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 [...]

Hour and a half. A slow 4 miles. Beach. Hill trail. Neighborhoods. Wind, rain, hail, sunshine. Singing birds and seaweed. I needed that.

Ten years ago today, the earth shook both Seattle and my life. “Scared to death” is not just a figure of speech.

In spite of the snow and hail that keep passing through… and the continued temperatures in the 30s, signs of springtime surround the observant ones here in Seattle. Swelling buds on trees and daffodil stalks. Wild violets blooming. Lenten roses braving the cold. And deciduous catkins popped open, lengthening out and pendulous. A year ago, [...]

The most beautiful thing I saw today. The scene: a building along the west of a busy mall parkway in south Seattle, with a drive through and plantings along the roadside. The headlights from westbound traffic in the right-hand turn lane across the street, are intercepted by this low, trimmed tree and then play across [...]

Just because I’ve returned to Seattle, will my blog come to a halt? No. There’s still more to say. I have more mulling over to do. Comparisons to draw. Reflections to note… And having shot 16,314 photos in my close-to-14 months in Italy, I have more images to share. I’m not sure how often I’ll [...]

Octopus as tender as a dream, served warm and simply, with potatoes, olives and olive oil. Fish and pasta prepared and presented with an expert hand. Warm-hearted hosts, all family, welcome their guests into an easy, comfortable dining room in their restaurant alongside the Naviglio Pavese canal: Carlotta Café Bar & Restaurant. If you want [...]

If you haven’t been to Firenze (Florence), put it on your “life list” of must-see places in the world. Really. Two years ago I spent a couple of afternoons exploring Firenze, but I hadn’t been back since I returned to Italy last June. So I hopped on the train late last Friday morning, and less [...]

They call it “Cavolfiore” or Cauliflower here, but Americans call it “Romanesco Broccoli”. Either way, it tastes great, it’s absolutely beautiful, and it’s math on your plate. The Romanesco is a clear example of fractals and the fibonacci number sequence. See how the whole head of Romanesco is made of smaller heads that mimic the [...]

The “pinch me” part. Along our drive I had been seeing “travel-guide Italy”, scenic, seaside towns, cliffside old buildings, palm trees, polished hotels and trattorias. The statues, the weathered stone and white columns were brilliant against the blue sky we had been given, and were just the sights that make people book a vacation. Incredible. [...]

This whole time (Italy, France…) is a lesson for me that my life experience is entirely a reflection of what’s going on between my own ears. For instance, Americans always say “The French are arrogant and unfriendly!”, but I refused to walk around Paris with that belief and viewpoint. So I extended myself and was [...]

By day’s end, my feet were screaming. The “slow museum shuffle” is exhausting, more so than walking briskly for 5 miles. I had to get back to my room, unload the few things I carried and take a break. The subway system, with two transfers, consumed 45 minutes, then I arrived at the Maubert-Mutualité stop. [...]

We awoke to a dusting of snow in Milano yesterday. Today the sky taunts us with more. The air has a chill I haven’t felt here before, and the thermometer in my apartment has dropped 4 degrees. With just two radiators in the place, I wonder about feeling warm enough and am glad I brought [...]

The other night, lying wide awake at 4:00 a.m., I realized I heard nothing except my own breathing. The relentlessness and menu of sounds around here, makes silence rare and startling. It’s been almost 25 years since I’ve lived in an apartment, and I’ve never lived in such a city environment. This has been an [...]

I rode along the canal this evening. It’s shifted. The seasons are changing. The temperature may be a couple degrees cooler. It may all look a little different. But the biggest difference is in the scent of the ride. The silage is very rank and strong. There’s fruit somewhere that’s past ripe and oversweet. The [...]

Ahhh. Just back from an hour and a half ride down the canal. I push it as hard as a can, fast and steady. It makes me feel so full of life! I’m grateful to have my two wheels to hop on and get my blood pumping. Ahhh. And having the canal just a block [...]