Archive for February, 2010

Ben, Jerry and Dr. Gupta

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

 

Okay, Dr. Gupta.  You’ve officially pushed me over the brink.  I’ve been on it for quite a while, but I just toppled  over it, onto the other side.  What’s on the other side?  Everything “bad”.  You know, carbs, sweets, high sodium foods, alcohol, red meat and numerous fried foods.  Not fried in olive oil mind you, but bacon drippings.

 

And what did the good Doctor say that put me into this state?   Here it is, ladies:  NORMAL WEIGHT OBESITY.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  Normal weight obesity is when you are of a normal weight, but you are still fat because your muscle mass versus fat numbers are not what they should be.  There is a lot more I could say about this.  Instead I’m going to take something for my headache and consider getting up front and personal with two of my favorite guys.  They are called Ben and Jerry and they understand ice cream — and me, far better than Dr. Gupta.

 

 

Good Night, folks…………..

Posted in Community of Sisters, Health, Life | No Comments »

Pilgrimage: 5th Installment

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

 

Hang on folks, we’re almost in Italy: Much time passes, and lots of life happens.  Our son is grown, married to a lovely girl and on his own.  Our daughter is due to graduate college in 2007, and I begin to think perhaps it’s time to stop thinking about Italy and actually GO.  My husband is not at all into investigating the past.  Especially the lonnggg past.  But who wouldn’t want to visit Italy?  So much to see, so much to do and the added bonus of not having to see my unhappy face across the dinner table for the rest of his life if he said “I don’t want to go”.  Figuring out how to accomplish the entire trip without him ………..well thankfully, I didn’t have to.italy2

 

My husband gets on the computer, and finds the village of my Grandfather’s birth. Yes ladies, it was that easy in the age of computers.  My Aunt, Nazareno’s only surviving daughter, locates the Italian phone book the same way.  She finds 36 people listed under the family name, and I now have addresses.  Hmmmmn…now what?  Time for a letter from the blue to a randomly chosen probable relative.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?  So about 6 weeks before our tour of Italy I mail it off.  No response is a little disappointing, but our trip begins in Milan, and ends in Rome which is only 38 km from Casape.  So we’ll find transportation and take an afternoon and visit.  Walk about a bit, perhaps check out the church and see if there’s a local cemetery.  In so small a place, perhaps someone will venture over and talk to us.  Grandpa left in 1915, but maybe some one remembers something………….

 

The prospect of all of this is not easy on a person who loathes flying and is not comfortable being in the position of possibly intruding on “strangers”.  But there’s always Xanax for the plane and the thought of Mom and Grandpa for courage.  What’s the worst that can happen?  THAT I try not to even contemplate. 

 

More soon.

Posted in Family & Friends, Hobbies, Relationships, Travel | No Comments »

Where Our Future Lies

Friday, February 19th, 2010

 

I was having a sad enough time of it as it was.  In our local “everything” store, I was perusing the almost  bare aisles.  They are closing at the end of the month, after over 20 years in town, a victim of rising rents and the economy.  I’d noticed a very pretty young girl walking around.  Flawless makeup and hair, well dressed and about 15 to 18 years old.  She called out to her middle aged Aunt “What’s fifty percent off two dollars?”.  Good grief.   We are definitely NOT having fun yet if that’s where our future lies………..

 

 

More later………..

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Pilgrimage: 4th Installment

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

italy1

 

Back to the story of how I ended up in a small village in Italy.  By the way, small in Italy is a lot smaller than small in the USA.  We’re talking 781 people.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  When I was about 10 or 11, my Dad tried to reestablish contact with the family in the “old country”.  He tried the address of a convent at which my Grandpa’s aunt had been Mother Superior.  It no longer existed.  He also tried the Italian Embassy, with no luck.  No one seems to have heard of the name of the village, and this was way before computers.  My father always regretted being unable to let the family know that Nazareno had died in 1960, so there things stood for quite some time.

 

By the mid 1970’s, my father had taken early retirement.  Before his health declined, he tried to persuade my Mom to agree to go to Italy and try and find her family.  The first problem was that Mom hated to fly.  The second was that although they were right in believing Grandpa had been the oldest son, they thought his 5 sisters were all older than he.  Assuming they were older, and had married, they believed locating any traces of them would be problematical.  Keep in mind we had no idea how small the village was, or how long the memory of the average Italian living in the same place his ancestors had for years was.

 

Now picture a calendar flipping months and years really quickly.  I think I’ve actually seen that in an old cartoon…………….

 

another installment soon.

Posted in Life, Relationships, Travel | No Comments »

New Job for Partner in Crime, Colleen

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

anim_snowstorm

 

I’m watching this huge east coast snow storm, and not feeling warm and fuzzy.  As far as I’m concerned, enough already!

 

 

My favorite P/I/C and forever friend Colleen is recovering from her two days in the work force at the new part time job.  As many in today’s market must do, she’s taken part time work when she really needs a full time gig.  But it’s a positive step forward, although the money is negligible.  Her head is spinning with new people and new duties and new things to learn.  Knowing nothing is worse than stagnation, she’s also taking a couple of courses in her field.  So any of you reading this, send some positive thought out through the cosmos to my very worthy and hard working friend.  And I’m bouncing the same back at each of you.

 

Onward and upward!

Posted in Community of Sisters, Family & Friends, Life | 3 Comments »

Pilgrimage: 3rd Installment

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

 

Okay, where were we?  Ah yes, telling you about the loss of my Grandpa Nick (a/k/a Nazareno Antonio Pallante ) when I was five and a half.  As some time went by, and Mom’s grief  wasn’t quite so new, I would speak with her about him.  At about eight, I realized that the reason he talked “funny” even when he used words I could understand, was that he had an accent!  Hey sophisticated I wasn’t.  That spring, my  sixteen year old brother had just been confirmed and was given by my Grandmother an old, heavy gold signet ring.  My Grandpa’s initials had been replaced with Mike’s and I was fascinated.  For you who aren’t Catholics, by confirmed I mean a Catholic coming of age ceremony — not an appointment to the Supreme Court or anything.

 

The ring intrigued me.  Mike began telling me stories about Grandpa and how he was often sad because he was never able to go back to Italy and see his family again.  It wasn’t long after that I told my brother that one day I’d go visit Grandpa’s family for him.  Mike never laughed at me, but looking back when he smiled and kissed the top of my head, I’m sure he thought it unlikely.  Being from a family of redheads perhaps he should have known better.  I’m nothing if not stubborn, and at the ripe old age of nine, it went on my to do list. 

 

Speaking of the list I compiled at age nine, I still haven’t met the Beatle’s.  So if anyone out there has Ringo or Sir Paul’s phone numbers, do let me know………..

 

More another time.

Posted in Family & Friends, Health, Hobbies, Life, Relationships, Travel | 4 Comments »

Rotting Produce

Friday, February 5th, 2010

produce2

 

Pet Peeve alert!  This one is aimed at my local supermarket.  Do the people that design things in this store have any experience of the items they are dealing with?  There is a large produce department with an ample selection of fruits and vegetables.  Unfortunately, people who are obviously lacking in knowledge of the subject have come up with an idea.  There are now color enhancing lights over the displays.  STRONG lights.  So of course everything rots in half the time, and you have to scramble below the top layer or so to find anything acceptable.  Not to mention (but I will) the fact that more produce gets dumped instead of sold.  Do the customers like it?  No.  Do the produce workers like it? No.  Do the higher ups listen to any of us?  Once again, no.  Way to go, folks.

Posted in Health, Life | No Comments »

Pilgrimage: 2nd Installment

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

 

Okay, here we go.  It’s February.  One twelfth of 2010 has gone by.  There is no avoiding the tick tock of that big old clock.  So here is the next installment of the story of my pilgrimage.  And how I left my comfort zone and ended up in Italy………….

 

As I said in my previous post, that’s when my memories of my Grandpa began.  He was quiet and gentle and had a great lap.  Mom was one of four girls, and Nan (my Grandmother) had nine siblings.  There were Great Aunts and Uncles all over the place, along with their assorted children.  But Grandpa Nick stood out.  For one thing, he was soft spoken and patient.  Trust me, that was unusual in our family.  No one else was that way.  When I sought him out, he’d sing to me and speak quietly into my ear, amidst the hustle and bustle of day to day life.  It was years later that I realized that it wasn’t in English.  But I suppose my heart recognized the love, and that was what mattered.  Even at three and four, I understood the emotion behind the words.  

 

When  I was five and a half, I suffered my first experience with losing a loved one.  Suddenly, he was gone.  Of course at that age, one doesn’t really understand death.  All I knew was that I missed him, and my Mom cried a lot.  As children do, I sensed I shouldn’t ask about him.  But I spent a whole lot of time wondering when he was coming back.  That was when I decided one way or another, I was going to reconnect with him..  Not quite sure how I would manage it, I was certain that I’d manage somehow. I just had to grow up a bit first………….

 

 

More next time.

 

Seen on a T Shirt:  “You Can’t Scare Me, I Have Children”

Tags:
Posted in Family & Friends, Relationships, Travel | No Comments »