NaBloPoMo & NaNoWriMo--ciaooooooo!

And now, the end is here. And so I face the final curtain. My friend, I'll say it clear. I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew [NaNo too?!]
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out [Take that Telecom!]
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it myyyyyyyy way!

Go ahead, give Old Blue Eyes a listen while you read the rest of this post.

So here we are at the end of a great, exciting month in the blogosphere. I survived NaBloPoMo, but came up a bit short on NaNoWriMo.

Thems the breaks.

The most important thing is that I'm happy with what I've accomplished, and I *really* am.

Thirty blog posts in thirty days is nothing to shake a stick at, as my grandmother would've said. And I'm proud of the content in each and every one of those posts to boot. I thank all of you for keeping up and commenting so fully and frequently; your continued support is appreciated more than you could ever know.

Now regarding NaNo, the novel that I'm working on requires a lot of research for one of the characters that I hadn't done prior to November. Sure I could've cheated and continued working on a book that I already have nearly 50,000 words written for already (remember my manuscript counter in the sidebar?). But that wouldn't have been very NaNo of me.

Instead, I wrote the half of the book that I was prepared to write going in, and I'm pretty happy with it. Indeed, I'm more inspired than ever to get into researching my other main character and get going on that part because I now see a wonderful novel coming out of these quickly thrown down words and ideas. There's so much potential for growth there, and I wasn't so sure of that before I began. So that's been a nice surprise.

Even better? I'm also inspired to pick up that old manuscript and get working on it again. I may even join NaNoFiMo, National Novel Finishing Month to get working on those last 30,000 words or so on that book. Who knows? It's all up to me, isn't it?

But back to the blog. I do have some unfinished November business right now--my November Monthly Musing:

With each leaf that falls
We offer thanks for present,
past, and future life.


Today I'm thankful for:

Eden Marriott Kennedy, founder and organizer of NaBloPoMo. She started with a fabulous idea last year and has built an impressive community around it. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of (mostly thankless) work that is involved in keeping up with all of this, but I would like to give this special woman and blogger extraordinaire a pat on the back from southern Italy for all those hours of keeping us in line.

You're a true blog heroine, Eden! Thank yeeeeew!

I'd also like to give a special thanks to BoogieMum who came up with the idea for 30 days of thanks. It's been an amazing exercise in stopping and appreciating what's important every day, and I will continue to do so in my own private journal.

P.S. Don't forget that the Dolce Italiano Contest is over at Jenn's The Leftover Queen today, where she's made a decadent Chocolate Salami.

Past posts include:

Mosaic Biscotti, Sara's Ms Adventures in Italy
Chocolate Kisses, Ilva's Lucullian Delights
Ricotta Pound Cake, Here!
Chestnut Brownies, Shelley's At Home in Rome

Remember, all you need to do is comment on any and all of the Dolce Italiano recipe posts to be entered into the drawing to win a personalized, signed copy of Gina DePalma's fabulous new cookbook full of Italian sweets and treats, Dolce Italiano.

And, finally, buon weekend!

Phew. Breath.

what's cooking wednesday:trick or treat tomato eyeballs

Happy Halloween!

Some of you have asked about what's going on in Italy for this "holiday," and I'm sorry to report: niente. That means nothing.

In some parts of the country, they are starting to get children involved with costumes and whatnot, but no one around here does any such thing.

This could be because I don't have kids yet...because if you think my kids are going to miss out on trick-or-treating, well, you've underestimated me and my weakness for candy.

I'll even have the good stuff shipped in from the US and distributed to the neighbors (for distribution to the children, of course, with other healthy treats encouraged too):

Added bonus is that the kids around here most likely won't have to cover up their awesome costumes with big ole coats like we always had to do where I grew up....

Anyway, back to the business at hand, I'm keeping up the Halloween theme for this week's What's Cooking Wednesday and giving you a quick, fun idea for a holiday treat.

But there's a catch--you have to go here to find the recipe for

Trick or Treat Tomato Eyeballs

Why not whip up a batch and then head over to Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun to celebrate?


Also, check out the true ghost stories over at Tui's True Spooks Blog Carnival. Make sure you turn the light on first though! There's some creepy stuff in there.

And, since it is the last day of October and I've yet to post my Monthly Musing, I'll give you a little bit of why I love this wonderful month as we say good-bye for another year:

Sweet sweet October
Only a few words to say
How much I love you...

Sweaters, fireplace fires,
My birthday, delicious soups,
And this year, puppies!

What do you love about October?

september i hardly knew ye!

I completely forgot about my Monthly Musing this month! Why is that? Probably because I love, love, love September and was too busy enjoying it...and didn't it just fly by?!

September is my second favorite month after October, my birth month (the 18th if you're keeping track), which is really like September Plus in my mind--but more on that another time.

So to me September is:

Relief from heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and all the nasty stuff about summer
that makes me irritable just thinking about it...

Renewed energy and fresh starts--
this from years of the school year really starting to kick into gear...

Smells of wood burning, rainy mornings, and
actual hot meals coming off the stove and out of the oven...

A crispness in the air coupled with warm sunshine, and
never knowing exactly how to dress for the weather...

Longer walks with the dogs because I won't be pouring in sweat and
dreading every successive step...

Shorter but not too-short days, which means more cuddle time
with P as well as with the pooches...

I always love the glorious ninth month, and this year was no different. Thanks for the memories, September! Loved it, loved it, loved it, and I can't wait to greet October (doesn't hurt that Season 3 of "Lost" starts here tomorrow--yeah!!!!).

Now tell me do--
what do *you* like about September?

P.S. Have you noticed that I've signed up for NaBloPoMo? If you're a blogger and want to pledge to post something every day during the month of November and join a great community besides, go here.

Come play with Sognatrice at NaBloPoMo

arrivederci august--and happy BlogDay 2007!

Again I’ve waited until the last possible day for my Monthly Musing. What can I say? I’m just not a summer person, especially when summer equals over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit for more than half the time.

Go ahead, smart aleck--ask me why I live in southern Italy. I know you want to. But that’s a post for another day.

The month of August gets a reprieve from my otherwise lukewarm (hah!) feelings, though, because as you’ve seen, it has given me two of the most precious people in the world to me, my niece and nephew.

My childhood best friend’s birthday was yesterday as well, and one of my best friends from college turned another year older on the 23rd--indeed, the last couple weeks of August are packed with celebrations of the birthdays of those I love…new friends included!

And then there’s a little matter of school starting up, which I always loved so much. Yeah, I was a geek like that.

In fact, starting Monday (a holiday to you in America, but not to me!) I’m starting my new regime of taking the next step in learning Italian. I have some grammar books, yes, but I also acquired a high school textbook (from two of the cutest 17-year-old boy twins you’ll ever see) on what I’d call “government and civil law” or something similar in America—I’m ready to learn about Italy’s governmental structure (sorry, I don’t get the Parliament thing) and what it considers basic human rights.

You know, all that knowledge you take for granted because you grew up with it *and* had to learn it in high school?

So I’m starting school with many of you, but before I hit the books, I have time for one more silly haiku (there’s always time for haiku, right?):

Heat, humidity,
Mosquitoes, sleeping is rough--
Sticky, sweaty, blech.

And now on to BlogDay 2007, a day on which all bloggers are encouraged to find and publicize five new blogs. I was tipped off about this by Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy, and I thank her kindly.

Here are five great new-to-me blogs for your enjoyment:

(1) Vanielje Kitchen: I'll let the author describe this blog--"The kitchens of my childhood reflected my heritage, loud, boisterous, always full, the air thick with laughter and spices, a simmering melting pot of cultures and influences, French, English, Dutch, Malay & African, and underpinning it all a deep reverence for family and food, and the smell of home: vanielje." Great stuff.

(2) The Late Bloomer: An American living in France who calls her blog “The Late Bloomer” not only because she finds herself blossoming in new ways into her 30s but also because she started blogging late in the game--only a month after I did, though! Charming, witty, just fun to read.

(3) Charlotte's Web: A South African mom, wife, writer, editor, reader, traveler, dreamer living in Germany. Makes you want to get all tangled up in Charlotte's Web. *groan* But seriously, on my first visit, I spent quite a while looking through archives. A true pleasure.

(4) A Child of the Universe: Dana is a nutritionist and herbalist in California and often writes things that I wish I would've written myself. Seriously. She uses the words "wanderlust" and "vintage" in her profile and talks of her dream of having a farm/B & B in Italy and taking lots of wonderful photographs. Are you starting to realize why I like her so?

(5) Debbie Egizio: An artist and designer whose blog really is her playground (she even says so in the blog description); it's so much fun to wander around there and see her creations--and I have my trusty bloggy-friend somepinkflowers to thank for leading me to Debbie's place. Thanks somepinkflowers!

So what are your five? Come on, you know you want to play!

Happy Labor Day weekend to my American readers,
and arrivederci agosto!

july is burning

I've waited to write July's Monthly Musing until the very end of the month--hoping that I would develop more positive feelings about it as July marched on.

Unfortunately with each passing day, more and more of our gorgeous rolling hills have gone from green and brown to charred black, and there's not much positive I can take from that.

You may have read about the fires throughout central and southern Italy (as well as Greece), and believe me, the stories are not exaggerated.

Some say that many of the fires have been set deliberately but to be honest with you, I don't really buy into that. Sure people burn off their land here all the time, but they're pretty good about controlling it, and not many are doing it in 120°F--most of that was done in June when temps were reasonable.

They say the motive is to clear the way for new hotels, villas, and pastures
but from where I'm sitting, it's just a whole lot of beautiful olive trees that have been taking the hit around here--and if any hotels or villas sprout up on the hillside, I'll let you know.

I'm sure that there *are* some pyromaniacs around, but I personally feel that blaming arsonists for the rash of fires is just another way for the powers-that-be to shake their heads in derision toward central and especially southern Italy and to draw attention away from the fact that they haven't been very successful in managing the fires.

But maybe that's just me.

Anyway, we have been lucky to escape any damage up until now, but the hill just across the road from us wasn't so lucky; yesterday afternoon it went up in flames as I was down at the beach swimming near where a helicopter was dipping into the sea for water to take up there. A couple weeks ago, our neighboring village lost two houses, although no one was injured.


I posted here about the planes fighting the fires, but things have gotten so much worse since then. Tourists have been killed in Puglia and one of our pilots died in Abruzzo when his Canadair crashed into a mountain near L'Aquila.

Greece lost two of its own in a similar way.

And so I sit here on another scorcher, although it's certainly cooler than it has been, waiting for the wind to pick up as it normally does at this time of day and then continues to increase until it reaches what feels like hurricane force.

And I'm sorry to say that I smell smoke.

Smoke, flames, blackened earth
July two-thousand seven
I'll never forget.

On a different, more cheerful note, do check out my post entitled "What's the Deal with Lycopene?: Health Benefits of Tomatoes" on TomatoCasual.com.

And let's hope for a better August.

june is...

We’re nearing the end of June which means that 2007 is just about half over. Can you believe it? Weren't we just bringing in the new year a minute ago?

I don’t make resolutions at the beginning of the year, but I do find that the midway point is a good time to look back on the previous six months—and that’s pretty much what June means to me.

So here is my June Monthly Musing with a special thanks to Leonardo, my lion and partner in crime as part of the pride at the Shameless Lions Writing Circle:

June is…

A melody of reflections
Accompanied by

Bright beams of light
Sneaking in through tiny cracks
You couldn’t have seen when it was dark,

Torturous heat
Making me nostalgic for
The days of two or more pairs of socks,

Crackles and pops
Choking billows of grey smoke
From the pungent, annual wildfires,

Summer peaches
Bursting with sweet innocence
Of childhood, bicycles, swimming pools,

Spotted night skies
Glistening with such knowledge
That I truly can see forever.

Where have I been? Where will I go?
Where are the answers?

Dream on.

How does June make you feel? What comes to mind when you think of June? Do tell!

*P.S. After I posted this, I went over to Cheeky's place and read her post entitled "Remembering: Way Back." So much of it reminds me of June and summer and good times that I wholeheartedly recommend your going over there to check it out. And tell Cheeky I sent you!

may musings

It's about time to think about the month of May and what it means to me; I'm going back to the haiku form that I first used for March:





As your name suggests
Possibilities abound
Nothing definite.

Better, worse, the same?
Your warm optimism taunts
One way to find out.







This is part of my Monthly Musings series. Also be sure to check out Cheeky's May reflections.

If you'd like to join, scribble something about May and send me a link.

adoring april

Time for my April Monthly Musing seeing as we're only a weekend away from the end of these lovely 30 days.

I love April, second only to October, my birth month. Makes perfect sense because if you mapped out the year, they’d be on opposite sides of the scales, balancing out the coldest of the cold and the warmest of the warm with their usually pleasant although often unpredictable temps.

And if I’m about anything, I’m about balance, being a Libra and all.

April is special, though, because it gives me a bit of warmth, a glimpse at the months to come, a feeling of being more alive and wanting to get out and feel the sunshine on my cheeks again--which is saying a lot for someone who really, really doesn’t enjoy baking in the sun. Needless to say, the SPF always comes first.

I didn’t use to get Spring Fever when I lived in the United States, and maybe that’s because where I lived, the weather never got spectacularly warm until Julyish, so what was the point anyway…but here…I have felt my entire mood shift in just a month.

I find myself getting up earlier and earlier, not being able to fall back asleep once I start thinking of getting up and out and walking with Luna and getting so warm that I have to take off even the lightest of jackets. I feel more energized, wanting to clean out all the must and dust of winter, smelling the freshness of flowers mixed with cleaning solutions as they waft out of the window and balcony door, which, thankfully, I have been leaving open all day now.

Not even sending off my American taxes in the middle of all this can spoil the mood.

April also marks the beginning of Spring Cleaning down at what we call "il giardino."

It'd be safe to assume that P did the majority of the work as I was busy taking photos; bless his heart, he actually told me I could bring a book!

Here's part of the area after many hours of P's hard work:

And here are two of our new little friends:

Now go check out Cheeky's thoughts on April, and then get out there and enjoy the final days of this special month.

Don't forget that you, too, can appreciate each month as it passes by recording your thoughts--and letting me know so I can link to you.

ode to march

For my second Monthly Musings, it's time to tackle big bad March.

I had originally planned on posting each Musing on the first of the month. Yes, I know March is nearly over, but since I made up this meme only for me, I can make up the rules as I go along too. Kinda like Calvinball, for those of you who remember my fascination with a little boy and his tiger.

Anyhoo, I'm most definitely not a poet, but this time, I decided on a haiku--thanks for the inspiration Bella and Guinness Girl!

Maybe I'll do this for all the months now.

Or maybe I'll change my mind come April.

I love power.







Me and My March

Flippant, fickle month
Warm, cold, wild, calm, cruel, and kind
My kindred spirit.

fancying february

I have a list of writing prompts stored in various files, paper and computer. I came across one recently that goes like this:

“What does January feel like? Write a poem or paragraph (or whatever) that explains your opinion of and emotions felt for the twelve different months of the year.”

OK, I missed January, but I’m going to start today with February. If anyone would like to join in the Monthly Musings Meme, feel free, and please leave me a comment so I can find you.

Here goes:

February. Just the word conjures up layers of clothes, snuggling up close, and mugs of hot chocolate. It’s the shortest month of the year and many would say, “thank goodness!” But not me. I rather enjoy this mini-month.

For me, it serves as the month where I can comfortably, without guilt or peer pressure, be a hermit. I can hole myself up near the fire, just the computer and me, or a good book and me, or, you know, if I’m feeling semi-social, P and me, and just relax, relishing these laid-back 28 (sometimes 29) days of blah.

I’m not big on new year’s resolutions, but even if I were, I don’t think I’d make them until February. January’s still too hectic, recovering from the holidays, getting the house back into everyday order, planning out projects, budgets, and basically debriefing the previous year. How can I possibly decide what I want for myself for the next 11 months with all that going on?

February, on the other hand, is the month in which I pick up the fun stuff I had been meaning to do, reading books I had been too tired to get to at night, thinking about learning to knit (again), getting papers in order for my taxes. OK, the last one isn’t so much fun as necessary, but the wind outside does give me just enough inspiration to dig into the stacks of papers.

February forces me to stay inside the house, and I have to admit, I kinda like it. A lot. All that time to decompress. Stop. Appreciate. Enjoy.

But it’s a short month, so there’s not a whole lotta time between checking on Phil’s shadow and greeting the lion or the lamb. February tends to fly by, but after a month of slowing down, I’m always ready for March’s sunshine and earlier sunrises to kick my butt back into gear.

Because, you know, hibernating can get tiring.