 1 and February 5.) It’s the beginning of March and it was time to go for another Walk-n-Talk. We met up at Burien Town Square today on the grassy knoll, and started walking at [...]

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 [...]