Shadow Tree
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...
Buon Anno! Happy New Year!
Buon Anno. Tanti Auguri. Happy New Year. Many Good Wishes. L'anno duemilleundici. The year two thousand eleven. Vi auguro buona salute, curiositá e contentezza nel anno nuovo! Un abbraccio...
Maiden Octopus
Saturday. Past 10:00 in the evening and the house smells good of octopus cooking since 9:26. A few garlic cloves, a dozen peppercorns, a tablespoon of salt and maybe a gallon of water in a pot with...
November Canalside
One year ago, late November, I was riding my beloved bike route along the Naviglio Pavese, one of the several canals radiating from the center of Milano. In the near-14-months that I rode this paved...
Buy More Stuff
"Black Friday". THE day upon which retailers place their hopes and base their projections for their year's sales and their holiday "retail success". The day after Thanksgiving, when much of the...
Bubblegum & Basketweave in Seattle
As a designer and photographer, one of the most stimulating aspects of being in Italy was its visual lushness. Every surface and every structure caught my eye. (Hence, the 16,300 photos I shot in my...
Figs in Prosciutto Jackets
The inspiration of living in Italy will likely continue on for a very long time. I recently split fresh figs and stuffed them with a wedge of goat cheese. I wound them with jackets of prosciutto...
Still Hovering Midair
Who'd have thought that moving BACK to Seattle would be as much a part of the experience as moving TO Milano?! It's taken me by surprise how daunting and unsettling it has been to move back into my...
My Dear Neighbors!
My neighbors are so wonderful. They show up at my back door with slices of fresh, cold watermelon. They loan me pasta machines. They invite me over to sing camp songs along the shoreline. They tote...
Farmers Market Lasagna
Seattle's chilly summertime is winding down with scattered sunshine following cloudy mornings. Warm evenings are rare, but, once again, the waterside neighbors initiated a dinnertime potluck along...
Italia in America
I'm grateful for the little reminders of Italia that I encounter here in Seattle, going about my day. Names for cookies and chips. Old ladies wearing tavern jackets in the "pot pie" frozen food...
Crab at the Water’s Edge
"We're having a crab feed on the beach tomorrow night. Do you want to come?" There's only one answer for that question. "Of course!" This is a great neighborhood: wonderful people in a beautiful...