Exploring: The Nebrodi Mountains

Daily hikes past cows, up and over rocky paths, following the Troina River, stopping to pick flowers, throw rocks into the water, and admire the striking vistas. Big, green, rocky hills covered with wild teasel, ferula, and trees with yellow leaves. The rainy season has started in Sicily which means everything is finally greening up. Sudden rains rinsing away the dusty, browns of summer.  Even after two years of living in the Mediterranean climate, this abrupt appearance of vibrant greens never ceases to amaze and thrill me. Autumn in the Nebrodi Mountains is invigorating and muddy.

Remembering

Palazzo Biscari, Catania, Sicily

Tonight we will light a candle for Adam's grandmother who passed away this weekend. Ann was truly a beautiful woman who lived a long and vigorous life. She was one of the most candid women I have ever met. She was generous, kind, and driven. She loved dirty jokes, she was practical, and she turned organizing and cleaning into an extreme sport (I always heard stories from Adam and his mom, but when Ann kindly gave me her sewing machine and sewing supplies I was blown away by how neatly everything was labeled and organized). She was a devoted wife,mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who lived each day with grace and wit. 

We will miss her very much.

Thanksgiving 2011

Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, 2011

Sending you and your families warm wishes for a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are headed off to explore Sicily's Nebrodi Mountains for a few days with friends. We have so much to be thankful for and while savoring our final year in Sicily, we are also starting to get excited about our next destination. We recently found out we will be moving to the Washington, DC area...history, culture, friends, family, and all sorts of other good things waiting to be discovered. We are thrilled.

I like Maya Angelou's advice about eating (step away from the counter and join the table) and yellow legal pads (write down every little thing). In between eating and hiking, I am planning to do some writing. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all took just a few minutes to sit down with a yellow legal pad and make a gratitude list? I admit that sounds kind of cheesy, but I do believe it's true. Stopping to acknowledge and appreciate what we have is a very good and necessary thing. Hope your table is graced with good food, hope you are surrounded by love and good memories, and hope your list is very long and full. Happy Thanksgiving!