Il pleut des cordes

Rain today, which is better than cold. I hate the cold.

Nesting

A friend of mine told me he is going to Russia and that made me think of these matryoshka dolls that sit in my living room. The front set was given to Anna by Leah, the Russian woman who took care of her when she was little. (Thanks to Leah, Anna could understand Russian and say a few words by the time she was two years old.) The back set was mine as a little girl – a gift from Aunt Dot who traveled everywhere and had a magical room in her house, full of treasures from around the world.

Kiss

"The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions - the little, soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile..."
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Round up

The girls and I played a game with the camera on the playground after school. Our assignment: take pictures of circles. This is what we found.

Dutch treat

Anna had a new friend from school to lunch so we decided to set a pretty table. We used these trinkets -- candle sticks and a little house -- from Amsterdam. I used to work for a company that had a Dutch office and we would send cultural care packages back and forth. I'm sure none of my Dutch former colleagues display whatever horrible American artifacts we sent over (Boston baked bean pot?) but I love my blue-and-white imititation delft house and candlesticks. They always inspire happy memories of my trips to Amsterdam.

Pump it up

Couldn't let October go by without a post featuring pumpkins and spooky creatures found at the garden shop.

Love a parade

Marching bands from across the country came to town this weekend for the 3rd annual Honkfest. On Saturday they played all over Davis Square. On Sunday, they closed down Mass Ave. for a parade and we marched behind the fabulous MarchFourth all the way from Davis Square to Harvard Square. My parents were there, our kids were there, our friends and neighbors were there, and we all danced our way along what's normally a bustling street full of cars. I looked up at the sky as we walked under a huge traffic light and thought about what a magical moment it was. One of my neighbors said, "With all the bad things that are happening in the world, it feels so good to be out here dancing to free music in the sunshine." I couldn't agree more.

Photos: MarchFourth Web site

Squirrels scramble

"Quick!" shouted Mrs. Scrimble to her son Sammy. "They've come to shut down the acorn taco assembly line we built in their gutter. To the roof!"

Twenty-four little hours

Yesterday morning there was one leaf turning colors, today the whole tree is following along. What a difference a day makes...

Change of season

Lakeside summer, backyard fall.

Fall fireworks

We have some ornamental grass in our back garden and it blooms in the fall. The girls think the plumes look like pretty fireworks but I'm always reminded that winter is not far away...

In the orchard

We went apple and peach picking a few weeks ago and then made apple and peach crisp (I can do crisps, crumbles, and cobblers but anything with crust is too advanced for me!)

Eight years old!

Anna was born eight years ago today. The day before, she was just a bump, a nameless somebody that liked to poke me in the ribs after lunch. On August 18th, she became Anna. Just like that, I was her Mum and she was my girl, ever after. Happy Birthday, lovey dove!

String of pearls

One last look: the ship's lights, like a necklace clasped across the sky.

Amalfi e Positano

They saved the best for last: the Amalfi Coast was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. My pictures do not do it justice. We spent more time on the water than on land today. The ship moored off the coast and we took the boat's tenders to Sorrento, where we boarded a hydrofoil to the town of Amalfi. After a brief visit, we caught another ferry to Positano. There, we rented a Zodiac so we could explore the coastline and go for a swim. I could have easily spent my entire summer in this part of Italy. Maybe some day! So that's it for the trip -- thanks for coming along...

Buono appetito

The food on the trip was fantastic. So, although there's one more port to go, I thought I'd take a break for some of the tastes of the Mediterranean: limoni, olive, pomodori, vino, gelato, frutti di mare e, naturalmente, Coke Light.

Sicily

Forgive me residents of Palermo, Sicily. I'm sure there are things to do and see in your fair city. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any of them on a very hot Thursday morning in the middle of August. We walked around and tried to find the street market (which we finally located after being directed to two different super markets). We saw the world's biggest canoli. And we were sized up by toughs zooming by on scooters. But all was not lost -- it turns out the Palermo soccer team wears pink jerseys (which they sell in kiddie sizes) so our girls are now happily sporting their Sicilian souvenirs.

Malta

We were told that sailing into Malta at sunrise was not to be missed, so we ate breakfast on our balcony as the sun came over the harbor. Malta was lovely and seemed to be frozen in an ancient time. We saw fortresses and catacombs, Roman ruins and temples, and perfectly preserved mosaics crafted thousands of years ago. Lunch was in a huge underground hall that was originally a hospital run by the Knights of Malta. It was nice to get out of the heat -- temps were in the 90s and the sun was scorching. We were all dying to take a dip but couldn't find a beach -- water water everywhere and not a drop to swim in!