an ode to summer's last day...

i like that today is not only summer's last day but that is it also Sunday, a day of rest at casa piacere. though i dearly love autumn in all it's glory, i have to admit there is some foot dragging on my part to leave summer behind...the lazy tempo of summer days, the long hours of daylight, the abundance at our farmers' market, first morning coffee on the deck in shorts & a tee, and, of course...days that are so hot that the only way to cope is to churn out a batch of gelato to cool your body's core temperature!ahhhhh...gelato! my best summer friend!! (next to you, D.!!) this past summer there was not a week that went by that we did not eat gelato, be it on the road or from our own machine at home. top homemade flavors this summer were grapefruit with chocolate chip, lemon, and lavender.

top flavors not made at home were found in roma! on our roman language holiday in july, we made a point of eating gelato every single day, sometimes twice a day, & on 2 occasions 3 & 4 times in one day...there must be help for this condition, but i don't want it!the nice thing about being planted in one location for an extended period of time (as opposed to our previous stays in roma of 2-3 nights) was that it allowed for stumbling upon little gems that are not always listed in the travel guides i use or the websites i peruse. many of our gelato haunts on this trip were old favorites like gelateria della palma & some were new finds like old bridge, gelateria valentino & gelateria del teatro.the one that was our very favorite, hands down...the one that made us positively swoon summer was san crispino (via della panetteria 42, near the fontana di trevi). now, i know that to some of you who know roma like the back of your own hands (you lucky, lucky people ;) this place is not a mystery, but for us it was new. but once discovered, it became a stop on the journey every single day. we actually planned our activities around the times they would be open!

flavors (be aware they change seasonally & we are talking mid-summer here)...hands down, for those with the more adult palate it was pompelmo rosa. for Little Man...it was limone, sempre limone!!! & for me, because one flavor will never be enough in my coppa, the pompelmo rosa was always with a side of a flavor whose name i cannot recall but i can describe...a cool & smooth cream gelato (sort of like vanilla) with chunks of airy meringue & silky valrhona dark chocolate bits swirled throughout.every bite of san crispino's gelato was like a holiday in my mouth!!! this little, off-the-main-drag-but-oh-so-close-to-it-all gelateria has a soft, modern interior but it is not a place for lingering. there are no tables inside or out, but for the time spent in the queue (yes, there will be one!!) you get the luxury of cooling down in the air conditioning (not always found in your roman wanderings). if you plan a stop here, be prepared...they are closed tuesdays. when you find yourself in roma (you will...all roads lead to rome, right?!?) get to san crispino!

for those of you (& you know who you are) who cannot get enough of this smooth n' creamy stuff (in any season), you might consider clicking on over to sara at ms. adventures in italy for her tour del gelato.

ahhhh...the wonderful memories of summer~~ cool gelato on a hot summer afternoon...che fantastico!

keeping me sane...

D. & mrs. T., you have no idea how much last weekend meant to me! missing that woman-child of mine could have easily overwhelmed me but your perfectly timed 3 day celebration was not a belated birthday...it was right on time!! & my gratitude knows no bounds...

108. after 6 hours on the road...a party!109. a whole day of lolly-gagging around...110. & a night of music...all phor charity ...that makes it even better!...111. with 2 of my very favorite bands...the blue dogs...112. & edwin mccain, of course...113. but wait, there's more...another day & this time it's all about the food!...114. & the rock star chef!...(i have the recipes to prove it!)...115. tyler florence plating your food!!!...(oh yes he did & it was phenomenal!!)...116. more food~~ we really did eat all day~~ with a bit o' edwin, again...117. & the grand finale...a homemade lavender gelato pajama party to cap off the night!...

my heart is singing with gratitude for the love & friendship we share!

seven...

remembering...

& she's off...

all my years of encouraging my children to see the world were realized for the first time through teary eyes in the wee hours of this morning...Baby Girl boarded a plane bound for costa rica for her semester abroad.i'm so proud of that child but i am surely missing her already! boyworld is lots of fun, but they just don't get the girlfriend thang! we've had a fantastic summer, & on the way to the airport, it was fun to discuss how different things will be when she returns in december...boyworld will be taller, advent will be in full swing with Christmas just around the corner, the air will certainly have more of a chill to it. we are sad to realize that we will miss thanksgiving for the first time as a family of 6 (there was just no way around that one)...but this opportunity will change her life. all travel does that. in her preparations for this journey i realized just how capable & mature she has become.buon viaggio, Baby Girl! may you have the journey of a lifetime & come home all the richer for it!...

sniff.

rise & shine!

good morning, sunshine!!!...hanna came ashore about an hour south of us last night with tropical storm force winds (highest speed~ 55 mph), less than an inch of rain, & a storm surge of water that did not leave the confines of the bay...it was just like a standard astronomical tide. now what remains is a bit more wind (in the 30-40 mph range). i will say that we did fare so much better than we did through ophelia in '05 wind & water-wise...that time the bay was in our yard, we lost power & our roof gave up about 1/3 of its shingles! i cannot say enough in favor of our windows that were replaced since '05...during ophelia, even with our windows boarded up, the wind howled & shook those windows. with our new windows (not boarded up for this one) we barely heard the wind, even in the middle of the night with the worst gusts...& i slept so much better for that! Little Man spent most of the night awake & has informed me that these trees in our yard were basically laying down in the grass through some of last night's wind!...glad i missed *that*! has anyone out there ever noticed just how difficult it is to photograph wind???...(those upsidedown steps that you see in this photo are the ones that came off our dock & floated away through the night!) for a more technical analysis of hanna, please head over to Little Man's blog...for those of you still in hanna's path, you have my prayers for safety!

hanna & pajamas!

yep, that's right...we are battened down awaiting hanna's visit & i am blogging in my pj's! what a difference 24 hours makes!!...yesterday...today...now, the prep work is over...everything that was outside is now inside. the dock is stored under the house. the boats are safely on land. the evacuation checklist is back in its file for now as there are no mandatory evacuations (whew!)...as of now, our county has issued a curfew for tonight. the candles stand ready for later. Little Man has two computers with all sorts & types of weather sites running (radars, forecastings, etc...) it looks like ms. hanna will be paying us a visit as a strong tropical storm or a cat 1 hurricane...our resident weather geek just reported wind speeds of 70mph with gusts to 85mph (these speeds are still several hours away from us as i type this). we began feeling the steady winds last night...15-20mph sustained all through the night. today they dropped a bit to 10-15mph...no big deal, really, but it was enough to keep the bay full of white caps. about the water...the forecast calls for storm surge of 4-6 feet...landfall will coincide with our overnight high tide, so i am sure we will have some bay in our yard. our low tide this afternoon actually looked just like high tide as the wind is blowing from the east & pushing water *into* the bay in spite of the turned tide. times like this make me very glad our home is on pilings, keeping us dry through this type of surge. even though we worked hard before nightfall, we did find some time to hang with our weather channel friends!that's right...Little Man got the call yesterday from one of our road crew buddies...they were filming nearby through the evening & it was a pleasure to spend time with them...Little Man enjoyed another opportunity to get more career advice & dream of a possible future!...oh...i almost forgot...please keep the very last of our bird families to hatch in your good thoughts as they weather the storm just outside our window. we have not seen them fly yet but have hopes that they are big & strong enough to get through this...& now i better get this post up...dark has arrived & the winds are picking up again (around 25mph sustained!)...more later if the power cooperates...

& as always...my hurricane season prayer...Psalm 107:29:"He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, and the billows of the sea were stilled."

false advertising...

when your day looks like this...& this...but the forecast looks like this...it almost seems like false advertising, don'tcha think??? of course, not-so-little man (note to self: must find new nickname) is all over this upcoming weather event. he is salivating at the prospect of weekend storm tracking. me...not so much.(weather graphics courtesy of this site)

i've already laid down the law...anything approaching a cat 2 hurricane & we're outta here! barring intensification & a lack of power, i am guessing that i will blog ms. hanna. time will tell...prayers are definitely in order! for now, it's back to school work & later this afternoon...time to begin hurricane prep work, which goes something like this...

it's that time when you start to peruse your evacuation "to do" list (i created it the first season we were here & i am so glad because i know i would forget something in the middle of a crisis).


you look around your yard & deck, wondering when to bring things inside (i do mean *everything* for if it is left outside, it could become a projectile).


you start the back-&-forth scenario in your head: take the boat out, no wait, take the boat out, no wait.


you go over evacuation routes in your head (which way do i go??).


you go to the store for water & batteries, the stockpile of which will get you through an entire year without a hurricane.


you lovingly pat your generator when you pass by.


you set weather underground as your boot-up page (our family's weather forecasting preference online since 1998). or you simply summon Little Man to the computer to cruise through his 50 or so weather prediction internet sites.


EVERYONE asks Little Man what the lastest updates are saying!


& you pray...that it goes gently out to sea, harming no one in its travels.


my hurricane season prayer...Psalm 107:29:"He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, and the billows of the sea were stilled."