one word

after an exceptionally busy week, early this morning i finally had a free moment to click over to one single impression to check the poetry prompt. one word...hmmmmm. i don't do "one" word very well (just ask D. or the soul sisters!!!); i'm more like a "whole story" kinda gal. heck, i even talk in my sleep, sometimes in italian according to D. but one word?? that word must be a very important word, not just a run-of-the-mill, everyday type word...it must be a truly inspired word. honestly, choosing just one is like asking me for a preference on my last meal when i just want to eat my way around the world (or at the very least around the **gelato** world!)...i decided to sit with this prompt through the day to see what might unfold in the course of events.on the drive into the city my thoughts rolled around between choosing a word & the week in passing. i spent an afternoon on the phone with one of my very dearest friends who has just lost her momma, bumping around that strange & sticky world of fresh grief.

i spent another day with melissa packing a garageful of clothing to be shipped for her ministry in romania...which led me to near-panic on the drive home that evening~~ we are bound for europe in just 6 short weeks for a journey that lasts 6 weeks & i had not really organized all the notes & emails for that time, nor had i made a good working "to do" list. (yes, that list is now made & the info packet for the entire journey is printed & organized!)

while i was printing all the lodging confirmations from my email's inbox my italian instructor sent me the 2nd email in as many days, this one with an element of concern ("are you alright?? i have not heard from you this week!") . this prompted a side-tracked response with more verb errors that i care to admit, all the while upping my general panic level another notch (yellow to orange, perhaps?!?!)...must. study. conjugations!!...classes start in 7 weeks!at this point on the drive i found myself taking a deep breath, & then refocusing what we were doing today. we were heading to brunch to see an old friend who was playing a gig. no ordinary guy...an amazing flamenco guitarist who is whupping cancer's backside right now!! it was so good to see paco again. he's looking a bit under the weather but his music is as strong as ever.

aaaahhhhh...time together with D. & my boys, a good meal, the best music, a stroll to the river afterwards on this fine carolina spring day...the thought of "one word" came rushing back to me on the drive home. i must admit that the first word that came to mind was "nap"! (i'm a huge fan of restful sundays.)but as my thoughts threaded together, the ever-present whisper was "gratitude." i'm so grateful...

136. for a dear friend like L. & for her momma who brought her into this world, for a chance to be there for her at this hard time...

137. grateful for melissa & her work, for the example she is to my children...

138. grateful for the awesome privilege of travel & all that affords, for the privilege of being able to join melissa if only for a short while...

139. grateful for the opportunity to study the language of my heart in its native country, for my italian instructor, a true peach of a woman with the patience of a saint & a true gift for teaching...

140. & speaking of gifts~~ grateful for paco & his music...

141. grateful for the privilege of holding these wonderful folks in prayer in these difficult days, days of adjustments large & small...

142. grateful for friends far & near...

143. grateful for precious, quiet moments with my family doing very ordinary things like relishing the taste of food, the sound of chords blended to perfection, the scents of spring air...

144. & grateful for a bit of gelato & a 20 minute nap on a lazy sunday afternoon.in the fourth watch of the night

i wake

while quiet stars linger

around last quarter moon,

undiluted recollections

rush in to fill the vacuum left

by easy sleep;

as they parade

before my internal eyes

i'm taken with the question

'is this really unexpected

in the lot that belongs to man?'

the things that i deem good

or otherwise...

so i take them all for what they're worth

wrapping them in soul's quilted embrace

of gentle gratitude.please visit one single impression for more wonderful poetry...thank you Jess from Wayfaring Wanderer for the prompt "one word."

end of year meme...

thanks, michelle!! this sounds like a terrific way to say goodbye to a fabulous year before i embrace the new one. here goes...

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? take italian classes in italy!!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? yes i did & yes i will! (that is a whole other post!!)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die? quite a few acquaintances, a friend from years back, a very favorite high school teacher, & a dear neighbor.

5. What countries did you visit? italy, haiti, jamaica, grand caymen, italy, italy again, & costa rica!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? i am having trouble finding something i lacked in 2008...seriously.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? the week of the girlfriend gaggle...:-) a week with my best girlfriends needs no answer to "why"!!!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? getting laundry done between travel excursions.

9. What was your biggest failure? grumbling about little things that don't matter...things usually forgotten the very next hour, day, week.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? thank God, no.

11. What was the best thing you bought? plane tickets!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? D.'s patience with all my travel, most of which did not include him.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? anyone who was mean to children or animals & anyone who lied.

14. Where did most of your money go? plane tickets again!! (fuel for our autos came in a very close 2nd!)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? holding entire conversations in italian & actually understanding & being understood.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? leona lewis's bleeding love that was sung by every single person (y'all know who you are!!!!) at the top of their lungs in our suburban on the way to the beach at midnight to see noctiluca ...although after 6 months of text messages, the gaggle of girlfriends just *might* have a differing opinion about that one! & no, i cannot post the song you are thinking about L., J. & Mrs. T.!!!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? (a) happier all the time! (b) the very same (c) richer in love for sure!!!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? slept on the transatlantic flights!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? slept while at my travel destinations.

20. How did you spend Christmas? Christmas eve Mass with the family, gift exchanging Christmas morn, a bit o' surfing at the beach, & way too much indulging in brunch, dinner & baked goodies followed by a power nap that seemed to stretch right into bedtime!

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? over & over again, every single day.

22. What was your favorite TV program? the office (US version, though i also enjoyed a BBC episode or two)...bears, beets, battlestar galactica for all you fans out there!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? awww, don't be hatin'

24. What was the best book you read? quo vadis

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? how to download songs from iTunes onto my iPod!!

26. What did you want and get? at the risk of sounding like a broken record...travel!!!

27. What did you want and not get? not a thing...

28. What was your favorite film of this year? into the wild (though it came out in 2007, i did not see it until this year)

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? i turned 42 & the day involved fabulous company, an awesome meal, a great wine, coffee, & chocolate!!!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? my year was immeasurably satisfying as it was...

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? whatever fits into my backpack & looks good at my destination!

32. What kept you sane? my soul sisters!!!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? johnny depp (get in line girls!!!) with a bit of edwin on the side!

34. What political issue stirred you the most? piacere doesn't do politics online!

35. Who did you miss? the soul sisters & my parents

36. Who was the best new person you met? all my blog buddies (+ chef christopher) i was blessed to meet in person!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. let go & let God.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "the moment i let go of it was the moment i got more than i could handle; the moment i jumped off of it was the moment i touched down." thank u by alanis morissette

that's all for me, folks! if you do this meme, please drop me a line so that i may enjoy your answers. ciao for now...

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!

love n' music...

before i share a bit of D.'s weekend surprise, i wanted to update you on josiah. he is hanging in there with some small but positive steps. his journey from here will be a long & arduous one, so thank you all so much for your prayer-answers to my friday shout-out. & please keep them coming...
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& now from last weekend, D.'s big surprise...anyone who knows me from back in the day, knows that i wasn't then & am still not a hard-rockin' kinda gal (though i did have my fair share of styx 45's & an actual def leppard album- yes, vinyl!). my music tastes tend toward this & this & this, plus a whole lotta this with a little of this thrown in to shake things up!

now with D., things are a bit different. our 5 year age difference made all the difference with music, hence he has a very spiffy 8 track tape collection with a bit more of a rock sound than my vinyl & cassette cache. one of his all-time favorite bands is boston. it is the most-likely-to-be-found cd in his car's player. (70's music meets 21st century technology!) imagine my delight a few weeks ago when my terrific ticketmaster email update arrived, announcing a boston/styx concert just a short piece away from home!

in the name of love, i decided to bite the bullet & brave a (tame) rock concert...surprising D. with 2 tickets & a night away! it was truly a memorable weekend for both of us. after hotel check-in, i told D. i needed to fortify the night with a bit caffeine & a starbucks was conveniently located between the hotel & concert venue. D. knows well enough to indulge my caffeine addiction & this time he was quite glad he did! you would not believe who we met over coffee!...michael sweet, vocalist/guitarist for boston. he is just the nicest person you could imagine. would you believe i did not have my camera...it was off-limits for the concert & i left it behind :-(...

the concert itself was stupendous, even for a non-hard rocker like me. really, it was a mix of awesome music, a calm crowd, the beautiful carolina outdoors, & a full moon rising stage right. D. & i both agreed the best songs of the evening were come sail away & the encore performance of renegade (for those of you who read "45" above & wondered what that was...this is it!!!)

we enjoyed a great trip down memory lane (my middle school & D.'s high school years were peppered with this stuff). happy love thursday y'all!!

tastes like chicken...

between travel, chasing snow & a good ol' winter cold on the weekend...& a mid-week double delight of today's italian class & tonight's puccini opera "tosca"...cooking is a bit light & rather predictable (according to boyworld, anyway!) this week.

in casa piacere predictable=chicken!

this what's cooking wednesday recipe is a recent experiment gone well...the dish Baby Girl dubbed "awesome chicken" over her holiday. it stands well on its own (& was a fine meat with last night's mashed potatoes & edamame) & it eases rather well into a chicken soup if you have leftovers (i make extra just for that purpose).

sorry...no photos...some very sweet men cleaned up the kitchen too quickly for me to get a shot. can't complain about that!!

awesome chicken

add extra virgin olive oil to a pan to cover the bottom...place 2 pounds split chicken breasts (boneless) in pan

whisk together 1/4 c. dijon mustard, 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar, juice squeezed from 1 lemon, 1/4 c. more olive oil, & 3 finely diced garlic cloves...drizzle over chicken

sprinkle chicken with fresh ground pepper & sea salt to your liking

bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes~~ it's that easy!