Wednesday, June 30, 2010
I am back from my wonderful three weeks in Italy, where I de-stressed and relaxed with lots of great wine and great food--which is why I'm eating lots of cantaloupe and chicken and salad! I saw some lovely hill towns in Tuscany. This was my fourth time there and I still keep discovering new delights. Also spent one weekend in Rome, walking the cobblestone streets, sipping espresso, and visiting new sites like the Capuchin Monk Crypt (wonderfully creepy!), as well as revisiting some of my favorite places there: Vatican Museum, Piazza Navona. Stayed in Trastavere so had lots of opportunity to see Italian street life at its best. On a side trip to Florence I went to the Zoological Museum, which was a highlight of the trip. Also couldn't resist buying a purple leather computer bag in Cortona and lots of homegrown farro from Spannocchia, the tenuta where I stay.
While I was away, my essay on my house crush appeared in Ladies Home Journal. And I am excited to tell you that I am writing a 4 part series for The New York Times Op-Ed page called Home Economics. the first one will run July 4, so I had to begin my research and writing for it while I was in Italy. I just emailed it to the editor! Look for it on Sunday!
I need to reflect a little today. June 30 marks 28 years since my brother Skip died in a household accident. It is unbelievable to me that almost three decades have passed. Skip was my only sibling, a tall handsome 30 year old with a mane of dark blond hair and twinkling eyes. Whenever he entered a room, he became the center of attention. He was smart and funny and my best buddy. I often think about him when I take the leap into some new technology. He was the first person I knew to have an answering machine, a VCR, and every gadget as it came along. How he would marvel at iPhones and Kindles and the internet. Surely he would be Tweeting like mad. I miss him in a deep profound way. Losing him shot a hole in my family and as the only other child I've spent years trying to fill it in some way. In honor of Skip, if you can track down the piece I wrote about him for O years ago, please read it. The piece also appears in my memoir, DO NOT GO GENTLE: MY SEARCH FOR MIRACLES IN A CYNICAL TIME. Here's to Skip! Brother extraordinaire!
While I was away, my essay on my house crush appeared in Ladies Home Journal. And I am excited to tell you that I am writing a 4 part series for The New York Times Op-Ed page called Home Economics. the first one will run July 4, so I had to begin my research and writing for it while I was in Italy. I just emailed it to the editor! Look for it on Sunday!
I need to reflect a little today. June 30 marks 28 years since my brother Skip died in a household accident. It is unbelievable to me that almost three decades have passed. Skip was my only sibling, a tall handsome 30 year old with a mane of dark blond hair and twinkling eyes. Whenever he entered a room, he became the center of attention. He was smart and funny and my best buddy. I often think about him when I take the leap into some new technology. He was the first person I knew to have an answering machine, a VCR, and every gadget as it came along. How he would marvel at iPhones and Kindles and the internet. Surely he would be Tweeting like mad. I miss him in a deep profound way. Losing him shot a hole in my family and as the only other child I've spent years trying to fill it in some way. In honor of Skip, if you can track down the piece I wrote about him for O years ago, please read it. The piece also appears in my memoir, DO NOT GO GENTLE: MY SEARCH FOR MIRACLES IN A CYNICAL TIME. Here's to Skip! Brother extraordinaire!